Business Essentials Certificate: Strategy, Finance, Marketing

Facilitators

Jay Frishkorn

Jay Frishkorn is President of Strategic Profitability Consultants, and has more than 25 years of experience in developing management training programs in the US and Latin America. His specialty areas are business planning, budget development and management, forecasting, cost and management accounting, revenue recognition, financial analysis, business case development, and asset control and asset management.

Phil Greenwood

Dr. Phil Greenwood provides management advisory and development services to middle market and early stage enterprises in the area of strategic planning, finance, and accounting. As an educator in the fields of accounting, finance, and entrepreneurship, Phil has conducted numerous courses for MBA, Executive MBA, and executive education customers.

Currently, he is a Senior Lecturer in Entrepreneurship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business where teaches courses in New Venture Creation, Entrepreneurial Finance, and Entrepreneurial Strategies. He also teaches Management Planning and Strategies for the Evening MBA program and is a senior lecturer with the MS-Biotech program teaching business strategies and corporate finance.

Other notable teaching engagements include entrepreneurship and strategy courses at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China; University of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities, Minnesota; MBA program at HEC University in Versailles, France; and, Executive MBA program at KÖC University based in Istanbul, Turkey.

Phil’s management development seminars for corporate and executive education at the University of Wisconsin Executive Education and the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management have centered on programs in finance, accounting, and entrepreneurship. Phil’s past accomplishments in management advisory include assisting firms in the development of strategic and financial plans that raised equity financing of $2 million to $10 million each for biotechnology, high-tech manufacturers, and other service organizations. Notable clients include Deltanoid Pharmaceuticals of Madison, Wisconsin; Imago Scientific of Madison; and Higher Dimension Medical of Woodbury, Minnesota. Most recently, Phil is developing a strategic plan for a leading stem cell company.

Phil’s prior business experience includes Abbott Laboratories in Chicago as an internal auditor, financial analyst, and sales representative; McDonald's Corporation as a financial auditor performing audits and reviews of franchisee owners, beef suppliers, and advertising agencies; and with KPMG in Chicago as a CPA and consultant focused on small business advisory services.

Phil is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of Illinois and has earned a BBA-Accounting and a MBA - Finance/Entrepreneurship from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Business. He recently obtained his Doctorate in Philosophy in Continuing Education (minor in Entrepreneurship) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Ron Hirasawa

Ron Hirasawa is a marketing and strategy consultant, executive performance coach, and professor. He has:

• Designed/presented Abbott Labs Vision & Strategic Planning seminars
• Provided portfolio and strategic analysis/planning for Blount SEG
• Designed strategic positioning and a business plan for vCamelot.com, a technology company
• Consulted on the creation and implementation of Vision, Strategy, and Balanced Scorecard plans for TAP Pharmaceutical sales
• Provided strategic analysis/long range planning for PrivateBank and Trust Company
• Provided leadership and performance coaching for executives at TAP Pharmaceuticals, Household Finance, Discover Financial Services, and other companies.

Prior to his consulting, Hirasawa created a $100 million Midwest regional snack foods entity with the merger and acquisition of three companies. He structured and negotiated the deals, arranged new financing, and ran the turnaround operations. He worked in sales, marketing, and advertising for P&G, Johnson Wax, United Brands, Leo Burnett, and Don Tennant companies. He started American Marketing Services Corporation, a consulting company.

Ron has exported food products to Japan and other countries. He has advised Fortune 500 companies on doing business with the Japanese for the past 10 years. He also advises and coaches managers from Japan and other countries on American culture and business practices.

He is a Professor at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, where he lectures on Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Innovation, and Strategic Management. He served in the U.S. Army during the Vietnam Conflict, reaching the rank of Captain in the Medical Services Corp. Mr. Hirasawa holds a B.S. in Industrial Management from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MBA in Marketing from St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX.

Mike Muldoon

Mike is currently leading his own consulting and coaching practice focused on management, organizational and leadership development. Mike recently left Abbott after fifteen years, most recently as the Director, Corporate Strategic Training and Development. Mike was responsible for the development of the Leadership Curriculum for Mid-Level Managers.

Mike has held the positions of Director of Marketing, Director of National Accounts, and Director of Learning and Development at Abbott. He is also actively involved in teaching and facilitating leadership and business development seminars. Mike has taught Marketing, Vision and Strategy, Leading in a Changing Environment and Coaching to Abbott Managers in the US, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, and the Middle East. Mike has held the position of Director of Marketing in three corporations

In addition he is a Professor at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management where he has been teaching Marketing, Leadership, and Strategic Management for the past sixteen years. Mike earned his BA from North Central College, an MS from the University of Illinois, and an MBA from Keller Graduate School of Management.

Erica Glynn Nelson

Erica Glynn Nelson is Managing Consultant of Nelson Performance Development, LLC, a training and consulting practice. Nelson is a trainer, consultant, author, and mediator, who has worked with professionals in a variety of industries in performance improvement and consulting. Her extensive professional experience includes training in management and leadership development, collaboration, executive coaching, business consulting skills, customer service, negotiations, and communication skills. Her practical insights are gleaned from direct work experience.

Clients include: Banco Popular, Cardinal Healthcare Corporation, ComED, AGCO Corporation, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, TAP Pharmaceutical Products, American Academy of Orthopeadic Surgeons, Peoples Energy, and McDougal Littell Publishing, a division of Houghton Mifflin Company.

Erica has expertise in facilitation and adult learning methods and is an executive coach working with managers. She is a certified mediator through the Center for Conflict Resolution, the Center for the Study of Alternative Dispute Resolution, and a mediator with the Cook County Court System.

Nelson earned her B.A. from the University of Massachusetts in Journalism and English and her M.A. from the University of Connecticut in Educational Administration and Counseling. She is an adjunct faculty member at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

John P. Pappas

John Pappas is Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Coleman Cable, Inc., a leading innovator and manufacturer of electronic and electrical wire and cable products. He is also General Manager of the corporation’s Assemblies Group, which oversees the global manufacturing, procurement, promotion, and distribution of industrial, consumer, and OEM products. The firm has enjoyed tremendous growth in market position and earnings during Mr. Pappas’ tenure.

Since 1992, Mr. Pappas has also been a highly rated Professor at Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. In 2000, he was honored with the Distinguished Faculty Award, presented to one faculty member annually for MBA teaching excellence.

Mr. Pappas’ career at Coleman Cable began in 1984, when he joined the firm as National Sales Manager. Since then, he has contributed to the company’s growth and success while serving in a myriad of Marketing Management and General Management roles. He became Coleman’s Vice President of Marketing in 1993 and was appointed Corporate Vice President of Marketing in 1997. In 2001, he was asked to also lead the OEM business group. While retaining his role as Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Mr. Pappas was given new responsibilities and the additional title of General Manager–Assemblies Group in 2003.

Prior to joining Coleman Cable, Pappas held marketing and management positions with Electri-Flex Company, the National Association of Electrical Distributors, and Motorola.

Pappas holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration from Drake University and a Master’s of Business Administration from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, where he earned the distinction of being named a Hotchkiss Scholar. He was elected to the Board of Directors of Lake Forest Graduate School of Management in 2004 and is Chairman of the Enterprise Advancement Committee and of the Board Development Sub-Committee.