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Executive Connections mentors

During the two-year W. P. Carey Full-time MBA program, you are encouraged to work with this elite group of mentors in as many ways and as often as possible. Their experience brings both a unique perspective and a necessary real-world component to the Full‑time MBA. Executive Connections will deepen your skills, challenge your thinking, and develop your expertise.

W. P. Carey’s Executive Connections program currently has 40 mentors — representing over 1,000 years of corporate experience.

Meet our executive mentors

The level of access and the number of coaching opportunities available to you through the Executive Connections program are rare among top business schools. Interaction with senior leaders of this caliber will help round out a more complete, more impactful MBA experience at the W. P. Carey School of Business.

The diversity of our mentors echoes that of our students, with a breadth of industries, expertise, demographics, and experiences represented.

Over half of Executive Connections mentors have C-suite experience, running companies while living in over 20 countries around the world.

Executive Connections mentors have over 400 years of managerial experience in technology, marketing, and finance.

Two-thirds of our mentors have worked at the executive level in consulting or manufacturing.

Mentor profiles and directory

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Jacqui Spence

Jacqualine Spence

Jacqualine focuses on developing leadership teams and governance systems for privately-held, entrepreneurial companies in Australia, China and the United States. She also brings experience as co-founder of a successful start-up firm offering shareholder value based management services that became an affiliate of Stern Stewart & Co, the EVA company.

After that business was acquired, Jacqualine spent 15 years as a principal and partner in EY's New York, Stockholm and Melbourne offices. Specializing in B2B global account growth and enterprise risk management, she led client-based initiatives which resulted in strategies that achieved the firm’s largest global accounts. Jacqualine began her consulting career working with Fortune 100 communications, media and technology companies on performance improvement programs.

In the nonprofit sector, Jacqualine's focus is on increasing access to educational opportunities for high-potential candidates from unconventional backgrounds. She serves as Treasurer with the American Australian Association; and her strategy and governance projects include work with the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, the Juilliard School and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Craig Stevens

Craig Stevens

Craig is currently devoted to philanthropic goals and giving back, performing functions such as mentoring and teaching students, establishing new and creative programs to benefit the global society and guiding newly formed organizations or those looking to transform their business to unforeseen levels of success. He has accomplished this by utilizing 30+ years of career experience as an international business expert specializing in business process and support functions, software development, information/network system solutions, contact centers and management consulting as the foundation for supporting and helping others.

Craig has launched several new divisions and turn-arounds of struggling entities from large multi-national companies to start-ups and firms personally founded. He has generated several billion dollars of global business and managed operations on six continents with 10,000+ employees.

Craig’s first primary role set the stage for consistently holding positions for things that previously had not been done before. Working for IBM, he was selling and supporting office system products to mid and large sized organizations throughout a multi-state region, all while supporting his family and still attending college full time. Craig currently spends his time as an Executive in Residence, Professional Teaching Associate and a volunteer at Arizona State University.

He has participated in the development of newly launched programs, spoken at many public forums, participated in numerous events, recruited new students, is a public address announcer for Sun Devil Athletics and much more. Craig is a graduate of Bentley University with degrees in Computer Information Systems and Management, is an avid sports fan and especially with two of his children being ASU graduates considers himself a Sun Devil through and through.

Kalyan Subraminian

Kalyan Subraminian

As a Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo, Kal Subramanian leads a team of Delivery and Change Management professionals who are passionate about Product Management and Agile delivery.

Kal is a veteran professional in the financial services industry having served in various capacities for the past 32 years. Starting with a brief career on Wall Street as an Investment Banker, Kal moved from New York to California for an extensive stint in Management Consulting that included Ernst & Young, Cap Gemini and DMR Group. Kal has really spent the rest of his career to date transforming Technology at American Express and Consumer Banking at Wells Fargo. Kal's key strengths and subject matter expertise are in Business, Finance, Technology, Leadership and Consulting. Kal is a champion of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Wells Fargo.

He spends his time outside of work engaging and promoting various cultural events such as Indian Classical music & dance; Hindu religious events; Middle and High School Science Bowl competitions; International Travel and Vegetarian lifestyle while taking care of his elderly parents. His son is a Masters student in Germany while his daughter works for a consulting company in New York City.

Lawrence X. Taylor

Lawrence X. Taylor

As a C-level executive, advisor, and board member with more than 30 years of business experience, Lawrence has guided organizations through complex restructurings, acquisitions, corporate development activities and capital transactions totaling over $20 billion. His experience spans start-ups to private companies to publicly traded companies and includes diverse companies and industries – such as Grand Casinos, Mesaba Airlines, Mercedes Homes, Zounds Hearing and Odyssey Capital Group. He possesses an extensive knowledge of finance, strategy and operations and has developed strategic, financial, operating and turnaround strategies across multiple industries including casino gaming, hospitality, manufacturing, aviation, real estate, retail, and healthcare.

He is currently president of Taylor Strategy Group and provides strategy, financial, and restructuring consulting to companies and boards. In addition, he also provides expert witness testimony.

Lawrence currently serves on two public and two private company boards and has served on committees (Audit, Nominating and Governance, M&A, Strategic Planning, Restructuring, Finance and Compensation) of multiple companies, including two companies in Chapter 11. Lawrence is an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and NACD Directorship Certified. He was also recognized as a “Director to Watch 2020” by the Private Company Director Magazine. He is an SEC qualified financial expert, has chaired an audit committee and is a frequent panelist and article contributor on board governance and board related issues.

Lawrence is a graduate of Louisiana Tech University and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. A native of New Orleans, he is an avid cook, woodturner, hiker, and golfer and resides in Litchfield Park, AZ.

