PLU School of Business Executive Leadership Series
We are pleased to announce the return of the Executive Leadership Lecture Series. This series supports our students and programs at PLU by bringing executives to campus to share their expertise and insight.
We are excited to bring preeminent industry and organizational leaders, students and selected guests together on the PLU campus for these evenings. The one hour sessions offer insight into current issues facing decision-makers. These leaders will also share aspects of their own professional experiences and career development. We are pleased to invite you to attend these evenings to engage in discussions of issues pertinent to our dynamic global business environment.
Tom Falskow, CGMA, CPA
October 7, 2025 │ 6:00 – 7:00pm │ Rieke Science Center room 103A
Topic: “Does Accounting really matter?” – perspectives from a fulfilled lifetime accountant
Tom Falskow brings over 30 years of finance and accounting experience to the PLU School of Business. Having started his career in public accounting, he audited clients across the world, first in Seattle, then traveling to Zurich, Switzerland, Oslo, Norway and finally to Anchorage, Alaska. He served clients in a variety of industries, with a major focus on manufacturing and energy. He is experienced with International Financial Reporting Standards and SEC reporting requirements.
While in Alaska, he moved into the energy sector as a controller and finance manager for BP, one of the largest energy companies in the world. He enjoyed the detailed work of running a day-to-day business along with the macro-economic view that the energy sector provides. He had opportunities to widen his view of finance through roles in strategy, planning, supply chain contracting and systems integration work that helped him realize the importance of the integration of all disciplines to make a successful business.
More recently he had the opportunity to serve as the CFO of a public company in the construction industry in Washington state ,where he was responsible for a team of 40+ individuals that delivered all aspects of finance and accounting along with the IT department. He was also the key integrator working alongside the business development, supply chain, and HR teams in supporting their roles in the business. Since retiring from full-time work, he has been working as a CFO Consultant through CFO Selections, providing services to businesses in the Pacific Northwest region.
Mr. Falskow has also served on the boards of several not-for-profit organizations, including as treasurer where he was responsible for day-to-day accounting and annual reporting requirements. One of these roles involved fiduciary oversight of an investment portfolio in excess of $50m. He currently serves on the board of the Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital Foundation.
Mr. Falskow has a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from the University of Washington Foster School of Business. He is a Certified Global Management Accountant (CGMA), a member of the AICPA with a CPA certificate (inactive). He enjoys teaching financial topics to a variety of audiences. He lives in his hometown of Tacoma and enjoys travel, cooking and exploring the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest.
Kurt Meyer, Retired Chief Sales Officer, Medical Group Services
November 5, 2025 │ 6:00 – 7:00pm │ Rieke Science Center room 103A
Topic: From Accidental Insurance Sales Interview to Industry Leadership: A Career Built on Mentorship and Results
Kurt Meyer never planned on a career in insurance sales. As a George Washington University accounting graduate, he only agreed to an insurance company interview as “practice” before his real interviews with accounting firms. That spontaneous decision launched a remarkable 40-year career that transformed him from reluctant interviewee to Chief Sales Officer.
Married to his wife Suzanne for over forty years, Kurt is a father of four and grandfather to Alice. He understands balancing career ambitions with family commitments, having built professional success while maintaining strong family relationships.
Kurt’s career was shaped by being both a mentee and mentor. Starting at Guardian Life Insurance Company, he earned Sales Rookie of the Year honors and systematically turned around increasingly larger sales offices over 20 years, ultimately becoming Regional Vice President of the company’s largest division. His approach focused on instilling customer-focused cultures, developing talented people, and implementing effective structures and processes.
At Medical Group Insurance Services, Kurt was initially hired as Vice President of Operations and Underwriting, installing training programs that dramatically reduced new hire ramp-up times. Asked to become Chief Sales Officer to drive growth, he built the entire sales and sales operations organizations from scratch, driving the company to #1 market share in only 4 years.
Throughout his career at Fortune 250 companies Guardian Life and Lincoln Financial Group, as well as smaller companies OneAmerica and MGIS, Kurt led transformational initiatives that saved millions in annual costs, improved customer service scores, and consistently exceeded profit targets across start-up, turn-around, and major expansion situations.
Kurt completed executive programs at Columbia University Business School and served on the Board of the International DI Society and on the Sales and Marketing Committee of the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association.
Having experienced two career layoffs himself, Kurt understands the resilience required in today’s business environment and the importance of continuous learning and adaptation. That resilience also helped him become a double cancer survivor.
Now retired from corporate life, Kurt channels his passion for developing others through SCORE, where he mentors aspiring entrepreneurs as a volunteer with the Small Business Administration. He has coached youth sports for over 25 years and recently founded a skiing club in his Washington community.
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