Counselors

Ms. Judithe M. Andre

Counselor and mentor with specialty in marketing research, general marketing and business management. Judithe is a seasoned marketing research professional and focus group moderator who spent nearly a decade in the trenches of marketing research consulting and implementation. She worked at some of the leading marketing research and consulting firms—Burke, Inc., Yankelovich, Inc. and Copernicus Marketing Research & Consulting, Inc. She was responsible for directing all facets of custom research projects for companies in a variety of industries, including, the healthcare, pharmaceutical, retail, packaged goods and insurance industries among others. She had many achievements, including transforming a non-profitable qualitative research practice into a profitable and thriving business sector. She also worked on the buyer side as a qualitative research consultant at ManagedComp, Inc., a workers' compensation insurance company in Waltham, MA, where she designed, managed and led the company’s first customer satisfaction tracking program, which became the cornerstone for major business decisions at the company.  A native of Brooklyn, NY, she holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA), from Northeastern University and a B.A. in English with a creative writing focus from The College of The Holy Cross, both in Massachusetts. Judithe currently resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Carl Baumann

Counselor and mentor specializing in accounting fundamentals, cash flow, balance sheet management, strategic planning & objective setting facilitation, process improvement (process mapping) and general business management. Experience in management, finance and accounting for a subsidiary of a Fortune 25 company and in banking. Education: BSBA UNC – Chapel Hill and EMBA Peter F. Drucker Graduate School of Management, Claremont Graduate University.

Walt Brittle

Counselor, mentor, and speaker specializing in export strategies, operations management, planning, and financing.  Experience with multinational firms and venture capital start-ups. Skills include international sales, research, finance, practical "hands-on" training, high-impact marketing, quality systems, and regulatory compliance. Education: MBA University of Miami.

See Walt's Blogspot - business solutions and management tips.

Donald R. Brewer

Business counselor specializing in general management and business planning. Formerly CEO of small to mid-sized companies manufacturing industrial products and packaging machinery; before that, extensive management and consulting experience in logistics and most other functional areas at DuPont, Cain Chemical, Occidental Chemical, P&G. Bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University and MBA-Finance from Stanford University.

Bill Cunningham 

Commercial Loan Officer, Senior Loan Officer, Realtor

John C. Custer

Mason & Hanger - Chairman, Admin., Construction, Foreign Operations, Govt. Contracting, Engineering

Mykhael Epps

Business structure strategy management, core entrepreneurship training, business plan review.

Jim Friedman

Counselor. My career was entirely in Universities as a professor of economics with responsibilities of teaching both undergraduate and graduate students as well as economic research. Counseling is a natural outgrowth of my teaching and research career. Education: University of Michigan (BA), Yale University (PhD) 

Martin Ginsberg

Pharmacist, Dentist specializing in TMJ/TMD. On hospital staffs, university faculty. Did legal work for attorneys and insurance.

Jim Gray

Counselor with retail management and design experience as an owner of Gray Brother’s Furniture and Interiors. Currently he is a real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Chapel Hill and serves as Director of Development for the North Carolina Council of Churches in Raleigh. Jim’s passion is making life better for others and he has served with the Red Cross, Hospice, Habitat for Humanity, Rainbow Center for Children, and Old Wilkes, Inc. among others. He is also president elect of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Kiwanis Club. Education: University of North Carolina.  

Richard Henry

Counselor and mentor with experience in operations, project planning, sales contracting, strategic planning and supply chain management. Held senior management positions in top-five, pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca, Merck). Former small business owner. BS-Penn State.

Dennis Holland

Everett Kemp

Counselor and mentor specializing in strategic planning, business startup and business improvement. He spent 30 years with the DuPont Company managing various electronics businesses, including turning around 5 problem businesses and starting a new venture. For 10 years he lived and managed in Asia. He reads, writes, and speaks Japanese. He left DuPont to turn around Palomar Systems in San Diego and now does consulting for business improvement, marketing into Asia, and merger/acquisitions. He has an engineering degree from Iowa Sate University, and a MBA from Edinburgh Business School in Scotland.

Gary Kibler

Counselor and mentor specializing in business planning, marketing management and new product development with experience in textiles, school and office products and electronics industries.  Former corporate marketing manager for 16 years and business owner for 12 years.  Education:  MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill.

John S. Kiley

Formerly President, American Metal Moulding, Edison, NJ; co-founder, AmRod Corp. Newark, NJ, VP and GM of the Automotive Division of The Essex Group, Ft. Wayne, IN. National and international consulting focused on M&A due diligence and Operations and Manufacturing "turn around" issues. BS, Engineering, Penn State University.

Tim Knechtel

Counselor with life insurance industry experience specializing in sales force compensation, business planning, start-ups, raising capital, distribution systems and negotiation of contracts.  Education:  Graduated from the University of Toronto and attended business school at the University of Michigan.

John McLaughlin

Counselor and mentor specializing in AGRA business, international business, import/export, and marketing.  He held positions with Cargill, Inc., Pillsbury, Red River Commodities, L. M. Fischel, N. V. Deli, MGE as an International Trade Consultant.

Hugh Morrison

Business counselor with experience in human resources as well as contract law, sales, marketing, and medical product manufacturing.  Formerly Sr. VP and General Counsel, German-owned medical device company, Bethlehem PA. Education: University of Michigan law school. Not admitted to practice in the state of North Carolina. 

Charlie Perry

Business counselor and mentor specializing in general management, planning and human resources. Also experienced in mediation and dispute resolution. Served as director, trustee and officer of private, public and not-for-profit organizations. Retired partner in international law firm. J.D. from Columbus School of Law, Catholic University. Retired lifetime member Virginia State Bar.

Marijane Whiteman

Counselor and mentor specializing in business planning, operations, software development, systems engineering and publishing. Professional experience includes IBM, Mini-Computer Systems (COO), Storage Technology (Dir. of Operations), Contractors Register (COO). Education: BS and BA St. Johns University.

Herbert Wolff

Counselor and mentor specializing in General Management, Marketing and Sales.

Professional experience includes: Training, Business Presentations, and Marketing for industrial and small business clients. Education: BA Theater/English, MS Science Communications.