Dr. Joseph J. Penbera

Chairman of the economic consulting firm which consolidated TAZ, Inc. (international web trading portal), EconomistUSA and The Economic Consortium (sophisticated data and research services), Joseph J. Penbera, Ph.D. & Associates and the Forensic Services Center (litigation, accounting, and computer support services), and The Baruch Company (investment advisory services).

Cited by Knight Kiplinger, editor/publisher, The Kiplinger Magazine, as one of the best forecast economists in the nation.

Cases and consultancies have included CBS, Costco, Deloitte and Touche, Microsoft, Association of Automobile Manufacturers, The White House Consortium, The World Bank, Republic of Brazil, U. of Miami Medical School, Ruiz Foods, Port of San Diego, Strickland, A.G., Switzerland, U. of Miami Medical School, USCIS/EB5 Program, and other legal and accounting firms, corporations and governmental organizations in the U.S. and foreign countries.

Member, Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)/FinancialExecutives Institute Task Force on Internal Controls Monitoring.
Member, Corporate Board Member Magazine Corporate Research Panel.
Senior Fulbright Scholar in Corporate Governance and Economics. Most recent assignment was with the Senior Economic Advisor, Office of the President of Poland.
Designated Financial Expert under New York Stock Exchange and associated U.S. Securities and Exchange Sarbanes Oxley Act regulations.

Former Senior Economist to Bank of Fresno, Valliwide, Westamerica, Regency and California Bank and Trust Banks.

Ph.D. The American University, Washington, D.C. 1973. Seckler Hudson Fellow. Dissertation: State and Local Fiscal Assistance.
MPA, The Bernard Baruch School of Business and Public Administration, CUNY. New York City, N.Y. 1970. Baruch Fellow.
B.A., Rutgers College of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. 1969. Alumni Scholar.

Postgraduate/Professional Training, Certifications: Audit and Governance, Harvard Businesss School, 2003; Senior Finance, Harvard Business School, 1998; Computer Applications, U. of Waterloo, 1984; NASD, Series 7, 1983; Public Accountant, Ohio, 1982; Technology Forecasting and Modeling, TFI, 1976; Economic Analysis, EDI, The World Bank, 1974.

Lead Director, Gottschalks, Inc., Fresno, CA. Department store chain in the western U. S. offering brand name and private label apparel, appliances, furniture, cosmetics, and shoes. Approximately, $700 million in annual sales. Investment affiliation exists with El Cortes Ingles of Spain. Chairman, Audit Committee; Member, Compensation Committee. (www.gottschalks.com)

Director, Blast Energy Services, Inc., Houston, TX. Developmental stage satellite well-monitoring company. Co-founded the predecessor company a majority interest in which was sold to BergMcAfee Companies, Cupertino, CA. (www.blast-es.com).

Director, Rug Doctor, Inc., Plano, TX. The largest cleaning machine and related chemical manufacturer, and cleaning machine rental company, in the U.S, and with more than 33,000 retail chain store locations (Walmart, Lowe’s, ACE, etc.) in the U.S., Canada, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. (www.rugdoctor.com).

Director, Intravenous Access Technology, Inc., Fresno, CA. Developmental stage catheter company, with patent for revolutionary needlestick technology. Co-founder.

Professor of Business, former Dean and Eaton Fellow of Economics, The Craig School of Business, California State University, Fresno, CA. Conduct MBA and undergraduate courses in Strategic Management with an emphasis on executing on the business plan, and implementing capitalization, management, expense control, technology, marketing, increasing business valuation, and exit strategies, among others. Served as Dean during the major period of facility construction, and growth in quality, enrollment and endowment. Served as National Program Chairman of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.

Civic Service:

Chairman, Mayor’s Council of Economic Advisors, Fresno.
Recipient, The Paul Harris Medal, Rotary International.
Founder’s Group, AAA Affiliate of the San Francisco Giants.
Director Emeritus, and Co-founder, Fresno Tomorrow (at-risk youth assistance).
Director Emeritus, San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust.
Financial Advisor, Fresno County Office of Education.
Director and Coach, Fig Garden and Clovis West Baseball.

Military Service:

U.S. Navy/U.S. Naval Reserve, 1964-1970. Honorable Discharge.

Publications and Research (Sampling):

“The Changing Roles and Responsibilities of Lead Directors in S&P 500 Companies”, forthcoming, 2009.

”Evaluating Economic Progress”, Journal of The Warsaw School of Economics and Social Science, 2005.

”Guardians of the Shareholders Interest: Recent Research Findings into the Audit Committee’s Pivotal Role”, Fulbright Senior Scholars Program, 2005.

”A Guide for Audit Committees: General and Specific Tasks for Managing Responsibilities in the Sarbanes Oxley Era of New Corporate Governance”, Fulbright Senior Scholars Program, 2005.

”Entering and Competing in Foreign Markets”, Fulbright Senior Scholars Program, 2005.

Contributor to “Sox-Pox”, published by Jay Lorsch, Harvard Business Review, October, 2004.

"E-Commerce: Economics and Regulation”, Advanced Management Journal, Autumn, 1999, pp 39-47.

"The Value of Life and Life Enjoyment", Proceedings, Global Finance Association (rights: Global Finance Journal), April 1996.

Overcoming the Reengineering Blind Spots. Study Commissioned by the U.S. Dept. of Education. Washington, D.C. October 1994. 36 pages.

