Business Strategy Experts
®
Company Leadership
Fort Strategic's strength is our team of professionals who are committed to partnering with entrepreneurs, businesses and organizations to help them reach the level of business success that their company was meant to achieve. Our leaders are experts in business strategy and management and they - along with our team of associates, analysts and administrative staff - are the reason why Fort Strategic is quickly becoming the business strategy firm that companies can count on to reduce business uncertainty and produce great results.
David Fort - Co-Founder,
Managing Director,
& Director of Healthcare Practice
Fort Strategic is led by David Fort. David has over 20 years of experience working for small, mid and large sized companies in various capacities ranging from analyst to CFO. Previously, David worked at a myriad of companies such as Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Massachusetts, OTSData, and Fresenius Medical Care North America, helping these companies strengthen and grow their businesses. David has also worked in the private equity industry conducting Mergers and Acquistions (M&A) deal sourcing and building relationships with investment banks, traditional banks, corporations seeking growth capital and other private equity firms for private equity firm Exaltare Capital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dianne E. Smith - Co-Founder
(1965 - 2014)
Before her passing, Dianne co-founded and served as both the Vice President of Operations and Director of Business Development and Marketing for Fort Strategic, LLC. She and David Fort co-founded Fort Strategic and she believed with all of her heart in the mission and the amazing possibilities of this firm. She worked countless late nights laying the foundation for this company and without her dedication, leadership and keen wit, Fort Strategic would not have the great present and the amazingly, bright future that it has. For all of this and more, all at the firm are eternally grateful to Dianne and until the end of time, she will never be forgotten.
If you were lucky enough to have met Dianne, you remembered her. Her big, blue eyes and impish grin brightened every room she entered. Her wit and infectious humor - and the passion she threw at living every day- made her impossible to forget.
Susan Knall
Chief Operations Officer (COO)
Susan serves as Fort Strategic's COO and is responsible for ensuring that all functional aspects of Fort Strategic, Fort Strategic Ventures and FSV’s incubated companies are being successfully adjudicated. Susan brings over 30 years of corporate leadership experience and she has a proven record of success in defining business strategies that translate into actionable initiatives, ultimately driving efficiencies and maximizing profitability.
Dr. Karen Morgan, Ph.D
Director -
Educational Improvement
Services
Dr. Morgan is a true professional and experienced educator. She currently serves in the capacity of Director of Educational Improvement Services for the firm. Dr. Morgan has over 25 years of educational experience. She served as a teacher, assistant principal and principal on both the middle and high school levels in the San Francisco, California public school system. Her expertise is in transforming entire schools and systems by improving student and teacher performance through innovative learning and teaching models.
Maura O'Keefe
Director -
Employee Engagement
Maura heads up all Human Resources activities for Fort Strategic. At Fort Strategic, our success is literally tied to the quality of people who we select to join our team and Maura literally drives our success as a firm. An experienced HR professional who has an amazing ability to find some of the most innovative and self-driven people who are able to collaborate seamlessly.