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Faculty and Speakers
Thunderbird’s Thought Leaders are recognized for innovative teaching methods, global best business practices, groundbreaking research and commentary and viewpoints on the global business scene.
Faculty include distinguished educators, world-recognized researchers, entrepreneurs and award-winning authors. This Family Enterprise teaching team includes an interdisciplinary faculty recognized worldwide for their innovative teaching methods, global best business practices and close ties to business and industry leaders.
ERNESTO J. POZA — Recognized as a global leader in family business education, research and consulting for 25 years, he is Thunderbird Professor of Global Family Enterprise and the faculty chair of this program.
The third edition of "Family Business" by Mr. Poza provides the next generation of family business owners with the knowledge and skills needed for the successful management and leadership of the family enterprise. In the book, Mr. Poza explores a diverse set of family firms, examining the interrelationships among the owners, the family, and the management team. All participants of the Global Family Enterprise Program will be provided with a copy of this book.
As a professor, consultant and board member he challenges business owners to revitalize mature businesses through strategic thinking, succession planning, global entrepreneurship, and change management.
His work has been featured on CNN, NBC, Intereconomía TV and NPR, as well as in The New York Times; Fortune Small Business; Business Week; Family Business Magazine, Inc.; Industry Week; Expansión; ABC; and Nation's Business.
Mr. Poza has advised top managements of privately-held and Fortune 500 companies in strategic management, succession planning, organization development and governance. Among the firms served are: Donnelly Mirror; E. W. Scripps Company; Huber & Co.; Mars, Inc.; Simpson Investments; and the distributor networks of Caterpillar and Trimble Navigation in the United States. He has also consulted to global family-controlled firms in Europe and Latin America.
In recognition of his contribution to the field of family business, the Family Firm Institute awarded him the coveted Richard Beckhard Practice Award in 1996.
Mr. Poza, a third-generation member of a family business, graduated with a BS from Yale University and an MBA/MS from the Sloan School of Management, MIT.
DALE L. DAVISON Ph.D. — Dean of faculty and a professor of accounting at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Dr. Davison's areas of expertise include global finance and accounting and issues in taxation. His research has traditionally focused on income taxation, particularly as it relates to global tax issues.
Dr. Davison’s work has been widely published in academic journals, and he has co-authored three books, including a widely used textbook, “Financial Accounting.” Among the industry’s leading journals, his research and writings have appeared in Management Accounting, Journal of Taxation, Taxes, Atlanta Economic Review, Journal of Real Estate Taxation, Taxation for Accountants, Ohio CPA, Arizona Business, Estate Planning, Tax Advisor, Nebraska Journal of Economics and Business, Journal of Language for International Business, and Multinational Business Review.
Before joining the Thunderbird faculty, Dr. Davison was a partner in the office of Deloitte & Touche. He has accepted business-accounting assignments around the world, including assignments in the U.S. and Canada, Germany, Belgium and Russia. He served as chairman of the Department of World Business from 1996 through 2001, and in 1992 he was a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Tehnologico Superiores de Monterrey and a visiting professor at the Academy for the National Economy in Moscow.
Dr. Davison earned his Ph.D. and MBA at the University of Georgia. At Georgia, he was a State Farm Foundation Fellow in 1969 and an National Defense Education Act (NDEA) Title IV Fellow from 1969 to 1972. He was awarded his BS at Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana-Monroe) where he was the College of Business Honor Graduate and the Louisiana Society of CPAs Honor Graduate.
GARY GIBBONS, Ph.D. — A visiting professor of entrepreneurship at Thunderbird, Dr. Gibbons is an expert in investing and corporate finance with extensive experience in portfolio management, securities valuation, financial modeling, financial planning and evaluation of results at the entrepreneurial firm.
When he is not teaching, Dr. Gibbons is a Principal with The Coleridge Group, an Investment Advisory Firm in Phoenix, Arizona. Dr. Gibbons has accumulated a diverse range of experience, including his management at various times of stock portfolios and fixed-income portfolios for major organizations, corporations and individuals.
Dr. Gibbons regularly consults on valuation of assets, portfolio valuation and strategic financial planning. He has served as an expert witness in Federal District Court, State District Court and State Superior Court on valuation, fiduciary duty and corporate restructuring.
Dr Gibbons received his Ph.D. in Business Administration from Claremont Graduate School - The Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management. His M.S. Business Administration is from California State University and his B.S. in Business Administration is from the University of Arizona.
CAREN SIEHL, Ph.D. — Dr. Siehl is a professor of Management at Thunderbird following prior appointments at INSEAD in France and the University of Southern California.
