FALL 2007
BUILDING THE
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
BusinessMiami
U N I VE RSITY O F M I A M I S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S ADMINISTRATION
ONE YEAR AT A TIME
A
lumni participation, the number of alumni who give back to their alma mater, has
gained momentum over the past few years thanks to the growing number of alumni
who support the Annual Fund. Every Annual Fund gift, regardless of size, is important in increasing
alumni participation, one of the criteria used in the national rankings of business schools.
The Annual Fund plays an important role in building the School of Business Administration.
Annual Fund gifts designated to the School of Business Administration are used to meet the most
immediate and pressing needs of our school. They provide financial resources for recruiting and
retaining top business students, and for continuing to offer outstanding teaching, innovative programs and world-class facilities.
WITH YOU we are making a difference!
If you have never made an Annual Fund gift before, or have not yet made your gift for
this year, please log on to www.miami.edu/makeagift. In the Gift Designation area, be
sure to select School of Business Administration from the drop-down menu. Be a part
of creating momentum today!
The University of Miami Annual Fund
School of Business Administration
Post Office Box 248032
Coral Gables, Florida 33124-6521
305-284-4052
NEW DIRECTIONS
Dean Barbara E. Kahn prepares
to lead the School of Business into
its next era of excellence
A Messagefrom theDean
BusinessMiami
DEAN
Barbara E. Kahn
VICE DEANS
Anuj Mehrotra
Linda L. Neider
DIRECTOR, ALUMNI RELATIONS
Contents
volume XI, number 2
Faye M. Harris
Share the Excitement
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Robert S. Benchley
MANAGING EDITOR
Sue Khodarahmi
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Karen Bennett, Clayton Collins,
Catherine O’Neill Grace,
Peter Haapaniemi, Bella Kelly,
Stephanie Levin, Michael J. McDermott,
Jennifer Pellet, Ellen Ullman, Bob Woods
A
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Mitch Shostak
Shostak Studios, Inc.
bkahn@miami.edu
30
39
FEATURES
10 / NEW DIRECTIONS
10 /A Marketer Takes Charge: New Dean Barbara E. Kahn plans
to make the School of Business a global player
15 /Transition Leader: Terri A. Scandura, Dean, The Graduate School
Corey Kuepfer
16 /Change in Management: Linda L. Neider, Vice Dean, Undergraduate Business Programs
PHOTOGRAPHERS
17 /Scaling New Heights: Anuj Mehrotra, Vice Dean, Graduate Business Programs
Fareed Al-Mashat, Marguerite Beaty,
Dennis Chalkin, Jim Dowdall,
Pam Francis, Steven Kovich,
Michael Marko, Will McIntyre,
Paul Morris, Tom Robison, Jeffery Salter,
Tom Salyer, Nick Servian, Tom Stepp
18 /Builder of the School of Business: In 15 years, Paul K. Sugrue turned
18 / IN APPRECIATION
an unranked school into an educational showplace
21 /The Reluctant Administrator: Harold W. Berkman
PHOTO-ILLUSTRATOR
22 /A “Pretty Good” Career: James W. Foley
Roy Wiemann
23 /The Master Juggler: Steven G. Ullmann
PRINTING
EDITORIAL OFFICE
University of Miami
School of Business
215 Jenkins Building
Coral Gables, FL 33124-6521
(305) 284-4052
alumni@exchange.sba.miami.edu
BusinessMiami is published by the University of Miami
School of Business, Office of Alumni Relations and
Development. No portion of this magazine may be
reproduced in any form without prior permission from
the publisher. Nonprofit postage paid at Burlington,VT,
and other locations; Permit #175. © 2007 by the
University of Miami, An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative
— Barbara E. Kahn, PhD
10
ART DIRECTOR
The Lane Press, Inc.
MARGUERITE BEATY
s the new dean, i am extremely excited to be here. I have only been on campus three months, but
already I can sense the anticipation and enthusiasm of the faculty and the students. People here can feel
the energy, and I want you to feel it, too. My goal is to take the University of Miami School of Business
to the next level and help it earn an international reputation for excellence.
