Jim Melillo, Co-Founder and Chairman
Mr. Melillo co-founded Executive Conversation and has both management and Program Executive responsibilities. He is responsible for the ongoing development of new and advanced program content. Prior to joining Executive Conversation Mr. Melillo was CFO and director of NPI where he built it into the largest Pizza Hut franchisee in the world and took the franchisee public. Previously Mr. Melillo was in Strategic Planning and Technology Acquisitions at Marion Merrill Dow where he was involved in structuring and negotiating licenses or joint ventures. Mr. Melillo is a highly regarded consultant and lecturer in both business and educational environments. Mr. Melillo holds an MBA from Columbia University; a MA in Economics from the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in Philosophy from Sarah Lawrence.
Suzanne Sheppard, Co-Founder and CEO
Ms. Sheppard co-founded Executive Conversation and is responsible for managing the strategic direction of the company. Ms. Sheppard's belief that sales professionals must understand the impact that one has on a customer's business represents the core driver behind the company's formation. Dedicating her professional career to creating long term, mutually profitable relationships, Ms. Sheppard's distinguished sales career ranged from Xerox Corporation to Eastman Kodak to IBM's (former) ROLM division where she excelled at managing enterprise customers. Ms. Sheppard holds a BA in Sociology from Ithaca College.
Mike Rohan, President
Mr. Rohan joined Executive Conversation in August of 2000 and currently has responsibility for company wide performance on a global basis. He has over twenty years of experience in sales, senior sales leadership and general management. Prior to joining Executive Conversation, Mr. Rohan spent fifteen years with Honeywell International where his most recent position was General Manager for the Northwest U.S.. He has extensive experience in successfully developing and deploying solution-based strategic selling processes and organizations. Mr. Rohan holds a BS Degree in Business at San Diego State University, with advanced studies completed at Harvard Business School.
Eric Beckman, Executive Vice President of Marketing and Strategy
Mr. Beckman joined Executive Conversation in February 2002 and is responsible for the company's strategic business development activities and worldwide marketing strategy. Prior to joining Executive Conversation, Mr. Beckman was Vice President of Services at WatchGuard Technologies (Nasdaq: WGRD) where he was instrumental in growing the company into a leading global provider of Internet security solutions. Earlier in his career Mr. Beckman also served in several roles at Arthur Andersen & Co. In addition to over 20 years of experience in senior executive positions, Mr. Beckman serves on several Boards, is a licensed CPA and member of the AICPA and holds degrees in Accounting and Marketing from the University of Washington.
Shaun Han, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Han joined Executive Conversation in August 2007 and is responsible for financial reporting, compliance and operational functions required for the company to effectively manage its growth strategies and initiatives. Prior to joining Executive Conversation, Mr. Han served as a Tax Manager for Deloitte & Touche LLP and then managed his own tax practice. In addition to 15 years of experience in the financial services sector, Mr. Han holds an MBA from Cornell University, an MS in Taxation from Golden Gate University and is a licensed CPA.
Kathryn Sikorksi, Vice President of Client Services
Ms. Sikorski has over 25 years experience in sales, sales management and sales course development. She has worked with Executive Conversation since 1994 and is responsible for client services activities including custom course development, designing and maintaining courseware and client service offerings. Prior to joining Executive Conversation, Ms. Sikorski owned her own training and consulting business. Earlier, she had a distinguished sales career working for Avaya (formerly VMX and Octel); NEC; ITT, and AT&T (formerly Southwestern Bell). Ms Sikorski holds a BS Degree in Psychology from the University of Houston.