MBA Faculty

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

With over 25 years of experience in the banking and market research industries, Jake has held leadership positions with two Fortune 100 companies and one of the country's top polling firms. He spent 15 years with JPMorgan Chase as a leader in its retail bank division as the Human Resources Manager for the Western United States, Regional Sales Manager, and Market Director, where he specialized in strategy, training, talent acquisition, and workforce planning.
Jake was actively involved and participated in the JPMorgan Chase and Washington Mutual Bank merger, the largest conversion in US financial services history at the time. He has been recognized by the California State Assembly and the City of Los Angeles for his contributions in business and organizational leadership.
As a consultant, Jake assists businesses with strategy, team building, training, and the design of human resource processes and procedures. He speaks regularly on emotional intelligence, leadership, and current topics in management. He is a course designer and has developed a variety of face-to-face, blended, and online courses.
Jake is bilingual and is pursuing his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership from Regent University, and his current area of interest includes the mega-trends impacting the global business environment, specifically in regards to a multi-generational and changing workforce.

Education

• M.A., Organizational Leadership, Biola University
• B.A., Economics, University of California, Los Angeles

Teaching

MBA Courses

• Management Theory and Practice
• Economics

Undergraduate Courses

• Organizational Behavior

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Scott Berg is an Adjunct Professor at Concordia University’s Graduate School of Business in Irvine, Calif. Scott earned his MBA from Indiana University in 2003.

Scott is a classically trained marketing leader and has held various leadership roles in global consumer products goods companies. He has worked for General Mills, ConAgra and The Nature’s Bounty Company in the health and wellness category for the past 15 years. Prior to earning his MBA, Scott worked for KPMG in Orange County and Zurich, Switzerland as an auditor and advisory services manager.

Scott is passionate about using consumer insights, customer data and brand analytics to understand consumer behavior to develop meaningful new products for consumers and to build marketing plans that generate sales and profit growth.

Education

• Indiana University, MBA in Marketing and Strategic Management, 2003
• University of California, Santa Barbara, BA in Business Economics, 1995

Teaching

• MBA 689: New Product Development

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Art Carter is an accomplished senior banker with well developed strategic and operating skills. He has a demonstrated track record in managing client relationships while maintaining a strong focus on company’s market objectives and profitability. He delivers results because of core competencies in New Business Development, Client Relationship Management, Strong Centers of Influence, Team Building and Mentoring, Innovation and Problem Solving, and Competitive Market Intelligence. He has a long career in middle market banking, most recently with Wells Fargo Bank. Art has been an adjunct professor at Concordia University since 2004 and teaches Entrepreneurship and New Venture Finance.

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Ms. Carter has more than 25 years in marketing and public affairs encompassing strategic planning, operations, systems development, business development and account management. Her clients range from government agencies and national research projects to private sector clients throughout California. Since 2007, she is the owner of J-U Carter.

Ms. Carter literally “wrote the book” on public awareness campaigns for transportation construction projects when she codified for Caltrans the elements of effective public awareness campaigns in 1987. This work was later published with TCRP and has been adopted as model communications not only with the State of California, but also with transportation departments nationwide.

Ms. Carter also works with a roster of healthcare organizations ranging from the second largest insurer in the nation to the third largest health system in the nation to deliver effective marketing programs to members and patients.

Ms. Carter’s strength is developing strong, strategic plans that are objectively driven and use multi-layered tactical communication measures. She thrives working with diverse client agencies and is a master at understanding various customer and constituent groups and getting to the root of how to most effectively communicate with them.

A lifelong learner, she aspires to earn her PhD in management. She is a serial volunteer with leadership positions within Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and Sea Scouts. She is also involved in forming and managing two foundations to benefit youth sailing.

Education

• Master of Science in Management, Claremont Graduate University
• MBA, Pepperdine University
• Bachelor of Arts, University of California Los Angeles

Teaching

• Marketing Communication

Professor, School of Business

Biography

Kim Chatani is a Professor in the School of Business at Concordia University, Irvine where he teaches Accounting 604, Finance 606, Governance and Risk Management 615 A and International Finance 621. In addition, he teaches Auditing ACT 419, Financial Statements Analysis ACT 332 and FIN 332 and GASB 350, ACT 311 and 312 Intermediate Accounting at the Undergraduate level.

