About IHS Consulting

At IHS, we leverage an unmatched combination of information, insight, and expertise to effect the powerful transformation of data into knowledge and value. Our combined capabilities empower you to solve your greatest strategic and operational challenges. It's what distinguishes IHS Consulting in the global marketplace and provides a greater, lasting value to your organization.

Who Works with Us:

• Global business leaders
• Strategic planners
• Sales and marketing executives
• Supply chain and purchasing executives
• Risk management professionals
• Economists
• Defense/security analysts
• Military planners
• National and international government and public policy officials

IHS Consulting can help you:

• Set realistic and optimized planning targets
• Make smarter investments
• Avoid risk
• Cut costs

The IHS Consulting Team

IHS Consulting capabilities are rooted in IHS's more than 50 years of global industry acumen, functional expertise, and regional knowledge. We employ 150 consultants, who have access to our more than 300 economists and analysts specializing in over 170 industries in more than 200 countries, along with a global network of 2,000 subject matter experts and on-the-ground contacts.

Our leading consultants include:

Strategy & Planning
Michael N. Marinovic, vice president, IHS Consulting, specializes in strategy development and portfolio optimization in the oil and gas industry. He has advised companies at all stages of growth and in a wide variety of economic and asset environments. He has worked extensively with portfolios of mature oil and gas assets, and has led portfolio strategy efforts in the transportation and banking industries. Mr. Marinovic joined IHS Consulting when IHS acquired Strategic Decisions Group's (SDG's) Oil and Gas Practice. Before joining SDG, he held both technical and operating positions with Exxon Chemical Company. Mr. Marinovic holds a BS and an ME from Cornell University and an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  

Supply Chain & Operations
Steven T. DeFazio, vice president, IHS Consulting, has more than 25 years of supply chain, operations and management consulting experience. Prior to joining IHS, Mr. De Fazio served in the capacity of international supply chain executive and as the leader of Ernst & Young's Supply Chain Transformation practice. He has helped to shape global supply chain and operations strategies for industry leaders in the automotive, consumer products and retail industries.

Security Planning & Risk Analysis
Tate Nurkin is the director of the Security and Military Intelligence practice at IHS Consulting. He has over 13 years of experience in assessing emerging threats and challenges to international security and stability and in the design and execution of war games and alternative futures exercises. Mr. Nurkin is currently leading the IHS Jane's contributions to the ongoing IHS Global Scenarios Initiative, a multi-client study designed to combine the breadth and depth of expertise from across IHS Insight businesses, to produce provocative views of the future to 2030.

Public Sector
John Larson heads up the IHS Consulting practice serving public sector organizations. As managing director of IHS Global Insight's Decision Analytics and Economic Impact Analysis practice, he has over ten years of experience in integrating analytical tools s to inform clients, leading to more efficient and effective business and policy decisions. Prior to joining IHS, Mr. Larson spent eight years working for management consulting and accounting companies, bringing data-driven solutions to both public- and private-sector clients. Mr. Larson holds bachelor's degrees in economics and history as well as a master's degree in public policy from the Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy at the College of William and Mary.

Manufacturing & Services
Mack Brothers is vice president and global lead of the Manufacturing & Services industry sector at IHS Consulting.  He has nearly twenty years of experience in assisting companies with working through key issues impacting their business and developing solutions for growth, in areas that include marketing, sales force development and market planning. Prior to joining IHS, Mr. Brothers was COO of SonicBlue Aerospace, a R&D firm focusing on renewable energy and electro-turbine technologies. He served as senior vice president for Wood Mackenzie Ltd. where he led the launch of the company's North American gas and power business. Previously, Mr. Brothers was responsible for leading the international business unit of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, now IHS CERA.

Energy & Natural Resources
As vice president and managing director, Philippe Frangules has overall management responsibility for IHS Energy Consulting activities across the globe. Before joining IHS CERA, he was cofounder of Excelergy Corp., a software and internet service company in the energy industry. Previously, Mr. Frangules was vice president of strategic planning at Boston Edison Company. His professional experience also includes strategy consulting with Alliance Consulting and Quantum Associates, as well as investment and commercial banking. Mr. Frangules holds a bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College and a master's degree from the MIT Sloan School of Management.

