Executive Advisory Council

Mission, Goals and Functions

The College of Business Executive Advisory Council was formed in 1985 to enhance the liaison between the JMU College of Business and the business community. The Council provides advice to the dean and faculty and assists the college in advancing its overall commitment to excellence.

The objectives of the council are:

  • provide advice and counsel to the Dean, faculty and students to assist the College in relating its programs and curriculum to the changing needs of business and society;

  • participate in the strategic planning process and development of programs to ensure the accomplishment of objectives;

  • provide advice and assistance to the Dean and faculty on matters related to faculty development;

  • support such programs as the Executive Speakers Forum, Executive-in-Residence, and seminars/conferences sponsored by the Center for Professional Development;

  • assist the College and the career services office at JMU to create internships and employment opportunities for students;

  • assist the College and JMU in identifying and cultivating potential financial supporters;

  • make a personal/corporate financial commitment to JMU; and

  • engage in other activities proposed and approved by the Council.

The council consists of high-level executives, selected for their exceptional stature in the business community and their commitment to JMU. The group meets twice each year, fall and spring. A number of JMU faculty and staff members work with the executives in council functions. Ken Bartee currently serves as the council chair. Amy McPherson and Mike Thomas serve as Vice-Chairs.

The contributions provided by this talented group of business leaders have been crucial to the development of the College of Business. The council has played a significant role in formulating the college's strategic plans. Council members took the leadership role in planning, conducting and successfully implementing the College of Business Corporate Recruiters Chamber. The council has also supported faculty development through financial support of summer research grants and faculty excellence awards.

2007-2008 Members of the Executive Advisory Council

Anne Altman, General Manager, System Z, IBM Corp.

Terry Bandy, President, Dulles Consulting Group

Kenneth Bartee, President, ManTech MBI, EAC Chair

Mike Battle, President, BRMi

Steven Boehm, Executive Vice President - Card and Payment Solutions Group, Wachovia Corp.

John Carr, Chairman & CEO, Brain Surgery Worldwide

Tom Carr, Director of Sales, Packet360

Dara Castle, Managing Director-Government Contracting Practice, RSM McGladrey

Jon Craver, Partner, Accenture

Enrico S. Gaglioti, Partner, GoldmanSachs & Company

Maribeth Herod, Vice President, Enterprise Program Office, Freddie Mac

Paul Holland, General Partner, Foundation Capital

Steve Hufford, Co-founder and managing director, Impact Advisers, LLC

E. Wayne Jackson, Chief Executive Officer & Director, Sourcefire, Inc.

David Kay, Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, & Treasurer, Capital Automotive Real Estate Service, Inc.

Mark Langer, Chief Administrative Officer, Equity One, Inc.

Sean McCrae, Senior Vice President, PharmaForce International

J. Timothy McDonald, Partner, Rogers & Hardin

Susan McGhee, Director, Internal Audit, Carmax

Amy McPherson, Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Marriott International, EAC Vice Chair

W. Jerry Pierce, Senior Tax Partner, KPMG

Don Rainey, General Partner, Grotech Capital Group

John Rothenberger, President, SE Solutions, Inc.

Mike Thomas, President, Global Security Solutions, Lockheed Martin, EAC Co-Vice Chair

Sean Tobin, Director, Cross Rates Sales, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Dennis Tracz, Founder & President, Barista on Demand, LLC

Bruce Wardinski, Chariman & CEO, Barcelo Crestline


Executive Advisory Council Member Biographies

Anne Altman

Anne Altman

General Manager, System Z, IBM Corp.

With more than 20 years of experience working with the U.S. Federal government, Anne Altman has extensive experience counseling government officials on information technology solutions that address their everyday needs. As Managing Director, U.S. Federal, IBM Corporation, she leads an organization of 5,000 IBM professionals committed to building and safeguarding IBM's business relationship with the federal government.

Ms. Altman joined IBM in 1981 as a systems engineer working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Justice. She later became IBM's sales representative for the U.S. Department of State and, in 1990, became the IBM sales manager supporting all U.S. military intelligence customers.

In 1993, she led the Business Development organization of the then-existing IBM Federal Systems Company. Two years later, she was named software sales executive for federal government customers and led an organization dedicated to the sale of IBM software and networking products. Ms. Altman later became a Program Executive in IBM's Worldwide Software Operations and, in 1998, was named Director, Worldwide Software Accounts Managers.

Ms. Altman was named Director of Marketing, IBM Global Government Industry in 1999. In this role, she was responsible for the development and deployment of business plans and marketing programs for local, regional, and central government customers around the globe.

In January 2000, she was appointed Vice President, U.S. Federal Government, assuming responsibility for the sale of hardware, software and services to the federal market. In January 2001, she was named Managing Director, U.S. Federal, expanding her sales role by assuming full business management responsibilities for all aspects of the federal business.

Ms. Altman on numerous occasions has delivered congressional testimony for IBM on topics concerning e-government and national security. She has been an active participant in a number of government-related review boards, working with organizations like the National Academy of Public Administration, The National Science Academy and the Private Sector Council. She has been the recipient of several industry awards: Federal Computer Week's Top Federal 100, presented to leaders who have made a difference in federal information technology (2001, 2003 & 2005); AFFIRM Leadership Award for Industry (2003); and the CIO Council's Azimuth Award, 2002, for the Industry Executive of the Year for outstanding IT service to federal officials and was recently honored by Washington Business Journal with the 2004 Woman Who Mean Business Award.

Ms. Altman is the author of several opinion pieces in both national and trade publications, most notably The Washington Times and The Public Manager, on issues surrounding national security, e-government, and human resources trends in the federal government.

