The Principals

A few people, deeply experienced.

Beyond The Gate is run by its partners. Each leads from a different discipline, and every client works with them directly.

Evan Friedman
Managing Partner & Principal

Evan Friedman

The architect of the engagement.

Evan is a global business leader with 30+ years of experience driving profitability, revenue growth, and customer excellence across international hospitality operations and sales organizations. He has a proven track record of leading high-performing sales and account management teams, optimizing P&L performance, and closing complex, high-value enterprise deals in competitive, fast-moving markets.

Throughout his career, Evan has partnered with leading organizations across finance, legal, professional services, fashion, transportation, and entertainment โ€” delivering measurable results through strategic innovation, cross-functional collaboration, and a relentless customer-first mindset. He is known for his ability to align strategy with execution, navigate change, and build trusted, long-term client relationships.

For our clients, Evan is the partner who shapes how a mandate is scoped, governed, and delivered โ€” and the one most of them meet first.

Strategic VisionRevenue & Margin GrowthCross-Cultural LeadershipClient Advocacy
Louis Perez
Managing Partner โ€” Growth & Visibility

Louis Perez

Demand, engineered.

Louis is a search and content practitioner with nearly twenty years driving visibility across Fortune 500 brands and independent businesses alike. He has led digital strategy for global CPG brands, multi-location healthcare groups, hospitality operators, and local venues.

That range is deliberate. Growth problems don't respect industry lines, and the discipline that fills a national brand's pipeline is the same one that fills a dining room on a Tuesday โ€” audience analysis, search and AI visibility, lead generation, and a sales motion tuned to convert. Louis leads our visibility practice for venues, hotels, and premium travel brands.

For our clients, he is the partner who makes sure the right guest finds you first.

Search & AI VisibilityAudience AnalysisLead GenerationPerformance Marketing
Olena Perez
Chief Marketing Officer โ€” Brand & Experience

Olena Perez

So the work looks like you.

Olena leads brand strategy and creative โ€” making sure every client's presence looks and sounds distinctly like them, never like an agency made it. She brings the same rigor to an independent restaurant that she brings to a national brand.

Where visibility drives the right guest to the door, Olena makes certain that what they find feels considered, consistent, and worthy of the room. She shapes the voice, the design, and the experience that turn attention into loyalty.

For our clients, she is the partner who protects the thing that takes years to build and moments to cheapen: the brand.

Brand StrategyCreative DirectionExperience DesignVoice & Identity
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Work directly with a partner.

There is no junior bench and no handoff. Tell us what you're navigating and the right principal will be in touch.

Request an Introduction โ†’