
Executive in Residence Mentors
They have been responsible for the urban growth of Orange County. They have made the auto industry accessible to millions globally. They have transformed the lives of people throughout the world through economic and professional development. From manufacturing to philanthropy to finance, the professionals engaged with the college's Executive in Residence program together bring centuries of leadership experience to prepare today's young professionals for their futures in the ever-changing global business environment of the 21st century.
Juniors, seniors and graduate students interested in participating in the Executive in Residence program are encouraged to apply to become a mentee via the buttons contained within each executive profile below. If selected as a mentee, you will engage with your mentor through either small-group or individual mentor sessions. As a mentee, you will be expected to meet with your mentor one to two times each month during the relevant semester(s).
First impressions count. Your application to become a mentee is your opportunity to make a strong first impression. Please provide detailed responses when completing your application. The application review is a competitive process, and mentors will select those individuals perceived to be the best match for a successful mentor-mentee relationship. Please identify only one executive with whom you would like to connect. Multiple applications will not be reviewed.
Application closed
Mentors Accepting Applications for Fall 2022
Scott Coler ’85
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Currently, I am president and principal owner of Capital Pacific Homes, an Orange County-based residential homebuilding company that I have been a part of from the ground up. As a CSUF graduate, I proudly support the university and currently serve as governor of the CSUF Philanthropic Foundation, and I am a member of its Investment Committee, chair of the college's Dean’s Advisory Board and board member-at-large with the Center for Real Estate. During my 35-year real estate career, I have overseen the combined entitlement and construction of approximately 5,000 homes and $1.5 billion in revenues. I believe in maintaining a proper work-life balance to remain invigorated professionally, which naturally leads to motivation, accomplishment, leadership and, of course, personal recognition and financial success. With finance as a central theme, I am looking forward to working with junior, senior or MBA students in the area of securities and investments, financial management, or real estate.
Timothy Drnec '06
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Timothy Drnec is the VP of marketing and commercial sales with the Safariland Group. Tim is responsible for the corporate, brand and product marketing for over 20 brands in the Safariland Group portfolio. He also leads the sales and product efforts for the commercial markets at Safariland. Tim has taken the organization through several brand launches, product initiatives and brand architecture exercises. Tim’s team drives the DTC e-commerce business and all digital efforts for the brands.
Prior to the Safariland Group Tim spent 10 years at Oakley Inc, the leading sports performance and lifestyle optics company. Tim spent his time in several sales and marketing roles from leading the invention of a field marketing staff, to running the go to market efforts for the North American wholesale market.
Tim and his wife, Katie, reside in Orange County with 3 daughters, Ruth, Tobi and Vera. Tim enjoys playing live music and has for over 25 years. He is an avid vinyl record collector and has over 500 albums in his catalog. When not playing music he’s either on the golf course or on the mountain bike trails.
Lastly, he is a believer that CSUF shapes the future leaders of our world. He is determined to give back to a university that has given him so much opportunity.
Michael Groff ’78
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
For 35 years, I worked at Toyota Financial Services and retired as its CEO in 2018. I successfully developed the organization into a company that made people, true diversity and community service part of its cultural DNA. Currently, I am the principal and CEO of Harborview Consulting LLC, which provides general managerial consulting services to the Orange County community. I serve as a member of the college Dean’s Advisory board and am a national trustee for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. I have a strong belief in family as my wife of over 40 years, two sons, and eight grandchildren have contributed greatly to my success and happiness. As a proud Titan, I am excited to be the leader and founding member of the Executive in Residence program. I graduated from CSUF in 1978 and earned an MBA at Chapman University. I am looking forward to working with junior, senior and MBA students who are interested in management, marketing and leadership.
Joseph Holsinger
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am the managing director and market executive for Merrill Lynch serving the Greater Orange County region, and have 250 employees and four offices under my leadership, including a team of wealth management professionals who help clients plan their financial future. Most of my career has been with Merrill Lynch, where I have held senior leadership roles in San Diego, Florida and Michigan.
Even before becoming a mentor in the college’s Executive in Residence program, I’ve been responsible for preparing the next generation of talent, as I hire and mentor advisors and associates for Merrill Lynch.
An alumnus of the University of Missouri and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, I am active in my industry as a member of the Market Executive Leadership Academy Steering Committee and a bronze level member of the Bank of America Ally program. I previously mentored for the Hispanic/Latino Organization for Leadership & Advancement and am a past winner of the Bank of America Diversity and Inclusion Award.
I live with my wife, Sarah, and have four grown children. In my free time, I enjoy gardening, cooking, fly fishing, weightlifting and college athletics.
Joseph Moderow Sr. ’70
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Joe Moderow received a B.A. in economics from Cal State Fullerton and a J.D. from Western State College of Law. He had a 35-year career with UPS starting with unloading packages and retiring as senior vice president, general counsel and board member. He had responsibility for the company’s legal, public relations and government relations functions. He also served a presidential appointment in the Reagan Administration and received the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award.
