Executives-in-Residence
The college's executives-in-residence are accomplished business people who volunteer time and expertise with faculty and students.
Jim is a 1980 graduate of UTC. He went on to Indiana University to earn an MBA in Brand Management in 1982.
A unique combination of natural creativity and acquired strategic thinking developed from running businesses at Kimberly-Clark, Bristol-Myer’s Squib, Rhone-Poulenc-Rorer and the Iams Company led Jim to form CenterBrain Partners in 1991, at age 32. Jim pioneered a number of approaches designed to utilize the consumer to stimulate and shape creative positioning. These approaches have been formalized as part of the many products CenterBrain Partners offers today.
To date, Jim’s creative leadership has resulted in over 160 new product and repositioning successes and $3.2 billion in incremental annual sales for clients conducting businesses in categories from tuna to tires, power tools to pregnancy test kits, insoles to insulin monitors and a wide range of products in between. Jim still leads all creative initiatives for CenterBrain and works from his hometown of Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
As an Executive-in-Residence, Jim is enjoying a teaching role that he believes is helping shape young minds to develop a “Passion for Positioning”, and acquire skills that allow them to move forward from UTC both Academically-prepared and Work-world ready.
John Riddell, 2004-present
John Riddell is a graduate of the University of the South. He served as president of Turnbull Baking Company. He is director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Growth and writes a weekly column on entrepreneurship for the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
John is an adjunct professor at UTC and teaches international marketing and international management.
Judy Finley Stone, 2004-present
Judy is an alum of the UTC accounting program. She was employed with Joseph Decosimo & Co. for 10 years as a tax manager specializing in taxation of estates and trusts. She has been recognized for her contributions to the accounting profession and her outstanding volunteer efforts.
Judy serves on the Accounting Advisory Board and has taught business etiquette classes to current business students.
Spencer H. Wright, 2002-2004
Industrialist Spencer Wright founded Spencer Wright Industries in 1977 as a private company with major subsidiaries in the United States and England, through the purchase of the Singer Corporation's tufting machinery division. At the time of the purchase, Wright was Vice-President and General Manager of Singer's worldwide tufting machinery operation. He began his career with Price-Waterhouse and Co.'s New York City office before working in industry for several major corporations in the Midwest and East Coast.
Acquiring companies in Europe and the United States allowed the company to become the largest in its worldwide market. For more than five years, in the 1980's, he also was Chairman, President and CEO of the second largest publicly held financial institution in the Chattanooga area before selling it to AmSouth Bank.
Mr. Wright graduated from the business school of the University of Maryland and did graduate work at George Washington University.
He has served as chairman on many community boards including: Memorial Hospital; Metropolitan YMCA; Tennessee Independent Colleges Fund; and the Chattanooga Manufacturers Association. He was an officer of the Chamber of Commerce, the Community Foundation and the Rotary Club. He was also a member of the board of the United Way and the Red Cross. His corporate board participation included the Singer Co., AmSouth Bank and First Federal Financial.
