Arlenis Almonte MBA '13

COVERGIRL, Global Multicultural Brand Manager

Arlenis Almonte is currently Global Multicultural Brand Manager at COVERGIRL, where she is responsible for creating business strategies to implement into the development and launch of new and existing portfolios across COVERGIRL, with a focus on the multicultural consumer. 

Prior to COVERGIRL, Arlenis began her post-MBA career at Target, holding roles within Merchandising - Target.com Housewares division, and Marketing - focused on the Hispanic consumer segment and diversity & inclusion initiatives. 

Arlenis began her Marketing career at MetLife's Global Brand and Marketing Services division playing active roles within Advertising & Brand Management and Creative Services teams. She was instrumental in safeguarding the MetLife brand domestically and internationally, as well as implementing brand activation and engagement programs throughout the organization.

During her time at Fuqua she served as an Admissions Co-Director of the Black and Latino MBA Organization, Admissions Fellow, Special Events Director of the Luxury Brand and Retail Club, and Ambassador of the Leadership Cohort Experience. She dedicated most of her time to connecting with and recruiting diverse students to Fuqua's community. In addition to her involvement at Fuqua, Arlenis is a Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Prep 2011 Fellow and Forté Foundation Fellow.

Arlenis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She enjoys cultural travel, cooking, running and training for endurance events.

Mia Barnes MMS '10

Department of Justice, Analyst

Mia Barnes currently works as an analyst for the Department of Justice where she manages contracts, technical resources, budgets, and creates efficiencies in current practices employed by the agency. Mia received her undergraduate degree in Information Technology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters of Management Studies degree from Duke University. During her time at these institutions, Mia held leadership positions in various campus and community organizations. While pursuing her Masters, Mia worked at SAS Institute as a technical student where she helped write and test code on several language platforms. Mia continues to stay active within her local community as a member of the Zeta Chi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Fairfax Volunteers for Change, and as a Suicide Hotline Counselor.

Daman Blakeney MBA '98

Brown Capital Management, Director Portfolio Manager/Equity Research Analyst

Vice Chair, Minority Alumni Advisory Board

Daman Blakeney is a Director in Brown Capital Management’s Large/Mid Investment Team, which actively invests in domestic large-cap and mid-cap equity securities. Prior to Brown Capital, Daman worked as an Equity Research Analyst with Voyageur Asset Management, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois and as an Equity Research Analyst with Victory Capital Management Inc. in New York City, New York and Cleveland, OH. He is a member of the CFA Institute.

Outside of work, Daman is a member of the Pratt Contemporaries, a group that aims to raise the awareness of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. He is also an advisory board member of Higher Achievement – Baltimore, an afterschool and summer academic program that provides middle school youth with a learning environment which will enable them to advance to top academic high schools. Daman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He resides in Baltimore, where he enjoys being a member of both The Rams Club and the Iron Dukes.

Christina Blanco MBA '03

New York Life, Chief Marketing Officer LTCi

After living most of her life along the East Coast and a few years in Spain, Christina moved to Austin, TX in 2009 to assume the role of Chief Marketing Officer for New York Life's Long-Term Care division. She energetically drives an incredibly talented team to grow sales within an Agency distribution channel. Her team develops B2B and B2C tools designed to engage a rapidly aging population.

During her career with New York Life, Christina has been intimately engaged in one strategic growth initiative after another. She's enjoyed cultivating opportunities within an expanse of target markets including but not limited to Retirees, Young-Families, Small-Businesses, Middle Market, LGBT, Health Aware, Women and  several cultural markets (Hispanic, Asian-Indian, Korean and African-American).

Prior to joining New York Life, she was a Latin American Sovereign Analyst at Bankers Trust and then a Sell-Side Telecom Associate for Deutsche Bank. She worked on Wall Street during many major economic shifts including the Mexican Tequila Crisis, when Brazil's inflation easily topped 300% a year, and when the Argentinean Peso was pegged to the U.S. dollar. At that time, she was very astute in  estimating many consumer behaviors, such as how many minutes the average person spoke on their cell phone each month (by country).

Christina acquired these technical skills when pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Business-Government from Franklin and Marshall College, and later acquiring her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Christina enjoys many outdoor activities such as running, kayaking and mountain biking. Her true passion however is surfing and traveling to the far reaches of this earth. 

Carlos Cata MBA '95

DHR International, Managing Partner

Carlos has extensive experience recruiting impactful senior leaders across multiple industry sectors, including consumer products and financial services. For the past 25 years Carlos has helped companies build brands and drive relevant customer strategies as both a marketing executive and as a search consultant.  Carlos’ search focus extends across the breadth of commercial leadership functions for financial services, consumer, professional services, and life science clients. He also serves as a leader in the firm’s Diversity Practice Group with a special focus in Latino leaders. 

Prior to joining DHR, Carlos served as managing partner with CTPartners in the firm’s Global CMO Practice.   Previously, Carlos was a regional managing partner with Heidrick & Struggles where he led the firm's Marketing, Sales & Strategy Officers Practice in North America.

Before launching his executive search career, Carlos spent 18 years as a marketing leader, entrepreneur and consultant working for some of the world’s premier companies including Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, and the Zyman Group.

Carlos earned an MBA with distinction from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, as well as a bachelor’s degree in finance, magna cum laude, from Miami University of Ohio. Currently he serves on the national board for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and on the foundation board for Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

KC Copeland MBA '06

Morgan Stanley, Vice President

As a Digital Strategies Lead in Wealth Management Operations at Morgan Stanley, KC Copeland works to define the strategy to transform the firm's online and internal platforms building operational efficiencies, which will enable streamlined engagement with internal and external clients.  Her work also involves evaluating new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.  

Her career began after completing dual degrees in engineering in her hometown Atlanta's Spelman College and Georgia Tech. KC embarked on a career in Management Consulting with Accenture.   After making executive, she broadened her business and finance knowledge by earning an MBA at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.  She then transitioned into the Capital Markets working at Merrill Lynch in mortgage trading and again worked briefly in consulting at PwC before beginning moving to Morgan Stanley.

KC serves on the board at Fuqua School of Business as a member of the Minority Alumni Council. She enjoys teaching financial literacy to youth and traveling internationally.  She is a tea and coffee enthusiast.  Her personal mantra is If you know better, do better.

