Business Honors Program

Dan Anderson

Dan Anderson
Regional Manager
Santa Barbara Bank & Trust

Daniel Anderson serves as the Regional Manager for the Private Wealth Management Division of Santa Barbara Bank & Trust.  In this capacity, he is responsible for developing portfolio allocation and financial planning strategies, retirement and estate planning, and trust and custody services for individuals and businesses.

Mr. Anderson brings over twenty years of professional experience in financial sales, investment management and investment product design.  Prior to joining City National, he served as Senior Vice President at Bank of America where he was the West Coast Regional Sales Manager, responsible for their Private Bank Tier 3 Division.  Past experiences include positions with Citibank, Merrill Lynch and Wells Fargo Bank.

Mr. Anderson holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of California at Irvine, an advanced degree from the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, and a bachelors degree from California State University at Northridge.  He is an NASD Series 7 licensed representative, and has earned both the Certified Trust & Financial Advisor designation, and his Personal Financial Planning designation.

Richard Bertain

Richard Bertain
Senior Vice President
Morgan Stanley

Richard V. Bertain Jr. has been successfully providing sound financial advice since 1983. Richard is an award-winning Senior Vice President, Certified Investment Management Analyst and Certified Financial Planner for Morgan Stanley in Burbank, California. For his exceptional abilities in handling investments, the firm recognized him with membership in its Directors Club in 1990, 1996 and 1997, its Presidents Club in 1998-2004, and its Chairman’s Club in 2005-2007. He has also received numerous Outstanding Achievement Awards during his tenure. Morgan Stanley also nominated Richard V. Bertain Jr. to its exclusive Wealth Advisor program.

Bertain, who has been with Morgan Stanley since 1988, is a native of Burbank, California. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Finance from California State University, Northridge. Bertain resides in Burbank with his wife Kellie and children Jessica, Jonathan, Jordan and Jackson. He is a member of the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Burbank Civitan Club, Boy Scouts of America, Verdugo Hills Council and a lifetime member of the National Eagle Scout Association.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is a leading global financial services firm providing a wide range of investment banking, securities, investment management and wealth management services.  The firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals from more than 600 offices in 33 countries.

Michael Bessolo
Senior Vice President
Worldwide Marketing
20th Century Fox

For over 21 years, Mike worked for The Walt Disney Company.  His entertainment marketing experience spanned multiple divisions including the Disney Educational Media Company, the Disney Channel, Disney Home Video, and Walt Disney Records.  Most recently he served as the Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing for Walt Disney Records.   In this position Mike designed and implemented marketing plans for the children’s audio products and soundtracks to all Disney animated and live action films from The Little Mermaid to Monsters Inc.  He has also handled the marketing of audio products related to Disney theatrical shows, television, theme parks, Radio Disney and catalog artist compilations (i.e., Michael Crawford Sings Disney). 

As of January 2002, Mike moved from Disney to Twentieth Century Fox Television Distribution as their Senior Vice President for Worldwide Marketing.  This division of Fox Filmed Entertainment sells and markets Fox television programming (everything from MASH and Lost in Space to today’s Boston Legal, 24, Simpsons, etc.) as well as Fox movies (i.e. Moulan Rouge, Ice Age, Titanic, The Day After Tomorrow, etc) to free television, pay television, US networks, PPV, VOD, and Hotels worldwide.

Mike is a graduate of California State University, Northridge.  He received both his Bachelors and Masters degrees in Marketing.  He has also taught in the College of Business and Economics at CSUN from 1985-1994.

George J. Buchler
Managing Director
Shamrock Capital Advisors

George J. Buchler has served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Shamrock Group for twelve years.  Prior to joining Shamrock, he was Chief Financial Officer of Henley Management, Inc., a privately owned investment company and was also with Arthur Andersen and Company.  Buchler is a member of the Board of Directors of Stewart Title of California, Inc.  He is a CPA and a graduate of California State University at Northridge.

Dr. Deborah Cours
Professor of Marketing and
Director of Graduate Programs
CSUN

Dr. Deborah Cours, Professor of Marketing, completed her Ph.D. at UCLA and joined the CSUN faculty in 1994. She teaches general business and marketing courses in the undergraduate and graduate programs and electives in small business consulting and integrated marketing communications. Dr. Cours’s academic research focuses on interpersonal influences on consumer behavior, applied to family and advertising contexts. She also publishes, with her marketing colleagues, on pedagogical use of experiential learning and client-based projects. Additionally, she was the founding director of the Wells Fargo Center for Small Business and Entrepreneurship at CSUN and currently serves as the College’s director of graduate and evening programs.

