EXPERIENCE THE THIRD OPTION
Strategic advisory and hands-on executive leadership for privately held businesses with $5 million to $50 million in annual revenue. Tertium works with founders, owners, private equity portfolio companies, and leadership teams through growth, complexity, and transformation, helping strengthen performance, build organizational capabilities, navigate critical decisions, and create enduring enterprise value.
Sectors we serve
Importers, brands, wholesalers, route-to-market and three-tier distribution.
Multi-location distribution, inventory-intensive businesses and trade channels.
Warehousing, fulfillment, transportation, procurement and network operations.
Consumer brands, food production, commercial bakery and grocery supply.
Essential B2B services, specialized suppliers and operationally complex businesses.
Marketplace operations, inventory planning, omnichannel distribution and growth.
Founder & Managing Principal
Executive Leader · Operating Partner
Oubada (Obi) Duwaji
Founder, Tertium & Co. | Former Chief Executive Officer, MISA Imports
Oubada (Obi) Duwaji is an executive, investor and advisor with more than 25 years of experience spanning business leadership, private equity and investment banking. His career has been defined by building and scaling businesses, driving operational transformation and creating long-term value through disciplined execution and capital allocation.
As Chief Executive Officer of MISA Imports, a national wine and spirits importer and distributor, he led the company through a period of significant organic growth and enterprise-wide transformation. His leadership spanned commercial strategy, international supplier relationships, national distribution, financial performance, supply chain and organizational development. He strengthened profitability and operational efficiency while expanding the company's market presence, modernizing enterprise systems and building the infrastructure and leadership capabilities to support sustained growth.
Earlier in his career, Oubada held investment banking and private equity positions with JPMorgan Chase, Abraaj Group and SHUAA Capital, and co-founded ENANNA Equity Partners. His experience encompasses investment evaluation, transaction structuring, capital allocation, portfolio management and working alongside management teams to improve business performance and create shareholder value.
Following MISA, he established an independent investment and advisory platform focused on acquiring, building and scaling businesses. As founder of Tertium & Co., he partners with business owners and investors on strategic growth, operational transformation, financial performance and transactions. His work spans beverage distribution, consumer products and other supply-chain-driven businesses, combining executive leadership with an investor’s perspective.
His approach is grounded in the belief that sustainable value creation requires sound strategy, financial discipline, operational excellence and strong leadership teams.
Beyond his professional work, Oubada is committed to education and community service, including his role as a trustee of Dallas International School and involvement with Genesis and cancer-related charitable causes. A three-time marathon finisher and an avid reader, he values perseverance, lifelong learning, and helping others succeed.
THE IDEA BEHIND THE NAME
Tertium quid is a Latin expression meaning “a third thing.” In business, it represents the possibility of looking beyond conventional alternatives to identify a different path forward.
At Tertium & Co., that philosophy brings together three complementary perspectives: the discipline of an investor, the judgment of an executive, and the practical experience of an operator.
The objective is not simply to offer another opinion, but to identify opportunities and translate them into measurable outcomes.
Independent acquisitions and executive advisory. Selected assignments in beverage importing, wholesale distribution, e-commerce, and operating transformation; active acquisition sourcing and diligence across adjacent sectors.
Co-founded a non-alcoholic beverage distribution startup with a partner, developing its commercial model, supplier relationships and distribution strategy. The venture was subsequently rolled into another business, with involvement concluding in January 2026.
Led national growth, expansion of distribution infrastructure, organizational scaling, and modernization of enterprise operations and reporting. Previously served as Chief Operating Officer.
Investment and leadership experience across ENANNA Equity Partners, SHUAA Capital, Abraaj Group, and JPMorgan Chase.
WHAT WE DO
Tertium provides strategic advice, hands-on professional management, and direct executive leadership to privately held businesses. Engagements range from focused counsel to selective investment partnerships.
Executive counsel, interim leadership, strategic planning, organizational alignment and management accountability.
Working capital, cash flow, supply chain, cost reduction, performance management and business stabilization.
Commercial strategy, market development, systems modernization, transaction evaluation and integration support.