William Crowder MBA '99

Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Lead Investor

William Crowder is an active early stage investor, enthusiastic startup advisor, and spearheads efforts to create new opportunities for talented tech entrepreneurs across the country.  He leads the investing activities of the $20 million Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund that invests in diverse entrepreneurs and tech startups with the potential to become industry leaders.  Since arriving at Comcast Ventures, William has been responsible for investments in a number of high growth startups including: AptDeco, Cuyana, Maker’s Row, and Partpic.

William also serves as a partner at Dreamit, the global startup accelerator and pre-seed venture fund.  Since joining Dreamit in 2011 William has worked with over 100 early stage startups focusing most of his time on ensuring a more diverse population of entrepreneurs receive the benefit of a top-tier accelerator experience.

Yetunde Faparusi MBA '11

Nissan North America, Inc., Marketing Budget and Governance

Yetunde Faparusi started her post MBA career at Nissan North America in 2011 in Nissan's Rotational Development Program.
She is currently the Sr. Manager for Marketing Budget and Governance at Nissan North America (NNA). She is responsible for managing a Billion $ budget for Nissan North America's marketing communications, media and model line/product marketing. She is also responsible for the operational governance of the Marketing department.
Prior to her current role, she was the Chief of Staff to the Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Nissan North America.

Yetunde has also held roles in Dealer Network Development, Market Intelligence and the Smyrna Manufacturing plant, all at Nissan North America.
During her time at Fuqua, Yetunde was a member of the Marketing club, the Black and Latino MBA Organization, Association of Women in Business and the Christian Business Fellowship.  She was also a Blue Devil Weekend Registration and Hospitality Committee Co-Chair and an Admissions Ambassador Coordinator.

While at Fuqua she served as a COLE Fellow, MBAA External Relations Executive Officer and the South Africa Global Academic Travel Experience (GATE) Team Leader. As a GATE leader she was responsible for leading and planning a business, educational and cultural trip to South Africa for 35 of her fellow MBA classmates; one of the most hands on experiences in bridging cultures while facing the challenges of diversity in business philosophies across continents. 

Yetunde has a passion for recruiting diverse students and candidates to any organization she is a part of. Since graduating from Fuqua she has played an active role in recruiting diverse talent to Fuqua's MBA programs both formally as an alumni ambassador  for Fuqua's Minority Advisory Board's "Yield Enhancement Strategy" Y.E.S program, and through her own personal interactions with prospective students. While at Nissan she has kept up that passion by leading the recruiting efforts for Nissan's Executive Leadership Development program at Fuqua.

Prior to Fuqua, Yetunde worked for Frito Lay North America for 10 years in a variety of manufacturing roles including Processing and Packaging operations, Project Engineering, Food Safety and Quality. In addition, she led the Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and programming for a manufacturing site of over 300 employees.
Outside of work, Yetunde volunteers as a mentor for TN Achieves, whose mission is to eliminate the barriers associated with entering the post-secondary pipeline, and increasing higher education opportunities for Tennessee high school students, by providing last-dollar scholarships with mentor guidance. She also volunteers in the Children's Learning Center at her Church, Fellowship Bible Church.

Yetunde holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University, and an MBA in Marketing and Brand Management from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

Yetunde resides in Brentwood, Tennessee with her husband and their three boys, Laolu, Babatunde and Yomi Jr. She loves to sing, watch movies and TV series with her family. She is an avid tennis fan, and enjoys cooking Nigerian dishes.

Keli Fleming Holmes MBA '12

Cisco Systems, Inc., Manager, Connected Operations

Keli Fleming Holmes is an Operations Leader with over 15 years' experience in driving holistic and methodical solutions with successful integration of people, processes and systems. As a Leader within the Digital Business Architecture Organization (Operations) of Cisco Systems, she supports the multi-year digital transformation strategy through corporate and functional policy. Her team drives alignment between the strategic direction set by the executive team and cross-functional business operations spanning Cisco's global organization, using policy as an enabler. Keli is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Master with a specific proficiency in delivering value to both customers and stakeholders. 

 
Prior to joining Cisco, Keli was the Director of Continuous Improvement at Advantage Sales and Marketing, where she had responsibility for the implementation and sustainment of improvement initiatives. She has served in roles of increasing scope, responsibility and leadership across several industries including Healthcare, Consumer Packaged Goods, Computer Manufacturing and Automotive Manufacturing.  Her functional experience includes Operations, Sales Enablement, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Procurement in firms such as Lenovo, IBM, Flextronics and General Cable.

Keli has earned a Master of Business Administration from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (Durham, NC), a Master of Science in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering (Tallahassee, FL). 

Keli serves on the Advisory Board of SEM Link, a not-for-profit organization that promotes student achievement in math and science while increasing student exposure to STEM communities. She currently resides in the Triangle of North Carolina with her husband and two children. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with family, reading about leadership and watching crime and mystery television marathons!

David Hailey MBA '13

Delta Air Lines, Inc., General Manager, International Partnerships

David is currently a General Manager in the Customer Engagement and Loyalty department. He has responsibility for the international co-brand credit card, bank and hotel partnership portfolio at Delta Air Lines.  He started his career at Delta seven years ago as a Manager in the Corporate Audit group, where he was responsible for providing audit assurance over financial, operational, and compliance functions for Delta's domestic and international operations. 

Prior to joining Delta, David worked at EY for seven years holding positions in the external financial and internal audit divisions in the Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA offices. 

David earned his Bachelors and a Masters degree in Accounting from North Carolina State University and a MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

David lives in Atlanta Ga with his wife D'Asia and their two sons, Tripp and John. He enjoys international travel and is a big basketball and boxing fan.

Randall Lambright MBA '13

AIG SunAmerica Asset Mgt., Director, IT Portfolio Management, Commercial Insurance

Randall Lambright has an extensive 14+ year career in the financial services industry, with significant domain expertise in Corporate & Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Commercial Insurance.  Currently, he is the Director of IT Portfolio Management at AIG's Commercial Insurance organization and oversees strategy & operations for IT operating model transformations, investment lifecycle management, and business intelligence. 

Prior to this, Randall served as an Engagement Manager with capital markets and commercial banking coverage at Infosys Ltd., spearheading management consulting engagements, thought leadership, and business development.  At JPMorgan, Randall was a Corporate Banker with financial institutions and multi-national corporates coverage and a Product Manager driving strategic planning, capital deployment, pricing, deal structuring, and market research for the Investor Services business.  In other leading financial institutions, he held a variety of investment management and private banking roles, advising Institutions and High Net Worth individuals on investment, risk, credit, and liquidity management solutions. 

