Who we are

We are a commercial strategy and operating advisory group built for agencies and service-based businesses navigating growth, complexity, and change.

Our work lives at the intersection of revenue, operations, finance, and risk — helping leadership teams turn growth into durable, defensible profit. We focus on the systems behind the numbers: how pricing is set, how work is staffed, how contracts are structured, and how decisions are made day to day.

We don’t believe profitability is a reporting problem. It’s a structural one.

Erin Ferrie Norton

Founder & CEO, Columbus Bay Solutions

Erin Ferrie Norton is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Columbus Bay Solutions, where she leads the firm’s commercial strategy, operations, and client partnership vision. With a background that blends strategic leadership, entrepreneurial rigor, and people-centered business design, Erin drives the agency’s mission to align commercial systems with operational excellence and growth outcomes

Known for her ability to bridge strategy and execution, Erin oversees the development of pricing architecture, operating models, and embedded commercial frameworks that enable clients to scale with clarity and confidence. Her leadership emphasizes not only measurable results, but also the human and organizational dynamics that shape sustainable success

Prior to founding Columbus Bay Solutions, Erin built a reputation as a creative and strategic operator with a focus on fostering high-performing teams and value-driven engagements. She brings to her role a combination of analytical rigor, business psychology insight, and entrepreneurial experience — all grounded in a commitment to partnership and impact

A Fordham University alum, and former ex-pat, Erin now lives with her family in NYC. She is active in professional networks and regularly shares perspectives on commercial leadership, organizational alignment, and industry trends.

Founder Led

Simple ideas, real impact.

Most businesses don’t need more strategy — they need better structure. We focus on simple commercial ideas that create meaningful, measurable impact.

  • We operate like internal executives, not external consultants.

    Our team brings hands-on experience across commercial leadership, finance, operations, and agency delivery. That means we don’t just analyze what happened — we help design what needs to change and embed it in the way teams actually work.

    Our engagements often include:

    • Pricing and retainer model design

    • Margin and contribution frameworks that operators use

    • Embedded and hybrid staffing economics

    • Contract and commercial risk strategy

    • Financial and Commercial Education

    • Forecasting and decision-support systems

    • Operating model and organizational alignment

    Every engagement is senior-led, highly collaborative, and grounded in real operating constraints.

  • Commercial-first, not FP&A-first
    We focus on forward-looking commercial decisions, not backward-looking analysis.

    Operator-led perspective
    We work alongside leadership teams as partners, helping navigate tradeoffs between growth, delivery, and profitability.

    Systems over slides
    Our work results in tools, frameworks, and governance structures — not static presentations.

    Risk-aware by design
    Pricing, contracts, IP, and liability are part of the commercial conversation, not an afterthought.

    Built for real agencies
    We work with businesses that deliver services, manage people, and live with the consequences of their commercial decisions.

  • From startups to seasoned brands, we partner with people who care about doing things right—and doing them well.

    We partner with:

    • Agency founders and CEOs

    • COOs, CFOs, and commercial leaders

    • Service-based businesses with embedded or hybrid delivery models

    • Teams preparing for scale, restructuring, or increased complexity

    We are most effective where leadership is ready to challenge assumptions and make structural changes — not just tune the model around the edges.

Contact us

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