Being able to achieve a high-quality education at CSUF at a reasonable cost became the foundation for Joe’s career success. He serves on the CBE Dean’s Advisory Board, the Center for Leadership Board, and as an Executive in Residence mentor to make this opportunity available for future generations. He finds special satisfactions in working with junior or senior students in the area of economics or legal studies.
Joe lives in Dana Point, with his wife, Karen.
Tim Myers ’81, ’85
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
For 40 years, I’ve spent my career in aircraft financing building upon the knowledge and relationships I built during my undergraduate and graduate programs at Cal State Fullerton.
Currently, I am president of Boeing Capital Corporation where we work with our customers to deliver efficient financing solutions, manage a multibillion dollar portfolio of commercial aircraft and lead efforts to improve the aviation financing infrastructure around the world.
Staying engaged in my community and my alma mater has helped to shape my perspectives on leadership and am honored to serve on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Business and Economics, along with Board of Directors of Seattle Goodwill.
One of my most important lessons I’ve learned is that how work is accomplished each day, and the culture we build within our teams, is just as important as the work itself. I strongly believe in mentoring and learning from our next generation of leaders and am looking forward to working with seniors and MBA students with an interest in finance and management.
Ashok Patel
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I grew up in Kenya, East Africa and came to the U.S. on a foreign student visa to Pasadena City College. I transferred to CSULA to pursue a BS in Business Administration and went on to get my MBA from Thunderbird International Management School in Arizona.
After graduating from T-Bird I said goodbye to part-time work polishing contact lenses and started my career at Continental Can, which manufactured cans for Coke, Pepsi, and Campbell’s Soup. We built the first Pepsi can making factory in Saudi Arabia and planned others in the U.A.E, Yemen, and Nigeria. My extensive travel experience in this role – throughout Africa, Europe, and Latin America - was a springboard for future travel interests both at and outside of work.
Most of my career was spent at Sunkist Growers – you may know the orange soda, but it was also one of the largest foods and beverage licensing businesses in the US, spanning 45 countries and generating over $2b in sales! At Sunkist I helped enter into new trademark licensing agreements, which allowed companies across the globe to use the Sunkist trademark on their products.
After 22 years I left Sunkist to start my own consulting practice. One of my most successful engagements was with Morinaga Milk in Tokyo, Japan – I lived there for five years to advise on their international expansion and train the staff on global business practices. It was an eye-opening experience that made me deeply passionate about respecting different business cultures. I then lived and worked in Singapore for one year.
Now that I have left full-time work, I keep myself busy with golf, exercise, and of course travel – I climbed Mt Kilimanjaro and Mt. Fuji a few years ago and after that Mt. Whitney (in a day, and my son who came with me summited a lot faster than I did).
Morteza Rahmatian
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Morteza Rahmatian is an internationally acclaimed economist with a passion for educating today’s students on the basic economic skills needed to inform successful business careers. Originally from Iran, Rahmatian pursued his graduate education at the University of Wyoming, when he worked as a truck driver to pay his way through college. With the outbreak of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Rahmatian’s plans of returning to Iran faded, and instead the young economist pursued an academic teaching and research career in the United States.
In his more than three decades of service as professor, chair, associate dean and dean of Cal State Fullerton’s College of Business and Economics, Rahmatian has always been focused on student success and empowerment. And he has also maintained a global impact, providing environmental economics research for the United Nations and World Bank.
As a mentor in the Executive in Residence program, Rahmatian looks forward to bringing his experience to bear in mentoring students interested in economics, international business or leadership.
Richard Ramsey
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I retired as a vice president of human resources from the Direct to Consumer and International Division (DTCI) of the Walt Disney Company after a 38-year career.
I first joined the company within the Operations Division at Disneyland and, over the span of my experiences, contributed to the success of the business operation through a variety of human resources positions within the parks and resorts, feature animation, studio distribution, and international businesses sectors of the company.
In my last role, I led communications and collaboration for Walt Disney International. I was also responsible for a global futures team engaged in strategic foresight work across 45 countries. Throughout this effort, I partnered with HR colleagues to form, train and sustain 12 futures teams, locally-led by a business leader, and populated with a cross-functional team of passionate and engaged futurists.
While I have broad human resources expertise, I was deeply involved in organizational design, change and culture transformation. I lived and worked abroad in France and Latin America and provided ongoing support to the teams in Disney’s many international locations around the world.
Learn more or connect with Richard Ramsey on LinkedIn.
Charlie Zhang
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Charles’ inspirational life story began humble beginnings in his native Shanghai. Charles Zhang came to America in 1980 with twenty dollars in his pocket. With hard work, determination and belief in the American dream he transcended many obstacles to achievement in and outside of business.
From dishwasher and gas station attendant to founding the successful Pick up Stix, the popular take-out chain, Aseptic Solutions USA and Zion Enterprises, a real estate company dedicated to revitalizing communities. He has been named Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, he is the Recipient of the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor; in addition, he has been named Distinguish Leader Honoree by Segerstrom Center for the Arts, and OC Arts Award Visionary Arts Patrons. Charlie also participated in a TEDx Talk show.
