National Advisory Board

The FCB Business Division’s National Advisory Board serves as the primary link between the Business Division and our alumni, friends, and the business community. Board members share a desire to help shape the learning experiences and opportunities for tomorrow’s business leaders.

National Advisory Board members provide advice and counsel to the dean on matters involving business relationships between the Business Division and the greater community; representing The W. A. Franke College of Business, its mission, needs, focused vision, programs, and graduates to the general public; and to use their expertise to provide broad perspectives to the curriculum and co-curricular development to keep the College in constant movement forward.

Current members

* indicates a member of the NAB Executive Committee.

Carmen Allison (’85)

1985 BS in Hotel & Restaurant Management

1995 MBA University of Phoenix

Head of Talent Development at Williams-Sonoma, Inc. | San Francisco, CA

Carmen Allison is currently the head of Talent Development for Williams-Sonoma, Inc., a $4 billion dollar global company consisting of a suite of brands and channels in over 100 countries including Williams-Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PB Teen, West Elm, Rejuvenation.

Ms. Allison leads a team of professionals who focus on Learning and Development for all associates and leaders across the company. She draws upon her depth of business experience in the retail and hospitality industries along with her fifteen years of learning and executive development to provide focused, in depth coaching to mid and executive level leaders.

Ms. Allison is a diverse business and human resources professional which gives her a unique perspective on key issues facing leaders today. She has coached and developed leaders in restaurant management, supply chain, operations as well as creative leaders in marketing, merchandising and design.

Lisa Autino (’86)

1986 BS in Accountancy

Vice President of Accounting & Administration at Harmon Electric & Harmon Solar | Phoenix, AZ

Certified Public Accountant designation.  She began her career in public accounting.  She began in the construction industry in 1992 when she joined Corbins Electric. In 2001 she was named the company’s CFO and became an owner in the company. After more than 21 years there, 12 of them as minority owner, Lisa opted to pursue another challenge, joining Harmon Electric as their VP of accounting and administration.

In 2011 she became a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional. Ms. Autino’s commitment to continued education and professional development is evidenced through the successful completion of the ABA Leadership Development Forum, Rapport Leadership International, and in her participation in the Valley of the Sun CFMA Chapter as past president. She is also extremely active with the FCB and has participated in the Executive Job Shadow Program and has been a judge for the BizBlock class presentations. She was inducted in to the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame in 2011.

Lisa Rojas Bacus (’86)*

1986 BSBA cum laude in Management, BA in Spanish

Global Chief Marketing Officer at Cigna Corporation

In this role for Cigna, Ms. Bacus has responsibility for all global marketing activities as a member of the Cigna Enterprise Leadership Team.

Most recently, Bacus served as executive vice president and chief marketing officer at American Family Insurance. Prior to that, she served as vice president of Marketing and director of global marketing strategy with Ford Motor Company (Detroit) and director of marketing for Ford of Mexico (Mexico City).

Ms. Bacus earned her dual degree while working as an interpreter for the law offices of Aspey, Watkins & Diesel. She also holds an M.B.A. from Duke University, Fuqua School of Business.

She has been the recipient of a number of professional awards and honors, including Ford’s Zone Manager of the Year and is a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Rick Blomquist (’81)

1981 BSBA in Marketing

Phoenix, Arizona

2008 FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Mr. Blomquist’s post-graduate career of 29 years was spent at Farnam Companies, Inc. in Phoenix, leading many operational areas of the company including purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, new product development, acquisitions, and business development. He served as president of Farnam’s Horse Products Division and ultimately as the company’s CEO from 2001 – 2006. He was instrumental in the company’s growth from $14 million in 1982 when he joined Farnam, to $165 million when it was sold to Central Garden and Pet in 2006. At that time, he was named as president of Branded Consumer Products for the newly established Central Life Sciences operating group within the Central Garden and Pet Company and held that role until early 2011.

Currently, Mr. Blomquist is engaged in providing strategic management consultation to privately held and public companies, as well as partnering with private equity and buy side intermediaries to develop strategic investments within the animal health market space.

Jim Bolin (’73)*

1973 BSBA in Finance and Accounting, magna cum laude, CPA
Tempe, Arizona

He was recognized as the CBA’s Outstanding Senior in Finance. Mr. Bolin served as the chief financial officer of StarWest Associates, LLC, a large medical transportation company headquartered in Tempe.

Following graduation, Mr. Bolin held positions with Price Waterhouse & Co., Hometels Management Company, and finally as president of Rural/Metro Corporation (NASDAQ: RURL).

