Executive Connections mentors

Amy Parsons is a senior strategy and business growth executive with deep digital and mobile payments expertise. She helmed Discover’s global acceptance growth in over 200 countries and earned recognition as the third-largest and fastest-growing global payments network. She has demonstrated excellence in strategic planning, business development, and digital commerce, having pioneered three significant strategic shifts in the payments business which created multiple new avenues for growth.

Amy was a senior executive at Discover Financial Services, a Fortune 500 company, for over 25 years, successfully leading multiple functional and global business units such as Sales, Business Development, Product and the Discover Global Network.

Amy was responsible for diversifying Discover revenue streams influencing billion-dollar revenue. She led the build out of innovative mobile payment solutions with the largest tech companies such as Apple, Google, and Samsung as well as brand-building promotions with Amazon and Walmart. Amy spearheaded digital transformation including the enterprise implementation of the Discover-exclusive ApplePay Cash solution.

Honored as one of the Most Influential Women in Payments for three straight years, Amy has been invited as a speaker at industry conferences such as Money20/20, Merchant Payment Ecosystem, Transact, Women in Payments and Paytech Women.

Amy earned an Executive MBA and a bachelor’s degree in marketing from ASU’s W. P. Carey School of Business. She has been a member of World 50 Innovation, Women in Payments, and Paytech Women and a former Board Member of the Merchant Advisory Group, the Electronic Transaction Association, and Lambs Farm.

Bill Pesch is a board director and retired CEO who led five businesses for private equity, selling three to strategic buyers. He is now very active in the Arizona start-up community and serves on several not-for-profit Boards. Previously, Bill served as a director for Hall Technologies, a professional audio/visual manufacturer, the Board of Governors for the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the Boeing 737 Interiors Council, and the Dean’s Advisory Boards of the University of California, Irvine, Merage School of Business and the University of California, San Diego, Rady School of Management. Bill has strong private equity, manufacturing, marketing, and sales experience in the aerospace/defense, technology manufacturing, and energy management industries and has extensive international experience. He served until 2017 as CEO of the B&E Group, a precision aerospace manufacturing and MRO company sold to StandardAero and Cadence Aerospace. Previously Bill served as CEO of Able Manufacturing, CEO of McBride Electric, and President of Driessen Aircraft Interiors USA, a manufacturer of Boeing and Airbus commercial aircraft galleys, now part of Safran. Earlier, Bill served as President of Anacomp Inc. (ANMP), President of FP Mailing, VP of the international division of AB Dick (now Mark Andy), VP of International Business Development for Maytag Corp. (now Whirlpool), and Director of Global Marketing and Director of Manufacturing for Siemens Building Technologies. Bill earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of New Mexico. He grew up in Santa Fe, NM and is an avid global traveler, alpine skier, and scuba diver.

Kerry Philipovitch is currently serving on the boards of public and private companies. She joined the board of Apollo-owned Sun Country Airlines in December 2020 as the company was preparing for IPO. She served as interim chair of the Audit Committee, currently chairs the Nominating & Governance committee and is a member of the Audit and Safety Committees. She has been a key leader in the company’s governance evolution to build a diverse and effective board and to meet public company regulations. She recruited and onboarded four new directors to meet independence requirements, ran a successful board chair selection and transition process, and led the board to adopt corporate governance guidelines and new committee charters. She also serves as an independent director for Avianca Airlines, where she chairs the Safety Committee and is a member of the Nominating & Governance Committee. Kerry is a board member at Intervine, an international wine management company, where she is working to help the company restructure as it recovers from loss of business during the pandemic. She is also serving on the board of technology start-up OptIn, a revolutionary solution for today’s hourly workforce giving workers flexible scheduling opportunities and enabling enterprises to better understand and engage their workforce. The company is seeing high demand for its solution and is raising capital to fuel its growth.