Randall received his MBA from the Cross Continent program at Duke's Fuqua School of Business and a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.  He has also earned several industry regarded credentials, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM), and Chartered Alternatives Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. 

Randall lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, daughter, and new Labradoodle puppy.  Outside of work, he has a passion for both mentorship and diversity/gender inclusion in the workplace as well mixed martial arts, international travel, and playing a variety of music instruments.

Cara Robinson MBA '98

Vice President of Global Marketing, Makeup and Fragrance, Clinique

Ms. Robinson is a marketing executive with over 15 years experience across a variety of industries. Currently she is a Vice President of Global Marketing at Clinique, the largest prestige beauty brand in the world.

Prior to Clinique, Ms. Robinson held Sr. level positions at Johnson & Johnson on KORRES, a prestige homeopathic Greek beauty brand and on Neutrogena, a leading Mass beauty brand.
Before Johnson & Johnson, she held various positions at L'Oreal and Avon in the Color Cosmetics, Skincare, and Haircare segments. 

Ms. Robinson began her career at Kraft Foods where she worked on the venerable Maxwell House coffee brand and from there went on to work at Capital One Financial, where she launched the first "What's in Your Wallet?" campaign.

She holds a B.A. degree in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Duke University.
Ms. Robinson enjoys training and competing in Olympic distance Triathlons as well as Century distance bike rides.

Delmary Salcedo MBA '14

Accenture, Business Strategy Manager

Delmary Salcedo is currently a Business Strategy Manager within Accenture's Retail Strategy practice. She focuses her time on helping clients identify and realize value through operational improvements and strategic planning. Delmary is currently leading a collaborative effort at the World Economic Forum focused on exploring the future of consumer industries and the impact that the digital revolution is having on the workforce and society as a whole. During her time at Fuqua she served as the co-President of the Association for Women in Business, Admissions Fellow, Career Fellow, Marketing Chair for the Black and Latino MBA Organization, and Communications Chair for the Fuqua MBA Marketing Club. Delmary dedicated much of her time during business school to helping women and minorities plan for and achieve their desired career goals through one-on-one coaching. In addition to her direct involvement at Fuqua, Delmary is a Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Prep 2012 Fellow, Forte Foundation Fellow, a member of Prospanica, and served as a mentor for immigrant high school students at the Emily K Center in Durham.

Prior to Fuqua, Delmary was an International Tax Services consultant at Ernst & Young in Miami, Florida, where she served clients by providing technical expertise to guide tax planning and tax controversy resolution efforts. She lead the development of the Miami office's Community Outreach Initiative by driving efforts to create volunteer opportunities with local organizations (fundraising, donations, mentorship programs, etc.) for EY professionals to engage with the community on an on-going basis.

Delmary earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a dual concentration in International Business and Finance from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. In her personal time, she enjoys traveling (and has completed 6 out 7 continents), spinning classes, watching independent films, baking, and any outdoor activity involving the ocean.

Marcus Shaw MBA '05

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), Director of Business Development

Marcus Shaw is the Director of Business Development for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT).  MLT prepares high potential diverse talent to meet the bar for high performance at leading companies and helps its corporate partners improve their diversity recruitment and retention outcomes.  Mr. Shaw is responsible for sourcing and closing partnerships with organizations that recruit MLT Fellows.
 
Prior to his current role, Mr. Shaw spent 10 years in equity research and asset management, with both sell-side and buy-side firms.  Most recently, Mr. Shaw was the Head of Tech, Media, and Telecom research at a broker-dealer in Washington DC focused on policy and regulated industries.  Prior to that he was a Managing Analyst at Piedmont Investment Advisors in Durham, NC.  His career in finance began with Bank of America, as an associate on the Telecom equity research team.    Mr. Shaw started his career with IBM as an engineer in the Data Networking Practice.
 
Marcus earned his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.  He earned a BS in Mathematics from Morehouse College and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
 
Marcus lives in the Washington DC area with his wife, Maren, and their two children.

Michael Smith MBA '92

The Smith Group LLC, Principal and Founder

Earlier this year, Michael left The Coca-Cola Company after 23 years, where he was an accomplished, results driven senior executive with an extensive track record of developing and leading executive and multidisciplinary teams in complex growth strategies, operational transformation, identifying revenue benefits and cost savings and in executing strategic cultural change initiatives.  An effective communicator, Michael has spent the last 15 years as a trusted advisor to both c-suite level executives and closely held non-profits organizations.  His executive level experience also included leadership roles in non-profit, domestic US and international fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and digital technology industries. 

  
In his most recent role, Michael Smith lead a 15+ member cross functional team as the Vice President, Strategy Development, for the North American Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company.  While at The Coca-Cola Company, Michael's responsibilities included lead the organization in the development of group level business growth and innovation strategies, executing a portfolio of digital transformation and enterprise level capability initiatives, aligning the business unit long term growth objectives with external social enterprise goals and partnerships, in strategic communication across internal and external audiences.  Prior to this role Michael spent 20 years in various positions of increasing responsibility and leadership, including Chief of Staff for the Coca-Cola Company Chief Marketing Officer, VP Category Marketing & Portfolio Strategy, VP Sustainability & Wellness for North American Business unit to name a few.  

Before that he worked with BellSouth Mobile Data as an International Marketing and Business Development Director for 3 years, where he was an integral part of new business startups and partnerships in Australia, The Netherlands, and Belgium holding leadership roles in the areas of sales, marketing and business development.
Michael has also spent the last 7 years on the Board of Sheltering Arms, a $28M non-profit focused on early learning and education. For the last three years Michael has presided over the 33-member board, and the Executive Committee as Board Chair.  In addition to leading a major multiyear board effectiveness initiative, Michael co-led with the CEO of Sheltering Arms in the development and delivery of the five-year strategic plan and a multi-year capability blueprint for accelerating regional and national leadership, the completion of a capital campaign to fund our 16th education center, a major effort to relaunch the organization's brand and external presence and a set of financial initiatives (investment policy, NMTC, etc.)  to increase operating flexibility.

Michael holds a Bachelor's of Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and daytime MBA from Fuqua Business School class of 1992.  Michael is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the National Black MBA Association.

