NACS Executive Leadership Program at Cornell

The NACS Master of Convenience designation acknowledges the hard work and investment NACS members have made in their personal leadership development. It is awarded to convenience retailers who have attended 3 or more of the 5 NACS Executive Education programs. For questions, contact Brandi Mauro, NACS Education Program Manager: bmauro@convenience.org or (703) 518-4223.

General George W. Casey, Jr., enjoyed a 41-year career in the US Army following his graduation from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service in 1970. He is an accomplished soldier and an authority on strategic leadership. As the Army Chief of Staff, he led one of the nation's largest and most complex organizations during one of the most extraordinary periods in our history. He is widely credited with restoring balance to a war-weary Army and leading the transformation to keep it relevant in the 21st Century. Prior to this, from July 2004 to February 2007, he commanded the Multi-National Force – Iraq, a coalition of more than 30 countries where he guided the Iraq mission through its toughest days. Currently, he lectures internationally on leadership to the leaders of national and multinational corporations and at other business schools. He serves on corporate boards and numerous boards of organizations that support our servicemen and women, our veterans, and their families. He also teaches international relations at the Korbel School in Denver. He has published a book, Strategic Reflections, Operation Iraqi Freedom, July 2004-2007 (October 2012), about his experiences in Iraq, and two articles on leadership: "Leading in a VUCA World," Fortune Magazine (March 20, 2014), and "Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous: Leadership Lessons from Iraq," Chapter 1, Changing Mindsets to Transform Security, (December 2013). General Casey holds a master's degree in international relations from University of Denver, and served as a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council of the United States, a foreign policy think-tank. He has broad international experience. Born in Japan, he served in operational assignments in Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East.

Dan is a global retail and consumer packaged goods executive with broad experience across diverse business environments and formats, leading traditional food retail operations and merchandising, as well as product development, consumer and category analytics, sourcing and procurement, global trading, national sales and ecommerce. Dan is an outstanding strategist and general manager, and he has led the successful startup of multiple diverse businesses. Known for and recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on retailers’ proprietary brands, he has shaped clients’ programs across four continents and eight classes of trade. His passion is in helping companies see their unique DNA and positioning and creating actionable marketing and sales strategies essential for their success.

After earning a degree from Cornell University in Agribusiness and Marketing, Dan plunged headlong into retail joining Aldi Foods as a District Manager. In the early 1990’s Wakefern/ShopRite was very concerned about Aldi’s expansion east and Dan jumped at the opportunity to start a business, and moved to West Springfield, MA and opened the first Price Rite Store. Today there are over 70 Price Rite stores that generate over $1 Billion in annual revenue and they are a strategic growth driver for Wakefern.

After spending two years at Arthur Andersen as a retail consultant Dan spent fourteen years at Daymon Worlwide working with manufacturers and retailers across the world. Dan’s career at Daymon progressed rapidly, and In 2011 Dan was appointed to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) as the Chief Supplier Officer (CSO). As the CSO Dan was responsible for Category Management and Analytics, Supplier Relationships, Global Sourcing and Procurement and ran Daymon’s import and export businesses. As a member of the ELT Dan was instrumental in re-inventing Daymon from consulting/brokerage company to a broader retail services company. Dan left Daymon at the end of 2013 and joined Trilliant Food and Nutrition in January of 2014 as the Vice President of Sales for national accounts and ecommerce.

For the last four years Dan has focused on the digital channel selling to ecommerce retailers and running multi-million-dollar businesses for Walmart.com and Jet.com.

And today, Dan is on the Faculty at the SC Johnson College of Business at Cornell University where he teaches both graduates and undergraduates in Food and Consumables Marketing, Supply Chain Strategy, and he is the Director of External Education for the Food Industry Management Program.

Dan has an MBA from the University of Connecticut.

Michael Hostetler is a faculty member of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Mr. Hostetler's main research and teaching interests are in strategy, decision-making, leadership, high performance teams, innovation and change management. He has taught classes in the MBA program, Executive MBA program and the Cornell-Queen's EMBA program, as well as many non-degree executive education programs.

Mr. Hostetler is also the author of on-line courses in strategic thinking, scenario planning, leadership, and team effectiveness for eCornell, Cornell’s distance learning subsidiary. These programs have been used by corporations around the world to enhance their executive development programs, including IBM, CSC, AP Moeller Maersk, the U.S. Navy, Delta Hotels and Resorts, and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police among many others.

Mr. Hostetler also consults with private and non-profit organizations, both domestically and internationally. In particular, he works frequently in the health care, financial services, manufacturing and food industries. Recent clients include the Lehigh Valley Health Network, the Community Health Foundation of Buffalo, New York, the P2 Collaborative of Western New York, Northern Trust, Schwan’s, LG, United Technologies, Driscoll’s, Philip Morris International, Citigroup, Victaulic Co., Anthony Marano Co., Nunasi Corp., Ahold Delhaize, Sun World International, Samsung, LG, Sony, NACS, United Fresh, Vantage Foods, OSRAM, Baldor, NGA, and SG Cowen. Mr. Hostetler has also designed and taught a number of executive development programs and strategy consulting projects globally, including the U. S., Great Britain, Holland, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Brazil, Venezuela, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, China, Sri Lanka, Saudi Arabia, India, Dubai, and Egypt.

Also, because of his strong interests in leadership and leadership development and high performing teams, Mr. Hostetler has been an active executive coach and has worked one-on-one with hundreds of managers and executives around the world.

As associate dean at the Johnson School from1992-2003, he had P&L responsibilities for managing all public and custom executive programs. In addition, he launched and managed the Johnson School's Executive MBA program during its first two years of operation and served on the committee that developed the Cornell-Queen's EMBA Program.

Prior to joining Cornell University, Mr. Hostetler was assistant dean for executive education at the Fuqua School of Business, Duke University. His prior experience also includes positions with St. Mary's Medical Center, the University of Tennessee, and the Office of the Governor of Kentucky. Mr. Hostetler is an emeritus trustee of the International University Consortium for Executive Education.

Barbara Mink is a Senior Lecturer of Management Communication at the Johnson Graduate School of Management. She is a management communication professional with a focus on intercultural communication, leadership, and persuasion. She teaches persuasive and informational writing for business purposes, as well as business presentations that are clear, concise, and compelling. She was news director of WHCU radio from 1978 to 1986, and taught radio journalism at Ithaca College and Cornell. Mink served on the Tompkins County Legislature for 12 years, and as its chair for five. She was also founder and director of the Light in Winter Festival of Science and the Arts from 1999-2011. Mink is a visiting lecturer at ESCP Europe in Paris, where she teaches effective leadership through communication. Mink is also an active painter with an international presence.