About Lilac Field
Independent strategic planning advisory for owner-managed companies, established in Melbourne in 2014.
Registered business
Lilac Field Business Consulting is the official registered business name under which we operate. We are an independent advisory practice — not affiliated with a larger corporate network or franchise group.
Established 2014
Lilac Field was founded in 2014 by Catherine O’Dell after twelve years in corporate strategy roles at two ASX-listed manufacturers. She observed that owner-managed firms received either generic templates from large firms or informal advice from accountants without the time for deep strategic work. Lilac Field was created to fill that gap: structured planning engagements sized for businesses where the owner still signs the cheques.
Over the past decade we have completed more than 140 planning reviews and succession workshops for Victorian firms in engineering, food production, allied health, and commercial services. We remain deliberately small — three senior consultants and one operations coordinator — so that owners work directly with experienced advisers rather than junior analysts.
Our approach
We begin with your numbers and your calendar, not a framework borrowed from a Silicon Valley playbook. Every engagement starts by naming the decisions you have been avoiding and the constraints that are genuinely fixed — family expectations, lease terms, key-person dependencies.
We write plans that a floor supervisor can understand, not documents that sit in a drawer. That means plain language, named owners for each initiative, and explicit trade-offs rather than a list of aspirations.
Values
Honesty over comfort. If succession is not viable on your current timeline, we say so early. If your growth plan requires hiring you cannot afford, we document the gap.
Owner agency. You retain every decision. We provide structure, analysis, and facilitation — not votes on your board.
Local context. We know Victorian industrial precincts, regional supply chains, and the rhythm of family-owned businesses that close between Christmas and Australia Day.
The team
- Catherine O’Dell — Founder, lead consultant on strategic planning reviews
- James Okonkwo — Senior consultant, succession and operational reviews
- Priya Nair — Senior consultant, manufacturing and trades sector
- Lena Fischer — Operations coordinator, scheduling and client liaison
Working with us
Most engagements begin with a 30-minute scoping call. We confirm fit, outline the process, and provide a fixed quote before any commitment. Contact us or call +61 3 0000 1960.