OUR TEAM
Marc Dorfman MBA
Marc Dorfman is a persuasive business communications strategist, trainer, and performance coach. He helps business leaders, subject-matter experts, sales professionals, and organizations transform complex ideas into clear, compelling messages that inform, influence, and sell. His work encompasses strategic messaging, high-stakes pitches and presentations, sales communication, and communication performance.
Marc’s approach draws on behavioral psychology, business strategy, and decades of experience helping people communicate when the outcome matters. He focuses not only on how a message is delivered, but also on what an audience needs to understand, believe, remember, and do. Clients value his ability to identify what is getting in the way, simplify complexity, and provide direct, practical feedback that can be applied immediately.
Marc is equally comfortable working with an individual executive or entering a complex organizational environment. He listens closely, earns trust quickly, and identifies the communication issues standing between a client and its objective. His collaborative but direct approach allows him to challenge assumptions, clarify the path forward, and improve the work without creating unnecessary friction.
At Columbia Business School, Marc served as Faculty Performance Coach, helping adjunct and tenured faculty - including leading business executives and globally recognized thought leaders - strengthen the teaching and communication dimensions of their work. In a separate faculty role, he taught Persuasive Business Communications at Columbia and NYU Stern. At Georgia Tech, he taught graduate students to transform technical and data-intensive material into written and spoken communications that inform, influence, and sell.
Marc has worked with startups, professional firms, public institutions, business schools, and Fortune 500 organizations. His clients and engagements have included Microsoft, Coca-Cola, The Home Depot, AT&T, Cisco Systems, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and numerous other leading organizations.
American Express
American Management Association
Jack Welch Management Institute
Technology Association of Georgia
New York Bar Association
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Capital One
Center for Disease Control
Chelsea Piers Sports Complex
Chick-Fil-A
Federal Reserve Bank
Georgia Power
Gibson Overseas
Home Depot
Apple
AT&T
Blank Rome LLP
Kiewit Construction
Microsoft
ExxonMobil
Pfizer
Piedmont Hospital
Ryder Transportation
State of Israel
United Parcel Service
Univision
Cisco Systems
Citibank
Coca-Cola
Delta Airlines
Marc holds an MBA from Columbia University and a BA in Behavioral Psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. He was also admitted to Psi Chi, the international honor society for psychology.
Marc Firestone BA
Marc Firestone's passion for marketing began at Firestone Associates, the creative agency that launched The Pet Rock, which achieved great success in 1978. Since then, Marc has launched / licensed a succession of brand winners including The Far Side comic strip, Day Runner business planners, and a large portfolio of Walt Disney gift items.
In 1992, Marc started Firestone Consulting Group, a sales & marketing agency that services a variety of blue-chip companies including Infinity Broadcasting, Clear Channel Communications, Rolling Stone Magazine, Authentic Licensing, and Baby Genius. Marc holds a BA in Marketing from San Diego State University.
Patrick Waters JD
Patrick Waters is a Managing Director at Himmelsbach Holdings, a specialty polymer technology company focused on patented clean fuel solutions. Prior to that, he was Deputy General Counsel at Novatel Wireless, a Nasdaq listed wireless data modem provider. Mr. Waters was previously a Corporate Associate at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and at Riordan & McKinzie (now part of Morgan Lewis). Prior to that, he was a Case Manager at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.
Patrick holds a BA from Columbia University, an MAR from Yale University, and a JD from Northwestern University, where he was Research Assistant to Prof. David Ruder, a former Chairman of the SEC under President George H.W. Bush.
James Evangelista JD
James Evangelista has 20+ years of experience with cases involving complex financial fraud, commercial litigation, and class action litigation. He advises and represents both plaintiffs and defendants in federal, state, and international courts.
James is admitted to the United States Court of Appeals for the First, Second, Eighth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits; the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia, Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the District of New Jersey; and the State Bars of Georgia, New York, New Jersey, Colorado and the District of Columbia. James earned his BA and JD from Rutgers University in New Jersey.
