Richard J Metzler
Jon Metzler
Richard J Metzler
EDUCATION
Mr. Metzler received his MBA from the University of Michigan in 1966 and a BA from Michigan State University in 1963. Both degrees were awarded with honors. In addition, he held the C. A. Rosenbrook Scholarship as an undergraduate.
CAREER
Mr. Metzler started with Ford Motor Company in 1963 in the area of purchasing and contracting as part of a graduate training program. He rotated through several divisions before accepting a permanent position in the Tractor Division.
In 1967, he relocated to Chicago where he joined J. W. Allen & Co., a regional manufacturer and distributor of ingredients and supplies to the wholesale bakery trade. As Assistant to the President, Mr. Metzler was an integral part of the management team of this small, family-owned company.
Consulting
In 1969, Mr. Metzler began a 29-year career in management consulting when he joined Cresap McCormick & Paget (since absorbed into Towers Perrin). The firm’s work was largely strategic and across many industries. Mr. Metzler spent several years working in the airlines industry, both before and after the Airline Deregulation Act of 1974. This exposure to deregulation proved to be extraordinarily valuable later in his career as a consultant to the utilities industry.
In 1976, Mr. Metzler joined Theodore Barry & Associates, which specialized in the utilities industry. He opened the Chicago office and built the practice in the Midwest over the next eight years.
Then, in 1984, Mr. Metzler opened Metzler & Associates, which provided specialized management consulting services to the utilities industry. Over the next 14 years the firm grew steadily in terms of staffing and revenues, reaching a total of 50 consultants by 1995.
In 1996, in part to transition control and management to the next generation and in part to monetize the value of the firm, ownership was distributed from Mr. Metzler to a group of partners, and the firm was taken public. The new management team began a rollup of smaller firms in the industry over the next several years, with revenues growing very rapidly. The firm is now known as Navigant Consultants.
Following the 1996 IPO, Mr. Metzler stepped down from the board and from all executive responsibilities. Between then and early 1998, when he left the firm, he helped build the sales backlog and assisted with the transition of client relationships to new managers.
Jon Metzler
Jon Metzler is founder and President of Blue Field Strategies, a consulting firm specializing in wireless communications, regulatory and public safety issues. Previously he was Business Development and Government Affairs Director at Rosum Corporation, a pioneering location technology company based in Silicon Valley. There Jon secured government-funded development contracts and brought the company to trial in the telecommunications industry.
Prior to joining Rosum, Jon was Vice President at Performance Analysis, Inc. (PAI), a consulting firm specializing in business development in Japan for American technology companies. Prior to joining PAI, Jon helped launch the Tokyo office of Prophet, an international brand strategy firm, and the Japanese version of shockwave.com.
Jon is fluent in Japanese and is a published author in Japan. While living in Japan, Jon worked for leading media firms such as Asahi Shimbun Publications, Tokyo Broadcasting System, and CBS News.
Jon is a graduate of the MBA/MA-Asian Studies program at the University of California, Berkeley. While at Berkeley, he co-founded the Berkeley Asia Business Conference. He also authored a thesis comparing technology entrepreneurship models in Silicon Valley and Japan. Jon also has a B.A. from the University of Michigan.
Jon lives with his wife, son and daughter.