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100 State Street, Suite 103 • Erie, PA • 16507 • 814-454-4000 • www.mcmanis-monsalve.com
 
 
 
 

In the millennial year 2000 in Washington, D.C., Marco Monsalve started a consulting firm that would help companies and organizations to analyze and manage their various areas of risk and perform better. In 2005, McManis & Monsalve Associates (MMA) practiced what it preached, conducted a thorough internal risk/market analysis and chose to defy risk by relocating its headquarters to Erie, Pa. CEO Marco A. Monsalve, a native Venezuelan and Viet Nam veteran, had compelling family ties to Erie and a long-standing relationship with the Mercyhurst University Intelligence Studies Program. He had enjoyed hunting, fishing and golfing in the area for over 35 years with his father-In law John Roeback and met a lot of Erie folks in the process. Monsalve's wife Betsy is an Erie native, a graduate of St Benedict's Academy and Villa Maria College, and serves as a company Director. Although in the business world this move to Erie was distinctly counter-cultural, Monsalve was convinced that “the business model had changed to one where you could run a company from anywhere, as long as you maintained key communication with your clients. For the first two years, I was doing a lot of back and forth to Washington. But I had a good and trusted team that allowed me to move the headquarters to Erie, while maintaining offices in Washington and Minneapolis.”

Marco and Betsy Monsalve both feel that Erie provides a fertile environment for the company's “DNA” - core values of honesty and Integrity; doing the right things for the right reasons; nurturing and promulgating a balanced & healthy lifestyle; encouraging individual ability and creativity; excellence in all aspects of the company; teamwork and collegiality; and value added services to our customers. Monsalve explains: “ As we hired Mercyhurst Intelligence Studies graduates, we developed a trademarked consulting approach known as Intelligence Led Management (ILM). We combined the intelligence analysis education and expertise that I and a number of our folks brought and merged it with our consultants' operational management and management consulting expertise.?We just finished a major project for the Department of Homeland Security looking at national information/cyber infrastructure. We also run several governmental intelligence centers.?For universities working with the National Institutes of Health and the Department Of Defense we conducted threat, risk and vulnerability assessments (TRVA) and developed protocols for certification as bioterrorism research centers. That same ILM/TRVA approach has been applied to the private sector to address issues a business might face from a security perspective as well as market intelligence, strategic planning and process reengineering. In the healthcare area one of our groups deals with Medicare and Medicaid fraud, medical coding and revenue recovery for the Indian Health Service and Native American Tribes.”

Monsalve founded McManis & Monsalve after his tenure as a Vice President for Washington-based McManis Associates, Inc., established in 1973. When McManis Associates merged with a succession of insurance companies and changed focus, Monsalve decided to buy out his consulting practice. In 2000, he hired five colleagues to try out his entrepreneurial vision and together they launched McManis & Monsalve Associates from his basement in northern Virginia. Monsalve recalls: “In the next two years, we more than doubled our business. We focused on Federal opportunities and were doing quite a bit of work in the general consulting arena but specializing in risk. Along with business experience, several of us had backgrounds in counterinsurgency, special operations, intelligence and antiterrorism along with professional certification in risk management. We weren't looking to do that sort of work, but our clients knew that we could and kept coming to us. When 9/11 came along, we were already involved in doing security plans for places like the Bethesda Naval Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Army Hospital and several private sector clients. We were right in the middle of all that before it got to be a real big deal.” By 2003, just three years after its inception, McManis & Monsalve had exceeded its growth targets, increasing its staff of full-time associates to 30 and surpassing its initial revenue targets. Today in 2013, there are 116 employees and revenue has reached 9 million.



By 2005 and the move to Erie, federal contracting opportunities for small-to-mid-sized firms were decreasing with changes in federal policy that favored much larger contractors. At the same time, Monsalve and his associates were increasingly involved and committed to growing the Erie civic and business landscape, as well as the firm. The current President Paul Kenny, a native Canadian also with Erie family ties, had joined the company as CFO. Kenny's background as a senior Executive with Coca-Cola and Seagram's brought solid private sector expertise. He also brought an athlete's “can do” ethic after his stint as a professional hockey goalie with the Erie Panthers and the LA Kings. Both Monsalve and Kenny were committed to the idea of developing an intelligence center of excellence in Erie and growing the firm by creating new jobs in Erie and stimulating the local economy. They needed a strategy to overcome the changes in Federal contracting and the resulting downturn in business.