Ms. Altman currently serves on the boards of the Government Electronic Industry Association Executive Committee, Armed Forces Communication Electronics Association, the National Symphony Orchestra, James Madison University Executive Advisory Council and the Northern Virginia Technology Council.

Back to Council List


Terry Bandy

Terry Bandy

President , Dulles Consulting Group

Terry Bandy is co-founder and President of VSERV U.S.A., LLC. VSERV provides integration and maintenance support to customers installing and operating Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) technology. Terry is responsible for the company's business development and delivery services and partner relationships with systems integrators and traditional telecommunications integrators. VSERV U.S.A., LLC is currently awaiting GSA schedule approvals.

Prior to VSERV U.S.A., LLC Terry served as Vice President and GM of Inforte's federal sector practice where he lead the companies expansion into the public sector and President of the consumer goods industry group at EDS where he was responsible for worldwide relationships for Coca-Cola, 7 Eleven and Adidas. Terry has also held leadership positions at CSC Consulting and IBM Global Services.

Terry holds a B.S. in Management Information Systems from James Madison University and attended the executive program at Emory University.

Back to Council List


Kenneth Bartee

Kenneth R. Bartee

President, ManTech MBI, EAC Chair

As President, Kenneth Bartee oversees the long-term strategic direction and daily operations of ManTech MBI, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ManTech International, a $1.4 billion public technology firm. ManTech acquired McDonald Bradley in December 2007.  Since joining the Company in 1994, he has increased revenues ten-fold, earning it recognition as one of the fastest growing firms in the D.C. area for the past five years and one of the leading providers of technology services to the government. McDonald Bradley was recognized in 2005 as the Government Contractor of the Year in the small business category.

Mr. Bartee develops and implements the Company's strategic plan and directs all technical and business development activities. During the past five years, he successfully completed three acquisitions that have expanded the Company's core competencies and client base. In 2003, he led the successful management buy-out of McDonald Bradley from the principal owner and founder.

Mr. Bartee won recognition as a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year and as a finalist for Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce Government Contractor Small Business Executive of the Year. In October 2005, James Madison University honored him with the Inez Roop Alumni Service Award for his outstanding university support. Fairfax Inova Hospital for Children recently recognized his support to the Teardrops to Rainbows charity that funded significant upgrades to the pediatrics oncology unit. He was the Corporate Chairperson of the 2007 Loudon County Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, which set a record for that locations annual fundraiser.

Mr. Bartee's career spans more than 25 years in the information technology sector and includes executive positions at such companies as Computer Sciences Corporation, Innovative Systems Solutions, PSC and General Electric. He currently serves as the Chairman for the Executive Advisory Council for James Madison University's College of Business. He has a BBA in Information Systems from James Madison University, an MBA from the University of Colorado and CPA Certification in the state of Virginia.

Back to Council List


Mike Battle

President, BRMi

Mike is the founder and CEO of Battle Resource Management, Inc. BRMi is a professional services consulting firm that provides business and technology strategy and execution planning support for both government and commercial clients. Today, the firm primarily focuses its strategy services on Homeland Security issues and the needs of a variety of civilian government clients. Prior to founding BRMi, for 20 years, Mike led organizations in operations management, sales and sales management, marketing and business strategy in government and commercial information technology.

Mike is a hands-on leader who has led initiatives to execute major transformation and change initiatives for the Consumer Packaged Goods Industry, the Office of Management and Budget's Line of Business Initiative, Department of Homeland Security's Enterprise Architecture (EA) Program and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service's EA Program. He brings organizational leadership experience as a past senior manager at Commerce One, IBM, Computer Sciences Corporation, High Performance Technologies Inc. and Allied Signal.

Mike holds a BS in Communication Arts and a Masters in Business Administration from James Madison University. He is committed to education and youth causes as a member of boards at Center for Adoption Studies and Education, James Madison University, University of Maryland, Baltimore County and Digital Harbor High School. He also, through BRMi, provides substantial support to non-profit organizationssuch as Teardrops to Rainbows and Aunt Hattie’s Place—focused on serving the needs of children. Mike also has transitioned his athletic passions from the football field at JMU to coaching girls’ American Amateur Association (AAU) basketball with the Maryland Waves.

Mike is married and enjoys spending time with his wife and two children in Clarksville, Md.

Back to Council List


Steve Boehm

Steve Boehm

Executive Vice President - Card and Payment Solutions Group, Wachovia Corp

Boehm leads Wachovia Card and Payment Solutions Group, a product development and management team responsible for credit and debit card, bill payment, pre-paid, money movement and other payment services. The team is also responsible for evaluating and developing new payment services and businesses. Before joining Wachovia, Boehm gained extensive experience at Visa U.S.A. where he held a variety of sales and operations management positions. He began his current position in 2007 and has been with Wachovia since 1992.

Boehm graduated with a BBA in business management from James Madison University and received an MBA in information systems from George Mason University.

Community involvement: Board member, Urban League of Charlotte; Volunteer, Habitat for Humanity; volunteer, Reading First; chairperson, 2005 Wachovia Arts and Sciences Giving Campaign; executive advisory board member, James Madison University, College of Business; former director, Siskey YMCA Board

Back to Council List


John Carr

Chairman and CEO, Brain Surgery Worldwide

In 1994 John Carr co-founded Brain Surgery Worldwide. The company's mission is to bring value to clients by delivering emotion based behavior insights and messaging. Brain Surgery is a market research company specializing in understanding how emotions highlight reasons in the brain and how those emotional reasons drive decision making and behavior.

John Carr has been a pioneer in understanding emotion-based information and the effect emotions have on purchase motivations and behavior. He has helped companies, like American Express, BellSouth, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Klipsch, Merck, Nextel, Pfizer, Novartis, Schering Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, and Solvay understand how to utilize such information to dramatically increase revenues for their major brands and increase their ability to meet/exceed projections, uncover their strengths and their competitors' weaknesses.

