About Us
Mark Akerley
Mark Akerley is co-founder and chief focus officer for Sigma Resource Group, Inc, a business advisory firm that helps leaders and business owners improve their condition. He has worked with both large and small businesses in a variety of industries, including Aetna, GE, Quaker Oats, EMC, AAA, Daily Herald, Lewis Paper, and over 200 other organizations. Prior to co-founding Sigma, Mark spent ten years in industry leading and managing several operating divisions and new business acquisitions. And prior to that, his first entry into management and leadership, he started and operated a successful ride sharing business, learning many valuable lessons about people and getting things done.
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).
Partial List of Clients
- Arbitration Forum
- Biodyne
- Cameron Group
- Eva Maddox Associates
- Daily Herald
- EMC
- Germania
- Mutual Trust Life
- Farm Mutual
- Fortis Financial
- Guarantee Reserve
- Horton Group
- Guy Carpenter
- MGH Health
- Montgomery Mutual
- Mountain West Farm Bureau
- Newcastle Companies
- PAMIC
- Partners Group
- Penn National
- Quaker Oats
- Security Benefit
- Rowe Companies
- US dept of Agriculture
- US Postal Service
- Interstate
- Merchants & Business Owners Assn.
- Preferred Mutual
- Amtrak
- Robert Taylor Associates
- Business Engineering
- TIACP
- IBR Services
- ARAMARK
- Northwestern Memorial Hospital
- American Medical Association
- Blue Cross Blue Shield
- Certified Grocers
- Perseco
- Richard Morton Company Charming Shops
- Sterling Stainless Tube
- Nielson Clearing House
- Boatman’s Bank
- Fort Dearborn Life
- Holmes Murphy & Associates
- Management Programs Inc
- Federal Reserve Bank
- Montgomery Ward
- Farm Bureau
- North American Insurance
- Official Airine Guides
- Mid Central Foods
- Walter Heller Financial
- UARCO
- American Medical Association
- Heinold Commodities
- Elangy Littman Jewelers
- Channel Home Centers
- Regency Savings Bank
- Exchange National Bank
- Signature Group
- McCrory Stores
- American Dental Association
- Alliance Insurance Co
- Employers Health Insurance
- Aetna
- The Brethren Mutual Insurance Co.
- National Assn for Mutual Insurance Co’s
- MEDCO
- Follett College Stores
- AAA-American Automobile Assn.
- J.C. Penny
- Lewis Paper Inc.
- Chicago Beverage Systems
- Alliance of American Insurers
- Amerisafe
- Town of Franklin
- Village of Rocky Hill
- ITT