ABOUT US
WHAT WE DO
Since our founding at the request of Ernst & Young more than 35 years ago, US Consults has been making the impossible possible for its clients.
Most companies and government entities don't spend much time or energy on the impossible. As such, we have yet to serve a client who was fully aware of all possibilities, including strategic options. For example, a multi-national private sector client originally engaged us to identify and negotiate economic incentives for a planned $20 million investment in Pennsylvania. Once engaged, we identified investment options for them providing an ROI they had only seen with investments made in Europe and Asia. As a result, their planned $20 million investment morphed into their first significant investment in the United States in over a decade - a $1 billion investment elsewhere for which we negotiated an equal amount in "no harm, no foul" (no clawback) cash benefits. The agreement provided our client a period of 40 years within which to make the total investment, with benefits delivered to them over a 30 year period. In total, the historic agreement spanned 70 years.
It is important to note that our client wasn't the only "winner" in these negotiations. Government also "won", as did the communities - the people. The outcome was a "win-win" - perceived at the time the agreement was signed and since (years later).
How is this possible?
Another example: a government client approached us to help them diversify their economy - attract new businesses and jobs - and eliminate the generational poverty plaguing its community. As the client was two hours away from the nearest commercial airport (with limited service), much less a bowling alley or movie theater, the community was not exactly a convenient option for a company seeking expansion or relocation. Even the geography and climate were acquired tastes. In short, the client needed economic development funds (which it did not have) in order to compete effectively with other communities for new businesses. Yet, it had no source of revenue it could dedicate for that purpose, and building the funds out of tax revenues from the citizenry was an idea that would only be embraced by someone intent on political suicide. In response, we identified several options that would enable them to generate a new source of revenues that didn't tax their citizens, paving a path for new economic development monies and righting a 100-year-long wrong along the way. Local businesses in the community also shared in the benefits as no new taxes were assessed. Another win for both parties.
How is that possible?
In essence, we resolve challenges by finding solutions that benefit all parties involved. Rather than antagonists, government (e.g. the community) and the company are collaborators and mutual beneficiaries. This dynamic is why we often struggle to easily answer the question: "What do you do?" Do we negotiate discretionary cash grants? Yes. Do we negotiate discretionary tax exemptions? Yes. Do we negotiate discretionary special utility contracts (outside the normal tariff)? Yes. Do we negotiate discretionary tariff mitigation? Yes. Do we negotiate discretionary wage subsidies? Yes. Do we negotiate mitigation of a client's investment costs? Yes. Do we negotiate mitigation of a client's operating costs? Yes. Do we find new sources of revenue for government without adding to the voters' or businesses' tax burdens? Yes.
Although each of these is something we do, each of these activities fails to capture the essence of what we do. Perhaps the essence of what we do is create a transactional benefits möebius - where financial benefit is realized by the private sector concurrently with financial, economic, social and political benefits realized by the public sector.
How do we do that? By carefully and accurately constructing, through extensive research and analysis, the raisons d'état and d'être necessary to achieve unparalleled results we make the impossible possible.
WHO WE ARE
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Paul Khanton
Founding Partner
Paul L. Khanton founded US Consults, LLC, in 1984 and remains active as the Founding Partner today. He has vast, successful experience negotiating significant financial benefits for both private and public sector clients. His skills and knowledge were forged throughout his adult life. Mr. Khanton began his career as a manufacturing executive with Fortune 500 companies, rising to full general management P&L responsibility for a $ billion unit of a Fortune 100 company before he was 40 years old. During the course of his career, he has functioned as both internal and external consultant to icons of international business, and has negotiated and delivered significant discretionary financial benefits to Honeywell, Frito-Lay, Sun-Chemical, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Wang, SmithKline Beecham, American Hospital Supply, the Dial Corporation, Nestle, Nabisco, Hunt-Wesson (ConAgra), Del Monte and others. Additionally, he has served as an ad hoc advisor to various state and local governments, helping them secure unconventional funding as well as retain major employers. He has always embraced a simple principle: terms of a negotiation must be fair for all parties. As a result, non-adversarial negotiations steeped in research, raison d'état and raison d’être characterize US Consults and have resulted in record benefits being secured by the company for its clients – some of which have been clients for over 20 years. Mr. Khanton holds an MBA with Highest Distinction (summa cum laude) from Pepperdine University and a BA from Northwestern University. A native of Chicago, he currently resides on a ranch outside Dallas and is a member of the Petroleum Club of Midland (Texas) and MENSA. His donations are the principal funding source for several charities.
