Scheller College Of Business Advisory Board Welcomes Seven New Members

Press release from the Scheller College of Business:

10-13-2020

Seven new members have joined the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business Advisory Board.

• Valentine (Val) Fontama, Head of Contact Center AI Services, Google Professional Services
• Marion Glover, IM 1965, President of Glover Capital, Inc., Vice President of Glover & Associates, Inc.
• Kimberly (Kim) Keever, MGT 1987, Senior Vice President, Security, Analytics and Technology Services and Chief Information Security Officer, Cox Communications
• Tommy Lester, III, MBA 2011, Capital Advisor
• Danny McCarthy, ME 1998, MSM 2000, Co-Head of Global Credit Products, Credit Suisse AG
• Beth Nowers, IMGT 1979, Strategic Management Consultant (Retired), McKinsey & Company
• Juan Perez, Chief Information and Engineering Officer, UPS

The board helps the College remain closely connected to alumni and current business leaders and monitors the priorities and needs of industry, including talent recruitment and development, strategic research and innovation, and business trends and forecasting. The Board meets twice a year in the fall and spring to learn about the state of the College and to engage in discussions of current challenges and opportunities facing the College, the Institute, and industry.

Board members are chosen by the Dean and the Board’s executive committee. Appointing a new board member is based on a candidate’s interest in Georgia Tech and Scheller, impact in their respective industry, and willingness to give their time, talent, and philanthropic support to advance the College during their time of service. Members of the Board serve for a two-year term, with an option for a second and third term at the discretion of the Dean and the executive committee members.

See the list of current Scheller Advisory Board members.

Dr. Valentine (Val) Fontama

Dr. Valentine (Val) Fontama Head of Contact Center AI ServicesGoogle Professional Services

Dr. Val Fontama is the head of Contact Center AI Services at Google Professional Services, where he advises strategic customers on business transformation with AI and Machine Learning. Before Google, he was a principal data scientist manager on Microsoft’s AI Data Science team in Azure. As a new technology consultant at Equifax in London, Valentine pioneered the use of Machine Learning to improve risk assessment and marketing in the consumer credit industry. He applied Neural Networks, Genetic Algorithms, Bayesian Belief Networks, and similar techniques to Credit Default Prediction, Fraud Detection, Bankruptcy, and other areas of banking and financial services. In this role, he consulted with most of the biggest high street banks in the U.K.

He was also the principal data scientist in the Data & Decision Sciences Group (DDSG) at Microsoft, where he led consulting to key customers, including ThyssenKrupp and Dell. He was a senior product manager for big data and predictive analytics in the cloud and enterprise marketing at Microsoft, where he managed Azure Machine Learning, HDInsight, Parallel Data Warehouse (Microsoft’s first-ever data warehouse appliance).

He has published 12 academic papers and co-authored three books on big data including Predictive Analytics with Microsoft Azure Machine Learning: Build and Deploy Actionable Solutions in Minutes (2 editions).

Valentine holds a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, an MS in computing, an MBA in strategic management and marketing from Wharton Business School, and a BS (first-class honors) in mathematics and electronics.

Marion Glover, IM 1965

Marion Glover, IM 1965President of Glover Capital, Inc.Vice President of Glover & Associates, Inc.

Marion Glover serves as president of Glover Capital, Inc., and vice president of Glover & Associates, Inc., financial advisory and investment banking firms primarily serving the beverage industry. Prior to founding Glover Capital, Inc., Marion worked for more than fourteen years for The Coca-Cola Company, where he attained the positions of vice president of Corporate Strategic Planning and vice president of Corporate Financial Planning and Information Systems. Mr. Glover has also served as president of a food manufacturing company and president of a diversified investment management company. He has a Securities Principal license.

