Our team cares deeply about the work, our clients, and each other. When
you meet someone from the firm, you'll feel that right away. We love what
we do and are committed to delivering the outcomes our client's need.
Meet our senior leadership team.
Who we are
Scaling our impact, while still grounded in what matters.
The Gunter Group was built intentionally and scaled by design. We hire people we genuinely trust, take on work we can do well, and build relationships that last well beyond a single engagement. That approach hasn't changed since day one.
Leadership
The managing partners who lead the work.
Matt Bader
Managing Partner
-
WHAT MATT DOES
Matt leads client engagements and firm growth with a focus on the work that connects strategy, people, and execution. He has spent over 19 years helping organizations navigate complex transformation in environments where the stakes are high and the path forward is rarely clear.
-
BACKGROUND
His background spans management consulting, military leadership, and the nonprofit sector, with client experience across retail, education, finance, and professional services. He holds a B.S. from the United States Air Force Academy and carries certifications in program management, Scrum, SAFe, LEAN, and contract management.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
His interests sit at the intersection of hockey, heavy metal, fitness, and a good beer.
Tony Schweiss
Managing Partner
-
WHAT TONY DOES
Tony helps leaders make sense of complex organizational challenges and build the clarity needed to act on them. He is drawn to the hard problems, the ones where the situation is ambiguous and the decisions carry real weight.
-
BACKGROUND
Before consulting, Tony served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, where he developed the calm-under-pressure approach that now defines how he works with leadership teams. He holds bachelor's honors degrees in both Philosophy and Theology from the University of Notre Dame.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
When he's not reading, Tony enjoys exploring Nashville with his wife and kids, discovering new places together, and taking every opportunity to head to the mountains for a little adventure.
Mike Gunter
Founding Partner
-
WHAT MIKE DOES
Mike founded The Gunter Group in 2011 around a simple belief that consulting could be done differently. More than 25 years into his career, he still spends his time where he started: close to clients, close to the work, and invested in watching the people around him grow into their own paths.
-
BACKGROUND
He got his start at Deloitte Consulting and has since held executive leadership roles across consulting, supply chain services, and public education. His client experience spans manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and education. He holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and an M.B.A. in Finance and Accounting from Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
He travels when he can, explores new places with his family, and tastes as much wine along the way as possible.
Ashleigh Gunter
Founding Partner
-
WHAT ASHLEIGH DOES
Ashleigh brings more than 30 years of management consulting experience, with deep expertise in healthcare and a focus on the organizational and people-side work that determines whether change holds.
-
BACKGROUND
Her work centers on health plans and employer health strategy, including a long track record developing community-owned health plan models across multiple states. She has advised Fortune 100 C-suite executives and held leadership roles at Andersen Consulting/Accenture, Deloitte Consulting, and The Gunter Group. She holds an M.B.A. in Strategic Management and Organizational Change from the University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Denver.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Ashleigh enjoys traveling with her family, whether it's discovering a new destination or returning to a favorite one. She also loves spending time with friends and cheering on her kids in everything they do.
Senior experience behind every engagement.
Our principals bring deep experience across our practice areas. They help guide the work, stay involved as it moves, and are accountable for ensuring the best outcomes for our clients. Our operations team leads the firm itself, overseeing finance, people, and operations.
Principals
Ande Olsen
Principal,
Technology Practice Leader
-
WHAT ANDE DOES
Ande specializes in enterprise architecture and technology strategy, with a reputation for finding clear paths through complex and ambiguous technology landscapes.
-
BACKGROUND
He is known for bringing data-driven thinking to situations where the information is incomplete and the decisions are consequential, and for building the team alignment needed to move work forward without losing momentum. His leadership style is patient and grounded, and he has a track record of translating technical complexity into terms that resonate across organizational leadership.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Golf is never far from Ande's plans. When he's not working, he enjoys traveling with his wife, finding new courses to play, and making time to visit family.
Jenna Train
Principal,
People Practice Leader
-
WHAT JENNA DOES
Jenna leads The Gunter Group's People practice, helping organizations manage the human side of change and build teams that can sustain it long after the work is done.
