Latter-day Saint MBA Podcast

Glenn is an expert in strategy and technology with over 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. He is the founder of two successful software companies in the travel industry and currently devotes his time to a non-profit humanitarian organization that he founded. He received an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Post Graduate Diploma in Strategy and Innovation from Oxford University. Hewas also a CPA.

See details and register for the upcoming Latter-day Saint MBA Society conference at https://latterdaysaintmba.com/registration-2023Matt is currently in his second year at Stanford GSB. He grew up in Sandy, UT and after serving in the France Lyon Mission received his Bachelor's in Business Strategy at BYU. Prior to graduate school, he spent five years at Visa--first in a leadership rotational program where he worked across product, marketing, and sales, and then he spent his two most years on Visa's product team focused on social impact fintech.Matt is now a social entrepreneur whose passion is addressing how expensive it is to be poor in the U.S. to help blue-collar families like his own. 

Scott Sorensen is an MBA Candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to the GSB, he led the finance, data, and technology endeavors of Twin Bridges Hospitality, a hospitality-focused asset management firm with $1.2B AUM. He was the first employee who helped expand the portfolio from one hotel with 31 rooms to fourteen hotels with more than 2,000 rooms. Within this role, Scott wore many different hats to drive business initiatives forward, including business intelligence system implementations, operational due diligence, cost structure evaluation, website development, and property renovation oversight.Prior to joining Twin Bridges, Scott worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in their Capital Markets Accounting Advisory Services (CMAAS) practice in the Dallas and Washington, D.C. offices. While there, he worked with many Fortune 500 Clients to identify, strategize, and implement technical accounting solutions. Scott received his B.S. in Accounting from the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University. He is originally from Salt Lake City and enjoys swimming, surfing, and playing pickleball in his spare time.Kassidy is a first year MBA candidate at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Prior to the GSB, Kassidy was a product manager at Capital One where she led product strategy for the Capital One credit card application. She hopes to continue on the path of leveraging technology to provide more inclusive financial resources.She grew up in Las Vegas, NV, but was most recently living in Dana Point, CA. She graduated with a degree in Finance from Brigham Young University. She loves pickleball, volleyball, yoga, and sushi – she served a mission in the Japan Fukuoka Mission. 

Dr. Astrid S. Tuminez (pronounced too-MEE-nez) was appointed the seventh president of UtahValley University in 2018. Born in a farming village in the Philippine province of Iloilo, shemoved with her parents and siblings to the slums of Iloilo City when she was 2 years old, herparents seeking better educational opportunities for their children.Her pursuit of education eventually took her to the United States, where she graduated summacum laude with a bachelor's degree in international relations and Russian literature fromBrigham Young University (1986). She later earned a master's degree from Harvard University inSoviet Studies (1988) and a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in politicalscience (1996).Before UVU, President Tuminez was an executive at Microsoft, where she led corporate,external, and legal affairs in Southeast Asia. She also served as vice dean of research at the LeeKuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore. She has worked inphilanthropy and venture capital in New York City and is a permanent member of the Councilon Foreign Relations. She is the author of Russian Nationalism Since 1856: Ideology and theMaking of Foreign Policy and many other publications. She and her husband, Jeffrey S. Tolk,have three children. In her spare time, she enjoys running, dancing, and traveling.

John is the 4th of 13 children born to an engineer father and a farmer mother. He grew up as a fairly free-range child in Rose Park, a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. After serving his mission in Bangkok, Thailand, John knew he wanted to pursue entrepreneurship and somehow impact the world for good through scalable, impact-based businesses. As an entrepreneur, turned consultant, turned serial entrepreneur, John has been involved in numerous start-ups and high growth businesses; including companies in the E-commerce, and B2C and B2B services and retail spaces. John is obsessed with the possibilities of scalable businesses with a purpose. He loves the challenge and excitement of his current role as President of Redlist, LLC a B2B SaaS company in the heavy-equipment related industries’ space--where his teams provide maintenance, safety and operational software solutions to medium and large enterprise customers that are involved in building fundamental building blocks of civilization.--Customers like Georgia Pacific, ExxonMobil, Kinross, Dart, etc. John currently lives a wannabe farmer’s life in Wallsburg Utah, with his wife and their seven children.

