Our Team

Gretchen DiFante
Principal, Owner

The bulk of Gretchen’s experience is in both service and manufacturing industries working and consulting in the areas of strategy development, leadership growth, customer service, crisis communication and internal and external communication. She formerly served as the director of customer service for the $2 billion frozen food manufacturer, Rich Products and as the Executive Vice President for P. W. Minor & Son where she led sales, marketing and operations while serving as the company’s chief strategist.

In addition, Gretchen managed, DiFante Consulting, an independent consulting firm for four years. During that time, she helped various clients develop strategic plans and balanced scorecards, overcome public relations and internal communication challenges, and provided training in the areas of leadership, communication, change management and customer service. She has helped more than 20 companies in various industries identify and implement strategies for successful and profitable change.

Gretchen also served as a public affairs sergeant in the Air Force Reserves during Operation Desert Storm. In addition to holding a BA in Communications from Auburn University and a MS in Management from Keuka College, Gretchen is certified in conflict mediation from the Rochester Mediation Center and has won the prestigious Hermes Gold Award from the American Marketing Association for both creative direction and copywriting.

John Hogg

In addition to working as a consultant on our team, John Hogg is the owner of Straight-Forward Consulting. John is an expert in supply chain management processes. With over 20 years of increasing responsibilities at Rich Products Corporation, John specializes in Lean Manufacturing, integrated business process redesign, and all aspects of the demand–supply planning continuum. He has held leadership positions in demand planning, supply planning, materials management, ERP implementations, and lean manufacturing.

In addition, he has built and implemented new processes in demand planning, sales and operations planning, materials management, vendor managed inventory, redistribution, and continuous improvement. He also has experience in inventory management, benchmarking and best practices, new product development, distribution-recovery pricing models, and network modeling. Systems experience includes separate implementations of demand planning, MRP II, and ERP systems.

In addition to a BA and an MBA from Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, he has obtained third-party Certification in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) from the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS); Process Mastery Certification from Hammer and Associates; and Certification in Lean and Six Sigma from Villanova University. He serves on the North American Leadership team for the Supply Chain Council, and has spoken at conferences for APICS, the Supply Chain Council, CSCMP, and the Institute for International Research (IIR).

Leslie Johnson
Consultant

Leslie is the current Vice President for Finance and Operations at Nardin Academy in Buffalo, NY. She has 25 years experience in both public and manufacturing accounting, and she specializes in not-for-profit finance and operations including facilities management. Leslie has a successful track record of personnel optimization through layered staffing to provide maximum productivity and efficiency.

She is adept at analyzing expenses, making connections to overall strategy and recommending changes that reduce spending while achieving improved business results. She has a proven formula for successfully adhering to budgets while increasingly achieving more with fewer dollars and resources and utilizing more disciplined processes. Leslie holds a BS in Accounting and an MS in Management.