Dean Tait MBA '10

Quantenna Communications, Inc., Sr. Director, Business Development

Husband, father, entrepreneur, adventurer, story teller, photographer. Dean Tait's journey started over 50 years ago in a little Canadian town - Gaspé - that is literally on the edge of nowhere. Born with a foot in two cultures, Dean is a member of the Micmac Nation of Gaspeg. The first time he flew in an airplane and received a stamp in his passport, he knew that he could never go back.

Since then Dean has lived in two countries, two states, four provinces and nine different cities all while doing business in over 30 countries. A lifelong entrpreneur, Dean founded an IT Services company before it was fashionable, a boutique wine brand and an App-based solution for amateur sports when both were very much in fashion.

By day, Dean leads a global Business Development practice for Quantenna Communications, a Wi-Fi silicon chipset company. On evenings and weekends, you can find him photographing youth hockey teams all over Northern California for Hockey Shots Photography (hockeyshots.net) a family business Dean co-owns and operates with his wife. Dean received a BA from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua Business School. He resides in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children.

Anne Sempowski Ward MBA '04

Thymes, CEO

Chair, Minority Alumni Advisory Board

Anne Sempowski Ward is a business strategy, operations, marketing and branding executive who has spent nearly two decades in corporate leadership at major companies such as Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Johnson Publishing Company.

Mrs. Ward has consistently spearheaded strategic innovation and organizational efficiency and is especially adept at developing winning operational models. Her career has been defined by her ability to successfully lead business turnarounds, high-profile acquisitions, classic re-branding efforts, corporate reorganization and restructuring, and multicultural marketing.

A native of Detroit, Mrs. Ward has a bachelor's of science degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University. She also earned a Global MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

She stays active in the civic and business communities and has been recognized for her business leadership by the YMCA and YWCA. Mrs. Ward's achievements have been written about in numerous magazines and The Go-Getter Girl's Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life and she has appeared on many esteemed business panels.

Tony Wicks MBA '00

IMS Consulting Group, Principal

Tony Wicks is currently a Principal with IMS Consulting Group.  Previously Tony served as a Vice President of Strategic Account Management for Lash Group, a division of AmerisourceBergen Corporation.  Tony assumed this role after the sale of his company Premier Source, LLC to AmerisourceBergen in 2011.

Tony co-founded Premier Source, a boutique provider of strategic consulting, reimbursement, and commercial support services to life sciences manufacturers worldwide. Premier Source targets biopharma and diagnostic companies developing novel solutions in the rare disease and molecular diagnostic markets. Premier Source is considered the leading provider of reimbursement and support services to molecular diagnostic manufacturers. Since founding the company in 2004, Tony and his business partner successfully grew Premier Source into a multi-million dollar enterprise with over 150 employees and offices in San Mateo, California and Portland, Oregon. This culminated in the sale of Premier Source to AmerisourceBergen, a Fortune 30 health service company.

Prior to launching Premier Source, Tony spent over 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including five years as a management consultant in the Life Sciences practice of Cap Gemini (formerly Ernst & Young) Management Consulting Services. Tony also held positions in finance and marketing at Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co.   

Tony earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Tony resides in Oakland, California, with his wife, Carla, and three children, Kaden, Colin, and Kendall. He is an avid wine collector, loves to travel, and enjoys coaching baseball and basketball.

Paul Williams MBA '10

Aetna International, National Sales Vice President

Paul Williams is the National Sales Vice President for Aetna International's Faith Based and Not for Profit vertical.  Paul is responsible for leading the sales efforts and executing the overall growth strategy for International volunteers, missionaries and employees.  This includes collaborating with Sales Executives, Account Managers and Account Service Representatives, Underwriting, Network, Marketing, Product and Operations teams to ensure that Aetna International has the right combination of products, services, promotional tools and price points for this unique segment. 
 
He started his career with Aetna in 2003 in New York where he sold more than $50M in domestic medical, dental and group insurance premiums. He then left Aetna to pursue graduate studies and returned as a member of the Enterprise Leadership Development Program where he completed assignments in Investor Relations and Enterprise Strategy.  Paul then joined Aetna International as an expat in the Hong Kong office, where he spent a year as a Business Development Director and Head of Sales. During this assignment Paul redesigned the sales process and worked with the Hong Kong sales team to win its largest case and double its annual membership production.  Most recently, Paul has been leading the strategy for the U.S. Government vertical developing our market and product strategy and the Aetna brand presence with embassies, consulates and diplomatic intermediaries.

His current role with the Faith Based and Not for Profit customers ties back to Paul's 20 year commitment to charitable giving and community service with Kiwanis International. Paul was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.  He graduated from Wesleyan University with his B.A. in Economics and Duke University with an M.B.A. in Finance.

Randy Zeno MBA '86

Urban Therapy, CEO

Randy Zeno is a proven senior executive in the consumer products industry at both public and private equity held companies ranging in size from $20MM to $1B+.  Currently,  Mr. Zeno serves as CEO of Urban Therapy, owners of Twisted Sista,  a multi-cultural hair care company, acquired  in 2014 by Wexford Capital and Scarlett Investments.  Previously, Mr. Zeno was CEO of Dr. Miracle’s – a Catterton Partners portfolio company which Randy swiftly transformed into a multi-cultural hair care company.  Dr. Miracle’s was successfully merged with a Dallas based hair care company in 2013.

Over a span of 28 years, Mr. Zeno has held increasingly visible leadership and executive  positions within leading portfolio companies of Rank Group (Reynolds Consumer Products), Vestar (Birds Eye Foods) and  Metropoulos Group (International Home Foods).   His roots in consumer products began early in his career with organizations such as Nabisco, Cadbury-Schweppes and Kraft General Foods.  Mr. Zeno holds an MBA and BA from Duke University.

Mr. Zeno serves on the Board for Strive International. Previous board roles include Glory Foods, a manufacturer of specialty canned vegetables, Junior Achievement Fairfield County and Garth Fagan Dance Company. He is the father of a daughter, a 2015 graduate of Duke University and a son in his sophomore year at St. Johns University.

Arlenis Almonte MBA '13

COVERGIRL, Global Multicultural Brand Manager

Arlenis Almonte is currently Global Multicultural Brand Manager at COVERGIRL, where she is responsible for creating business strategies to implement into the development and launch of new and existing portfolios across COVERGIRL, with a focus on the multicultural consumer. 

