About Us

The Faculty: Carolyn Chin and Susan Stautberg

Carolyn Chin is a senior executive with extensive management experience (specializing in strategy, marketing, technology, start-ups/turnarounds) in a broad range of industries. She is Chairman and CEO of Cebiz, a consulting and investment/management firm. Her prior work experience includes senior executive positions at IBM, Reuters, Citibank, AT&T, Macy's, and the US Departments of Heath, Education and Welfare and Housing and Urban Development.

Carolyn has served on over 30 corporate boards of directors, corporate advisory boards and non-profit boards. She served as Chairman of the Board of Commtouch (Nasdaq CTCH) of Mountain View, CA and Netanya, Israel, a leader in anti-SPAM solutions from 2001-2005. In '01-'02, she served as Chairman and interim CEO for KindMark (a leader in e-philanthropy and automated giving technology and services). In 2003, she was elected to the Board of Directors of CH2M Hill, a $3 Billion+ engineering, environmental, and infrastructure services firm that has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the “top 100 companies to work for,” and one of the “most admired engineering firms." In 2004, she joined the boards of State Farm Insurance Bank and the North American subsidiary of Holcim (one of the world's leading suppliers of cement and building materials). In 2006, she joined the boards of Larasan Pharmaceuticals (targeted, time release painkillers) and Zogby International, the polling and research firm.  She is a founding member of the South Florida Board for NACD (National Association for Corporate Directors).

Carolyn has also served on a number of corporate boards and advisory boards including: stockjungle.com (financial community and mutual funds); Emediat (provider of Linux rapid application design tools); CEO Global Resources (database and community software and services firm); Allegiance Bank; EJV Partners (broker-dealer consortium); RWDOG (Reuters Web Development Operations Group); CRS (Citicorp Retail Services); MediaPearls (streaming and multi-media) Advisory Board; Northwestern Mutual Life Internet Advisory Board; Global Asset Management Advisory Board; Avis Advisory Board; Swissotel Advisory Board; San Francisco Chronicle Advisory Board; and the Tiger 21 Advisory Board.

She also has extensive negotiations experience and served as a member of the US delegation, working with David Rockefeller, to the Dartmouth Conferences for bilateral discussions with the USSR.  Also, she was a US delegate, with Ambassador Woodcock, to bilateral discussions with China on trade and Taiwan.  In January '05, she served on a delegation of Chinese-Americans to meet with the President of Taiwan and Hong Kong/Beijing leaders to promote better Taiwan- China and US-Greater China relations.

Ms. Chin is a Board Member and Vice Chair for Research for the Committee of 100 (prominent Chinese-Americans) and provided the leadership for two landmark research projects: “American Attitudes Towards Chinese and Asian Americans” and “American Attitudes Towards China.”  She is also a board member for the White House Fellows Foundation, NYC Outward Bound and the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness.

Carolyn received her MBA from the Harvard Business School and a BS in Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (receiving the highest honor for leadership) and was a White House Fellow (America's most prestigious leadership program). Her other honors include selection as one of Glamour 's Outstanding Young Working Women, Outstanding Woman of New Jersey, and Who's Who in America.   She is a frequent speaker on subjects such as corporate governance, technology, future trends, US-China relations, medical trends/alternative health/transplants and workforce diversity and has appeared in numerous TV shows and press articles.

Susan Schiffer Stautberg

is President of PartnerCom Corporation, which assembles and manages Advisory Boards globally for businesses, governments, and non-profits.

As a Westinghouse/Group W TV correspondent covering the White House and Capitol Hill, Susan was the first woman and one of the youngest to head a Washington TV bureau. Susan then became the first journalist to be chosen as a White House Fellow where she worked for both Vice President Rockefeller and Secretary of State Kissinger. Her considerable consumer products experience includes positions as Director of Communications for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and for McNeil Consumer Products. After moving to New York, Susan became Director of Communications for Touche Ross (now Deloitte & Touche).

Susan founded MasterMedia Ltd., the only company to combine publishing with a speaker's bureau. The quality-publishing house produced more than 125 books, including best sellers and Book-of-the-Month, Doubleday, Literary Guild, and Reader's Digest Selections.

In her capacity as a Corporate and Civic Director, Susan has served on or created the Advisory Boards for Avis, Avon, Bank of America, CIGNA, Council on Competitiveness, Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs, Innovation Network, Investment New Zealand, Merrill Lynch, Northern Trust, Northwestern Mutual, PNC Advisors, AMA,/SunTrust, The United Nations Office for Project Services, and others.

Susan has received numerous awards and honors, including Outstanding Young Woman of America and The Director's Choice Award. She has served on Presidential Commissions, Boards, and Foundations including The Commission on Presidential Scholars, U.S. Japan Fellowship, The Institute for Educational Affairs and The Defense Advisory Council on Women in the Armed Services. Susan serves on the Executive Committee of the board of The Preservation Society in Newport, Rhode Island.