Erie provided that strategy. Monsalve reminisces: “When we moved to Erie, we found that the company was smack-dab in the middle of the Erie HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone)—that is, an economically deprived area. To become a HUBZone Certified Enterprise and qualify for special contract consideration, it's required that 35% of your entire work force actually live in the zone like Betsy and I do in downtown Erie. At that point, we had about 70 employees and most had either masters degrees or Ph.Ds. After we hired them, even if they lived in the HUBZone, they moved out.?So working with Erie economic development and community organizations, we looked for a small company to acquire that would allow us to hire people who would stay in the HUBZone. We ended up buying Pro Floor Care (PFC), a local commercial cleaning services firm. We decided to approach PFC as a part of our risk business, rather than an after-thought, and frame its services as a way for businesses to mitigate their environmental risks. This part of MMA is, for all practical purposes, almost a nonprofit. We work very closely with the Multicultural Center and the St. Benedict's Education Center here. We've hired Bhutanese, Eastern Europeans and African refugees and provide them with training, a fully funded 401K, and a number of things to make it attractive. PFC has become part of our commitment to the community; it helps us get federal contracts and offers opportunities for folks who might have a hard time getting other jobs. Another example was the acquisition of Newline Creations, giving a boost to a small Erie-based start-up company specializing in web design and information technology solutions. Newline became a success and has since been acquired by another Erie firm.” MMA President Kenny sums up this strange marriage of Washington and Erie, management consulting and commercial cleaning services, old Erieites and newer ones: “It's a thoughtful approach to coming into this community and offering opportunities to grow — not only for ourselves, but for other businesses. McManis & Monsalve is not just a risk analysis consulting firm; it is really an incubator that brings new business lines and opportunities to the Erie area. “In the millennial year 2000 in Washington, D.C., Marco Monsalve started a consulting firm that would help companies and organizations to analyze and manage their various areas of risk and perform better. In 2005, McManis & Monsalve Associates (MMA) practiced what it preached, conducted a thorough internal risk/market analysis and chose to defy risk by relocating its headquarters to Erie, Pa. CEO Marco A. Monsalve, a native Venezuelan and Viet Nam veteran, had compelling family ties to Erie and a long-standing relationship with the Mercyhurst University Intelligence Studies Program. He had enjoyed hunting, fishing and golfing in the area for over 35 years with his father-In law John Roeback and met a lot of Erie folks in the process. Monsalve's wife Betsy is an Erie native, a graduate of St Benedict's Academy and Villa Maria College, and serves as a company Director. Although in the business world this move to Erie was distinctly counter-cultural, Monsalve was convinced that “the business model had changed to one where you could run a company from anywhere, as long as you maintained key communication with your clients. For the first two years, I was doing a lot of back and forth to Washington. But I had a good and trusted team that allowed me to move the headquarters to Erie, while maintaining offices in Washington and Minneapolis.”

Marco and Betsy Monsalve both feel that Erie provides a fertile environment for the company's “DNA” - core values of honesty and Integrity; doing the right things for the right reasons; nurturing and promulgating a balanced & healthy lifestyle; encouraging individual ability and creativity; excellence in all aspects of the company; teamwork and collegiality; and value added services to our customers. Monsalve explains: “ As we hired Mercyhurst Intelligence Studies graduates, we developed a trademarked consulting approach known as Intelligence Led Management (ILM). We combined the intelligence analysis education and expertise that I and a number of our folks brought and merged it with our consultants' operational management and management consulting expertise.?We just finished a major project for the Department of Homeland Security looking at national information/cyber infrastructure. We also run several governmental intelligence centers.?For universities working with the National Institutes of Health and the Department Of Defense we conducted threat, risk and vulnerability assessments (TRVA) and developed protocols for certification as bioterrorism research centers. That same ILM/TRVA approach has been applied to the private sector to address issues a business might face from a security perspective as well as market intelligence, strategic planning and process reengineering. In the healthcare area one of our groups deals with Medicare and Medicaid fraud, medical coding and revenue recovery for the Indian Health Service and Native American Tribes.”

