Team
Senior leadership.
On every engagement.
Every CSBG project is led by the three of us. We set the strategy, guide the team doing the work, and stay with you from the first conversation to the final rollout.
The experience behind the work
Experience that shows up in every decision.
We’ve spent our careers where brand, business and M&A meet. That experience doesn’t sit in a pitch deck. It shapes every recommendation, every brief, and every review of the work before it reaches you.
19+
years building brands through M&A
150+
private equity funds we’ve partnered with
1,000+
brands built, repositioned, integrated, or diligenced
95%
of revenue from PE-sponsored engagements
Leadership team
Meet the people leading your work.
Brand strategy and deal advisory
Phillip McMillan
Founder and Managing Director
Phillip founded CSBG in 2007 and has spent 19 years building brands for private equity funds and their portfolio companies. Sponsors and CEOs bring him in to make the hard calls in buy-and-build: which brand leads, what gets retired, and how the story holds together for customers, employees and buyers. He leads strategy on every engagement from concept to completion.
What it means for you: the person shaping your brand understands your investment thesis.
Engagement leadership and delivery
Heidi Burgess
Director of Client Services
Heidi runs every engagement: scope, timelines, stakeholders and the team behind the work. She keeps leadership, sponsors and specialists aligned, and spots issues before they become delays.
What it means for you: no surprises, fewer status meetings, and deadlines that hold.
Messaging and narrative
Mike Anderson
Director of Content Strategy
Mike leads messaging strategy and narrative development, from the core story to the homepage, sales materials and employee communications. He directs the content work so every audience hears the same clear message.
What it means for you: a story your leadership team can repeat and your customers believe.
How we’re built
Senior leaders. A full team behind them.
The strategic depth of a consultancy. The execution of an agency. The three of us lead and direct a team of specialists across every discipline an M&A brand needs.
01
Research
Interviews, surveys and competitive analysis
02
Strategy
Positioning and brand architecture
03
Design
Naming, identity and visual systems
04
Content
Messaging, web copy and sales materials
05
Project management
Scope, timelines and stakeholder alignment
06
Digital
Websites, launch pages and day-one essentials
Every piece of work is briefed, guided and reviewed by senior leadership before it reaches you.
Why this model works.
Senior judgment on every decision
Brand decisions in a deal carry real value. Every recommendation comes from someone who has made that call before.
The right expertise, without the overhead
You get specialists where the work needs them, without paying for a large agency’s layers and account teams.
One accountable team
No vendor juggling. The leaders who start your project see it through, from diligence through integration.