Skip to Main Content
Coggin College of Business
oneColumn

International Business

Maryam Afshar - Principal, Mahoir Inc.

Maryam Afshar HeadshotDr. Maryam Afshar is the Principal at MAHOIR Inc. an innovation consulting firm. She has led new product development projects and managed teams in qualitative and quantitative research for many years. She has also taught graduate and undergraduate college courses in design and design methodology. Through consulting and coaching Dr. Afshar empowers business leaders to innovate and lead competition in their market.

Jorge Bertran - Retired Partner, PURCEN, Brands & Products, LLC

Joseph Bertran HeadshotJorge is an entrepreneurial-spirited professional with more than 30 years of proven business leadership, as both a consultant and an executive, with extensive international marketing experience throughout Europe, U.S., Latin America, New Zealand and Australia. He was born in Cuba, his parents, political exiles, moved to the USA in 1960. He grew up in Miami and Puerto Rico where his parents eventually settled. He attended College Preparatory Boarding School in Puerto Rico.

Jorge holds a Master of Science MSc - International Management degree from ISCTE Business School, University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal) and a Bachelor of Science, Marketing Management degree from Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, New York. He also completed the Consultant Development Program, from the Management Centre Europe (Brussels, Belgium) and the Advanced Executive Development Program, from the London Business School, London UK. He is the author of the book, “Competencies for International Managers”.

During his early career years, he progressed through positions of increased responsibility and scope with major consumer product companies, such as Director of New Products Latin America (Coca-Cola Corporate Marketing Division, Atlanta GA), General Manager (Kraft General Foods, Argentina and Chile), Marketing & Trade Director (Colgate-Palmolive Co., Argentina, New York & San Juan PR) and Senior Product Manager, Nestle-Libby’s Company responsible for the Puerto Rican and the USA Hispanic markets.

In 1996 Jorge returned to Europe to become Managing Director of Fonterra Dairy Group (Anchor Foods), the multinational dairy cooperative owned by New Zealand dairy farmers that account for 30% of world’s dairy exports. He was based in Lisbon, Portugal, where he established and directed business operations for all non-UK consumer-branded businesses throughout Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, and the rest of Europe. In 1999 he moved to Swindon, the UK as the European Category Director, New Zealand Dairy Board. Jorge was promoted to lead the complete startup and launch of a new product line throughout several European countries while retaining full responsibility for Portuguese operations.

In 2000 Jorge returned to Portugal as Consultant and Principal of Business and Marketing Consulting Group, a private consulting practice that provided business development and marketing strategies for venture capitalists and corporations throughout Portugal, Spain, and Latin America.

In 2001 Jorge was hired as a Partner by PURCEN, Brands & Products LLC, full-service sales, and marketing agency that provide end-to-end services for clients in the consumer packaged goods industry in the Iberian Peninsula. Clients included General Mills, Palmer’s, Rapid White, and private-label companies. In that position, he was part of the team that took the organization from the ground floor and made it into a thriving distribution and marketing company with 2011 annual sales of approximately €19 million (U$25 million).

In 2015 Jorge moved with his family back to the USA. He is married to Hye Yon Pak, originally from South Korea and they have a 10-year son, Lucas.

Since 2017, Jorge is a visiting lecturer at the ISCTE Business School Graduate School, International Management Program in Lisbon, Portugal. He lectures in Cross-Cultural Management and how culture affects ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2019 Jorge was the 2019 Keynote Speaker at the 31st Annual International Academy of Business Disciplines Annual Conference in Jacksonville.

Michael Carter - Dicector, Alcarez & Marsal Disputes and Investigations

Carter HeadshotHe specializes in the area of Financial Crimes which includes Bank Secrecy Act / Anti-Money Laundering, OFAC programs, export compliance, and counter terrorism financing.

He brings more than 13 years of experience providing organizations with advisory, financial crimes, performance improvement, and operational and organizational leadership.

Prior to joining A&M, he was a Senior Consultant at a Big Four consulting firm providing advisory and investigative services in the financial crimes arena. He was a site and project team leader for Global Delivery Service teams for Anti-Money Laundering and Financial Crimes. Additionally, he served as the National Communications Chairman for the firm's Veterans Network.

Mr. Carter began his career in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer, is currently a Major in the U.S. Army Reserves and holds a Department of Defense Security Clearance. He was awarded multiple decorations during his ten year military career.

Mr. Carter earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of North Florida and an MBA from George Mason University. He is a Project Management Professional (PMP), a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS) and a member of the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).

Edward Cooper, Jr. - Former Chief Finance and Risk Officer, Pruksa Real Estate Company Ltd. 