Some of my plans for achieving this goal, and the new leadership team that will help me do so, are profiled in
a series of articles inside this issue. One of the reasons I know we will be successful is that the School is in great
shape, thanks to former Dean Paul Sugrue and what he has built here during the past 15 years. We have impressive students, outstanding faculty and staff, and world-class facilities. But now we have to plan where we want to
go in the 21st century. With a clear vision, good implementation and hard work — and, of course, with a little
luck and a lot of help from our alumni and friends — we have every intention of achieving our objectives.
Alumni relations is of critical importance to the
School’s growth, and I intend to focus on making the
bond between the School and its alumni even stronger.
I don’t want you to think of the School as “the place
where I got my degree.” I want you to think of the
School as the place that gave you a foundation for success in your career, and with which you have an ongoing relationship.
Why? Two reasons:
First, we both benefit, and that’s always a good business proposition. The better our reputation, the higher
we rise in the rankings, and the more we become a
global player, the greater the value of your diploma.
Second, we need your help. We want you to hire
our graduates and provide internships for our students. If you live in the greater Miami area, we invite
you to participate in our special programs and events
here on campus. If you live elsewhere, we hope you
will visit us if you come to South Florida on business
or vacation. And wherever you live, we look for your
ideas and your support, no matter how large or small.
I look forward to sharing the excitement with you.
Action University. All rights reserved.
24 / DYNAMIC DUO
How two years of teamwork in the Mentor Program paid off in a dream job
for a new graduate with her heart set on New York
30 / GENERATION “I”
When it comes to intelligent, inspired ideas, the winners of the
2007 Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition have it all
DEPARTMENTS
2 / DEAN’S MESSAGE
Dean Barbara E. Kahn shares her vision for the School’s future
4 / IN THE NEWS
Dean announces new department chairs; task forces revise curriculum;
School plans broader PhD program; Hyperion Council inducts new members;
dinner honors Paul K. Sugrue’s 15 years as Dean
39 / ALUMNI NEWS
Catch up on the activities of your friends and classmates
Cover photograph by Marguerite Beaty (MFA ’02)
InTheNews
Recipient Cristina Gomez (left) with Kay Tatum, Chair, Department of Accounting.
2
1
KahnConnects
School Plans Broader
PhD Program
BARBARA E. KAHN,THE SCHOOL’S NEW DEAN, has wasted no time in recent weeks making connections
THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS currently offers a
with students, alumni, donors and local business leaders. In a series of high-profile events, Dean Kahn (pro-
PhD in economics, but a faculty committee is
file, page 10) has spoken before a variety of groups, outlining her vision for the School. Although most of her
now designing a School-wide PhD program.
presentations have been in Miami, she also has spoken to alumni in Aspen and Denver, Colo.; Memphis,
Under the leadership of Professor of Marketing
Tenn.; and Tokyo. “I’m anxious to get the word out to as many people as possible that the School is em-
A. Parasuraman, the committee is developing the
barking on a period of rapid change,” she says. “You can feel the excitement on campus, and I want to convey
curriculum, admission process and other elements
that same excitement to our alumni and friends in South Florida and around the world.”
of the new pro-
The Miami-area events began on October 3 with a reception and presentation in the School’s Storer
gram. The plan is
Auditorium for local alumni, donors and friends. That was followed on November 15 by a Women Execu-
to offer PhD de-
tives Luncheon sponsored by the UM Alumni Association and held in the James W. McLamore Executive
grees in market-
Education Center dining room. Next up was an informal bagged-lunch question-and-answer session with
ing, management
Executive MBA students in Storer Auditorium on November 17. Finally, on November 19, Dean Kahn met
and possibly man-
with top executives at BankUnited in Coral Gables. ■
agement science,
in addition to eco-
MICHAEL MARKO/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS; FACULTY PHOTOS: TOM STEPP/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS
nomics, with other
disciplines added
in coming years.