Elder Robert C. Gay is an emeritus General Authority Seventy of the Church ofJesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a General Authority he helped develop and implement theChurch’s global self-reliance initiative and served as the Chairman of Self-Reliance Services andthe Perpetual Education Fund Committee. He also served as a member of the Presideny of theSeventy, as the President of the Asia North Area and as a member of the worldwide MissionaryExecutive Council and the Board of Trustees for The Church Education System. Additionally, hehas served as a full-time missionary in Spain and as mission president for the countries ofGhana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.Professionally, Elder Gay has dedicated most of his service to private equity management. He iscurrently Chairman of Kensington Capital Holdings which has investments throughout Asia,Europe, and the United States. He is the co-founder and past CEO of Huntsman Gay GlobalCapital, past CEO of Bain Capital Europe and Chairman of the Management Committee for BainCapital Worldwide. Previously Elder Gay also worked in investment banking and as aninternational management consultant for McKinsey & Company in the United States and theUK.Elder Gay along with his wife, Lynette, have co-founded and served as a director on multipleglobal humanitarian organizations which have focused on building schools, medical clinics,microenterprises, clean water boreholes, latrines, and rescuing at risk persons including thosetrapped in modern slavery and illiteracy. Lynette directs their NGO, Engage Now Africa, and theEnsign Global College in Ghana which they founded. Together they endowed the Ballard Centerfor Social Impact at Brigham Young University and recently announced a new global partnershipand Center for Business, Health and Prosperity between the University of Utah and their EnsignGlobal College.Elder Gay earned a PhD in business economics from Harvard University where he also taughteconomics and international finance. He is the recipient of the Utahan of the Year Award, theUnited States Presidential Service Award and the Martin Luther King Center Special RecognitionService Award for Non-Violent Social Change.Robert Christopher Gay was born in Los Angeles, California, on September 1, 1951. He marriedLynette Nielsen in April 1974. They are the parents of seven children and twenty-twograndchildren.

Jacob Jones’ journey to a business management career was unexpected (at least to him) and involved leaps of faith, major disappointments, and several miracles.  Jacob is now mid-career, middle management, having recently joined Eastman Chemical as the Corporate Director of Product and Pricing.  His previous decade was spent at 3M in a variety of strategy and business roles.  Originally a Chemical Engineer, Jacob holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. from Brigham Young University where he co-founded what is now the Global Engineering Outreach program. He served as a full-time missionary in the Australia Sydney South mission. Jacob and his wife Summer recently moved from Minnesota to Eastern Tennessee, where they are attempting to conscript their four children into a family bluegrass band. 

Richard Flores is a current MBA student at Harvard Business School, expected to graduate in 2023. He hails from American Fork, UT and attended BYU for his undergraduate education in economics and business strategy. Richard began his career consulting with Bain & Company in Dallas, TX before transitioning to a product strategy role at Capital One in McLean, VA. He served his mission in London, England where he gained a love for all things fashion (and a stronger testimony of the Gospel too). He is married to Kelsey, who is currently a clinical instructor at Harvard Law School. Richard and Kelsey have two sons, Baer (3) and Jack (1). Richard enjoys basketball, European soccer, and Star Wars, and has recently started giving fashion consultations for his friends and classmates.