-
BACKGROUND
With more than 20 years of experience in change management, talent development, and organizational effectiveness, she has led transformation engagements for Fortune 500 clients across retail, financial services, and manufacturing. She is known for bringing clarity to complicated situations and for a collaborative style that earns trust quickly.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
She's most often found cheering on her daughters at the soccer field, exploring the outdoors, or planning the next family trip somewhere worth going.
Jim Calko
Principal,
Execution Practice Leader
-
WHAT JIM DOES
Jim leads complex initiatives for The Gunter Group’s clients, specializing in the operational and delivery work that closes the gap between where an organization wants to go and what is actually happening on the ground.
-
BACKGROUND
He has spent more than 18 years leading programs and teams across the military, retail and e-commerce, and healthcare sectors, with a consistent focus on digital transformation and Agile ways of working. He holds an M.B.A. from the University of Portland, an M.A. in Human Relations from the University of Oklahoma, and carries certifications as a Scrum Master, SAFe Agilist, Agile Coach, and Gallup Clifton Strengths Coach.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Originally from Cleveland, Jim remains a die hard Cleveland sports fan through every season. He enjoys spending time with his wife and kids, keeping up with their active schedules, and, now that he calls Southern California home, he never takes the sunshine for granted.
Matt Jamison
Principal,
Technology Practice Leader
-
WHAT MATT DOES
Matt leads The Gunter Group's Technology practice, helping organizations make smarter technology decisions and implement them in a way that actually holds up in the business.
-
BACKGROUND
He brings 20 years of end-to-end IT experience, from infrastructure to application architecture, with a particular strength in mapping technology solutions to real business needs. His work spans healthcare, telecommunications, and software. He holds AWS Solutions Architect and SAFe 5 Agilist certifications.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Matt loves being outdoors and is happiest when he's on two wheels. He also treasures the everyday moments with his teenage kids, from school pick ups to after school activities and everything in between.
Rebecca Whitehead
Principal,
Nashville Market Leader
-
WHAT REBECCA DOES
Rebecca leads The Gunter Group's Nashville market and brings more than 20 years of experience helping healthcare organizations build and transform the business models, operations, and care structures that drive sustainable results.
-
BACKGROUND
Her background spans health plan strategy, care delivery innovation, and P&L leadership, including significant work developing direct employer-provider relationships and community-owned health plan models across multiple states. She is happiest working alongside clients to solve real problems and brings a genuine creativity to the strategy work she leads.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
She serves on the Nashville Davidson County Metropolitan Government Board of Health and The Next Door Recovery Board of Directors.
Stephen Bacon
Principal,
Strategy Practice Leader
-
WHAT STEPHEN DOES
Stephen leads The Gunter Group's Strategy practice, working with senior executives and leadership teams on the questions that matter most: where the organization is going and what it will actually take to get there.
-
BACKGROUND
He has spent over two decades advising Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, academic institutions, and nonprofits across industries and geographies. Beyond consulting, he teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in strategy, finance, economics, and organizational behavior. He holds a B.S. in Finance and Marketing from Boston College and an M.A. in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Stephen enjoys traveling with his wife and three children, exploring new places together, and cheering on his kids at sporting events. At home, the family also stays busy with their two Labs.
Operations
Dave Montez
Chief Financial & Operating Officer
-
WHAT DAVE DOES
Dave leads The Gunter Group's financial and operational functions, bringing more than 25 years of experience helping organizations, from early stage companies to large multinationals, build the financial discipline and operational structure needed to grow well.
-
BACKGROUND
His background spans professional services, privately held companies, and publicly traded organizations, giving him an unusually grounded perspective on the business problems that sit behind the numbers. He holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Utah and carries both CPA and Chartered Global Management Accountant certifications.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
When he's not at work, he's outside climbing, camping, or playing disc golf with his family.
Laura Emily
People & Culture Leader,
Chief of Staff
-
WHAT LAURA DOES
Laura serves in two roles at The Gunter Group. She leads the People and Culture function and supports firm-wide leadership as Chief of Staff. In both, her focus is the same: making sure the structures, systems, and people behind the work are set up to perform.
-
BACKGROUND
She came up through consulting, working directly with clients on operational and organizational effectiveness before moving into her current internal leadership role. Her work spans organizational design, talent strategy, executive team effectiveness, and change leadership. She holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida, is a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and is currently pursuing an M.B.A. in Organizational Leadership at Oregon State University.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Laura loves making memories with her husband and kids, from exploring Portland and traveling to new places to slowing down for a family movie night at home.
