Little Startup Attracts Big Name Board

- Alese Stroud

This may indicate big things are about to happen for Corporate Insight Strategy.

Corporate Insight Strategy founder and CEO Alese Stroud says the company has proven itself in the market place and is poised for dramatic growth in 2017.  “This critical growth stage for a young company in a disruptive market demands the best minds.  We needed an advisory board with a proven depth and breadth of experience to help us navigate this stage of our development” says Stroud.

The central Arkansas business community provided exactly the skills CIS needed.  Stroud says “We are both honored and humbled to have executives with this level of experience agree to work with us as advisors.”

Professor Joe Bell, one of the new board members, stated “I chose to get involved with CIS because I believe in Alese, the founder of CIS, and the talented team of people she has surrounded herself with.  Business success is all about execution.  I understand the CIS business model and its value proposition for the customer, but more importantly, I believe this team has the capability to execute on its well thought out vision.”

CIS announces these seven individuals as 2017 inductees to their Advisory Board:

Barry Goldberg is an executive coach and Vistage chair. Barry’s coaching clients are high-potential executives, operating committees and boards. He has traveled the globe providing coaching services for the United Nations. Barry maintains certification with Marshall Goldsmith, Myers-Briggs and the International Coaches Association.

Barry served TedX Markham Street at MC in 2016.  He has guest lectured at the William J. Clinton Graduate School of Public Service and served as adjunct faculty for the U of A EMBA program.

Carol Ansley Bodge is a global marketing and business development leader turned health care entrepreneur known for delivering results. Her track record of success spans both Fortune 50 and mid-cap telecommunications corporations and the largest for-profit hospital corporation. In 2009 she formed her own urgent care company which she successfully built to be sold in late 2013. Currently she is the Founder and CEO of Ansley Bodge, LLC, which she formed in 2016 to formally use her years of business experience to help start-ups and small businesses succeed.

At AT&T Ms. Bodge held numerous positions as she rose through the ranks, including Managing Director-AT&T de Mexico. That position led to her role as VP-International Operations at IXC Communications before being tapped as VP-Marketing for Emerging Service Providers at Nortel Networks.  In 2002 she was named VP-Strategic Development at HCA’s Medical City Dallas Hospital.

Ms. Bodge received her MBA from the Cox School of Business at SMU and her BS-English from Texas Tech University. Throughout her career she has served in leadership positions of many non-profits and community organizations.

Dr. James K. Hendren has been the entrepreneurial champion for the advancement of technology startup companies and knowledge job development since the mid-1980’s. He received his doctorate in physics from the University of Arkansas in 1972, providing a foundation for his successful career in sophisticated software development in both the defense and finance industries. James was CEO, then Chairman of Arkansas Systems, Inc. (ARKSYS), one of the early Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) “high-tech” companies. While growing that company from a small, home-grown company to an internationally known corporation, he served on the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority board of directors and the Arkansas Economic Development Commission where he led the charge for changing the economic development strategies to include high tech startup companies.

Dr. Hendren has spearheaded the efforts to produce an excellent environment to encourage startup companies in Arkansas.  He has formally worked with more than thirty technology startup companies being CEO of four. He has mentored over a hundred startups.

He is the Chairman of the Arkansas Venture Center, where he actively participates in the direction of the Center and as an active mentor to members of the Center.

Dr. Standridge is a published author.  His work “The Abundance Principal” was published in 2005 and largely sums up his approach to life and business.

Jeff currently serves Cadron Creek Capital as co-founder and provides leadership for The Conductor (a UCA sponsored startup-support organization).  Previously Jeff held a VP role with Acxiom, serving in Global Operations and later as General Manager in Brazil and Latin America.

Jeff provides management consulting services a CEO of JSI Partners, where he focuses on Sales & Marketing, Profit Improvement, Organizational Effectiveness, Innovation Acceleration & Leadership Success.  He is also a board member at Hayseed Ventures.

Joe Bell currently serves as the Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of Arkansas Little Rock.

He began his career as in-house counsel for a comprehensive multi-family real estate development and syndication firm.  He served as a securities attorney, reviewing and qualifying IPOs and other investment vehicles for the State of Michigan.

Joe is a co-founder and board member of a highly funded pharmaceutical research and development company.   He is currently an active co-founder and board member of multiple companies in the healthcare, consumer product, and integrated systems industries.  He served as the Associate Director for Business Development at UAMS BioVentures, the medical university’s technology transfer office.

As founder of Calhoun Law Firm, an intellectual property law boutique, Joe specializes in IP issues unique to business start-up and expansion.

The Calhoun Law Firm maintain offices and regular outreach in several states.  The Firm works directly with business and individual clients, as well as providing services to other law firms who are without IP attorneys.

Joe was a partner at Gill, Elrod, Ragon, Owen, Calhoun & Sherman prior to launching his own practice. He is a graduate of Tulane University and earned his J.D. at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Joe volunteers as a mentor at The Venture Center in Little Rock, where he consults with start-ups who are working to scale.

John Foley is currently Executive Director of FRA Financial Group and an agent at The Insurance Center, both in Little Rock.  John has a long career in the commercial banking industry, including the presidency at Central Bank and various roles at Landmark, Metropolitan and Bank of America.

John is a graduate of the Greater Little Rock Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program Class XXI and has served on various boards and committees including Little Scholars School Board, Little Rock Catholic Dioceses Finance Committee, Christ the Kings Parish Finance Committee, and St. Edwards School Board. He is a former member of the Downtown Development Partnership. John’s past civic work includes Rotary International, Big Brother Big Sister and fund raising for the American Diabetes Association and American Heart Association.

Corporate Insight Strategy launched in 2015 as Merger Match LLC with the intent of reducing the risk in corporate mergers.  Early clients convinced the founders that the products and services offered by the company had exceptional value for any company approaching a major transition.  The result of that advice was a mid-summer rebrand as Corporate Insight Strategy and the launch of additional market targeted product and service offerings.

CIS is finding traction in the private equity, management consulting and exit planning arenas.  The company is poised to grow explosively in 2017, especially given their current support by this august board.