DAK Advisory Inc

Christian Maas, Principal · Operating executive & consultant · Food & beverage manufacturing

DAK Advisory brings a systematic approach to your highest-value business activities.

Combining over 25 years of direct experience with proprietary systems and methodologies, we break your biggest challenges down into manageable tasks. It is what we have done for decades, and something we can do for you.

Our approach is systematic but tailored to your specific needs: a collaborative partner for your highest-risk, highest-value endeavors, built to create measurable outcomes rather than generic recommendations.

5+
Company turnarounds as President/CEO
25+
Enterprise system implementations (ERP)
12+
Acquisition and plant integrations
$160M
Largest P&L managed directly

01 About

Two decades running the business, not advising from the sidelines.

DAK Advisory is led by Christian Maas, who spent over two decades as an operating executive running food, industrial, and technology manufacturers before founding the firm. He has held full P&L accountability for businesses from $25M to $160M+, led more than a dozen acquisition and plant integrations, and completed over 25 enterprise system implementations, serving as President and CEO, General Manager, and VP of Acquisition and Integration across companies in the US, Canada, and Europe.

That experience is distilled into a single method. DAK Advisory sits on a foundation of 25 years of direct experience and proprietary systems and methodologies, applied across four practice areas.

Acquisitions & integrations

Diligence & post-close

System implementations

ERP, BI & AI

Company turnarounds

Interim leadership

Negotiations

Workshops & support

DAK Advisory: combining 25 years of experience with proprietary systems and methodologies.

02 Services

Services and specialties

Four practice areas, one systematic method. Each engagement is tailored to your situation and built around measurable outcomes.

01

Acquisitions and integrations

Looking for an in-depth assessment of leadership, business operations, food safety, or IT infrastructure? DAK Advisory provides the insights and recommendations needed to reduce risk and extract maximum value, whether during diligence or post-acquisition. Our systematic, collaborative approach gives you a roadmap through a period that is typically chaotic and turbulent. By working through the biggest challenges quickly, we generate positive momentum and teamwork that supports a successful transition. To maximize synergies and value creation, pair this with our negotiation workshop.

Pair with the negotiation workshop

02

Negotiations

Book our 3-hour negotiation workshop. Everyone claims to be a good negotiator, but the reality is that few have enough insight into the other party to know whether an outcome is truly optimal, so value is often left on the table. Our interactive workshop includes real practice and a simple, practical system that improves negotiation outcomes starting on day one. We also offer post-workshop negotiation support and can be directly involved in your negotiations.

Book a workshop

03

System implementations

Having completed more than 25 ERP system implementations, including direct experience working for software vendors, DAK Advisory brings unique expertise to ensure project success. This experience applies to any enterprise-class system implementation and extends to business intelligence, reporting, and AI, capabilities that go hand-in-hand with any ERP implementation. Our methodology, business expertise, and direct project leadership help you complete projects on time and within budget, an outcome that remains rare in the industry. If you are at a standstill or need guidance to kick-start a system implementation, we have the tools to get it done on time, within budget, and deliver the ROI that too often stays elusive.

04

Company turnarounds

If your business is underperforming and needs interim leadership or an intervention to improve profitability, we have the direct experience and methods to ensure quick success. Our strategic assessment, one-page priorities, and execution of 90-day improvement plans deliver results quickly, every time. If your business is declining, time is of the essence. We help turn it around by engaging your teams, building key metrics, and prioritizing what matters most. Together, we deliver wins that strengthen leadership, improve engagement, and rebuild a positive culture.

03 Experience

Operating track record

Full P&L leadership across food, industrial, and technology manufacturers in the US, Canada, and Europe.

Aug 2015 – Present

Vancouver, BC

Managing DirectorFounders Group of Food Companies

Ongoing portfolio strategy and operations across Founders' operating companies, run concurrently with the interim CEO and executive roles listed below. Specializing in business process transformation, acquisition diligence & integration, and ERP/BI/AI upgrades.

Mar 2024 – Dec 2025

Denver, CO

President & CEOSeattle Fish & Lombardi Brothers Meat

Restored profitability and built a high-performing culture: consolidated Lombardi and Seattle Fish operations into one facility; implemented Aspen ERP with real-time inventory, costing, and BI/AI reporting; and won $20M in new retail business.

Jun 2023 – Mar 2024

Reno, NV

President & CEOSierra Meat & Seafood

Restored profitability and working capital performance through disciplined cost control, precise margin management, and BI-driven decision-making, and rebuilt a high-performing culture through clear SMART objectives and coaching.

May 2019 – Jun 2023

Blaine, WA

President & CEOGanache Brands & Totally Chocolate

Led vision, strategy, and commercial growth for Ganache Brands: divested the Ganache Brands Canada business unit to sharpen focus on Totally Chocolate, rebuilt the business, and restored profitability to 4x EBITDA versus year one, through expanded production capabilities, new custom product introductions, enhanced digital marketing and eCommerce capabilities, and improved customer retention.

Sep 2018 – Apr 2019

Seattle, WA

Executive VPMacDonald Meat Company

Led diligence and post-acquisition integration, doubling EBITDA and realizing $825K in group synergies while developing the local management team to sustain the gains.

Apr 2014 – Jul 2015

Burnaby, BC

VP Acquisition & IntegrationGolden Boy Foods / Post Holdings

Led diligence and 100-day integration for the $128M American Blanching acquisition and the $26M Sunland asset acquisition.

May 2008 – Apr 2014

Burnaby, BC

General Manager, Fruit & Nut BUGolden Boy Foods

Grew a $150M business unit's revenue 50% and profit 155%; doubled inventory turns and integrated the Nutco acquisition in 100 days; supported the successful divestiture of the entire business to Post Holdings for $320M.

1996 – 2008

Netherlands · Vancouver, BC · Richmond, BC

Earlier careerQAD, Access Commerce France & Seanix Technology

ERP implementation and product management experience across European and North American manufacturers, including tier-one accounts such as Schlumberger, Schneider Electric, Eaton, Cookson Electronics, Garland-Enodis, and Saint Gobain. Led the Seanix / A&B Sound merger from an operational perspective, consolidating both companies into a new facility while maintaining daily production of 250–450 PCs using a newly implemented Kanban system and optimized factory layout.

04 Credentials

Education and certifications

Business engineering and economics foundations, executive education, and hands-on food safety and operations certifications.

Education

  • M.Sc. Business Engineering · Eindhoven University of Technology

  • M.A. Economics · Tilburg University

  • Strategy & Innovation Executive Program · Sauder School of Business

  • Becoming a Leader of Leaders: Pathways to Success · Wharton Executive Education

Certifications

  • GFSI Certified · BRC Third-Party Auditor

  • GFSI Certified · SQF Lead Auditor

  • PCQI Certified · Preventive Controls Qualified Individual

  • HACCP Gold Seal Certified

  • Lean Black Belt Certified

  • APICS Certified in Production & Inventory Management · CPIM

05 Contact

Available for acquisitions and integrations, system implementations, company turnarounds, and negotiation engagements.

Based in Vancouver, BC. Working across the US and Canada.