Sterling Starbird
Dr. Starbird is a professor in the department of operations & management information systems at Santa Clara University. He started teaching at SCU in 1987 after completing his Ph.D. in agricultural economics at Cornell University. Dr. Starbird also holds a BS from the University of California, Davis and an MBA from Santa Clara University. From 1996 to 2000, Dr. Starbird was director of the Food & Agribusiness Institute at Santa Clara University and in the fall of 2000, he served as director of strategic planning at TransFresh, a company involved with the international transportation of perishables and a subsidiary of Fresh Express. Professor Starbird teaches classes in operations management, statistics, and complex decision making at the undergraduate, MBA, and executive MBA levels. His research interests include quality control and management, supply chain management, food safety, and contracting. He has published research in Naval Research Logistics, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Journal of Agricultural & Resource Economics, Agribusiness: An International Journal, Agricultural Economics, and the American Journal of Agricultural Economics. In 2001, Dr. Starbird completed a three-year term as co-editor of the International Food & Agribusiness Management Review.
Kevin Walsh
Kevin Walsh is a general partner at Ridge Partners LLC, an investment and buy-out company focused in the high technology sector. He is also the Dean's Executive Professor of Management at the Leavey School of Business and was previously Vice President of Corporate Planning and Worldwide Financial Operations at Sun Microsystems. Prior to joining Sun, Kevin was COO at Spatial Technology and held Vice President positions at Schlumberger and Fairchild Semiconductor in both Europe and the USA. He is a graduate of the London School of Economics, a member of the Institute of Management Consultants and Certified Chartered Accountant (UK).
Stephen Corio
Steve Corio is founder and president of Corio Consulting and “The Advanced Sales Skills Institute." Through Corio Consulting, Steve provides consulting services in the areas of business development strategies, resource planning and sales management. Additionally, his “Advanced Sales Skills Institute” provides ‘individual’ and ‘enterprise wide’ sales training in all “Need Activation” sales processes and in the skills necessary to use them effectively.Steve’s credentials include a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics, an MBA from Santa Clara University and former membership in the Texas Real Estate Brokers’ Association. Currently he is V.P. of Sales for SecureALL, Inc. and an Adjunct Professor at Santa Clara University. At SCU Steve teaches MBA and undergraduate courses in “Sales Management”, “Competitive Marketing Strategies” and “Marketing Analysis and Decision Making”.
William O'Brien
William O’Brien is a Lecturer in the Accounting Department at Santa Clara University. He received his B.S. in economics from Santa Clara University (1970) and his M.B.A. from Pepperdine University (1979). He is a CPA licensed in California and a member of the American Institute of CPA’s and the California Society of CPA’s. Prior to joining the Santa Clara faculty in 1992, he spent over twenty years in public accounting and in various corporate and entrepreneurial settings in the dynamic Silicon Valley region of Northern California. Mr. O’Brien is an internationally recognized consultant, author and lecturer in the fields of corporate planning, financial management, financial statement analysis and performance measurement. He has been a frequent speaker at professional seminars since 1979 and in 1994 was awarded the "Instructor Excellence" Award by the California CPA Education Foundation.