Professor Chatani’s experience includes numerous senior level positions at notable organizations: Audit Partner at Arthur Andersen, LLP and a Consulting Partner in charge of JD Edwards Business Solutions Group, Consulting Partner and Vice President of Technology Solutions at A.T. Kearney, Inc., Consulting Managing Director at BearingPoint (formerly KPMG Consulting) and Director of Japanese Advisory Practice at KPMG, LLP. He is also an Advisory Partner and Board member at Khronicle Partners, Inc., a boutique management consulting firm based in Irvine, CA. Concurrently, he serves on a number of organizations as a board member and the audit committee chairman.

He is a published author and expert on the topics of fraud and cyber-security, being interviewed numerous times in various publications including Forbes, Moody’s, and American Banker and speaking on Talk Radio. In addition, he is a frequent speaker at conferences with his knowledge cybersecurity and risk management. Professor Chatani is co-author of several Fraud Casebooks published by John Wiley & Sons of New York, is a contributing author for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Examination on IFRS training programs. He also provides his time to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) as the Orange County Chapter’s Vice President and Board member.

Education and Professional Credentials

• MBA in Finance from Boston University
• BS in Accounting from the State University of New York at Albany
• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
• Certified Internal Services Auditor (CISA)
• Forensic Certified Public Accountant (FCPA)
• Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA)
• Fluent in English and Japanese

Professor, School of Business

Biography

Andrew Grimalda is a resident faculty member in the School of Business & Economics where he designed and started the Economics and Data Analytics majors as well as the school's capstone course. He has served as co-chairperson for the Educational Effectiveness Committee for the last nine years. Before joining Concordia, Andrew owned and grew his healthcare administrative services company to become one of the 100 largest in the United States. Prior to this, Andrew served as the Chief Financial Officer for a regional insurance carrier, for the nation’s largest voice and data telecommunications reseller, and for a national healthcare management company. Andrew also had a distinguished military career, retiring at the rank of Colonel. He served as an Army Ranger, Deputy Chief Logistical Operations for reserve forces, Commander of senior reserve officer warfare training, instructor at the U.S. Military Academy, and Commander of a battalion-size unit during combat operations. Andrew holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point, and a Master’s degree in management science from the Sloan School of Management, M.I.T.

Education

• M.S. Management Sciences Sloan School of Management, M.I.T.
• B.S. U.S. Military Academy, West Point

Professor, School of Business

Biography

Dr. Hanson comes from a background both as a manager of information technology and an academic. He worked for several years with project management and database optimization in the direct response marketing industry. During this time he headed up a new product development effort and saw it through its successful market introduction. Based on this experience, he returned to school to learn how to better optimize the social and technical systems in organizations, earning his PhD through consulting and organizational redesign projects in a wide variety of firms. He has a continuing interest in action research approaches to education and organization development, particularly focusing on developing learning organizations that jointly optimize technology and social systems. A focal question in his consulting, research and teaching is: how can we assist the development of the true, good and beautiful through our project work?

Education

• Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)
• MA in Urban Studies from the University of Akron (Akron, OH)
• Visiting Scholar in Town & Country Planning at Aston University (Birmingham, UK)
• BA in Sociology from Augustana College (Sioux Falls, SD)

Curriculum Vitae

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Hands on senior executive with forty years of experience leading companies in the manufacturing, professional services, engineering & construction, non-profit, and financial institution industries; managing areas within these organizations that include - finance & accounting, operations, mergers & acquisitions, treasury, IT & HR in order to maximize profit and add value for the shareholders.

Education

• Concodia University MBA School, Irvine / Professor of Corp. Finance
• University of California, Los Angeles / MBA Finance
• Pepperdine University / BS Business Administration

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Education

• Masters Business Administration, Concordia University, Irvine ('14)
• Bachelor of Arts, University of California at Santa Barbara ('93)

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Professor Rich Ingrassia has more than 20 years’ experience as an analyst and consultant in advertising, media and entertainment, conducting primary research, writing industry newsletters and individual company reports and supporting nearly $2 billion in equity financings. Rich has advised senior management on issues of market analysis, business development, organization and operations, and he continues to draw his insights from a wide network of current and former CEOs, professional money managers and other experts in the space. His work spans app- and browser-based mobile and social media; online video, over-the-top TV and related IP broadcast technologies; motion picture production, distribution, finance and exhibition; and all facets of digital marketing and advertising.

