Voices of Experience 2022

Meet Our Speakers

• David Altounian
  

  David Altounian is the Vice Provost for Graduate and Professional Studies and Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship. Altounian has been involved in academia for over a decade in both faculty and administrative roles. Prior to entering academia, he spent over 30 years of experience in the technology industry with companies such as Dell, Motorola and Compaq. He was the Founder and CEO of Motion Computing. He earned his Ph.D. at Oklahoma State University and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Altounian is responsible for the academic oversight of Salve Regina's graduate and professional studies programs.

   

   

   

• Grace Hickman
  

  Grace Hickman is a 2019 Business Management graduate. During her time at Clemson, she served as the chair of the Management Student Advisory Board, a representative on the College Student Advisory Board and a student representative on the hiring committee for the Dean and Management Department Chair. After graduation, Hickman worked in sales for the Boston Red Sox and then made the switch to her current role as an Event Producer for GovExec Media.

   

   

   

• Frank Cawthon
  

  Frank Cawthon is President and Owner of FHC Development LLC and FHC Realty LLC, a real estate construction, brokerage and development company specializing in Forestry, Housing and Commercial properties, including the development and sales of residential subdivision developments; recreational tracts; and commercial and mixed-use centers. Cawthon has over 35 years of extensive experience in construction, development, acquisition, contract negotiation, permitting, planning, land use and zoning of all types of development with a concentration in residential development. He has developed or planned and permitted the development of nearly 15,000 housing units, constructed over 300 homes from under $100,000 to over $4 Million. He has experience with DRIs, shopping centers, golf course developments as well as numerous single-family subdivisions. He has owned, managed and sold over 16,000 acres in the Southeastern US in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee. He is a graduate of Clemson University, majoring in Business, and later attended Stetson University MBA Graduate School. He holds an active Florida Certified Residential Contractor License # CRC040982, active Florida Certified General Contractor License CGC 1526279, active Florida Real Estate Broker's License BK 411409 and sits on the Governor appointed Florida Construction Industry Licensing Board. He enjoys travel and the outdoors and mission trips to developing countries.

• Matt Bockhorst
  

  Matt Bockhorst is responsible for client servicing and new client development on Beacon Pointe's South Carolina team and focuses on comprehensive financial planning, risk management and asset protection. Prior to joining Beacon Pointe, Bockhorst was a student-athlete at Clemson University where he played football. During his time at Clemson, Bockhorst earned a B.S. in Financial Management with an emphasis in Banking & Investments and remains enrolled in the MBA program until August 2022. Outside of the office, he enjoys offshore fishing, hunting and spending time on the lake with his friends and family.

   

   

   

• Melanie Stith
  

  Melanie Stith is the Senior Vice President, Chief People & Government Relations Officer at Roper St. Francis Healthcare, the area's only not-for-profit healthcare system with nearly 6000 employees. After practicing law in the community, Stith joined Roper St. Francis 15 years ago as its Director of Human Resources and was promoted to the executive table in 2014. Stith leads teams that focus on all facets of human resources - teammate engagement, diversity and inclusion, talent acquisition, workforce relations, compensation, benefits and wellbeing, learning and organizational development and recognition. She is also the organizational champion for advocacy, building relationships at the local, state and federal levels. Stith has a bachelor's degree in business management with a concentration in human resources from Clemson University. She also has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. Stith is certified in Healthcare Human Resources through the American Hospital Association and also holds the Senior Professional in Human Resources certification. Prior to working for Roper St. Francis, she practiced law in the Charleston office of Turner Padget in the areas of employment law litigation and counseling. Stith is married and has three children. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with family, boating, fishing and going to Clemson Football games (Go Tigers)!