Spinnaker Consulting Group, a NaVOBA Certified Veteran’s Business Enterprise®, helps Fortune 500s get to where they’re going, faster. Spinnaker serves clients a variety of industries, with an emphasis on financial services. And while they have plenty of specialty players within each practice area – several of whom have more than 15 years of experience in their field – many of their team members have applicable expertise across multiple practices, providing clients with a nimble team that can approach their organization’s biggest challenges from multiple angles and perspectives. They have a specific way of doing business that not only ensures consistency across engagement teams, but always provides tangible business value.
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VBE Spotlight: Spinnaker Consulting Group
Marketing NaVOBA • Feb 24, 2022
Spinnaker Consulting Group
Meet Shawn Sweeney, founder and managing partner of Spinnaker Consulting Group. Shawn launched Spinnaker when he saw first-hand the need for providing clients with experience-based resources who could roll up their sleeves and deliver tangible, lasting results.
Company Information:
Name: Spinnaker Consulting Group
Location/headquarters: Richmond, VA
Company Web site: www.spinnakerconsultinggroup.com
# of employees: 55
Year founded: 2012
What services do you provide? Spinnaker’s consultants apply their industry experience and expertise to help our financial services clients get where they’re going – faster.
Who are your primary customers (if several, name all)? Fortune 500/Top 50 financial institutions by assets
When and how did you start your business? After his U.S. Navy career and 14 years with a major national financial services company, our founder, Shawn Sweeney, was looking at the opportunity to develop his own consulting firm – with an eye on doing things differently. He saw a clear gap in the traditional management consulting model, somewhere between pure strategy development and leaving it up to the client to figure out the implementation. Our people-first mindset means we collaborate with our clients to achieve their business goals. That was 2012.
What were some of the challenges in getting your business started? Challenges present opportunities. Of course, we started with developing our business plan, with a focus on financial services consulting. But we saw the need to focus almost equally on our culture, the how we do business.
What is the key to the success of your business? We focus on building relationships. After all, our clients aren’t actually hiring consulting firms; they’re hiring people. Because we’ve focused on hiring industry veterans – people with at least 15 years filling the same leadership roles as our clients – we start from a shared position of trust because our clients recognize we have tackled these very problems successfully in the past. We leverage our experience to bring meaningful solutions.
What lessons learned can you share with people to make their business succeed? One other thing that our founder is fond of saying is that we should be constantly striving to work ourselves out of a job. We provide the coaching and training for our clients to gain the insight, knowledge and skills to stand on their own.
What pitfalls should they avoid? In building a business, invest in your people, because that will differentiate you and they will drive your success. On the financial front, don’t just look at profit and loss statements, because they tell you where your business was. You want to look at metrics, such as cashflow, that offer insights to where your business is headed.
What other information about you and your business would you like to share with the NaVOBA community? Our people start by listening, then develop a bespoke strategy for each client. Our team is bold, dependable and stands at the ready to roll up their sleeves and do the work that needs to be done. Doug Murphy, one of our consultants and a fellow veteran, has been with our organization since its early days, is a great example of that. He’s serving as our primary point of contact for NaVOBA, and so we’ve also included his contact information for this group.
Veteran Information:
U.S. Navy, 1989-1998, Lieutenant
Why did you join the military? I recognized an opportunity to serve my country and develop my leadership skills.
What did you do in the military?
(military occupation): Submarine officer
Any significant military achievements/experience you’d like to mention? I was selected as the Submarine Group 2 Junior Officer of the Year, and I was promoted into the Weapons Officer Department Head role while still on my junior officer tour.
Fun Facts
What is your favorite sports team? I was born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, so I’m obviously a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan!
What do you do to relax? I turn to two very different activities: When I get the chance, I love to be on the water sailing. When that’s not an option, I enjoy being in my shop doing woodworking.
What would you be doing if you weren’t a business owner? I would be mentoring other business leaders.
Click here to learn more about doing business with the Spinnaker Consulting Group.
Are you interested in having your business featured in a VBE Spotlight? Email us at
marketing@navoba.org to get started.
On October 22, NaVOBA celebrated the Minority Veteran's Business Enterprise of the Year Awards Ceremony during the 2024 National Minority Supplier Development Council (NMSDC) Conference in Atlanta. Hosted at Cuts Steakhouse, a sponsor of the event alongside Accenture, Shell, and Hilton, the event was complete with a full course meal, drinks, and networking. Mimi Lohm, NaVOBA's Chief Development Officer, kicked off the event and set the stage for the awardees. Keynote speakers included Brandi Rauch, General Manager of Supply Chain for Shell, Che' McFerrin, Associate Manager, Global Supplier Inclusion & Sustainability at Accenture, and Matthew Pavelek, NaVOBA's President. Before the announcements of the winners, NaVOBA surprised Don McKneely, Chairman & CEO of Minority Business News, with the 2024 Veteran's Business Champion Award. The program then went on to highlight two companies who have demonstrated excellence within their industries with the 2024 Veteran's Business Enterprise (VBE)® We Love Awards. The first VBE We Love Award went to Demond Crump, CEO of REIGN Premium Sanitary Napkins. Founded in 2019, REIGN Premium Sanitary Napkins specializes in providing innovative sanitary napkins and panty liners infused with a Nobel Prize-winning material featuring a super absorbent system. The key to REIGN's success lies in prioritizing their mission over profits, ensuring that the focus on empowering women and young girls takes precedence. Demond served honorably in the U.S. Navy from 1990 to 1994, achieving the rank of E-5 and specializing as an Operations Specialist. He is Aegis system qualified and brings a wealth of strategic expertise from his military service to his entrepreneurial journey. You can read more about this VBE spotlight here . The second VBE We Love Award was presented to Paden Sickles, CEO of SickFit. Founded in 2021, SickFit specializes in wholesale and custom socks, as well as murals. SickFit caters to a diverse customer base that includes service members, athletes, corporate partners, active individuals, and government entities. The key to SickFit's success lies in its commitment to innovation and authenticity. As a veteran-owned, woman-owned, and minority-owned company, SickFit represents a movement focused on resilience and empowerment, particularly for those in underrepresented communities. Paden served from 2014 to 2024 in the Army, achieving the rank of Captain and earned the Expert Soldier Badge and Air Assault Wings. You can learn more about this VBE spotlight here . NaVOBA then celebrated the 2024 Minority Veteran's Business Enterprise ® of the Year: Robert Swain, CEO of Swain Enterprises. Established in 2020, Swain Enterprises specializes in federal projects, including restoration and renovations for military bases, federal facilities, and hospitals in the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, DC areas. Swain Enterprises is committed to providing the highest level of service to government, commercial, educational, and institutional clients. The key to the success of Swain Enterprises has been a focus on integrity, hard work, and strong relationships. From the outset, the company has committed to delivering high-quality work and exceeding client expectations. As a fully veteran-owned business, Swain Enterprises is dedicated to empowering veterans and creating opportunities for those moving from military to civilian careers. You can read more about NaVOBA's 2024 Minority Veteran's Business Enterprise of the Year here .
Jewel Sanitary Napkins LLC
Swain Enterprises LLC
Thank you for your interest in the National Veteran Owned Business Association’s Certified Veteran’s Business Enterprise® (VBE) and Certified Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprise® (SDVBE) programs. This initiative creates a nationally recognized gold standard in certification for veteran-owned businesses of all sizes and enables corporate America to proactively source and confidently utilize businesses that are at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by U.S. military veterans.
OUR MISSION
NaVOBA’s mission is to create corporate contracting opportunities for America’s Veteran’s and Service-Disabled Veteran’s Business Enterprises (VBEs/SDVBEs) through certification, advocacy, outreach, recognition and education.
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