WADE Advisory Launches to Bring Operator Experience to CPG Brand Strategy

WADE Advisory, an operator-led consultancy serving consumer brands, founders and investors, has launched with Deanna Andersen and Wendy Salisko as co-founders.

The firm is built around a pointed premise: most strategic counsel in the consumer sector comes from advisors who have never owned a profit-and-loss statement or sat across the table from major retailers. Both co-founders bring two decades of operator experience to the practice, per the company. Salisko's background includes managing over $1 billion in revenue for global brands, with a specialty in digital commerce and Amazon acceleration, per the company. Andersen's career spans commercial strategy across Fortune 500 companies and Big 4 advisory firms, per the company, with a particular focus on capital allocation and helping founders translate complex narratives for investors.

WADE Advisory's service areas cover go-to-market strategy, retail strategy, operating readiness and capital decisions, with stated depth in CPG, beauty and wellness. The firm positions itself as an embedded partner rather than an arm's-length consultant, and describes sequencing, determining which moves happen in which order, as a core differentiator from traditional advisory practices that deliver recommendations and leave execution to the client team.

Why it matters

The launch reflects a growing demand among emerging consumer brands for advisors who carry verifiable operating credentials rather than framework-heavy consulting backgrounds. As capital has tightened across CPG and brands face increasingly demanding conversations with retailers and investors, founders have become more selective about who sits across the table. A practice built explicitly around P&L ownership and retail negotiation experience addresses a gap the category has long recognised but rarely filled at the advisory level. The dual focus on brand-side and investor-side engagements also positions WADE to benefit from continued deal activity in the sector, where capital allocation decisions increasingly hinge on commercial credibility as much as financial modeling.

What to watch

The open question is whether WADE Advisory develops a scalable model around the investor side of its offering. Andersen's background in working with capital on both sides of the table creates a natural entry point into fundraising advisory and diligence support, a higher-margin segment than operational consulting. How the firm structures fees, retained versus project-based, will also determine how deeply it can embed with early-stage brands that need the most guidance but carry the thinnest budgets.

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Sources

• ABOUT | Empower Strategic Decisions – Get Expert Guidance , WADE