Monsalve founded McManis & Monsalve after his tenure as a Vice President for Washington-based McManis Associates, Inc., established in 1973. When McManis Associates merged with a succession of insurance companies and changed focus, Monsalve decided to buy out his consulting practice. In 2000, he hired five colleagues to try out his entrepreneurial vision and together they launched McManis & Monsalve Associates from his basement in northern Virginia. Monsalve recalls: “In the next two years, we more than doubled our business. We focused on Federal opportunities and were doing quite a bit of work in the general consulting arena but specializing in risk. Along with business experience, several of us had backgrounds in counterinsurgency, special operations, intelligence and antiterrorism along with professional certification in risk management. We weren't looking to do that sort of work, but our clients knew that we could and kept coming to us. When 9/11 came along, we were already involved in doing security plans for places like the Bethesda Naval Hospital, the National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Army Hospital and several private sector clients. We were right in the middle of all that before it got to be a real big deal.” By 2003, just three years after its inception, McManis & Monsalve had exceeded its growth targets, increasing its staff of full-time associates to 30 and surpassing its initial revenue targets. Today in 2013, there are 116 employees and revenue has reached 9 million.



By 2005 and the move to Erie, federal contracting opportunities for small-to-mid-sized firms were decreasing with changes in federal policy that favored much larger contractors. At the same time, Monsalve and his associates were increasingly involved and committed to growing the Erie civic and business landscape, as well as the firm. The current President Paul Kenny, a native Canadian also with Erie family ties, had joined the company as CFO. Kenny's background as a senior Executive with Coca-Cola and Seagram's brought solid private sector expertise. He also brought an athlete's “can do” ethic after his stint as a professional hockey goalie with the Erie Panthers and the LA Kings. Both Monsalve and Kenny were committed to the idea of developing an intelligence center of excellence in Erie and growing the firm by creating new jobs in Erie and stimulating the local economy. They needed a strategy to overcome the changes in Federal contracting and the resulting downturn in business.

Erie provided that strategy. Monsalve reminisces: “When we moved to Erie, we found that the company was smack-dab in the middle of the Erie HUBZone (Historically Underutilized Business Zone)—that is, an economically deprived area. To become a HUBZone Certified Enterprise and qualify for special contract consideration, it's required that 35% of your entire work force actually live in the zone like Betsy and I do in downtown Erie. At that point, we had about 70 employees and most had either masters degrees or Ph.Ds. After we hired them, even if they lived in the HUBZone, they moved out.?So working with Erie economic development and community organizations, we looked for a small company to acquire that would allow us to hire people who would stay in the HUBZone. We ended up buying Pro Floor Care (PFC), a local commercial cleaning services firm. We decided to approach PFC as a part of our risk business, rather than an after-thought, and frame its services as a way for businesses to mitigate their environmental risks. This part of MMA is, for all practical purposes, almost a nonprofit. We work very closely with the Multicultural Center and the St. Benedict's Education Center here. We've hired Bhutanese, Eastern Europeans and African refugees and provide them with training, a fully funded 401K, and a number of things to make it attractive. PFC has become part of our commitment to the community; it helps us get federal contracts and offers opportunities for folks who might have a hard time getting other jobs. Another example was the acquisition of Newline Creations, giving a boost to a small Erie-based start-up company specializing in web design and information technology solutions. Newline became a success and has since been acquired by another Erie firm.” MMA President Kenny sums up this strange marriage of Washington and Erie, management consulting and commercial cleaning services, old Erieites and newer ones: “It's a thoughtful approach to coming into this community and offering opportunities to grow — not only for ourselves, but for other businesses. McManis & Monsalve is not just a risk analysis consulting firm; it is really an incubator that brings new business lines and opportunities to the Erie area. “

 
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