WILLIAM B. SCHEESSELE,

President and CEO of MBDⁱ

Bill Scheessele is a successful entrepreneur, business owner, nationally known speaker/author and highly acclaimed consultant and educator. In all these endeavors his focus is on assisting individuals, companies, and economic development groups learn the fundamentals of Business Development. 

Bill’s background is multifaceted. After completing undergraduate work in engineering management, he learned the importance of teamwork, leadership and rigorous training as a U.S. Army basic combat instructor during Vietnam. Upon leaving the military, he transferred his knowledge and skills into a highly successful sales career, attaining sales and management positions at Texaco and leading the international sales efforts for a subsidiary of the Trane Corporation. 

While in the corporate world, Bill began to realize that Business Development competency is a lifelong learning process requiring leadership and ethical qualities along with specialized consulting and professional development. He began an intensive study of the Business Development, revenue growth process, and a vision of his own business venture soon began to take form.

In 1979, Bill left the corporate arena and launched MBDⁱ. In the past 28 years, his firm has become the Business Development benchmark for many prestigious scientific, engineering, and technical companies, both nationally and internationally. 

At MBDⁱ, Bill leads the management of the firm in addition to his full speaking schedule. He also writes monthly columns on Business Development issues for Washington Technology and the Charlotte Business Journal, and his articles have appeared in Electric Light & Power, Wilmington Business, Power Engineering, Utility T&D and Professional Engineer publications. He holds a B.S. degree from Purdue University and earned an M.B.A. from Xavier University. Bill is a member of the National Speakers Association and has earned the certification as a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP).

CARROLL D. GRAY, CCE, Senior Consultant

Carroll Gray brings 30 years of economic development and management experience to the MBDⁱ team. He served as President of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce for 21 years, from September 1984 through December 2005. During this time, the Chamber helped attract and/or welcome more than 1,800 new and expanding companies, more than 200,000 jobs and $17 billion in capital investment.

Carroll initiated the Advantage Carolina Strategic Plan, which brought organizations and leaders from the region to address some of the area’s most critical issues. This group raised $14 million to support the plan over six years from 2000 – 2005. He was a key member of the steering committee in recruiting NASCAR Hall of Fame for Charlotte, outracing Atlanta, Kansas City, Richmond and Daytona Beach. He organized the Charlotte Mecklenburg Development Corporation, which helped rejuvenate blighted, inner city corridors. Carroll also led Chamber to first $10 million operating budget with 60 professional staff and also instituted nationally recognized Total Revenue Campaign, generating $28 million over 8 years for Chamber operations.

His other significant economic development accomplishments include:

• Raised funds and helped pass NC Constitutional Amendment for tax increment financing.

• Launched Classroom Central, the business donated supply store for teachers.

• Was recognized by President George W. Bush for the Welfare to Work Program, employing over 14,000 welfare recipients in full time jobs.

• Helped on two occasions to recruit Lufthansa Airlines to initiate service between Charlotte and Frankfurt and Munich, Germany.

• Advocated and established Charlotte’s first regional economic development effort, which is now operating as the Charlotte Regional Partnership.

Carroll earned a BA in English/History from the University of South Carolina, attended the Institute for Organization Management, US Chamber of Commerce, and is a Certified Chamber of Commerce Executive (CCE).

Additionally, he has served as Chair of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives, President of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, member of the University of South Carolina Board of Trustees, President of the Carolina Association of Chamber Executives, member of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives Foundation and President of the University of the South Carolina Alumni Association.

With MBDⁱ, Carroll leads all aspects of the Economic Development Consulting area including planning, personnel evaluation and coaching.  

HAROLD E. LINTON, Senior Consultantt

Hal Linton is a Colonel, USAF (Ret) with a diverse background in Program and Project Management, as well as Systems Engineering. Spanning over 33 years, Hal’s career includes directing and coordinating Business Development activities, managing and controlling IR&D and B&P accounts, serving as capture lead and proposal manager, managing activities in software and systems engineering, intelligence collection, logistics, communications, and program management. He has proven successful in translating customer requirements into technical descriptions leading to executable, cost-effective solutions.

Hal began his career in the famed Musketeer Division of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Maryland. Subsequent assignments included the USAF Electronic Intelligence Squadron in Berlin, Germany, Technical Liaison Officer to the German Air Force in Wiesbaden, Germany, Executive Secretary, Scientific Advisory Committee, Defense Intelligence Agency at the Pentagon, Chief, Tactical-Theater C3I Programs Branch, U.S. European Command, in Stuttgart, Germany, Chief, Technology and Engineering Sciences Division at the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center, Robins AFB, Georgia, and Chief, Systems Engineering Division, Headquarters, Air Force Material Command, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio. After retiring from active duty, Hal served 11 years as the Director of Business Development, Program Manager, and Senior Systems Engineer at Kaman Aerospace Corporation in Tucson, Arizona.

With MBDⁱ, Hal is charged with handling all aspects of the Consulting practice including strategic and tactical planning, personnel evaluation, coaching and the MBDⁱ Business Development Professional Search/Placement process.

Hal earned both M.S. and B.S. degrees in Engineering (Electronics) from Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. He also attended the Air War College and Defense Systems Management College. He is a graduate of the Deming Total Quality Course and was the ISO 9001 process manager who led Kaman’s efforts to a successful certification in January 2001. Hal is also a trained ISO auditor. He is active in the International Council of Systems Engineering (INCOSE), Mine Warfare Association (MINWARA), where he is also a board member, and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).

Hal’s Security Clearance is Top Secret, Special Compartmental Information: Periodic Reinvestigation – SSBI 24 Sep 97.

DR. ROBERT H. BALLANTYNE, Consultant/Trainer

Robert Ballantyne, fondly known as Dr. Bob, serves the MBDⁱ team as a specialist and trainer in interpersonal and group interactions. A licensed psychologist in North Carolina and a professor of psychology at Duke University, he brings with him an in-depth understanding of transactional relationships in the workplace.

In the workshops, Dr. Bob helps participants look at the hows and whys of human behavior and helps them understand what drives their customers’ decisions to buy, or not to buy. He also helps participants recognize how their own conceptual limitations handicap them from being as successful as they could be. He draws on his extensive background to lead workshop groups through exercises on leadership development, personality profiles and building effective teams. Dr. Bob places an emphasis on helping people and their organizations win by focusing on goals, skills and the ability to visualize. He takes the theoretical and applies it to the real world.

Dr. Bob earned both a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Iowa and received his doctorate from Washington State University.

OTHER CONSULTANTS/TRAINERS

The MBDⁱ team also includes other expert consultants and trainers. All are committed to helping companies, individuals and economic development organizations achieve their personal and professional business goals in an increasingly complex and competitive global market environment.