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Executive Connections mentors
During the two-year W. P. Carey Full-time MBA program, you are encouraged to work with this elite group of mentors in as many ways and as often as possible. Their experience brings both a unique perspective and a necessary real-world component to the Full‑time MBA. Executive Connections will deepen your skills, challenge your thinking, and develop your expertise.
W. P. Carey’s Executive Connections program currently has 40 mentors — representing over 1,000 years of corporate experience.
Meet our executive mentors
The level of access and the number of coaching opportunities available to you through the Executive Connections program are rare among top business schools. Interaction with senior leaders of this caliber will help round out a more complete, more impactful MBA experience at the W. P. Carey School of Business.
The diversity of our mentors echoes that of our students, with a breadth of industries, expertise, demographics, and experiences represented.
Over half of Executive Connections mentors have C-suite experience, running companies while living in over 20 countries around the world.
Executive Connections mentors have over 400 years of managerial experience in technology, marketing, and finance.
Two-thirds of our mentors have worked at the executive level in consulting or manufacturing.
Mentor profiles and directory
John Jenson
As Vice President and Corporate Controller at Amkor Technology, John Jenson leads the global finance and accounting team operating in the US, Portugal and seven countries in Asia.
Prior to joining Amkor in 2017, he has served in multiple leadership roles including Corporate Controller, CFO, Investor Relations and Company President. His industry experience is varied and includes Aerospace & Defense, Automotive Manufacturing, Aerospace Repair & Overhaul, For-Profit Education and Insurance.
His experience includes mergers & acquisitions, as well as developing greenfield manufacturing & operating facilities in both Northern England as well as Thailand.
He started his career with Deloitte serving as an Audit Manager. He holds a Bachelors of Science in Accountancy from Northern Arizona University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
Murray Jones
On graduation joined General Electric Co. Final position Automotive Industry manager on Corporate Staff: $11B topline. Stayed 33 years. Traveled the world, always got out of bed in the morning at a dead sprint, thrived while working for one of the "world's toughest bosses." GE Virginia Tech Campus Executive mid-1990s, $1.5m to endow a Chair in Minority Engineering PHD, recruited approximately 40 Engineering and Finance graduates annually through the 1990's.
Post GE, Absolute Consulting: provided onsite engineering staffing for Wind & Solar Farms construction; ABB: VP Electrical Vehicle Charging on global Smart Grid team; ECOtality: COO for cloud based Electric Vehicle Charging network, 35,000 subscribing members, installed base of 18,000 home and public chargers.
Since 2013: Active with Arizona Commerce Association: Venture Ready - EIR and panelist; Virtual Accelerator – mentor; Arizona Innovation Challenge - Judge; BSME Mechanical Engineering, minor in Nuclear Power Virginia Tech 1969; MBA Owen School Vanderbilt University 1983
Brian King
In 2004, nine years after beginning his career with Accenture, Brian King founded Kenway Consulting, a management and technology consulting firm focused on helping clients in the areas of technology solution delivery, enterprise program Leadership, and information insight.
His goal was to start the company for which he always wanted to work, and he built a successful business that still operates under the general philosophy of always doing, under all circumstances, what is right. It’s a philosophy that seems simple enough, but when clients or prospects ask for something that is not in their own best interests, saying “no” is what’s right, and adhering to this philosophy has been a major differentiator for Kenway ever since its inception.
During Kenway’s early years, Brian successfully managed and led critical enterprise initiatives from the implementations of enterprise HR solutions, client relationship management (CRM) solutions, portal technologies, and case management systems to the deployment of enterprise-wide data governance, business intelligence, and master data management initiatives. These implementations spanned technologies and industries, from the package to the customer, and from telecommunications to financial services. Once Kenway grew to a size warranting full-time executive leadership, Brian turned his efforts to running the business and was CEO through January 2020. He retired from the day-to-day operations of Kenway in early 2022, and now serves as a member of the company’s board.