Case Study – Market Planning

Brand Image, Market Position, and Strategies to Broaden Appeal

Challenge: A global OEM in the automotive industry wanted to expand its product offerings and move its brand image up-market in an effort to gain market share and attract younger, more affluent consumers.

Solution: IHS Consulting produced extensive vehicle and market forecasts, undertook a highly detailed competitive benchmarking exercise, and examined successful premium brand practices from the point of market entry to the present day. Based on this information, our research team identified current and future “white space” opportunities and made multi-pronged strategic recommendations on brand image, product features, specifications, and advertising strategy.

Results: The client was prepared to undertake a successful evolution of its brand image and products and to increase its market share and volume in a very challenging mature market.

Case Study – Economic Impact Analysis

Quantifying a Company’s Economic Impact to Policymakers

Challenge: A global high-tech manufacturer needed to educate policymakers on its contribution to the U.S. and E.U. economies, arising from both its manufacturing operations and the productivity gains attributable to the widespread use of its technology.

Solution: IHS Consulting combined both traditional input/output impact models with growth economics frameworks to produce a comprehensive assessment.

Results: The client was able to demonstrate that its business had stimulated the creation of over 820,000 jobs and influenced 1.1% of GDP in the United States. In the European Union, the corresponding findings were 330,000 jobs and 0.4% of GDP.

Case Study – Regulatory Compliance Service

Competitive Advantage through Regulatory Risk Management

Challenge: To manage regulatory risks associated with multibillion-dollar investments, an oil and gas super major commissioned IHS Consulting to develop a comprehensive compliance management system.

Solution: In collaboration with the client, IHS Consulting developed a robust software solution tailored to an end user’s needs. We populated the system with all applicable laws and standards and conducted detailed regulatory analyses to identify critical requirements.

Results: The IHS Consulting system has been used and updated by the client as an enterprise-wide application since 1999. End-users have reported these key benefits:               

• Significant reductions in direct costs
• Operational efficiency improvements
• Effective change management
• Project schedule adherence
• Getting the right information at the right time

Case Study – Energy Resource Assessment

Screening for European Unconventional Gas Opportunities

Challenge: A mid-size independent E&P had created a successful unconventional gas business in North America and was looking to replicate that success in Europe. However, the client needed to understand the nature of the UCG opportunity in Europe.

Solution: We identified potential shale gas and coal-bed methane resources in Europe where existing technology in use in North America could be applied. Using IHS information, research and published sources, we systematically analyzed all significant European basins. We also reviewed the macroeconomic, political and investment climates of candidate countries, to enable an overall opportunity ranking.

Results: Our analysis enabled the client to develop a clear picture of the opportunity and its potential value, which informed their UCG investment strategy.

Case Study – Energy Strategy Support

Formulating a Regional Gas Business Strategy

Challenge: A Russian independent wanted to create a regional gas business in an area where it had significant oil production.

Solution: IHS Consulting developed a strategic road map for the client, outlining seven distinct strategic alternatives, their full value chain considerations, their main value drivers and risks. For each alternative, we presented a rigorous economic risk evaluation, so the client could better understand the impact of uncertainties in gas resource potential before committing major investment funds.

Results: Our report enabled the regional business unit and corporate headquarters to align on a regional gas business strategy and to redirect exploration resources and gas plant investments to support the new strategy.

Case Study--Cost Performance Improvement

Extending the Field Life of Mature North Sea Offshore Platforms

Challenge: A client with mature offshore platforms in the North Sea needed an in-depth understanding of OPEX and cost drivers for maintenance facilities to estimate the remaining field life of their assets.

Solution: IHS Consulting developed detailed lifecycle OPEX forecasts and identified cost drivers, using OPE$T™, our proprietary OPEX modeling tool.

Results: Our analysis enabled the client to develop an optimum field modification program that extended the remaining field life by 20%. We identified cost reduction opportunities through improved contracting and quantified the impact of the Carbon Credit Regime & Water Discharge Regulations on OPEX.