The Academy for Entrepreneurial Excellence Faculty Information 

Colonel Bernard Banks - Leadership

Colonel Bernard Banks has over twenty years of leadership and management experience in small, medium and large size organizations.  Most recently, he led a 500-person multi-national aviation organization based in South Korea.  He has presented on the topic of leadership at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Colonel Banks has earned a BS from West Point, a MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University and the Schulich School of Business, York University, and a MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.  He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s General Manager Program.  Currently, Colonel Banks is a PhD student in Social-Organizational Psychology at Columbia University in NYC.  Afterwards, he will assume responsibility for the Leadership & Management Studies programs at West Point. 
 

Stacey Cohen - Public Relations

Stacey Cohen founded Co-Communications, Inc. in 1997, an award-winning full service marketing and public relations firm. Stacey began her career at Marsteller Inc. (a division of Young & Rubicam), where she was responsible for expanding the corporate communications program for advertising executives. She then held senior positions in both public relations and marketing over a six-year period at CBS/FOX Video, then the world’s largest home video company.

Under Stacey’s leadership, Co-Communications has been awarded the Journal News "Best of Show" by the Advertising Club of Westchester, Forbes Enterprise Award (2006), and was recently inducted into the Westchester County Business Hall of Fame.

Cohen chairs the Business Council of Westchester’s Marketing and Communications Council and serves on the advisory board for Westchester County Business Journal.  She previously served on the board of Westchester Association of Women Business Owners and Association for Women in Communications. She has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, Crain’s, Sales & Marketing and other leading national publications. Cohen holds a B.S. from Syracuse University and an MBA from Fordham University.
 

Michael Dardano - Public Relations

Mike Dardano brings 29 years of marketing experience to Co-Communications, where he oversees day-to-day operations, strategic development, media planning, research and event management.  Prior to joining Co-Communications, Mike served as business development manager at Burst! Media, New York, NY, where he developed marketing and sales strategies for the firm's network of 2,500 specialty-content websites. Clients included General Motors, Toyota, Travelodge and Procter & Gamble. Earlier in his career, he served as eastern sales manager at The Los Angeles Times, managing more than $60 million in annual advertising revenue for the New York sales office.

Mike is an active member of The Business Council of Westchester, where he served as the 2005-2006 Co-Chair of its Creative Marketing Council. He has also served on its Mega Mixer Event Committee for the last four years. He served on the Advertising Club of Westchester’s Board of Directors and as Chairperson for the Interactive Marketing Council for the Advertising Club of New York. Mike holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Rhode Island.
 

John Foligno - Marketing

John Foligno has a client-side record for developing strong, differentiated brands.  His experience spans over 17 years working in brand management and licensing on worldwide brands.  John’s founding belief is that brands are built on a strategic foundation that provides stronger alignment between brand owners, customers and consumers.

John founded Cubism Branding after leaving Movado Group where he spent seven years as Vice President of Marketing for Coach Watches and ESQ Swiss.  One of his top accomplishments was successfully engineering the rebranding of ESQ after it had suffered several years of lost market share and profitability. Prior to Movado Group, John held various brand management positions with global licensed brands such as Calvin Klein, Greg Norman, Guess, and Tommy Hilfiger.
 

Bob Heiss - Sales

Bob Heiss is a partner in Sandler Training, a sales force development firm and licensee of the Sandler Selling System. Bob started Sandler Training in 1996 and works with individuals and companies to help them improve their sales and ultimately, their bottom line. He concentrates on the three most critical areas of sales: the attitudes and belief systems necessary for success, the behaviors necessary to achieve goals and visions, and the tactics and strategies necessary to close sales.

Bob has been in sales for his entire career as a salesperson, regional manager, and a VP of a national sales force with 120 salespeople and 11 managers.
 

David Hoffman is President of Search Smart Marketing, specialists in helping small and mid-size enterprises improve their search engine ranking and performance.

Prior to forming Search Smart Marketing in 2005, David Hoffman was VP/Managing Director for Wahlstrom Interactive (Stamford, CT), a leading Search Engine Marketing firm in Stamford, CT whose Search clients included Enterprise Rent-a-Car, GE, Hilton Hotels, Nestle Waters and others.  Before joining Wahlstrom in 2000, David was Internet Project Director at Gannett Newspapers (White Plains, NY) from 1996 – 2000, leading the early web initiatives for The Journal News, Gannett’s New York-metro newspaper.
 

Christopher K. Jones - Time Management

Christopher K. Jones is a 16-year veteran of entrepreneurial ventures.  Chris started his Advisory Firm, Financial Solutions, Inc. shortly after graduation from Trenton State College. 

In 2006, Chris was a recipient of the Westchester Business Council's prestigious Rising Stars 40 Under 40 Award.

Chris has over 16 years of accounting,  finance , management consulting, and project management experience and has served as a CFO of start-ups and small businesses.   He has raised over $3.5 million in financing, worked with over 100 companies in over 25 industries.  Chris has led start-ups, turnarounds, and restructuring efforts for small and medium sized businesses as well as Not-for-Profits. Chris has over ten years of experience working with Not-for-Profits and an extensive knowledge of fund accounting. He serves on several Non-profit boards and committees.

Chris believes in taking an individualized approach with each of his clients.  He believes that although the industries may be the same or similar, the people running the companies are individuals and his strategies and advice are customized to the needs, objectives, and personalities of his clients.  Chris is an accomplished athlete and martial artist.  Chris is the current Westchester County and Southern Connecticut Judo champion and winner of of several Judo tournaments in NY, NJ, CT and RI. Chris was a collegiate wrestler at Trenton State.
 

Ron Volper, Ph.D. – Customer Service

Ron Volper is the Founder and Managing Partner of Ron Volper Group, Inc.  As a sought after Consultant and Speaker, he provides his clients with:  Information, Ideas, Tools and Training to enhance their sales strategies and tactics.  Before founding RVG, Ron was Vice President of Sales and Marketing for McGraw-Hill and Headed Sales Consulting and Training for Xerox Learning Systems.

He has been interviewed on national television, on CNBC on several occasions and has been a frequent keynote Speaker. His articles and information on sales and marketing have been published in Fortune, Inc., Lodging, Marketing Review, Convene, Inc., Bottom Line Business, Nation's Business, Success, Accounting Today, Manufacturing News, etc.

Ron serves as an adjunct faculty member at New York University, where he teaches courses on Management and Leadership.  He holds a Bachelor's Degree from Queens College, a Master's Degree from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in Media and Communications from New York University.