Education

• Northwestern University, M.S. in Journalism
• University of Notre Dame, B.A. in Economics

Teaching

• Capstone
• Investing

Professional Highlights

• Currently Managing Director of the media/technology practice at Digital Offering LLC, a next-generation venture finance firm in Laguna Beach, CA.
• Currently CEO of Hash Finance, a start-up technology company in the Digital Offering portfolio that mines social media for stock trading ideas.
• Formerly Senior Research Analyst at ROTH Capital Partners, where he was among the first on the sell-side to cover Netflix, IMAX, aQuantive, Bankrate.com and many others.
• Formerly strategy consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Los Angeles, where he guided strategic initiatives for AT&T, Boeing, DreamWorks, MGM and others.
• Formerly analyst and appraisal specialist at Paul Kagan Associates, where he acted as consultant and expert witness for The Walt Disney Company, Intel, Artisan Entertainment and others.
• Has appeared on CNBC and Bloomberg TV and has been quoted in the Wall Street Journal, Investor’s Business Daily, USA Today and Forbes.

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Robert's career spans over the transportation, finance, and nonprofit sectors where he has held operations management, controller, and CFO positions. He currently serves on the boards of Reef Check and Blue Water Photo.

Robert specializes in asset and equity valuations using hard data to develop and test pricing and forecast models.

Education

• Pepperdine University, MBA
• UC Riverside, Environmental Science, B.S.

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Mr. Miller has more than 25 years’ experience across a broad range of industries, focusing primarily on entrepreneurship, new ventures, change management, and organizational design. He is President of Persuasive Business Plans, where he has a significant record of accomplishments helping clients tell compelling stories that attract money and people to accelerate business success.

Tom is also an Adjunct Professor at both Concordia University (Irvine) and California State University (Fullerton) with a focus on entrepreneurial management, new ventures, and business planning.

Prior to consulting, Tom was Vice President of Planning and Development at Select University Technologies (SUTI), a firm focused on the commercialization of university-developed technologies. Prior to that, he was Vice President of Operations at Advanced Electronic Packaging, a manufacturer of custom electronics. He began his career with R. R. Donnelley in Chicago, where he held several staff positions and headed an engineering effort that resulted in several U.S. Patents.

Mr. Miller has an MBA with a specialization in Finance from the University of Chicago, as well as both a BS in Information and Computer Science and a BA in Economics from the University of California, Irvine.

Mr. Miller has been on the organizing committee, a panel moderator, and a panelist at several of the Harvard–Marshall Business Growth Conferences. He has served for many years on the executive committee of Tech Cost Venture Network. Outside of the entrepreneurial community, he volunteers with the Boy Scouts and with his local church, where he is an elder and licensed Deacon.

Education

• M.B.A. Finance - University of Chicago
• B.S. Computer Science - University of California, Irvine
• B.A. Economics- University of California, Irvine

Curriculum Vitae

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Mitra has held vice-president and senior director level leadership roles in global product marketing, product development and product life cycle management with Hewlett-Packard, Cisco Systems and Thales. His leadership style accelerates collaboration among functions while deploying best practices and processes.

Mitra blends an expertise in translating market insights and business acumen into high impact innovative product portfolios along with a global Go-To-Market skill set. For over twenty years, he has developed, launched and marketed over 100 products for Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Thales, Intel, and Duracell.

Education

• MBA, New York University, Stern School of Business, New York, NY
• Bachelor in Mechanical Engineering, BITS, Pilani, India

Teaching

• New Product Development
• Marketing for Results
• Marketing Communications

–Assistant Dean, School of Business and Economics

Biography

Professor Muller’s 25 year career in the multinational corporate finance world has given her valued experiences in both domestic and international environments. She has worked for high tech corporations in the computing, gaming and medical industries. The last eight years were focused as a supplier to the international banking community, developing a successful international business venture. In addition to the traditional corporate financial functions of planning, analysis and accounting, her experience includes developing business plans and corporate governance processes, managing large capital investment projects and major contract negotiations, integrating financial analysis and discipline into sales processes achieving outstanding results, researching and effectively managing the impact of changing government regulations on revenue generation, and completing a public offering during the market crash of 1987.

Professor Muller teaches the core Finance classes in the undergraduate and graduate programs throughout the year and occasional elective courses in the Finance and Economics disciplines.