Prior to starting Brain Surgery, Mr. Carr spent fifteen years working in advertising and strategic consulting. During this time, he led the marketing effort for numerous clients including: Network Solutions, GTE, General Electric, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sentara Health System, Contel Cellular, General Tire, Continental Tire, Ritz Carlton Hotels, Stihl Inc., and the Virginia Division of Tourism.

He is a member of the American Marketing Association and an avid sports participant, active in basketball, golf, surfing and rugby. He holds a B.S. from James Madison University.

Back to Council List


Tom Carr

Tom Carr

Director of Sales, Packet360

Tom has been a sales leader in the technology area for more than nine years with Cisco Systems and recently Packet360. His background includes 21 years of working in the medical sector including 2006 where he was the Cisco Healthcare Business Development Manager for the Northeastern United States.

As Director of Sales at Packet360, Tom has developed a sales team responsible for all revenue activities relating to the firm. Geographically, Packet360 services Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic United States providing technology solutions that address many of today's business issues.

Tom is the founder of the JMU Technology Alumni Group which began in 2000 and has raised more than $250,000 with philanthropic efforts for the university. Eight scholarships, a campus wide wireless initiative, and $100,000 of Info Sec curriculum equipment are a few of the projects that have impacted JMU since the group's inception.

Tom was awarded the Inez Graybeal Roop Distinguished Alumni Service Award at the 2003 Homecoming Gala.

Back to Council List


Dara Castle

Managing Director-Government Contracting Practice, RSM McGladrey

Summary of Experience
With more than 18 years experience serving the government contracting industry, Dara works with clients to integrate audit, tax and consulting services to provide clients with a full-service approach. Her goal is to assemble the best possible expertise to address the challenges and opportunities of growing government contracting businesses. Dara’s proactive approach toward client service is the foundation of the strong client relationships she maintains. She has extensive experience with complex government contracting, mergers and acquisitions, strategic planning, accounting system issues, and interpretation and application of complex accounting, tax and auditing regulations and requirements.

Professional Activities and Memberships
Dara is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Maryland Association of Certified Public Accountants, Association for Corporate Growth, Professional Services Council, and Women in Technology. She serves on the board of directors of The Small and Emerging Contractor’s Advisory and The National Defense Industrial Association.

Education
Dara earned a B.S. degree in accounting from North Carolina State University in 1988. Her continuing professional education includes courses in accounting and tax issues and numerous seminars on topics related to the government contracting industry, such as FAR and CAS issues, accounting software, 8(a) requirements and other subject matter relevant to government contracting concerns.

RSM McGladrey is a leading provider of financially focused business services to midsized companies. The RSM McGladrey group of companies offers accounting, tax services, business consulting, retirement resources, employer services, corporate finance, wealth management and financial process outsourcing. RSM McGladrey Inc. serves clients’ global business needs through its membership in RSM International (an affiliation of separate and independent accounting and consulting firms).
McGladrey & Pullen LLP (a partner-owned CPA firm) delivers audit and attest services. McGladrey & Pullen and RSM McGladrey have an alternative practice structure. Though separate and independent legal entities they can work together to serve clients’ business needs. When considered together, the two companies rank as the fifth largest provider of accounting, tax and business consulting.

Back to Council List


Jon Craver

Jon Craver

Partner, Accenture

A leadership statement

"In professional football every play counts and every player on the field has a role in every play. A day-to-day team at any place of business is no different. Plan the right plays. Build a diverse team. Play to win!

Where did you grow up?

York, PA (near the Harley Davidson assembly plant), Allentown, PA (close to Bethlehem steel mill), Hagerstown, MD (near Mack Truck headquarters)

What did you want to be when you were a kid?

Engineer

Where did you go to college?

James Madison University (Management Information Systems, BA), University of Virginia (Masters in Engineering)

How did you end up at Accenture?

After finishing my graduate work in ‘86, and experiencing the harsh reality of being with five Professional Football teams in 2 ½ years, Accenture was an easy choice.

What do you do for Accenture?

I am a Partner in our Communications and High Tech practice and work out of Metro Washington D.C. location, which are now over 3,000 people. I oversee consulting and outsourcing work for major accounts in the Washington region such as MCI, AOL, Nextel, Verisign, and XM Radio. I specialize in helping clients launch new products or business units to improve their growth potential.

If you did not work at Accenture, what would you be doing?

Architect or Designer

Why are you involved in the College of Business EAC?

From my four short years here, JMU left a life-long impression on my character, leadership traits, friendships, and professional outlook. Giving back to JMU provides me a reminder of how much fun I had here, and how much I have learned since the days of being a student.

What is your most memorable moment from your experience at JMU?

We beat UVA my senior year 24-17. It was a grueling game. My freshman year we lost to UVA 69-9. JMU was the underdog by a long shot. When we returned to campus. I remember a huge crowd outside of Godwin cheering for us as we "limped" off of the buses.

Why is the College of Business EAC important to the university?

We bring an extremely energized and experienced group of business leaders with laser focus to take action on issues facing the University.

Tell us about your family and/or spouse/partner.

Patty and I became best friends working side-by-side at a long-term assignment at Accenture. We have been married for 16 years. Caroline (12), William (9), and Andrew (6) are the focus of our energy 7 days a week and especially weekends.

What do your parents think you do for a living?

Help Telemarketers figure out ways to call them at home

What do your children think you do for a living?

Go to meetings, talk on the phone, do email, travel in airplanes, and "meet with clients"

What do you really do for a living?

I enjoy helping teams develop their game plan and then watching them win our client's trust by solving complex problems.

What do you do with all of your spare time?

Design something.

What is your favorite vacation activity?