He served on the Employee Stock Ownership Plan Association Board (Washington, D.C.) and is a past chair of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society–Arizona Chapter. He is a past president of the NAU Foundation Board and a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

John Bridger (’74)

1974 BS in Management

Executive Director at the Phoenix Thunderbirds | Phoenix, Arizona

Mr. Bridger is executive director of the Phoenix Thunderbirds, the organization that runs the Waste Management (formerly Phoenix) Open and distributes the proceeds to non-profit organizations. He began this job in 2002 after 28 years in banking.

An Arkansas native, he grew up in Welton, Arizona. He began with First Federal that was acquired by Bank of America. His last position was executive vice president for Bank of America in Dallas, Texas.

While a student at NAU, Mr. Bridger was a member of Sigma Nu, Sophos, and the Chain Gang. He and his wife, Neita, have two sons.

Scott Coor (’76)

1976 BA in Marketing

Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Trendwood, Inc. | Phoenix, Arizona

Scott Coor is a third-generation Arizonan, who grew up in Phoenix and graduated from Camelback High School in 1972.

While at Northern Arizona University, Scott was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Fraternity and served in leadership positions as a member of Delta Sigma Pi Business Fraternity. Scott began his career with Southwest Forest Industries.

He currently serves as vice president of Sales and Marketing for Trendwood Inc., a company he began with four partners in 1985, which manufactures solid wood youth bedroom furniture.

In the fall of 2006, he was recognized with The Volunteer of the Year Award from Northern Arizona University for his key role in helping to secure the $25M contribution from Bill Franke and arranging the student fieldtrip to visit Warren Buffett.

Scott has been married for the past 34 years to Debbie Weber Coor, an NAU Nursing graduate. They have two grown children, Tiffany and Steve. Scott is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys hunting, fishing, golf, backpacking and dirt biking.

He is a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Randall E. Davidson (’66)*

1966 BSBA in Accounting

President /CEO at Texas Imaging Systems | Austin, Texas

At Northern Arizona University, he was a member of the Alpha Sigma Chi accounting club.

He began his copier career in Phoenix, Arizona as an owner from 1974-1986 of the Sharp Dealer Uni-Copy Corporation with offices throughout the Southwest and served as its President and COO. In 1986 Mr. Davidson formed Dahill Industries, Inc., a full line Authorized Sharp Dealer. He lead and expanded Dahill to include eight branches in Texas and Arizona. During 1999, Dahill was sold to Global Imaging Systems of Florida. From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Davidson built the Regional Sharp and Savin (Ricoh) Copier Dealership of Imaging Systems of Arizona to include eight branch office locations in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. In 2006 he sold the Arizona and New Mexico portion of the company to Sharp Electronics Corporation retaining Texas Imaging Systems, Inc. (Austin & Lufkin, Texas).

He has been honored with the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Dealer of the Year Award by Global Imaging Systems, Inc.

He is a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Pamela A. Di Giovanni (’68)

1968 BSBA in Business Education
Beverly Hills, California

Ms. DiGiovanni retired as Sr. Vice President from Fox Entertainment Group (Beverly Hills, California) after 39 years in the Labor Relations Division. Her career at Fox began working for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation and, upon retirement, the scope of her responsibilities included handling labor-related matters for Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Twentieth Television, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox TV Studios, Fox Broadcasting Corporation, Fox Cable Networks, Fox Sports Net, Fox Television Stations, Hulu and related companies. Ms. DiGiovanni has served on the board of trustees for the Motion Picture Pension & Health Plan, the Directors Guild, Writers Guild and Screen Actors Guild Pension & Health Plans.

She is a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Steve Ewing (’75)

1975 BSBA in Management

Owner at Spring Air Mattress Company | Phoenix, Arizona

Mr. Ewing is the former owner of The Spring Air Co., one of the four largest bedding manufacturers in the United States, and president of Spring Air Mattress Co./Phoenix, a licensed manufacturer of the company. He began his career with Spring Air upon graduation in 1975 and became president in 1986, purchasing the company in 1994. Mr. Ewing has volunteered extensively for various organizations in the community including the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, the Grand Canyon Council Boy Scouts and the City of Glendale.

While at NAU, Mr. Ewing was a member of Sigma Chi. He received the Jubilee Year Distinguished Alumni Award in 1990 and serves on the NAU President’s Valley Advisory Board.

In addition to his support of the College of Business, his company continues to donate mattresses to the NAU School of Hotel & Restaurant Management.

He is a native Phoenician and his wife, Karen (1975), son Ryan (2005 B.S.B.A. in finance), and daughter Elissa, are all Lumberjacks.

