Phil Tuning Named New Executive Director of Executive Partner Program
The Raymond A. Mason School of Business is proud to announce the selection of Phil Tuning, EMBA ‘02 as the new Executive Director of the Executive Partners (EP) program. Tuning will officially assume the role in June after completing a successful transition with current Executive Director Nancy Turner.
In a statement announcing Tuning’s appointment to the position, Larry Pulley ‘74, Dean of the Mason School said, “we have been blessed with excellent leadership since the founding of the organization over two decades ago, and that blessing promises to continue under Phil Tuning’s leadership.”
After graduating from the Executive MBA program in 2002, Tuning accumulated nearly a decade and a half of leadership experience with John Deere Financial. He most recently served as the President of John Deere Financial Canada, but prior to that, he held positions in the areas of global data management and governance, state public affairs, marketing, customer management, and commercial and consumer equipment market development both across the United States and globally.
A Virginia native, Tuning is the first person from the Commonwealth to become the Executive Director. He joined the EP program in 2020, and over the last year served as an advisor to first-year MBA students.
“What’s really neat about this program is it’s made up of retired and semi-retired executives that volunteer their time,” he said. “We have people from all around the United States that have retired in Williamsburg and decided that they want to contribute their time to William & Mary students.”
The Executive Partner program is an experiential learning opportunity unique to the Mason School. It was established as a way to leverage the vast number of business executives who live in Williamsburg and the surrounding communities. EPs are often called upon to leverage their experience and industry expertise to help students during professional development programs, networking events, and mentorship initiatives outside of the classroom in addition to providing in-class, academic support. There are over 100 senior business executives from over 30 different industries currently involved in the program.
As the new Executive Director, Tuning is committed to working with faculty and current EPs to identify opportunities for further collaboration.
“One of the questions that I’ve been asking people is ‘What is the secret sauce of the Executive Partners Program?’ And candidly, it comes down to the level of commitment, the teamwork that’s displayed, the continuous learning, the adaptability of the people that are part of the program, and how they really enjoy engaging and helping to develop the minds. It’s a fascinating thing to see,” he said.