Susan founded The Belizean Grove, a preeminent retreat for leading women to share knowledge and connections. She also created the Women Corporate Directors Dinner Series, which is currently held in New York, Washington D.C., and Chicago, and is a member of the Women's Forum and C200.

She holds a BA from Wheaton College, a Master's in Public and International Affairs from George Washington University and completed an Executive Education Program at the Harvard Business School. As an adjunct professor at GW, Susan teaches a graduate course on "Strategic Planning for Multinational Corporations/Organizations."

Susan is a frequent public speaker and her writing includes five books and a number of articles in major newspapers and magazines, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Nation's Business, etc. Her on-air interview experience includes The Today Show, CBS Evening News, Oprah, Sally Jesse Raphael, and many others.

Sample Guest Speakers

Kim Bishop is a senior business executive with nineteen years of increasing responsibility in financial services, business strategy and development, and technology.  Her broad, general management expertise includes multi-million dollar contract negotiations, strategic planning of business lines, sales & marketing, P&L management, product development, operations, and turnaround leadership. 

In March 2005, Kim joined Korn/Ferry International as Senior Partner building the strategy and practice in executive level leadership development and recruitment for Global Payments, Banking, and Technology Financial Services.   Prior to that, she was Executive Vice President at First Data Corporation, a Fortune 500 company with $9.1 billion in revenues, 27,000 employees, and 310 locations.  She began her tenure at FDC at an entry level association position and over sixteen years her career progressed through FDC.  She served on the executive team overseeing the $2 billion card division and 8,000 employees.  In August 2004, Kim built a new organization, Strategic Financial Services, which recently announced a strategic outsourcing arrangement.  Prior to that she was EVP for the client development organization and previously held positions at Mid City Bank. 

As an EVP, Kimberly was a respected, dynamic manager of top-tier teams and proponent of service as the means to drive business.  She is able to cultivate executive-level relationships across diverse industries and has established herself as an adept negotiator and closer of seven- to nine-figure deals while guiding teams of decision-makers through complex dealings for win-win outcomes.  Additionally, she is a turnaround expert, with repeated success achieving multimillion-dollar profitability and market-leading performance. Kim has delivered excellent operational controls, with a proven ability to reduce costs while improving performance. Kimberly helped strengthen the multi-national positioning of FDC as a leader for the card issuing business in Latin America, supported the launch and growth of business in Canada, and led business for the card issuing internet group. 

As an effective public speaker, she is a frequent presenter on card issuing topics at various bank sessions and a panelist at the ABA Bankcard Conference in 2003.  Kim's interviews have been in American Banker, Credit Card Management, and Credit Union Magazine publications.   She was a speaker at the 2005 Women as Global Leaders Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 

In her capacity as a Corporate and Civic Director, Kim has been on the Board of Directors of  Wells Fargo Merchant Services and Opera Omaha.  She also is a member of the Corporate Committee of the International Museum of Women and the Advisory Board of the ABA (American Bankers Association) School of BankCard Management.  Kimberly is a member of the Committee of 200 (C200), the Women's Corporate Directors (WCD), and The Belizean Grove.

Kimberly received a Bachelor of Science in Organizational Communication and a Master of Arts in Leadership, both from Bellevue University with GPA's of 3.95 and 3.96, respectively.  She was the recipient of the Darrell Gottsch Scholarship at Bellevue University.  Additionally, she has completed the Harvard Business School course on Negotiation, the University of Chicago GSB Executive Program in Corporate Strategy, ABA Bankcard Management, and various Six Sigma courses.   Kimberly is currently completing her Doctorate in Organization and Management at Capella University.  

Reginald K. Brack is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. and the publishing arm of the corporation, having served as the company's Chairman until June 30, 1997.  With revenues of more than $6.0 billion, Time Inc. is the largest magazine publisher in the world and one of the largest book publishers. 

Time Inc. publishes Time, Life, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, Money, People , Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Parenting, Health, In Style, Time for Kids, Sunset , and the magazines of Southern Progress Corporation.  Its book publishing operation consists of Warner Books, Little, Brown and Company, Oxmoor House, and Sunset Books.  Time Life Inc. and Book-of-the-Month Club are Time Inc.'s direct marketing companies.  Mr. Brack was named Chief Executive Officer of the publishing company in December 1986 and served as both Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Time Inc. until August 1994 and Chairman until 1997. 