Outside of his work life, Charles dedicates his full time towards giving back to the community, providing others the opportunity to strive and create new success stories. Charles has been a Concordia University supporter of many local & international communities, such as the Pacific Symphony, Pacific Chorale and multiple Universities.
Charlie’s latest community contribution is the OC Music & Dance located in Irvine, CA. This center will provide the community a world-class facility in which people of all ages, experience levels, and cultures can come and participate in dance and music classes.
Charlie aims to help communities gain a better understanding of each hopes to and improve and develop the relationship as our society continuously becomes more and more diverse on a daily basis.
Janet Clardy ’87, ’90
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Janet Clardy is the senior vice president of human resources for Experian’s decision analytics, data quality, healthcare, auto and targeting businesses, as well as global M&A and strategy. In this role, Clardy provides overall HR strategy and business support to the business unit/groups as well as participating on the senior HR team of Experian North America. Her main areas of focus include culture formation, HR innovation, talent management and overall business alignment. In addition, she has initiated and is now leading the HRBP community of practice for North America at Experian. The purpose of this group is to drive innovation and collaboration across the HRBP team.
Clardy’s career includes more than 20 years of human resources experience covering multiple industries. Previously, Clardy served as vice president of human resources for Experian Consumer Services. Prior to that, she was the vice president, human resources for Fabrik (acquired by Hitachi Global Storage Technologies) a consumer branded personal storage company. Earlier roles were at Korn/Ferry International, St. Joseph Hospital of Orange and Taco Bell Corp., as well as experience in city government and retail operations.
Janet Clardy also serves as an advisory board member for a start-up company, Errand Solutions, a concierge service providing a work life balance benefit for employers across the U.S. Additionally, she has served on the board and was past board chair for junior achievement in Orange County. She is currently the vice chair of the Board for International Sanctuary, a non-profit focused on helping survivors of human trafficking to rediscover their self-worth and gain work/life skills.
Having received her MBA and undergraduate degree at Cal State Fullerton’s business college, Clardy resides in Orange County with her husband and two daughters.
Mark Clarke '78
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
An accounting alumnus of the Cal State Fullerton College of Business and Economics, I was vice president and controller for Edison International for two decades until my retirement in March 2021. My experience includes many roles in both accounting and administration in the energy sector, and I am a CPA.
Like many of today’s students, my career began at Disneyland. It was there that I met my wife and I have four adult children and seven grandchildren.
After graduation, I worked for PwC, where I spent most of my time servicing the engineering and construction company Parsons Corporation. I later worked for engineering and construction company Ultra Systems, where I became controller and where I sold a partnership in a North Dakota ethanol plant. Working for global power group Entergy was my gateway to the energy sector.
As a mentor in the Executive in Residence program, I look forward to emphasizing soft skills and networking, ethics, interview skills, effective communication, conflict resolution, and work/life balance to my mentees.
My professional foundation was laid at Cal State Fullerton and I look forward to sharing my experience with the next generation.
Christopher Connolly
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am currently SVP, chief marketing officer, for the San Diego Padres, overseeing the team’s brand strategy. Previously, I was with Disney, helping to lead the Disneyland Resort marketing team in developing their multi-million-dollar marketing and advertising campaigns in partnership with advertising and media buying agencies.
Among my biggest accomplishments at Disneyland were leading the first-ever Pixar Fest celebration in 2018 and the launch of Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge in 2019, the biggest addition to the Resort in its 65-year history.
Earlier in my Disney career, I served as SVP of licensing with Disney Consumer Products merchandise division and also served as SVP of worldwide creative marketing for Disney's movie studio.
Before joining Disney, I was the owner of a small promotions agency Big Idea Marketing Group from 2002 – 2008 and also served as vice president of marketing for Hasbro Toys throughout the 1990s. While at Hasbro, I was fortunate to oversee three of my favorite childhood toy lines - GI Joe, Tonka and Nerf!
An economics and business alumnus of UCLA, I currently serve on the board of directors for Hands Together, a Haitian relief organization. I love the CSUF baseball program and sports in general. I have a strong connection to the entertainment, marketing, and advertising fields and enjoy mentoring undergraduate and graduate students.
Patrick Donahue ’78
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am the retiring chairman and CEO of Donahue Schriber Realty Group. I have been with the firm for over 40 years after joining my late brother Dan and his business partner, Tom Schriber, shortly after graduating from CSUF in marketing in 1979. Our company has been responsible for the development and operation of shopping centers on the West Coast. Some of our early projects included the Glendale Galleria, Tustin Marketplace, Fashion Island, the Galleria at Tyler and Del Mar highlands Town Center.
