Where We Work
Capital Programs & Acquisition Diligence
When a program, an acquisition, or a capital deployment requires more operating depth than the internal organization can field and where the cost of getting it wrong is measured in years, not quarters, Highland brings the accountability structure and domain experience to close that gap.
Technology Developers & Automation Suppliers
Moving into a new tier of the market means navigating procurement structures, qualification cycles, and decision-making processes that aren't visible from the outside. Highland has operated on both sides of that interface.
M&A Integration & Strategic Transactions
Financial diligence tells you what a business is worth. Operating diligence tells you whether the thesis survives contact with reality, the integration sequence, the technology risk, the execution architecture. Highland works at that level.
Complex Program Execution
When the capital is allocated and the program is scoped, the question is whether the execution architecture is built to actually deliver. Highland has built those structures and run them.
Who We Work With
Highland's clients operate in and around the industrial automation ecosystem, Fortune 500 OEMs managing capital programs at scale, automation technology developers building market presence, and companies requiring diligence and operating depth that goes beyond the financials. The common thread is not industry or company size. It's the nature of the problem: complex, consequential, and requiring someone who has operated in comparable situations, not observed them. Highland operates nationally, with deep roots in the Michigan manufacturing and automotive corridor.
About Highland Consulting
Highland Consulting LLC is an operator-led practice built around a straightforward premise: the most consequential problems in industrial automation don't need more analysis. They need someone who can take accountability for the outcome. Highland's principal, Michael Pacione, brings more than three decades of operating experience across the industrial automation ecosystem, from the engineering floor to the boardroom, from supplier development to OEM capital allocation, from program execution to M&A integration at enterprise scale. That experience spans both sides of the table: the organizations that build and sell sophisticated automation systems, and the organizations that buy, deploy, and integrate them. Highland is structured as a practice, not a firm. Engagements are built around the specific problem, drawing in subject matter depth where the work requires it, and are measured by deliverable outcomes, not billable activity.