EXECUTIVE TEAM
Mike Carter
Cofounder, Managing Director, Executive Vice President Sales & Business Development
With more than 20 years of experience, Mike has cofounded eight business start-ups where he served as sales manager, vice president, and president. Mike specializes in leading sales channel development and volunteers as a business and career mentor. Mike has advised more than 200 individuals and business start-ups. He studied business at the University of Texas and Brigham Young University. Under Mike's leadership, the VitalSmarts sales team won a 2007 American Business Awards in the Best Sales Team category. Mike also received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2007 Award in the Utah region.
Jeff Gibbs
Managing Director, Chief Operations Officer
Jeff brings with him 18 years of business management, engineering, and product development experience. An experienced entrepreneur, he has successfully pioneered new products and processes while working at PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Clearstone Corporation, the LDS Church, and several large-scale consulting projects. Jeff holds a master’s degree in accounting from Brigham Young University with an emphasis in statistics and computer science.
Yan Wang
Chief Financial Officer
Yan has more than 14 years of experience in her field and has been a certified public accountant for more than ten years. Prior to joining VitalSmarts, she worked as a senior accountant for a manufacturing company and as a CPA for a public accounting firm. Yan also taught accounting and economics at Shanghai Agricultural College. She holds a bachelor's degree in agricultural economics from Shanghai Agricultural College, and master's degrees from Utah State University and Brigham Young University.
James Allred
Senior Vice President, Sales
Bringing more than 17 years of experience in his field, James was key in developing the VitalSmarts sales process. He manages the growing on-site sales team and educates resellers nationally and internationally. Prior to joining VitalSmarts, James cofounded two successful companies. He holds a bachelor's degree in technical sales from Weber State University. Under James' leadership, the VitalSmarts sales team won a 2007 American Business Awards in the Best Sales Team category.
Steve Willis
Vice President, Professional Services
Steve has worked with a wide range of Fortune 500 companies to implement change and organizational development strategies. He advises senior executives on strategies to overcome significant challenges such as union negotiation, productivity improvement, organizational change, and leadership effectiveness. Prior to working for VitalSmarts, Steve was president of the consulting firm Black Box Innovations. He received a bachelor's degree from Brigham Young University.
David Maxfield
Vice President, Research Services
David is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller, Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. He has led research and consulting projects involving dialogue skills, performance improvement, and conflict management for more than twenty-four years. He did his doctoral work in psychology at Stanford University, where he studied personality theory and interpersonal-skill development. In 1981 he co-founded Interact Performance Systems, one of the first consulting firms to use video to teach interpersonal skills. At VitalSmarts, his roles include research, consulting, speaking, training and product development. David is a frequent speaker at regional and national conferences.
