A-to-Z Index

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.

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.

Members of the Executive Advisory Council

Sandy Berry, Senior Industry Consultant, Teradata Corporation

Jarl Bliss, Vice President & Partner, Lincoln Property Company

Steven Boehm, Director, Global Product Management & Innovation, First Data Corporation

Kimberly Bram, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Southern States Cooperative

Courtney Bromley, Vice President, Homeland Security and Law Enforcement, IBM

Michael A. Brown, Managing Director, Senior Relationship Management, Morgan Stanley 

Kathryn Byrne, Partner, International Services, WeiserMazars LLP

Jeff Carlton, Senior Vice President, Investments, USB Financial Services

John Carr, Chairman & CEO, Brain Surgery Worldwide

Tom Carr, Vice President of Sales, SyCom Technologies

Enrico S. Gaglioti, Partner, GoldmanSachs & Company

Jason Glass, Principal, Summit Partners

G. J. Hart, Executive Chairman, CEO and President, California Pizza Kitchen 

Maribeth Herod, EAC Vice Chair, Quality Control Reporting and Analytics, Bank of America 

Paul Holland, General Partner, Foundation Capital

E. Wayne Jackson, CEO, Sonatype, Inc. 

David Kay, Chief Investment Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Capital Automotive Real Estate Service, Inc.

Mark Langer, Executive Vice President & CFO, Equity One, Inc.

Eric Major, President, K2M

J. Timothy McDonald, Partner, Rogers & Hardin

Susan McGhee, Director, Internal Audit, Carmax

Jennifer Morgan, President, SAP Public Services, Inc. 

Jerry T. Pierce, Senior Tax Partner, KPMG

Phil Salopek, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Notable Solutions, Inc.

Mike Thomas, Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton

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

Dennis Tracz, Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer, 141 Repellent, Inc

 


Executive Advisory Council Member Biographies

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Sandy Berry

Alexander B. "Sandy" Berry III

 Senior Industry Consultant, Teradata Corporation

Sandy joined Teradata on December 1, 2003, following a 40-year career in banking and consulting. He spent 31 years in commercial banking, including seventeen years at Signet. In in his last Signet position, he was senior executive vice president, responsible for branch delivery, small business banking, and private banking. He worked 14 years at Crestar, most recently as executive vice president for small business.

Sandy's consulting experience includes both a full-time and partnership association with Mercer Management Consulting (now Oliver Wyman) from 1991 through 2001. He assisted this international firm with the sale and delivery of consulting engagements with major banks and financial services vendors across the United States. He formed his own consultancy in 1994, continuing to serve banking and financial services companies.

At Teradata, Sandy leverages his over 45 years of financial services experience to assist top 20 banks, capital markets firms, and credit card companies across the United States with information strategy and execution with a focus on turning data and information into revenue and profit. 

In 1985, Sandy was the founding chair of the Executive Advisory Council at James Madison University and later served on the University Board of Visitors for nine years, including two years terms as vice rector and rector. He currently is chairman of the Research and Development Corporation for the College of Business and an ex officio member of the Executive Advisory Council.

Sandy is a graduate of The University of Virginia and the Stonier Graduate School of Banking.

He is a life-long resident of Virginia and lives in Richmond.

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Steve Boehm

Senior Vice President, Global Customer Services, eBay

Steve Boehm serves as Senior Vice President of Global Customer Services for eBay.  In this capacity, he is responsible for worldwide buyer and seller service management, continuous improvement, and billing and payment services. He has worked in payments, contact centers, technology and financial services for more than 25 years.  He came to eBay from First Data Corporation, where he led a global team responsible for product management, product development and product innovation. He is a member of eBay’s executive leadership team.

Previously, Boehm served in a variety of senior leadership positions at Wachovia Corporation, including President of Card and Payment Solutions, and General Manager for Wachovia Direct Access, where he helped lead a dramatic turnaround of that company’s customer service capability and reputation.  Wachovia became widely recognized for consistently providing the best customer service offered in the industry, consistently ranking as the top service company for eight years running. He also held various senior leadership roles at Visa Inc.