Dr. James Dow
Professor of Finance
CSUN

Dr. James Dow, Associate Professor of Finance, received a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in Economics from the University of Washington. Professor Dow joined the Finance Department at CSUN in 2002, and currently teaches in the areas of managerial finance and financial institutions. Prior to coming to CSUN, he served as an economist in the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, D.C. Before that, he was on the faculty of the University of California, Riverside. His primary research interests are bank reserve management, implementation of Federal Reserve monetary policy and household portfolio selection. He has published in a number of journals, including the Journal of Monetary Economics, the European Economic Review, and the Journal of Banking and Finance.

Earl Enzer

Earl Enzer
Managing Director,
Private Wealth Management
Goldman Sachs & Co.

Earl began his career at Goldman Sachs in 1986 after receiving his MBA in Finance from Northwestern University (Kellogg Graduate School of Management). He now oversees a team of professionals that address over $10 Billion in investment assets for wealthy individuals, trusts, and foundations. In addition to his twenty-one years of investment advisory responsibilities, Earl was responsible for the business plan and global launch of the Goldman Sachs Wealth Management Website, 1999-2000. Prior to attending Northwestern, Earl was a Research Analyst at Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, an international investment banking firm based in Los Angeles. Earl received his B.S. in Finance (Investment Analysis and Portfolio Management) from California State University, Northridge, where he now serves on the Board of Directors for the University Foundation. Earl also serves on the Board of Trustees for Westmark School, a private, non-profit school specializing in the education and advancement of children with learning differences.

Dr. Judith E. Hennessey
Professor of Marketing
and Associate Dean
CSUN

Judy Hennessey is a Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean of CSUN’s College of Business and Economics and served as Department Chair from 1994 to 2007. She joined the faculty of the College of Business and Economics at CSUN in 1980. Judy has a Bachelors, Masters and Ph.D degree from the University of Louisville. In 1976, after five years of work in actuarial science, Judy focused on her interest in the study of human decision making in managerial, consumer and non-business environments. Judy has published across several disciplines including psychology, economics and primarily in marketing. She has served as the Director of the Small Business Institute, a program at CSUN that has served the business community by providing small businesses with marketing plans and business plans, while teaching CSUN students entrepreneurial skills. She has served as a strategic management, marketing management and consumer behavior consultant to a number of varied industries including orchestras, theaters, theater restoration, paper products, plumbing supply and cosmetics. She has served on the boards of a number of non-profit community organizations including the Valley Youth Orchestra Association, the Northridge Business Improvement District and the Universal City/North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, and North Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Richard Moore, Ph.D.

Dr. Richard Moore
Professor of Management
CSUN

Ph.D., 1981, UCLA. Teaches in the areas of organizational behavior and management theory. He has extensive international experience in training policy and economic development. He is also an active consultant in the pay television industry.

Jerry Petry
Executive Vice President
Administration
NBC Universal Television Group

Jerry Petry is a media veteran with 30 years of experience. His current position is Executive Vice President, Administration, NBC Universal Television Group, West Coast, an appointment made in April, 2006. After four years as a supply officer in the U.S. Navy, Petry joined NBC in 1976 and spent the first 12 years of his career in a variety of finance and business affairs posts at the network and local station KNBC in Los Angeles. In 1988, he joined NBC Productions in a key management position and was instrumental in the group’s extraordinary growth as it began to supply NBC with all of its late night and a significant portion of its prime time and daytime programs. In 1992, Petry was named Senior Vice President, Finance and Business Operations, NBC West Coast. He managed all financial, production, business operations, strategic planning and business development functions for all West Coast businesses. In 1997, Petry was promoted to Executive Vice President, NBC Enterprises where he developed the company’s television distribution business and created the groups responsible for strategic marketing and exploitation of NBC owned content in home video, merchandising, licensing, music and publishing, and also created an international format sales and production business. In 2004, when NBC acquired Vivendi Universal Entertainment, Petry led a due diligence team and, subsequently, the integration of the TV Group for the newly formed NBC Universal. Petry is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation Board of Directors and also serves as a Director of the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. A native of Long Island, N.Y., Petry earned a B.S. in business administration at Villanova University, where he is currently on the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council. He earned an M.S. in finance at California State University, Northridge, where he is also a part-time faculty member.