Dr. Siehl’s field of concentration is Leadership and Organizational Behavior, where she works with issues of Culture, Human Resource Management, and Leadership in a changing work environment. She has taught undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and executive-level courses in Organizational Behavior; Strategic Management; Organizational Theory; and Leadership and Organizational Culture, and has received several teaching awards for her work.
She has been a consultant and an executive development specialist for numerous companies, including Eli Lilly and Company; 3M Corporation; Mattel; Motorola; and Alcatel. She has published articles in a wide variety of academic journals and has served on the Editorial Review Board of Administrative Science Quarterly. She is the past Division Chair and Program Chair of the Organization Development and Change Division of the Academy of Management and Academic Director for the Executive Master of Global Management program at Thunderbird.
STEVEN STRALSER, Ph.D. — Dr. Stralser is a Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurship at Thunderbird and was previously a member of the faculty at the University of Arizona where he taught Marketing and Entrepreneurship. In 1998, he was named "Faculty of the Year" for teaching excellence in the U of A's nationally-ranked Berger Entrepreneurship Program and received the Bobcat Senior Honorary Faculty Award in 1999.
Dr. Stralser has more than 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and has held high-level marketing and consulting positions in business, industry and nonprofit organizations. He is a member of TiE-AZ, an international organization focused on advancing entrepreneurship. He recently completed a term as a member of the Chairman's Quality Committee of BannerHealth Systems, the largest healthcare provider in Arizona.
In 1999, he was a Fulbright Senior Scholar, teaching marketing management in the MBA program at The Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Entrepreneurship at The University of Miskolc.
Dr. Stralser's book, “MBA in a DAY: What you would learn at top-tier business schools—if only you had the time,” was published in September 2004 by John Wiley & Sons.
Dr. Stralser received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan He holds a BS in Marketing from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Arizona State University.
FEATURED KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
Bruce E. Grossman - Mr. Grossman is founder of the Family Business Network – Mexico Chapter, the first non-profit foundation for family-owned business in Latin America. In recognition of his efforts to ensure the permanence of family business in Mexico, he is the only Latin American who has served on the Board of Directors of the Family Business Network headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
He is currently the Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Grupo Continental, S.A., the family-owned business. Being among the top 10 most important, independent bottling companies in the world of Coca-Cola, its administration is managed by professional executives, whose mission is preserving the family business for the benefit of future generations. There is a generational family rule which prohibits family members from holding line positions in the business. The family has been in the Coca Cola business for four generations and is currently preparing for the next transition which should occur within the next 10 years.
In his personal business, Bruce is the principal shareholder and Chairman of the Board of Consultores Patrimoniales, which specializes in the creation and implementation of family estate plans. This company provides asset management and advisory services to more than 60 Latin American families. It is the first of its kind in Mexico, founded in 1982.
Bruce has a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Marketing from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and a Diplomat Superior from the Institute for Management Development (IMD) in Lausanne, Switzerland.
PETER LEACH — Mr. Leach is a leading advisor, teacher, and facilitator who has consulted with very large multinational, multigenerational family businesses all over the world. He is the Chairman of the BDO Centre for Family Business, a national association dedicated to servicing the needs and raising the profile of UK family businesses. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and a partner in BDO Stoy Hayward, one of the fastest growing accountancy firms in the UK. Mr. Leach will present a multigenerational family business case on which he is currently working as a consultant.
Mr. Leach has over 25 years of experience of advising family and owner-managed businesses on a broad range of financial, organizational and strategic matters. He pioneered research into family businesses in the UK and has worked extensively with the London Business School and Warwick Business School in raising awareness of the issues facing family enterprises. Mr. Leach is author of "Family Businesses: The Essentials," published in May 2007 by Profile Books.
MARK SMUCKER– Mr. Smucker is President of Special Markets for The J.M. Smucker Company, based in Orrville, Ohio. He is a member of the fifth generation of the founding family that has run the business since it was established in 1897. He has spent most of his 11-year career with the Smucker's in the International (non-US) arena, beginning with business development in South America.
He later went on to manage the Company's former Brazilian operation, the Canadian operations, and ultimately oversight of the broader International business. Mr. Smucker currently manages the “Special Markets,” which includes the foodservice, natural food & beverages, Canada, and international businesses. He also has responsibility for the Company’s Information Services department.
Prior to his experience at Smucker's, he received a B.S. in Geology (1992) from The College of William & Mary in Virginia and taught eighth grade Earth Science in Montgomery, Alabama. He received a Masters in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management in 1996. After graduate school, Mr. Smucker worked in advertising in Argentina for a brief period before joining the family business. He lives in Akron, Ohio with his wife, Katie, his children, Jackson (6) and Phoebe (4), and three dogs. In his spare time he enjoys skiing, composing electronic music, and cooking with his family.