Boehm is married and has three sons.  He has a BBA in Management from James Madison University and an MBA in Information Systems from George Mason University.

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Kim Bram

Kimberly Bram

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Southern States Cooperative

Kimberly G. Bram serves as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Southern States Cooperative, Incorporated, one of the leading suppliers of agricultural products and services east of the Mississippi River.  Ms. Bram first joined Southern States in 1987 as Legal Counsel. 

She served for 14 years in various roles, including Assistant General Counsel and Vice President of Environmental Compliance and Real Estate before returning in 2007 as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.  Ms. Bram earned a BBA in Marketing and Management from James Madison University and a J.D. from the University of Richmond School of Law.  Prior to rejoining Southern States, she served as General Counsel of FirstSTREET, a direct marketing/catalog company.

 

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Courtney Bromley 2

Courtney Bromley

Vice President, Homeland Security and Law Enforcement, IBM

Courtney has been with IBM for 22 years serving federal, state, and local government agencies. In her current role, she manages a team dedicated to serving the US Federal Departments of Homeland Security, Justice, State, US Courts, and USAID. Her business unit is responsible for IBM’s cross brand execution with DHS and Federal Law Enforcement community, including all IBM lines of business — hardware, software, and services. She was promoted to IBM vice president in June 2005 and to her current position in 2008. 

One of Courtney’s prior IBM positions was the client executive for the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Agriculture. In this capacity, she was IBM’s lead executive for the Department of Transportation during and after the tragedy of September 11, 2001. During that time, she was involved in working with the Transportation Security Administration as that agency was started under DOT in reaction to the 9/11 events.

Courtney has held multiple positions during her IBM career. She was previously responsible for IBM’s hardware sales to all U.S. Federal civilian agencies. She managed the merger and acquisition of Sequent Federal into the IBM Federal line of business. During the mid-90s Courtney managed the IBM Public Sector Organization’s State and Local Software team, responsible for all IBM software sales and delivery to IBM’s state and local customer set nationwide.

Courtney is a graduate of James Madison University, holding a B.B.A. degree in finance. She is one of the two IBM principal members of the Homeland Security and Defense Business Council. She is active in community activities, including work with the National Kidney Foundation and the NFL Players Association and serves on the Board of Directors of Special Olympics D.C. She has served on the executive committee and as the auction chair for the NKF’s Annual Kidney Ball. She has been on the Executive Host Committee for the NFL Players Gala featuring the J.B. Awards, and was the chair for the event for the last three years. 

She, her husband and two sons live in Potomac, Maryland.

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Michael Brown

Mike Brown

Managing Director, Senior Relationship Management, Morgan Stanley

Mike is a member of Morgan Stanley's Senior Relationship Management team. The team covers executives of the firm's largest clients for Equities, Fixed Income and Investment Banking. Mike's 18-year career at Morgan Stanley has included several leadership and management roles within trading, sales and capital markets. In these roles, he has transacted in a total of over $500 billion of securitized products, which include residential/commercial mortgages and asset-backed securities.

Mike received a B.B.A. in C.I.S. at James Madison University in 1989 and an M.B.A. in finance at the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in 1994.

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Kathryn Byrne

Kathryn Byrne

Partner, International Services, WeiserMazars LLP

Kathryn has more than 20 years of experience in providing accounting, auditing, tax, and consulting services to domestic and foreign corporations in various industries. Her expertise includes specializing in the audit of public companies, operational reviews of company processes, inventory management, and forecasting and strategic planning. She has extensive industry-specific experience providing accounting services to companies in the software/technology, distribution, manufacturing, telecommunication, import/export, automotive, paper, and cosmetic industries, as well as service companies.

Kathryn completed her undergraduate studies at James Madison University, earning a B.B.A. in accounting and finance. Kathryn is the North American Chair of Praxity, which is a unique global alliance of independent accounting firms with offices in 65 countries, and a member of its membership committee.

Kathryn is a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Kathryn is a member of the Board of Directors of Signature Bank and Chair of the Examination Committee. Kathryn is the chairperson of the 2011 AICPA International Business Conference.  She is also a member of the Women’s Corporate Directors group and the James Madison University College of Business Executive Advisory Council. In addition, Kathryn is a board member of IFAC Compliance Advisory Panel. She is a former member of the Quality Peer Review Subcommittee of the IFAC Forum of Firms.