Relaxing with family and friends at the beach or on the slopes.

What is your favorite vacation spot?

Our back yard.

What is your favorite movie?

Meet the Parents.

What is your favorite reality TV show?

American Idol

What's your favorite TV show:

Seinfeld reruns on Tivo

What is your favorite sport?

Whatever my kids are playing

What is your favorite pro team?

It was the Washington Freedom (women's soccer)

What is your favorite thing about Accenture?

Developing people, solving problems and breaking new ground in technology.

What is your least favorite thing about Accenture?

Too little time to enjoy the moment.

What famous person encounters have you had? Explain:

In '84 Earl Campbell (Houston Oilers) knocked me down and ran me over in a no-contact practice. After that, I became the "Rook" (short for rookie) and never lived it down. In ‘85 Bernie Koser (Cleveland Browns) and I were caught doing donuts (spinning in circles) on the training camp parking lot in his new 300ZX by the 6 o'clock News Team. I never lived that down either.

Back to Council List


Enrico S. Gaglioti

Partner, GoldmanSachs & Company

Enrico is co-head of US Equity Sales, head of the Execution Services Franchise and head of International Equities, a part of the US Equity Product Group. He is also responsible for GlobalPortfolio Trading, a position he has held since in 2001. Enrico is a member of the securities divisions Business Practices Committee. He joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 from Salomon Smith Barney as head of International Portfolio Trading in New York. He became a managing director in 2001 and a partner in 2002. Enrico is a member of the Board of Trustees of Don Bosco Prep, the Board of Directors of Give and Learn and the Advisory Council of James Madison University's College of Business. He earned a BBA from the James Madison University College of Business in 1994. Enrico and his wife, Danielle, have three children and reside in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

Back to Council List


Maribeth Herod

Maribeth Herod

Vice President, Enterprise Program Office, Freddie Mac

As Vice President of Enterprise Program Office, Ms. Herod is responsible for Initiative Portfolio Management and Governance which enables effective implementation of strategic objectives and realization of business benefits from annual corporate investment of $300M. Additionally, she is responsible for the Enteprise Quality Program which is considered a line of defense to the systems production environment and a catalyst for cultural change providing an objective quality review of all system implementations during their lifecycle. Ms. Herod is also responsible for Operations and Technology Business Management providing the Enterprise Business Architecture as a guide to change analysis and facilitating the development of the multiyear integrated strategic plan. Ms. Herod joined Freddie Mac as an officer in 2002.

Ms. Herod has more than 20 years of IT and management experience in a variety of industries including Financial Services and Communications. Before joining Freddie Mac, she was Partner at Arthur Andersen, LLP in their Business Consulting practice.

Ms. Herod holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from James Madison University.

Back to Council List


Paul Holland

Paul Holland

General Partner, Foundation Capital, Menlo Park, CA

Paul brings with him the veteran knowledge of working with and aiding technology start-ups in their earliest stages. His primary focus has been the development and acceleration of enterprise software companies.

He has a compelling professional profile that is highlighted by his role in taking two venture-funded software start-ups, Kana Communications (KANA) where he was Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, and Pure Software (RATL) where he was VP and GM of Europe, Middle East and Africa, public.

Paul currently serves on the board of directors for Talking Blocks (recently acquired by Hewlett-Packard), Edge Dynamics, Ketera Technologies, TuVox, Conformia, Mendocino Software, Codefast, Bella Pictures, Pacific Edge Software and Simply Hired.

He received an MBA from the University of California at Berkeley; an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia; and a BS from James Madison University.

Back to Council List


Steve Hufford

Steve Hufford

Co-founder and managing director, Impact Advisers, LLC

Impact Advisers, LLC, is a specialized investment banking firm that places a distinctive emphasis on serving its clients through a consultative, long-term relationship. In this relationship, the firm operates as an in-house extension of the client’s existing management team with an incentive that is tied to the client’s long-term success. Consequently, unlike most bankers, Impact is not transactionally-driven nor is its relationship with its clients fraught with conflicts of interest. The firm has offices and personnel in both Atlanta and New York.

Mr. Hufford has more than two decades of investment banking, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development and operational experience. During his career, he has been a partner of a regional investment bank, Croft & Bender LLC; a partner of the law firm of Hunton & Williams; a senior corporate development executive for two NASDAQ-listed technology companies; and the co-founder of two successful start-ups, VerticalOne Corporation and Proficient Systems, Inc., each of which was acquired for substantially more than the amount of investment in those companies.

Mr. Hufford earned his Bachelor of Arts in 1981 from James Madison University and his Juris Doctor in 1985 from the University of Virginia. He serves on the Board of Directors of Vertical Acuity, Inc., Distant Replays, Inc. and One Atlanta, LLC, as well as the Executive Advisory Council of the College of Business at James Madison University.

Back to Council List


Wayne Jackson

Wayne Jackson

Chief Executive Officer & Director, Sourcefire, Inc.

Wayne Jackson joined Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ: FIRE) in May of 2002 and serves as its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. During Wayne's tenure, Sourcefire grew from a fledgling open source startup to a profitable category leader with more than 200 employees and operations worldwide. On March 9, 2007, Sourcefire raised more than $80 million dollars in its initial public offering of stock - the first network security industry IPO in over five years.

Before joining Sourcefire, Wayne co-founded Riverbed Technologies, a wireless infrastructure company, and served as its CEO until the successful sale of the company to Aether Systems for more than $1 billion dollars in March of 2000. At Riverbed, Wayne grew the company from startup to category winner in less than two years with more than 100 employees and relationships with industry leaders including Palm, Oracle, IBM, Symbol, and Microsoft.

