Gary Polk, Sr.

SBDC Center:

Gary L. Polk, Sr. is an adjunct professor of Business Management, Ethics, and Entrepreneurship at CSUDH (CA State University, Dominguez Hills) in Carson, CA. He began teaching at CSU, Northridge, in 1991, and by 1993 found that teaching was his true passion. Gary is very well known in the entrepreneur ecosystem encompassing Los Angeles County. Gary has also served as Executive Director of two business incubators. The first was with the South Bay Entrepreneurial Center (SBEC), where he led the SBEC from red to black ink in an excellent turnaround effort.

Gary was the founder and first Executive Director of the Innovation Incubator at CSUDH. After three great years, in 2019, he returned to teaching full-time. Gary has served as a CEO coach and founder of Polk Consulting. A former banker, district financial services sales manager, and women’s college basketball coach/recruiting coordinator, Gary has 40 years of practitioner experience and his educational background. Gary is a Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles graduate with a BA in Marketing/Finance (C’78) and CSUDH, MS in Administration (C’83). His academic areas of research include strategic management, ethics, and entrepreneurship.