Over the years, Kenway has received a variety of accolades for its unique culture and values, entrepreneurial spirit, collaborative environment, respectful workplace, and commitment to clients, employees, and the community. Honors include being named to Forbes’ list of “America’s Best Management Consulting Firms;” Inc. magazine’s “Inc. 5000” list; one of the 100 “Best Places to Work in Chicago” by Crain’s Chicago Business; Consulting magazine’s “Best Small Firms to Work For” list; the “Vault Consulting 50” list and Vault’s list of “Best Boutique Consulting Firms;” and one of the “Best and Brightest Companies to Work for in the Nation®” by the National Association for Business Resources.
Brian currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA), and the Advisory Board of Entertainmint Inc. He is a volunteer adjunct faculty member and guest lecturer at the W. P. Carey School of Business, where he shares his consulting industry expertise and addresses topics including corporate culture and mindfulness in the workplace. He has presented at Princeton University’s Business Today International Conference, and served as a contributor and subject matter expert for a variety of business podcasts and media outlets including the Chicago Business Journal, Growth Think Tank, BizCastHQ, Grow Wire, and Business News Daily.
Brian holds a bachelor’s degree in theater from Boston College, where he was the recipient of the Player Award for Outstanding Stage Performance. Prior to his work with Accenture, he founded a theater company in Chicago that produced local shows for the stage.
In his spare time, Brian enjoys taking advantage of the cultural opportunities in Arizona, including dining, live music, hiking, and golfing. He enjoys cooking, playing guitar, writing and long-distance running. Brian leverages his entrepreneurial experience by serving as a mentor for the recently incarcerated, helping them reengage in the workforce, and in some cases, helping them launch successful businesses of their own.
Bob Leone
As a Senior Partner with Hewitt and Aon (post Aon/Hewitt merger 2010), Bob held various leadership roles within the organizations, and acted as a lead consultant and actuary for over 60 large organizations, with more than half representing the Fortune 500.
During Bob’s 35-year consulting career his notable accomplishments included working with a broad variety of industry/business and being promoted to Partner after seven years of service and later to Senior Partner. While consulting with his clients, he developed expertise in many critical business areas (e.g. finance, accounting, mergers and acquisitions, etc.), and established a retirement practice in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) with an initial revenue budget of $2.9 million and a $30+ million budget after 20 years of leadership. Finally, a critical part of Bob’s consulting career always involved the mentorship of others including the mentorship of many young women and men to partnership.
In addition to Bob’s consulting experiences, he taught as a Senior Lecturer at the Carlson School of Business (University of Minnesota), where he developed and taught a class on Employee Benefits from 2012 to 2019. And the accomplishment he is perhaps the most proud of is having raised his three daughters to be established professionals, all successfully working and managing people in their chosen professions.
James Madison
James Madison is CEO (Chief Energy Officer), Speaker, Trainer and Coach at On Purpose Life, LLC. He helps successful and purpose driven senior leaders leave burnout and overwhelm behind to lead winning teams in the achievement of extraordinary results. James is passionate about inspiring and igniting growth in others so they experience the freedom to create their wildest dreams!
In 30+ years of leadership experience, James has enjoyed developing and preparing leaders for successful careers and maximum personal fulfillment. James creates his powerful impact through:
- True North Vision and Strategic Roadmapping
- Winning 1st Team Leadership Development
- 1-1 Executive Coaching and Thinking Partnerships
- VIP Strategy Sessions and Purpose Driven Experiences
- Inspirational Keynote Speaking
James believes that when you live “In Purpose On Purpose” you will never work another day in your life! All Flow, No Hustle is his mantra.
After serving in the Army, James spent 25 years in supply chain leadership, operations management, and customer development roles in Fortune 500 companies. Prior to founding On Purpose Life and becoming an executive coach, he Pivoted On Purpose from the consumer products industry into executive recruiting.
Tracy Mock
Tracy has over 37 years of accounting, finance and corporate management experience. She spent 17 years with Medtronic Inc. in finance leadership roles supporting the Neuromodulation and Cardiac Rhythm Therapies businesses focused on revenue growth, delivering superior profits, optimizing manufacturing operations and driving long-term strategic R&D investments.
