Mark Schaffner, Author

Mark Schaffner is President and CEO of Performance Associates, of Mooresville, NC, and has wide experience with business leaders, firms, and operations.  He not only directs the consultative, advisory, and publication services of Performance Associates but also is an active participant in these services.

For a decade, he was president and CEO of The Ben Craig Center, the non-profit business incubator associated with The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. The Center is committed to helping entrepreneurs develop their small businesses into economic leaders of the region.

Before becoming head of the Ben Craig Center, the author served in ownership and leadership positions in several high-growth and high-technology companies providing him with firsthand experience facing the many challenges, problems, and solutions associated with starting and growing small businesses.

During 20 years, he has studied, advised, or observed some 300 business leaders--including more than 40 self-made millionaires.

The early-stage entrepreneurs and business owners he has advised have raised more than $150 million in venture capital and created more than 1,200 new jobs. He also has had the unique opportunity to discern the practices and insights of some of Charlotte's most successful entrepreneurs and financiers.

Mark's prior business experiences include Vice President of Sales and Marketing for LEAD Technologies. He also served as Chief Operating Officer for Handshaw and Associates, during which time the company tripled in size and was twice named to the Business Journal's "Fast Fifty." He later established his own successsful business and served as its President and CEO.

In addition to his current responsibilities as head of Performance Associates, he is an active participant in several business and community service agencies and is a frequent speaker at business related meetings and training sesssions.

He received the B.A. in Business Administration from Bowling Green State University and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Mark and his wife Beth have three children and have made the Charlotte and Lake Norman region their home for many years.