Harbert Podcast

Matt Pierce describes Immediate as a “financial wellness company.” His company partners with employers to allow employees to access earned but unpaid wages ahead of the usual payday schedule, thereby avoiding high-cost short-term loan options for pressing financial needs.

Pierce says thinking beyond the ordinary can be critical in moving a business forward. “In order to get deals done, in order to make things happen, sometimes you’ve got to be creative.” 

Before founding Immediate, Pierce worked in business development leadership roles at multiple established  companies and startups.

He is a 2004 finance graduate and earned a Harbert MBA in 2005.

One of the best ways to prepare for corporate leadership early in your career is to serve on non-profit boards, advises Linda Rebrovick, president of Impact Corporate Consulting in Nashville, Tenn. The experience of working with a leadership team and achieving organizational goals is invaluable as you move into the corporate board orbit later in your career.

It’s also important to remember that everyone in the company is in sales, she says. Even if they’re not calling on potential customers, they still represent the company and can affect its prospects for success.

Rebrovick is a 1977 Harbert graduate in marketing.

Bringing the advantages of new technologies to traditional business models is a hallmark of Kinetic, founded by Harbert alumnus Jay Brandrup. In this podcast, he discusses the value of flexibility in business and the importance of balance in work and life.

When he began his business in the mid-1990s, he said, a lot of business people thought the internet was a fad. That was a lot to overcome, but he learned that even if you’re starting out in tough times, that’s not a bad thing because it forces you to build a business model that works in tough times.

Brandrup, an honors graduate in Finance, serves on the Harbert College of Business Advisory Board.

Connie Berardinelli majored in entrepreneurship at Harbert. Her minor in sustainability studies gave her an educational combination that blends well with her work at Trove. The San Francisco-based company offers retail brands such as REI and Patagonia a system for taking back and reselling items previously purchased from them, allowing them to retain customer contact with the brand while reducing the use of materials required to produce new items.

As she explains, this circular shopping approach not only benefits consumers and retailers, but also has significant benefit for the environment. 

Leah Jones, a 1992 accounting graduate, is a veteran of the health care technology field. Armed with her Harbert degree, she gained increasingly higher levels of responsibility and is currently Senior Vice President and General Manager – Ambulatory at Allscripts.

The phrase on her LinkedIn  profile, WE SAVE LIVES, reflects the impact of technology in the effective delivery of health care and is a daily inspiration, Jones says. In this podcast, she discusses the value of broad-based knowledge in management and the importance of internships for students preparing to enter the business world.

John H. Roth is vice president and chief compliance officer for Nassau Asset Management, a multi-strategy investment management platform managing more than $19 billion.  He holds a B.S. in finance from Harbert. While at Auburn, he was treasurer of the Student Government Association.

Roth has also practiced law and served as chief compliance officer at two other capital management firms. He recently earned a doctorate in leadership and innovation from New York University.

Damon Duncan oversees the Montgomery, Ala., Housing Authority’s $400 million real estate portfolio. MHA’s core business is planning, building and administering affordable housing.

Over the course of his career, Duncan has been involved in developing more than 1,250 units of housing. He holds a Master of Real Estate Development from Auburn and is current president of the MRED Alumni Council.

Kelly Baltes, former President of Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurants, discusses how to create a formula for a successful business and how brand strategy plays an important role in the process. 

Kelly began his restaurant career bussing tables. Since then, he has worked in almost every position within the restaurant industry, working his way to positions such as President, CEO and Chairman of the Board for a variety of restaurant groups.

Kelly earned his Executive MBA from Auburn University in 2005 and was later named to the Auburn University Harbert College of Business 40 of 40, an honor recognizing the top 40 alumni to graduate in the first 40 years of the college’s formation. 

Keisha Dzata, a senior financial analyst at Home Depot, discusses the importance of hearing other voices in the workplace and the value of internships.

She holds a degree in accounting from Harbert and serves on the Black Alumni Council. Keisha also mentors Harbert students.

Laura Glenn is a director of investment advisory services for Public Trust Advisors in Atlanta, Ga. She is responsible for providing customized investment management and administrative and advisory solutions to public sector entities across the U.S. She graduated from HCOB in accounting.