Education

• MBA San Diego State University
• BA California State University Long Beach

Professor, School of Business

Biography

• Marketing Manager-Asia with Fortune 100 International Paper Co.
• VP-Commercial Development with Servrite International
• Born in the UK; worked and traveled in over 50 countries

Education

• MIM-AGSIM

Publications

• "Global Market Entry - Rules of Engagement" (Xlibris)
• "Quants Gone Wild" (WSJ)
• "Global Marketing Management" (Pearson)
• "Luther on Trade and Commerce" (CPH)

Teaching

• International Marketing
• International Finance
• Marketing Research
• New Venture/Entrepreneurship
• History of Economic Thought
• Global Enterprise

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Don Osborne is Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Concordia University’s Graduate School of Business in Irvine, Calif. He teaches MBA students advanced concepts in marketing strategy, marketing communications and digital marketing. Don earned his MBA at Pepperdine University in 1991.

Don owns his own consulting company and currently works with medium-sized businesses on how to design, implement and optimize their online marketing and sales funnels.

Don’s startup project has recently been accepted by UC Irvine’s tech incubator (“The Cove @ UCI”) for mentorship.

Don runs one of the largest monthly meetups (2,000 members) on the topic of digital marketing.

Don is the author of three books, including The Early Career MBA, Pre-Med Success Stories and Great Letters of Recommendation and has published marketing- and sales-related articles on his website, DonOsborne.com. He lives in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Education

• Pepperdine University, MBA, 1991

Teaching

• MBA 605: Marketing
• MBA 688: Marketing Communications
• MBA 670: Digital Marketing

Professor, School of Business

Biography

Roger Philips has been in international management for over twenty years. In addition to his consulting practice, he is adjunct professor and lead course instructor for the international business strand of Master of Arts in International Studies program at Concordia University. This program emphasizes study of Chinese business. Prof. Philips also teaches in the MBA program and leads business study tours to Shanghai and Beijing.

View Curriculum Vitae

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Ms. Jeannie K Sticher, MA has over 24 years of domestic and global experience in senior level customer and human resource within Mars, Inc. This experience included leadership of large customer teams, organizational design and development of learning programs. Jeannie is currently teaching the Concordia MBA Sales and Networking Class and taught Business Communications in 2016.

She began her academic career teaching and developing courses within the Marketing Department at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, focusing on networking strategies, business communication and customer relationship management. Jeannie has consulted for organizations building effective customer relationships and motivating internal and external customers.

Ms. Sticher currently teaches several topics within the International Program at UCI, including Business English, Professional Communication Skills and Interview/Resume Development. She developed and implemented an on-line Career Coaching seminar that included Personal Branding, Resume Development and Networking Skills.

In addition to her academic career, Jeannie volunteers time delivering Meals on Wheels to senior citizens, is an active member of the Sand Dollar Guild/Ocean Institute and serves as a Board Director for her HOA.

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Mick Ukleja is founder and president of LeadershipTraQ, a leadership-consulting firm based in California. He hosted LeadershipTraQ Televised, an interview-format talk show in Southern California that profiled outstanding leaders. He helped found the Ukleja Center For Ethical Leadership at California State University, Long Beach, the second largest university in the state. His book, Who Are You? What Do You Want? Four Questions That Will Change Your Life, has been praised by legendary coach John Wooden, Grand Slam golf champion Gary Player, and many prominent leaders and CEOs, as “The one book to read that will immediately impact your life.” Mick has also co-authored two other books, The Ethics Challenge, and Managing the Millennials.

Mick has worked with entrepreneurs and corporate executives of businesses and organizations in the non-profit and for-profit sectors. He serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Astronauts Memorial Foundation at the Kennedy Space Center, which oversees the Center for Space Education. Mick holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy, a master’s degree in Semitic languages, and a Ph.D. in theology. He received the President’s Distinguished Service Award from California State University, Long Beach in 2002, and in 2006, was named Distinguished Alumnus from the College of Liberal Arts.

Mick has been featured on Fox News, CNN, Fox Business Network, NBC, and in numerous publications. Click on this video to know more about LeadershipTraQ’s founder and President.