In 1998, we departed the mall business and formed a private real estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in necessity-based retail. We currently own and operate nearly 10 million sq. ft. in 60 high quality neighborhood, community and power retail centers from San Diego to Seattle. At formation in 1998, the company’s assets totaled $100 million. Today the company’s assets are valued at over $3.5 billion. We have over 1,700 tenants and our portfolio is regarded as the best of its kind on the West Coast. Donahue Schriber has approximately 110 employees with the main office being in Costa Mesa and satellite offices in Sacramento and San Diego. Titans represent the single largest number of employees from any college or university within the company.
The company is very philanthropic believing it is not only the right thing to do but good business. We are major supporters of KidWorks in Santa Ana, as well as Guardian Scholars and the Veterans Resource Center at CSUF. Donahue Schriber founded both the California Showcase which has placed over 1,000 student athletes in NCAA Division II, II, and NAIA colleges and universities allowing them the opportunity to earn a college degree while playing football and the Orange County Real Estate Luncheon which has raised over $4 million for veterans services in Orange County.
I have been married for over 40 years and have three adult children. I reside in Laguna Beach and spend as much time as I can on the beach and in the ocean. I like to laugh a lot. I’ll look forward to working with anyone interested in real estate, finance, marketing and leadership.
Ken Bassman

No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
After graduating from UC Santa Barbara in 1984, Ken moved to Newport Beach to begin a career as a manufacturer’s representative in the wholesale home furnishings industry. Today, Bassman Blaine, Inc. (BB) is a multi-faceted and entrepreneurial home furnishings company. BB International and Domestic Sales Management and Marketing leads all sales and marketing efforts for four companies and contracts with more than 100 sales representatives globally.
As a serial entrepreneur, Ken has started 13 businesses and has sold three. Nine of these businesses have been home furnishings-related and four were in various other industries. Ken has collectively employed well over 1,000 people.
Ken served two years on the board of directors of Kids Konnected, an Orange County-based national nonprofit. Additionally, Ken served for four years on the board of directors of the Orange County Child Abuse Prevention Center as well as being a founding member on the board of directors of the Orange County Jewish Community Center. Ken has spent several years serving on the boards of the CDM Foundation for Corona del Mar High School as well as an expert-in-residence and board member of the Applied Innovation Center at UC Irvine. For three years, Ken was a mentor at Cal State Fullerton’s Center for Entrepreneurship, focusing on start-up ventures.
Ken has traveled the world as a platinum partner with Tony Robbins and a legendary member with David Bayer focusing on personal growth and development, leadership and gratitude. Ken continues to invest heavily in personal and professional growth and development, culture, gratitude and giving back.
Ken is married and lives in Newport Beach with his wife, Teri. They have three wonderful adult daughters. Ken is a past California State Bench Press champion and a private pilot. He has completed a marathon and still enjoys and participates in many sports and different activities.
Nicole Suydam
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
In 2018 I was appointed as the president and CEO of Goodwill of Orange County, the largest non-profit organization in Orange County with more than 1,000 employees serving 25,000 people annually. While you may know about our donation centers and thrift stores, our mission is to help people facing barriers to employment find and keep jobs.
I have more than 20 years of management and leadership experience working with local and national nonprofits dedicated to meeting human service needs. For nearly a decade, I served as vice president of development of Goodwill of Orange County. In 2012, I moved on to become CEO of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orange County, where I led 80 employees and 26,000 volunteers working together on the mission to end hunger in Orange County.
As a first-generation college graduate, I earned my bachelor’s degree from Vanguard University in Costa Mesa. I’m active in the community as a member of Vanguard University’s Board of Trustees and a member of the Orange County Business Council’s Board of Directors, which co-presents the college’s economic forecasts. Orange County Business Journal named me a “Woman of the Year” in 2018 and part of their 50 most influential business leaders in Orange County in 2020. My husband Michael and I live in Orange County and have a two teenage daughters. I look forward to working with business students who have a heart for community service and an interest in topics such as non-profit management, leadership, strategic planning, marketing and organizational culture.
Julie Virjee
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am the co-founder, along with my husband, CSUF President Fram Virjee, of Yambi Rwanda, a nonprofit committed to improving the lives of the victims of the 1994 genocide in one of East Africa’s poorest nations, and I travel regularly to Rwanda working on the numerous projects Yambi Rwanda supports. My focus is on education, and I am an advocate for children of all ages and their development as I also volunteer with a number of other educational foundations and organizations. I graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara, where Fram and I met, with a bachelor’s degree in communications and speech/hearing. I am also an entrepreneur: I am the owner and founder of Thimbleworks, a small business that has specialized in both hand needlework and specialty sweet-hot mustard for 30 years. In addition to running a nonprofit and a business, I’m also an organizer and public speaker, and I work with Fram serving as a campus leader and representing CSUF at many social, community, athletic and philanthropic events. I’m inspired by the students, staff and faculty at CSUF, and I enjoy being a part of the Titan family – I am passionate about connecting people and helping them achieve success.