Edward Cooper HeadshotEd Cooper is a retired Senior Executive with broad based experience in Corporate and Retail Banking, Corporate Finance, Risk Management, and M&A.  His experiences are across multiple businesses, customer segments, industries, and countries.  Director experience at listed (Hong Kong and Thailand) and non-listed companies in multiple countries.

In 2014 Ed retired from Pruksa Real Estate PCL, Bangkok, Thailand.  During his four years there he was a Director and Chief Finance & Risk Officer.  He was a member of the Executive, Risk Management and International Investment Committees.  Pruksa is Thailand’s largest residential real estate developer and manufacturer with products including town houses, single houses, and condos.

Prior to Pruksa, Ed was President of AIG Consumer Finance Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG.  The Consumer Finance Group owned and operated banks and finance companies in Hong Kong, India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Poland, Mexico and Argentina.  The businesses were all sold or liquidated in 2009-10 to repay loans from the Federal Reserve.

Prior to AIG, Ed had a 30 year career at Chase Manhattan Bank, retiring in 2000 as Senior Vice President of Asia Retail Banking.  Ed held numerous positions in retail and wholesale banking and lived in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo for 16 years during his Chase career.

Stephen De Bever - President & CEO, Standard Precast Inc.

de bever headshotStephen has 20+ years in executive positions with sales, manufacturing, distribution and construction related business success, including P&L responsibility for private, public and PE held companies based in both the US and Europe. Accountable for multi-site manufacturing operations, focused on creating shareholder value through product innovation, sales growth and operational profitability.


Owned by private equity, SPI is a concrete precast manufacturing company with operations located in both Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The Company serves the North Florida area producing products for site contractors, municipalities and private developers in the applications of storm and sanitary infrastructure. The Company started in 1965, and recently sold to a private equity firm. Stephen is commissioned with the objective to grow the business organically and acquisitively for the current investment partners, and successfully transition it through a sales transaction under new ownership in the future.

Nick Doyle - Area President, Gallagher Affinity

Nick Doyle HeadshotNick started his career as a business consultant for IBM’s Hong Kong practice supporting website optimization, attribution modeling, marketing, web analytics, and e-commerce implementations. While with IBM, he was engaged in system integration testing, business user support, client education, and consulting on the IBM WebSphere Commerce and CoreMetrics platforms. Upon joining DTPH, Nick implemented modern web analytics and reporting, and enhanced technology usage across the insurance business lines. He was responsible for the consolidation and quantification of all future IT projects, including buy or build analysis, IT project management, social media management and ongoing optimization.

Nick moved into a managing director and COO role with DTPH in 2016. In this capacity, he managed the planning and build-out of DTPH’s proprietary IP, including solutions to enhance the Company’s InsurTech business. Nick was successful in improving the site-specific conversion rate from 7.67% to 14.53% (an 89% increase).

Since March 2018, as CEO and Chief Revenue Officer Nick has primary responsibility for revenue growth through 1) deeper penetration into DTPH’s current health and wellness classes; 2) the addition of multiple new classes with similar risk profiles and similar premium levels to its current program; and 3) expansion into new higher premium classes potentially including doctors of chiropractic leveraging DTPH’s 60-year old Chiropractic Economics franchise and other similar classes (e.g., podiatry, dentistry, audiology, etc.) utilizing a content and audience acquisition or joint venture strategy. Nick has overall responsibility for setting strategy for all marketing channels including SEO, PPC, social media, email, affinity / affiliate, ad specialty, etc.

David Emanuel - Chief Human Resources Officer, APR Energy

David Emanuel HeadshotDavid Emanuel is the Principal at Root to Route, LLC., and the Director of the Florida Human Resources Executive Council.  Mr. Emanuel began his corporate career at Citigroup. He has also held leadership positions for CIT, Browne and AEG, Peter Kiewit & Sons, and BCC Mechanical, Inc.

Mr. Emanuel is active in the Jacksonville Community where he serves on the Business Advisory Council of the Coggin College of Business at the University or North Florida. David graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield OH in 1982, where he studied History and Pre-law.

Jean-Marc Francois - Founder and CEO, Retail Audit

Jean-Marc Francois HeadshotMulticultural executive with strong entrepreneurial, marketing and sales background. Passionate about applying innovative marketing and sales strategies for retail, consumer goods and pharmaceutical organizations. More than 25 years’ experience. Has led projects in over 26 countries worldwide. Excellent strategic as well as execution skills for a wide spectrum of commercial challenges. People developer and coach. Fluent in English, French and Spanish.

