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Mentor Profiles

We are often asked about the caliber of our mentors in our growing database of 80+ Ardent Mentors. We vet each of our mentors to ensure they have been highly successful in their expertise, mature in their faith, and have had experience mentoring. Below is a snapshot of 20 of our current mentors. If you have additional questions about the quality of our mentors, please let us know.

1

Sector:

Owning and operating multi-million dollar nursing homes

Career Highlights:

  • 7 businesses, 550 employees, across 4 states

  • 10 years of fundraising experience raising 10 million+ for NGOs in Africa, Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, and Estonia.

2

Sector:

Fast-moving consumer goods with 22 years of experience

Career Highlights:

  • Market leader in Japan and Singapore

  • Culture shift for a 170-year-old company in the Philippines,

  • Managed 400 person team

  • Managing multiple geographies (Asia, Africa, Central, and Eastern Europe)

3

Sector:

Construction / Civil engineering

Career Highlights:

  • $50-70M in revenue w/ 200-300 employees

  • Work covered civil construction roads, bridges, mining, earth moving, utilities and precast.

4

Sector:

Multi-media sales presentation design & production company

Career Highlights:

  • Clients such as Apple, IBM, & AT&T

  • Nationally recognized speaker, author, and researcher in the financial industry focusing on helping financial professionals attract more clients, close more sales, and deepen client relationships.

  • Author of two books on becoming great at sales

  • Successfully founded and sold three companies

5

Sector:

Consumer Product Goods Industry (CPG)

Career Highlights:

  • Key player of growth in 4 iconic Fortune 500 companies

  • 2x received the “Breakthrough Innovation Award” from Nielsen which recognizes the top 1% among 3,000 new products launched in the CPG industry.

  • Among other achievements, most outstanding was the strategic initiative that delivered annual compounded double-digit growth of the Arm & Hammer Pet Care business to $400 million from just $30 million.

  • Was part of creating the Global New Products Division which generated organic growth of 2X their competitors. This contributed to the Company’s 20% CAGR over the past 10 years and a top 20% performer within its peer-set with such companies as P&G, Clorox, Reckitt, Colgate-Palmolive and others.

6

Sector:

Television cable companies

Career Highlights:

  • Started his first cable television company at the age of 16

  • Received the honor of Cable Television Pioneer

  • Served on the National Cable Television Co-Op board

  • Over thirty years, he started and sold over two dozen telecom companies in seven different states.

7

Sector:

Non-Profits / NGOs / Investment Banking

Career Highlights:

  • Serves on the Presidential Advisory Council of Rwanda's President Paul Kagame, providing guidance on economic development and investment strategies.

  • Sold his company to Auto Zone a $40+ Billion company

  • Served as the Head of Investment Banking at one of the largest privately owned investment banks in the US.

  • National Director at KPMG

  • Chair and CEO of a large distributor of auto parts

  • Founder, Chair, and CEO a non-profit organization that aims to expand Rwanda's global network, encourage foreign investment and develop young African leaders.

8

Sector:

Consumer Goods Product (CGP) / Start-ups

Career Highlights:

  • Holds an MSW degree in International Social Policies

  • Founded an internationally recognized Tea Brand in San Francisco, selling tea, herbal, Ginseng & Tiger Balm pain relieving products (the company grew to $80+ Million in revenue).

  • Established company branch offices in Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, and Tianjin, China.

  • Opened a Children's Home was opened in Tianjin, China that was funded by the tea company.

9

Sector:

Consumer Staples / Beverages

Career Highlights:

  • 25 years of C-Suite executive experience in one of the Fortune 500 companies.

  • Has worked across 5 African countries and 3 North American and European countries managing more than 36 Sub-Saharan markets.

  • Expert in guiding new market entries, market expansion, and transformation in the African market.

  • Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, where he acted as the Mergers & Acquisitions Director and developed the market share expansion strategy.

  • A partner and advisor to the founders of Africa's largest venture development company with a mission to build 100+ thriving African ventures and drive economic prosperity.

10

Sector:

Non-Profits

Career Highlights:

  • Honored as one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Charlotte in 2016 and received the Mosaic Award for non-profit service

  • Founder of a large non-profit organization and an annual justice conference.

  • Interim Chief Advancement Officer at a non-profit and the director of her family foundation

  • Active board member of five large non-profit organizations.

