About 1961
1961 is comprised entirely of executive-level consultants who are leading experts in their areas of practice. All consultants have held executive-level positions within their respective industries. As a result, we think like our clients; we understand the opportunities and challenges facing them; and we act as trusted advisors.
We exist to inspire and support leaders to define and execute bold missions, to tackle and resolve big challenges, to become market leaders and/or to change their industries.
Our mission is to build a firm where every consultant in the firm has four simple characteristics: 1. Executive-Level Experience; 2. Great Person; 3. Excellent Consultant Who Creates Immense Value; 4. Passion AND Confidence for Bold Change.
Consultants
Rob lives in Portland, OR and is married with two grown children. In his spare time, he plays soccer and follows the Tottenham Hotspur.
His career includes Intel, KEEN Footwear, an early pioneer in videoconferencing and working on Capitol Hill.
partner
Rob Fenty
Rob is a business strategist that integrates the development of a winning market strategy and leadership effectiveness to execute it. Rob works with senior leadership teams to clarify core strategies and business models and to align organizations to those strategies through planning, process and culture. Rob has conducted extensive research over 20 years on established leadership beliefs that hold back teams from achieving their true aspirations. His research proves the old adage: "what got us here won't necessarily get us there."
Rob has consulted with hundreds of companies in the past 15 years, including Starbucks, Nike, KEEN Footwear, Benchmade Knives, Providence St. Joseph Health, Oregon Health & Science University, American Red Cross, Broadcom, Lumentum, PacifiCorp and PGE.
Education
MBA, Stanford Graduate School of Business
BA, Political Science, Willamette University
Holly splits her time between Vancouver, WA and Sagle, ID and is married with two children. She loves the outdoors and travels North America visiting her Army officer daughter and son who plays collegiate hockey.
Holly worked in COO and global VP of Manufacturing roles for over 10 years with $250M to $2B companies.
Partner
Holly Valkama
Holly works with organizations and their leaders to think boldly and establish inspiring strategic direction. Holly believes that a vision is only as great as it can be implemented. She works with leaders to redesign business processes and organizational structures in alignment with strategic direction and in order to achieve effective change.
Throughout her career, she has led numerous successful implementations of Lean and Six Sigma in global organizations. Holly is passionate about integrating continuous improvement into organizational cultures and strengthening the effectiveness of organizations by linking process and strategy.
Holly is a Board member of family-owned HD Fowler and prior Treasurer and Board member of Evergreen Habitat for Humanity.
Education
MBA, Wharton School of Business
BBA, Finance & Economics, Loyola University, New Orleans
Ellen is a lawyer, turned expert on behavioral change. She lives in Portland, OR and is married with one child. She also completed an MA in Behavioral Economics from the London School of Economics.
Aaron lives in Portland, OR, and is married with two children. His carer includes multiple e-commerce companies, including The Clymb and Wildfang.
Jaïr lives in Portland, OR and is married with three children. His career includes Nike and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. He is also a certified Health Coach.
Eileen’s passion is corporate and organizational governance. Eileen has worked on both sides of the boardroom table and works with organizations to evaluate and strengthen their governance practices in pursuit of their mission and objectives.
consultant
Ellen Raim
Ellen works with organizations to align people to strategy. Ellen has over 20 years of HR executive experience with companies like Intel, Cascade Microtech and Erickson. As a result, she has led the full spectrum of strategic human resources, people/culture, leadership development and compliance functions for global organizations. She consults across a broad range of industries, including high tech, consumer products, airlines and government entities.
Education
JD, University of Miami School of Law
Masters, Organizational Design, Seattle University
BA, Economics Brown University
consultant
Aaron Glade
Aaron works with leaders to back up strategy and change with real data, modeling and process. Prior to consulting, Aaron was a finance leader of multiple high-growth e-commerce companies in men’s and women’s apparel. He brings extensive experience in finance, accounting, budgeting and demand planning into strategic planning, business modeling and process redesigns.
Education
MBA, Portland State University
BA, Whitman College
consultant
Jaïr Reitsma
Jaïr works with teams to help them focus on the right priorities, create effective and efficient processes and accomplish their desired results. He joins us from Nike where he led design operations and complex cross-functional process improvements. He also has over 8 years of experience in government agencies and small growth-oriented businesses. Jaïr has a proven track record in solving complex problems that sit at the intersection of strategy, process, and people.
Education
MBA, George Fox University
BA, The Evergreen State College
consultant
Eileen O’Neill Odum
Eileen’s business career spans over 30 years with CEO, COO, President and other leadership roles in the Investor-Owned Public Utility and Telecom industries, including Verizon and NiSource. She is an active, transformational leader with broad scale P&L, Operations, Regulatory, Merger Integration, Customer Relationship Management, Labor Relations and Organizational Culture Change expertise. Eileen is a corporate Independent Director and Board Chair. She serves as a member of Audit, Compensation, Nominating, Governance and Investment Committees and previously served as an Audit Committee Chair.. Eileen is also an Affiliated Professor at the University of Washington Foster School of Business’ MBA program where she teaches CEO & Board Governance.
Education
BA, Business Administration/Finance, University of Washington
Fellowship, Harvard University, Advanced Learning Initiative