David W. Checketts is one of the most seasoned and well-known sports, media and entertainment executives in theindustry with a career that has spanned over four decades. Over that time, Mr. Checketts has been responsible for thesuccess of some of the most iconic brands in their respective industries.Mr. Checketts is the Managing Partner of Checketts Partners Investment Management, a private equity firm foundedin 2011 focused on sports, media and entertainment with investments in premium hospitality, ticketing, ArtificialIntelligence / data analytics and broadcast technology services. The firm has also advised investors and owners inprofessional sports leagues around the world.From July 2018 to June 2021, Mr. Checketts served as the President of the England – London Mission of the Churchof Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, overseeing the Mission’s diverse and impactful operations in the midst of theglobal pandemic.Since 2016, he has served as Non-Executive Director of Gravity Media, the leading global provider of complex livebroadcast facilities and production services to content owners, creators and distributors, where Checketts Partners isan investor.Mr. Checketts was Chairman and CEO of Legends Hospitality Management, the premier provider of hospitality,merchandising and premium ticketing services, founded by the New York Yankees and Dallas Cowboys. CheckettsPartners held an equity stake in the company until October 2015. As Chairman and CEO from December 2011 toOctober 2015, Checketts guided the company through a substantial period of expansion and growth in marketshare, establishing it as one of the industry’s standard-bearers. Under Checketts leadership Legends made a majorexpansion both domestically and internationally. Added to the core Yankee and AT&T (Cowboys) Stadiums, areiconic venues such as LA Angel Stadium, Levi’s (49ers) Stadium, and Manchester City Football’s Club EtihadStadium. Notably, under Mr. Checketts’ guidance, the company was awarded, designed, built and nowoperates the heralded One World Observatory at the top of One World Trade Center. The Observatory opened inMay 2015 and is a must-visit for New Yorkers and tourists alike.Previously, Mr. Checketts founded SCP Worldwide in 2006. Under his direction and leadership, SCP has owned andoperated an impressive stable of assets including: the St. Louis Blues, Scottrade Center, Peabody Opera House, the2009 Major League Soccer (MLS) Champions Real Salt Lake, Rio Tinto Stadium and ESPN 700 Sports talk radio aswell as other investments in live entertainment and TV production. The Blues went from worst to first under hisleadership and the expansion club Real Salt Lake became the model franchise for MLS teams.Mr. Checketts established his sports media company after a successful ten-year career at Madison Square Garden(MSG).  As President and Chief Executive Officer from 1994 - 2001, Mr. Checketts oversaw all operations of “TheWorld’s Most Famous Arena” and its three sports franchises, the New York Knickerbockers of the NBA, the NewYork Rangers of the NHL, and the New York Liberty of the WNBA – along with the award winning MSG Networkand FOX Sports Network.  Mr. Checketts was also responsible for the acquisition and restoration of New York’shistoric Radio City Music Hall.  Under his leadership, MSG was named Arena of the Year for six straight years, andestablished the MSG “Cheering for Children” foundation, which created after school programs for thousands of NewYork City school children.Mr. Checketts began his career at Madison Square Garden as President of the New York Knicks in March 1991.  Inthe four seasons he served as President, the team finished twice in first place, made it to the Eastern ConferenceFinals twice and captured the Eastern Conference Champion Title in 1994.  During this time, the team set records inattendance, ratings and revenues including setting the all-time sellout streak of 460 games at The Garden.  During histenure Forbes named the Knicks the most valuable franchise in the NBA.Prior to joining the Knicks, Mr. Checketts spent one year as General Manager of NBA International, working withNBA Commissioner David Stern on building a presence for the league in broadcasting and licensing around theworld.In 1983, Mr. Checketts was named President and General Manager of the Utah Jazz.  At 28 years old, he became theyoungest chief executive in the history of the NBA.   During his six-year tenure, the team captured two MidwestDivision titles and enjoyed a multi-million dollar economic turnaround.Mr. Checketts did his undergraduate studies at the University of Utah and earned his MBA from Brigham YoungUniversity in 1981, where he graduated with top honors. Upon completion of his studies, he joined the Boston-basedconsulting firm, Bain & Company.He previously served as a Director of JetBlue Airways, IMG Worldwide (serving as Chairman of the AuditCommittee), Citadel Communications (serving as Chairman of the Audit Committee), Cablecom (Switzerland) andRepublic Mortgage Home Loans.He resides in Connecticut with his wife Deb. They have six children and eighteen grandchildren.

Kevin Rollins served as CEO of Dell, Inc from 2004-2007. He was responsible for worldwide sales, marketing, and service and for overseeing Dell's Worldwide Home and Small Business Group, European operations, and the Personal Systems Group. Prior to being elected to his current position in December 1997, Mr. Rollins served as president, Dell Americas. In this position, he was responsible for the company's operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Latin America.Formerly a partner and director at Bain & Co., Mr. Rollins specialized in strategies and management for high technology and consumer product clients. While with Bain, he helped develop strategies that propelled Dell into a leadership position in the direct selling of computer systems in the United States. Mr. Rollins earned his master's of business administration and bachelor's degrees from Brigham Young University.Kevin served as bishop ('92-'95) and stake president of the Boston Massachusetts stake from 2012 to 2020. He and his wife Debra have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.

Mr. McConkie is a Managing Partner and Co-Founder of Tunbridge Peak, LLC a subsidiary company of Peak Capital Partners. Matt began his career in investment banking at Goldman Sachs in New York. Matt went on to become the Vice President of Capital Markets at Crosland, a diversified real estate development company in Charlotte NC.  His current company, Tunbridge Peak, is a real estate private equity company that invests in self-storage, retail, and senior housing facilities.   Matt is married to Shelley McConkie, and together they have seven children and live in Holladay, Utah.Education: M.B.A., The Wharton School of Business, University of Pennsylvania; M.A, International Studies, University of Pennsylvania, B.A., English, Brigham Young University

Bruce Larson is currently a partner and the global head of Human Resources at The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager. He joined Carlyle in 2019 after 32 at Goldman Sachs. At Goldman Bruce was an M&A banker, global head of HR, and filled several other managerial roles.  At Goldman Bruce was based in New York, Tokyo, and Hong Kong. He left Goldman as a partner. Bruce graduated with a BA from the University of Utah with a degree in Finance and Japanese. Following his undergraduate degree, Bruce received his MBA from the University of Chicago.  Bruce and his wife Gayle have been married for 38 years and have five children and six grandchildren.  