Carl Raggio
President and CEO
Western Commercial Bank

Mr. Carl Raggio is a 10th generation Californian with over 30 years in the banking industry.  He is regarded as a turnaround specialist with over five banks that he successfully turned around and sold three of those at high multiples.  He has led turnaround teams in National Banks and Savings and Loans.  His banking background includes over 20 years in management, a strong background in credit and origination and has managed loan portfolios from $100 million to over $1 billion. 

In 2006 Mr. Raggio started a bank, as the founding CEO, in Woodland Hills with a specialty in commercial real estate lending and business.  That bank, less than two years old is nearly $100 million in assets and showed a profit in its 7th quarter.

Mr. Raggio is Co-Chair of the Workforce Initiative at the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley and is Chair of the Advisory Board for the School of Business and Economics at California State University at Northridge.

Bruce K. Rosenblum
Executive Vice President
Warner Bros. Media Research

Bruce K. Rosenblum, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Media Research is a 30-year veteran of the industry. Bruce started his career at ASI Market Research in 1977 and then moved to the Research Department at Paramount Pictures in 1980.  In late 1981, Bruce took the job as Research Director at Telepictures Corp.  It was the start of a wild “research ride which has took him through a series of five mergers with Lorimar, Warner Bros., Time Inc, Turner Entertainment and AOL.

In his current role, Bruce is responsible for the administration and operation of the 34-member staff of the Warner Bros. Media Research Department. Interestingly, Bruce reports to Bruce Rosenblum, EVP of Television for Warner Bros.   The Warner Bros. Media Research Department services all key areas of the company including Domestic TV Distribution, National Media Sales, Domestic Cable Sales, Consumer Products and Animation.  Bruce received his Bachelors Degree from California State University, Northridge in 1977 where he now serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the Cinema and TV Arts Department. He has spoken on numerous industry panels at NATPE, BEA and ARF events as well as speaking at classes at CSU Northridge, UCLA, Arizona State University and UNLV.

David Russell, Ph.D.

Dr. David Russell
Professor of Finance
CSUN

Dr. David Russell, Associate Professor of Insurance and Finance, received his Ph.D. in Risk Management and Insurance from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in 1997. He joined CSUN in 2002 after teaching at the Katie Insurance School at Illinois State University. Dr. Russell has two books on insurance and has published in the Journal of Risk Finance, the Journal of Insurance Regulation, the Journal of Accounting and Finance Research and others. His current research interests include transferring insurance risk to the capital markets, insurance company service quality and insurance agent compensation.

Dennis Swanson

Dennis Swanson
Owner and CEO
Lamps Plus

Dennis Swanson, owner and CEO of LAMPS PLUS, founded the specialty lighting chain nearly 30 years ago. Initially in the lighting design and manufacturing business, Dennis conceived the notion of selling “factory direct,” a retail concept virtually unknown in the early 1970s. Since the first store’s opening in March 1976, the family-run LAMPS PLUS has become the nation’s largest specialty lighting retailer, with five million customers each year and more than 45 superstores throughout the western United States.

Always pioneering new channels to sell his products, Dennis spearheaded the development of the company’s e-commerce site, www.LAMPSPLUS.com, which launched in late 1998 and immediately extended the LAMPS PLUS brand nationwide and has become the largest online retailer of lighting. Since then, he has been instrumental in the development of a multi-channel strategy, fully integrating each customer’s experience in stores, online, through catalogs and at kiosks located throughout each of the company’s superstores. 

Dennis was born and raised on a farm in Homer, Nebraska, but his academic interests led him to Rice University, where he dual-majored in economics and architecture. He went on to earn his MBA from UCLA, where he learned the principals of vertical integration—a business model that has proven integral to his company’s success.

Dennis is a former chairman of the American Lighting Association (ALA), a trade organization representing the lighting industry. He has also been the recipient of the lifetime achievement award and is a member of the American Lighting Association’s Hall of Fame.