Eric Pelander

Advisory Board

Managing Director, Waterstone Management Group

Eric brings an extensive experience in both managing large services businesses and consulting with clients on their growth strategies, business and operating models, customer and market strategies, service strategies and merger strategy and integration. Prior to joining Waterstone, Eric was Global Leader – Strategy and Change Services with IBM Business Consulting Services. At IBM, he managed one of the world's largest strategy practices with over three thousand consultants, encompassing business strategy, operations strategy, technology strategy and organization change strategy services. Eric was a member of IBM's Global Business Leadership team and was a part of the small senior team which evaluated, planned and executed the acquisition and integration of PricewaterhouseCoopers' consulting practice into IBM.

Eric joined IBM through the acquisition of Mainspring Corporation. At Mainspring, a high-growth consulting firm focused on business and technology strategy, Eric was Senior Vice President responsible for sales and consulting services. Eric was instrumental in driving Mainspring’s meteoric growth and taking the firm public.

Earlier, Eric was a Partner and Managing Director of Strategy Advisory Services for Ernst & Young, LLP, where he led the practice from inception to several hundred consultants globally. He also served as a member of Ernst & Young's Consulting Services Executive committee. Eric holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from William and Mary. Eric and his wife, Evalyn Gates, have three grown children and live in Chicago.