A. Parasuraman
“We will begin accepting and processing
applications in early spring,” says Dr. Parasuraman. “Qualified applicants will be admitted by
summer 2008 and begin their program of study in
fall 2008.”
Dr. Parasuraman notes that “an active and
strong PhD program is an essential pillar for
supporting our School’s goal of enhancing its
visibility and scholarly reputation in the academic and business communities, and among the
public at large.”
For more information, contact Dr. Parasura7
man at parsu@miami.edu.
■
New Chairs Named for Two Departments
NEW CHAIRS HAVE been appointed for the
(profile, page 17). Dr. Baker joined the faculty in
Management and Management Science depart-
1978. His research interests include combinatorial
Dr. Luo joined the
ments as part of the restructuring of the School of
optimization and computational complexity issues
faculty in 2000.
Business leadership.
as they apply to problems of vehicle routing and
His research inter-
7:
TOM STEPP/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS; PHOTOS
1, 2, 3:
4 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
6
PHOTOS
5
PHOTO
4
4, 5, 6:
3
ROBERT KLEMM
1. Dean Kahn chats with Matthew Beekhausen (BBA
’91) of Greenberg Traurig at a reception on Oct. 3.
2. Later, she delivers her strategic plan to a packed
Storer Auditorium. 3. At a Nov. 19 luncheon at
BankUnited in Coral Gables (left to right): Carlos R.
Fernandez-Guzman, senior executive vice president,
Neighborhood Banking Group; Hunting F. Deutsch
(MBA ’82), executive vice president, Wealth Management; Dean Kahn; Roberta Kressel, executive vice
president, human resources; Ramiro A. Ortiz, president/
chief operating officer; and Humberto L. Lopez (BBA
’81, MBA ’82), senior executive vice president/chief
financial officer. 4. At the Women Executives Luncheon
on Nov. 15, Dean Kahn generates enthusiasm from the
audience. 5. Dean Kahn with (left to right) Hilda Argilagos-Jimenez, president, Baby Abuelita; Dany Garcia
Johnson (BBA ’92), UM Trustee and CEO, JDM Partners;
Carol Fenster, CEO, Baby Abuelita. 6. Dean Kahn with
Jackie Nespral, (AB ’89) NBC6 news anchor, UM
Trustee and president, UM Alumni Association. 7. At a
Q&A session with Executive MBA students Nov. 17.
Edward K. Baker III
(profile, page 16).
Professor Ed-
crew scheduling. He also is interested in the appli-
ests
ward K. Baker III
cations of operations research and statistics to prob-
global
was named Chair
lems in marine resources management, such as
multinational
of the Management
simulation studies of the impact of recreational
management and
Science
business in emerg-
Depart-
boating and marina development on Florida man-
ment. He succeeds
atees and their habitats. He was previously chair of
Dr. Anuj Mehrotra,
the department, from 1988 to 2002.
focus
on
strategy,
ing markets. He is
Yadong Luo
the author of 15
whom Dean Kahn
Professor Yadong Luo was named Chair of the
books and more than 120 refereed journal articles.
has appointed Vice
Management Department. He succeeds Dr.
Dr. Luo recently was ranked the world’s most pro-
Dean of Graduate
Linda L. Neider, whom Dean Kahn has appointed
ductive international business scholar since 1996
Business Programs
Vice Dean of Undergraduate Business Programs
by the Journal of International Business Studies. ■
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 5
InTheNews
Health Care Management
Programs on the Move
CUSTOM PROGRAMS
ADDRESS SPECIFIC
COMPANY NEEDS
PROFESSOR OF MANAGEMENT Steven
AS PART OF ITS
G. Ullmann (profile, page 23), the School’s new
extended outreach
Director of Health Sector Management and
to the South
Policy Programs, has several initiatives under way.
