Receiving his MBA from DePaul in 2018, coupled with 15 years of hands-on experience working in consumer product goods, Nour brings a wealth of industry knowledge to the classroom. His expertise encompasses all aspects within the beverage industry specializing in Category Management. His deep understanding of consumer behavior and market trends allows him to provide invaluable insights to students seeking to enter the dynamic and competitive world of consumer product goods. Nour currently serves as a Director of Category at Red Bull.

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Charlie received his MBA from DePaul and completed his PhD in Experimental Psychology in 2021. Charlie has been an adjunct professor for DePaul since 2009 and joined the faculty full time in August 2017.

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Kevin is an accomplished senior revenue leader who has led 4 separate companies to strategic exits. He has successfully scaled multiple companies up to $2B+ scale, including Grubhub, Huthwaite, 4C Insights, and ShopperTrak. Adept at accelerating all aspects of revenue generation through adoption of value-based sales motion, metrics-based analytics, sales automation technology including AI, cross-functional optimization, and the implementation of effective go-to-market processes. Kevin serves on multiple advisory boards and is the author of Escaping The Price-Driven Sale (McGraw-Hill).

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Deirdre brings over thirteen successful years in sales to her position. She has worked in the telecommunications industry in distribution and in marketing services. Her passion for sales and marketing brought her to the Center for Sales Leadership where her knowledge of the corporate world has helped shape her position.

Deirdre has her B.A. degree from DePaul University in International Business and Marketing and M.A. in Marketing Analytic's. Double Demon!

Contact Deirdre at deirdre.laverdiere@depaul.edu

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Business Experience: Healthcare/Medical Device, Consulting, B2B and B2C products. Dr. Rocco's Lecture Topics Include: Strategy, Sales Effectiveness, Sales Process, Sports Sales, Inside Sales, Communication, Coaching, and CRM/Sales Technology.

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Clancy Ryan has been making AI actually useful since long before it was cool. Back in 2014, he was on the team that built Kim Kardashian's AI-powered digital twin for her blockbuster mobile game — one of the earliest large-scale personalization engines, and an early lesson in what it takes to make AI feel natural to millions of real users.

That lesson became his career. At Arc XP, the Jeff Bezos-backed CMS platform, Clancy helped architect and scale AI tools for major media organizations — the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, El País (Spain), Chosun Ilbo (Korea), and Grupo Clarín (Argentina) — turning intelligent automation into audience growth at massive scale. He's partnered with NFL teams to deploy AI for smarter content creation and fan engagement (making fans feel even more personally invested — without the shoulder pads).

Today, at Covetrus, Clancy applies that decade of AI implementation experience to a harder problem: sales enablement for national field sales teams. He works with reps who live in their territories, not at desks — building AI-powered pre-call intelligence, coaching, and workflows that sellers actually adopt. With more than 20 years as a growth-obsessed sales executive and as Founder of the Center for Sales Leadership at DePaul University, he's proof that the hard part of AI was never the technology — it's getting real people to use it. That's his superpower.

An accomplished executive leader with over two decades of experience driving operational excellence and revenue growth across global technology and enterprise retail sectors, Amanda brings her real-world expertise directly to the classroom teaching Sales Strategy and Technology. She holds an M.B.A. in International Marketing & Finance from the Kellstadt Graduate School at DePaul University.

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D. Joel Whalen is a long-standing member of DePaul Department of Marketing and a founding member of the Center for Sales Leadership. He specializes in effective Business Communication (MKT 276/576).

Applying psychological and neurobiological science, he and Tina M. Ricca have created new models of business communication. Based on these models, they have crafted dozens of skill-building demonstrations and exercises. Tina and Joel have taught their methods on five continents to corporations and universities

Joel has been presented multiple teaching and professional awards. He and Tina have written several books and produced over 100 instructional videos.

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Lee has over 20 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies in roles such as Category Management, Shopper Insights, Shopper Marketing, and E-Commerce. These roles have been instrumental in providing real-life material to her students when teaching at DePaul University. Lee’s passion to teach is driven by watching her students grow and succeed!

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