Retail Audit

Leads a market information, research and consulting firm specialized in the assessment of client’s commercial execution. Provides sales and marketing advice (such as distribution strategy, shopper experience, omnichannel marketing, category management, etc) for some of the leading packaged consumer goods, retail and pharmaceutical clients in the world (Pfizer, Nestlé, Colgate, P&G, Pernod-Ricard, Bacardí, etc..). Oversees all aspects of general management, especially strategic new product and service development.

Courtney Hughes-O'Connell - Vice President, HR, The Adecco Group

Courtney HeadshotCourtney specializes in optimizing organizations by aligning human capital capabilities with organizational culture and strategy. She has proven success in partnering with leaders from various industries to quickly assess and execute on organizational change. 

Courtney has been recognized as a leader who takes the time to understand her client’s needs and who possesses the courage and finesse to guide leaders and teams through transformational change. Her powerful intuition blended with her practical business experience creates a valuable partnership between herself and the client. Courtney is skilled at cutting to the heart of issues and using her experience, judgment and creativity to solve them. 

Courtney’s passion is around global human capital needs and challenges. Her global perspective and nearly 20 years of progressive experience at several Fortune 500 corporations gives her the unique opportunity to apply proven human capital strategies to the everchanging landscape of the global workforce. 

Courtney continues to be in demand for her expertise in: strategic workforce planning, organizational design for businesses at each stage of the business cycle, leader effectiveness, team building and conflict management, and building a company culture that attracts and retains the best talent.

And, best yet, Courtney brings high energy and an element of fun to all of her projects.

Business & Organizational Leadership Experience

Courtney currently serves as the Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner at The Adecco Group, the world’s largest temporary and permanent staffing organization headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. In this role, Courtney heads up the Human Resources group for the $1B Modis brand. Her primary focus is on: organizational development, performance management, compensation design, executive development and change management.

Prior to this role, Courtney supported the IT division of Florida Blue, and spent 10-years as a Human Resources Executive with Bank of America where she formed strategic partnership with business leaders to create and enable business strategy through the most effective and efficient use of human capital. Earlier roles included HR for ADT’s customer service call center and collections group as well as a junior HR generalist at Decutsche Bank on Wall St., NYC, supporting sales and trading.

Courtney lives in Florida, USA, with her husband, two sons and their two (big!) dogs.

Brianna Kilcullen - Sustainability & Supply Chain Consultant

Brianna Kilcullen HeadshotBrianna is a sustainability & supply chain consultant and the founder of her own consulting practice, which is designed to work one-on-one with companies to inform, shape, and help implement objectives and strategies for the long-term.

Her passion for her work first began from a trip to the textile factories in Central America where she received hands on experience working on the factory floor. She gained the utmost respect for the people who made her clothing and from there went on to draft, create and become Under Armour’s first ever full-time sustainability position based out of Baltimore, MD.

After Under Armour, she went on to manage and direct prAna’s sustainability program, which is a subsidiary of Columbia Sportswear. During her tenure, she integrated a $2 billion sustainability program, created prAna’s first ever Impact Report, expanded the Fair Trade USA program into Vietnam, participated as a key contributor to REI’s Product Sustainability Standards and worked and trained factories all over the world on completing social, environmental and traceability self-assessments.

Prior to the apparel industry, she lived in Uganda post-civil war and traveled and worked on agribusiness initiatives on the northern Ugandan and South Sudanese border. She have also lived in South Africa and studied human rights and race relations.

She is a current fellow in the Outdoor Industry Association’s Skip Yowell Future Leadership Program and holds dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland. She enjoys travel, reading, and being outside.

Faris Kishek - McKennson, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Faris Kishek HeadshotFaris Kishek is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt at McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. McKesson distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, medical supplies and care management tools. Faris has worked high complexity, cross-functional process improvement projects which generated millions in financial savings, mentored and coached Green Belts on award-winning projects, and trained hundreds of Yellow Belt and Green Belts on Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Also, Faris is an Adjunct Instructor at Florida State College at Jacksonville where he teaches in the areas of Project Management, Logistics, Operations Management, and Supply Chain Management. In 2013, Faris achieved a Bachelor in Business Administration degree, with a concentration in Transportation and Logistics, from the University of North Florida. He was a board member on the Transportation and Logistics Society. In 2015, Faris achieve a Master of Business Administration degree from Jacksonville University.

Frank Lee- Founder and CEO, PreVisionX 

Frank Lee HeadshotFrank Lee’s record is in the successful leadership, sales and delivery of blue chip professional services and technology businesses - including the creation of new businesses and many successful turnarounds. He has worked in many different countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Russia, India, France and Colombia. His responsibilities have included billions of dollars in sales and the management of thousands of people.