Florida commu-
• The MBA in Health Administration
nity, the School is
and Policy program — one of only five pro-
now offering
grams in the country with dual accreditation
custom programs
in business administration and health admin-
tailored to the
istration — is assembling a new advisory
needs of a specific
board of top-level administrators from the
Andrea Heuson
Arun Sharma
and national representation.
TASK FORCES REVISE
CURRICULUM
provide the expertise of a world-class faculty
• An MD/MBA program is being established in partnership with UM’s Miller School
of Medicine. The program is expected to begin
in the fall of 2008.
are currently examining and revising the curriculum
health care management is being developed in
for undergraduate and graduate programs. Their
collaboration with several UM schools, col-
goal is to make sure that the material taught by the
leges and programs. The program is targeted to
School is competitive with that taught at the best
working professionals and students who have
programs in the country. Heading both task forces,
or are pursuing an MBA or MD degree or
with support from the Vice Deans, is Professor of
other graduate degree in nursing, exercise physiology, physical therapy, medical sociology or psychology.
• Non-credit certificate programs and focused workshops are being developed for the health care com-
resentative from each of the School’s departments.
“When comparing ourselves with top schools,
MIAMI-DADE MAYOR KEYNOTES ASPA MEETING
Carlos Alvarez, mayor of Miami-Dade County, was the keynote speaker at the Best Practices Conference of the South
Florida Chapter of the American Society of Public Administrators, held April 27 in the School’s Storer Auditorium. Prior
to delivering his address, Mayor Alvarez (third from right) posed with (left to right): Allan Rosenbaum (AB ’62),
director, Institute for Public Management and Community Service, Florida International University; Ray de Arrigunaga,
lecturer, Political Science Department; Jonathan West, professor, Political Science Department and director, Public
Administration Program; Royce Burnett, assistant professor, Accounting Department; William Solomon (MPA ’81,
MPH ’83, JD ’89), chief, Procurement and Warehouse Management Division, Miami-Dade Park and Recreation
Department; and Terry Murphy, chief of staff for County Commissioner Natacha Millan.
care, with a focus on educating both health care administrators and government policymakers.
For more information, contact Dr. Ullmann at sullmann@miami.edu. ■
mathematics in the way they do,” says Professor
Heuson. “The changes will impact both core and
elective courses in every department.”
■
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS TARGET
PROFESSIONALS AND STUDENTS
BUSY PROFESSIONALS and UM graduate
courses must be completed to earn a certifi-
students in non-business academic fields now
cate. Programs begin in January.
have an opportunity to enhance their career
“These programs offer great value to pro-
portfolio with cutting-edge business knowl-
fessionals who lack the time to pursue a con-
edge offered through the School’s three new
ventional business degree, and to students
certificate programs. The programs include
preparing for careers in which business knowl-
General Business, Lean/Six Sigma Manage-
edge will be useful,” says Anuj Mehrotra, Vice
Each program consists of several courses.
Single courses may be taken, but all required
Dean for Graduate Business Programs, who is
directing the certificate programs.
For more information, call (305) 284-2794.
&
ment and Investments.
MEHROTRA: MARGUERITE BEATY; ANDREA HEUSON: TOM STEPP/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS
• Also being explored are the international aspects of health care and the privatization of health
■
Six Sigma continuous process improvement.
The custom programs are developed
through a five-step process involving pre-training needs assessment through post-training
evaluation. Highly interactive class sessions are
designed for small groups and feature case dis-
Two types of comprehensive business educa-
same way, teach them at the same level, grade them
in the same way, and incorporate technology and
curriculum.
leadership and strategy, health care, logistics and
or industry.
ASPA MEETING: TOM STEPP/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS; HYPERION COUNCIL MEETING: FAREED AL-MASHAT; ARUN SHARMA: TOM ROBISON
• A concentration in health care management is being developed for the School’s undergraduate
American business issues (in English or Spanish),
cussions developed specifically for the company
we want to be sure that we teach our courses in the
and consumer-focused quality in health care.
