The CoBA Connection

Mark Zweig: Building Businesses, Shaping Leaders, and Giving Back

When Mark Zweig (’79, ’80) reflects on his journey, one theme shines through: gratitude for the resilience, relationships, and opportunities that shaped his path.. A two-time graduate of SIU’s College of Business and Analytics (CoBA), successful entrepreneur, educator, and proud CoBA Hall of Fame inductee, Zweig has spent his career building companies, mentoring leaders, and investing in people. “SIU gave me the tools and the confidence to think bigger,” he said. “Now, I want to help others do the same.”

From Dorm Room Deals to Entrepreneurial Dreams
Zweig’s entrepreneurial spark lit up early at SIU in the mid ’70s.“I sold bikes out of my dorm room that I bought from the shop I worked at in St. Louis,  put them together, and made twenty bucks a sale,” he recalled. He even brokered deals with a local salvage yard, flipping rebuilt cars and selling them from the student union bulletin board. These scrappy hustles were not just about making money but they laid the foundation for the multimillion-dollar ventures that would later define his career.

Lessons That Last a Lifetime
SIU’s classrooms gave Zweig more than theory; they gave him practical wisdom. “Probability theory and the law of big numbers, if you send out enough direct mail, you can calculate the cost and the return. That’s how I applied college learning to business growth,” he explained. 
Five decades later, he still recalls teaming up with fellow MBA student Bhupinder Saluja for a national marketing competition sponsored by General Motors. “We were determined to win and we did. It showed me the power of collaboration,” he said.
Classroom case studies also stuck with him. One lesson about a clothing company’s downfall from relying on a single client, taught him a rule he carried through decades of consulting: never let one customer dominate your business.  Most transformative were the friendships forged at SIU. “For the first time, I was surrounded by people from India, Malaysia, Japan, Nigeria—you name it. It made me more empathetic and adaptable. Those relationships changed me forever.” 

Helping Businesses and People Succeed
From launching multimillion-dollar firms to mentoring future entrepreneurs, Mark Zweig has done it all. He founded Zweig White (today called Zweig Group), a consulting and publishing powerhouse that landed on the Inc. 500/5000 Fastest-Growing Companies list four times.  Today he is working with upstart Janus Motorcycles, helping them raise capital to fuel double-digit growth.
His ventures span publishing, real estate development, and even co-hosting an international small business podcast. An award winning author of more than a dozen books and longtime publisher of The Zweig Letter, he has also inspired students as an executive-in-residence at the University of Arkansas for two decades. Whether building companies, writing, teaching, or investing, Zweig has paired bold vision with a simple mission: helping others succeed. 

Takeaways for Life and Business
When asked what matters most, Zweig boils it down to three truths:

• Time: “Having control over my time —that’s my greatest achievement because of owning my own businesses.”
• Learning: “Once you stop learning, you’re just a consumer. That’s the precursor to death.”
• Helping Others: “Helping people succeed—landing jobs, starting businesses, building careers—that’s the legacy I’m proud of.”

To today’s students, his advice is timeless: immerse yourself. “Don’t just punch your ticket. Be serious, be genuine, and show commitment. Figure out where you want to live, plant roots, and build relationships — they will carry you far.”

Honored and Giving Back
Being named to the CoBA Hall of Fame is more than recognition for Zweig, it’s motivation. From scrappy student entrepreneur to nationally recognized business leader and mentor, his story is a testament to resilience, relationships, and responsibility. Mark Zweig’s guiding philosophy is clear: true success isn’t measured by what he gains for himself, but by how much he helps the people around him grow and thrive. A lifelong motorbike enthusiast who has owned over 300 bikes, he admits there’s one he’s never ridden—a Royal Enfield, but he plans to change that during his visit to Carbondale for Homecoming weekend.

SFRG Grant Empowers Min Carter’s Research and Impact 

For the third time in her career, Dr. Min Carter, Professor of Management, has been awarded the College of Business and Analytics Dean’s Summer Faculty Research Grant (SFRG) for 2025—a recognition that not only fuels her groundbreaking research but also underscores her reputation as one of CoBA’s most prolific and impactful scholars. This support has enabled Carter to collect data, build infrastructure, and collaborate with other scholars and institutions resources that have proven essential for advancing her ambitious projects and publishing in high–impact factor journals. Over the past decade, the grant has fueled a steady stream of publications, cementing her role as one of CoBA’s most accomplished researchers. 

Persistence That Pays Off 

Publishing in leading journals is a long and demanding process for tenure-track faculty, requiring multiple studies, revisions, and resubmissions. Carter exemplifies persistence, often working on as many as ten research projects simultaneously. She recalls one particularly challenging article that went through multiple rounds of revisions, each requiring her team to revisit data, strengthen arguments, and polish the manuscript. While discouraging at times, her determination never faltered. “I am stubborn,” she admits, “but that stubbornness is why I’ve been able to succeed.” Some papers take nearly a decade to get published, but her persistence has led to several top tier publications that not only enrich academic literature but also provide practical solutions for organizations and industries. 

Surprising Findings That Inspire 

What excites Carter most are the unexpected discoveries that emerge during research. In one study on trust between leaders and teams, theory predicted a concave relationship: the more aligned the trust, the better the outcomes. Yet her data showed the opposite—a convex pattern revealing that organizations sometimes thrive when leaders’ competence exceeds what their teams initially perceive. 
This surprising finding pushed her to dig deeper into the dimensions of trust. She distinguished between emotional trust (belief in a leader’s benevolence) and cognitive trust (belief in a leader’s competence). Her research showed that even when emotional trust lagged, cognitive trust could still drive better-than-expected outcomes. “Surprising results like this,” she says, “are what keep me motivated to keep researching.” 

