A nationally recognized business strategist and scholar, Dr. Mitch Javidi, is CEO of The Catevo Group and former founder and CEO of Digiton Corporation. In addition, he helped found and serves as an adjunct professor with the BioPharma MBA program at North Carolina State University.

During the past 25 years, Mitch has consulted with more than 350 clients in the public and private sectors across a range of industries, including healthcare and pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, government, financial services, automotive, agribusiness, consumer products, and energy. A prolific author, he has written more than 600 corporate reports and published more than 60 articles and book chapters. Mitch is regularly invited to speak at national and international conferences and has delivered more than 400 presentations around the world.

During the early 1980s, he worked at Wal-Mart as a key strategist to founder Sam Walton and former President & CEO David Glass. Mitch’s primary focus was to help expand the company’s operations and profitability and provide strategic support for the launch of its pharmacy program, and during his 18-month tenure, Wal-Mart’s share of the pharmacy market increased by 21 percent.

Fluent in five languages, he has expertise in research methodology, cross-cultural communications, marketing strategy and supply chain optimization, particularly in the life sciences sector. After earning his doctorate from Oklahoma State University, Mitch served as an associate professor in the Communication Studies Department of North Carolina State University. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from Langston University and a Master of Science degree from Kansas State University, from which he graduated Phi Beta Kappa.

Neal Zipser is vice president of Catevo Aftermarket, helping to expand Catevo’s business efforts in the aftermarket industry.

Prior to joining The Catevo Group, he was vice president of marketing and communications for the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), responsible for coordinating the marketing and communications programs of MEMA and its market segment associations in the automotive aftermarket and heavy-duty vehicle segments. He also served as senior editor of FOCUS, MEMA’s quarterly magazine.

Neal also served as marketing communications manager for Visteon’s global aftermarket operations, where he managed the company’s marketing efforts relating to consumer electronics and climate control products. At Visteon, he helped launch the Fortune 200 company’s brand into the independent aftermarket and dealer channels.

Neal gained marketing communications experience with public relations agencies in the Detroit area and began his career as an automotive service consultant, advising consumers on necessary repairs and preventative maintenance.

As senior vice president, John is responsible for various accounts within Integrated Communications, using his expertise to counsel clients on public relations, media relations, government relations, investor relations and philanthropy.

Prior to joining The Catevo Group, John served as group vice president of public policy with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. Before coming to North Carolina, he was director of corporate communications for Rolls-Royce Corporation, based in Indianapolis. At Rolls-Royce, John was responsible for integrated communications, including internal and external communications, media relations, state and local government relations, community relations, branding, and visual communications.

Earlier, John served as a corporate officer and vice president for Arvin Inc. and was responsible for integrating investor relations, corporate communications, public relations, community relations, government relations, graphics and public affairs. After graduating from Ball State University, John started his career by serving in the offices of Indiana Gov. Robert Orr and Lt. Gov. John Mutz. He also served on the re-election staff of the Reagan-Bush presidential campaign and served on the staff of The Honorable George H.W. Bush during his tenure as vice president of the United States.

Randi Garrett uses her 10-plus years of marketing/advertising experience to provide Catevo clients with assistance in strategic communications planning, project planning and execution, and marketing budget management and implementation.

Randi began her career as part of The American Red Cross’ chapter marketing team. She also served as a senior copywriter and account executive for a Greenville, S.C.-based ad agency, directing high-profile projects for clients that included Alemite, BMW Manufacturing, Porsche North America, Michelin North America, a number of regional and local accounts, and a number of S.C. auto dealerships. She also produced awarding-winning work for Charter Communications and Comcast Cable and was awarded the 2002 Bronze Summit Award for individual talent in copywriting.

Randi holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.

As vice president of business consulting for The Catevo Group, Dwight Hallman has more than 15 years of experience in financial analysis, sales and project management. He also has extensive experiences in vendor/supplier contract negotiations, establishment and agreements with merchant banks, and shipping/logistics relationships and contracts. He’s directed consulting initiatives for healthcare clients that include GlaxoSmithKline, Valeant Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi-Aventis and served as a licensed health insurance agent for United Healthcare.

Dwight began his career as a stock broker, later moving into business consulting and focusing his efforts on helping companies analyze the results of their existing sales and marketing practices and identifying opportunities to enhance profitability. Dwight was also instrumental in the startup and management of a direct sales company, which grew to more than $100 million in sales. In the startup phase, Dwight was critically involved in the development of the business plan and securing initial funding to begin operations. After the initial funding, he took the role as vice president of operations. His responsibilities included managing a full-service call center with more than 50 seats, including bilingual service and the acquisition and setup of the ACD system. He also developed several successful training programs and incentive contests to reduce hold times and drop-offs while improving overall efficiency and accuracy.

Dwight received a Bachelor of Science double major in computer information systems and economics from Elon University in N.C.

Dr. Rob Handfield is the Bank of America Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management at N.C. State University and senior supply chain counselor for The Catevo Group and Catevo Health.

Rob is the founder and director of the Supply Chain Resource Consortium (SCRC) at N.C. State University. As director of the SCRC, he leverages his extensive industry knowledge and consults with executives in the U.S. and around the globe to identify key supply chain issues and trends. Rob’s current research focuses on global supplier development, global logistics, negotiation and relationship management, environmentally responsible manufacturing, and buyer-supplier alliances and trust development.

He has co-authored four books on strategic sourcing and supply chain management, including Introduction to Supply Chain Management, Purchasing and Supply Chain Management and Supplier Integration in New Product Development. His research has been published in a number of peer-reviewed journals such as the Sloan Management Review, Supply Chain Management Review, California Management Review, Journal of Product Innovation Management and many others. Rob has extensive consulting experience with a number of global organizations, including Milliken & Company, Cabot Microelectronics, General Motors, Federal Express, Reliant Energy, Vitro Corporativo, Colgate Palmolive, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Steelcase, Johnson Controls Inc., NSK Corporation, Union Pacific and Mead Corporation.

In May 2001, Rob was awarded the Henry Latane Distinguished Ph.D. Alumni Award from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He earned his doctorate degree in operations from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and a Bachelor of Science degree in applied mathematics and statistics in 1985 from the University of British Columbia.

Toby Roan has more than 17 years in advertising, split between agency life and the freelance market. During that time, he’s written everything from matchbook covers to Web sites for a long list of accounts: IBM, Andes Candies, The Carolina Hurricanes, Caterpillar, Hanes, John Deere and Sony Ericsson, to name just a few. His automotive-related experience includes AAA Of The Carolinas, CARQUEST Auto Parts, Advance Auto Parts, The Pantry Convenience Stores and a few area dealerships. Along the way, he’s won several local and national creative awards.

After a stint at N.C. State University, Toby graduated from Colorado State University and promptly moved back to Raleigh. Shortly thereafter, he made the advertising scene and has been there ever since.

Catevo Aftermarket is backed by the full resources of The Catevo Group, an international business services and integrated marketing and communication consulting company with offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, Washington, D.C., and Dubai. The professionals highlighted below are those whose special experience makes them core members of the Catevo Aftermarket team.