We are passionate about making a measurable impact in all we do and are committed to always doing the right thing by our clients, our people, and our communities, even when it isn’t easy.
Our team of advisors has extensive operational experience and is multi-talented and trained to meet the needs of your business. Each member brings unique perspective and practical experience to the table, ensuring you get qualified answers to your questions and effective solutions to your problems.
Steve is the Founder and President of Cosgrove Partners. For more than 35 years, Steve held senior executive positions, including President and CEO, for start-up and turnaround ventures. For the last 19 years, he has used the operating and consulting expertise gained in these ventures as a management advisor, helping over 100 companies grow in the areas of strategic planning, market planning, organizational effectiveness, channel strategy, exit planning, and leadership development.
Prior to founding Cosgrove Partners, Steve worked in both public and private companies, co-founding and operating supplyFORCE.com, a B2B e-commerce business, leading the turn-around and sale of $175M Thrall Distribution, overseeing customer development at W.W. Grainger, and developing and managing others. Steve serves the clients of Cosgrove Partners from a place of deep knowledge and respect for the unique challenges that they face.
Steve is a frequent speaker at industry events as well as company forums on topics including leadership, organizational effectiveness, management development, family business, and strategic planning. He is the author of more than a dozen articles on business topics and is a member of the Board of Directors for several private companies and non-profit organizations.
Steve and his wife, Cheryle, have been married for 35 years and have two adult children, Katie and Connor. He is very active in Christian humanitarian work in Indianapolis, Indiana; Tijuana, Mexico; and Johannesburg, South Africa. His work is focused on providing adequate low-cost housing and basic education for the hyper-poor.
As a creator who has scaled multiple businesses, from bootstrap to later stage funding, Phil’s entrepreneurialism continues with advisory work to founders, operators and institutional capital funds.
Phil’s brand strategy and consumer behavior expertise can be found in the published book, “Spiritugraphics, the Influence of Faith on Consumption and Why It Matters to Your Brand”.
He’s enjoyed recognition as a two-time Inc. 500|5000 CEO and multiple culture awards, including “Top Company Culture” by Entrepreneur Magazine and multiple “Best Places to Work” honors.
He’s a Wisconsin Badger and member of YPO (Young Presidents’ Organization). When Phil isn’t building, advising, or investing in businesses, he can be found tuning his sommelier craft.
Katie Cosgrove is a Partner at Cosgrove Partners. She is a multi-talented advisor who draws on her experience in people management and sales to drive employee engagement, culture, training & development, and sales & marketing strategies for CP clients.
Prior to joining Cosgrove Partners in 2017, Katie held sales and leadership positions at a rapidly growing healthcare technology firm, where she was responsible for scaling the account management team from 8 to 35 employees with 0% turnover, leading new product rollouts, and providing leadership in the merger and acquisition of a key competitor. While there, Katie managed over 30 sales and account managers accounting for over $90M in revenue during her time and implemented extended learning programs for team members to adjust to the ever-changing healthcare and technology markets. Previously, Katie had been the top producing salesperson in her district at Grainger, earing 153% YOY sales growth serving the hospitality, manufacturing, and healthcare industries.
Katie is a proud graduate of Indiana University and lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Marketing Sales Effectiveness Customer Retention Company Culture Training
Karly Trojan is a Digital Marketing Consultant with Cosgrove Partners, bringing over ten years of experience in digital and content marketing, community building, and account management. Karly is passionate about building strong, meaningful relationships, and delivering thoughtful, data-driven solutions to stakeholders. Having been involved in launching small businesses of her own, she is well versed in every stage of marketing, sales, and data optimization, and thrives in an entrepreneurial setting.
Prior to joining CP, Karly was a Marketing Manager at an EdTech startup for five years where she drove the growth of a 12 million user audience. During her time there she led the community marketing strategy, developed and executed the social media strategy, and launched an ambassador program. She has an A.B.J. degree in Advertising from The University of Georgia and started out as a Senior Account Executive with a digital marketing agency in Atlanta, GA, developing and executing the digital marketing strategy for Bayer CropScience among other clients such as Citi and Harley Davidson.
While raised in the South, Karly has loved starting her new life in Indiana where most of her extended family was born and still resides. In her spare time, she teaches private and group Pilates classes and loves helping others move in a functional, balanced body.
Digital Marketing Social Strategy Customer Acquisition Content Marketing
Connor Cosgrove is a Solutions Architect whose 8+ year career has been defined by leveraging technology and big data to develop fact-based insights and help his clients solve their most complex problems. Connor supports Cosgrove Partners clients by utilizing his advanced programming skills, data analytics, and financial acumen to help various stakeholders shape strategies which address their rapidly changing business environments.
Connor’s experience includes working in the B2C, B2B, and government sectors. Prior to joining Cosgrove Partners, Connor was a full-stack product engineer at Net Results. His efforts helped streamline government intake for social services during the height of COVID and social distancing. While there, he led the client success team responsible for driving client retention, satisfaction, and product expansion. Previously, Connor founded a Fintech startup that alleviated the hassle of managing coin change at the Point-of-Sale. Connor is passionate about small business and entrepreneurship.
Connor studied Informatics, Finance, and History at Indiana University. He’s always in for a round of golf and an avid fan of IU basketball, Colts, and Liverpool.
Data Analytics Finance Programming