The principals in The Small Business Guild combine exceptional careers in corporate leadership with decades of training and coaching experience. They bring this rich perspective to every training event and coaching or consulting engagement.
Dr. Mike Armour is the managing principal of The Small Business Guild. One of America's veteran executive coaches, he is also president of the Guild's parent company Strategic Leadership Development International, Inc.
A lifelong leader himself, Mike has been a college president, a university dean, the CEO of an international humanitarian organization, and the CIO of a national intelligence program. He is a retired Navy captain and serves clients on four continents.
For more than 20 years Mildred Blowen served as executive vice-president and joint-owner of PTI Labor Research, Inc. During this time she provided labor relations research, training, and consulting for corporations and law firms throughout the United States.
She has trained thousands of managers and supervisors and is recognized for her ability to communicate effectively from the boardroom to the shop floor. In addition to her business career, Mildred has served as an instructor and lecturer for the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Texas at Tyler, Northeastern University, and other schools.
As a coach and trainer, Gary Clark draws on a unique blend of life experiences that have equipped him to deal holistically with the challenges of managers, leaders, and leadership teams.
Early in his career he headed a family business, then moved into senior executive positions in process management, marketing, and customer relations. In each of these roles he brought about marked improvements in sales by increasing customer satisfaction and loyalty. Taking this experience into the consulting world, he then guided five companies as they restructured themselves for greater profitability. Today he heads Clark Consulting, LLP.
After a 30 year career at Hewlett-Packard, PenDell Pittman translated his corporate expertise into a distinguished consulting practice. At H-P he held management positions in sales, marketing, sales administration and quality management.
Since leaving Hewlett-Packard, PenDell has worked with both public and private sector clients as an education consultant, courseware developer and instructor in change management, team dynamics, quality improvement and process reengineering.
The president of Umberger Development Partners Inc., Jo Umberger has served companies across the United States, Europe, Australia, and Mexico. Early in her career she worked in sales and marketing communications for national, regional, and local businesses.
In the 1990s she was co-founder of Helton Umberger and Associates, a successful business consulting firm. Her clients range from Main Street to Fortune 500 companies and include. She has served companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, finance, real estate, broadcasting, legal, healthcare, and non-profit organizations.