As the Managing Director of Aether Capital, Wayne led the process for strategic investing and played a key role in two secondary stock offerings that raised more than $2 billion dollars. Previously, Wayne built a sophisticated emerging technologies profit center for a large systems integrator and has consulted to organizations including General Electric, the World Bank, and the Federal Reserve.

Wayne holds a B.B.A in Finance from James Madison University.

Back to Council List


David Kay

Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, & Treasurer, Capital Automotive Real Estate Service, Inc.

David S. Kay is one of the founders of Capital Automotive and is the company's Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Capital Automotive is the nation's leading specialty finance company for automotive retail real estate. Under the direction of David, Capital Automotive completed its initial public offering in 1998, raising $370 million. The company made nearly $3 billion real estate acquisitions in the following seven years. During 2004, David restructured the company's balance sheet in excess of $1 billion and received investment grade ratings from Moody's Investor Service and Standard & Poor's. In December 2005, David led the company through the largest Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) privatization totaling nearly $4 billion. Capital Automotive continues to grow as a private entity under the same management. David was named the Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year® by Ernst and Young, and was named a National Finalist from over 400 regional award recipients in the 2003 competition.

Prior to forming Capital Automotive in 1997, David was employed by the public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP in Washington, D.C. for approximately 10 years. His areas of expertise included emerging companies in the automotive, retail and distribution industries. While at Arthur Andersen LLP, David provided clients with consultation regarding mergers and acquisitions, business planning and strategy, and equity financing. He has many years of experience in capital formation projects, roll-up transactions and initial public offerings for motor vehicle dealerships across the nation. David participated on a National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) task force and has given several presentations at NADA conventions, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) conferences and other industry seminars.

Back to Council List


Mark Langer

Chief Administrative Officer, Equity One, Inc.

Mr. Langer is a 1988 graduate of James Madison University and obtained his BBA degree majoring in accounting. Upon graduation, Mr. Langer joined KPMG, LLP's Washington, D.C. office starting his career in the assurance practice. Mr. Langer served a diverse base of clients before focusing his efforts on manufacturing and transportation companies.

Mr. Langer became a member of KPMG's airline transportation practice and spent numerous years serving clients such as US Airways and Atlantic Coast Airlines. Mr. Langer spent several years helping KPMG with its college recruiting efforts and worked closely with firm leadership to spearhead various human resource, diversity, employee training and charitable giving programs. Mr. Langer was elected to the partnership in July of 1998 and worked as an assurance partner in the manufacturing, retailing and distribution practice.

Mr. Langer joined Johnson Capital Management, Inc. (JCM) in January of 2000 serving as its Chief Operating Officer. JCM was a registered investment advisor providing high net worth, institutional and hedge fund clients with investment services. Mr. Langer oversaw the infrastructure of the firm and worked with third party broker dealers to assess investment opportunities, trading platforms and technological efficiencies.

In January 2008, Mr. Langer was appointed as the Chief Administrative Officer of Equity One, Inc., a publicly traded real estate investment trust that owns, develops and operates neighborhood and community shopping centers in the United States. In his role, Mr. Langer is responsible for leading the human resources, information technology and marketing functions of Equity One to create a best-in-class infrastructure that supports the company’s investment goals. Equity One was founded in 1992 and is based in North Miami Beach, Fla.

Back to Council List


Sean McCrae






Sean McCrae

Senior Vice President, PharmaForce International

Sean McCrae joined PharmaForce International, an international marketing and strategy consulting firm specializing in the pharmaceutical industry, in 1998 following his graduation from the MBA program at the A.B. Freeman School of Business of Tulane University where he was a Morton F. Aldrich Fellowship recipient concentrating in marketing and strategic planning.

He currently serves as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations at PharmaForce where his primary duties include overseeing all ongoing consulting engagements for the company and serving as the chief marketing officer of the firm's services. Prior to obtaining his current position, Mr. McCrae served as a Consultant, Project Manager and Director of Business Development for the firm. Projects managed by Mr. McCrae include an analysis of sales and marketing expenditures for 20 European pharmaceutical sales forces and an international project to create a world-class oncology sales and marketing franchise for a major pharmaceutical company launching its first cancer drug. He has overseen consulting teams of 2-25 professionals on as many as four different continents for such clients as Pfizer, Merck, Amgen, Genentech, McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Bayer, Eli Lilly and Johnson and Johnson.

Outside of PharmaForce, Mr. McCrae has served as president of both the JMU Alumni and Duke Club Chapters of Philadelphia. He is also a member of the leadership council at Atonement Lutheran Church, Wyomissing, Pa.

Mr. McCrae majored in management at JMU where he graduated Magna Cum Laude and With Distinction in 1996. He was the management department's Outstanding Graduate in 1996. His honors thesis was titled, "A True Mickey Mouse Operation-A Case Study of Successful Management Practices at The Walt Disney Company." While attending Madison, Mr. McCrae served on the CoB's Dean's Student Advisory Council, Undergraduate Curriculum Council, Honors Program Advisory Board, the University Library Committee, and the Enrollment and Admissions Committee and was a member of Golden Key, Mortar Board and Omicron Delta Kappa honor societies. He was President of Beta Gamma Sigma, member of Phi Chi Theta, a Student Ambassador, a percussionist with the Marching Royal Dukes and a Mr. Madison finalist.

Sean and his wife, Letitia, live in Wyomissing, Pa., with their daughter, Madison.

Back to Council List


Tim McDonald

Tim McDonald

Partner, Rogers & Hardin

J. Timothy McDonald is a partner with Rogers & Hardin LLP. His practice focuses on employee benefit and employment litigation and counseling. He represents fiduciaries, benefit plans and employers in employee benefits litigation. Those representations include individual and class action cases in federal courts throughout the country as well as state courts. His employment practice involves representation of employers in defense of employment claims. Mr. McDonald also advises employers on employment practices and benefit issues and executive employees in executive compensation negotiations.