11

Sector:

Energy

Career Highlights:

  • 10 years as President at Fortune 150 energy company

  • Owner and operator of wellness franchise

  • 9 years in executive roles at Fortune 500 companies

  • The Chair of a large nation wide executive coaching group

  • Co-founder of a private equity firm

  • Experience managing businesses in Central and South America

  • Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese

12

Sector:

Nonprofit / Social Entrepreneurship

Career Highlights:

  • Professor of a nonprofit management class at Boston College at the business school where we focused on social entrepreneurship.

  • Over 20 years of experience in social entrepreneurial organizations

  • Held C-level positions for over 10 years

13

Sector:

Commercial woodworking

Career Highlights:

  • His Company grew to a nationwide, 54,000 square foot facility, $12 million a year operation with 80 employees, many of whom were former felons, recovering drug addicts, war veterans, and other broken people.

  • Received the SBA Small Business Person of the Year award for Missouri in 2017.

  • Received a Lifetime Achievement Award and was named in The Saint Louis Small Business Hall of Fame in 2018.

  • Featured in Forbes Magazine Small Giants: 25 small businesses who place people ahead of profits in 2020.

14

Sector:

Nonprofits / NGOs

Career Highlights:

  • Former President Emeritus of one of the largest Christian NGOs for 20 years

  • Had a corporate career that included CEO roles at 2 Fortune 500 companies.

  • Has appeared in various media outlets such as Christianity Today, FOX News, CNN, NPR, Charisma News, and Relevant magazine.

  • Received several honors for his humanitarian service, including five honorary doctoral degrees and induction into the Society of World Changers at Indiana Wesleyan University.

  • He is the author of several books, including 3 best-sellers

15

Sector:

Sales & Marketing

Career Highlights:

  • Managed sales teams in the US, Canada, Europe, Latin America, China, and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

  • Has experience in building and managing sales teams selling various solutions, including software, information and data services, and consulting services, across multiple vertical industries.

  • The MENA General Manager for a large Oil/Gas company’s Landmark Software and Services product line, located in Dubai, where he grew the business to $100 million in annual revenue.

  • Held various sales management roles at a large financial intelligence company, including VP Global Accounts, and built the program to include 14 accounts in the Americas, generating over $150 million per year.

16

Sector:

Investment & Education

Career Highlights:

  • Led the turnaround and restructuring of a large US-based airline as CFO, playing a critical role in multiple public and private financings, and led the strategic alternatives that led to the company's sale.

  • Founded a Hedge Fund managing approximately $1.3 billion in assets, was responsible for private equity, leading a team of five investment professionals, and developing expertise in board oversight.

  • President and CEO of a University, restructuring the leadership team, overseeing cost rationalization and a culture change based on communication transparency, accountability, and respect.

  • CEO of a leading manufacturer of alternative wood products, revamping the strategic positioning of the company and leading an ELT of 6 and approximately 425 employees.

  • Set the response to all Covid-19 impacts and the rationalization of the business in March 2020, returning to pre-pandemic levels of revenue with a more efficient company-wide cost structure.

17

Sector:

Technology Industry

Career Highlights:

  • Over 30 years of experience in the technology industry, working for Fortune 500 companies as well as startups

  • Seasoned General Manager, having run a range of businesses from a startup to a
    $6B business

  • Managed teams as small as 5 and as large as 3000+ people during career

18

Sector:

Ministry / Non-profits / NGOs

Career Highlights:

  • Served as the managing director of a Large Non-Profit that focused on executive coaching.

  • Prior to that, he worked for 22 years with a non-denominational Christian ministry targeting disinterested youth around the world.

  • CEO and Co-Founder of a Midsize non-profit organization that works with social entrepreneurs in the Education sector in 11 countries.

19

Sector:

Franchising industry

Career Highlights:

  • A prominent figure in the franchising industry who holds various positions in different franchise brands.

  • Currently an Operating Partner, Board Member, Partner, and franchisee of two of the largest multi-unit groups of well-known spas.

  • Serves as Equity Partner and Board member of a large cleaning franchise with over 155 units.

  • Has held various positions in other large franchisors and multi-unit franchisee groups in the past

  • Established a boutique private equity firm that has partnered and invested in over 90 transactions, with over $450 million in realized or unrealized gains for private equity investors.

20

Sector:

Investment banking

Career Highlights:

  • Spent the last 20 years running the leveraged finance business at 3 Fortune 500 banks.

  • The leveraged finance business generated an average of $500 million in pre-tax profit

  • Managed roughly 75 people and was on the investment committee

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