Marshall Solomon
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Marshall is the marketplace leader of Deloitte’s Orange County practice. As managing partner of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Marshall oversees four key business areas: Audit, Tax, Consulting, and Advisory Services and leads marketplace and community activities. He also serves as the lead Tax partner and lead client service partner for a number of multi-national based corporations headquartered in Southern California in the Financial Services and Technology, Media and Telecommunications industries.
Marshall has spent his entire 25-year professional career at Deloitte with an emphasis on corporate taxation. Prior to becoming the managing partner, he served as the Office Tax Managing Partner of our Orange County tax practice, a role he continues to hold.
Marshall earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia and a master’s from University of North Carolina. He is a CPA and member of the AICPA and CA Society of CPAs.
Douglas Ekizian
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Douglas Ekizian is the senior vice president of the business transformation division of Hyundai Capital America. Prior to joining HCA, Doug was a managing director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ (PwC) Automotive Finance and Mobility Advisory Practice for 12 years, where he led the delivery of large-scale strategy, transformation services and solutions for automotive captive, banking and financial services clients in the U.S.
Throughout his career, Doug has also worked for General Motors Acceptance Corporation and held several leadership positions in automotive finance, including operations, risk and analytics. Doug received both his MBA and B.A. in economics from Pepperdine University.
Elizabeth Jensen
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Elizabeth Jensen is a CPA with more than 25 years of experience in public and private sector accounting. Currently, Elizabeth serves as the chief financial officer for Goodwill of Orange County. In her role, Elizabeth is responsible for managing the annual operating and capital budgets for the organization that includes 23 retail stores and the ecommerce platform, ShopGoodwill.com. She is also an integral part of the executive leadership team that is developing the long-term strategic plan for Goodwill.
Elizabeth graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a degree in accounting and began her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP in the audit practice in the Los Angeles office. Her audit experience included industries such as retail, entertainment, higher education, automotive, and oil and gas.
Elizabeth lives in Newport Beach with her three daughters, two of whom attend Notre Dame and one who attends Mater Dei High School. Elizabeth serves on the Advisory Council of the CFO Executive Summit and is a member of Chief, a private network built to drive more women into positions of leadership, through mentoring and executive coaching.
Tina Nguyen '95
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Tina is the marketing director for ShopGoodwill.com. She oversees all marketing and customer engagement programs for the $200 million national e-commerce site. She loves being able to contribute to the Goodwill mission of helping people change their lives through the power of work.
Tina spent the majority of her career at the Taco Bell Corporation in Irvine. During her 16 years with Taco Bell, she held various positions in brand marketing, PR/community relations, and finance. In her last role as executive director of the Taco bell Foundation, Tina’s approach involved working together with key youth education partners, Taco Bell franchisees, and local communities to empower young people to channel their passions and achieve their dreams.
Her inspiration for helping others comes from her childhood experience of coming to the U.S. as a refugee. Prior to Taco Bell, Tina worked in strategic planning at Beckman Coulter and Ingram Micro in Orange County. She also holds a CPA license and has an MBA from the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine. Tina lives in Orange County with her husband Chris, daughter Cate, and dogs Freddie and Sofie.
Erin Tran
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
With more than 20 years of leadership experience, and more than a decade in SaaS models, my focus is on helping companies transition through the phases of a company growth curve (both start up to scale up as well as reinvention when the curve stagnates or the market shifts) to accelerate outcomes.
Having worked remotely with global teams since 2010, I currently work for a global FTSE 100 company, headquartered in the UK (Sage.com) as VP, strategic transformation. I love mentoring on navigating corporate, gender and global culture as well as supporting young leaders on their journey.
Iulia Zelmer ’17
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am the director of program management at Beautycounter, a skin care company on a mission to raise the bar on clean beauty products. I manage a team of six project managers and scrum masters and together we manage a portfolio of three dozen technology programs and projects.
My background is software engineering, a field in which I worked for more than 15 years, after which I transitioned into solution architecture and worked with large businesses on technology strategy and digital transformation.
I am a first-generation immigrant, having been born, raised and educated in Romania, where I earned my bachelor’s in computer engineering. At age 25, I immigrated to Canada, where I lived and worked for five years. From there I moved to Boston and then California.
At age 45, I decided to return to school to pursue my MBA at Cal State Fullerton. I am now a proud 2017 alumna.
I am an avid reader and am passionate about learning and knowledge sharing. I like to build communities of people with diverse backgrounds, skills and talents. I am a mother of two teen boys, my oldest starting his college journey this year. Mentoring my boys and sharing my life learnings with them is the highlight of my life.
Chris Eso ’98
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Chris Eso currently has dual responsibility as vice president of business development and strategy for both the Structural Heart and Aortic operating unit and the Cardiovascular Portfolio of Metronic. Chris joined Medtronic in 2011 and has held numerous business development, M A and strategy positions of increasing responsibility and scope over his tenure at Medtronic in both the business and corporate functions.
