Advisors
David Diamond, David Diamond Associates David is the President of David Diamond Associates in New York, NY. David Diamond Associates is a strategic marketing consulting firm with clients in the packaged goods, retail and marketing services industries. He previously worked in emerging media and promotion as President of Emerging Businesses at Catalina Marketing, as CEO of Lamaze Publishing and as SVP of ActMedia. Prior to joining ActMedia, he worked in packaged goods marketing at Procter and Gamble and Oral Research Laboratories. David combines a deep knowledge of package goods and marketing services with a keen understanding of today’s evolving retail marketplace.
Michael J. Krahe, Ph.D. Advises M-Dot Network in the development of its strategic and operational execution as well as the implementation of human resources capabilities as the company grows. Mike brings over 25 years of extensive experience in management, leadership, human resources, strategy implementation, and innovation. Recently retired, Mike spent the last 22 years working for ERIE Insurance Group, a Fortune 400 company. He served in numerous roles at ERIE including oversight of all Human Resources functions as Senior Vice President and then as the Executive Vice President of Human Development & Leadership. In that capacity, Mike was one of the top six company executives, overseeing Strategy and Human Resources. He currently acts as a consultant to businesses and is affiliated with Cooney Solutions Group, and J.L. Nick and Associates. Mike holds an MS in Counseling from Gannon University and a Ph.D. in Organizational Administration from SUNY Buffalo.
Robert McFarland, Retail/Consumer Products Technology Executive As a technology industry executive, Bob has over 25 years of experience in taking products to market and executing successful sales campaigns in multiple capacities. He has spent the last 15 years working with major retail and consumer products companies helping them identify, invest, and implement transformational technologies such as ERP, CRM, supply chain management, and RFID. He has served multiple leading technology providers in senior sales leadership roles, and has extensive industry contacts in retail and consumer products organizations.
Jeffrey D. Stempora, Strategic Consultant During his recent tenure at Erie Insurance Group, Jeff directed 620 team members establishing enterprise business and technology strategies to maintain operational effectiveness and ensure successful planning and execution of initiatives. Jeff served as Chief Administrative Officer and Global Head of Strategy and Strategic Initiatives for Citigroup. He served as Chairman of the Executive Risk and Security Committee for the Financial Services Roundtable, BITS in Washington D.C. As a key leader within the recovery of the financial services markets after 9/11, he communicated extensively with CEOs of the 100 largest financial institutions to achieve roundtable goals. He was also selected by the Department of Homeland Security to participate on a special taskforce developing controls and policies for the U.S. financial services critical infrastructure. Previously, Jeff was selected to turnaround State Farm Mutual Insurance Companies as Business & Technology Strategy Officer, Enterprise Operational Risk Officer and Privacy Officer. He holds numerous educational credentials including Doctor of Management, University of Phoenix; Executive MBA, University of Virginia, Darden School of Business; MBA, Illinois State University; and Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering Technology, DeVry University. He is also a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Project Management Professional (PMP).
Joe Zegarelli, Owner/Operator, Giant Eagle in Yorktown Centre; Erie, PA Joe is a 35 year plus veteran of the Giant Eagle Corporation, starting with the company in 1973. He was hired at age 15 to begin a new concept, “Bag Boys,” to assist customers with groceries. Joe worked hard and learned the business by advancing to various departments and succeeding at many positions throughout the store. He started managing departments and shifts and later was promoted to store manager. He became the youngest store manager in the history of the company. On March 1, 1992, Joe became the youngest person to own a Giant Eagle franchise store. He has built a successful business from the ground up owning and operating the Giant Eagle at Yorktown Centre for the past 17 years.