Alpine Link Team
Mike Hawkins
MIKE HAWKINS is author of Activating Your Ambition - A Guide to Coaching the
Best Out of Yourself and Others, and president of Alpine Link Corporation, a
boutique consulting company specializing in leadership development and sales
performance improvement. Prior to Alpine Link Corp., Mike had the distinction of
having direct hands-on experience throughout the primary activities in the
enterprise value chain. He excelled as an engineer in product
development with Halliburton. He was a successful salesman and marketing
executive with IBM. He worked as global general manager for Scient, a fast
growing e-Business Systems Innovator, and held the position of executive
vice-president for LogicaCMG, a global consulting and IT solution provider. He
has worked in multiple industries including management consulting, information
technology, financial services, manufacturing, construction, energy, telecommunications,
and utilities.
To say Mike likes a challenge is an understatement. He has never been one to
shy away from adversity. Throughout his industry and consulting career he has
undertaken the toughest assignments. He has led many cross-functional
reengineering efforts and turned around numerous under-performing businesses. He
excels at uncovering and overcoming complex issues that prevent organizations and individuals from
reaching their peak potential. From his experience, he has discovered recurring root cause issues that limit performance and prevent
operational excellence. As a result, Mike
has refined several frameworks including Activating Your Ambition™, The SCOPE of Leadership™, and
Peak Potential Selling™ to help companies and individuals break
through their limitations and achieve new levels of performance.
Mike is a respected speaker, executive coach, sales trainer,
management consultant, leadership workshop facilitator, business column writer, guest lecturer, and
adjunct faculty member. He has a Bachelor of Science degree and
completed a one year advanced management program at the Harvard Business School.
Click here to see Mike Hawkins' biography >>.
Mike Armour
MIKE ARMOUR, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president of Strategic
Leadership International. When he speaks on leadership, communication, and
building a Trust-Bonded Organization™, he draws on a lifetime of firsthand
experience. At 33 he founded a highly successful private school. By 37 he was
one of America’s youngest college presidents. And at 38 he was a naval reserve
commander in the field of intelligence. Mike eventually retired from the Navy as
a captain after five years of directing systems security and information
technology for a nationwide intelligence command. Along the way he has led a
variety of faith-based institutions, managed major political campaigns, and
headed multi-million dollar fundraising drives.
Through his entire career Mike has been the “go-to” man for organizations
needing to turn around or get back on track. For the past decade he has worked
with educators in Russia and Ukraine to bring character training into their
schools and universities. Mike’s firm serves executives who want to enhance
their effectiveness. Mike earned his Ph.D. from UCLA, and holds additional
degrees from four other colleges and universities.
Mike Danchak
MIKE DANCHAK,
an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president of Helping Services. He
partners with clients from the relational and developmental sides of leadership
to successfully create and implement behavioral change. Through skill building
and practice, he works side by side with leaders to unleash their peak career
potential. Coaching in the critical aspects of relational and developmental
leadership provides the insights to maximize an excellent marketing and business
plan.
Mike has a B.S. from Abilene Christian University, Cum Laude; History, English,
Religion and a M.Ed. Abilene Christian University, Counseling/Guidance. He has
participated in post graduate studies at Texas Tech University, University of
Arizona School of Medicine, University of North Texas, Texas Women’s University
and the College of Executive Coaching. He is a licensed Professional Counselor,
State of Texas (LPC) and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, State of
Texas (LMFT). He is currently completing graduate training as a Certified
Professional Coach (CPC). He is past president of the Frio Hospital Association,
on the Board of Directors for The Daily Minute, a speaker for The Daily Minute
(Internet and Video Book presentations on Parenting, Marriage and Motivation)
and founder of the Tighter Knot marriage enrichment program.
Rick Davis
RICK DAVIS, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is managing director of Divine
Consultants. He has 25 years of experience in professional services
designing and implementing innovative sales and marketing approaches. The bulk
of his career has been spent with Ernst & Young where he played a key role in
leading the culture change that enabled E&Y to strengthen relationships, grow
revenues and dominate competing firms. Since leaving E&Y, Rick has achieved
recognition as a thought leader in growth strategy development, sales process
innovation, and pursuit team coaching. He has teamed with leading professional
services firms around the world to enhance their competitive strengths.