Sara Nugent
Finance and Business Operations Leader
-
WHAT SARA DOES
Sara keeps The Gunter Group's operations running by managing the day-to-day financial and operational work that allows the rest of the firm to stay focused on client work. She takes pride in building systems and support structures that make everyone's work a little easier.
-
BACKGROUND
She holds a B.S. in Business with concentrations in Accounting and Management from Montana State University, along with a Master of Professional Accountancy from the same institution.
-
PERSONAL INTERESTS
Sara enjoys spending time in her garden, cheering on her kids at sporting events, and taking camping trips with family and friends. Her favorite vacations are the ones spent outdoors around a campfire.
Our non-negotiables
How we show up. Every time.
Our Non-negotiables aren't aspirational values we put on a wall. They show up every day, in the work we do with our clients and with each other. They shape who we hire, how we collaborate, and what you can expect when you partner with us.
Integrity
We do the right thing because it's the right thing.
We prioritize providing honest advice over comfortable answers and long-term value over short-term ease. Every engagement has a moment where making the right call hard. We make it anyway. We surface what we find, provide recommendations grounded in experience, and never pursue work we don't think is necessary. Our clients trust us because they know we'll tell them what's in their best interest, not what's easiest to hear.
Collaboration
We believe the best outcomes are built together.
Our clients are experts in their own organization, and real collaboration means putting their knowledge and our expertise in direct dialogue. We don't walk in assuming we already have the answer, we work alongside your people, share the thinking, and build solutions together so we leave your team more confident and capable than when we arrived.
Thrive in Ambiguity
We don’t wait for clarity. We create it.
The problems worth solving rarely come with clear answers. Our clients know something needs to change but are often less sure what, why, or where to start. We're comfortable in that uncertainty and move deliberately without rushing to resolve it prematurely. We ask questions before offering answers, make sound decisions despite incomplete information, and keep moving thoughtfully until clarity emerges through the work.
Emotional Intelligence
We adapt to meet people where they are.
Every engagement involves people with different histories, different stakes, and different orientations toward the change they're being asked to make. We tune into that context and adjust how we show up in response. We deliver difficult truths in ways people can hear and know when our own assumptions are getting in the way.
Grounded Confidence
We know when to listen and when to lead.
We hold clear points of view without feeling the need to defend them. We deliver difficult findings plainly, stay open to being wrong, and never let ego get ahead of what’s best for our clients. We understand that real confidence isn’t in having all the answers. It’s in trusting the process to find them.
Intellectual Curiosity
We uncover the problem beneath the problem.
We don’t approach any problem assuming we know the answer. We enter each engagement holding our experience lightly enough that new information can change our thinking. We pull threads that don't add up and keep asking why until we understand what's really driving the challenges we see.
How We Work
What it feels like to work with us.
You’ll tell the difference in the first conversation. Here's what working with The Gunter Group looks like.
We don't walk in with a rigid template we recycle from client to client. We build our approach around your people, your history, and the specific way a problem shows up in your organization. That means real listening upfront, not a box-checking exercise on the way to a conclusion we’ve already reached.
Our consultants bring deep, hands-on experience across industries. They've done the work before, under real pressure, which means they can orient quickly and get to the substance of a problem fast. Clients don't bring us in to fill a seat. They bring us in because their problem needs real judgment, and that's what we bring.
Change is stressful enough without the people helping you through it adding to the noise. We keep things steady, straightforward, and free of the drama that can creep into consulting engagements. And because we're in it with you, sitting in the same meetings and carrying the same deadlines, it never feels like you're managing us on top of everything else.
We share our thinking as the work happens, so your team understands our reasoning well enough to apply it again on their own. We're teaching as much as we're doing. Our goal isn't to make ourselves indispensable, it's to leave your team capable enough to carry the work forward without us.
We care about the quality of what we deliver, not just whether it got delivered on time. That means pressure-testing our own thinking before you ever see it, and being honest with ourselves about work that isn't yet where it needs to be. We'd rather take the extra step than hand off something we wouldn't stand behind.
Work With Us
The firms that move fastest don’t wait for clarity. They create it.
We help leadership teams cut their ambiguity, align around what matters, and build the momentum to transform their business.