Chris brings more than 25 years of successful professional business and general management experience within the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries, in addition to Medtronic, including Allergan, Watson Pharmaceuticals, Agilent Technologies, and Peregrine Pharmaceuticals.
Most of his experience is in a business development and strategy capacity where he has led more than 50 transactions valued at approximately $15 billion, as well as general management capacity running a $50 million revenue-generating wholly-owned subsidiary of a publicly-traded company.
Chris holds an MBA from Concordia University and a B.A. in communications, public relations from Cal State Fullerton.
Kevin Bui ’02
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Kevin Bui is the CEO/President of Kevin Bui Real Estate in Orange County, CA. He graduated from Cal State Fullerton in 2002 with a concentration in business marketing. Bui specializes in residential homes, first-time home buyers, investment opportunities, and listing homes for his clients. Before launching Kevin Bui Real Estate, Bui gained over 15 years in banking, the financial sector, and the real estate industry. He was Chase Private Client Banker at JP Morgan Chase and managed clients with more than $250,000 in assets.
Bui loves CSUF and is always eager to give back to his alma mater and current students. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the CSUF College of Business Center for Leadership, as a mentor for the CSUF College of Business Executive Council Mentoring Program, and as a host for students through Dinner with 12 Titans. In addition, Bui recently received the honor of serving on the Board of Directors for the CSUF Alumni Association. He loves giving back, inspiring students, and being able to help students succeed personally and professionally.
He was able to mentored 10 CSUF business honor students for the last four years, helping them with their resumes, mock interviews, finding internships, finding jobs, and getting them ready for the real world after college.
In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, wife, son and friends. Also, he is a big basketball fan and loves the Lakers.
Steven Andonov '04
No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Steven graduated from CSUF in 2004 with a bachelor’s in business administration with a concentration in accounting. He is a senior manager at Deloitte’s Orange County Office, focusing on clients in the Technology sector.
Steven is an effective, well-rounded leader with a proven ability to develop people and inspire peak performance, naturally fostering a culture of thriving innovation, collaboration, and respect. He utilizes a broad range of skills in internal audit, business and tech risk, compliance, operational, and process improvement to help organizations accomplish their objectives and improve the effectiveness of risk management, controls and processes.
Steven is passionate about leading projects with ambiguous solutions and designing complex processes from scratch. He is an effective communicator with an outstanding capability to translate complex concepts into easy-to-understand visuals.
In his spare time, Steven enjoys family vacations in Europe and all over the world. Hiking, swimming and skiing are his favorite activities.
Daniel Bernal

No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Rajeev Kapur

No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Thomas Clark '14, '19

No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
I am an Assistant Vice President at Oaktree Capital, a global asset management firm headquartered in Los Angeles. I work in Oaktree’s Control Room, which manages material non-public information across investment teams and surveillance of firm trading activity. Prior to joining Oaktree in 2017, I held positions at Southern California Edison, Zurich, The Hartford, and Banc of California. I also teach in the Economics Department at Cal State Fullerton. My interests include macro finance, financial economics, and monetary policy.
I earned my BA and MA in Economics from Cal State Fullerton. I am a proud two-time Titan graduate. I am passionate about educating students on critical issues in economics and helping students prepare for their careers in business. I’ve been fortunate to have numerous mentors in the Titan family who helped me navigate the business world. I hope to be able to do the same for my students.
Outside of teaching and my professional life, I enjoy spending time traveling, watching sports, and going to rock concerts.
Steve Helper

No longer accepting applications for fall 2022.
Steve has a wide-ranging career in finance that includes credit risk management, mergers & acquisitions, working capital operations, and venture capital investing. In these varied roles, he has had the opportunity to lead substantial organizational transformation projects and companies through times of significant financial stress.
Steve is currently a Vice President at The Walt Disney Company leading it’s global Credit-to-Cash organization. Responsible for the Company’s $7B+ Accounts Receivable portfolio, he manages a global team of 600 located mostly in Buenos Aires, Orlando, Greater LA, Mumbai, Shanghai, London and Krakow.
Previous to Disney, Steve had various positions with Hewlett-Packard including leading their worldwide credit risk management operations and managing a venture capital portfolio.
Prior to HP, Steve worked in the Valuation Services practice at Ernst & Young, and for a small investment banking firm specializing in middle market mergers and acquisitions.
Steve has his MBA from UCLA Anderson and a BA in Economics from UC Irvine which included a year studying at the University of Nairobi in Kenya.
Continuing Mentors
Terry Giles ’70
Terry Giles was born in St. Louis and raised in poverty in the Missouri Ozarks. He received his B.A. from Cal State Fullerton and his J.D. from Pepperdine University School of Law. By age 30, he had built one of the largest criminal defense law firms in California, then became disillusioned with our criminal justice system and shifted the firm’s focus to significant civil trials. By age 34, he began to pursue his career as a business entrepreneur. He has now had 35 different companies over a large range of fields and disciplines, including auto dealerships, banks, manufacturing, diagnostic laboratories, business consulting, and luxury hotels and restaurants. In 2010 he was appointed by a judge in Atlanta to be the trustee over the Martin Luther King Jr. estate and in 2016 he organized the presidential campaign of Ben Carson, M.D.
