Jeff Baldassari is the Founder & CEO of The Competitive Edge Group, a fractional CEO consulting firm based in Newport Beach. His firm primarily serves as an extension of incumbent CEOs to solve problems in operations and sales as well as dysfunction in corporate culture. His firm’s specialties are crisis management and designing second chance employment programs for manufacturers and distributors. At the start of his career, after passing the Ohio CPA exam, Jeff practiced law for five years with the national firm, BakerHostetler. In January 2024 he published his book, From Associate to Ambassador, regarding foundational skills and professional development in the practice of law. Following his tenure practicing law, Jeff served as a CEO for 21 years at two manufacturers where he earned a reputation for transforming companies successfully in turnaround situations and scaling them to new heights. The second manufacturer, U.S. Rubber Recycling, is based in Colton, CA. Jeff has served as a board member (i) for two privately owned companies (one, a distributor, for 15 years; the other, a manufacturer, for 17 years), (ii) on advisory boards at two major Ohio public universities (Cleveland State and Kent State), (iii) at the Ohio Chamber of Commerce and most recently, (iv) at the Girl Scouts of Orange County and (v) Junior Achievement, Orange County and The Inland Empire.