Our approach
Four progressive levels of engagement. Each level builds on the capabilities of the preceding one, adding greater management responsibility, executive accountability, or ownership alignment.
Independent executive perspective on strategy, business performance, capital allocation, organizational structure, and critical decisions. Ownership and existing management retain execution responsibility.
Building on strategic advisory, active management support across commercial operations, financial performance, systems, organizational development, and execution. Building human capital through effective recruitment and selection, structured HR practices, employee development programs, and leadership development. Working alongside owners and leadership teams to strengthen management capabilities, manage priorities, and deliver results.
Building on advisory and professional management, direct executive leadership with responsibility for business performance, management priorities, and operational execution under an agreed mandate, including CEO, President, or COO roles where appropriate.
Building on advisory, professional management, and executive leadership, longer-term partnerships that may include selective equity participation or business acquisitions where interests and investment objectives align.
The levels are cumulative in capability, not automatic in scope. Each mandate defines the services, responsibilities, and degree of involvement agreed with the client.
VALUE THROUGH EXECUTION
An investor’s discipline. An operator’s judgment.
Private Equity · M&A · Investment Management · Capital Advisory
What Creates Value.
Years in investment banking, private equity and investment management built the investor’s discipline: assessing where value sits, what puts it at risk, and how capital should be structured to unlock it.
Executive Leadership · Distribution · Supply Chain · Operational Transformation
How Value Is Realized.
Years of hands-on operating experience shaped the operator’s judgment: building teams, scaling distribution and supply chain operations, and making decisions under real operating constraints.
Strategic Advisory · Executive Management · Capital & Transactions · Investment Partnerships
What Our Clients Gain.
Together, those two foundations became the third option: investment judgment proven in operations. Tertium gives owners and investors a view neither side has alone, from the opportunity through to execution.
01 / Executive operating leadership
Led the expansion and modernization of a national wine and spirits importing and distribution platform, combining commercial growth, acquisition integration, supply-chain discipline and enterprise systems.
Implemented ERP, WMS and EDI systems; reduced safety stock from six to three weeks; and expanded distribution infrastructure and geographic reach.
02 / Principal investments & realized exits
Participated in a $5M investment, with active operating involvement in developing the franchise model and proof-of-concept stores. Raised $25M in capital commitments for expansion. The investment was subsequently exited with a 15% total realized ROI over the holding period2.
Strategic advisory and investment involvement spanning seed capital, corporate restructuring and an exit described in the executive record as a 10× EBITDA exit3.
03 / Selected advisory & strategic engagements
Executive advisory spanning business management, operational planning, organizational structure and team leadership, commercial execution, financial performance oversight and the development of scalable management processes.
Business managementTeam leadershipOperational scale
Advised on financial and operational management, including a 13-week cash-flow forecasting framework, working-capital planning, inventory management, process improvement and planning for scalable operations.
Cash-flow forecastingInventory managementProcess improvement
Strategic advisory supporting the establishment of US operations, including regulatory and import requirements, supply-chain infrastructure, distribution-platform development, market access and sales strategy.
US market entryImport complianceDistribution & sales
Strategic advisory for a commercial sourcing and import and distribution business supplying materials and furnishings to business and institutional customers.
Commercial sourcingImport & distributionExplored market-access opportunities and developed an initial blueprint for a non-distributor sales and execution model.
Strategic blueprintBoard advisor and equity partner to a premium Belgian non-alcoholic spirits brand, supporting U.S. market entry, distribution strategy and fundraising.
InvestmentDeveloped brand positioning and U.S. market-entry strategies for international beverage brands, including competitive analysis, pricing architecture, distribution economics and route-to-market planning.
Brand strategyMarket entryCommercial planningCo-founded a non-alcoholic beverage distribution startup, building its commercial strategy, supplier relationships and operating model. The business was subsequently rolled into another venture, with the founders exiting their involvement in January 2026.
Startup developmentDistributionEntrepreneurship04 / Acquisition activity
Notes
Contact
Whether you are a business owner, investor, or executive exploring a potential partnership, we welcome the opportunity to connect.