New MBA Advisory Council Will Offer Strategic Thinking, Advice to MBA Program

Old Dominion University's College of Business and Public Administration has worked hard to form strong links with expertise in the private sector, locally and regionally, leading to many collaborative partnerships with ODU faculty and student groups.

Larry "Chip" Filer, director of the MBA program of the CBPA, hopes to build on those links with the creation of an MBA Advisory Council.

The council will hold its inaugural meeting May 4 on campus, in advance of the CBPA's annual MBA Dinner. Filer said the council will meet twice a year. Its task for the first year will be to develop a strategic plan for the MBA program, looking forward 10 years, focused on curriculum, enrollment and marketability.

"It's so important to reach out and form links with these local experts, many of whom are Old Dominion University graduates," Filer said. "The real-world expertise that this Advisory Council will provide will be invaluable to the program."

The members of the inaugural MBA Advisory Committee are:

• Angelo Celesia, '76 MBA, CEO of Professional Answering Service;
• Anthony Orlando, '91 BSBA & '98 MBA, Senior Vice President and General Manager (Eastern Region), CA Technologies;
• Bruce Bradley, '78 MBA, a retired Landmark Communications executive and community volunteer;
• Chris Pantoya, '93 BA & '95 MBA, Verizon;
• Larry Kittelberger, '75 MBA, retired Honeywell Corp. executive and community volunteer;
• Ray Lorenzo, '91 MBA, President and owner, Stingray Tackle Company;
• Kim Little, '90 BSBA & '92 MBA, Regional President, Chartway Federal Credit Union; and
• Chas Wright, '03 MBA, Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Finance, Monarch Bank

Filer, also an associate professor of economics in the CBPA, and Bruce Rubin, associate professor of finance and director of the Economics Club of Hampton Roads, will also serve on the advisory board.