Who We Are

 

John Bradberry, M.A. — President / Founding Partner

  • 20+ years improving the performance of more than a thousand leaders and hundreds of management teams.
  • Client projects have included Novartis, Aetna, Coca-Cola, Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), Johnson & Johnson, ITW, Bank of America, Sun Microsystems and Quicken Loans.
  • Conducted a multi-year immersive study of entrepreneurship, resulting in a framework for venture performance, and a book,  6 Secrets to Startup Success: How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion Into a Thriving Business (American Management Association, 2011).
  • Regular speaker at venues such as South by Southwest (SXSW), Lean Startup Conference, Entrepreneurs Organization (EO), Startup Weekend, Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), UNC – Chapel Hill, Davidson College, and Lehigh University.
  • Master’s in psychology from the University of Richmond (Outstanding Graduate Student – 1991).  Received B.S. from Davidson College.

J.C. Faulkner — Founding Partner

  • Leader of a private investment company, based in Charlotte, NC.
  • Currently sits on the board of five privately held companies he helped to establish.
  • Founder of Decision One Mortgage in 1996. The company was sold to Household Financial, and later to HSBC in deals totaling $100 million.
  • Prior to founding Decision One Mortgage, spent 12 years at First Union Corporation in senior leadership roles within consumer lending and capital markets.
  • Graduate of Davidson College, 1983.

Adam Ortiz, PSY.D. — Assessment Partner / Product Advisor

  • 20+ years assessing Fortune 500 executives and assisting them to develop core leadership, self-management, and communication skills.
  • Founder and Managing Partner of Executive Development Consulting (EDC).
  • Held executive leadership positions at Time Warner, Bank of America, and Personnel Decisions International. He was instrumental in designing and implementing talent management and development solutions as well as providing executive assessment and coaching services.
  • Co-developer of Entrepreneur Core Characteristics Profile (ECCP), an assessment tool measuring 11 dimensions of entrepreneurial personality.
  • Served in the United States Air Force, working with Air Force managers and leaders in environments such as the Persian Gulf to adapt their skills to the special demands of the military.
  • Licensed Psychologist in the state of Minnesota.
  • Doctorate in Counseling Psychology from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. Social Psychology degree from Park College (Summa Cum Laude).

Bart Craig, PhD — Assessment Partner / Product Advisor

  • Associate professor in the Industrial-Organizational Psychology program at North Carolina State University, focusing on organizational leadership, psychological measurement, counterproductive work behavior, training methods and evaluation. His research has been published in numerous scholarly journals and books, and he is a frequent presenter at national conferences.
  • Member of the Executive Development Consulting (EDC) consulting staff, providing executive assessment, coaching, and leadership development consulting to clients.
  • Adjunct leadership development consultant and research scientist at Kaplan DeVries Inc. and an adjunct program evaluator at the Center for Creative Leadership (both in Greensboro, North Carolina).
  • Co-developer of Entrepreneur Core Characteristics Profile (ECCP), an assessment tool measuring 11 dimensions of entrepreneurial personality.
  • Coauthor of the Perceived Leader Integrity Scale, a 360° assessment for assessing leaders’ ethical integrity. His consulting practice applies scientific theory and methods to improve the effectiveness of individual leaders.
  • Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from Virginia Tech University.

S. Mark Williams, Ph.D — Product Advisor

  • Former founder/CEO of Modality, Inc., in Durham, NC — sold to Epocrates in 2010.
  • Ph.D. in Neurobiology from Yale University, and B.S. in Psychology from Davidson College.
  • Pioneered the development of premier healthcare applications for the Apple iPhone — featured at Apple World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC) in 2008.
  • Named an Apple Science Innovator in 2008 for his work in using Apple tools and products in his medical teaching.

Dawn Ballenger — Consultant and Director of Research 

  • Consultant providing assessment, strategic growth planning, leadership development and skills to build clear communication practices.
  • Research and development for ReadyFounder products, including the Entrepreneur Core Characteristics Profile (ECCP), an assessment tool measuring 11 dimensions of entrepreneurial personality, and John Bradberry’s book, 6 Secrets to Startup Success: How to Turn Your Entrepreneurial Passion Into a Thriving Business (American Management Association, 2011).
  • Executive coach accredited by the International Coaching Federation, certified by the McColl School of Business at Queens University.
  • Extensive background in marketing, sales, appraisal and operations in Commercial Real Estate.
  • Masters in Organizational Development (in progress), Graduate of Vanderbilt University, 1985