His extensive board service includes past chairman of the board of the Atlanta City Unit of the American Cancer Society, past chairman of the board of deacons and elder of the Peachtree Presbyterian Church, past board member and president of the Harvard Business School Club of Atlanta, past board member of Covenant House of Georgia, past member of the Alumni Council of the Harvard Business School, past trustee of the Georgia Tech Alumni Association, past member of the Board of Advisors for Oglethorpe University, and past member of the Board of Advisors of the Georgia Tech School of Management. He is currently a member of the Atlanta Roundtable, the Board of Directors of the John and Mary Franklin Foundation, Inc. and the Presbyterian Homes of Georgia, and trustee emeritus of the Georgia Tech Foundation.

Mr. Glover is a Dean’s List graduate of Georgia Tech. He also earned an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was the recipient of the J. Spencer Love Fellowship.

Kimberly (Kim) Keever, MGT 1987

Kimberly (Kim) Keever, MGT 1987Senior Vice PresidentSecurity, Analytics and Technology Services and Chief Information Security OfficerCox Communications

Kim Keever is senior vice president, Security, Analytics and Technology Services, and chief information security officer for Cox Communications in Atlanta, Georgia. Her teams are responsible for all aspects of information security, the Technology, Product and Operations Center of Excellence for Analytics, and for Technology people programs. Since joining Cox, she has built an industry-recognized security practice and expanded a high-performing COE that transformed the use of analytics, resulting in significant cost savings.

In early 2016, Kim was named a top woman in technology by Multichannel News. Each year from 2017-2019, she was named one of the most powerful women in cable by Cablefax. She was a 2018 Women in Technology honoree in the large/enterprise organization category. In 2019, she was named the Information Security Executive (ISE) of the Year for the Southeast Region and North American Information Security Executive of the Year in the Commercial category. Kim received the 2020 Women in Technology Award presented by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers/ Women in Cable Telecommunications and Cablefax magazine. This award recognizes one woman each year who has demonstrated outstanding professional growth while contributing to the advancement of the cable telecommunications industry.

Kim worked in the Coca-Cola system from 2009 to 2014. There she served as the vice president of Information Security and Controls for Coca-Cola Refreshments and CISO for the Bottling Investments Group. Prior to joining the Coca-Cola system, she served for eight years as the chief information officer and executive team member for Invesco Retirement Plan Services. Kim also served as Invesco’s director of Information Technology Audit. Kim started her career with Accenture in the Information Technology consulting practice.

Kim is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology. She has served as a member of several industry associations and boards including the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) and the FCC Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council V. She is active in volunteer organizations including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Technology Advisory Board and supports homeless shelters located in Atlanta.

Tommy Lester, III, MBA 2011

Tommy Lester, III, MBA 2011Capital Advisor

Tommy Lester, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, has worked for more than 20 years in Atlanta’s financial services community with roles in commercial banking and real estate finance at institutions including BB&T, SunTrust, and PNC. Tommy is also a longtime entrepreneur and angel investor with business interests that include commercial real estate development, sports and media, and early-stage technology companies.

Since 2016, Tommy has served as president and chief executive officer of SWAN Development Partners, which manages the acquisition, rehab, and disposition of single-family homes and small commercial properties around Atlanta, with a focus on market-rate affordability and neighborhood stabilization. He also works as a capital advisor with StackSource (a fintech start-up that sources equity and debt financing for commercial real estate projects) and provides consulting and seed-funding to early-stage entrepreneurs through his firm, StartupBFF.

Tommy received a BS in Marketing from Hampton University and an MBA from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business, where he served as class treasurer and president, was recognized as MBA Student of the Year, and earned the Georgia Tech OMED Tower Award for Academic Excellence. He is active in the Atlanta community as a board member with the DeKalb Private Industry Council, Raising Expectations, and Big Kidz Foundation. Tommy is an alumnus of Leadership DeKalb, the Georgia Academy for Economic Development’s Regional Leadership Development Program, Project REAP, and the Urban Land Institute’s Center for Leadership.

Tommy lives in Stone Mountain, GA with his wife of 21 years, Jennifer, and their daughter Temple, a nationally recognized advocate for girls and minorities in STEM fields.