Phillip Rogers
Managing Partner
Phillip Rogers is the Managing Partner of US Consults, LLC. Rogers leads the company’s deal originations, monitors clients, oversees management and operations, and is a member of the principal large-client representation team – attending and participating in all critical meetings. Drawing on his former experience as an attorney with an international corporate law firm, Rogers also serves as in-house counsel for US Consults and is a member in good standing of the American Bar Association, State Bar of Texas, and Dallas Bar Association. Leveraging over two decades of state and local tax experience, Rogers has designed and delivered revenue enhancement and state and local tax cost reduction strategies to clients in both the private and public sectors. These services have included, without limitation, the recovery of taxes paid erroneously, whether by exemption or non-taxability, the abatement or exemption of taxes otherwise due prospectively, and the identification and recovery of monies related to system issues, human error, and fraud. During his career, Rogers has been the lead partner in numerous initiatives for companies participating in a diverse array of industries from manufacturing (Honeywell) and professional sports (National Football League) to energy (Encana), banking (The World Bank), entertainment (Ascent Media) and retail (PetSmart). These initiatives have resulted in the recovery and savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for clients. Rogers’ extended background includes leading a profit discovery and business analytics firm’s business development and branding strategies, implementing profit recovery services, accelerating growth in critical business segments, and expanding service offerings through key strategic alliances. A native of Dallas, Rogers received his BBA in Finance from Baylor University and his Juris Doctorate from Baylor University School of Law. Rogers actively supports several charities, serves on the boards of a couple of non-profits, and is an active member and volunteer in his church. He enjoys the outdoors, whether biking, skiing or traveling, and is a fan of college and professional football. Rogers is married and has two daughters.
Ray Watson
Partner
Ray Watson is a Partner in US Consults who brings a wealth of inside knowledge and experience to the company, having previously led economic incentives for local governments in Texas and Louisiana. Watson’s extensive knowledge of incentives, together with his easy going personality, makes him a favorite among clients and governments alike. At US Consults, he leads a team of knowledgeable and experienced professionals known for negotiating record incentives packages and landmark economic development deals. Watson received his Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Development from Texas A&M University and his Master’s degree in Agricultural Education with an emphasis in Economics from Texas A&M University. He also received a degree from the Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute, and is recognized as a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD) by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Prior to joining US Consults, Watson served as the Executive Director of the Kerrville Economic Development Corporation where he executed a number of significant and creative incentive projects. His signature project while working for local government, however, was completed while Watson was the Executive Director of the Windcrest Economic Development Corporation where he directed all incentive activities going back to 2006. In this capacity, he was tasked with spearheading redevelopment efforts in the Walzem Road corridor (the business district of Windcrest). The results delivered by Watson are among the largest economic development incentive projects in Texas to date. He was the architect and leader of the collaborative project team that constructed a complex and innovative economic incentives package that facilitated fast-growing technology company Rackspace’s relocation of its headquarters (and 6,000 employees) to an abandoned shopping center along Walzem Road. For his accomplishments in this role, Watson was named one of San Antonio Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” winners in 2007. Before joining the City of Windcrest, Watson served as Executive Director of the Ruston and Ouachita, Louisiana Economic Development Corporations.
Jerry Patterson
Partner
Jerry Patterson is a Partner in US Consults, LLC, having joined the company following his retirement from public service in 2014. Mr. Patterson is a graduate of Texas A&M, and is a Marine Vietnam veteran, retiring as a LtCol from the Marine Corps Reserve in 1993. In the Marine Corps, he served as an infantry officer, an artillery officer, and as a Naval Flight Officer in Marine fighter squadrons. Mr. Patterson was elected in 1992 to the Texas Senate and served for 6 years representing Harris, Galveston, and Brazoria counties. He is the author of the Texas concealed handgun law, and other legislation reinforcing property rights and protecting the Texas coast. In 2002 Mr. Patterson was elected to the office of Texas Land Commissioner, and served in that office for 12 years. The Texas Land Commissioner is the Chief Executive Officer of the Texas General Land Office (GLO), the largest owner of land and mineral interests (oil and gas) in the state. The GLO does not operate wells, but is a prolific lessor of working interests – generating billions of dollars in revenue for the State of Texas. The funds generated not only provide the working capital for the GLO, but also fund the schools as none of that revenue is used by the State for any other purpose. In addition to being a Partner in US Consults, Mr. Patterson is involved in producing documentary movies about little known aspects of Texas history. He serves on several nonprofit boards, and is past president of the Texas Navy Association, a 501c3 dedicated to preserving the history of the 1835-1846 Texas Navy. Of additional note: in 2014 Mr. Patterson was awarded the “Buen Vecino Award” from the Binational Board of Directors of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (USMCOC). USMCOC issued the award to him because “… throughout your tenure as Texas Land Commissioner, you made important contributions to the U.S. and Mexico relationship, fostering mutual understanding and collaboration, and in particular, we would like to highlight the success of the Border Energy Forum, which celebrates this coming October 21 years of existence, and has become an essential forum for the public and private sectors of the energy industry in the border area”. Mr. Patterson’s family continues the tradition of public service: his daughter recently returned from Kosovo where she was an attorney monitoring the judicial system in various Balkan countries, and his son, Travis, is a Marine attack helicopter pilot who just completed his 5th overseas tour and has recently been assigned to HMX-1, the Marine helicopter squadron in Quantico, VA, that is responsible for flying the President of the United States. Travis is the 5th consecutive generation to have served overseas during wartime.