Rick is continually called upon by industry leaders to bring his professional
experience and high energy style to help them grow their businesses. He works
with teams and individuals, fully investing in their professional success. His
key accomplishments include facilitating hundreds of workshops with account
leaders around the world, delivering numerous keynote addresses, facilitating
retreats at a number of large law firms and professional services firms,
developing an innovative, multi-stage process for coaching and training
associates in business development, coaching winning pursuit teams to
multi-million dollar deals and developing proven sales approaches for growing
client engagements.
Linda Fletcher
LINDA FLETCHER, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, has over 20 years experience
in technology and business development leadership. Linda began her career at
Ernst and Young specializing in high net worth individual and corporate
taxation. She left EY to join GTE serving in product, operations, and sales
management roles. While at GTE, Linda played an integral role leading sales
teams in bringing innovative technology solutions to market. She also managed
multiple engagements integrating technology into existing business architectures
for Fortune 500 clients. Linda went on to become a Regional Director at Genuity
where she oversaw a team of project managers and lead engineers in launching
Genuity’s web solutions practice. Since 2005, Linda has been an independent
consultant providing coaching and oversight on numerous business development,
financial and technology engagements.
Colleen Francis
COLLEEN FRANCIS, an Alpine Link partner is president of Engage Selling
Solutions, a sales training firm. She helps sales professionals make an
immediate and lasting impact to their results. Through key note speaking, sales
training and sales coaching, Colleen delivers her savvy, no–nonsense approach to
sales, rooted in the belief that there isn't a single magic formula to success.
Colleen is driven by a passion for sales results. A successful sales
professional for over 15 years, she understands the challenges of selling in
today's market and how traditional sales techniques from decades ago fall short.
She has studied the habits of top sales performers from organizations of all
sizes and shapes - from Fortune 500 companies to small businesses. She has
complemented conventional wisdom of the sales process with proven techniques for
a sales approach that gets results today.
Ask any of Colleen's clients about why they call on her services and you'll hear
a common refrain: she delivers results. Her refreshing candor, her genuine,
sincere message, and the personal experiences she relates as a top ranked sales
executive are inspiring motivators for sales professionals who strive to get to
the top…and stay there. Her services are regularly sought by leading private and
public sector organizations across North America like RBC, Adecco, Bell, Dow
Chemical, HelmsBrisco, and Corel. She has been distinguished by the Canadian
Professional Sales Association as a Certified Sales Professional (C.S.P.) and is
a past President of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers. Sales and
Marketing Magazine has called Colleen One of the top 5 most effective sales
training organizations in the market today!
Merit Gest
MERIT GEST, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is a sales trainer with SalesLeadership, a sales and management training firm. Corporations as large as Microsoft as
well as small businesses and entrepreneurs have benefited from Merit’s training,
consulting & coaching.
Merit brings years of study and real world experience to her
clients. Among her many accomplishments are being the youngest General
Sales Manager in the Chicago radio market and backpacking around the world for
one full year on her own. Merit’s extensive leadership training included
focusing on behaviors, attitudes and techniques to elicit the best in others so
they can overcome self-limiting beliefs and achieve their professional and
personal goals.
As a member of the National Speakers Association, professional
organizations across the country have benefited from Merit’s personal blend of
humor, storytelling and interactive talks and training workshops. Merit is
regularly featured in
Selling Power Magazine as an expert advisor.
She has taught hundreds of salespeople and who have created millions of dollars
in sales because of her coaching.
A true adventurer, Merit pulls business lessons from her experiences backpacking
around the world, bungee jumping, sky diving, ice climbing, scuba diving,
paragliding and walking on hot coals. She's likely the only person on the
planet who's broken a left foot in Israel and a right leg in Croatia, but
somehow she's walked away from both with inspiring messages to share that allow
people an opportunity to find their own personal strength. She helps
people crack the code of their earning potential with her 5-step process called
The M.E.R.I.T. Method.