Prior to Medtronic, Tracy was a key contributor in completing the successful spin-off and subsequent IPO of ON Semiconductor in 1999/2000 which included establishing the new companies’ financial/accounting systems and a new finance organization. She held several finance leadership roles focused on executing a major business restructuring, supporting cash liquidity initiatives, re-structuring manufacturing operations and developing a corporate-wide strategy redesign. Her tenure included managing large global finance organizations allowing for extensive global travel to Asia, Eastern and Western Europe and China.
Tracy started her career with Motorola developing a foundation in cost accounting, financial planning/analysis and business support. She went on to hold several leadership positions managing finance organizations focused on global semiconductor manufacturing, business operations, R&D development and factory start-ups.
She holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, both from Arizona State University, Tempe. In retirement, she enjoys spending time with family in AZ & MN, hiking, biking, gardening and collecting & building LEGO.
Mark Nemschoff
As the CEO of Nemschoff Chairs Inc. (Nemschoff), Mark’s innovative and pioneering approach transformed the health care furniture industry. Customer focused marketing, service, and manufacturing enabled health care clients to customize products to meet their needs and differentiate their facilities. Quality, value, and custom products dramatically fueled the Nemschoff growth to the No. 1 position in health care furniture for nine consecutive years.
Mark began his career as a design engineer and team manager for a leading outdoor power equipment company and was awarded two patents for noise and vibration control innovation. Mark then joined the family furniture business, learning every job prior to taking on the leadership role of president and CEO. Recognized as the industry leader, Nemschoff Chairs Inc. was sold to Herman Miller Inc. in 2009.
Mark was known for using the phrase, “people do business with people they like” as a way of instilling the value of human connection in his employees. Always a hands-on leader, he prided himself in being a keen observer and deep listener, as well as a holistic thinker.
Concurrently, Mark founded Colby Metal Inc., a make-to-order contract metal fabricator that supplied Nemschoff Chairs Inc., as well as other regional customers. Under Mark’s leadership, the company experienced significant and profitable growth, and was ultimately sold to Colby Metal management in 2017.
In addition, Mark founded Nemschoff Sports Ltd., which managed his sports car racing and offshore powerboat racing team. Over a nine-year period in powerboats, he won three world championships, two national championships, and numerous speed records.
Mark has served on private and public boards of both local and national organizations. He earned his degree in applied science and engineering, with a minor in business, from the University of Wisconsin.
Tina Oliver
As a leader at Honeywell International, a Fortune 100 technology company, Tina Oliver has led the company's global Mechanical New Product Introduction, Subcontract Management and Supplier Development teams in the Aerospace Integrated Supply Chain (ISC) division for the past 24 years. She has also been the site lead for the Aerospace Women's Council which focuses on the career growth of women in the Aerospace Industry. In addition, she developed and launched a mentor program and Diversity of Thought program within Honeywell that focused on improving Inclusion and Diversity. Tina has held an expat position in Puerto Rico and has worked extensively throughout the United States, China, Mexico and Western Europe. She holds a Master of Business Administration, Bachelor of Science and a Certificate in Project Management.
Tina is a 1st generation U.S. citizen, the daughter of an Air Force veteran and the first in her family to earn a master's degree. She is a native Arizonan, a loyal ASU alumni and a self-proclaimed ambassador of Tempe. Tina volunteers for several local agencies – Tempe Community Action Agency (TCAA) food bank, Lost Our Homes (LOH) pet rescue, Frank Elementary School STEM mentoring and Hospice of the Valley. She is an alumni of Tempe Leadership and serves on the board for the Tempe Youth Leadership program. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, cooking, hot yoga, any activity involving water, reading and riding her bike. She is her happiest when she is on the beach watching the sun set and toasting the sun with "thank you for today, I'll see you tomorrow".
Getting to know the executive mentors was an invaluable part of my W. P. Carey MBA experience. They all gave so much of their time to coach us, sharing decades of their business and leadership knowledge. My classmates and I richly benefited from their generosity and wisdom.
As I progress through my career, armed with the resources the mentors shared, I hope to pay it forward by keeping doors open for those behind me and sharing my own learnings with the next generation of business leaders.
Chikezie Anachu (W. P. Carey Full-time MBA)
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