Lead Faculty, Brandy Hadley, Ph.D. 
Dr. Hadley is the professor and advisor for the Bowden Investment Group. She is a two-time alumna of Appalachian State and earned her Ph.D in Finance from the University of Tennessee with a Collateral in Economics. She teaches courses in Corporate Finance, Financial Modeling & Valuation, Investments, and FinTech & InsureTech. In addition, she has facilitated executive training in Data Analytics & Programming. Dr. Hadley is an active researcher in the areas of Corporate Governance and Political Financial Influence. She was the 2020 Walker College of Business Sywassink Award for Excellence in Research recipient and the 2023 Walker College of Business Sywassink Award for Excellence in Teaching recipient. Her 16 research articles have been published in the Journal of Corporate Finance, The Financial Review, European Financial Management, Managerial Finance, the Journal of Applied Financial Research, and the Journal of Financial and Economic Practice, among other academic and trade journals, earning four Best Paper Awards. In addition, she has made over 35 presentations at national and international industry conferences and has contributed as a financial expert to The Conversation, MarketWatch, ABC Australia Radio, The National Desk, WalletHub, CreditCards.com, and FitSmallBusiness.com.
Executive-In-Residence, Shawn W. Poole, CPA
Shawn W. Poole was the co-founder of Employbridge Holding Company in 2000. He served as executive vice president, President and CFO at Employbridge until January 2018 when he retired from daily management. He remains active with the company, the largest industrial staffing firm in the U.S., by acting as an advisor to the company. Poole was instrumental in growing the company into a nationally recognized firm that earned more than $3 billion in revenue in 2017 and now has more than 95,000 associates working at some 10,000 companies. Prior to Employbridge he started his career at Arthur Andersen, then was CFO of WorldWay (NYSE), CFO and treasurer of American Studios (NASDAQ) and CFO and Managing Director of Randstad North America.
Poole is on the Board of Directors of MDI Group (an IT staffing company now owned by Motion Recruitment), 24Seven (a digital staffing company), Leadpoint (a recycling solutions provider), Olympia (a Netherlands based commercial staffing company) and TalentLaunch (a multi-line staffing company) along with being a board advisor to Protos (a security guard MSP/VMS platform), Outsource (a cabling/wiring staffing company), and Employment Solutions (Colorado based commercial staffing company). In addition, he is an advisor/investor with multiple Private Equity firms focusing on the Human Capital sector.
He is also an Executive in Residence at Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business working with the Bowden Investment Group.
Advisor & Alumni Relations Coordinator, Delbert Goff, Ph.D.
Dr. Goff was instrumental in creating the Bowden Investment Group and in raising the funds for the student managed investment fund. He earned his B.S from the University of Florida before earning a MBA and Ph.D from Florida State University. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in corporate finance and investments. For several years Dr. Goff served as a consultant for the Independent Insurance Agents of North Carolina, Inc. where he was involved in insurance agency valuation. In addition, Dr. Goff has served as an expert witness regarding business valuation and other financial issues. Dr. Goff is an active researcher in the area of corporate finance and investments and his research has been published in academic and trade journals. In addition, he has taught executive seminars and workshops on financial management and business valuation techniques.
Advisor Emeritus, David Thompson, CFA
Members of the Bowden Investment Group have the rare opportunity to work with Mr. David A. Thompson, CFA. He joined Appalachian in 2010 as an Adjunct Instructor and works with faculty to help students in the Bowden Investment Group. Mr. Thompson is a retired General Partner and CFO of WEDGE Capital Management, LLP. WEDGE Capital is an institutional investment management firm that was founded in Charlotte, NC in 1984. The firm manages over $9 billion in assets, serving clients across 44 states and 5 other countries. Mr. Thompson brings 27 years of investment and portfolio management experience to the classroom with the objective of using his work-life experiences to enrich and expand the education of students focused on an education in finance. His real-world experiences are a wonderful addition to the other material learned in class. Mr. Thompson is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute. He also earned the Certified Public Accountant designation in 1987 and is a member of the North Carolina Society of CPAs. When not teaching in Boone or playing golf in Linville, David is an artist, using water color and oil painting as a way to express his adoration for nature and the extraordinary. His artwork is a great reminder that we are surrounded by beauty, we just need to take the time to enjoy it. Mr. Thomson's integral involment and contribution to the Bowden Investment Group led to the creation of the David A. Thompson Professorship in Applied Investments.