About the Previous Author

About Stephen Skripak

Stephen J. Skripak is Professor of Practice in Management at Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech and former Associate Dean for Graduate Programs (2006-2014). He is a senior executive with 25 years of business leadership experience, including positions as General Manager and Chief Financial Officer with divisions of Fortune 500 companies. His background includes financial services, consumer packaged goods, apparel, and industrial companies, with emphasis in turnaround situations.

Lead Contributor

Ron Poff is Assistant Professor of Management Practice in the Management Department at Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech, where he teaches management courses. He began his career as an enlisted member of the US Navy Reserves before entering his primary career in supply chain operations then sales and marketing, where he served in executive roles with large corporations for over 25 years. As an entrepreneur, he then founded his own marketing agency. His education includes a B.S. in Business Management, M.S. Marketing, and a Graduate Certificate in eMarketing. He is the project lead for the third edition (2020) of Fundamentals of Business.

Past Reviewer / Contributors

Anastasia (Katy) Cortes is Instructor of Management at Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. She has over 25 years of management and business teaching experience at Virginia Tech and Hollins University. She is also a contributing author to OpenStax’ Management, Denis Collins’ Business Ethics: Best Practices for Designing and Managing Ethical Organizations, and the Testbank for Fundamentals of Business. She was critical to the review, content improvement, and layout of the first edition (2016) of Fundamentals of Business. Without her, the first edition of Fundamentals of Business (2016) would not exist.

Jonathan De Pena was a student reviewer for the 2016 edition.

Nina Lindsay was a student reviewer for the 2016 edition.

Richard Parsons is Professor of Practice in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. He is a senior executive in the hospitality industry with over 30 years at Marriott hotels in financial, brand and corporate sectors.

Sachi Soni was a student reviewer for the 2016 edition.

Gary Walton is Professor of Practice in Hospitality and Tourism Management at the Pamplin College of Business, Virginia Tech. He has 39 years in the hotel industry including 23 years as the General Manager of the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center.

Reviewers/Contributors

Lisa R. Fournier, PhD is an Adjunct Instructor of Management at Pamplin College of Business. Lisa brings a blend of practical experience and academic research to the classroom. Her business journey began as an entrepreneur during her undergraduate at Western Carolina University. After selling her first business in imprinted sportswear, she worked in several emerging-growth companies as a strategic implementer throughout the 2000s. She has worked in a variety of industries, including healthcare informatics, criminal justice, beverage, auto, and others. She holds an MPM in project management (Western Carolina). In 2012, Lisa was awarded a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University. She went on to start and operate a benefit corporation and entrepreneurial learning lab for four years in downtown Norfolk, VA. On divesting the assets to the local Norfolk community, Lisa brought her experience to Virginia Tech, where she teaches social entrepreneurship and business classes. Lisa’s contributions to the book include review, substantive edits in several of the chapters, and contribution of original text.

Sarah Mease is the Digital Publishing Assistant at Virginia Tech Publishing at the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Sarah provided review and feedback regarding proposed original figures for the book. Sarah holds a BA in English from Virginia Tech.

Michael Stamper is Data Visualization Designer and Digital Consultant for Arts at the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. Michael provided review and feedback regarding proposed original figures for the book, including an emphasis on color contrast and accessibility. He holds a BA in Graphic Design and Art History, and a Masters in Fine Arts with an emphasis in Interactive, Graphic, Information Design and Data Visualization, both from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Student Reviewer/ Contributors

Kindred Grey is a graduating senior at Virginia Tech with majors in Statistics and Psychology. Apart from her studies, she enjoys graphic design and color theory. Her contributions to this textbook include review and identification of elements that would make the book more relevant to today’s students, development of the color scheme, implementation of interactive data visualization using Tableau, design of original graphics, and updating images to form a more cohesive and lucid textbook.

Lauren Holt is a recent Virginia Tech graduate with degrees in Professional and Technical Writing and Biological Systems Engineering. Lauren’s contributions to this textbook include Pressbooks editing, copyediting, and cover design.

Kathleen (Katie) Manning  is a recent graduate of the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech where she majored in Accounting and Information Systems. She started her professional career in Fall 2020 at Deloitte in their Risk and Financial Advisory practice. Her contributions to this textbook include review from a student perspective, substantive additions regarding the chapter on Accounting, and assistance with editing and formatting.

Blake Warner is a second year student in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech. He is majoring in both Management and Finance. He is a part of many programs at Virginia Tech, including the Honors College Student Council and Pamplin Global Mentors. His contributions to this textbook include assistance with editing and formatting, as well as providing fresh ideas and insight on how to emphasize diversity throughout the text.

Managing Editor

Anita Walz is Associate Professor, and Assistant Director of Open Education and Scholarly Communication Librarian in the University Libraries at Virginia Tech. She received her MS in Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and has worked in university, government, school, and international libraries for eighteen years. She is the founder of the Open Education Initiative at Virginia Tech and the managing editor of several open textbooks adapted or created at Virginia Tech, many of which may be found here: https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/70959. She provided overall planning, project coordination, day-to-day supervision, and oversight.