Jeff Newkirk
Managing Partner

Jeff is a Florida native with 37 years of experience in sales and marketing within a variety of market categories - from fitness and sporting goods to housewares, home decor, and toys. He received his bachelor’s degree from Millikin University in 1983 and his Master’s of Organizational Leadership from Gonzaga University in 2009. He is the current Managing Member of Strategic Sales & Marketing LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in business development with entrepreneurial companies.  His clients have included Spikeball, Wowwee Toys, Fun In Motion Toys, Waboba (in which he performed 7 years of Walmart account management), Aurllius LLC, and XDP Recreation. He is the former President of Waboba USA, building it into a leading brand in water sports. Before consulting, Jeff served in sales roles at California Innovations, Magnum Associates, and DP Fitness, winning several sales awards along the way.

His philosophy with any client is to continually think outside the box. He doesn’t believe in taking the short road and believes that if all else is equal, follow your gut feeling as it rarely lets you down. He enjoys helping inventors avoid the potholes in business that waste time, resources, and money and always works to anticipate a company’s needs. He prides himself on being transparent in all business relationships and enjoys developing long-term strategies for each client’s success.

Bob Tanko
Sourcing + Manufacturing

Bob has over 37 years of product management, sourcing, and manufacturing expertise working for such diverse companies as Igloo, DP Fitness, and GUI Global Ltd. From 2012 – 2019 he served GUI in establishing their far east operations in China which included acquisitions of production equipment from injection molding to laser cutting applications. He has had a successful track record of developing new products to niche markets.

At DP Fitness he was responsible for managing an engineering and development team as well as sourcing operations in Taiwan, Thailand, and China. He also has expertise in sales and marketing, P&L, and quality assurance. Bob serves as GCP’s lead consultant on development and manufacturing/sourcing. He holds a BA in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi and resides in Spring, TX.

Alexis Newkirk
Marketing Director

A Houston transplant from Palm Beach, FL, Alexis has the experience of working for both startups and Fortune 500 companies. She graduated from Louisiana State University with both her MBA and undergrad in digital advertising and is a proud Tiger who still loves game day. After graduating, she lived and worked in New York City in the luxury goods and cosmetics industry, gaining valuable experience in global marketing and e-Commerce. She brings her expertise in direct-to-consumer goods, promotions, influencer collaborations, and marketing to the GCP team and loves watching each new product grow.

Bob Lochner
Business Development Advisor

Bob is a graduate of Lycoming College with a degree in Business Administration (1979). He has the unique distinction of handing out the Gold Glove awards to both Don Mattingly and Ron Guidry of the NY Yankees in 1986 on behalf of Rawlings Sporting Goods. He has served in several senior management positions over his career in the fitness industry, outdoor backyard product segment, and toy segments. He is part owner and Sr. VP of Sales of XDP Recreation LLC, a successful major supplier of backyard metal swing sets sold throughout the USA and Canada. Bob has called on many of the largest retailers over his 42-year career including Walmart Stores and has great knowledge of distribution, logistics, and manufacturing.