Amy Hardin
AMY HARDIN, an Alpine Link Partner, is co-founder and owner of C2H Recruiters, a
firm exclusively focused on placing revenue producers into companies. Amy
is an award-winning sales trainer, dynamic speaker and sales development expert
who has spent her career selling, managing, training and consulting with
hundreds of companies.
Amy’s clients come from a wide range of industries including: high tech,
publishing, web design, marketing, banking, financial services,
telecommunications, mailing, transportation, manufacturing, legal and
staffing—just to name a few. From sole proprietors to enterprise
corporations, Amy brings clarity and insight to tough sales, management, hiring
and leadership challenges. Her ultimate goal is to deliver sustainable,
measurable revenue growth through consultative sales process, behavioral change
and talent acquisition. Her clients have experienced exponential revenue
growth through her consulting and training.
Amy is a sought after speaker for workshops and conferences, a contributor to
Business District Magazine, and is currently writing her first book. She
makes her home in Austin, TX with her husband, Neal, and their Brady Bunch style
family.
Mark Hojegian
MARK HOJEGIAN, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is a back country guide and
an account executive for Colorado Bike and Ski Tours (CBST). CBST is a top
provider of experiential outdoor education programs for corporations visiting
Colorado. CBST has found a niche by literally pulling folks out of the classroom
and enhancing dynamic creative leadership with the majesty of Colorado as a
backdrop.
Although Mark’s engineering degree from Virginia Tech led him to many successful
opportunities, he was always frustrated that he had to leave his love for the
outdoors behind when he went to work in high-tech environments. He made it a
personal goal to find a position in life where technology, business development,
personal growth and a passion for life could share the same stage. A few years
ago, Mark participated in Colorado Bike and Ski Tours’ 24 hour mountain bike
odyssey known as Montezuma’s Revenge. After competing in this world class event,
Mark jumped on board and never looked back.
When he’s not helping corporate executives develop leadership skills, Mark runs
a successful Real Estate business with offices in Denver and Summit County.
Between the heart of the city and the snow capped peaks of the Continental
Divide, Mark works with large investment groups, 1st time home buyers and
everyone in between. He enjoys working with all types of clients and he’s never
afraid to jump into an interesting project and get his hands dirty.
Sue Kenfield
SUE KENFIELD, an Alpine Link partner is president of See It Thrive, a performance improvement
consulting company that specializes in connecting people to their best
performance through leadership development, executive coaching, sales training,
and business development consulting.
Sue has over twenty years of experience in corporate sales, management, training, strategic planning,
business development, and coaching. She has worked with start-ups as well as
Fortune 500 companies. She is a skilled trainer, coach, and facilitator. Prior to
starting See It Thrive, Sue was responsible for training and development at
Stryker Corporation, and was a significant contributor during the start-up of a
medical device company.
Sue has been a student of human behavior for twenty-five
years. She has worked with sales and leadership teams to achieve their best
performance by removing the obstacles holding them back. Sue’s clients benefit
from her real world knowledge, experience, and unique insight. She has a
significant talent for connecting with people and seeing their potential. Her
clients reach their objectives by taking bold steps through professional and
personal development, and collaborative partnership. Sue has a Masters Degree in
Counseling from the University of San Francisco. She is certified in the use of
the BarOn EQ-i® Emotional Intelligence assessment and completed her coaching
training at The Coaches Training Institute and College of Executive Coaching.
Chris Klinvex
CHRISTOPHER KLINVEX, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is founding partner of
Select International and responsible for Select’s International Operations and
Alliance program. When not working with US companies stateside, Christopher can
be found in London, Toronto, or Mexico City in Select’s offices serving clients
locally. Having spent more than fifteen years consulting with large corporations
throughout the world, Christopher retains a high level of expertise in the
integration of human resources systems with bottom-line results.