Debbi Fitzgerald (’86)

1986 BS in Accountancy

Partner, Advisory Services at Ernst & Young | Phoenix, Arizona

Ms. Fitzgerald is a senior advisory partner and practice leader at Ernst & Young (EY). She serves a wide range of companies, including several Fortune 1000 companies. She leads innovation in EY’s National Advisory Practice Center of Excellence for Risk Transformation and Enterprise Risk Management.

She has been a champion of  diversity by leading the Arizona Professional Women’s Network and serving on Ernst & Young’s America’s Gender Equity Task Force. She was appointed by the governor to the Arizona State Board of Accountancy and eventually served as its president. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor.

Ms. Fitzgerald is married and has three children.

Steve Harris (’77)

1977 MBA

President at Greco Resources International | Houston, Texas

Mr. Harris is currently the president of Greco Resources International Limited, an energy trading and exploration & production company. Previously Mr. Harris was the vice president at SimDesk Technologies, Inc. focused on international markets; the president and CEO of Elite Logistics; and the senior managing partner of the Forte Group. Earlier in his career, Mr. Harris held several marketing and general management roles in both the U.S. and abroad with Compaq Computers and Texas Instruments.

1999 CBA Centennial Alumni.

He is a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame. Mr. Harris also received his B.S. at NAU in physics. While at NAU, he was a member of Sigma Pi Sigma and regional director for the Society of Physics Students (SPS).

Pete Hathaway (’78)

1978 BS in Accountancy
Phoenix, Arizona

Mr. Hathaway is an NAU accounting grad and seasoned finance executive with over 30 years of experience covering three different industries, both private and public companies and two continents. He is now a retired public-company CFO serving in advisory and board roles for  profit and non-profit companies.

Mr. Hathaway served as executive vice president and chief financial officer of two growth companies for 15 years. Most recently he was the CFO of JDA Software Group, Inc. and previously the CFO of Allied Waste Industries, Inc. both located in Scottsdale, Arizona. He started his career in Denver with Arthur Andersen & Co. where for 11 years he served the auditing and accounting advisory needs of clients as a CPA. He had the pleasure of working in the accounting and waste industry in Milan, Italy for six years.

Mr. Hathaway has lived in Arizona for 20 years. He is a strong advocate for Arizona’s many outdoor opportunities and spends a considerable amount of time hiking, canyoneering, cycling, and skiing. He has three children, two of whom are enrolled at NAU. Mimi, his wife of 34 years, is a native Arizonan born and raised in Flagstaff.

Rebecca Hickman (’74)

1974 BS in Accountancy, magna cum laude

Director of Investor Relations at Pinnacle West Capital Corporation | Phoenix, Arizona

Ms. Hickman is director of Investor Relations for Pinnacle West Capital Corporation in Phoenix. During her 26-year career with Pinnacle West and its primary subsidiary Arizona Public Service Company (APS), she has held a variety of financial management positions with increasing responsibility. Prior to joining APS in 1980, Ms Hickman was with Price Waterhouse & Co. where she audited clients in a variety of industries. She is a C.P.A. and has an M.B.A., summa cum laude, from Grand Canyon University.

While a student at NAU, Ms. Hickman was active in a number of organizations and received a Gold Axe Award.

She is married to Dr. Mark Hickman. Their daughter is a sports medicine major at the University of the Pacific, where she is on academic and softball scholarships.

Martin Johnson (’72)

1972 BS in marketing

Sr. Vice President – Marketing at Ste. Michelle Wine Estates | Woodinville, Washington

In September 2007 Mr. Johnson returned to the United States after completing an assignment that he took on in December 2005, serving as CEO of Evans & Tate, the largest wine company in Western Australia and is headquartered in Perth, Australia. He now serves as senior vice president of marketing for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the 8th largest wine producer in the United States, headquartered in Woodinville, Washington. A southern California native, he has previously served as CEO of Peju Province Family Estate Wines in Rutherford, Calif.; executive vice president-marketing at Kendall-Jackson Wine Estates, Ltd., in Santa Rosa, Calif.; and as senior vice president-marketing at the Robert Mondavi Winery.

He was active in Delta Sigma Pi at NAU.

Mr. Johnson and his wife, Julie, have two children. Their son, Ryan, is employed as Wholesale Marketing Manager for Silver Oak Cellars in Oakville, CA. Their daughter, Rachel, graduated with a degree in biology from Calif. State University, Monterey Bay, and now lives in Paso Robles, California.