Teaching

• Leadership and development

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Phillip (Todd) Winkler is trained in Electrical Engineering (BSEE - LeTourneau, MSEE - USC) and experienced in multiple disciplines as a data analyst, software programmer, systems design and system engineering. He has 23 years as a systems engineer in IT technical sales. He has deep expertise in servers, data storage, IT systems and data center architectures. Previously he worked in the defense industry for 12 years as a missile systems software designer, data analyst and data visualization expert.

• He has always been called by his middle name Todd.
• He has lived in 26 different places in the US and Europe.
• He enjoys teaching, solving problems and technology.
• He has been a follower of Christ since 4th grade.
• He lives in Lake Forest with his beautiful wife Dawn.
• He has two boys, both in college - CUI and Cal Poly SLO.
• He has a Bachelors of Science in Electrical Engineering from LeTourneau University in east Texas.
• He has a MSEE from USC in 1992 in Nuclear Fusion and Plasma Dynamics.
• He loves outdoor sports, travel and racquetball.

MBA Academic Advisor, Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Dr. Drew Wolf serves CUI School of Business as the MBA Academic Advisor, the Assistant Program Director, and an Adjunct Instructor. Before joining CUI over five years ago, Dr. Wolf held a variety of staff and teaching positions at a private Christian university and a large community college, both in Ohio. Prior to his work in higher education, Dr. Wolf worked in management for a large financial institution as well as for a non-profit company. One of his favorite experiences was working ten years for the Professional Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. Dr. Wolf’s education includes his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Management preceded by degrees in Corporate Communication and Higher Education. Dr. Wolf has had papers presented in California, Ohio, New Mexico, and India. His two most recent peer-reviewed publications focus on the incorporation of a theoretical framework using Appreciative Inquiry to develop resiliency in businesses. He has also served as a peer reviewer for a number of publications including the International Journal of Human Resource Management.

Teaching

• MBA 642 Effective Communication
• MBA 603 Management
• MBA 678 E-commerce
• BUS 261 Information Technology

Administrative Dean, School of Business

Biography

George W. Wright, CPA, became the Administrative Dean for the School of Business after serving as the Assistant Dean of the School of Business and Professional Studies. He supervises all academic undergraduate and graduate programs in the School of Business by leading the faculty to determine academic policy, to establish requirements for degrees and programs, to approve the courses of instruction offered by the departments, and to administer the curriculum of the school. In order to fulfill this role he is responsible to seek appropriate personnel and fiscal resources to fulfill the school’s mission including the recruitment, retention and development of faculty and staff.

In addition he is an active faculty advisor in the MA International Studies program in the School of Professional Studies assisting students complete their Master’s Thesis. Professor Wright has won competitions in research papers for the AICPA Professor/Practitioner Case Development and the American Accounting Association including presentations at their annual national conferences. He comes from a 30 year international career in business where he was regularly required to overcome the obstacles of language, culture and currency on major business process changes and projects in information technology & systems, accounting, finance and strategic planning. He is a certified Zenger-Miller Facilitator/Trainer focusing on leadership development, change management and team building.

Education

• M.S. in Accountancy from the California State University at Fullerton
• M.B.A. in Finance from the California State University at Fullerton
• Bachelor of Arts in Economics the California State University at Fullerton

Adjunct Professor, School of Business

Biography

Professor Zoltany likes to be referred to as an entrepreneur or intrepreneur in business and in education. His philosophy of teaching evolved from embracing the concept around andragogy while working in corporate America and instructing business courses at Concordia University. He has hands on business knowledge as a Financial Manager of national, public and private organizations. Professor Zoltany considers the most important position he has ever had is teaching currently for his alumni at Concordia University as an Adjunct Professor. Some of the organizations he has worked with and learned from include: The Irvine Company, UDR, Inc., Strategic Sanitations, Inc., and The Ticket Group, Inc. His goal is to 'create the savvy business leader' by teaching the importance of global and diversity perspectives in business and future business trends.

On a personal level, my hobbies include "Tennis". My favorite sports include tennis, soccer, and basketball. My door is always open. Please feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Please remember, I am outdoors on weekends and won't always get reception, while on the courts and chasing down tennis balls. I promise to get back to you within 24 hours.

Education

• MBA, Finance - Brandman University, Chapman University System, Irvine, CA
• Bachelors of Art, Business Administration, Organizational Leadership - Brandman University, Chapman University System, Irvine, CA

Teaching

• MBA-604-Accounting
• BAL-309-Finance Basics for Managers
• BAL-201-Macroeconomics