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SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 27, 2017— A seasoned Silicon Valley executive and three Santa Clara University leaders have joined the advisory board of the My Own Business Institute (MOBI) at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business. The additions bring to eight the number of board members steering MOBI, the world's leading provider of free online education for entrepreneurs.

MOBI offers online courses that teach new entrepreneurs how to start a business and experienced entrepreneurs how to grow a business.  Through video, audio, and text, online students from across the globe learn how to pick a business, how to finance it, how to build clientele, and how to create a successful team.

The new members—Jim Hess, Caryn Beck-Dudley, Tanya Monsef Bunger and Theresa Strickland—begin their tenure on the board May 1.

“These executives are a fantastic addition to our advisory board,” said Drew Starbird, executive director of MOBI. “The skill sets and experience they bring to the table will provide a broad perspective that will benefit our students and the program as a whole.”

Jim Hess ‘77 is President and owner of H.G. Makelim Co., a $50 million distributor of industrial engines and components headquartered in South San Francisco. Active in his industry, he participates on the board of numerous associations and councils and is a 19-year member of Vistage Worldwide, Inc., a global organization that assembles and facilitates private advisory boards for CEOs, senior executives and business owners.Through his experience with H.G. Makelim Co. and Triad Systems, Hess has had the opportunity to work directly with hundreds of small, entrepreneurial companies. He received his bachelor's degree in marketing from Santa Clara University.

Caryn Beck-Dudley is the first female dean of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.  She was also the first female dean of a business school at Utah State University and Florida State University.  In addition to teaching business law, employment law and business ethics she has made many public presentations, to large and small audiences on a variety of leadership and legal and ethical topics. Her work is published in several journals including the American Business Law Journal where she served on the editorial board. Dean Beck-Dudley is the current vice-chair/chair elect for the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). She is also a member of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, serving as past chair.

Tanya Monsef Bunger ‘86, dean’s executive professor at the Leavey School of Business, is a global business consultant and executive coach with more than 25 years of Silicon Valley high tech, startup and non-profit business success in the areas of finance, marketing and strategy. She has coached and delivered programs with leaders and entrepreneurs from more than 40 countries.  Bunger designs leadership training, leads workshops, provides one-on-one coaching, and facilitates conversations to clients around the world. Active in global leadership projects, she is a board member for the Global Women’s Leadership Network, co-founder of SF Turkish Women’s International Network chapter, and program director of the Global Fellows program at SCU. She received her bachelor’s degree in finance from Santa Clara University.

Theresa Strickland MBA ‘04 is the CEO of BrandWave Design and the assistant dean of marketing and communication for the Leavey School of Business. She is a key-industry merchandising strategist whose vast and proven 25-year track record translates financial objectives into realistic merchandise assortment plans for leading national retailers. Strategizing for companies such as Macy’s, Pottery Barn, Cost Plus World Market, Sears, and Kmart, Strickland has conducted several company-wide vertical integrations, creating product development, merchandising and planning teams and an international sourcing organization that has continually resulted in substantial volume growth.  She has also directly supervised company activities including full profit and loss responsibility, development of inventory, operating plans, sales plans, and her staff’s execution of approved merchandise plans and objectives. She received her executive MBA from Santa Clara University.

These additions bolster a board that includes Phil Holland, founder of My Own Business, Inc.; Claudia Peters, retired president of My Own Business, Inc.; John Denniston, founder and chairman of Shared-X; and Drew Starbird, executive director of MOBI.

Learn more about the My Own Business Institute at www.scu.edu/mobi.

About Leavey School of Business

The Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University began in 1923 and was one of the first business schools in the country to receive national accreditation. Its undergraduate business, MBA, and M.S. programs are consistently ranked among the top in the nation by BusinessWeek, U.S. News & World Report, Princeton Review, and others. The curricula at all levels emphasizes the leadership role of business in creating prosperity within an ethical framework, as well as business responsibilities for social justice and sustainability in the global marketplace. For more information, see www.scu.edu/business.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located 40 miles south of San Francisco in California’s Silicon Valley, offers its more than 9,000 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering; master’s degrees in business, education, counseling psychology, pastoral ministry, and theology; and law degrees and engineering doctoral degrees. Distinguished nationally by one of the highest graduation rates among all U.S. master’s universities, California’s oldest operating higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. For more information, see www.scu.edu.

Media Contact

Deborah Lohse | SCU Media Relations | dlohse@scu.edu | 408-554-5121