Entrepreneurship
Individual Focus
Entrepreneurship in Tough Economic Times 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Roger Calantone is the Eli Broad Chaired University Professor of Business at the Eli Broad College of Business; Chair of the Marketing Department and Co-Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He has been recognized as a Michigan State University Distinguished Faculty Member.
Calantone has authored over 250 journal and proceedings articles, five books and several book chapters. Publications appear in journals such as: Marketing Science, Management Science, Decision Sciences, IEEE Trans. on Engineering Management, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, R&D Management, Journal of Product Innovation Management, Strategic Management Journal, and International Journal of Research in Marketing. Calantone’s research is mostly in the areas of product design and development processes, decision tools for NPD, and organization process and value extraction. He is the recipient of numerous research and publication awards. Among the research grants he has received are those from NSF, Lowe Foundation, MRC, CAPS, KPMG, Dow, and CLODE. He has founded, developed and sold three firms. He is a member of the American Marketing Association, Institute for Operations Research and Management Science, and the Product Development & Management Association. He earned a Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Massachusetts.
Gary Farha is President and CEO of CustomerFirst Renewables (CFR), an innovative renewable energy company, focused on creating value for large businesses and institutions. Previously he was Vice President of Growth and Innovation at Danaher Corporation, a diversified technology company. He joined Danaher following a 19-year career at McKinsey and Company, where he was a Director in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. Farha specialized in work for energy and industrial clients, and co-led the firm’s global innovation practice. He completed his undergraduate degree in Finance and Economics at Wichita State University, and earned an MBA from the Broad School. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). He has served on the Broad School’s Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2005.
Diane Grieves is the Founder and General Partner of GRICOC Properties, LLC, a private investment firm specializing in real estate and finance leasing. Prior to starting GRICOC Properties, Grieves was a Founder and Executive Vice President of Data Systems Network Corporation (DSNC), taking the company public during her tenure from 1992-2000. Previously, Grieves held a variety of sales and service management positions with AT&T and various Bell operating companies. She received an MBA from the Weekend MBA Program at the Broad School. She has served on the Broad School’s Alumni Association Board of Directors since 2004.
Chris Gibbons is President and Chief Operating Officer at HistoSonics, a medical device company that is developing histotripsy, a non-invasive image guided and robotic tissue technology. Formerly, she was Executive in Residence with Venture Investors LLC, and had been Chief Financial Officer of Sensicore, Inc., an applied technology company with chip sensor products. Before Sensicore, Gibbons served as Vice President of Finance for Ardesta LLC, focusing on investments in small technology products for the global marketplace. She also had key roles in early stage ventures with Seaflower Ventures, MBI International, Nucleus Corporation, and Ernst and Young. Gibbons graduated with an B.A. in marketing from the Eli Broad College of Business and holds an MBA from Wayne State University.
Mike Williams is a Management faculty member teaching entrepreneurship in several MBA programs. Mike has been instrumental in leading the growth of numerous small businesses in and outside of Michigan. Prior to joining Michigan State University, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Biggby Coffee – one of the fastest growing coffee franchisors in the United States. From 1999 to 2006, Williams owned Kismetic Enterprises East, LLC, a consulting company that provided strategic direction to mid-sized companies looking to raise capital for growth. Prior to Kismetic, he was the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Voyager.net, an Internet service provider, based in East Lansing, Mich. Williams was an integral member of the executive management team that took Voyager.net public in 1999. Prior to Voyager, he was the Director of Finance for the Midwest Region of Nextel Communications. Williams specializes in financial growth strategies, strategic acquisitions, and business planning.
