Dr. John A. Cole
Dr. John A Cole brings decades of experience in financial analysis, strategic planning and academic administration to his role as Managing Director. His business and consulting experiences include varied work with the Treasury Department in the Province of Alberta (Canada) and numerous venues in the USA and throughout the Caribbean. In addition to his appointment as the founding Dean of a US business school, Cole led the community and economic development land grant division of a comprehensive university.
Business/Finance/Economics
John Cole served as a member of the Board of Directors of South Carolina Community Bank, and continues to serve on the Board of Directors of the OIC International. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Ph.D. Pipeline Opportunity Program, and the Pan African Enterprise Research Council (PAERC). Cole’s strategic financial acumen is regularly sought regarding investment and financial market issues, including his service on the Board of Directors of the Chaconia Income & Growth Fund, an investment innovation platform of the Trinidad & Tobago Unit Trust Corporation. Moreover, as Associate Director of the 1890 Program at South Carolina State University. John Cole built at network of business and government partnerships to engage rural communities in strategic planning for economic development.
His consulting expertise has served many clients organizations, including agencies of the Federal Government, (examples: U.S. Small Business Administration, the Minority Business Development Agency, the Economic Development Agency); state and local governments (examples: the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission of Montgomery and Prince George’s counties, the PG School Board) and private corporations. Internationally, John Cole’s expertise has benefited organizations in a number of Caribbean countries (examples: Trinidad & Tobago Mortgage Finance, OECS, etc.).
Academic/Higher Education: Dr. Cole’s academic experience and expertise focuses upon strategic analysis and planning related to academic administration and on institutional financial and education policy formation. He is a specialist and adviser regarding the future relevance of developing universities generally, and most specifically about Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). While engaging in educational challenges affecting underserved communities generally, Cole develops solutions for economic development barriers and behavioral differences that bedevil historically disadvantaged institutions.
A productive academic administrator, Cole served as the Dean of the School of Professional Programs and then founding Dean of the School of Business & Economics at Benedict College in Columbia, S.C. He served also as the Interim Chair in the Department of Economics and Finance at North Carolina A&T State University, and as the Associate Director of the 1890 Program at South Carolina State University. In addition, Cole has been a member of the faculty at several universities, including Florida A&M University, Georgetown University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Cole earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration (Finance) from the University of Michigan after completing his undergraduate studies (Bachelors in Commerce, B.Com.) at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. His scholarly publications have appeared in journals such as the Financial Research Letters, Review of Black Political Economy; the Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies, Journal of Economic Integration, the Journal of Portfolio Management; the Review of Quantitative Finance and Accounting; and Advances in Financial Economics. His comments and opinions have appeared in publications such as Diverse Issues in Higher Education; Diverse; the New York Times; the Washington Post; the Wall Street Journal and the Triad Business Journal among others. Cole has presented his work internationally, including in Mexico and in various nations of the Caribbean.