During Mr. Brack's tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Time Inc. increased the number of magazines it published from eight to twenty-four, grew its revenues from $2.1 billion in 1986 to $4.1 billion in 1996, and launched Entertainment Weekly , and the highly successful In Style , the company's first foray into the fashion field.  Mr. Brack completed numerous mergers and acquisitions including Martha Stewart Omnimedia, Inc.  Mr. Brack was CEO of Time Inc.'s Books Group from August 1984 until December 1986, when he was named CEO of the Magazine Company.  He also was Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Time-Life Books, Inc. from November 1982 to October 1986.  From May 1980 until November 1982, he served as the founding Publisher of Discover, Time Inc.'s magazine of science and technology, which was sold to Family Media Inc. in July 1987.  Mr. Brack was Associate Publisher of Time magazine from 1976 to 1980 and was Chief Operating Officer of the magazine worldwide.  He held the positions of Time's worldwide Advertising Sales Director (1974-76) and Director of Time International (1971-74). 

Mr. Brack is former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Urban League, and a Trustee of the EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund.  He is a former Chairman of the Magazine Publishers of America and the Advertising Council, which he continues to serve as a Director.  Mr. Brack is also a Trustee of the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS), a Director of the Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU), a Director of The Interpublic Group of Companies, Inc. (IPG), and a Director of Quebecor World Inc (IQW).  Mr. Brack has served on numerous public and private corporate boards. 

In March 2001, Mr. Brack was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame.  In January 1994, Mr. Brack received The Henry Johnson Fisher Award, the magazine publishing industry's highest honor.  He was selected as one of the nine most outstanding corporate directors in 2002 by Director's Alert. 

Born on August 26, 1937 and raised in Dallas, Texas, Mr. Brack received a BS degree from Washington and Lee University in 1959.  In June 2002, Mr. Brack received a Doctor of Letters degree from Washington and Lee University.  Mr. Brack and his wife, Barbara, have three grown children, Elizabeth Flock, Reginald and Peter, and reside in Greenwich, Connecticut, and Northeast Harbor, Maine.

Theodore L. Dysart is Managing Partner of the Americas for the Global Board of Directors Practice with Heidrick & Struggles, Inc., and is based in the Chicago, IL office.  In this role he has responsibility for leading and growing the firm's board practice in North and South America.  In addition, he is responsible for senior level executive search assignments and is a functional specialist at Heidrick working exclusively on Board engagements.  Over the past 3 years, he has placed more than 50 executives on the boards of Fortune 500, Mid-cap, and private companies.  Hunt-Scanlon's publication, Executive Search Review , named him one of six “executive recruiters to watch” in 2004.

Serving as a board- and CEO-level advisor, he helps clients to identify and attract the proper mix of leadership required for building and managing effective businesses.  His consultative-drive approach focuses on working with boards to look at long-term development plans for both management and board success planning.

Over his career, he has worked with a wide variety of clients such as ArvinMeritor, Inc., Church & Dwight Corporation, Exxon, GTECH Holdings Corporation, Health Net, Inc., JLG Industries, Inc., Kennametal, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Pepsi Bottling Group, Peregrine Systems Corp., RJ Reynolds Tobacco and Terex Corporation recruiting directors and senior executives.  He is a regular commentator on the subject of corporate governance and his comments have appeared in The New York Times, The USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, CNNfn as well as other local and regional papers.

Prior to joining Heidrick & Struggles, Mr. Dysart was a Vice President with The Directorship Search Group, a consulting firm that specialized in corporate governance consulting and board of directors searches.  Earlier, he worked for WIN Enterprise, Inc., a member of the WIN Group.  The WIN Group was ranked as Inc. Magazine's 14th fastest growing private company in 1993. 

A graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Mr. Dysart was a member of the first class to receive a Bachelor's Degree in Management Information Systems.  Mr. Dysart serves on the board of directors of the Greenwich Council of the Boy Scouts of America. 

George B. Weathersby, PhD, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Genesys, brings more than twenty years of experience at the President/Chief Executive Officer level. George was President and CEO of the American Management Association, which is the world's largest, not-for-profit professional development company; Oxford Management Corporation, where he managed a $50 million pool of private capital; the Ontario Corporation, an aerospace manufacturing and service company, and the Curtis Publishing Company.

George has also been an active member of the academic world for many years. He held faculty and administrative appointments at Harvard University and the University of California, Berkeley, and he served six years as Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education. He received a PhD in Decision and Control Theory from Harvard University, and a Master of Business Administration, a Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering, and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering Physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

George's leadership was recognized by his selection as a White House Fellow and Special Assistant to the Secretary of State, as well as a Kent Fellow and University of California Regents Scholar.

George is a published author of six books, more than fifty articles, and has extensive experience on the Boards of Directors of several major companies including Ideal Basic Cement, Holcim (US), USA Group (financial services), ffi, Inc. (manufacturing), Electronic Retailing Systems International (retail technologies), and IMED (biotech).