A novel crisis needs novel solutions.

We can help.

What do we do? This has never happened before! It affects everything!

Grappling with the COVID 19 crisis is a massive and complex undertaking.  Add in the emotional and logistical challenges of just getting things done during a period unprecedented since, well, 1918 perhaps, and you have a recipe for distress.

At first it has to be about stabilization, but very quickly it's about planning.  Planning for the near-term: how do we cope?  Planning for the medium-term: how do we manage?  Planning for the long-term: how do we survive.. or even thrive?

We think innovation is a big part of the solution. And within every crisis is an opportunity. Identifying your various stakeholders, aligning them, using their diverse resources and skills, harnessing their ideas, and putting those ideas into practice - that's innovation strategy.

Crisis Innovation™ is Leadership

We are here to help you develop a strategy to effectively harness the innovative resources available to you. We want you to demonstrate effective leadership, survive, and be ready to thrive when the crisis passes. And your leadership will show others around the world how to rebound from this period of uncertainty.

Crisis Innovation™

In response to the crisis, Opus Faveo has assembled a team of leading experts ready to respond rapidly to your needs. Our experts have decades of experience globally in:

  • Crisis Management
  • Communications
  • Public Health Policy
  • Healthcare & Hospital Management
  • Strategy
  • Innovation
  • Public Affairs
  • Customer & Stakeholder Analytics
  • Stakeholder Identification & Management
  • Scenario Modeling
  • Financial Planning & Forecasting
  • Cash Burn Rate Analysis
  • Investor Relations
Vishal Ahuja, MBA, PhD
Vishal Ahuja, MBA, PhD Fellow

Vishal Ahuja, MBA, PhD

• Asst. Professor, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University and Adjunct Asst. Professor of Clinical Sciences/Internal Medicine, UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Academic affiliations with Dept. of Veterans Affairs, University of Chicago Center for Translational & Policy Research of Chronic Diseases, North Texas Health Care System
• Research focused on healthcare policy, energy, process innovation, data analytics
• Published in a wide array of media, and regular speaker at institutions globally, including Yale, Cornell, Wharton, Duke, University of Chicago, George Washington University, Singapore University of Technology and Design, University of Chicago, UT Austin, London Business School, University of Toronto, University of North Carolina, McGill, INSEAD
• Wide array of honors and awards, including a National Science Foundation grant, Fellowships at University of Chicago, University of Toronto, National Institute on Aging
• He has taught at SMU, the University of Chicago, the University of Toronto
• Private sector experience including Procter & Gamble, ERCO Worldwide, Celestica Inc.
• R&D Research Associate, Indian Institute Of Technology & GE Plastics
• Licensed Professional Engineer in the province of Ontario, Canada
• Fluent in English and Hindi
• PhD, Business Administration, MBA, University of Chicago, Booth School of Business
• M.A.Sc., Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University Of Toronto,
• B.E. (Honors), Chemical Engineering, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India
Ana Paula Ambrosi, MA
Ana Paula Ambrosi, MA Fellow

Vishal Ahuja, MBA, PhD

Ana P. Ambrosi is Managing Partner at GCYA USA a PR and Communications firm based in Dallas.

Creative public affairs professional and communications strategist with demonstrated success in all phases of corporate and political communications, accompanied by expertise in social media marketing, campaign strategy development, international affairs and media relations.

A track-record of building market recognition and increasing customer awareness for international businesses. Skillful developer of strategic communications programs, with experience in industries including government, education, aviation, technology, logistics, community and health.

Ana worked as director of international communications in the Presidential Communications Office and the Foreign Affairs Ministry during the first years of the Fox administration, government of Mexico.

She executed an international relations forum with academic and political leaders from Mexico and the U.S. at UC Berkeley, California. She was Associate Director of the US-Mexico Network, an academic website that hosts a current discussion of the bilateral relation.

She is co-editor of Mexico Today, An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic, published in 2012 by ABC-CLIO. Her research has focused on Mexico’s politics and the bilateral relation between Mexico and the United States. A leader in international communications, she is a member of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations and the Mexican Entrepreneurs Association (AEM).

Ana has an M.A. in Latin American studies from the University of California at Berkeley and a BA in international relations from the Instituto Tecnologico Autonomo de Mexico (ITAM). She also received a postgraduate certificate in strategic political analysis at the Centro de Investigacion y Docencia Economica (CIDE) in Mexico and speaks 4 languages.
Christian Blackwell, MBA
Christian Blackwell, MBA Managing Partner

Christian Blackwell, MBA

Christian is Managing Partner of Opus Faveo Innovation Development, where he has a particular interest in the challenges of innovation for universities, governments, and larger corporates.