Terry Kowalsky (’78)

1978 BSBA in Marketing

North American Sales Manager, Xerox Channel at Electronics For Imaging | Castle Rock, Colorado

He joined Electronics For Imaging, a Bay Area technology company, in 1993. During his tenure at EFI, he has had various assignments with responsibilities in the Dealer channel, Emerging OEMs, Strategic Accounts, and Wide-Format Business Development. He currently manages North American Sales Operations in EFI’s Xerox channel. Previous to EFI, he worked for Linotype-Hell, an industry leading pre-press company, for 9 years where he held various positions in sales and marketing. Some of those included district manger, branch manager, regional marketing manager, and national accounts manager.

Prior to that, he worked for NEC where he managed Rocky Mountain Area Distribution, and Burroughs Corporation in main-frame computer sales.

Mr. Kowalsky currently lives in Castle Rock, Colorado with his wife, Maureen, who graduated from USC in 1979. Together they have two children, Robert and Kathleen.

Mark Layton (’81)*

1981 BS in Business Administration and Management, Information Systems

Past Chairman & CEO at PFSweb, Inc. | Plano, Texas

Mr. Layton served as chairman of the board, president and CEO of PFSweb (Plano, Texas) since its inception. Mr. Layton is past chairman, president and CEO of Daisytek International. He is a recognized leader in the utilization of technology in business. He served as a management consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co. SC (Accenture) from 1981-88.

Mr. Layton has also served on the public company boards of uBid, Inc., a leading internet auction site, ISA plc a European office products distributor, PC Mall, Stampede Brewing Co., and for 12 years with Daisytek International.

He serves on the NAU Foundation Board and chairs the NAU-CBA National Advisory Board. 1997 CBA Centennial Alumni and a member of the FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Mark Malinski (’77)

1977 BS in Accounting and Data Processing Management

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer at PetroEdge Resources LLC | Houston, Texas

In addition to his degree from NAU, Mr. Malinski graduated from Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in June of 1996.

He is currently a co-founder and executive vice president & CFO of PetroEdge Resources, LLC, an independent oil and gas company in Houston, Texas. Mr. Malinski began his career with Pennzoil Co. as an EDP auditor. He later became corporate secretary and finally group vice president-accounting and information technology.

1996 CBA Centennial Alumni; 2003 FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Michael McBrayer (’81)

1981 BSBA

Senior Vice President at DJ Orthopedics, LLC | Vista, California

He started his career in Denver, Colorado, joining Frontier Airlines as a sales representative. He left the airline industry during the consolidation of carriers and moved to San Diego to join Arch Billmire Company. In December of 1984, Mr. McBrayer joined Donjoy, Smith and Nephew. A London based health care company acquired the company soon thereafter. During this time, Mr. McBrayer held regional sales positions and became national sales manager for Smith and Nephew Donjoy.

During 1999, Mr. McBrayer, vice president of sales, was part of a successful leverage buyout of the company from Smith and Nephew which is known today as dj Orthopedics, LLC. The company then went public in 2001 and is traded on the NYSE.

In 2007 Blackstone took the company back to a private company and merged with one of their holdings called Reable. The name of the company is now DJO Global with yearly sales of over one billion dollars. Mr. McBrayer currently holds the position of senior vice president – business development and professional relations.

He resides in Carlsbad, California with his wife Ana Maria, also a NAU graduate, and his daughter Krystina and son Jordan.

Robert Parker (’89)

1989 BS in Communication

Director of Product Communications at Ford Motor Company | Dearborn, Michigan

He is currently the Director of Products Communications at Ford Motor Company overseeing the Communications team responsible for launching all new products in North America as well as coordinating launches in Europe and Asia. Parker started his career with Ford in 1989 in the Customer Service Division before joining the Product Marketing group in Germany as the Mondeo Product Marketing Manager. After launching the Mondeo in 2000, he spent three years in Advanced Product Strategy followed by a year as the Large Car Product Marketing Manager. In 2006 Parker assumed the role of Car Marketing Manager responsible for the marketing of Ford cars and crossovers in North America.

Parker is a life-long car enthusiast who enjoys buying and selling classic Ford products from the 60’s and 70’s. He and his wife Terri have three children and live in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Rick Rodriguez (’84)

1984 BS in accountancy

Vice President – Finance & Accounting at Sony Pictures Television International Production | Culver City, California

Mr. Rodriquez played four years of basketball at NAU. After graduating in 1984, he played one year of professional basketball in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico.

Mr. Rodriguez, a 27-year veteran of the entertainment industry, has held various finance and accounting positions for media giants MGM, Turner Entertainment Company and Columbia Tristar Television. Currently he serves as vice president of Finance and Accounting for Sony Pictures Television International Production. With offices worldwide, Mr. Rodriguez travels extensively throughout the year.

He has shared his career experiences with NAU business students through on-campus lectures as well as participating in NAU’s FCB Executive Job Shadow Program.

