MCA Management
MCA is led by experienced professionals from major consumer packaged goods companies, as well as leading retailers. As a result, nobody better understands the level of competition you face day-in and day-out at retail.
Thomas L. Palombo President & CEO
Michael Bernard Chief Financial Officer
Michael A. Kopper Vice President, Field
Operations
Christopher Richards Vice President,
Information Technology
Thomas L. Palombo
President & CEO
Convinced there was a better way to approach retail merchandising, Tom Palombo founded Merchandising Corporation of America (MCA) in 1996, with the vision of being the leading provider in the deployment of human capital at retail against in store merchandising and marketing initiatives.
Today, MCA is one of the nation's leading providers of retail execution services ranging from merchandising and retail support to strategic planning and for some of the most widely recognized brands in the world.
Tom brings more then 25 years of corporate management, strategic leadership and a wealth of consumer products experience to his position. He began his career with Procter & Gamble, where he served in several management positions in the Bar Soap and Household Cleaning Products Division. During his tenure at the Pepsi Cola Company in Purchase, NY, he held a number of management positions in the Pepsi USA franchise division, where he had responsibility for the company's largest volume franchise area. Prior to founding MCA, he served as Vice President of Sales with News America Marketing.
An accomplished business strategist and marketer, Tom's expertise has driven MCA to become one of the leading retail service companies in the United States. He is often asked to comment on retailing issues in industry publications like Drug Store News, Brand Marketing and The Wall Street Journal. Tom is also a frequent television guest on Carolina Business Review and is a guest speaker at industry conferences and events.
Tom received his undergraduate degree from Providence College and holds an MBA from the University of New Haven.
Michael Bernard
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Bernard brings to MCA over 25 years of financial management experience from a variety of industries including healthcare, staffing and information technology and has held senior level positions in companies ranging in size from $2 million to $750 million in annual revenues. While developing the infrastructure for other rapidly growing businesses, he has been instrumental in raising over $500 million through public offerings, private placements, bank loans and venture capital and has played a leading role in more than two dozen acquisitions aggregating over $400 million in revenues. In addition to 14 years with Ernst & Young, he previously served as Treasurer of a $450 million automotive supplier and earlier as President of a leading distributor of advanced factory automation equipment. At MCA, he directs all day-to-day financial activities of the company.
Mr. Bernard has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1980 and earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Florida in 1978.
Michael A. Kopper
Vice President, Field Operations
Michael Kopper is a 15-year veteran of the retail merchandising industry. Michael has a broad base of experience in field operations, retail support, business development, account management, and data analysis. He has been instrumental in developing successful engagements with leading CPG companies during his career.
He began his career in 1990, as Assistant Deli/Bakery Manager with H.E.B. Food Stores in San Antonio, Texas. He entered the retail business services industry in 1995 with Crossmark, where he served in various business development positions. As Kmart Headquarter Account Executive, Michael was responsible for delivering 20% year over year revenue growth. In 2000, Michael was promoted to manage the Convenience Store Retail Team, where he was instrumental in developing the group's retail strategy. As Director, Business Development for the Retail Division, Michael had oversight for developing business units in Dallas and Bentonville, Arkansas.
Mike studied Business Administration at San Antonio College.
Christopher Richards
Vice President, Information Technology
Chris Richards brings more than 15 years of IT experience in project management and applications development within the financial, e-commerce and software engineering sectors to his role at MCA. Chris has oversight for supporting MCA’s strategic direction regarding technology. His broad base of technical experience coupled with a comprehensive knowledge of business process provides the leadership direction needed to support MCA’s rapid growth.
Chris joins MCA from a consulting assignment at Wachovia, where he was a Technical Program Manager on the Retail Banking Team. During his tenure with Wachovia, Chris led the deployment of over $1 million of systems infrastructure to support mission critical systems, and worked on key datacenter projects to deliver improvements in cost and efficiency.
Chris’ other business experiences include various technical leadership roles with EDS and Moody’s Investors Service.
Chris has a BSBA degree in Computer Information Systems from Appalachian State University and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