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jeff carlton

W. Jeffrey Carlton

Senior Vice President, Investments, USB Financial Services

Occupation:   Senior Vice President — Investments

                        UBS Institutional Consultant            

                                                   UBS Financial Services, Inc., Vienna, Va.

Education:     B.S., Management and Marketing, James Madison University

                        Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®), The
                        Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania

Current Affiliations:                                                                                                                                         

  • Co-Founder, James Madison University, College of Business NOVA Alumni Group
  • Board Member, James Madison University College of Business's Executive Advisor Council
  • Trustee, George Mason University Foundation, Inc.
  • Chairperson, Investment Committee, George Mason University Foundation, Inc.
  • Member, Investment Management Consultant’s Association 
  • Member, International Council of Shopping Centers

Previous Affiliations:

  • Board Member, The Langley School Board of Trustees
  • Chairperson, Finance Committee, The Langley School
  • Member, Association of Professional Investment Consultants 
  • Member, The Optimist Club of Tysons Corner/McLean
  • Member, Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce
  • Member, National Association of Stock Plan Professionals 
  • Limited Partner, JK III Inc., and JK III LLC
  • Board Member, Medical Care for Children Partnership/Fairfax County Office of Public/Private Partnerships

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Carr

John Carr

 Chairman and CEO, Brain Surgery Worldwide, Inc.

John founded Brain Surgery Worldwide, Inc. a market research consulting business focused on delivering emotion based behavior insights and messaging in 1994. Brain Surgery works with clients like American Express, Amgen, Astra Zeneca, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Schering Plough, Sanofi-Aventis, Toyota, Wachovia/Wells Fargo and Wyeth. John specializes in understanding how emotion-based information predicts behavior. He has the unique ability to integrate emotional insight into actionable marketing strategies and building platforms that guide execution. He has helped companies understand how to utilize such information to dramatically increase revenues, discover competitive strengths, and improve marketplace performance. Prior to starting Brain Surgery, he spend his career working in advertising agencies and in strategic marketing consulting.    

John currently serves on the Executive Advisory Council of the James Madison University College of Business, he is a board member of the Virginia Cardinals Rugby Football Club and the United States Rugby Football Foundation.

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Tom Carr

Tom Carr

Vice President of Sales, SyCom Technologies

Tom Carr is vice president of emerging markets at SyCom Technologies. He is focused on solution development and sales for vertical markets, data center solutions, managed services and customer briefings. Tom also serves as a partner and member of the executive team. 

During his 20-year career, Tom’s primary focus has involved vertical markets including healthcare, assisted living, legal, retail and public sector. Tom held a number of sales and sales management positions at Gambro Healthcare and then spent nine years at Cisco Systems, where he was a Major Account Manager of the Year and Business Development Manager for the Healthcare Vertical Sector. In 1998, as Cisco’s second healthcare sales manager, he worked solely with the hospital environment and his efforts led to several healthcare best practices being published by Cisco.

In 2007, Tom joined Packet360 as Director of Sales and developed the sales consulting group specializing in vertical markets and advanced technologies. Packet360 was recognized as the 164th fastest growing company in the United States by Inc. Magazine during his tenure.

Tom received the James Madison University Inez Graybeal Roop Distinguished Alumni Service Award in 2003.

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Enrico S. Gaglioti

 Managing Director, Securities Division, GoldmanSachs & Company

Enrico is a partner of Goldman Sachs and is the head of equity sales in North America for the firm. He serves on the Firmwide Suitability Committee and the Securities Division US Operating Committee. Enrico joined Goldman Sachs in 1998 in New York. He was named managing director in 2001 and partner in 2002.

Enrico is a member of the Board of Trustees of Don Bosco Prep and the Foundation for Newark’s Future, the Board of Directors of the U.S. Soccer Foundation and the Advisory Council of James Madison University’s College of Business. Prior to joining the firm, Enrico worked at Salomon Smith Barney.

Enrico earned his B.B.A. from James Madison University College of Business in 1994.

