• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Sidebar
IU

Indiana University Indiana University IU

IU Kelley School of Business at IUPUIGo from Moment to Momentum

Faculty Spotlight: Mark Ippolito

Posted on October 1, 2017 by Teresa Mackin

“Don’t underestimate anyone’s ability.”

That advice has stuck with Mark Ippolito for years. He repeats it often, hoping to instill it in his students.

Mark Ippolito, senior lecturer in operations management

“Don’t underestimate anyone’s ability. No matter how mundane you think someone’s job is, if it’s a job that needs to be done, it needs to be done well. And that individual probably knows something you can learn,” said Ippolito.

As a full-time faculty member at the Kelley School in Indianapolis for nearly 30 years, Ippolito knows a thing or two.

“Regardless of who you’re interacting with on the job, regardless of his or her position, that individual is going to know something you don’t know. And you’re not going to know it until you listen to what he or she has to say,” said Ippolito, a senior lecturer in operations management and director of the Undergraduate I-Core program.

After graduating with his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ippolito spent several years serving with the U.S. Air Force (from 1970-1973).

He later began his career in operations as a plant superintendent with Sherwin-Williams in Newark, New Jersey, while also receiving his MBA from Seton Hall University.

A promotion led Ippolito and his wife to Cleveland, where he managed production planning for Sherwin-Williams plants across the country.

“What I really like about supply chain is that you can see what’s happening, and you’re able to take action when something happens,” he said.

He says he got a reputation for being the manager who went out into the plant to solve problems, rather than one who sits in his office. In a world before cell phones, Ippolito’s colleagues knew to find him in the plant, talking with employees.

Ippolito speaks with a graduate at a commencement ceremony.

“You need to listen to the people who are working for you. Make it easy for them to talk to you,” explained Ippolito. “You have to go where your people are working. If you’re sitting in an office, you can’t see what’s happening.”

Ippolito and his wife moved to Indianapolis in the early 1980s when he accepted a job at RCA.

While in Indianapolis, Ippolito joined the local chapter of APICS, which is a professional association for supply chain and operations management. He remains a member today, having served as the organization’s president in 1986-1987. It was through his connections with APICS that he first started teaching at the Kelley School. At that time, he was teaching one I-Core class while maintaining a full-time job at RCA.

When RCA was acquired by General Electric in the late 1980s, Ippolito opted not to take a lateral move to another plant and was offered a full-time faculty position at Kelley. He said he anticipated getting back into the industry after several years, but soon realized his love for teaching full-time.

“I really enjoy teaching. It’s incredibly rewarding to see students move out into the industry and do really neat stuff,” said Ippolito. “A few folks came to campus for a Kelley Indy Supply Chain Club meeting, and one of them was my student 20 years ago. It’s gratifying to see it all come full-circle.”

“I always get a kick out of it when a student emails me during an internship and says, ‘This is what you taught us in the classroom! It’s real stuff!’”

“One of the best features of supply chain is that there’s a role for everyone. If you’re a quantitative analytic type, we need you. If you like digging into the numbers, there’s a job for you. If you’re action-oriented, or more externally focused, there are roles for you, too. No matter what your skill-set is, or what you like to do, there’s a job for you in supply chain,” said Ippolito.

Filed under: Faculty, Operations and Supply ChainTagged manufacturing, mark ippolito, operations, spotlight, supply chain

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Additional Content

About the Kelley School at IUPUI

The Kelley School of Business at IUPUI is home to a full-time undergraduate program and five graduate programs, including a graduate certificate for professionals in healthcare; master’s and graduate certificate programs in accounting, internal audit and taxation; the Physician MBA and the Evening MBA, which is ranked eleventh in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Categories

Search Posts

Receive Updates

Get the latest news from the Kelley School's Indianapolis programs, faculty, students and alumni delivered directly to your Inbox

Please, insert a valid email.

Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.

Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent Posts

  • Technology executive joins the Tobias Leadership Center as its second executive in residence March 30, 2023
  • Physician MBA authors book about physician burnout and coaches other MDs on their careers March 9, 2023
  • International student from Spain finds home and future at Kelley Indianapolis March 7, 2023
  • Global HR leader credits his Kelley network for paving the way for his professional success February 23, 2023
  • Former public and tribal attorney uses Evening MBA in move into business law February 15, 2023

See Archived Posts

Kelley School Faculty at IUPUI

Full list of faculty based in Indianapolis.

Indiana University

Copyright © 2022 The Trustees of Indiana University | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help

Subscribe

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.