Prior to Opus Faveo, Christian was a founder and investor in several start-up companies, an investment banker with Deutsche Bank in New York and London, and treasurer for the international operations of GTE/Verizon. His industry experience includes energy, telecommunications, technology, financial services, natural resources, education and infrastructure. Christian has led transactions of well over US$ 1 billion in size, mostly cross-border in nature, and he has a large amount of experience in emerging markets. He has conducted business in over 40 countries, and he speaks 4 languages.

Christian has a BA in political science and international affairs from Rice University and an MBA in international finance from the Thunderbird School of Global Management. He was accepted to Rice at age 15, and he earned both degrees by age 21. In addition to innovation, he is interested in international political economy and the performing arts. He currently is a member of the Executive Committee of the Board of the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations, the American Council on Germany (New York), the Atlantik-Brücke (Berlin), the George W. Bush Institute Working Group on North American Competitiveness, the World Affairs Council of Dallas/Ft. Worth, the John Tower Center for Political Studies, and the SMU Cox School Associate Board.
Teresa Coffey-Gordon, MBA
Teresa Coffey-Gordon, MBA Fellow

Teresa Coffey-Gordon, MBA

• Director, Innovation Funds-Principal & Major Gifts, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: lead Dana-Farber’s unique venture philanthropy initiative in an effort to raise over $200M.
• Judge/Mentor, MassChallenge, the world’s largest start-up accelerator and competition.
• Founder/CEO, Coffey Exchange (Boston, New York): provided business, marketing and venture philanthropy services to non-profits and for-profits, incl. healthcare, biotech.
• Chief Marketing Officer, Millennium Partners Sports Club Management: led marketing for the iconic luxury health clubs Sports Club/LA and Reebok Sports Club/NY. Recruited by PE firm and strategically re-positioned and revitalized the brands, making them more relevant to health enthusiasts. Built a digitally-focused marketing team that drove membership and engagement through online sales tools and socially charged content.
• VP/Chief of Staff, Fidelity Investments: positioned the Fidelity brand in a highly profitable new market (Active Trader), incl. product development, advertising, PR, sales, events, online and in-person educational forums.
• Director of Marketing, Ernst & Young: built a full-service, in-house marketing agency. Centralized and scaled business development, creating blueprint for E &Y’s 19 Market Resource Centers. Enhanced branding of the Entrepreneur of the Year award.
• Market Manager, Product Manager, Market Research Analyst, NEBS
• Management Consultant, Kendall Square Associates, provided business consulting services to business owners and government agencies.
• BSBA, MBA, Suffolk University
Surajit Kar, MBA, PhD
Surajit Kar, MBA, PhD Fellow

Surajit Kar, MBA, PhD

• Founder / entrepreneur, XWealthStrategies: an innovative wealth strategy firm that brings investment strategies of the ultra-wealthy to the “mass affluent”
• Partner & Advisory Market Leader, North Texas, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): consulting leader for the $180M North Texas regional practice with 600 consultants
• Partner & Innovation Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC): the face of PwC on innovation, spoke extensively at conferences, published articles, blogs, and social media
• Partner, PRTM, an R&D and innovation consulting firm: led engagements to improve innovation effectiveness for a broad range of companies across all industry sectors
• 17 years in strategy/innovation consulting with clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies (FedEx, Cisco, Nortel, Motorola) to Global 500 conglomerates (SAP, Dell, Pizza Hut) and venture-funded startups (SignalSoft, Campus Pipeline)
• Prior to consulting, spent 3 years at Landmark Graphics Corporation, the software division of Halliburton in the Corporate R&D team
• 5 years at the Center for Space Research in Austin pursuing academic research
• PhD, Aerospace Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, celestial mechanics
• MBA, Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management
• Creative interests: written a murder-mystery novel
Vinit Nijhawan
Vinit Nijhawan Fellow

Vinit Nijhawan

Vinit Nijhawan was previously Managing Director at UnitedLex. Prior to that Vinit was Managing Director, Office of Technology Development at Boston University where he launched 8 venture-backed spinoffs and successfully executed a patent monetization program. Vinit teaches MBA courses on Entrepreneurship at the Boston University Questrom School of Business, where over 450 students have taken his courses. Vinit has over 30 years experience building five startups: he was CEO of three, and five were acquired. Vinit was Venture Partner at Key Venture Partners where one of his investments was acquired for $430M. Vinit is an advisor and board member to several technology startups and was a Mass High Tech All-Star in 2005. Vinit has participated in over 240 panel discussions and paper presentations, and was a Board Member of Mass Ventures, an early stage, quasi-public Massachusetts venture capital firm, a co-founder of EdTech Accelerator/Incubator LearnLaunch, ex-President of Massachusetts Association of Technology Transfer Offices and co-founder of Waterloo Alumni Angels. Vinit is also serving or has served on the non-profit boards of VentureCafe Foundation, National Academy of Inventors, and TiE Global. Vinit earned a B.A.Sc in electrical engineering from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada.
David Overton, MBA
David Overton, MBA Partner

David Overton, MBA

David Overton has extensive experience in strategic planning, competitor analysis and customer research for a wide range of organizations. After completing his studies, David joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant, where he focused on strategy, growth and profit improvement projects. He then worked in executive roles for several leading retailers, including May Department Stores, Sears, and JCPenney, most recently as Vice President for Customer and Strategic Insights.