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Glass

Jason E. Glass

Principal, Summit Partners

Jason Glass is a Principal in the Boston office of Summit Partners where he focuses on private equity investments in growing, profitable companies, with a special emphasis on technology and software opportunities. Previously, Jason was an investment professional at General Catalyst Partners. Prior to that, he worked in marketing and the Office of the Chairman on corporate development and strategy at America Online and in investment banking at Deutsche Banc Alex Brown where he focused on energy.
 
His board directorships and investments include Focus Financial Partners, Nomacorc, PeopleAdmin and Zenith RMM.
 
Jason received a B.B.A, summa cum laude, at James Madison University and an M.B.A., with distinction, from the Harvard Business School. Jason is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
 
Summit Partners is a growth equity investor for exceptional companies. In the 25 years since the firm was founded, Summit has raised more than $11 billion in capital and has provided growth equity, recapitalization, and management buyout financing to more than 300 growing companies across a range of industries. These companies have completed nearly 125 public offerings, and more than 110 have been acquired through strategic mergers and sales. Summit Partners has offices in Boston, Palo Alto and London

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G. J. Hart

Executive Chairman, CEO and President, California Pizza Kitchen 

G.J. Hart is Executive Chairman, CEO and President of California Pizza Kitchen, which was founded in 1985 and currently has 235 restaurants in 11 countries. G.J. is the former President and CEO of the Louisville-based Texas Roadhouse restaurants. Founded in 1993, Texas Roadhouse has grown to more than 350 restaurants in 46 states and two countries.

Under G.J.’s leadership, revenues have increased from approximately $63 million in 1999 to more than $1 billion in 2010. In 2004, G.J. led the $600-million initial-public-offering of the company’s stock, which trades on the NASDAQ under the symbol TXRH.

In 2006, readers of Consumer Reports magazine voted Texas Roadhouse as the top concept in the Pub/Grill category, and the company was given the prestigious Golden Chain Award in 2006 by Nation’s Restaurant News. Forbes magazine ranked the company as one of the 200 Best Small Companies in 2007 and 2008, and the magazine named Texas Roadhouse one of the Top 10 Fastest Growing Retailers in 2010.

Under G.J.’s guidance, Texas Roadhouse has also won numerous awards for its unique culture. In 2011, the company was named Top Workplace by the Louisville Courier-Journal. The company was also recognized by Business First in 2010 as the Large Business of the Year. In addition, O.C. Tanner presented Texas Roadhouse the prestigious Carrot Culture Award for 2009 for its culture of employee recognition and engagement. Texas Roadhouse was selected from more than 5,000 entries.

In 2009, G.J. appeared on CNBC to defend incentive meetings and employee recognition programs utilized by Texas roadhouse and other companies. The appearance was in the wake of the revelation that AIG spent government money on lavish meetings. G.J.'s appearance helped stem the tide of negative publicity for the industry and led to a host of awards from the travel industry, including the President’s Award from the Incentive Marketing Association and an award from the Professional Convention Management Association.

Additional awards for G.J. include being named 2010 Restaurateur of the Year by Kentucky Restaurant Association, and the 2009 Person of Vision by Prevent Blindness Kentucky. G.J. was also recognized as one of the best CEOs for investor relations by IR Magazine in 2011.

In 2000, G.J. created Andy’s Outreach, which is an internal outreach fund that assists Texas Roadhouse employees. In 2009, Texas Roadhouse opened a restaurant in Logan, Utah, that donates 100% of the profits to Andy’s Outreach. To date, Andy’s Outreach has assisted more than 2,500 Texas Roadhouse employees and their families.

The son of a retired police officer, G.J. is passionate about supporting police officers across the nation. In 2006, G.J. and other community leaders, created the Louisville Metro Police Foundation, which is non-partisan partnership between the men and women of the Louisville Metro Police Department and the community. As a result, G.J. was recognized by the Kentucky Women’s Law Enforcement Network recently for his support of police officers in the Commonwealth.

