Stratega specializes in the management of Special Situations in companies and organizations.   The methodology and the concept were aquired by Oded Blumberg throughout years of experience  of managing a wide range of challenges and opportunities,    and is focussed on three  main  subjects

Entrepreneurship & Investments – from solid industries through IT and Life Sciences, while  the guiding stars are people and vision

Transition phases & M&A  – restructuring, turnarounds, upgrade, ownership agreements, family businesses, merges & acquisitions

Business development –     with    emphasis    on    establishing    cooperations   in a challenging environment, such as gaps in size, culture or geography

What does a 150 year old Japanese concern, a Bulgarian software house owned by a French company and a family owned Israeli industrial group have in common?

The obvious answer is "nothing". Indeed oceans, cultures and symbols, separate between the three. However, when the three entities face a Special Situation there is suddenly a stunning resemblance. 

Each one of these entities has its own unique story:

  • The Japanese concern that manages billions of $ faced a drastic crisis in the Asian economy and had to implement a dramatic restructuring plan to re-invent itself.
  • The Bulgarian/French software house did not yet face a significant challenge, when it has already "encounter" a growth opportunity which began with a joint venture, continued with the entrance of a financial investor and ended in a full merge with a publicly traded hi-tech company.
  • The family that owned the industrial company has been forced, after 50 years of pleasant routine, to re-define the ownership structure of the family holdings in the company. Moreover, it has been required to do so under an extremely tight schedule and under financial pressure.

The leap from a routine situation into a special situation forced each one of the companies to undergo a metamorphosis. The metamorphosis is the common denominator that connects the three companies.
The metamorphosis begins by understanding the need and/or the opportunity to make a dramatic change (even if sometimes the change is temporary), it continues with the courage to act against the natural instinct and it reaches its peak with the willingness to part from regular patterns (modus operandi) and adjust to new and vital patterns that are required by the new challenges.

As reflected by the three stories, a special situation occurs also in front of a challenge (another word for crisis) and also in front of an opportunity. Often, the successful  management of a challenging situation evolves into an opportunity.

Special situations can develop in almost every aspect, personal, companies and organization and of course countries. Actually in countries you can find the most extreme and known form of a special situation – WAR. By the way, usually after wars there are peace agreements that lead to prosperous times, similarly in business new opportunities arise.

The basic methodology for war management – which is similar to  all special situations –  has been clearly defined by Sun Tzu, a Chinese ruler of Confucius era, who ruled in China about 2500 years ago. Sun Tzu summarized his doctrine in an article entitled: The Art of War.

As in real life, also in special situations, the first step, in fact a preliminary step, is acknowledging the crisis or identifying the opportunity. After passing the preliminary requirements and entering the special situation you can come back to Sun Tzu and the Art of War:

"Look at war in terms of five basic factors  …   :Politics, weather, terrain, the commander, and doctrine… These five basic factors are known to every general. Those who master them will be victorious."

Apparently a special situation is based on two legs that run one after the other: the first leg is the acknowledgement of reality and the second leg hurries up to catch the pattern required for the specific need.,

What is a special situation? –    A challenge    or opportunity   that deviates    from the   business routine and demands, at a given point and time, specific skills, capabilities and  actions

What is strategy? –    Decisions   and actions   that derive from a broad, sharp and  sober view of reality

What does Stratega do? –   Management   of special situations with emphasis on three  subjects: entrepreneurship and investments, transition situations  mergers and acquisitions,  and business development

Who are the target audiences? –    Owners  and   senior   management   who   face   exceptional challenges and opportunities

What is Stratga's special promise? – To be sharp on reality

What is Stratega's outlook and what are its characteristics? –      It begins and ends with trust. There are no ready made solutions, each challenge is treated on a case-by-case basis by a special  team    that is      designated        to find a tailor    made solution to tackle specific challenges.   The methodology    consists of three   stages:    1.   analysis of the challenge,      2.   planning,    and   3. implementation

  • Business Development
  • Introduction of a female hygiene product in the American market, including FDA approval and direct sales to CVS, Walmart, etc.
  • A multi-annual greement between a leading German automotive supplier and an Israeli manufacturer of automotive spare parts. 
  • Management of a real estate portfolio at AMITA – a Slovak Real Estate company, after it has been acquired by an American company.
  • J.V. agreement between Gottex, an international swim suits brand and MULAN, a Japanese fashion company. 
  • J.V. agreement between Penzzoil, an American energy company and a public Israeli infrastructure company.
  • J.V. agreement between "Yeda", Weissman's Institute commercial company and Japanese pharma companies.
  • A multi-annual agreement for the supply of insulators from NGK (Japan/USA) and the Israel Electric Corporation.
  • J.V. agreement between NEC, MITSUI and ECI Wireless for joint cooperation in telecom projects in Vietnam. 
  • J.V. agreement between Tomen Corporation Japan and Mekorot, the Israel national water company.

Entrepenaurship & Investments

  • Stanga, a softwarehouse in Bulgaria, specializes in IT solutions for the international market.
    • Synergy Investment, a Japanese Capital Investment fund. 
    • "Laliv", investment in a life science R&D project based on DNA on Chip.
      • FNS, a private real estate fund for investments  in North America.
      • Zooz, an application for time and tasks management.
      • SaySo, a decision making application for iOS users.

Transition phases & M&A

  • Chairman of the board in an international industrial family owned group in a transition phase.
  • Establishment of a local company in Japan for a NASDAQ company (Cimatron), an IT company that specialises in CAD/CAM software.
  • Turnaround in an Israeli manufacturer of hygiene products, as a preliminary step to its merge with a public industrial group.
  • Aquisition of the Israeli Corporation holdings in Ranel (a Romanian electrical company) by the Japanese company TPC.
  • Restructuring in the Japanese Concern, Tomen Corporation, as a preliminary step of its merger with Toyota group.
  • Upgrading of an industrial steel company (traded at the Israeli stock exchange).

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