Mr. McDonald was admitted to the New Jersey and Pennsylvania Bars in 1990, the District of Columbia Bar in 1992, and the State Bar of Georgia in 1998.

Mr. McDonald has been admitted to practice before number federal courts:

  • 1991, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit
  • 1992, U.S. Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania
  • 1993, U.S. Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit
  • 1997, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, U.S. District Court, Northern District of New York and U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan
  • 1998, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit and U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit
  • 2000, U.S. Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit
  • 2002, U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit
  • 2003, U.S. District Court, Middle District of Georgia
  • 2004, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit

He was a law clerk to the Hon. William D. Hutchinson, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit from 1990 to 1992 and an Adjunct Professor of Appellate Advocacy, Seton Hall University Law School from 1993 to 1995 and an Associate at the law firm now known as Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione from 1992 to 1997 before joining Rogers & Hardin.

Mr. McDonald has authored and co-authored numerous articles:

  • Co-author: "Report of the Health, Disability and Leave of Absence Subcommittee," annually for the March 2001-2004 ABA Employee Rights and Responsibilities Mid-Winter Meetings
  • Co-Author: "The Top Ten Family Medical Leave Act Developments 2001-04," March 2004, ABA Employee Rights & Responsibilities Subcommittee Mid-Winter Meetings
  • Author: "COBRA and HIPAA Developments, 1998," March 2000, ABA Employee Rights and Responsibilities Committee Mid-Winter Meeting
  • Co-author: "Release Can Minimize Litigation Arising From A Reduction In Force," 18 The National Law Journal No. 26, C-4 (February 26, 1996); "Cutting Back Requires Some Crystal Ball Gazing," 144 New Jersey Law Journal 176, S-4 (April 15, 1996)
  • Author: Book Review, "The Purpose Doctrine and Conservative Judicial Activism," 24 Seton Hall Law Review 1204 (1993)

Author: Note, "Do Your Job and Get Sued For It! What the Future Holds for Representatives," 40 Case Western Reserve Law Review 1109 (1989-90).

Back to Council List


Susan McGhee

Director, Internal Audit, Carmax

Professional Experience
CarMax, Inc.

Richmond, VA, March 2003 - to present

Director, Internal Audit

Cadmus Communications

Richmond, VA, April 2002 - March 2003

Director, Internal Audit

Crown Vantage Inc.

Richmond, VA, March 1996 - April 2001

Director of Audit

James River Corporation

Richmond, VA, May 1987 - March 1996

  • Manager, Professional and Organizational Development, October 1993 - March 1996
  • Manager, Internal Audit, March 1991 - October 1993
  • Financial Projects Consultant, May 1987 - March 1991
Ernst & Young

Richmond, VA & Washington, D.C., June 1980 - May 1987

Audit Manager

Education & Certification

Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting, Cum laude, May 1980

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Virginia

Certified Public Accountant, Virginia

Organizations and Honors

Two James River Corporation Bronze Key Awards

Executive Advisory Council, College of Business, James Madison University

Outstanding Alumnus in Accounting, James Madison University

Walnut Grove Baptist Church: Sunday School Teacher, Church Pianist

Back to Council List


Amy McPherson

Amy McPherson

Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Marketing, Marriott International, EAC Vice Chair

Amy C. McPherson is executive vice president of sales and marketing. She is responsible for the company's global and field sales, marketing, revenue management, e-commerce, worldwide reservation sales and customer care, and sales channel strategy and analysis. Ms. McPherson is also a corporate officer for Marriott International.

Her duties include global sales and marketing for the company's Marriott Hotels and Resorts, Renaissance Hotels and Resorts, Courtyard, Residence Inn, SpringHill Suites, TownePlace Suites and Fairfield Inn brands - representing nearly 2,600 lodging properties worldwide.

Ms. McPherson joined Marriott in 1986 and most recently served as senior vice president of global revenue management and reservation sales. In this capacity she directed worldwide activities related to pricing and selling strategies, inventory management and systems development, as well as reservations at Marriott's customer contact centers around the world. Other key positions held by Ms. McPherson include senior vice president of business transformation and integration, where she developed the strategic business plan for ExecuStay, Marriott's corporate housing brand, and vice president of finance and business development.

Prior to joining Marriott, she worked in corporate treasury for Air Products & Chemicals in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

Ms. McPherson is a graduate of James Madison University and holds a BBA degree in Business Management and Economics, as well as an MBA degree from the College of William & Mary.

Back to Council List


Jerry Pierce

Jerry Pierce

Senior Tax Partner, KPMG

Jerry Pierce is a federal tax partner in KPMG's Midatlantic Tax Practice and serves many companies in the Consumer and Industrial Business area. He focuses on serving commercial companies, including privately held and publicly held corporations. Jerry provides day-to-day tax and business solutions for his clients. His responsibilities include all tax services for his clients and introducing specific services where needed.

Jerry regularly renders due diligence assistance on mergers and acquisitions and is very experienced in state and local tax matters. He has experience helping clients assess tax-advantaged structures for acquisitions, preparing basis and earnings and profit studies, and analyzing the limitations related to net operating losses.

Jerry works closely with professionals in the Firm's Washington National Tax Practice to coordinate customized tax services for his clients. In addition, Jerry coordinates tax delivery products through frequent meetings with client management and through coordination among the firm's other service providers. Jerry has approximately 25 years of experience providing audit and accounting-based advisory services to a wide variety of publicly held, multi-national organizations.

Major Clients Served (past and present) include: General Dynamics, Danaher Corporation, Airbus North America, American Red Cross, Duron, Inc., U.S. Airways, Inc., FLYi, Inc., Independence Air, Colgan Air, Inc., Concert Global Networks USA Inc., VT Group Inc., Cort Business Services, Cable & Wireless, Inc., HMS Host, World Airways, Inc., and Sutton Place Gourmet, Inc.

