The author was born in Louisville, Kentucky, where he attended the public school system, graduating from Louisville Male High School in 1982. He then attended the University of Louisville’s Speed Scientific School, graduating in 1987 with a degree in Industrial Engineering. He then pursued an engineering career in the food and automotive industries. While working as an engineer, he completed an MBA degree at Butler University in Indianapolis in 1991. One year later, he enrolled in the Ph.D. program at the University of Oregon’s Decision Sciences department, majoring in Operations Management, with minors in Statistics and Management Science/Operations Research. Upon his degree completion in 1995, he took a position at the University of Maine’s Business School, while also teaching in the Harvard Summer School. In 1999, he left the University of Maine for Auburn University’s Business School. In 2003, he left Auburn University for Wake Forest University’s School of Business, where he remains today.