As an entrepreneur, Frank has founded several technology companies. After successfully selling his last logistics technology start-up, Frank created PreVisionX as a new cloud and smartphone-based mobility platform with the objective of transforming last mile transportation, logistics, on-demand services and supply chain collaboration. Frank also runs a global training consultancy that supports senior executives from global professional services organizations in their interactions with C-Suite clients.

Frank moved from the UK to Jacksonville in 2015

Tony Rummans, Former Vice President of Global Sales - ProQuest 

Tony Rummans HeadshotTony Rummans was most recently Vice President of Global Sales at ProQuest. He leads the Global Sales organization and assists in driving the strategic transformation of ProQuest’s integrated go-to-market approach. In addition, Mr. Rummans serves on the Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience leadership team.

Mr. Rummans joined ProQuest in 2013 from Kofax where he was responsible for all sales activity in the Americas including information capture and business process management solutions in his role as Senior Vice President for Americas Software & Solutions Sales. 
 
Previously, Mr. Rummans held numerous executive positions at IBM including international responsibilities leading worldwide sales teams and geographic sales teams from Latin America, southwest Europe and South Korea. Throughout his career at IBM, Mr. Rummans has been responsible for sales, marketing, and services where he helped clients solve their most complex information management business challenges. 
 
Mr. Rummans was chair of the economic Task Force for the Brazil/USA Business Council as part of the Americas Chamber of Commerce and was a member of the Board of Directors of Junior Achievement International. He attended the MBA program at the University of Chicago and holds a BA in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Zachary Schwartz - Founder & CEO, intoGo

Zachary Schwartz HeadshotWith 14+ years creating and developing businesses, Zachary holds a BS in International Business from the University of Cincinnati's College of Business, ranked top 50 in the nation.

Upon validating the need for his latest venture by winning most votes in the Technology category at the world's largest crowd-funding festival, One Spark 2015, Zachary is now set on changing the world through intoGo - What you're into. Where to Go.

Using Data Science, Machine Learning and Predictive Modeling, intoGo is going to shift the entire foundation upon how our world finds fun. intoGo is available on both the Google Play and Apple App store today!

Kelley Shaw - Client Executive, Hylant

Kelly Shaw HeadshotINDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
A proven professional, Kelley delivers competitive and strategic employee benefit solutions for her clients. With 13 years in the healthcare and insurance industry, Kelley is recognized for her business acumen and industry knowledge. As a client executive, she provides personalized service that exceeds her clients’ expectations.
Prior to joining Hylant, Kelley represented St. Vincent’s HealthCare where she was responsible for employer relations including designing and implementing population health management programs to manage corporate health risks and healthcare costs. She also worked for Baptist Health System and Wolfson Children’s Hospital as the Regional Manager for Outreach and Development where she acquired the knowledge and skills needed to build enduring and effective partnerships in her current role with Hylant. 


INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Kelley is a member of The Rotary Club of Jacksonville. Kelley is a member of the LifeWork Leadership 2017-2018 Class. She is the Programs Officer for the Board of Directors for the Jacksonville Chamber Health Council. Kelley was asked to serve on the 2017 Board of Governors for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. She has also served on the Executive Board for the Women's Board of Wolfson Children's Hospital for the last six years. 

 
EDUCATION
Kelley received her bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
She is a licensed Health and Life Agent.

Jim Stallings - Managing Partner, PS 27 Ventures 

Jim Stallings HeadshotJim Stallings is a globally recognized entrepreneur and business leader with extensive experience transforming companies and teams for sales and profit growth. He is the Managing Partner of PS 27 Ventures, a private investment group focused on SaaS, FinTech and MedTech companies. He has been involved in dozens of startups and actively mentors CEOs and founders of early stage companies. Jim serves as a director on two public company boards, Fidelity Information Systems and UGI Corporation. Jim's career includes work at IBM, GE and ROLM, and service as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Kirk Williams - President & CEO, Proficient Auto Transport 

Kirk Williams HeadshotKirk Williams has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for 35 years. He was instrumental in putting together the acquisition of Proficient Auto Transport in 2004. The company has successfully grown nearly 700% during the past 10 years and is now one of the 15 largest auto haul trucking companies in America. Mr. Williams was the most recent Chairman of the Auto Haulers Association of America, and a Vice President of the Florida Trucking Association Representing the State of Florida at the national level of the American Trucking Association. 

 
He has worked for and managed several of the largest logistics operations, engineering, and marketing departments for companies such as Carolina Freight Corp, now ABF Freight Systems, Exel Logistics, Burlington Northern Railroad, GATX and APL Logistics. He earned a B.S. in Transportation and Logistics Management from Kent State University, and served on advisory councils for Stanford and MIT. Kirk currently serves as a member of the selection committee for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s including its Student Leaders Program, and serves as a member of the Business Advisory Council for the Coggin College of Business.