Prior to joining Texas Roadhouse in 2000, G.J. was President of Al Copeland Investments, a multi-faceted organization comprised of three food processing plants, four restaurant concepts, hotels, gaming, entertainment, and comedy clubs. As President of ACI, G.J. increased the restaurant division from nine stores to 60, spearheaded the acquisition of the Improv Comedy Club, and increased the annual earnings sevenfold and revenue by 100%.

G.J. began his career at Shenandoah Valley Poultry Company, where he climbed from trainee to general manager and minority owner of the company in just eight years. In his next position, as President of New Zealand Lamb Company, he increased revenue by 60% while decreasing operating expenses 65%. After New Zealand Lamb Company, G.J. took over as President of Trifoods International, a start-up company that created, produced, and marketed innovative, prepared food products. In just four years, the company’s revenue increased to more than $60 million.

G.J. is active in many charities, including, Special Olympics Kentucky, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, American Red Cross, Voluteers of America, the Louisville Metro Police foundation and Kids Kicking Cancer.  He is also is a Regional Director for Make-A-Wish Foundation.

G.J.’s advisory board memberships include: Bellarmine University- Trustee, Advisory Board at James Madison University Business School, Kosair Children's Hospital Foundation Board of Trustees Old National Bank — Louisville Region, Louisville Metro Police foundation, Thornton Oil, and University of Louisville’s College of Business and Public Administration. G.J. is also an active member of the Young Presidents Organization.

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Maribeth Herod

EAC Vice Chair, Quality Control Reporting and Analytics, Bank of America

Maribeth joined Bank of America in June of 2011. She is responsible for the Quality Control Reporting and Analytics function for the Legacy Asset Servicing division.

Prior to joining the bank, Maribeth served as Vice President of Enterprise Programs at Freddie Mac in McLean, VA.  In this role, she operated as COO establishing Freddie Mac’s unique response to President Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program. Her responsibilities included, but not limited to, the design and implementation of the Quality Assurance Program over the IT system development lifecycle; the development, implementation, and maintenance of the comprehensive information architecture for Freddie Mac’s finance division; in addition to the responsibilities of high priority deliverables through project management, business engineering, and data and rules management for transformation initiatives. Just a few of Maribeth’s accomplishments at Freddie Mac included resolution of material weaknesses and rationalization of the controls framework for the IT organization as well as designing and implementing the Portfolio Management function and governance for an annual $300 million investment portfolio.

Prior to joining Freddie Mac, Maribeth was a partner with Andersen in their Business Consulting practice where she served a host of communication and financial service clients providing solutions to billing, procurement, and back office challenges. Some of her major accomplishments included: defining shared service opportunities for a multi-billion dollar media company; supporting a five year advertising and marketing strategy and roadmap for the development of a technology solution to achieve the company’s strategic vision; and defining an OSS/BSS strategy in support of several emerging communication service providers.

The remainder of Maribeth’s career has been spent operating between internal management and technology related roles for Fortune 500 companies as well as global consulting firms, both high end and start up. Maribeth’s professional experience has led her to an experienced knowledge base in both the Financial Services and Communication industries.

Maribeth graduated from James Madison University with a B.B.A., double majoring in management and MIS.

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Paul Holland

General Partner, Foundation Capital, Menlo Park, Calif.

Paul's primary focus is on helping early-stage start-ups go from zero to $100M in revenue. He helped take public two venture-funded software start-ups, Kana Communications, and Pure Software. Paul currently serves on the board of directors for CalStar Products, Chegg, Coverity, Inside View, MobileIron, and Serious Materials ; and previously for Talking Blocks (acquired by Hewlett-Packard), RouteScience (acquired by Avaya), TuVox (acquired by West) and Ketera (acquired by Rearden Commerce).

Prior to joining Foundation Capital, was senior vice president of worldwide sales at Kana Communications, a leading supplier of Enterprise Relationship Management solutions to strategic e-businesses. Paul went on to build a team of over 350 people that secured more than 900 customers worldwide, helping Kana become one of the top ten IPOs of 1999. Before Kana, Paul was a vice president and general manager for another highly successful start-up, Pure Software, helping raise their market value from $2 million to over $1 billion in his five-year tenure there. He began his professional career at SRI International (formerly the Stanford Research Institute).

