About

Mark Akerley is co-founder and chief focus officer for Sigma Resource Group, Inc, a business advisory firm that helps business leaders focus on what’s important and improve results. For more than thirty years he has worked with a broad variety of companies including Aetna, GE, Quaker Oats, EMC, AAA, Daily Herald, Penn National, Germania Insurance and over 200 other organizations – large and small. Mark is a value-driven advisor with comprehensive skills in planning and leadership, and practical know-how for integrating both for long-term results.

Prior to co-founding Sigma, Mark spent ten years in industry leading and managing several operating divisions and new business acquisitions. One such acquisition was a start-up designed to compete with and overtake a nationally known retirement association. It failed miserably in twelve months, providing a life-time of practical lessons in Management and Leadership.

Mark is a US Army veteran, has served on the leadership council for the Lincoln Foundation to help Illinois companies achieve excellence, the advisory board for the Montgomery County American Red Cross and the MGH Health Foundation. He has received degrees in business, economics, and organizational improvement from the Defiance College and DePaul University. He has authored and co-authored several instructional handbooks for business leaders including “Food for Thought –Lessons at Lunchtime for Business Leaders,” “Becoming Better Leaders,” “Strategic Edge: a simple but not easy process for producing winning results,” and “Manage Yourself Then Lead Others.”

When not reading or writing about business and personal growth, you might find him rolling on the floor with his grandchildren or, as an FAA certified flight instructor, teaching aviation enthusiasts how to fly sailplanes (airplanes without engines).