Jerry is active in a number of professional organizations. He serves as a member of AICPA, including the Tax Section, Virginia Society of CPAs, Greater Washington Board of Trade, Fairfax Chamber of Commerce, British American Chamber of Commerce and is a current board member of Leadership Fairfax, Inc., the James Madison University College of Business Executive Advisory Council, and is the President-Elect of the Business Alliance of George Mason University.

Jerry earned his Master's of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance from George Mason University and his Bachelor's of Business Administration in Accounting from James Madison University.

Back to Council List


Don Rainey

Don Rainey

Genera; Partner, Grotech Capital Group

Don Rainey Bio
Mr. Rainey joined the Grotech Capital Group in September, 2007 as a general partner.  Grotech Capital has over $1 billion in U.S. currency under management and is focused upon early stage information technology companies. Don was formerly a general partner in Intersouth Partners, a venture capital firm based in Durham, N. C., with $775 million under management. Mr. Rainey was formerly an entrepreneur with a track record of a number of successful businesses.  

Don is currently on the Board of Directors for ARPU and Zenoss. ARPU, provides a sophisticated online cross sell and subscription management system and is based in Washington, DC. Zenoss offers an open source network management solution and is headquartered in Annapolis, Md.   

Don was president of Attitude Network, one of the first entertainment networks on the Internet, which was sold to TheGlobe.com in 1999. Mr. Rainey developed and executed complete business strategy for this funded start-up and managed all operational issues related to four offices (LA, NY, Seattle, UK). During tenure, the company value increased from startup to eventual sale to TheGlobe.com for $49 million in 1999. Mr. Rainey also served as a founding Board member for Accipiter and served on the Board of Directors of Accipiter through its acquisition by CMGI in 1998.

He has also held senior executive positions with Novell and the IBM Corporation. At Novell, Mr. Rainey was responsible for all reseller programs and channel distribution.   He designed, implemented and managed Novell Authorized Dealer Program from start-up to 12,000 resellers. This Novell Dealer Program has become a widely emulated model for the network industry.  While at Novell, Mr. Rainey wrote extensively for industry trade publications on network channel marketing issues. He authored a weekly column in the magazine Selling Red and served on editorial board of Selling Red after its acquisition by McGraw Hill.

With IBM, he managed channel distribution and brand marketing for the $2 billion Network Hardware Division where he established and managed product marketing and distribution in 50 countries. Mr. Rainey negotiated and signed distribution deals with 22 European partners resulting in incremental 1st year sales of $75 million. He also established the division’s first sales efforts in China in 1994 and maintained responsibility for a $50 million budget and 120 employees.

He was previously COO of DaVinci Systems, where he was hired as Director of Sales and Channel Marketing. He doubled company revenues within four months of arrival. At DaVinci, Don oversaw development of product into seven languages by forging partnerships with companies in various overseas markets resulting in no-cost translation and rapid overseas market penetration. (Israel, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Turkey)

Mr. Rainey assumed full management responsibilities in 1992 to affect company turnaround from major losses (greater than $1.5 million) to profitability, which was accomplished in 12 months. Directed by the Board of Directors in January 1994 to sell the company to a desirable acquirer,  the sale was completed in June 1994 to ON Technology, which had its IPO within five months of the acquisition.

Mr. Rainey is an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland where he teaches graduate courses entitled “New Venture Creation” and “New Venture Finance.”  Mr. Rainey has served on the Enterprise Investment Advisory Committee for the State of Maryland, and the Investment Advisory Board of the State of Virginia’s Growth Acceleration Program.

He is on the Organizing Board of Mindshare. Mindshare is an organization that helps CEOs from the most promising start-ups in the Greater Washington Metropolitan region build long-term, sustainable companies.  The invitation-only group creates a forum that meets monthly to exchange ideas and discuss current issues facing start-up companies.  To date, almost 260 CEOs have graduated from the program, including Phillip Merrick, the founder and CEO of webMethods; Dan Simpkins, the founder and former CEO of Salix Technologies; and Rick Kay, the founder and former CEO of OTG Software.

Mr. Rainey is a member of the Board of Directors of Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties Foundation. Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc. (VTIP) was formed in 1985 to identify, legally protect, and market intellectual properties resulting from research at Virginia Tech and to provide service to the university in matters dealing with Intellectual Property. VTIP was also charged with being financially self-sufficient after sharing royalties with the inventors according to the university's Intellectual Property Policy.

Mr. Rainey is a consultant to the Chief Information Office of the U.S. Department of Defense through the DeVenCi program where a handful of Venture Capitalists advise on emerging technologies. The DeVenCi program is aimed at facilitating innovation within the DoD by presenting unmet technology needs to a select group of Venture Capitalists who then nominate companies with corresponding technology solutions.

Mr. Rainey is a James Madison University Graduate, B.B.A.  and holds a M.S in Bioscience Management from George Mason University.

Back to Council List


John Rothenberger

John Rothenberger

President, SE Solutions, Inc

John Rothenberger is the founder of Strategic Enterprise Solutions, Inc. (SE Solutions). He founded the company post 911 as a business dedicated to delivering IT and business services and solutions to improve our nation's homeland security.

Mr. Rothenberger is a successful entrepreneur and seasoned business executive with over 16 years of executive leadership, strategic business planning, business development, and management experience.

