Strategic Growth Advisors

Mark Seaton

Founder & Principal Partner

Mark built Grace Carlton Consulting to be what global manufacturers have rarely had: an independent, fractional advisor with the relationships, fluency, and operating depth to open North America from the inside. The GCC Integration Framework treats manufacturing, healthcare, industrial MRO, and digital finance as one operating model for resilience, and Mark is the operator clients call to put it in motion.

His 30 plus years span the rooms where North American buying decisions get made. At the continent's largest industrial distributor, he co-developed and co-launched a national USP 800/801 compliance program that reached every healthcare seller in the vertical at national scale, and led account strategy across multiple assigned healthcare systems. For one of the country's largest REITs, he led national program development across MRO and safety. Earlier, he drove channel growth and on-shoring for a global manufacturer of mission-critical electrical components and ran national sales for a heritage American consumer electronics brand. He has also served as a Safety and Digital Commerce Subject Matter Expert for a Fortune 300 distributor, the rare voice trusted on both shop floor risk and digital channel growth.

Today Mark advises global manufacturers entering or expanding into the U.S., along with the healthcare systems, industrial MRO distributors, and GPOs they need to reach. The work spans go-to-market, pricing, on-shoring, branded and private-label program development, QA/QC qualification, and national-scale deployment, all delivered as big-firm capability on a fractional timeline.

That same operator's discipline shapes his board service with the YMCA, United Way, Hospice, and organizations serving veterans and their families. These are governance and stewardship roles that sharpen the judgment his clients rely on.

B.S., Organizational Leadership, Indiana Tech.

Robin Seaton

Chief Creative Officer

Robin brings a unique blend of creativity, strategy, and leadership to her role at Grace Carlton Consulting. In addition to her extensive K-12 and higher education expertise, she has served as Director of Business Development, where she successfully built partnerships with institutions, military organizations, and universities across the United States. This national experience has given Robin a deep understanding of organizational needs at scale and how to design solutions that drive impact in diverse settings.

With a background in guiding teachers and professionals toward advanced degrees, Robin excels at translating classroom and administrative experience into strategies that deliver measurable outcomes and long-term success. Her ability to bridge the gap between education, enterprise, and leadership development allows her to craft approaches that are both practical and visionary.

Known for her hands-on, user-focused style, Robin ensures that every client engagement is transformative, sustainable, and rooted in trust. She holds a degree in Education from Illinois State University.

Mark McCullagh

Advisor

Mark is a seasoned business leader with deep expertise in B2B strategic sales, account development, national distribution and global sourcing. With a robust background in distribution, logistics, product development, and supply chain management, Mark is highly skilled at optimizing business processes, leveraging technology and cultivating strong client relationships to deliver innovative, results-oriented solutions. Mark holds degrees from Boston College and The London School of Economics. Mark enjoys open water swimming, volunteers at the YMCA to teach swimming and water-safety while he actively supports Swim Across America, raising money for grants for innovative cancer research, clinical trials, detection and patient programs.

Michael Jackson

Advisor, Asia and European Client Development & Support

With over four decades of hands-on manufacturing and global business experience, Michael Jackson brings unmatched technical insight and operational leadership to Grace Carlton Consulting Group.

Beginning his career as an hourly employee at a major automotive manufacturer, Mike advanced through production and management roles while earning degrees from Indiana University, Indiana Tech, and two graduate-level degrees (MSM and an MBA in Human Resource Management) from Oakland City University.​

Mike’s diverse industry background spans automotive and HVAC manufacturing, where he played a key role in supplier development and international quality assurance initiatives. As International Quality Manager for a global HVAC manufacturer, he led supplier certification and offshore sourcing programs in China and later consulted with four Chinese manufacturers operating in the United States, Mexico, and Canada—experience that now underpins his advisory work with foreign manufacturers navigating entry and expansion into the U.S. OEM and MRO markets.​

At GCC, Mike leverages his operational depth, cross-cultural management expertise, and academic grounding in project management, human resources, marketing, and quality to help Asian and European clients align with U.S. regulatory, quality, and supply chain expectations. His practical approach to process improvement, human-capital strategy, and sourcing reflects GCC’s commitment to helping clients build sustainable, localized market success.​

When not advising clients, Mike remains active in his community through the American Legion and continues to share his experience from teaching university-level courses in Project Management, Human Resource Management, Marketing, and Quality Assurance.​

Mandy Chow

Advisor, Business Development | Global Trade & Market Expansion

Mandy Chow helps manufacturers enter and scale in North America, drawing on 20+ years in international trade, global sourcing, and cross border business development. She has built export businesses from startup phase to more than USD 200 million in annual sales, giving her a practical understanding of what it takes to win with OEMs, distributors, and retailers in competitive markets.​

Mandy’s experience spans industrial products and consumer goods, including leading worldwide HVAC export growth and managing high volume retail programs supplying fixtures and displays into the U.S. grocery and mass retail channels. She understands Western manufacturing expectations, compliance requirements, and the commercial realities of pricing, packaging, logistics, and ontime fulfillment for demanding North American customers.​

Fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin, and English and proficient in French, Mandy bridges cultural and commercial expectations between Asian, European, and North American partners with ease. Today, she focuses on building and expanding premium brands in the U.S., connecting manufacturers with the right goto market mix across retail, distribution, and omnichannel platforms while remaining extremely active in supporting her children’s academic and creative development.​ Known for her strategic mindset, operational discipline, and crosscultural fluency, she is a trusted partner for foreign manufacturers seeking sustainable, profitable growth in the North American market.​