Emily Snyder loves collecting experiences and loves inviting people to take their thinking one step deeper than usual.With a teacher-heart, she graduated from BYU with a degree in Elementary Education. From there Emily has had a variety of professional “chapters” in her life: she has taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade; worked for the general Relief Society presidency; helped run Professor Clayton Christensen’s world at the Harvard Business School; was the Chief of Staff at Magnolia (Chip and Joanna Gaines’ company in Waco, TX); and was president at Establish Design. Currently, Emily is consulting with various organizations, and is a Senior Product Manager at Church Headquarters. Emily received her Master of Business Administration at Columbia Business School in Manhattan. She gets to teach Gospel Doctrine in her ward, served a full-time mission in the St. Petersburg, Russia mission, and is working on her annual round of birthday goals. 

Professional experience:Senior Advisor - Peterson PartnersSenior Advisor - McKinsey & CompanySenior Lecturer - Harvard Business SchoolHead of Human Resources - CitigroupSr. Vice President, Human Resources - Dell, Inc.Education:Ph.D. Organizational Studies - Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMaster of Organizational Behavior - Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young UniversityBachelor of Arts, History - Brigham Young University

Randy Shumway founded Cicero Group (www.cicerogroup.com) in 2001. It began humbly, with fourpeople working out of Randy’s house. Today, Cicero has grown to a highly respected, global managementconsulting firm, rated one of the globe’s top 50 overall consulting firms, and one of the five bestconsulting firms in the world to work for, with offices located across the United States.In 2016, Randy was awarded Utah’s CEO of the Year and in 2017, Randy was recognized with Utah’sLifetime Accomplishment award.Randy’s vision in founding the company was for Cicero to reside at the crossroads of data, strategy, andtransformation, with Cicero helping organizations – both traditional for-profit operations as well as non-profit and educational institutions – make and implement better, evidence-based decisions.During his 21 years at Cicero, Randy has led multiple strategy, transformation and operational excellenceengagements for Fortune 1000 clients as well as non-profits and government entities. His experiencespans such sectors as High Tech, Telecommunications, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Financial Services,Non-Profit, Government, and Education.Prior to starting Cicero, Randy was an Executive Vice President and Managing Director at Answerthink(Nasdaq: ANSR), a 2,500-person global consulting firm. Before completing graduate school, Randyworked for Bain & Company and Dow Chemical.From 2010 - 2019, Randy served as Economic Advisor to Zions Bank and as an Adjunct Professor ofStrategy at the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business.Today, Randy serves on the University of Utah Board of Trustees and on the State of Utah HomelessBoard. He serves on two corporate boards, a publicly traded software company and a privately heldhospitality company, and multiple state and community volunteer, service-oriented boards. He is aprolific author in the Deseret News and in Forbes regarding effective education and economic publicpolicy.Randy obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School, graduating with highest academic honors(Baker Scholar). He earned bachelor’s degrees in Business Management and in Political Science fromBrigham Young University. He speaks Mandarin Chinese, having lived in Taiwan for two years as avolunteer Christian missionary.Randy is married to Maureen Shumway and is the father of five. Maureen has a Bachelor of Science inNursing and a Master of Science in Early Childhood Development. She is a pediatric nurse at PrimaryChildren’s Hospital and is currently completing her Doctor of Nurse Practitioner, Pediatrics at theUniversity of Utah. The Shumways live in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Liz Wiseman is a researcher and executive advisor who teaches leadership to executives around the world. She is the author of New York Times bestseller Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter, The Multiplier Effect: Tapping the Genius Inside Our Schools, Wall Street JournalbestsellerRookie Smarts: Why Learning Beats Knowing in the New Game of Work, and Wall Street Journal bestseller Impact Players: How to Take the Lead, Play Bigger, and Multiply Your Impact.  She is the CEO of the Wiseman Group, a leadership research and development firm headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. Some of her recent clients include: Apple, AT&T, Disney, Facebook, Google, Microsoft, Nike, Salesforce, Tesla, and Twitter. Liz has been listed on the Thinkers50 ranking, and in 2019 was recognized as a top leadership thinker in the world.She has conducted significant research in the field of leadership and collective intelligence and writes for Harvard Business Review, Fortune, and a variety of other business and leadership journals. She is a frequent guest lecturer at BYU and StanfordUniversity and is a former executive at Oracle Corporation, where she worked as the Vice President of Oracle University and as the global leader for Human Resource Development.

