Our multi-disciplinary team has unrivaled experience and expertise in consumer products and services.

Michael A. O’Hara is the founder and managing member of Consensus. Since forming Consensus in February 2006, Mr. O’Hara has advised a wide range of companies ranging from early stage consumer products companies, to publicly traded retailers to leading multi-national commercial lenders.

Betsy White is a Managing Director at Consensus and joined the firm in 2008. With career experience including public accounting, lending and CFO roles at large and small retail companies, Ms. White works with and advises clients of all sizes, with a focus on financial performance.

William D. Busko joined Consensus in 2009 as a Managing Director and oversees the New York office. Mr. Busko has spent his career in investment banking and focused on the Consumer/Retail sector. Prior to joining Consensus, he worked with a global investment bank as well as a middle-market investment bank. Mr. Busko has advised domestic and international clients relating to private and public company sales, capital raising, acquisitions and general advisory mandates, including fairness opinions.

Marshall Schleifman joined Consensus in January 2015. Prior to joining Consensus, Mr. Schleifman worked at a multinational retailer, at a leading global strategy consultancy and at full-service and boutique investment banks focused on the Consumer industry. Throughout his career, Mr. Schleifman has advised on approximately 70 transactions totaling over $7 billion in completed Mergers & Acquisitions and over $25 billion of financings. Mr. Schleifman holds a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Tara Foley joined Consensus in 2022.  Ms. Foley brings to Consensus extensive experience in the beauty and wellness industries, and the mission-driven beauty space particularly.  Notably, Ms. Foley is the founder and former CEO of the pioneering clean beauty retail company Follain.  Under Ms. Foley’s leadership, Follain offered products from hundreds of labels, as well as an eponymous skincare line, through the company’s website and stores across the country.  Follain was acquired by Credo, a leading clean beauty retailer, in late 2022.  At Consensus, Ms. Foley is supporting the firm’s push into the beauty and personal care space, augmenting its ongoing work with modern, healthy-living brands in food, beverage, agriculture, and active apparel and footwear.  Prior to joining Consensus and founding Follain, Ms. Foley gained experience across the beauty industry supply chain, and she began her career in professional services, with Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP.  Ms. Foley is FINRA Series 63 and 79 certified.

Paul S. Alexander, CFA joined Consensus in 2017 after prior roles in equity research (covering softline and off-price retail) and retail merchandising. At Consensus, Mr. Alexander plays a key role in the execution of many of the company’s engagements, and he is the Editor of the firm’s weekly newsletter, The Weekly Consensus.

Maeghan Thompson is the Director of Operations and Design at Consensus.  Ms. Thompson joined the firm in 2011 as the office manager and since then has evolved to creative designer for various projects, event planner of the Consensus Great Brands Show and publisher of The Weekly Consensus™ newsletter. 

Douglas C. Stebbins, CFA is a Managing Director at Consensus. Since joining Consensus in 2008, Mr. Stebbins has led a wide range of sell-side, buy-side and capital raise transactions within retail/consumer, as well as a variety of valuation and analytical engagements.  

Peter D. Costa joined Consensus in March, 2019. Prior to Consensus, Mr. Costa worked for large financial institutions in the transaction advisory services groups advising private equity clients in middle market buy-side and sell-side transactions. There, Mr. Costa advised his clients in a wide array of industries, including consumer products, food and beverage, automotive aftermarket, and manufacturing. 

Patrick O’Quinn is a Managing Director of Consensus and heads Axcelerate, an investment banking platform for next generation brands. Mr. O’Quinn leads the emerging brands practice for the firm. Representative clients are high-growth, high-potential companies, with work centered on growth capital and mergers and acquisitions. He is an industry leading advisor to direct to consumer brands and digital-first businesses.

Since joining Consensus in late 2006, Mark Lenz has worked with a wide range of retail and consumer companies providing restructure, due diligence and other related financial services.  Prior to joining Consensus, Mr. Lenz was an audit manager for a Big 8 Public Accounting firm and served in various financial roles, including CFO, for a $1 billion + revenue public retail company.

Christopher Ellis has advised businesses, financial institutions and high net worth individuals on transactions, restructurings and other strategic initiatives for over 25 years, both in Europe and in the United States.  Based in London, Mr. Ellis’s experiences also include serving as a principal of, or fiduciary to, businesses and investors.