Mr. Rodriguez lives in Costa Mesa, California with his wife Melody and is the proud parent of twin daughters, Briana and Brittany.

Charles Sanders (’79)

1979 BSBA

Chief Financial Officer at Sutter Gould Medical Foundation | Modesto, California

While at NAU, he was a featured performer in the Shrine of Ages Choir and the University Chorale. Charlie is Chief Financial Officer of the Sutter Gould Medical Foundation. He most recently was senior vice president, COO & CFO for EDT Learning, Inc. He is an integration specialist and an experienced veteran of over 20 years in the healthcare industry.

He was previously president of a $250 million division of a large physician management company where he substantially increased profitability and was responsible for marketing, operations, finance, human resources and information systems serving over 3,875 employed and affiliated physicians located in five states.

Charlie’s extensive background in operations, finance and information technology includes experience as the CFO of a $75 million multi-site medical facility and the regional IT director of a national HMO.

Sherri Slayton (’85)

1985 BS in Finance

Senior VP Northern Regional Manager at Alliance Bank of Arizona | Flagstaff, AZ

Ms. Slayton, a Chartered Financial Analyst, is Senior Vice President and Northern Region Manager for Alliance Bank of Arizona. In 2006 she organized the expansion of Alliance Bank into northern Arizona with its first offices in Sedona and Flagstaff. A veteran banker with more than 25 years of experience, Slayton oversees the day-to-day lending and operations for the bank in Northern Arizona, including Flagstaff and Sedona.

Ms. Slayton formerly served on the boards of directors for Flagstaff Medical Center and Northern Arizona Healthcare. She is a member of Flagstaff 40; on the board of St. Luke’s Health Initiative; and previously served on the Governor’s P-20 Council of Arizona.

2007 FCB Alumni & Faculty Hall of Fame.

Fred W. Smith (’83)

1983 BSBA in Management

Operations manager for Orange County and San Diego at Canon Solutions America | Los Angeles, California

Mr. Smith is a native Californian, raised in Los Angeles. While at NAU, he played 4 years of football including for the Big Sky Championship team in 1978. He was Second Team All Big Sky Conference in 1981 and achieved the Golden Eagle Award for student athletes in 1980.

Mr. Smith most recently was PacSouth region’s operations manager with Ricoh Professional Services. Prior to that, he was regional manager for Lanier Professional Services. After graduation from NAU, Mr. Smith spent 10 years with Xerox Corporation. While at Xerox he held various positions including a territory sales representative, a high volume marketing specialist and a sales manager. He was Sales Representative of the Year in 1986 and President/Par Club Winner for nine years.

After leaving Xerox, Mr. Smith spent 6 years with Eastman Kodak as a regional general manager managing sales and operations for the western 9 states achieving the General Manager of the Year award 4 years and 2 years as a divisional vice president for Ikon Office Solutions. He served as an executive recruiter and consultant for SourcePro Corporation.

Mr. Smith also serves as the Chairman of the Go-to-High School, Go-to-College Chairman of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. in Los Angeles.

John P. VanDenburgh, III (’70)

1970 BS in Marketing

Managing Partner at JLE Ventures | Phoenix, Arizona

While at NAU, he was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity.

Mr. VanDenburgh is managing partner with JLE Ventures. Following graduation, Mr. VanDenburgh returned to Phoenix to work in his family’s business, the American Fence Company. American Fence was founded in 1948 by Mr. VanDenburgh’s grandfather with an initial focus in fence contracting

By 1976, Mr. VanDenburgh was appointed president, a position he held until 1997. Mr. VanDenburgh has been an active member in several business organizations and a supporter of NAU and its programs. He also enjoys golf and skiing in his free time. Mr. VanDenburgh’s wife Kristen ‘72 and son John ‘99 are also NAU alumni.

Larry West (’75)

1975 BS in Mass Communications

CEO at Meridian Bank | Phoenix, AZ

While at NAU, he was elected Vice President of the Associated Students of NAU and was a member of Delta Sigma Pi fraternity.

Mr. West serves as the chief executive officer of Meridian Bank. Prior to that in 2004, Mr. West retired from Bank One, Arizona after 21 years of service, most recently as Vice Chairman and Regional Executive for Retail Banking. While with Bank One and its predecessor, Valley National Bank of Arizona, he held positions as Regional Executive for Commercial Banking, Manager of Arizona Commercial Banking and President and General Manager of Valley Bank Leasing.

Prior to joining Valley National Bank as a Corporate Credit Associate in 1983, Mr. West spent almost seven years in the energy industry with CONOCO and the Williams Companies. He also holds an MBA from Arizona State University, 1976.