His experience in working with multinational companies includes assessment of
executive candidates to ensure they meet the core job competencies and have a
“fit” with their new employers’ business environment, a critical area missed in
many executive assessment programs. In addition, Christopher has developed web
based automated staffing system, integration of employee assessment results with
personal development plans, mapping of Select International competencies to
client specific training programs, design and implementation of performance
management systems, labor market analysis, and in depth sales assessment
programs. Many of his ideas can be found in the best seller book he co-authored,
Hiring Great People. He has been interviewed by leading publications, including
HR Magazine, News Week, HR Director, and others.
Christopher is fluent in Spanish and spent part of his graduate and
undergraduate studies in Europe. Prior to his work with Select International, he
worked at Development Dimensions International (DDI). Christopher received his
M.A. in International Business Management from Point Park University and His
B.A. in Education from South Eastern Adventist University.
Leslie Martin
LESLIE MARTIN, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president of The Highlands
Consulting Group, a career and leadership development company in the metro
Washington DC area. She is recognized as an expert in career development using
state of the art assessments that measure work-related strengths to maximize
effectiveness. She is credentialed in the analysis of The Highlands Ability
Battery, the Myers Briggs Type Indicator and 360-degree feedback. She also
developed The Highlands Potential Indicator™ for use with senior executives.
Leslie is a popular speaker and an executive coach certified through Corporate
Coach University. She consults widely in both the public and private sectors,
for non-profit organizations, schools and churches. She is the co-author of
Highlands: The Right Choice, Matching Your Abilities with College and Career.
Leslie has been on several pioneering teams in the area of developing leadership
excellence. As well as starting her own company, she was also on the founding
team of The Leadership Institute, a corporate leadership learning experience in
Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is co-founder of The Leadership Awakening
Experience™, a leadership development curriculum for senior leaders. She is
adjunct faculty to The Federal Executive Institute, graduate school for the
Senior Executive Service of the U.S. Government.
Matt Martin
MATT MARTIN, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, has spent his career assisting
leaders in achieving exceptional personal performance results. Since 1985, Matt
has focused on coaching and counseling entrepreneurial leaders. His clients span
many different industries and organizations. He was on the founding team of the
Fellowship Focus Forum for the Young President’s Organization (YPO) and has
worked with numerous YPOers over the last ten years. In 1990 he co-authored The
Halftime Journey, a life transition curriculum designed for people in mid-life.
He is also the co-founder and president of Legacy Forums, an executive coaching
organization that helps men and women develop a personal strategic life mission
that leads to a legacy of greater fulfillment and contribution. He currently
serves as a national leader for The Navigators, an international Christian
non-profit organization.
Matt is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained a BA in
Political Science in 1969. After serving four years as a Naval Supply Officer,
he spent six years coaching and developing military leaders in Europe. Upon
returning to the states in 1980, he completed his master’s degree from Dallas
Theological Seminary. He has trained and worked as a counselor and is certified
as an executive coach.
Colleen Stanley
COLLEEN STANLEY, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president of
SalesLeadership, Inc., a sales strategy firm. SalesLeadership (SLI) specializes
in integrating emotional intelligence with consultative sales training. SLI also
works with organizations in hiring top sales producers, leadership training,
reward and recognition programs, and presentation skills.
Colleen is a President of Colorado National Speaker’s Association, a monthly
columnist for the Business Journal’s across the country and a speaker for
Vistage International. She serves on the board for Tennyson Center for Children,
Intuitive Captive Insurance and Association for Corporate Growth. She is the
author of Growing Great Sales Teams and co-author of Motivational
Selling. She was the featured speaker on sales at the 2006 New York Times
Small Business Summit and was chosen from over 3,000 speakers to present at the
National Speakers Association Conference in August, 2008.
Prior to starting SalesLeadership, Colleen was vice president of sales and
marketing for Varsity Spirit Corporation, where she built and directed a
national sales team. During her 10 years at Varsity, sales grew from $25M to
$90M, and was named by Forbes Magazine as one of the 200 fastest growing
companies in the United States.