Paul enjoys spending time with his wife Linda Yates, and their three daughters, Kylie, Devon, and Piper. In his spare time he enjoys golf, volleyball, poker, traveling (he has visited over 50 countries to date), and is building a LEED Platinum home in Portola Valley. Paul has been guest lecturer on entrepreneurship at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business, Harvard Business School, James Madison University, and the Stanford Graduate School of Engineering. He is an active advisor and supporter of Project BUILD in East Palo Alto, the Bing School at Stanford and Sustainable Silicon Valley. He is the executive producer of a critically acclaimed documentary on the origins of the venture capital industry called Something Ventured, and is the past president of the Western Association of Venture Capital.

Paul received an M.B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley; an M.A. in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia; and a B.S. from James Madison University.

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Wayne Jackson

CEO, Sonatype, Inc. 

Wayne currently serves as the CEO of Sonatype, Inc., creator of Maven and other technologies used by millions of software developers and tens of thousands of organizations worldwide.

Prior to joining Sonatype, Wayne served as the CEO of open source network security pioneer Sourcefire, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIRE), which he guided from fledgling start-up through an IPO in March of 2007 at a valuation of approximately $450 million.

Before joining Sourcefire, Wayne co-founded Riverbed Technologies, a wireless infrastructure company, and served as its CEO until the sale of the company for more than $1 billion in March of 2000.

Prior to Riverbed, Wayne built an emerging-technologies business unit for a large systems integrator and provided consulting services to organizations including General Electric, the World Bank and the Federal Reserve.

Wayne holds a B.B.S in Finance from James Madison University, 1985, and has completed the Executive Education program for Corporate Governance at Harvard University.

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David Kay

Chief Investment Officer & Chief Financial Officer, Capital Automotive Real Estate Service, Inc.

David is one of the founders of Capital Automotive and is the company's chief investment officer and chief financial officer. Capital Automotive is the nation’s leading specialty finance company for automotive retail real estate. Under David's direction, Capital Automotive completed its initial public offering in 1998 raising $370 million and completed nearly $3 billion of real estate acquisitions in the following seven years.  During 2004, David completed a restructuring of 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 REIT privatization totaling nearly $4 billion. In 2009 and 2011, he oversaw two restructurings totaling approximately $3.7 billion of the company’s debt. Capital Automotive continues to flourish as a private entity under the same management. David was named the Greater Washington Entrepreneur of the Year® by Ernst and Young, and was also 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. While at Arthur Andersen LLP, David provided clients with consultation regarding mergers and acquisitions, business planning and strategy, and equity financing. He also has many years of experience in capital formation projects, roll-up transactions, and initial public offerings for companies across the nation. David is a member of the Board of Summit Hotel Properties, Inc., a premium-branded limited-service and select-service hotel investment company. He is also a member of the Executive Advisory Board for the College of Business at James Madison University. David is also very active in many charitable foundations and organizations. 

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Mark Langer

Executive VP & CFO, Equity One, Inc.

Mark currently serves as the executive vice president and CFO of Equity One, Inc., a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust traded on the NYSE. Equity One is one of the largest owners and operators of neighborhood and community shopping centers in the U.S. with interests in more than 180 properties. In his current role, Mark is responsible for all accounting and finance functions and also oversees the Company’s information technology, marketing and organizational initiatives. Mark joined Equity One in January 2008 and was named CFO in March 2009. 

Prior to joining Equity One, Mark worked for Johnson Capital Management serving as the chief operating officer and oversaw the infrastructure and administrative functions of the company. In addition, Mark worked with third party broker dealers to assess investment opportunities that were suited for investment partnership goals and objectives.

Mark started his career joining KPMG, LLP's assurance practice in the Washington, D.C. office. Mark served a diverse base of clients including large pension funds, real estate developers and retailers before focusing his efforts on manufacturing and transportation companies. He became a member of KPMG's airline transportation practice and spent numerous years serving clients such as U.S. Airways and Atlantic Coast Airlines. Mark 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. Mark was elected to the partnership in July of 1998 and worked as an assurance partner in the manufacturing, retailing and distribution practice.

