3ETHOS - Key Persons
Don was the founding CEO of fi360, which he left in 2007. He was the founder and President of the Foundation for Fiduciary Studies; and, the first person to direct the Institute for Leadership at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. In 2015 he was named by Investment Advisor magazine as the "Father of Fiduciary" and one of the 35 most influential people in the financial services industry. In 2003, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to represent the investment counseling industry on the ERISA Advisory Council. And, in 2007 he testified before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee on the fiduciary issues associated with the management of retirement plans.
Don is the author or co-author of ten books on the subject of fiduciary responsibility, portfolio management, and leadership. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and served for ten years on active duty, most notably as a search and rescue helicopter pilot. He has a Master's from The American College and has completed post-graduate studies in theology from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Trinity Episcopal Seminary.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor / Wake Forest University
John Sumanth is the James Farr Fellow and Associate Professor of Management at the Wake Forest University School of Business. His research focuses on issues of employee communication (voice/feedback/whistleblowing), leadership/trust, and status. To date, his research has appeared in several of the premier management/applied psychology journals in the field (e.g., Harvard Business Review, Administrative Science Quarterly, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Journal of Business Ethics). In addition, his research has been highlighted in The Wall Street Journal and Business News Daily. John is a member of the Academy of Management's Organizational Behavior (OB) and Research Methods (RM) Divisions, the Association for Psychological Science (APS), and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP), and has presented his work at the annual Academy of Management, SIOP, Wharton OB Junior Faculty and INFORMS conferences.
Prior to academia, John spent nearly a decade working in several high-profile strategic planning, marketing, and R&D positions for Fortune 1000 multi-national firms in the insurance, global tourism (cruise) and fast food industries. John is an award-winning teacher and has extensive corporate consulting experience, including coaching, teaching and mentoring assistant coaches and student-athletes (e.g., Wake Forest Athletics), senior-level executives (e.g., ExxonMobil, Royal Caribbean, Wells Fargo, Huber Engineered Woods) and top US military officers and government leaders (e.g., Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations, Veterans Affairs). John holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, an MBA in Marketing and Management from the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida and a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering (cum laude) from the University of Miami. He is a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, Golden Key, Tau Beta Pi and Iron Arrow, the University of Miami's highest honor.
Mary Lou Wattman is a CEO of 1920West and Co-founder of 3ethos. She has 30 years of leadership experience working with Fortune 100, mid-size and start-up companies. She has held leadership positions at Procter and Gamble and International Paper, and P&L, President, COO and board positions at for-profit and not-for-profit organizations. Mary Lou holds an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in Marketing and Organizational Behavior, and BA in Business Management and Economics, from North Carolina State University. She is a certified coach by the International Coaching Federation. Mary Lou has written two books: LeaderMetrics®: What Key Decision-makers Need to Know When Serving in a Critical Leadership Role and 30 Days of Coaching: Tools and Inspiration for Advancements in Your Career and Balance in Your Life. Mary Lou has also studied and performed improvisational comedy and uses her academic, coaching, and corporate experience with techniques from improv to coach executives, lead team-building workshops and to train leaders.
RADM Branham served a 37 year career, retiring in July 2010. In his final assignment, he served as Commander Seventh Coast Guard District headquartered in Miami, Florida. The District is
served by more than 11,000 Coast Guard men and women and its responsibilities include all Coast Guard operations in the Southeast region of the United States, the Caribbean Sea, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Immediately prior, he served as the Coast Guard's CFO, responsible for all aspects the $10 billion budget. He served six 2-year tours afloat, including 4
RADM Branham earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Engineering from of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, a master's degree in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University, and a master's degree in National Security Strategy from the National War College.
RADM Branham currently serves as President, Suncoast Blood Bank Board of Directors in Sarasota, Florida; as Chairman, Longboat Key Pension Fund Board of Trustees; and President, Longboat Key Kiwanis Club.
Professor Hannah is an experienced senior leader, scholar, and leader development expert. He studies, teaches, and consults on exemplary leadership, leader development, business ethics and professionalism, strategy, strategic thinking, and building high performing teams and organizations. He is a co-creator of Behavioral Governance®: The intersection of Leadership, Stewardship, and Governance; as well as the groundbreaking academic research in Neuro-Leadership that has identified key neurological and psychological capacities that impact the quality of an effective and inspiring decision-making process. Ultimately, he seeks to develop exemplary leaders and stewards to serve in key decision-making and fiduciary roles.
Prior to his appointment to the Wilson Chair at Wake Forest he served 26 years in the US Army, retiring in 2012 as a Colonel. He served as the Director of the Center for the Army Profession and Ethic, and the Director of Leadership and Management Programs, both at West Point. He served as an Infantry officer in command and staff positions in Europe, Cuba, Panama, Southwest Asia, and the United States, including combat with 3d Armored Division in Desert Storm, and in contingency operations such as Operation Sea Signal (Panama and Cuba), and the control cell for Joint Task Force Los Angeles (LA Riots). Present in the Pentagon on 9/11, he was reassigned after the attack to lead the reconstitution of the organization that sustained the highest casualty level in the attack to rebuild its multibillion dollar operation. Upon his retirement from the Army he was awarded his 44 th military decoration and was inducted in the U.S. Army Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame.
Sean has been honored as a Fellow in both the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Association for Psychological Science. He is the Editor in Chief of the Journal of Leadership and Organizational Studies, and sits on the editorial boards of three other major journals. He has published over 60 papers on leadership, character, and management in premier journals such as Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Journal of Applied Psychology. He was recognized by the Academy of Management amongst its 19,000 members with the 2017 Practice Impact Award, recognizing his overall impact on management practices.
Sean has conducted over 600 executive education and consulting engagements in the US, Europe, and Asia, with highly successful firms such as Microsoft, Deloitte, DOW, GE, 7-11, IBM, UTC, P&G, MetLife, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, TIAA; including training 16 CEOs and their top management teams.
Dr. Hannah holds a PhD in Management from the University of Nebraska, MBA from Syracuse University, Masters of Public Administration from Syracuse University, Masters in National Security Studies from the Marine Corps University, and a Bachelor of Political Science from California State University.
Rear Admiral Steve Branham, U.S. Coast Guard (retired) is one of five co-founders of 3ethos (www.3ethos.com). 3ethos is dedicated to helping leaders hone their ability to inspire and their capacity to serve as stewards in critical decision-making roles. Prior to founding 3ethos, RADM Branham worked in corporate senior executive positions in the private sector.