Our Origin & Mission

Built Inside Operating Companies. Refined at the Board Table.

GrowthSpaces® was created to bring operator-first strategic thinking to boards, PE sponsors, founders, and executive teams who need strategy that can actually be executed — not just presented.

The Origin of GrowthSpaces®

From a Working System to a Consulting Practice

The GrowthSpaces® Strategy Development System did not start as a consulting product. It started as a working framework — used by Terry H. O'Neal across five CEO and President tenures at global technology and energy companies, and refined at the board level over more than two decades.

In every one of those operating roles, the same questions came up: Where do we actually stand today? What are the real growth opportunities — not the wishful ones? How do we sequence them? And how do we make sure the plan survives contact with reality? The GrowthSpaces system became the answer, refined through hundreds of strategic decisions made under real operating pressure.

GrowthSpaces® Consulting was formalized to bring that methodology to a broader set of clients — companies at inflection points, boards seeking operating credibility alongside governance, and PE sponsors who need an operator in the room, not just a slide deck. The same system. Applied externally.

Terry H. O'Neal, Founder & Managing Partner
Terry H. O'Neal
Founder & Managing Partner
30+
Years executive leadership
5
CEO / President tenures at global companies
6
Continents — global project footprint
19
Years at Schneider Electric
Founder of GrowthSpaces®

Terry H. O'Neal

A practitioner of strategy, not just a teacher of it.

Terry H. O'Neal is the Founder & Managing Partner of GrowthSpaces® Consulting and the architect of the GrowthSpaces® Strategy Development System. He brings to client engagements three decades of executive leadership across global technology and energy companies — including five CEO and President tenures, 19 years at Schneider Electric, and landmark project leadership across five continents.

Terry's most defining recent project was his tenure as President & COO of SACO Technologies, where he led the company through the design and manufacturing of the LED technology platform behind The Sphere in Las Vegas — the world's largest LED installation. The Sphere redefined the entertainment industry with large-format media architecture and set a global benchmark that continues to drive demand for immersive LED structures worldwide.

Prior to SACO, Terry held executive leadership roles at Traxon Technologies | OSRAM Solutions Business Unit, where he oversaw landmark architectural LED installations across Asia, the Middle East, and Europe — including the Shanghai Tower, Ping An Finance Centre in Shenzhen, the Pearl Tower and MahaNakhon building in Bangkok, and the Punggol development in Singapore.

His career foundation was built at Schneider Electric, where he spent 19 years in roles of progressive responsibility across sales, operations, and general management — culminating as President & COO of two companies Schneider had acquired, EFI Electronics and Kavlico Corporation. Integrating those acquisitions while maintaining commercial momentum is what convinced Terry that strategy succeeds or fails in execution — a conviction that sits at the center of the GrowthSpaces methodology.

Today, Terry also serves as President & Chief Operating Officer of Good Earth Minerals, LLC ("GEM"), headquartered in Denver, Colorado — applying the same operator-led playbook in the essential minerals sector.

Connect With Terry See the Methodology
How We Work

The GrowthSpaces® Engagement Model

We are not a traditional strategy consultancy. We work in small, senior-led engagement teams — focused on the questions where operating judgment matters most.

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1. Define the Question

Every engagement begins with a no-obligation conversation to scope the real strategic question — not the surface symptom. We tell clients honestly whether we are the right fit before any work begins.

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2. Apply the System

We deploy the GrowthSpaces® five-phase framework against the question, with engagement scope and depth tailored to client need — from a focused 6-week sprint to a multi-quarter transformation.

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3. Stay Through Execution

We do not hand over a slide deck and walk away. Engagements typically include execution support, milestone review, and the option to convert into ongoing board or interim executive roles.

The Team

A Network of Operators

GrowthSpaces® engagements draw on a curated network of former CEOs, presidents, board directors, and functional leaders with deep expertise in our target sectors — people who have worked inside PE-backed environments and understand the difference between strategic advice and operating reality.

This is not a roster of consultants. It is a bench of operators — people who have lived through the strategic choices we are advising on, and who can step into board, advisory, or interim executive roles when the engagement calls for it.

Discuss an Engagement
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Former CEOs & Presidents

Executives who have led companies through strategic transformation, acquisition, integration, and growth — in our exact target sectors.

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Board Directors

Experienced board members who provide governance, strategic oversight, and capital markets perspective.

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Functional Experts

Senior leaders in finance, operations, technology, and commercial functions — available for interim, advisory, and project roles.

Strategic Partnership — Saenger Associates: GrowthSpaces® and Saenger Associates, a Los Angeles–based retained executive search firm, operate as integrated partners. Strategy engagements that surface a senior leadership need can flow seamlessly into a retained search or interim placement — addressing the full talent and leadership continuum of a successful transition.

Let's Build Something Together

Whether you are planning your next phase of growth, navigating a strategic transition, or building a board for a portfolio company — we want to hear from you.

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