Prior to starting SE Solutions, Mr. Rothenberger founded an IT company named Aspire Technology Group (formerly Clover Technologies) and served as its President from 1993 to early March 2000. Aspire was recognized with numerous growth awards including a 1999 Virginia Fantastic 50 (#39); a 1998 Forbes magazine Inc. 500 (#334); 1998 Virginia Fantastic 50 (#4); a KPMG High-Tech Entrepreneur of the Year nominee; and a 1994 Fairfax County New Business of the Year runner up.

Mr. Rothenberger graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Business Administration ('88) in Marketing. He is currently a member of the JMU Executive Advisory Council and serves as a regular judge for the College of Business' annual business plan competition. Mr. Rothenberger is also a University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Business Fellow.

As founder of SE Solutions, Mr. Rothenberger is dedicated to fostering an employee culture that is focused on addressing the acute needs of our clients, while providing solutions that foster their long-term, strategic business goals.

Back to Council List


Mike Thomas

Mike Thomas

President, Global Security Solutions, Lockheed Martin, EAC Co-Vice Chair

Michael M. Thomas is President of the Global Security Solutions (GSS) Group within Lockheed Martin Information Systems & Global Services (IS&GS). GSS provides capabilities for the creation of knowledge solutions, intelligence mission management, and the processing and dissemination of intelligence data for enhanced national and tactical decision making. Mr. Thomas' primary responsibilities include the day-to-day operations of the business which include contract performance, financial management, strategy development and implementation advanced research and human resource management.

In November 1998, Mr. Thomas was named as the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Focus Executive, a role he continues. In this role, Mr. Thomas is responsible for executive oversight for all NGA activities, ensuring that LMC provides focused resources in support of NGA. Mr. Thomas also serves on the Lockheed Martin Corporate Risk Board and Homeland Security Council.

Mr. Thomas has more than 29 years of experience in business development and program performance leadership positions. He joined IBM in 1978, focusing on commercial banking accounts. He spent three years as the White House Account Manager for national federal accounts, was appointed Manager, Air Force and Classified Accounts in 1986, and subsequently became the Account Executive for Special Programs, responsible for more than $110 million dollars a year in contracts for IBM. Additional responsibilities included the customer interface for commercial requirements to IBM product divisions. In 1992, Mr. Thomas transferred to Gaithersburg as Business Area Manager for New and Advanced Programs with responsibility for a major classified COTS development program, as well as all the internal research and development. He became Director Loral Federal Systems in 1994 and was appointed Vice President, Special Application Programs for Lockheed Martin Mission Systems in 1996. In late 1997, Mr. Thomas led the redirection of the business into the Imagery and Geospatial Programs with contract performance in the federal, commercial and international markets.

Mr. Thomas is a graduate of Madison College (1976) with a B.B.A. in Finance and Marketing. He received an MBA from James Madison University in 1977 and is a Fellow of the 1996 - 1997 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI on Foreign Politics, International Relations and The National Interest. Industry involvement includes membership on the Board of Directors for the Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) and United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). Mr. Thomas is a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) and the National Military Intelligence Association (NMIA). In addition, he serves on the James Madison University College of Business Executive Advisory Board and is the LM University Executive for the University of Virginia and a member of the Virginia Engineering Foundation Board. Mr. Thomas and his wife, Kathy, live in Reston, Virginia. They have four daughters, Kelley, Melissa, Christine, and Julie.

Back to Council List


Sean Tobin

Sean Tobin

Director, Cross Rates Sales, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Sean Tobin is the Director of Cross Rates Sales for Deutsche Bank's San Francisco office. In this role, he identifies and evaluates investment opportunities for large institutional clients who invest in fixed income securities. His clientele includes large money managers, corporations, insurance companies, hedge funds, and government pension & budget funds. In aggregate, his customers manage almost $2 trillion across various investment disciplines.

Sean is a specialist in sovereign & agency debt, swaps, swaptions & exotic derivatives of G-7 countries; and sometimes trades currencies as hedges to those products. He advises clients on market direction, yield curve shape, and relative value opportunities within and between markets.

Prior to joining Deutsche Bank, Sean spent 11 years at Lehman Brothers, which he joined a month after graduating from JMU. He spent 3 years in Lehman's New York office in the Fixed Income Department. Advancing from traders assistant to junior salesperson, Sean then moved to Lehman's San Francisco office in 1995 as a salesperson covering large institutional clients.

After 8 years of building his client base for Lehman (during which time he grew annual revenues from $2mm to $25mm), Deutsche Bank hired Sean in 2003 to grow their west coast business through those client relationships.

Outside of work, Sean is involved in various philanthropic ventures, and is on the fundraising committee of Autism Speaks, the national organization seeking a cure for autism. In addition, he serves on the James Madison University College of Business Executive Advisory Board. In 2005, Sean established the Tobin Family Endowment for JMU's College of Business in honor of his parents. Sean & his wife Michele have two young children, Delaney & David.

Sean graduated from JMU with a BBA (finance major, economics minor) in 1992, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Back to Council List


Dennis Tracz

Dennis Tracz

Founder & President, Barista on Demand, LLC

Dennis Tracz ('78) enjoys the adventures of uncertainty. "Most people are nervous with uncertainty but I see lots of opportunities in chaos," says the former CEO of Leapfrog-XML Inc., a venture funded software company. "Filling the void is what entrepreneurship is about. Change generally shows the void and the opportunity. But just because it's an opportunity doesn't mean you should pursue it. Big opportunities are better than small ones, and I like working with smart people rather than by myself," says the College of Business Advisory Council member.

Tracz balances his comfort with chaos with a home office in bucolic Charlottesville, VA. "Currently I'm helping golf courses and resorts to develop electronic distribution channels. We are introducing online tee time purchasing and email marketing to golf properties in the Mid-Atlantic"

An article in Entreworld published a few years ago describes my experiences with building a technology company: http://www.entreworld.com/Content/EntreByline.cfm?ColumnID=253

Back to Council List