The WATB Group of Advisors & Consultants
Lawrence Hirson - Sr. Advisor & CEO of WATB Group
Since 2010, Lawrence has served as CEO of The WATB Group, which offers consultative management, sales and marketing expertise to businesses looking to achieve accelerated growth. He is also manager of WATB ISA, which makes select investments in public and private companies.
A seasoned entrepreneur, Lawrence brings to WATB clients nearly five decade of experience in finance, capital formation, startups, senior management, and shareholder value creation. Lawrence is known for his tremendous energy, enthusiasm and creative vision, along with a seasoned understanding of global markets and an extensive array of influential contacts from around the world.
Earlier in his career, he was co-founder and president of Protect-A-Bed, recognized as a worldwide leader in mattress protection innovation that he grew to $60 million in annual revenues in eight years. The company remains an industry leader to this day, with more than $100 million in annual revenues.
Alex Gerstenzang - Advisor, Retail Specialist
Alex is proven senior executive and company director, with more than 40 years of experience in corporate management, business development, branding, marketing, and retail merchandising. He is also president of DiMiSi, a consulting team devoted to retail and manufacturing launches, branding, communication and execution, and driving cutting-edge marketing excellence.
Prior to founding DiMiSi in 2009, he served as a senior executive at Target for 32 years, where we was responsible for the opening the the company's West Coast operations (California, Oregon, Arizona and Nevada). His responsibilities also included overseeing $11 billion in seasonal freight flow and the $4 billion divisions of Back to School, Halloween, Trim-a-Tree, Garden Place, Greeting Cards and others. He also covered numerous launches and merchandising categories for Target.
Earlier in his career, he was founder and president of Gerstenzang & Associate, based in Portland, Oregon, which consulted for Georgia Pacific, City of Portland, regional shopping centers and many retailers — servicing more than 80 accounts involving all phases of retailing. He also managed the east coast region for Paris Boutique Corporation.
Chris Najbicz - Advisor, Hospitality and Tourism
Chris Najbicz has more than 20 years in senior and executive level-positions for international enterprises. As an leading international hotelier, he possesses broad-based experience managing single and multi-site properties withassets exceeding US$2.5 billion.
Chris possesses a detailed and uncompromising approach to quality and standards. He has successfully opened and operated several integrated hotel and resort developments around the world, from South Africa and the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius to North America and the Hawaiian Islands.
Given hisunderstanding of leading luxury and aspirational brands, trend setting design and creative concepts, in 2012 Chris was appointedexecutive VP of Warner Hospitality, a subsidiary of Warner Gaming, to lead the development and management of the modern lifestyle hotel group that caters to the discerning international traveler with a preference for ultra urban social environments.
Prior to joining Warner, Chris served as Chief Development Officer for WATB Group, and continues to offer his advise and guidance relatedto areas of expertise that includes business development, tourism, hospitality, marine, aviation, automotive, retail and technology.
Christina Shea - Advisor, Government Relations & Real Estate
Christina provides government relations for Kia Motors America, Hyundai Corporation, Phoenix Industries, Century 21 Professionals, and other business interests.
She began her business career as the VP of business development for the family-owned business, Shea Auto Wash Consulting, in 1990. She transitioned to politics and served on the Irvine City Council from 1992 to 2010, and then as Mayor of Irvine from 1996 to 2000.
She was named one of Orange County’s ’Leaders of the Year’ by the California Women’s Leadership Association and featured as one of the ’Most Influential Women in Orange County’ by Orange County Metro Magazine. Christina Shea was recognized by our local assemblyman, Chuck DeVore, to be the 2008 Woman of the Year, for the Seventieth Assembly District.
Dedicated to sound fiscal responsibility for both the present and the future, Christina supports privatization and during her years as Mayor helped streamline Irvine’s municipal services and staff while maintaining high service levels. She has served on the El Toro Reuse Planning Authority, on the Board of Directors for the Transportation Corridor Agencies, on the board of directors for the Orange County Sanitation District, and as a member of the Orange County Great Park Board of Directors, a billion dollar corporate project.
Christina Shea served and serves in numerous volunteer organizations, including the Board of Directors of the American Cancer Society, the Board of Directors for the Irvine Child Care Project and on the Advisory Board as past Capital Campaign Director for Human Option, as well as as an appointed representative to the OC Central Committee.
Deborah Grayson Riegel, MSW, PCC - Advisor, Communications
Deborah is an internationally recognized expert in presentation, management and interpersonal communication skills. Her training, coaching, speaking and consulting consistently results in improved productivity, professionalism and morale.
Currently Management Communication Lecturer at The Wharton School, Deborah’s clients range from Fortune 100 companies to entrepreneurial start-ups, and span the industries from financial services, internet and advertising to academia, law and government in North and South America, Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe.
Her clients include American Express, Dell, IBM, Monster Worldwide, Nokia, Novartis, NASDAQ, Pfizer, Toyota and the United States Army. Deborah has been a visiting Professor of Executive Communications at the Beijing International MBA (BiMBA) Program of Peking University, China, where she trained and coached international business leaders from multinational corporations in the art and science of presentation skills, business writing, and executive presence for an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
Deborah is a popular conference speaker for the American Society of Training and Development and Training Magazine. She was awarded membership into the exclusive National Speakers Association, and is a credentialed, certified member of the International Coach Federation. She is a graduate of Coach U. and the Coaches Training Institute and is a certified DiSC® Behavioral Inventory trainer and coach.
Deborah’s unique, energetic and results-driven style combines her background and experience in behavioral and cognitive psychology, adult learning, presentation skills, group facilitation and improvisational comedy. As the High School National Champion in Public Speaking, Deborah became the youngest-ever visiting instructor of public speaking instructor at several academic institutions while attending college at the University of Michigan and earning her Master’s Degree from Columbia University.
Peter Benton - Advisor, International Finance
Peter has more than 25 years experience in Finance & Administration across diverse industries, from Financial Services and PayTV, to Tourism, Hospitality, and Gaming. He began his career in the fledgling PayTV industry in South Africa in 1980s, and was part of the finance team that supported the growth of a PayTV provider from 50,000 to more than 750 000 subscribers. He played an active role on the listing committee when the company became publicly traded.
He previously served for seven years as Financial Director for World Leisure Holidays, the wholesale tour operation arm of Sun Resorts Limited (Mauritius). He was part of the team that helped grow this company over 700% to become the leading wholesale tour operator in Africa during his time with them.
Peter continued his finance career in the IT industry, focused on e-commerce and distribution. He joined the international division of Phumelela Gaming and Leisure in December 2006, and was an active member of the team evaluating various investment opportunities and potential acquisitions. He was responsible for extending South African Horse Racing into Macau, Russia, Vietnam, Turkey, Hong Kong, Mauritius and Malaysia.
Peter has spent his time since then in consulting to organizations in various industries. Major achievements have been accomplished in assisting his clients in streamlining their operations without compromising efficiency and service. Peter holds an MBA in Corporate Finance from the Business School of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. His dissertation focused on Managing the Implementation of Benchmarking.