Steve LaBarbera joined the University of Florida MBA Program in 1999, as Director of Marketing. Prior to that, over the last 30 years he had extensive experience in consumer branded marketing in the corporate world including working for Procter & Gamble, Frito Lay, Coca Cola and President of a small foods company privately owned by Herman Lay. In the fall of 2000, Steve became the Director of MBA Career Services. Steve is a native of Indiana, where he obtained his BA degree from Hanover College. He then traveled to the University of Southern California where he was granted his MBA Degree.

Steve is responsible for all Graduate Business Career Services operations. He has a current staff of five professionals that handle approximately 400 students. The major thrust of Steve's efforts is in corporate recruiting for the MBA Program. Outside of work, Steve is very active in basketball and still remains a certified High School and Division II referee. Additionally, he enjoys public speaking whenever the opportunity arises.

Mike King joined the Warrington College of Business in 2000. Prior to joining the College, Mike worked as a vice president with First Union Banks. Mike has over 15 years experience in the financial services industry including positions with Citibank and Bank of America. Mr. King is a native of North Carolina where he obtained a BA in business from North Carolina State University and a MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Mike’s primary duties in the College are counseling MBA students on business careers along with assisting in the development job search skills and employment strategies. Mike is also responsible for increasing and maintaining corporate employer relationships in order to enhance student employment opportunities.

As the newest Associate Director, Graduate Business Career Services, Ana is responsible for advising MAIB, MSM, and MSRE students on job and internship search related strategies, as well as provide resume and cover letter critiques and present non-MBA workshops. Ana will be co-responsible for MBA students this fall, doing the same variety of counseling that is listed above. Additionally, she will also initiate contact with new corporate clients in order to arrange a corporate recruiting partnership with the GBCS Office.

Ana previously worked at FIU’s Graduate Career Services office in Miami, and has over 15 years experience working in the private sector with companies such as Nortel Networks, Cordis Corporation and Burdines (now Macy’s). She has worked in various roles with human resources, supply chain management, contract management and operations. She received her BA from Florida International University in 1985.

Ed joined GBCS staff in February of 2004. He brings to this office over 20 years of experience in the career services field. He has held positions in career services at the University of South Carolina, the Darden School at the University of Virginia, the Fletcher School at Tufts University, and most recently, Tulane University in New Orleans. He holds four degrees in Education, the highest being a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Ed also had degrees from the State University of New York and the University of Michigan, and has completed graduate coursework at the University of South Carolina, the University of Connecticut at Storrs, and the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In addition to his duties at Associate Director of Graduate Business Services, Ed serves as the faculty advisor for the University of Florida Wrestling Club, and often accompanies the team to competitions in the southeast. Outside of work, Ed is an avid traveler, and traveled extensively in Europe and the Caribbean. In the past twelve months Ed has visited various locations in Australia and Belize. He is a certified open water scuba diver, and has had several deep water dives in the Cayman Islands.

Charli Francis is the Corporate Recruiter for GBCSO. Her main responsibilities include building and fostering strong relationships with corporate business contacts so as to enable Corporate Recruiters to participate in student job placement events and other GBCSO related activities. Charli assists Steve and Kristy with the coordination of both on-campus recruiting events as well as off-campus networking events. Previous experience includes consultative sales, sales and product management, business development, and training and development. Charli completely empathizes with the task you are about to undertake – in addition to being a UF undergraduate alumnus, she is currently enrolled in UF MBA program. She is always on the lookout for new opportunities and corporate contacts which will assist our current population of MBA students. If you have any corporate referrals or contacts, please send them her way. She sincerely hopes you enjoy your MBA experience at the University of Florida. Go Gators!