Kerry brings more than twenty years of airline operations, commercial, and customer experience achievements. In her prior executive role, she served as Senior Vice President - Customer Experience for American Airlines where she oversaw airline operations impacting critical measures of customer value, including worldwide airport customer service, ramp, and baggage operations; onboard flight service and catering; global call centers; cargo; customer planning; and service recovery. She supported a team of 70K global team members and managed a $7B operating budget. In addition to her operating responsibilities, Kerry worked with the NAACP and other important community partners to develop an inclusion and diversity strategy for the airline. She frequently served as a subject matter expert in educating government officials on important industry issues and offered expert testimony in two congressional hearings.

Kerry was selected as an honoree for the Dallas Business Journal’s 2019 Women in Business Awards, an award that recognizes business leaders for impressive professional achievements and proven track record. Profiles in Diversity Journal named her as a Woman Worth Watching, and the Phoenix Business Journal selected her as one of the most influential business leaders in the Phoenix area. She graduated with a Master of Business Administration from the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan and received her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Tulane University. She earned her Directorship Certification through the National Association of Corporate Directors and co-chairs the Arizona chapter of Women Corporate Directors.

With over 20 years of experience in the auto warranty industry, Joan Saunders excels in all aspects of this specialty insurance business, from sales to operations to IT. As CEO for two leading auto warranty companies, Joan managed highly successful teams focused on growth through customer and employee satisfaction and strategic use of information technology.

Joan began her career as an industrial engineer, improving business processes and tracking results for a computer manufacturer. With an interest in information systems, Joan spent 10 years as a designer of business applications and developed a proprietary, enterprise-wide contract and claim processing system for CNA National Warranty Corporation. Ultimately ascending to the position of CEO, Joan expanded the product offerings, strengthened customer relationships, and reduced expenses which resulted in three consecutive years of record-setting profits for the company. In early 2008, Joan accepted the challenge of interim CEO of private equity-owned GWC during a time of stress for the auto industry and focused GWC on improving cash flow, reducing expenses, and re-training the sales force to strengthen their knowledge and relationships with customers.

Utilizing her well-established network, Joan has taken full-time positions assisting struggling businesses including SilverRock and Door Works. As COO of SilverRock, Joan led this startup affiliate of DriveTime Used Cars in establishing the vital systems, employees and strategic partners that allowed SilverRock to sell service contracts and provide excellent service to customers. As COO of Door Works, Joan supported manufacturing and installation teams by implementing systems that enabled the company to double headcount and revenue. Through her management consulting practice, Joan uses her experience to improve profitability by focusing on customer needs, simplifying, and automating processes, and implementing operational best practices.

Joan received a BS in engineering/business and a master’s degree in information management, both from Arizona State University. Her personal hobbies include hiking with friends and family, gardening in the Arizona heat, and skiing.

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.

John has led worldwide operations and business process innovation for financial services companies. Over the course of his career, he made the discipline of enterprise shared services a key asset at American Express (Amex). John brings broad intelligence gained from growing organizations and teams in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. John was last Executive Vice President, Enterprise Transformation at Amex. In this role, he identified $400M in annualized revenue and OpEx savings in three years and reduced spend through technology expansions.

Immediately prior, John served as Executive Vice President, Global Business Services, leading strategy and operations across 42 markets. During his tenure, 3,000 employees delivered smooth day-to-day operations for real estate, enterprise automation, supply management, customer fulfillment, internal consulting, and sales enablement.

Previously John was Senior Vice President, Global Servicing Network (GSN). There, he spearheaded deployment of robotics process automation for GSN’s $2B cost base and generated $10M annually of benefits to the wider team. John also addressed persistent friction in the merchant experience by digitizing much of the operations, creating well-received customer-facing options, and making the platform available in 22 markets.

In 2010, John helped found the GBS group, a strategic decision that made Amex an early adopter of this enterprise-wide shared services model. He then led the global finance operations as Senior Vice President, Global Financial Operations, Global Business Services Group.

Outside Amex, John chaired the GBS Council at The Conference Board, an industry think tank. His community work includes the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, the nonprofit UMOM New Day Center, and Junior Achievement of Arizona. In 2018, the Phoenix Business Journal named him to a list of Phoenix’s “Most Admired Leaders.”

John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Exeter in Exeter, UK. He is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Arizona and a Chartered Accountant of England and Wales. He is a fanatical skier, terrible golfer, and travels extensively with his wife, Suzanna.

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.

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.