Giles has received the Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans Award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award of CSUF, the Medal of Honor from Pepperdine University, the Alumnus of the Year from Pepperdine University School of Law, and was runner up for National Trial Lawyer of the Year for his work representing victims of the Catholic predator priest cases in California.
In 2020, his book, The Fifteen Percent, made the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. The book attempts to discover the traits of the 15% who overcome adversity to live successful lives. He analyzes the valuable skills necessary to distinguish one’s self, including fearlessness, embracing underdog strategies, visualizing the future and positive thinking.
Giles currently live in Houston, with his wife, Kalli O’Malley.
Laurie Jerome

My experience in human resources spans more than 30 years. I began my career at The Walt Disney Company, spending 13 years in a range of roles that shaped my view and commitment to service. After working in corporate leadership roles for many years, I pursued a dream of consulting, thus balancing career and personal life. My clients included Allergan, Disneyland, DreamWorks, Nestle, Conexant, Anaheim Angels, Option One, Jenny Craig and OCTA.
One highlight was spending two years partnering with the Angels to build a strong service culture in preparation for the All-Star games. At the end of the games, they made the cover of ESPN magazine for their upgraded guest service as a result of the work we did.
I am a first-generation college grad. I have a B.S. in organizational behavior from the University of San Francisco, and a masters degree in human resources from Chapman University. I am also proud to have coached my son, who is a recent graduate in engineering at UCLA and now works for a major health care software company.
I was previously a CSUF advisory board member for the Center for Leadership and am excited to be part of the Executive in Residence mentoring program where I can partner with each and every student in pursuit of their academic and career aspirations and utilizing my network to give them the best possible opportunities.
Charles Harmon
Charles A. Harmon is principal owner of The Harmon Group LLC, a consulting firm focused on procurement and supply chain strategies and internal process organization and committed to objectively delivering value and efficiencies to improve profitability.
Previously, Harmon was with American Honda Motor Co., where his divisional responsibilities included oversight of corporate procurement, corporate services and supply chain inclusion and diversity areas, covering nine business units.
In his role as the company’s procurement officer, Harmon led the purchase spend of more than $3 billion, including oversight of procurement operation activities, strategic planning and establishment of purchasing systems, financial planning, and financial management for the procurement of goods, commodities and services.
Responsibilities also included management and oversight of American Honda’s Supplier Inclusion and Diversity programs and outreach initiatives designed to attract, develop and retain minority-owned businesses.
A native of Los Angeles, Harmon joined Honda in 1983. Harmon attended Cal State Fullerton from fall 1978 to spring 1981 and holds a B.S. in business management from University of Phoenix. Harmon, along with his wife Jennifer, currently reside in Riverside, California.
Harmon served on a number of boards, including the Southern California Minority Supplier Development Council, acting as its board chairman; treasurer of the Honda Federal Credit Union; and a current board governor of Cal State Fullerton’s Philanthropic Foundation.
Christopher R. Hoff ‘07
Christopher Hoff is the region executive at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch in Southern California. Based out of Newport Beach, he oversees consumer banking and investments in Orange County, San Diego and the Inland Empire. In his role, Hoff leads 11 market leaders that oversee more than 250 associates. Those associates offer deposit, credit and investment solutions based on each individual client’s needs.
Prior to this role, Hoff served as national performance manager, helping lead the corporate employee banking and investments execution. He was also a Merrill Performance Manager supporting the Orange County/San Diego region for the two years before that and was a market leader in both the Inland Empire and San Diego markets after starting his career with Bank of America in January 2012 as a financial solutions advisor.
Hoff’s interests in finance and leadership go back to his college days. He holds a B.A. from Cal State Fullerton. While there, he held a concentration in finance and management. Since graduating, he has obtained eight investment licenses as well as the Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor designation.
Hoff resides in Murrieta with his wife Christine, two daughters, Alexa and Brielyn, as well as his dog Andre. He is the co-chair for volunteerism for Consumer Investments nationally and enjoys finding ways to help others including serving on the board of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater San Diego.
Eric Llopis
I’m an SVP, chief strategy officer, with a diversity of experience driving strategic and digital transformations across the consumer goods and managed services industries. My work has focused on leading the development of corporate strategy and executing corporate change initiatives to realize significant business improvement and shareholder value by delivering transformational growth, cost and productivity, and M&A and partnerships. Recent career highlights include Aramark’s successful 2013 IPO event and closing two significant M&A transactions in 2018. My career has included work for blue-chip industry leaders including Aramark, PepsiCo and MillerCoors. I earned my B.A. from UCLA and my MBA from The Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. I have on-the-ground work experience in more than 40 countries. I’m a Cuban-American and native Spanish speaker, and was named one of the Top 25 Hispanic Executives in 2010 by Hispanic Business magazine.