David has served on several boards, and he currently serves on the board of Mercy Ships, a leading international NGO focused on health and human development. David holds a degree in Accounting from Texas Tech University and a Masters of Management degree from the Sloan School of Management at MIT.
James Savage, M.Sc
James Savage, M.Sc Fellow

James Savage

James Savage is the SVP General Manager of Pierpont Communications in Dallas, Texas, where he leads a growing team dedicated to the communications needs of local, regional and global clients. He joined Pierpont after successfully leading the corporate practice of Edelman, where he contributed to the brand and reputation success of national and global clients such as Symantec, British Telecom, BNY Mellon, Forest Park Medical Center, Entrust, International Association of Events and Exhibitions and the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Throughout his career, James has filled various senior leadership roles at Western Financial Group Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and Philips Electronics. James founded RainCoast Group, a Dallas-based global tech sector communications and marketing consultancy, and led groups with GTE Corporation (now Verizon), the Pacific Telecommunications Council, and the Canadian Federal Department of Communications (Industry Canada).

James has an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics (LSE) and a BA from the University of British Columbia, Canada. A leader in the communications community, he serves as a Commissioner with the Institute for Public Relations and has been a member of the Board of the Canadian PR Society (Toronto) and the Convergence Council of the S. I. Newhouse School of Communications (Syracuse University).
Kerry Tassopoulos, JD
Kerry Tassopoulos, JD Fellow

Kerry Tassopoulos, JD

• Experienced attorney and government relations professional, providing advice and counsel to executives at privately held and publicly traded corporations
• Of Counsel, Sunwest Communications
• Previously VP Public Affairs and Compliance, Mary Kay Global, where he was responsible for strategic direction, management and supervision of Regulatory and IP attorneys, and the Corporate Communications/CSR, Risk Management functions
• Public affairs/government relations work included the US (local, state and federal) as well as Canada, India, and the EU. Developed and enhanced the public affairs function for the EU Region, working on the ground in Washington, DC and Brussels with EU and national officials including the EU Commission, EU Parliament, EU Council of Ministers
• Led creation of a global Issues Management Program, which became a powerful tool for Mary Kay Global Public Affairs team in US, Brazil, Canada, China, Poland and Russia
• Represented Mary Kay in trade associations, serving in leadership roles with the Direct Selling Association, the Direct Selling Education Foundation, the Personal Care Products Council, ICMAD, the Public Affairs Council, the Dallas Committee on Foreign Relations
• Director, Govt. Affairs, Excel Communications, where he created Government Relations /Public Affairs function. Actively lobbied before US Congress, Texas, California, Georgia
• Licensed attorney, with J.D. from the University of Georgia School of Law
• Undergraduate degree in Political Science from Emory University
Daniel Waldmann, JD
Daniel Waldmann, JD Fellow

Daniel Waldmann, JD

Dan Waldmann has been a leader in healthcare policy, government relations and strategic communications for more than 25 years.

Prior to launching his consulting practice, Dan served as the Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare, one of the nation’s largest operators of hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers. Dan’s tenure with Tenet began in June 2005. He first served as the company’s Vice President of Government Relations and Tenet’s principal representative in Washington, D.C., guiding the company’s advocacy strategy on federal and state legislation, including the Affordable Care Act. After relocating to Dallas in 2010, Dan added leadership of the company’s corporate communications and community affairs functions to his responsibilities. He served multiple terms on the board of directors of the Federation of American Hospitals, and on Tenet’s Executive Leadership Team from 2012 until departing the company in 2018.

Prior to Tenet, Dan was a prominent healthcare policy consultant and federal lobbyist, primarily serving innovative medical technology companies such as Johnson & Johnson, St. Jude Medical and Medtronic. He also served as the outside regulatory policy counsel for the Medical Device Manufacturers Association, and as an appointed member of the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program Advisory and Oversight Committee, advising the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the design of a new durable medical equipment reimbursement system.

Dan earned his JD from The George Washington University and a BA in International Studies from the
University of Dayton.

Crisis Innovation. Leadership in a time of crisis. Innovation to solve problems.