Meet the Instructors
Learn From a Faculty of Experts and Experienced Retailers
University-Level Instructors
Dr. Rob Mathews
Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Leadership Institute, Ball State University
Dr. Mathews specializes in how to build highly effective teams. His teaching style combines the theory of human capital development and his experience previously owning a home center.
Dr. Mike Goldsby
Chief Entrepreneurship Officer, Ball State University
Dr. Goldsby specializes is leadership, innovation and business strategy development. He authorized the “Entrepreneurs’ Toolkit” from Great Courses, as well as numerous books on small business strategies for success.
Dr. Craig Caldwell
Dean of the Lacy School of Business and Associate Professor of Marketing and Management, Butler University
Award-winning professor, researcher, business education leader, and consultant. Dr. Caldwell works with organizations to develop strategic direction, identify organizational culture, and develop processes to bring about organizational change.
Brian Landis
President, Ancrage Consulting LLC
Landis spent much of his career with Accenture and now consults with small to mid-market sized businesses specializing in business process development and improvement.
Industry Experts
Phil Mitchell
President and Co-founder, Discovery Retail Group
Mitchell teaches retailers to understand that a store focused on creating favorable customer experiences produces increased shop times, increased impulse sales and a better bottom line.
Gary Petz
Vice President and Co-founder, Discovery Retail Group
Serving in both retail and wholesale hardware and lumber operations, Petz’s experience allows him to help retailers focus on the customer experience their stores create.
Jim Close
Principal, Risk Management Loss Prevention Services Inc.
Close previously served as Director of Loss Prevention for Ace Hardware Corp. helping retailers reduce shrinkage in their businesses.
Jim Robisch
Principal, The Farnsworth Group
Robisch is a principal of the Farnsworth Group, the leading industry research consulting firm specializing in pricing perception of today’s consumers and pro customers.
Kim Peffley
Executive Director of Educational Development and Consulting, NHPA
Kim is the executive director of educational development and consulting at NHPA. She began her career more than 30 years ago, working at her family-owned True Value, and then served as general manager for a seven-store Ace chain in Indiana. She established development and mentoring programs, created merchandising procedures and was instrumental in driving sales, decreasing expenses and growing the business. As a certified DiSC Facilitator and Consultant, Peffley uses her industry-specific retail management and leadership experience to offer professional training and support to retailers.
Home Improvement Retailers
Josiah Gates
Executive Vice President of Retail, Aubuchon Hardware
An RMCP alumni, Gates is a top executive for Aubuchon Hardware, with 105 stores located throughout the Northeast.