Prior to COVERGIRL, Arlenis began her post-MBA career at Target, holding roles within Merchandising - Target.com Housewares division, and Marketing - focused on the Hispanic consumer segment and diversity & inclusion initiatives. 

Arlenis began her Marketing career at MetLife's Global Brand and Marketing Services division playing active roles within Advertising & Brand Management and Creative Services teams. She was instrumental in safeguarding the MetLife brand domestically and internationally, as well as implementing brand activation and engagement programs throughout the organization.

During her time at Fuqua she served as an Admissions Co-Director of the Black and Latino MBA Organization, Admissions Fellow, Special Events Director of the Luxury Brand and Retail Club, and Ambassador of the Leadership Cohort Experience. She dedicated most of her time to connecting with and recruiting diverse students to Fuqua's community. In addition to her involvement at Fuqua, Arlenis is a Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Prep 2011 Fellow and Forté Foundation Fellow.

Arlenis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing from Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts. She enjoys cultural travel, cooking, running and training for endurance events.

Mia Barnes MMS '10

Department of Justice, Analyst

Mia Barnes currently works as an analyst for the Department of Justice where she manages contracts, technical resources, budgets, and creates efficiencies in current practices employed by the agency. Mia received her undergraduate degree in Information Technology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Masters of Management Studies degree from Duke University. During her time at these institutions, Mia held leadership positions in various campus and community organizations. While pursuing her Masters, Mia worked at SAS Institute as a technical student where she helped write and test code on several language platforms. Mia continues to stay active within her local community as a member of the Zeta Chi Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., Fairfax Volunteers for Change, and as a Suicide Hotline Counselor.

Daman Blakeney MBA '98

Brown Capital Management, Director Portfolio Manager/Equity Research Analyst

Vice Chair, Minority Alumni Advisory Board

Daman Blakeney is a Director in Brown Capital Management’s Large/Mid Investment Team, which actively invests in domestic large-cap and mid-cap equity securities. Prior to Brown Capital, Daman worked as an Equity Research Analyst with Voyageur Asset Management, Inc. in Chicago, Illinois and as an Equity Research Analyst with Victory Capital Management Inc. in New York City, New York and Cleveland, OH. He is a member of the CFA Institute.

Outside of work, Daman is a member of the Pratt Contemporaries, a group that aims to raise the awareness of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore. He is also an advisory board member of Higher Achievement – Baltimore, an afterschool and summer academic program that provides middle school youth with a learning environment which will enable them to advance to top academic high schools. Daman earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business. He resides in Baltimore, where he enjoys being a member of both The Rams Club and the Iron Dukes.

Christina Blanco MBA '03

New York Life, Chief Marketing Officer LTCi

After living most of her life along the East Coast and a few years in Spain, Christina moved to Austin, TX in 2009 to assume the role of Chief Marketing Officer for New York Life's Long-Term Care division. She energetically drives an incredibly talented team to grow sales within an Agency distribution channel. Her team develops B2B and B2C tools designed to engage a rapidly aging population.

During her career with New York Life, Christina has been intimately engaged in one strategic growth initiative after another. She's enjoyed cultivating opportunities within an expanse of target markets including but not limited to Retirees, Young-Families, Small-Businesses, Middle Market, LGBT, Health Aware, Women and  several cultural markets (Hispanic, Asian-Indian, Korean and African-American).

Prior to joining New York Life, she was a Latin American Sovereign Analyst at Bankers Trust and then a Sell-Side Telecom Associate for Deutsche Bank. She worked on Wall Street during many major economic shifts including the Mexican Tequila Crisis, when Brazil's inflation easily topped 300% a year, and when the Argentinean Peso was pegged to the U.S. dollar. At that time, she was very astute in  estimating many consumer behaviors, such as how many minutes the average person spoke on their cell phone each month (by country).

Christina acquired these technical skills when pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in Business-Government from Franklin and Marshall College, and later acquiring her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Christina enjoys many outdoor activities such as running, kayaking and mountain biking. Her true passion however is surfing and traveling to the far reaches of this earth. 

Carlos Cata MBA '95

DHR International, Managing Partner

Carlos has extensive experience recruiting impactful senior leaders across multiple industry sectors, including consumer products and financial services. For the past 25 years Carlos has helped companies build brands and drive relevant customer strategies as both a marketing executive and as a search consultant.  Carlos’ search focus extends across the breadth of commercial leadership functions for financial services, consumer, professional services, and life science clients. He also serves as a leader in the firm’s Diversity Practice Group with a special focus in Latino leaders. 

Prior to joining DHR, Carlos served as managing partner with CTPartners in the firm’s Global CMO Practice.   Previously, Carlos was a regional managing partner with Heidrick & Struggles where he led the firm's Marketing, Sales & Strategy Officers Practice in North America.

Before launching his executive search career, Carlos spent 18 years as a marketing leader, entrepreneur and consultant working for some of the world’s premier companies including Procter & Gamble, Kraft Foods, and the Zyman Group.

Carlos earned an MBA with distinction from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, as well as a bachelor’s degree in finance, magna cum laude, from Miami University of Ohio. Currently he serves on the national board for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and on the foundation board for Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.

KC Copeland MBA '06

Morgan Stanley, Vice President

As a Digital Strategies Lead in Wealth Management Operations at Morgan Stanley, KC Copeland works to define the strategy to transform the firm's online and internal platforms building operational efficiencies, which will enable streamlined engagement with internal and external clients.  Her work also involves evaluating new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Robotics.  

Her career began after completing dual degrees in engineering in her hometown Atlanta's Spelman College and Georgia Tech. KC embarked on a career in Management Consulting with Accenture.   After making executive, she broadened her business and finance knowledge by earning an MBA at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.  She then transitioned into the Capital Markets working at Merrill Lynch in mortgage trading and again worked briefly in consulting at PwC before beginning moving to Morgan Stanley.

KC serves on the board at Fuqua School of Business as a member of the Minority Alumni Council. She enjoys teaching financial literacy to youth and traveling internationally.  She is a tea and coffee enthusiast.  Her personal mantra is If you know better, do better.

William Crowder MBA '99

Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund, Lead Investor

William Crowder is an active early stage investor, enthusiastic startup advisor, and spearheads efforts to create new opportunities for talented tech entrepreneurs across the country.  He leads the investing activities of the $20 million Comcast Ventures Catalyst Fund that invests in diverse entrepreneurs and tech startups with the potential to become industry leaders.  Since arriving at Comcast Ventures, William has been responsible for investments in a number of high growth startups including: AptDeco, Cuyana, Maker’s Row, and Partpic.