Anna Thomasson

Anna Thomasson

Anna Thomasson has more than 30 years of experience driving functional excellence through talent development, process, and technology. She is known for leading effective change for businesses via strategic improvements to culture, employee performance and engagement, and succession management, all of which serve her well in her role at Willis Towers Watson — a leading global consulting organization engaging 40,000 employees and serving more than 140 countries.

In addition to being a consultant, Anna has held numerous leadership roles, including a stint as managing partner through which she grew some of the firm’s largest client relationships with prominent global brands. She has served as an advisor to seven startups, including her own pet products company.

Anna holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin and a bachelor's in psychology from the University of Oregon. She currently serves as a public member of the Arizona State Bar Board of Governors, and is an active fundraiser for the local Franciscan Renewal Center. Her leisure time is spent hiking and indulging her passion for raising and training guide dogs for the blind.

Paul Tufano

Paul Tufano

Paul Tufano is a veteran of the technology and telecommunications industries, having served in a variety of finance, operations and executive leadership positions for over the past forty years. Most recently he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Benchmark Electronics, a global provider of innovative product design, engineering services, technology solutions and advanced manufacturing services to the medical; aerospace and defense; industrial; computing and telecommunications industries.

Prior to Benchmark, Paul served initially as Chief Financial Officer and later as Chief Operating Officer of the Alcatel-Lucent Group, a global provider of networking and communications technology, products and services operating in over 130 countries. During his time at Alcatel-Lucent he resided in Paris. Before joining Alcatel-Lucent, Paul served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Solectron Corporation, an electronics manufacturing company for original equipment manufacturers and later as Interim Chief Executive Officer.

Prior to joining Solectron, Paul was Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Maxtor Corporation, a manufacturer of hard disk drives for business, consumer and entertainment applications. He joined Maxtor as its Chief Financial Officer and later assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer. Paul started his career at International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), a technology and consulting company, where over his 17 years with the firm he held a variety of management positions in finance and operations.

Paul has been fortunate to have played a part in the growth and evolution of the Technology sector. He has amassed extensive experience in strategy, business development, financial and operations management, organization and leadership development.

Paul currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Teradyne, a supplier of automation equipment for test and industrial applications and EnerSys, a global leader in stored energy solutions for industrial applications. Paul holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from St. John’s University and a Master of Business Administration, Finance, Accounting and International Business from Columbia University.

Mike Tully

Mike Tully

Michael Tully currently serves as an independent director for CopperPoint Insurance Companies, a multi-line commercial insurance company with $4B in assets and $1.6B in surplus. An SEC/SOX financial expert, he is the Chairman of the Audit Committee, a member of the Human Capital Committee and is a CPA. He also serves as an independent director for National Association of Corporate Directors, serves on the Program Committee, and is the Chairman for the Arizona advisory board. He also serves as the Advisory Board Chair for OralKleen, a Series A medical device company and also serves as an advisory boards for Hammoq, a AI, machine-learning startup and Gainey Business Bancorp.

He is a former Chief Executive Officer of AAA where he led the creation of a $10B, 22-state holding company, later consolidating seven Western states resulting in one of the largest AAA's in the world with 5.5 million members, $850M in assets, and $3.5B gross revenues.

Tully's diverse experience includes executive leadership roles at two Fortune 100 Digital Equipment Corporation and Fairchild as well as roles as a startup CEO for an EXIM Bank financial service firm, Export Risk Management, and a CFO/President role PJH Brands, a high-end manufacturer of motorcycle lubricants. His experience spans managing large, complex businesses as well as working in innovative, entrepreneurial environments.

Tully currently serves as a CEO mentor for both YPO as well as the Arizona Department of Commerce. He is the managing partner of Horizon Strategic Advisors, a management-consulting firm and is a CPA and a graduate of the Harvard Business School. He received his Bachelor of Science and MBA degrees in Finance from Arizona State University. He resides in Scottsdale with his wife and two daughters (both ASU graduates!)

George Weathers

George Weathers

As an executive at Mobile Mini, George Weathers has led the company's efforts to upgrade and optimize its analytical and financial operations as the Vice President of Finance. George oversees financial planning & strategy, pricing, business intelligence and M&A analysis for the company.

Across his career, George has had the opportunity to serve in a variety of Finance, Strategic and Operational roles with companies such as Procter and Gamble, Vanguard, United Rentals and IHeart Media. He has helped lead projects such as new venture creation e.g. Tide Dry Cleaners, SK-II Day Spas in Asia and emerging media (IHeart app).

George has served on the board of several not for profits as well as several startup companies most recently working with the Valley Youth Theatre in Phoenix and also advising LifeProfit, an online lifestyle firm. In the past George was active with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Indianapolis and the 100 Black Men of Philadelphia as a mentor as well as leading efforts to establish high quality Charter education options in underprivileged neighborhoods.

He holds a Bachelor of Science and Business Administration from Georgetown University as well as an MBA from the Kelley School of Business (Indiana University). George also studied at the University of Witwaterstrand in Johannesburg South Africa.

Chikezie Anachu

Getting to know the executive mentors was an invaluable part of my W. P. Carey MBA experience. They all gave so much of their time to coach us, sharing decades of their business and leadership knowledge. My classmates and I richly benefited from their generosity and wisdom.

As I progress through my career, armed with the resources the mentors shared, I hope to pay it forward by keeping doors open for those behind me and sharing my own learnings with the next generation of business leaders.

Chikezie Anachu (W. P. Carey Full-time MBA)

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