About.

Influencing Corporate Value  One Voice at a Time

Listening as the Foundation
The most valuable customer feedback may be that which is not shared via normal sales channels. Our deliverables offer clients recommendations that can be integrated into business systems and decisions.  Our goal is to provide management with a greater purpose around why their products and services are valued by their marketplace.
We recognize that YOUR customer is the most important stakeholder in YOUR business. I formed Literal North as a pragmatic outside-in approach toward value creation.  The team's experience in valuation, investment banking, entrepreneurship and consulting creates the nexus between  customer needs and financial success.

Our Team

Nicole Lev Ross
Managing Director

Nicole and her team provide a unique perspective based on years of strategic and analytical work on behalf of industrial and transportation firms nationwide.
Clients include:
  • P/E: Berwind, CC Industries, Duchossois, One Rock, ​PSP Capital, Resilience Capital
  • Public: 3M, Microsoft Azure
  • AllTranstek, The Andersons, FreightCar America
  • Bridgestone Firestone
  • Redwood Logistics
  • Underwriters Laboratories
  • ​Food & beverage chemicals OEM
  • Industrial machinery and construction products OEMs

Nicole founded Literal North, a strategic market intelligence consulting firm to support companies in identifying new avenues for growth among their most meaningful assets: their customers. Literal North brings the voice of the market from the field and into the boardroom revealing: what customers want and need from their business relationships, how customers experience subject products and services, and why customers make choices. We work across all industries in B2B and non-profit.
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Nicole holds a BBA from The University of Iowa and an International MBA from The University of Chicago. She has worked in New York, London, São Paulo and México City. Nicole is fluent in Spanish and conversational in Portuguese. 

​In my 30 years of investment banking, strategy, and business valuation, I've analyzed over 200 companies and was the owner of a national consumer products distributorship. This journey demanded an insatiable curiosity, in-depth research, and a hands-on understanding of customer preferences. 

My goal was always clear: to understand if the industry dynamics supported financial goals, whether from a buy-side or sell-side perspective. The focus was on economic, market, and customer demand drivers.

Despite the importance of financial and operational diligence, a crucial piece was often missing: real field data. The game changed when clients started investing in market studies, involving customers, channel partners, and experts.

Commercial diligence not only filled knowledge gaps but also revolutionized our forecasts, aligning them more closely with market realities.
The Literal North team includes experienced practitioners who are empathetic listeners and share the mission of offering customers and channel partners a platform to be heard while revealing areas of value for the subject company and its stakeholders.
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​Philippa Djemal, Research Lead. Philippa conducts interviews, analyzes market data and compiles strategic reports.  She brings her client expertise having previously worked at IMD UK Ltd, a digital media distribution company based in London, UK, as director of operations where she led a large team devoted to exceeding customers’ expectations on a daily basis for over four years. Her previous roles include new accounts supervisor at Create Services and marketing associate for Close Wealth Management, both in London.  She volunteers for Families Helping Families Chicagoland as a Committee Head, a position she has held for over seven years.  Philippa holds a 2:1 B.A. (Hons) degree from Southbank University London.
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Anne Scarlett, Research Lead. Anne provides board-level leadership with specialty in the architecture, engineer and construction sectors. Anne delivers strategic marketing solutions,  workshops and custom seminars. Anne has published in: Modern Steel Construction; RainToday; A/E Marketing Journal, and CE News. Anne served as the Principal and Director of Marketing Consulting for ZweigWhite. Anne holds an M.S. in Communications from Northwestern University and a B.S. in Interior Design from Indiana University. 
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​Melissa Uhlig, Research Consultant. Melissa has conducted numerous interviews on behalf of LITERAL North. Her interest in learning about industrial sectors and the people that serve them is rooted in her past roles as medical sales executive and former high school educator. Ms. Uhlig also serves as the lead researcher for Mexico & Latin America. Melissa is fluent in Spanish holds an M.S. in Education from DePaul University and a B.B.A. in Marketing from The University of Iowa.
Mary Roberts Henderson, Research Consultant. Mary is a public relations and marketing communications consultant experienced in healthcare, financial services, technology and professional services. Mary works with our clients to understand  business goals and opportunities, and then develops and executes marketing and PR campaigns to achieve those goals. Mary excels at eloquently conveying complex subjects and crafting on-point messaging.