Dr. John Cicala
Assistant Professor of Teaching | Director, MBA Programs
Biography
John Cicala, was tenured Professor of Marketing at the University of North Alabama from 2019-2023. While there, he co-authored a Marketing textbook, "Marketing Matters," through TopHat Publishing. From 2011 - 2019, Cicala was a tenured Associate Professor of Marketing at Texas A&M University-Kingsville. While there, he served as Chair of the University Curriculum Committee, was on the initial AACSB accreditation task force and was the Founder/Director of the Center for Negotiation.Memphis born and raised, Cicala attended high school at CBHS and received all three of his degrees from the University of Memphis (B.A. in 1986; M.B.A. in 2001; Ph.D. in 2011). He has certifications in Negotiation from the Program on Negotiation through Harvard Law School. Prior to academia, he worked as the Director of Sales for several casinos in Tunica and tried his hand at financial sales as a stock broker/financial advisor for American Express Financial Services and NBC Capital Markets. He spent a few years working in retail (Goldsmith's Department Stores, Pop Tunes Records, and even Blockbuster), as well as in Marketing for several local sports franchises (including the original Showboats and the Memphis Riverkings). Cicala served on the stats crew for Memphis Athletics from 1984 - 1997, working for then Athletic Director Bob Winn, working Tiger football and basketball games at the Liberty Bowl, Coliseum and Pyramid doing sound and music.Earlier this Summer, he began hosting the podcast, "Always With, Never Against: A Podcast of Negotiation," which is available through Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon and iHeart Music.His wife, Karen, is an 8th-grade Math teacher at Snowden School.
Research
Dr. John Cicala discusses recent research on What Makes Sales Presentations Effective: