Our founders have extensive performance management and nonprofit leadership experience. With a collective 35 years of experience helping leading organizations implement performance management systems and strategy, our leaders are experienced professionals that can help solve a variety of real world problems.

Laura Downing

Laura Downing is a co-founder and managing partner with Ascendant Strategy Management Group. Before Ascendant, Laura was one of the founders and senior executive leaders of Balanced Scorecard Collaborative together with Drs. Kaplan and Norton. There she was responsible for the professional services business unit. Before founding BSCol, Laura was one of the original consultants in the strategic management services practice of Renaissance Worldwide, Inc., where she developed the Balanced Scorecard service offerings.

Laura is a regular speaker and instructor at Balanced Scorecard conferences and has consulted with a variety of organizations to enhance their strategic management processes. Most recently, Laura has been working with PEJE, Catholic Charities, ACCION, US Army, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Office of Personnel Management, Petrobras, Securities and Exchange Commission, Petroleum Canada, Defense Logistics Agency, American College of Cardiology, Massachusetts Special Olympics, and British Telecom.

Laura's work at the FBI has been profiled in Harvard Business Review case, and several of her clients have won the Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame award. She has also consulted with a number of software providers in their development of Balanced Scorecard applications. A native of Boston, MA, Laura graduated from Georgetown University and Harvard Business School.

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Ted Jackson

Ted Jackson is a co-founder and managing partner with Ascendant Strategy Management Group. At Ascendant he is an engagement leader supporting many nonprofit and mission-driven organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Project Management Institute, American College of Cardiology, Rare, ACCION, CFA Institute, Institute of International Education, Uncommon Schools, and the Atlanta Independent School System. He is also responsible for sales and customer support of ClearPoint Strategy, the Ascendant-recommended strategy management software solution.

Prior to Ascendant, Ted was a Vice President at Balanced Scorecard Collaborative and was responsible for global sales and support of the Executive Strategy Manager software. He was also an active consultant and facilitator for 9 years with BSCol. Before that, Ted worked at ICF International, an engineering and environmental consulting firm. At ICF, Ted’s team helped the EPA develop the Energy Star program and worked with organizations to reduce their energy consumption.

Ted has written three articles about the Balanced Scorecard in the Balanced Scorecard Report publication by Harvard Business School Press. He is an active speaker and has spoken at Balanced Scorecard training and conference events in North America, Europe, and Brazil each year from 2002-2009. Ted graduated from Duke University with a degree in Public Policy focused on the Environment and later received his MBA from Harvard University.

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Dylan Miyake

Dylan Miyake is a founder and managing partner of Ascendant Strategy Management Group. Dylan has worked closely with Drs. Kaplan and Norton, developers of Balanced Scorecard management system, since 1997. At Ascendant, Dylan’s primary area of focus is helping social and public sector organizations develop the internal capabilities to manage strategy via implementing a repeatable and efficient meeting and governance process.

Prior to founding Ascendant, Dylan was a vice president and executive team member at Balanced Scorecard Collaborative (BSCol). At BSCol, Dylan focused on helping international organizations execute strategy with the Balanced Scorecard. At Ascendant and BSCol, Dylan has worked in the education, social services, environmental, media, and technology sectors, helping organizations implement strategic management systems.

A frequent speaker and writer, Dylan has contributed articles to DM Review, Intelligent Enterprise, and Balanced Scorecard Report. He has spoken at leading industry forums, including the Balanced Scorecard Summits in Europe, North America, Europe, and Asia, Hyperion Global User Conference, and the SAS Global User Conference. Dylan earned his BA in government, magna cum laude, from Bowdoin College and his MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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