The Power of Funding 

Carter emphasizes that funding like the SFRG is more than financial support—it is a signal that CoBA values and promotes faculty research. Such grants enable faculty to gather data, build infrastructure, and form the networks needed to succeed at the highest levels, sometimes traveling to several countries around the world. Without this support, she notes, progress would be far slower and the reach of faculty research far smaller. Indeed, several of her published articles are directly tied to projects advanced through SFRG funding. 

A Journey Shaped by Mentorship 

While persistence has been key, Carter is quick to credit her success to the guidance she received from her parents and teachers, beginning in kindergarten and continuing through graduate school. Her parents instilled in her the belief that her potential had no limits and encouraged her to think analytically, even mathematically, about complex problems. 

She also highlights the lasting impact of her teachers and mentors, especially a dissertation committee member who painstakingly reshaped her early drafts into publishable work. “After his edits, not a single sentence of my introduction was left untouched,” she recalls, “but he taught me what it meant to truly write for journals.” That experience laid the foundation for her research career, where she is an accomplished scholar in her field and has now published in several FT50 journals. 

A Legacy of Passion and Impact 

In every way, Min Carter’s career demonstrates how persistence, mentorship, and institutional support come together to create lasting impact. Her passion for research, her contributions to high impact journals, and her commitment to organizational development showcase the very best of CoBA’s mission. Her story is not just her own but it is a testament to what happens when faculty are empowered to pursue their dreams. Carter’s journey is a powerful example of why CoBA proudly invests in its researchers: because their passion builds knowledge, inspires students, and shapes the future of organizations worldwide. 

2025 PCAOB Scholarship Winner- Denisse Pedroza – Valadez

Denisse Pedroza-Valadez, a nontraditional student in the College of Business and Analytics (CoBA), has been named one of the 2025 recipients of the prestigious Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Scholars Program Scholarship. Three CoBA students were selected as 2025 PCAOB Scholars. Together, their success reflects CoBA’s excellence in preparing the next generation of accounting leaders. The award provides $15,000 in financial support for educational expenses, but for Denisse it represents much more - a recognition of her resilience, determination, and promise as a future leader in accounting.

A Scholarship, A Dream, and the Journey of a Nontraditional Student
For Denisse, education has never followed a straight path. At 28, she proudly embraces the title of nontraditional student. A migrant who came to the United States six years ago in search of a better life, she began her college journey during the pandemic, a time when uncertainty clouded the future. Instead of letting that uncertainty deter her, she chose to chase the dream she had carried since childhood, pursuing higher education.

Struggles on the Journey
She first earned her associate degree at John A. Logan College before transferring to SIU to study accounting.  Being older than many of her classmates, the transition wasn’t always easy. “I was studying with teenagers,” she explained. “It felt like I did not belong, like I was always catching up. But you survive. You do what you have to do to keep going.” Alongside age differences came cultural challenges and the pressure of proving herself in a new country. Yet through each obstacle, she pressed forward.

The Scholarship That Changed Everything
Denisse’s turning point came when a CoBA professors nominated her for the PCAOB Scholars Program. The scholarship lifted a significant financial burden, but for her, the recognition carried even greater meaning. “The scholarship showed me that connections are everything,” she said. “Sometimes we try to do everything on our own, but reaching out to professors, building those relationships, it changes your path. That’s how I discovered opportunities I did not even know existed.”
Her advice to other students is simple but powerful: talk to your professors and ask questions. By having regular conversations and building genuine rapport, she created the kind of mentorship and trust that led to her nomination and scholarship. The award affirmed her hard work, giving her confidence to envision a bigger future in the field of accounting.

Finding Belonging in Community
Though far from her home country, Denisse has built a sense of belonging at SIU and CoBA. She participates in cultural events such as Hispanic Heritage Month and connects with other international students who share similar experiences. “I didn’t feel like I belonged here at first,” she admitted. “But now I see that building community, through professors, friends, and student groups makes everything easier. It makes you feel like you are not alone.”

Looking Ahead With Resilience
With the PCAOB scholarship supporting her journey, Denisse plans to pursue an accelerated master’s degree in accounting at CoBA, blending graduate and undergraduate coursework. Her long-term goal is to move closer to Chicago, where she hopes to seize competitive opportunities in the accounting field. “I know it will be harder in the city,” she said with determination, “but I also know it will push me to grow. I want to keep moving forward.”

CoBA’s Commitment to Students
Denisse’s success is not hers alone. It reflects CoBA’s committment to recognizing and supporting deserving students. Faculty play a key role in identifying and nominating candidates for opportunities like the PCAOB Scholars Program, ensuring that persistence and potential never unnoticed. Her journey is proof that scholarships are more than financial aid. They are lifelines that validate hard work, open doors, and inspire resilience.

A Story That Inspires
Denisse is one of three CoBA students selected as 2025 PCAOB Scholars—together, their success reflects CoBA’s excellence in preparing the next generation of accounting. Denisse’s resilience and determination remind us that education is not only about earning degrees. It is about courage, belonging, and the transformative power of opportunity. Thanks to her persistence, the support of CoBA faculty, and the PCAOB Scholars Program, she is not just preparing for a career in accounting but she is rewriting her life’s story and inspiring others to believe in their own.