William also serves as a partner at Dreamit, the global startup accelerator and pre-seed venture fund.  Since joining Dreamit in 2011 William has worked with over 100 early stage startups focusing most of his time on ensuring a more diverse population of entrepreneurs receive the benefit of a top-tier accelerator experience.

Yetunde Faparusi MBA '11

Nissan North America, Inc., Marketing Budget and Governance

Yetunde Faparusi started her post MBA career at Nissan North America in 2011 in Nissan's Rotational Development Program.
She is currently the Sr. Manager for Marketing Budget and Governance at Nissan North America (NNA). She is responsible for managing a Billion $ budget for Nissan North America's marketing communications, media and model line/product marketing. She is also responsible for the operational governance of the Marketing department.
Prior to her current role, she was the Chief of Staff to the Sr. Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Nissan North America.

Yetunde has also held roles in Dealer Network Development, Market Intelligence and the Smyrna Manufacturing plant, all at Nissan North America.
During her time at Fuqua, Yetunde was a member of the Marketing club, the Black and Latino MBA Organization, Association of Women in Business and the Christian Business Fellowship.  She was also a Blue Devil Weekend Registration and Hospitality Committee Co-Chair and an Admissions Ambassador Coordinator.

While at Fuqua she served as a COLE Fellow, MBAA External Relations Executive Officer and the South Africa Global Academic Travel Experience (GATE) Team Leader. As a GATE leader she was responsible for leading and planning a business, educational and cultural trip to South Africa for 35 of her fellow MBA classmates; one of the most hands on experiences in bridging cultures while facing the challenges of diversity in business philosophies across continents. 

Yetunde has a passion for recruiting diverse students and candidates to any organization she is a part of. Since graduating from Fuqua she has played an active role in recruiting diverse talent to Fuqua's MBA programs both formally as an alumni ambassador  for Fuqua's Minority Advisory Board's "Yield Enhancement Strategy" Y.E.S program, and through her own personal interactions with prospective students. While at Nissan she has kept up that passion by leading the recruiting efforts for Nissan's Executive Leadership Development program at Fuqua.

Prior to Fuqua, Yetunde worked for Frito Lay North America for 10 years in a variety of manufacturing roles including Processing and Packaging operations, Project Engineering, Food Safety and Quality. In addition, she led the Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives and programming for a manufacturing site of over 300 employees.
Outside of work, Yetunde volunteers as a mentor for TN Achieves, whose mission is to eliminate the barriers associated with entering the post-secondary pipeline, and increasing higher education opportunities for Tennessee high school students, by providing last-dollar scholarships with mentor guidance. She also volunteers in the Children's Learning Center at her Church, Fellowship Bible Church.

Yetunde holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Iowa State University, and an MBA in Marketing and Brand Management from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

Yetunde resides in Brentwood, Tennessee with her husband and their three boys, Laolu, Babatunde and Yomi Jr. She loves to sing, watch movies and TV series with her family. She is an avid tennis fan, and enjoys cooking Nigerian dishes.

Keli Fleming Holmes MBA '12

Cisco Systems, Inc., Manager, Connected Operations

Keli Fleming Holmes is an Operations Leader with over 15 years' experience in driving holistic and methodical solutions with successful integration of people, processes and systems. As a Leader within the Digital Business Architecture Organization (Operations) of Cisco Systems, she supports the multi-year digital transformation strategy through corporate and functional policy. Her team drives alignment between the strategic direction set by the executive team and cross-functional business operations spanning Cisco's global organization, using policy as an enabler. Keli is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Master with a specific proficiency in delivering value to both customers and stakeholders. 

 
Prior to joining Cisco, Keli was the Director of Continuous Improvement at Advantage Sales and Marketing, where she had responsibility for the implementation and sustainment of improvement initiatives. She has served in roles of increasing scope, responsibility and leadership across several industries including Healthcare, Consumer Packaged Goods, Computer Manufacturing and Automotive Manufacturing.  Her functional experience includes Operations, Sales Enablement, Manufacturing, Supply Chain and Procurement in firms such as Lenovo, IBM, Flextronics and General Cable.

Keli has earned a Master of Business Administration from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business (Durham, NC), a Master of Science in Industrial and Operations Engineering from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering (Tallahassee, FL). 

Keli serves on the Advisory Board of SEM Link, a not-for-profit organization that promotes student achievement in math and science while increasing student exposure to STEM communities. She currently resides in the Triangle of North Carolina with her husband and two children. In her free time, she enjoys traveling with family, reading about leadership and watching crime and mystery television marathons!

David Hailey MBA '13

Delta Air Lines, Inc., General Manager, International Partnerships

David is currently a General Manager in the Customer Engagement and Loyalty department. He has responsibility for the international co-brand credit card, bank and hotel partnership portfolio at Delta Air Lines.  He started his career at Delta seven years ago as a Manager in the Corporate Audit group, where he was responsible for providing audit assurance over financial, operational, and compliance functions for Delta's domestic and international operations. 

Prior to joining Delta, David worked at EY for seven years holding positions in the external financial and internal audit divisions in the Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA offices. 

David earned his Bachelors and a Masters degree in Accounting from North Carolina State University and a MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

David lives in Atlanta Ga with his wife D'Asia and their two sons, Tripp and John. He enjoys international travel and is a big basketball and boxing fan.

Randall Lambright MBA '13

AIG SunAmerica Asset Mgt., Director, IT Portfolio Management, Commercial Insurance

Randall Lambright has an extensive 14+ year career in the financial services industry, with significant domain expertise in Corporate & Investment Banking, Asset Management, and Commercial Insurance.  Currently, he is the Director of IT Portfolio Management at AIG's Commercial Insurance organization and oversees strategy & operations for IT operating model transformations, investment lifecycle management, and business intelligence. 

Prior to this, Randall served as an Engagement Manager with capital markets and commercial banking coverage at Infosys Ltd., spearheading management consulting engagements, thought leadership, and business development.  At JPMorgan, Randall was a Corporate Banker with financial institutions and multi-national corporates coverage and a Product Manager driving strategic planning, capital deployment, pricing, deal structuring, and market research for the Investor Services business.  In other leading financial institutions, he held a variety of investment management and private banking roles, advising Institutions and High Net Worth individuals on investment, risk, credit, and liquidity management solutions. 

Randall received his MBA from the Cross Continent program at Duke's Fuqua School of Business and a BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia.  He has also earned several industry regarded credentials, such as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM), and Chartered Alternatives Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations. 

Randall lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, daughter, and new Labradoodle puppy.  Outside of work, he has a passion for both mentorship and diversity/gender inclusion in the workplace as well mixed martial arts, international travel, and playing a variety of music instruments.

Cara Robinson MBA '98

Vice President of Global Marketing, Makeup and Fragrance, Clinique

Ms. Robinson is a marketing executive with over 15 years experience across a variety of industries. Currently she is a Vice President of Global Marketing at Clinique, the largest prestige beauty brand in the world.

Prior to Clinique, Ms. Robinson held Sr. level positions at Johnson & Johnson on KORRES, a prestige homeopathic Greek beauty brand and on Neutrogena, a leading Mass beauty brand.
Before Johnson & Johnson, she held various positions at L'Oreal and Avon in the Color Cosmetics, Skincare, and Haircare segments. 

Ms. Robinson began her career at Kraft Foods where she worked on the venerable Maxwell House coffee brand and from there went on to work at Capital One Financial, where she launched the first "What's in Your Wallet?" campaign.

She holds a B.A. degree in Spanish from the University of Virginia, and an MBA from Duke University.
Ms. Robinson enjoys training and competing in Olympic distance Triathlons as well as Century distance bike rides.

Delmary Salcedo MBA '14

Accenture, Business Strategy Manager

Delmary Salcedo is currently a Business Strategy Manager within Accenture's Retail Strategy practice. She focuses her time on helping clients identify and realize value through operational improvements and strategic planning. Delmary is currently leading a collaborative effort at the World Economic Forum focused on exploring the future of consumer industries and the impact that the digital revolution is having on the workforce and society as a whole. During her time at Fuqua she served as the co-President of the Association for Women in Business, Admissions Fellow, Career Fellow, Marketing Chair for the Black and Latino MBA Organization, and Communications Chair for the Fuqua MBA Marketing Club. Delmary dedicated much of her time during business school to helping women and minorities plan for and achieve their desired career goals through one-on-one coaching. In addition to her direct involvement at Fuqua, Delmary is a Management Leadership for Tomorrow MBA Prep 2012 Fellow, Forte Foundation Fellow, a member of Prospanica, and served as a mentor for immigrant high school students at the Emily K Center in Durham.

Prior to Fuqua, Delmary was an International Tax Services consultant at Ernst & Young in Miami, Florida, where she served clients by providing technical expertise to guide tax planning and tax controversy resolution efforts. She lead the development of the Miami office's Community Outreach Initiative by driving efforts to create volunteer opportunities with local organizations (fundraising, donations, mentorship programs, etc.) for EY professionals to engage with the community on an on-going basis.

Delmary earned a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with a dual concentration in International Business and Finance from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. In her personal time, she enjoys traveling (and has completed 6 out 7 continents), spinning classes, watching independent films, baking, and any outdoor activity involving the ocean.

Marcus Shaw MBA '05

Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), Director of Business Development

Marcus Shaw is the Director of Business Development for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT).  MLT prepares high potential diverse talent to meet the bar for high performance at leading companies and helps its corporate partners improve their diversity recruitment and retention outcomes.  Mr. Shaw is responsible for sourcing and closing partnerships with organizations that recruit MLT Fellows.
 
Prior to his current role, Mr. Shaw spent 10 years in equity research and asset management, with both sell-side and buy-side firms.  Most recently, Mr. Shaw was the Head of Tech, Media, and Telecom research at a broker-dealer in Washington DC focused on policy and regulated industries.  Prior to that he was a Managing Analyst at Piedmont Investment Advisors in Durham, NC.  His career in finance began with Bank of America, as an associate on the Telecom equity research team.    Mr. Shaw started his career with IBM as an engineer in the Data Networking Practice.
 
Marcus earned his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.  He earned a BS in Mathematics from Morehouse College and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.
 
Marcus lives in the Washington DC area with his wife, Maren, and their two children.

Michael Smith MBA '92

The Smith Group LLC, Principal and Founder

Earlier this year, Michael left The Coca-Cola Company after 23 years, where he was an accomplished, results driven senior executive with an extensive track record of developing and leading executive and multidisciplinary teams in complex growth strategies, operational transformation, identifying revenue benefits and cost savings and in executing strategic cultural change initiatives.  An effective communicator, Michael has spent the last 15 years as a trusted advisor to both c-suite level executives and closely held non-profits organizations.  His executive level experience also included leadership roles in non-profit, domestic US and international fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and digital technology industries. 

  
In his most recent role, Michael Smith lead a 15+ member cross functional team as the Vice President, Strategy Development, for the North American Business Unit of The Coca-Cola Company.  While at The Coca-Cola Company, Michael's responsibilities included lead the organization in the development of group level business growth and innovation strategies, executing a portfolio of digital transformation and enterprise level capability initiatives, aligning the business unit long term growth objectives with external social enterprise goals and partnerships, in strategic communication across internal and external audiences.  Prior to this role Michael spent 20 years in various positions of increasing responsibility and leadership, including Chief of Staff for the Coca-Cola Company Chief Marketing Officer, VP Category Marketing & Portfolio Strategy, VP Sustainability & Wellness for North American Business unit to name a few.  

Before that he worked with BellSouth Mobile Data as an International Marketing and Business Development Director for 3 years, where he was an integral part of new business startups and partnerships in Australia, The Netherlands, and Belgium holding leadership roles in the areas of sales, marketing and business development.
Michael has also spent the last 7 years on the Board of Sheltering Arms, a $28M non-profit focused on early learning and education. For the last three years Michael has presided over the 33-member board, and the Executive Committee as Board Chair.  In addition to leading a major multiyear board effectiveness initiative, Michael co-led with the CEO of Sheltering Arms in the development and delivery of the five-year strategic plan and a multi-year capability blueprint for accelerating regional and national leadership, the completion of a capital campaign to fund our 16th education center, a major effort to relaunch the organization's brand and external presence and a set of financial initiatives (investment policy, NMTC, etc.)  to increase operating flexibility.

Michael holds a Bachelor's of Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and daytime MBA from Fuqua Business School class of 1992.  Michael is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the National Black MBA Association.

Dean Tait MBA '10

Quantenna Communications, Inc., Sr. Director, Business Development

Husband, father, entrepreneur, adventurer, story teller, photographer. Dean Tait's journey started over 50 years ago in a little Canadian town - Gaspé - that is literally on the edge of nowhere. Born with a foot in two cultures, Dean is a member of the Micmac Nation of Gaspeg. The first time he flew in an airplane and received a stamp in his passport, he knew that he could never go back.

Since then Dean has lived in two countries, two states, four provinces and nine different cities all while doing business in over 30 countries. A lifelong entrpreneur, Dean founded an IT Services company before it was fashionable, a boutique wine brand and an App-based solution for amateur sports when both were very much in fashion.

By day, Dean leads a global Business Development practice for Quantenna Communications, a Wi-Fi silicon chipset company. On evenings and weekends, you can find him photographing youth hockey teams all over Northern California for Hockey Shots Photography (hockeyshots.net) a family business Dean co-owns and operates with his wife. Dean received a BA from the University of Alberta and an MBA from Duke University's Fuqua Business School. He resides in Silicon Valley with his wife and two children.

Anne Sempowski Ward MBA '04

Thymes, CEO

Chair, Minority Alumni Advisory Board

Anne Sempowski Ward is a business strategy, operations, marketing and branding executive who has spent nearly two decades in corporate leadership at major companies such as Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and Johnson Publishing Company.

Mrs. Ward has consistently spearheaded strategic innovation and organizational efficiency and is especially adept at developing winning operational models. Her career has been defined by her ability to successfully lead business turnarounds, high-profile acquisitions, classic re-branding efforts, corporate reorganization and restructuring, and multicultural marketing.

A native of Detroit, Mrs. Ward has a bachelor's of science degree in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from Duke University. She also earned a Global MBA from Duke's Fuqua School of Business.

She stays active in the civic and business communities and has been recognized for her business leadership by the YMCA and YWCA. Mrs. Ward's achievements have been written about in numerous magazines and The Go-Getter Girl's Guide: Get What You Want in Work and Life and she has appeared on many esteemed business panels.

Tony Wicks MBA '00

IMS Consulting Group, Principal

Tony Wicks is currently a Principal with IMS Consulting Group.  Previously Tony served as a Vice President of Strategic Account Management for Lash Group, a division of AmerisourceBergen Corporation.  Tony assumed this role after the sale of his company Premier Source, LLC to AmerisourceBergen in 2011.

Tony co-founded Premier Source, a boutique provider of strategic consulting, reimbursement, and commercial support services to life sciences manufacturers worldwide. Premier Source targets biopharma and diagnostic companies developing novel solutions in the rare disease and molecular diagnostic markets. Premier Source is considered the leading provider of reimbursement and support services to molecular diagnostic manufacturers. Since founding the company in 2004, Tony and his business partner successfully grew Premier Source into a multi-million dollar enterprise with over 150 employees and offices in San Mateo, California and Portland, Oregon. This culminated in the sale of Premier Source to AmerisourceBergen, a Fortune 30 health service company.

Prior to launching Premier Source, Tony spent over 12 years in the pharmaceutical industry, including five years as a management consultant in the Life Sciences practice of Cap Gemini (formerly Ernst & Young) Management Consulting Services. Tony also held positions in finance and marketing at Abbott Laboratories and Merck & Co.   

Tony earned his Bachelor of Science in Finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University.

Tony resides in Oakland, California, with his wife, Carla, and three children, Kaden, Colin, and Kendall. He is an avid wine collector, loves to travel, and enjoys coaching baseball and basketball.

Paul Williams MBA '10

Aetna International, National Sales Vice President

Paul Williams is the National Sales Vice President for Aetna International's Faith Based and Not for Profit vertical.  Paul is responsible for leading the sales efforts and executing the overall growth strategy for International volunteers, missionaries and employees.  This includes collaborating with Sales Executives, Account Managers and Account Service Representatives, Underwriting, Network, Marketing, Product and Operations teams to ensure that Aetna International has the right combination of products, services, promotional tools and price points for this unique segment. 
 
He started his career with Aetna in 2003 in New York where he sold more than $50M in domestic medical, dental and group insurance premiums. He then left Aetna to pursue graduate studies and returned as a member of the Enterprise Leadership Development Program where he completed assignments in Investor Relations and Enterprise Strategy.  Paul then joined Aetna International as an expat in the Hong Kong office, where he spent a year as a Business Development Director and Head of Sales. During this assignment Paul redesigned the sales process and worked with the Hong Kong sales team to win its largest case and double its annual membership production.  Most recently, Paul has been leading the strategy for the U.S. Government vertical developing our market and product strategy and the Aetna brand presence with embassies, consulates and diplomatic intermediaries.

His current role with the Faith Based and Not for Profit customers ties back to Paul's 20 year commitment to charitable giving and community service with Kiwanis International. Paul was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.  He graduated from Wesleyan University with his B.A. in Economics and Duke University with an M.B.A. in Finance.

Randy Zeno MBA '86

Urban Therapy, CEO

Randy Zeno is a proven senior executive in the consumer products industry at both public and private equity held companies ranging in size from $20MM to $1B+.  Currently,  Mr. Zeno serves as CEO of Urban Therapy, owners of Twisted Sista,  a multi-cultural hair care company, acquired  in 2014 by Wexford Capital and Scarlett Investments.  Previously, Mr. Zeno was CEO of Dr. Miracle’s – a Catterton Partners portfolio company which Randy swiftly transformed into a multi-cultural hair care company.  Dr. Miracle’s was successfully merged with a Dallas based hair care company in 2013.

Over a span of 28 years, Mr. Zeno has held increasingly visible leadership and executive  positions within leading portfolio companies of Rank Group (Reynolds Consumer Products), Vestar (Birds Eye Foods) and  Metropoulos Group (International Home Foods).   His roots in consumer products began early in his career with organizations such as Nabisco, Cadbury-Schweppes and Kraft General Foods.  Mr. Zeno holds an MBA and BA from Duke University.

Mr. Zeno serves on the Board for Strive International. Previous board roles include Glory Foods, a manufacturer of specialty canned vegetables, Junior Achievement Fairfield County and Garth Fagan Dance Company. He is the father of a daughter, a 2015 graduate of Duke University and a son in his sophomore year at St. Johns University.