Cromwell Wong currently serves as an executive and a board member at IsoTruss®.  Prior to IsoTruss®, he was a part of the team that managed Saudi Aramco's (TADAWUL: 2222) then $140 billion debt portfolio.  Cromwell also assisted in the IPO listing of the company in the local stock exchange.  Before Saudi Aramco, Cromwell worked as a VP for QRI Group, an upstream Oil & Gas consulting and investment firm in Texas.  He started his career working on Wall Street with JPMorgan and Ernst & Young in NYC.  Cromwell, who invests in start-ups, private and publicly companies, and real estate, is a member of the Academy for Creating Enterprise’s Ambassador Council, received his MBA from Brigham Young University - Provo and undergraduate degree from BYU - Hawaii.  Cromwell who loves traveling the world with his family, scuba diving, and playing guitar, is fluent in English, Tagalog, and Bikol, and proficient in Hokkien and Mandarin Chinese 

Scott Porter, San Diablo Artisan Churros founder, has delivered deep-fried happiness to over 3,000 celebrations since 2016, winning back-to-back Best of State for pastries in Utah. Scott is a seasoned entrepreneur and leader having been the executive director of two nursing homes and a home health agency, co-founder of the first all-you-can-fly membership airline Surf Air, co-founder of the game of Reverse Charades, co-founder of the international non-profit organization Singular Humanitarian and management consultant with Gartner, InsideOut Development and General Assembly. His “Search for the Perfect Taco” leadership training teaches how to unlock the power of breakthrough culture and brand experience to thrive. He holds a B.A. in public relations and an M.B.A. in international business, marketing and entrepreneurship from Brigham Young University, and an M.A. in Spanish from California State University-Sacramento. 

Evan McMullin is a proud Utahn, former undercover CIA officer and chief policy director in Congress, who ran for president in 2016 as an independent.Evan grew up in a family like many in America, one that struggled to put food on the table and heat their home in the winter. At an early age, Evan learned the value of hard work and to always honor family and country.Inspired by books and movies at age 15, Evan contacted the CIA and asked to join. He was told to call back when he was older. After graduating from high school and serving a two-year mission to Brazil for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Agency recruited Evan into its student trainee program while he was attending Brigham Young University. He alternated semesters between training at CIA headquarters in Langley, VA and school until he graduated.During those years, Evan spent time in Israel and Jordan studying Arabic and working for a refugee resettlement program. From a young age, Evan learned of similar histories in his own family. His mother’s grandparents had left Poland around the time of World War II seeking greater opportunity in America and, nearly one hundred years earlier, Evan’s paternal ancestors were driven into the Great Plains and the mountains of Utah by religious persecution.After completing his CIA service, earning an MBA at Wharton, and working in the private sector, Evan was called back to service, advising Republicans and Democrats in Congress on national security and other issues from 2013-2016. In 2017, Evan co-founded Stand Up Republic, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization which led efforts across the country to unite Republicans and Democrats against extremist movements and politicians in defense of American democracy.Evan believes America has reached a crossroads between chaotic decline and continued progress towards a more perfect union. Political extremes don’t represent the majority of Utahns, or Americans more broadly, yet they’ve polarized the nation and now prevent it from overcoming major challenges. From droughts to forest fires, water shortages, the rising cost of health care, and a never-ending pandemic, America requires leaders who unite instead of divide, finding solutions based on truth and common ground.With an eye towards service, honor and civility, coupled with a deep love of country and conviction about what America must be, Evan McMullin is poised and ready to continue his service as Utah’s next United States Senator.

Ben joined Humana in 2020 where he leads the corporate strategy team.Ben came to Humana from CVS Health / Aetna, where he was Vice President and General Manager overthe analytics product portfolio and the Attain by Aetna business, a joint venture created withApple. Prior to Aetna, Ben worked at Walmart, where he co-founded and successfully launched a start-up business, Walmart Care Clinic, as well as joint ventures with McKesson and Quest Diagnostics. Beforejoining Walmart, Ben led the healthcare practice at the Clayton Christensen Institute for DisruptiveInnovation. Prior to business school Ben worked in med-tech at Covidien and atPricewaterhouseCoopers advising on M&A transactions.Ben is also an active advisor and / or board member for three early stage health technology companies.Ben earned a bachelor’s degree in Management from Brigham Young University and an MBA fromHarvard Business School. Ben and his wife Kelcy have four young children and love to travel and spendtime in the outdoors together as a family.