Mark is a 1988 graduate of James Madison University and obtained his B.B.A. degree, majoring in accounting, and passed the uniform CPA examination in 1989.

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Tim McDonald

Partner, Thompson Hine LLP

Tim is a partner with Thompson Hine LLP, Atlanta, Ga.  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. Tim also advises employers on employment practices and benefit issues and executive employees in executive compensation negotiations.

Tim 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.

Tim 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
  • 2009, Supreme Court of the United States
Tim 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, an associate at the law firm now known as Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione from 1992 to 1997, an associate and then a partner with Rogers & Hardin, before joining Thompson Hine LLP as a partner in 2011.  Tim has authored and co-authored numerous articles:
  • Panel member of the 2008 Midwinter Meeting of the ABA’s Employer Rights and Responsibilities regarding benefit claims
  • 2008 contributing editor to Employee Benefits Law 2007 Cumulative Supplement Revision
  • 2007 CLE on Dukes v. Wal-Mart
  • 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)

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Susan McGhee

Director, Internal Audit, CarMax, Richmond, VA, March 2003 - to present

Prior positions:

  • 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
  • Audit Manager, Ernst & Young, Richmond, VA & Washington, D.C., June 1980 - May 1987

Education and Certification 

  • James Madison University, B.B.A. in accounting, cum laude, May 1980
  • 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

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Jennifer Morgan

Jennifer Morgan

President, SAP Public Services, Inc.

Jennifer is president of SAP Public Services, Inc. with responsibility for SAP’s Federal Civilian, Defense, Aerospace & Defense, State & Local and Higher Education customers.

Prior to this role, Jennifer served as vice president for the Federal Civilian division of SAP Public Services. Jennifer has more than 18 years of experience in helping to develop, sell and implement enterprise-wide solutions and has worked  with most federal agencies including the United States Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Postal Service. 

Prior to joining SAP, Jennifer served as Director for Siebel Systems, Federal and Homeland Security, where she helped establish the company’s Case Management solution for enforcement and benefits focused government agencies. Before that, Jennifer served as a client manager at Accenture where she primarily oversaw large ERP system modernizations. During her time at Accenture, she worked with both consumer products companies including Marriott International and National Geographic Society, as well as several government agencies.

Jennifer is a graduate of James Madison University and currently resides in Potomac Falls, Va.

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Jerry T. Pierce

Partner, KPMG

Jerry is a Partner in KPMG’s Federal Tax practice. He has over 30 years of experience with Big Four public accounting. After beginning his career in audit, Jerry moved to tax early in his career and gained his tax experience by serving large, middle market and start-up companies in the Washington, D.C. metro. area. 

Professional and Industry Experience

Jerry serves as the lead tax engagement partner for his clients, coordinating tax services to serve his clients’ regulatory and business needs. He advises his clients regarding tax planning strategies, mergers, acquisitions, dispositions and reorganizations, Jerry works closely with his clients, as well as the KPMG audit engagement teams, in identifying tax exposure areas related to financial statements and has assisted companies in the implementation of FIN 48, Accounting for Uncertainties in Income Taxes. In addition Jerry and his team prepare the necessary federal, and state and local income / franchise tax returns to help ensure compliance with regulatory tax filings.

Jerry also leads various tax teams in outsourcing/co-sourcing certain public company and middle-market tax functions with primary focus on ASC 740 (FAS 109) reporting and income tax regulatory compliance, as well as serving their general day- to-day tax advisory service needs. His current practice includes various companies ranging from start-ups to large Fortune 500 companies.

Jerry’s current clients include FORTUNE 500 clients General Dynamics and Danaher Corporation, as well as middle-market companies, such as Global Aviation Holdings (owners of World Airways and North American Airlines), Rosetta Stone, Rolls-Royce North America, Inc., USA Mobility Holding, Inc., and XO Holdings, Inc.  Some of his other current and past clients include Colgan Air, Inc., FLYi, Inc. Giesecke & Devrient America, Inc., Vision Technologies, Inc. (VTS) and Versa Capital Management, Inc. Technical SkillsJerry is a federal tax professional with technical knowledge of the Internal Revenue Code and various state and local statutes.Publications and Speaking EngagementsJerry is an active speaker at such events as the Tax Watch Live, client training sessions and has taught at KPMG training for staff and managers.