"Reengineering Our Nation's Executives". The Public Manager, Spring 1994.

A Guide to 100 Publishing Opportunities for Business Faculty. With C.A. Betts. CSU Press,1990. Several printings. Cited by Bookwatch’s as the authoritative guide in the field. 256 pages.

Advisory Board, Advanced Management Journal. 1992-6.

Editorial Advisory Board, The Global Finance Journal. 1989-92.

Associate Editorial Board, Journal of Small Business Finance. 1991-2.

"The Director's Role in A Takeover Bid". With C. Bonner. Journal of Business Strategy. 1990.

Computer Simplification: A Flow State Approach. Cleveland Foundation. 1985. 71 pages.

"Microcomputers and Accounting Applications". Co-author with Martha O’Laughlin. Kent-Bentley Review. February 1985, p 67-73.

Management and Executive Development in Brasil. National Press of Brasil/Center for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises. Rio de Janeiro. 1979. 151 pages, plus Appendices.

Prior Employment:

Chairman and CEO, TheAgZone, Inc., 1999-2003.
Founded the first e-commerce company aggregating agricultural commerce into a web-portal. The company was allied with The World Ag Expo, the largest trade exposition in the world, and interacted operationally with many of the emerging major internet, software and development firms. Controlling interest sold to Berg McAfee Companies, Cupertino, CA.

Senior Economist and Economic Advisor, 1994-2000.
Advised California Bank and Trust/Zion’s Bank, Regency Bank and Investment Advisors, Bank of Fresno, Valliwide, and Westamerica Banks during periods of substantial growth, merger and consolidation activity of community banks in the regional Central California market. Held investor forums for major clients, evaluated prospects for selected businesses, helped with the workout of poor performing loans, and assisted in expanding the community banking (small business) loan portfolio.

Consultant on Business Privatization and Reengineering, 1990-1994.
Co-Leader, U.S. Dept. of Commerce-funded project to assist Poland in its transformation to a private enterprise economy. Responsible for making recommendations on which of the formerly state-owned enterprises could become profitable. Retained by the Federal Executives Institute in Charlottesville, VA to provide education on reengineering to senior U.S. government executives. Retained by the White House Consortium of Cabinet-Level Agencies to provide guidance on implementing reengineering principles. Retained by the U.S. Office of Education to conduct a comprehensive review of workplace literacy in terms of the capacity of firms and agencies to reengineer.

Director, Vendo, Inc. (“VEN” on the New York Stock Exchange), 1986-88.
Largest vending machine manufacturer in the U.S. with domestic and foreign production facilities. Asked to serve on the board to help explore strategic alternatives for the company which was experiencing declining margins, profitability and market share. Member of the Strategic Planning Committee which, ultimately, managed the sale of the company through investment bankers to Sanden of Japan. Also, served on the Audit Committee.

Registered Representative, 1981-1997.
Initial NASD, Series 7 registration was sponsored by The Ohio Company, Ohio in order to assist the company in undertaking the integration of PC-based systems into its U.S. banking and investment operations. Subsequently, affiliated with State Bond Companies, Minnesota and California, and Merrill Lynch Pierce Fenner and Smith. Served on the emergency Securities Advisory Commission, State of Ohio to help resolve the state banking crisis.

Dean and Professor, Franklin College of Business and Public Administration, 1981-85.
Responsible for the creation of the Computer Simplification Project (CSP), funded by the Cleveland Foundation. The CSP was one of the first comprehensive integrations of PC technology into a U.S. business school curriculum. It, also, facilitated initial conversions of business operations from mainframes to PCs in various companies, including Nationwide, SCOA, and Federated/Lazarus. Application software was developed through expert teams from IBM and Apple, U. of Texas, Harvard, and the U. of Waterloo, among others.

Assistant to the Provost and Dean of Faculties, and Associate Professor, School of Business, U. of Miami. 1978-81.
Responsible for the expansion of the University’s activities in foreign countries, particularly in Latin America. Developed one of the first International Technology Transfer groups at a major U.S. university which joined the professional schools (Medical, Engineering, Oceanography) into focused grant and contract acquisition teams. Responsible for expanding the foreign enrollment and approved patent base of the university.

Senior Consultant, National Enterprise Development, Planning Secretariat, Office of the President, Brazil, 1975-78.
Responsible for training the staff of the Foundation for Human Resource Development in Porto Alegre which was the principal small-business development center for the nation. Acted as liaison between the Secretariat and international development programs and U.S. corporations. Developed the first business development education and training programs transmitted via satellite.

Director, International Programs Department, Graduate School, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C., 1972-75
Served as Liaison to the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank, Organization of American States, U.S. Agency for International Development, and United Nations Development Program, and various other programs and agencies in providing training to economic, project and business analysts from more than 40 countries. Conducted fact-finding missions overseas. Created enterprise reconstruction programs in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Also, operated the training program for the U.S. Bureau of Census, and the Futures and Forecasting Programs with TFI, Stanford Research Institute, and NASA, and executive development programs for Xerox, Dow, U.S. Department of Labor, Princeton U. and other public agencies and private firms. Advocated modifying aid and bank loan programs through mandating training as a percentage of proceeds, and received the support of Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

Director, National Association of Schools of Public Affairs, 1970-72
During doctoral studies, staffed the public interest group for universities in Washington, D.C.. Also, served as Assistant Director, Ford Management Fellow Program.