Matt McCann
Partner
Matt McCann is a Partner in US Consults who brings 24 years of adding value to projects and effectively serving clients. For the past 18 years, he has been focused on the oil and gas industry, having been directly involved in raising more than $2.5 billion in capital. Mr. McCann has evaluated, negotiated, and closed numerous acquisitions and multiple international joint ventures. Recently, he assisted a public E&P in a strategic process to sell the company, and served as Interim CEO at Magnum Hunter following the company’s emergence from bankruptcy. There he identified and progressed key corporate initiatives and coordinated on-boarding the new CEO. He is the Founder of Orfin Oil, and is the Chairman of the Board of Eon NRG LTD (Australia). Mr. McCann has served as a Director of Blue Ridge Mountain Resources, Inc., CEO as well as General Counsel of TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd., Senior Vice President and General Counsel of SandRidge Energy, in addition to serving in various capacities with the Riata Corporate Group including Longfellow Energy, L.P. Mr. McCann has his J.D. from the University of Oklahoma and a BS from the University of Vermont.
Harry Stahel
Partner
Harry Stahel is a Partner in US Consults. Mr. Stahel has executed more than $1.6 billion of transactions in the U.S. and the UK, primarily related to capital raising and M&A activities. He formerly held finance-related executive positions at GMX Resources (renamed Thunderbird Resources); Enogex (now a part of Enable Midstream); and Aquila Energy. Mr. Stahel is the Chief Financial Officer of Nemaha Environmental Services, Managing Director of HCS Energy Consulting, and a Collaborative Consultant in Reese Energy Consulting. He served as the Executive Vice President of Thunderbird Resources, Director of Finance & Business Development for Enable Midstream Partners, and CFO and Director of Treasury for Aquilla, Inc. Mr. Stahel graduated Cum Laude from Washington and Lee University with a BS in Commerce. Harry and his family make their home in Edmond, Oklahoma.
Sue Perrault
Partner
Sue Perrault is a Partner in US Consults who brings an abundance of knowledge and experience to the company in grant writing and negotiating discretionary government incentives for municipalities and companies. As a partner, Sue has assisted numerous companies in receiving millions of dollars in grants, relocation incentive packages and economic development funding. She has also been key in the management of the grants, concentrating on compliance and other issues for her clients. Prior to joining US Consults, Sue held the position of Marketing Director for the National Conference of State Legislatures. In that position, Sue was responsible for the management of events and conferences for over 6,000 State Representatives. She also oversaw the marketing and promotion of publications and other resources for the organization. After a decade at NCSL, Sue achieved the role of President of a public traded company that specialized in software development, and also wrote business plans that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars of start-up funding for entrepreneurial ventures.
Martin D. Topper
Ph.D.
Consultant
Dr. Martin D. Topper is a consultant at US Consults and the owner of Martin D. Topper, Ph.D. Consulting, LLC. in Daytona Beach, FL. Previously he spent twenty years at the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C. While at EPA he served in the Office of Criminal Enforcement and Training where he was the Quality Manager and conducted training and had responsibilities in the areas of media relations, Indian Affairs and firearms, ammunition and tactics. Prior positions at EPA included service as a Federal Agency Liaison and as the National Coordinator of the EPA American Indian Program. Prior to working at EPA he was the Assistant Director of Mental Health Services for the Navajo Area of the U.S. Indian Health Service and an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University. His awards include two EPA Silver Medals and five EPA Bronze Medals. He has co-edited two Special Issues of scientific Journals, approximately twenty scientific articles on American Indian Mental Health and on Media Relations and over three hundred articles on hunting and firearms related issues.