Jerry is active in the metro Washington area and is actively involved in the local community.

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Phil Salopek

Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer, Notable Solutions, Inc.

Phil is a veteran of several Washington-area technology company successes, having previously served as the CFO at companies such as AXENT Technologies, BroadSoft and Approva. As an operationally focused CFO, during his career he has helped guide companies from startup through times of hyper-growth, including scaling revenues to over $125 million. Phil participated in AXENT’s IPO and was the CFO when the company was sold to Symantec for approximately $1 billion. He has extensive buy-side and sell-side M&A experience and has completed numerous equity and debt financings totaling tens of millions of dollars. Phil has been instrumental in driving international growth, having setup operations in more than 15 different countries and negotiating OEM agreements with two of the largest telecommunications equipment manufacturers in Europe and the largest in China. 

Phil is committed to the development of youth and serves on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Chapter of Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda, an education association of students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. He won the 2009 Maryland Business Person of the Year for his efforts in supporting local students

Phil previously served on the Board of Directors of Netria Systems and was a 2006 Nominee for the KPMG Greater Washington Technology Private Company CFO of the Year.

He earned a B.B.A. in finance from the James Madison University College of Business in 1992. Phil and his wife, Cindy, met as students at JMU and have two children, Scott and Caroline.

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Mike Thomas

Senior Vice President, Booz Allen Hamilton, EAC Chair

Mike is a senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton, having joined the firm in December of 2010. Prior to his joining BAH, he was the President of Lockheed Martin’s IS&GS — Security organization, providing  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. Mike’s primary responsibilities included the day-to-day operations of the business which included contract performance, financial management, strategy development, implementation of advanced research and human resource management. IS&GS — Security operates in 10 states and in six international markets. 

Mike 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. Additional responsibilities included the customer interface for commercial requirements to IBM product divisions. In 1992, Mike 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, Mike led the redirection of the business into the Imagery and Geospatial Programs with contract performance in the federal, commercial and international markets. In 2005, Mike was named vice president and general manager, and was named president of Global Security Solutions in March 2007.

Mike is a '76 graduate of Madison College with a B.B.A. in finance and marketing. He received an M.B.A. 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 and United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation. In 2007, Mike was named by Computerworld Magazine as one of its 2007 Premier 100 IT Leaders. Mike is a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association and the National Military Intelligence Association. In addition, he serves as the chairman of the James Madison University College of Business Executive Advisory Board and is the LM University Executive for the University of Virginia. Mike and his wife, Kathy, live in Reston, Va. They have four daughters and two grandsons. 

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Sean Tobin

Director, Cross Rates Sales, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc.

Sean 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 and budget funds. In aggregate, his customers manage almost $2 trillion across various investment disciplines.

Sean is a specialist in sovereign and agency debt, swaps, swaptions and 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 three 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 $2 million to $25 million), 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 and his wife Michele have two young children, Delaney and David.

Sean graduated from JMU with a B.B.A. in finance with an economics minor in 1992, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

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Dennis Tracz

Founder and CEO, 141 Repellent, Inc.

 Dennis ('78) enjoys living and working in the Shenandoah Valley south of JMU in Lexington, Va.

"The continuing growth of JMU is improving life for people living in this beautiful part of the world," Dennis says. "I enjoy attending football games at JMU's Bridgeforth Stadium and performances at the spectacular new Forbes Center for the Performing Arts. JMU's Center for Entrepreneurship has been instrumental in helping me launch my new repellent company with lessons learned from the JMU Sustainable Business Plan Competition a few years ago. We were able to obtain a worldwide patent license for a new, natural insect repellent from the USDA and are continuing development toward commercialization."

Dennis is married to Elizabeth Maxwell. Between them, there are five adult children leading busy lives. Dennis accompanies Elizabeth occasionally on visits with JMU alumni around the country.

"I'm constantly amazed at the interesting and successful lives led by many of our alumni," he says. "We are very fortunate to be part of an incredible group of people who are making a difference.”

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