Linh Nguyen ’98, ’17
I have been vice president of Advance Beauty College, a second generation, family owned business since 1999. With two locations in Orange County, we have graduated more than 40,000 students, many of them being fellow Vietnamese immigrants. As a small business owner, you wear many hats and engage in all areas of the business, but I truly enjoy working in education, operations, and marketing of the business.
I earned both my BA and MBA degrees from Cal State Fullerton. I enjoy staying involved with CSUF as I serve on the board for Center for Leadership, committee member for Concert Under the Stars, mentor to students in business graduate programs, and Center for Family Business. Outside of CSUF, I am a board member for The Wooden Floor.
I am passionate about learning other languages and understanding different cultures. Because I am fluent in Vietnamese, proficient in Spanish and understand these cultures, it is beneficial in all aspects of my career. Cultural intelligence makes you an asset to any company.
Work-life balance is important to me as I have been married for more than 20 years and have three children. I look forward to working with junior and senior students in the area of operations management, entrepreneurial management or marketing.
Scott O'Brien ’77
Scott O’Brien is the chairman of The Safariland Group, a leading global provider of a broad range of safety and survivability products designed for the public safety, military and outdoor markets.
O’Brien joined Safariland in 1973 and held various positions in operations prior to being named vice president of manufacturing in 1985. In this executive role, Scott led the company through a period of unprecedented growth and was named president of The Safariland Group in 1993. O’Brien played a key role in the acquisitions of Break-Free, Hatch and Bianchi International. He was also instrumental in developing the international market with Armor Products International.
In 2007, Safariland was acquired by BAE Systems and O’Brien was named president of The Products Group Business of BAE Systems plc, and later added the leadership role of Individual Protection Systems (IPS). From 2007 until 2012, O’Brien was responsible for multiple operations that distributed brand name products for the law enforcement, military and commercial markets worldwide with annual sales of $400 million.
O’Brien has led the company through 30 acquisitions, with operations in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Lithuania and the United Kingdom. In 2012, he spearheaded the divestiture of The Safariland Products Group from BAE Systems, leading to the acquisition by the privately-held Kanders & Co., the entity by which it is held today.
Today, The Safariland Group has offices in both Ontario, California, and Jacksonville, Florida, with 2,668 associates. The company is a manufacturer of premier products ranging from body armor to riot gear and holsters. Among the most recognized brands in The Safariland Group’s product offering are Safariland®, Med-Eng®, ABA®, Second Chance®, Bianchi®, Break Free®, Hatch®, Monadnock®, Identicator® and NIK®.
O’Brien holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration – marketing from Cal State Fullerton, where he continues to play an active role as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board for the College of Business and Economics, and as a member CSUF’s Board of Governors. O’Brien was recently honored by the university with its most prestigious Vision & Visionaries Award.
O’Brien is also a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) and is chairman emeritus of the Toyota Motor Sales Supplier Alliance.
Melissa L. Smith, Ph.D.

After a 25-year corporate career applying psychological theory to my positions in sales, marketing communications, product and project management, I went in to private practice as an organizational psychologist. In my practice, I evaluate organizational dynamics for the purpose of identifying opportunities for change and growth. Together with senior leadership, I focus on the interaction of structure, process, and personnel in order to overcome obstacles that impede the desired outcomes. In addition to my work experience, I hold a Ph.D. in transpersonal psychology with a specialization in teaching, education and research. Now largely retired, I serve on the board of trustees for Willamette University, my undergraduate alma mater, and for the San Francisco Waldorf School. My husband, Jeff Van Harte, is a 1980 alumnus of Cal State Fullerton’s business school, and an enthusiastic supporter of all things Titan!
David Stone ’98
I am the global senior director of information governance for DaVita Inc., a Fortune 300 company and the second largest worldwide provider of dialysis for kidney disease. I oversee cross department teams in IT, legal, policy development, training and records management over the deployment and program operations across 13 countries and 57,000 teammates.
My career spans more than 20 years in healthcare and technology. I have been given the opportunity to pioneer highly-regulated patient safety, hospital discharge and information governance programs. I have been blessed to fuel my passion to develop future leaders, innovate new business models and establish departments from proof of concept. My most meaningful once in a lifetime accomplishment is improving the national standards of dialysis care for hospital patients by partnering with The Joint Commission to develop the first hospital dialysis accreditation and then implementing it across 657 hospitals. I have authored articles pertaining to outpatient hospital discharge, patient safety and have been guest speaker at the American Health Law Association.
My core beliefs are relationship building, collaboration, becoming the expert to what excites you, integrity is paramount to leadership, great accomplishments result from harmonious teams, and work-life balance is a must. I find great satisfaction in seeing my direct reports and mentees have those moments of clarity where the light bulb goes on. I see my role as a coach, counselor and cheerleader along each person’s career journey.