Donald A. Gresh, Jr.
880 West Campus Drive
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Biography
Donald A. Gresh, Jr, is an Adjunct Professor of Practice, with 30 years of experience teaching in the Pamplin College of Business. After graduating from Virginia Tech with two master’s degrees, a MS in Education, an MBA, and working as a teaching TA in the Department of Education, he accepted a position as an instructor / advisor in the Department of Marketing. A year later, he was hired by a headhunter to work at General Electric, which at the time, was a Fortune Five company, and the most admired company in America. His first assignment was a $5MM sales territory in the State of VA.
After leaving VT, he was asked to return and teach night classes in Pamplin, and did so for over 15 years, teaching Business to Business Marketing, Industrial Marketing, and Sales Promotion.
At GE, Don has held various leadership positions during his career. He started in field sales, then promoted to Account Manager, Senior Account Manager, District Sales Manager, Senior Sales Manager, and eventually to bigger leadership positions at the region and entire Mid Atlantic level. He was awarded many stock option grants, and leadership awards for outstanding sales and leadership results. He is Six Sigma Black Belt trained and certified, and while in sales, finished near or at the top of country nearly every fiscal year. He has mentored many future GE and other business leaders and often invited to the prestigious GE Lighting Institute in Cleveland, where GE showcases its products and services to its top clients. Due to his affection for teaching, as well as living in the NRV, he turned down several opportunities to lead national accounts at GE HQ, reporting directly to the VP / GM of all North American sales.
Professor Gresh has won numerous teaching awards and has been officially recognized by the Services for Students with Disabilities. He is known for being a student advocate and has helped thousands of students secure employment through his business experience & large network of professional contacts. During his long career with GE, he has seen the company transform from the most admired company in the world and the undisputed leader in corporate culture and leadership, to its current form as it reinvents itself in the ever-changing business climate. GE was the last original member (1896) of the Dow Jones when it was replaced in 2018.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_components_of_the_Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average
Interesting Facts:
While Don was in various positions at GE Lighting, the lamp division was led by VT business graduate, David Calhoun, President & CEO of GE Lighting. He was later appointed GE Vice Chairman, and President & CEO of GE Infrastructure. He is now CEO of Boeing.
Don is related to retired P&G CEO, Robert McDonald.
Don was inducted into the Salem - Roanoke Baseball HOF in January 2016.