Danny McCarthy, ME 1998, MSM 2000

Danny McCarthy, ME 1998, MSM 2000Co-Head of Global Credit Products, Credit Suisse AG

Daniel McCarthy has worked for over 20 years in the financial services industry. Currently, Daniel is a managing director at Credit Suisse in the Investment Banking division based in New York, where he is co-head of Global Credit Products. He oversees trading, sales, and strategy for investment grade and high yield vorporate bonds (inclusive of electronic and systematic trading), institutional par loans, credit derivatives, and distressed credit. Daniel is also responsible for the origination, structuring, and syndication of corporate asset financing and collateralized loan origination warehouse lending, as well as the collateralized credit repo business. Previously, Daniel held the position of head of US Credit Trading and Strategy, after trading on the high yeld bond desk, focusing on the energy and technology sectors.

Before joining Credit Suisse in 2007, Daniel worked at Citigroup Salomon Smith Barney, where he traded for five years on the high yield and investment grade desks, focusing on both credit derivatives and corporate cash bonds. Prior to that, Daniel started his career within the credit derivatives group at Barclays Capital in both London and New York from 2000 to 2002.

Daniel grew up in Sebastian, Florida, and was awarded the President’s Scholarship at Georgia Tech in 1994. He earned a BME in 1998 and an MBA from the Scheller College of Business in 2000. Daniel met his wife, Paige (CE 1999), at Georgia Tech and they have been married for 18 years. The McCarthy’s have three children and reside in Rye, NY. Daniel is active in his community, serving both in his local church and in youth sports leagues. He enjoys spending time with his family, playing golf, and fly fishing. The McCarthy’s are passionate Georgia Tech and Atlanta Braves fans.

Beth Nowers, IMGT 1979

Beth Nowers, IMGT 1979Strategic Management Consultant (Retired)McKinsey & Company

Beth Nowers held a number of marketing, consulting, and technology positions with McKinsey and Co., The Boston Consulting Group, IBM, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. While at McKinsey, her responsibilities included providing strategic long-term analysis and recommendations on corporate strategy and implementation to varied industry segments including communications, manufacturing, and financial services. She led the development and implementation of a new strategic plan for the Art Gallery of Ontario and worked with the board and leadership team of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston to develop a three-year strategic plan.

Beth has also pursued a variety of volunteer opportunities. She serves on the board of the Toronto International Festival of Authors and is a founding member of the Art Gallery of Ontario’s Contemporary Circle. Beth is also an author, having co-written The Good School Book: a Guide to Private Education in Canada. Beth has lived in various cities in Canada, Brazil, and the United States. She obtained her BS from Georgia Tech with the highest honors and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Juan Perez

Juan PerezChief Information and Engineering OfficerUPS

Juan Perez is the chief information and engineering officer for UPS and a member of the UPS executive leadership team, responsible for all technology and engineering functions. He was appointed to his current role in 2017 after having served as chief information officer since 2016.

Previously, Juan was vice president of technology. Through different rotations in that role, he was responsible for technology systems supporting the company’s billing, financial, accounting, human resources, package operations, driver dispatch and operational planning, scanning, logistics, customer service, and sales.

Juan’s leadership has generated greater operational efficiencies, customer service enhancements, and environmental impact reductions. His career has included assignments in operations, industrial engineering, process management and technology in corporate, U.S., and international business units. He currently manages a budget of $6 billion between engineering and IT. His engineering responsibilities include industrial (planning, measurement, and quality), plant (building construction, maintenance, and corporate sustainability), automotive (fleet management and support) and engineering including the Advanced Technology Group charged with defining the future operational technology strategy of UPS including robotics, autonomous transportation, and network optimization.

Juan holds a BS in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an MS in Computer and Manufacturing Engineering from the University of Southern California. He is a senior member of the Institute of Industrial Engineers and the American Society for Quality and holds several professional certificates in project management, business administration, and IT management. He also serves as a program evaluator for the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) and was a lecturer at the University of Southern California for seven years where he taught courses in engineering economy, quality control, industrial engineering, and operations management.

This press release was produced by the Scheller College of Business. The views expressed here are the author’s own.