Colleen’s unique combination of knowledge, credibility, humor, and energy leave
audiences with a renewed commitment to change, act, and get results .
Byron Swezy
BYRON SWEZY, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president and owner of
Colorado Bike and Ski Tours (CBST), a World Class Outdoor Adventure and
Wilderness Education organization of 14 years based in Breckenridge Colorado.
Leadership development though outdoor experiential programs represent the main
focus for his organization. Byron produces world-class events for clients
ranging from basic orienteering courses to elaborate wilderness rescue and
emergent medical protocols for non-profits, the public sector and within the
corporate world for the purposes of both public safety and for developing
leadership skills. CBST currently facilitates, on average 10,000 participants
per year within its outdoor leadership programs around the country and
worldwide. Clients range from executive corporate clients to federal accounts
with the U.S Army, The Drug enforcement Agency, The Federal Bureau of
Investigations and even the British Royal Air Force.
Byron has a background in non- profit international health administration and
logistics having worked for over 15 years with organizations such as Doctors
Without Border, The World health Organization, Doctors To The World and
currently sits on the board of directors for The International Rural Education
and Development Foundation; an organization that has facilitated medical and
educational based programs in over 40 countries worldwide. Byron was trained as
an E.M.T. (I.V.), Colorado State certified Avalanche forecaster and a High
Alpine Rescue Specialist. He has officially stepped foot in over 100 countries
and continues to work abroad as both an international adventure guide as well as
a field logistician for ongoing medical expeditions in various countries around
the globe.
Dave Tear
DAVE TEAR, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is co-owner and Head Coach of
Sales Coaches’ Corner, a sales training company. He has been in the sales,
sales management and sales training for 22 years. His passion for selling
and helping others understand the sales process is unmatched.
Dave brings energy to the sales training environment that is contagious.
He captures people’s attention – and keeps it for the entire session.
Paying attention and “staying awake” are not issues when Dave is facilitating a
training session. He believes that if you aren’t laughing you aren’t
learning.
Dave’s real-life experiences make him credible. He has been selling for
the past 22 years – in a number of different industries from Industrial
Chemicals to Online Sweepstakes to Promotional Merchandise. Hundreds of
companies from dozens of industries have benefited from Dave’s programs
including financial, commercial real estate, manufacturing and many service
industries. His true love is selling Sales Training which leads to
facilitating the Training and Coaching of his clients.
Whether a client company has a 3 person sales team or a 300 person National
sales department Dave coaches and trains them to be the best in their industry.
He does it by helping clients understand how their buyer’s buy their products or
services. “If you don’t understand the strategy the buyer uses when
deciding to purchase your products or services you will never be able to grow
sales consistently.” Dave says. He spends a great deal of time in
his training helping clients recreate the buyer’s strategy. The “Game
Plan” which he teaches his clients is in defense of the buyer’s strategy.
Chip Toth
CHIP TOTH, an Alpine Link Corporation partner, is president of
Leaders Inspire,
a leadership development company. Chip is committed to helping leaders and
emerging leaders become peak performers in their firms. He is passionate about
motivating leaders to reach their full potential in their personal and
professional roles. Chip has a background in business development with several
fast-growing companies in the Northeast. He has received numerous awards for
sales as well as led a large branch office for his company. He has also worked
for a firm that invested heavily in commercial remodeling — providing a “turn
key” service to their clients.
Prior to Leaders Inspire, Chip was with FMI where he was a leadership consultant
and coach to the construction industry. Prior to FMI, Chip founded and led a
not-for-profit organization, growing its membership base significantly. His
leadership involved recruiting, training, teambuilding, motivating, planning,
and presenting. The success that this organization achieved under Chip’s
leadership was largely through the efforts of a group of volunteers who were
committed to making a difference, without any financial rewards for their
contribution. He believes in the worth of the individual and is passionate for
every leader to leave an enduring legacy. Chip received a bachelor’s degree from
The State University of New York at Oswego.