6 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
The wide range of subjects offered includes Latin
Finance Andrea Heuson. Each task force has a rep-
munity. Topics will include elements of change management, budgeting and finance for clinical managers,
Anuj Mehrotra
to network with their peers in other companies.
TWO GROUPS OF SENIOR FACULTY members
• A for-credit certification program in
try. The programs
combined with opportunities for senior executives
ULLMANN
Steven G. Ullmann
company or indus-
health care community, with local, regional
tion for senior executives are also offered. The
first is a customized MBA program that can be
completed in 18 to 20 months, on or off the
UM campus. Classes meet on weekends or full
time for two weeks every two months. The
second is an abbreviated program for busy
senior executives unable to commit the time for
a full MBA. Classes meet on or off the UM
campus for 20 days, either on weekends or twice
for two weeks two months apart.
“With increasing global competition and
changing marketplaces, senior executives need
to be conversant with emerging management
thoughts and practices,” says Arun Sharma,
Chair of the Marketing Department and director of the School’s custom program initiative.
HYPERION COUNCIL INDUCTS NEW TITANS
The Hyperion Council, a volunteer service organization for undergraduate business students, inducted its annual group of
Titans, as its members are called, on April 13. Shown here are: (back row, left to right) Nicholas Gavronsky, Henry
Holaday,Andrew Haines, Brandon Quarles, Brett Brown, Ross Votel and Josh Crunk; (front row, left to right) Itziar DiezCanedo, Kizzy Gift, Rachel Dias, Robyn Parris and Brad Cohn.
“These programs provide a unique career opportunity for emerging leaders.”
For more information, contact Dr. Sharma
at customprograms@miami.edu. ■
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 7
InTheNews
Sergio Garcia and
Blanca Ripoll-Garc
ia.
Chet Schriesheim and Dean
Sugrue enjoy a laugh.
Ari and Patricia Abril, Shirley Dennis, Kay Tatum and Richard Rump.
SURPRISE!
W
Kazanjian and
ie
n
on
C
t,
er
lp
A
en
Steph
r party-goers
he
ot
in
o
j
is
ill
G
en
re
Mau
on the terrace.
John Mazias and Marc Junkunc
smile for the camera.
HEN DEAN PAUL K. SUGRUE, his wife Linda
Neider, and their college-bound daughter Rosie
walked into the Red Fish Grill on May 18, he
thought they were attending a dinner meeting
for Miami-area families with a child entering
balloons, Champagne and a roar of “surprise!” from the assembled
School of Business faculty and staff. What followed was an evening of
toasts and roasts celebrating the outgoing Dean’s 15 years of service in
high style. There were lengthy tributes, but perhaps the simple banner
hanging in the foyer said it best:
8 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
“Thank You, Paul.”
Dean Sugrue with
George and
Iliana Gonzalez.
TOM STEPP/PYRAMID PHOTOGRAPHICS
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology this fall. Instead, there were
Rosie Sugrue with parents Dean Sugrue and Linda Neider.
Yi Xu and Ling Wang.
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 9
new directions
BARBARA E. KAHN
Dean
A
Marketer
Takes Charge
Barbara E. Kahn, our new Dean,
intends to turn the School of Business
into a global player
INTERVIEW BY ROBERT S. BENCHLEY • PHOTOS BY MARGUERITE BEATY (MFA ’02)
W
hen former Dean Paul K. Sugrue announced in September 2006 that he would
step down at the end of the 2006–07 academic year, the University of Miami immediately began a national search for his successor. That process ultimately led
the search committee to Barbara E. Kahn, the Dorothy Silberberg Professor of
Marketing, Vice Dean and Director of the Undergraduate Division at the University of
Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. Dean Kahn is an internationally recognized expert in such
marketing areas as consumer choice, variety seeking, brand loyalty and decision making.
Under her leadership, Wharton has had the top-ranked undergraduate program in the U.S.
10 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
new directions
Dean Kahn didn’t start out to be an
academic or even a marketing specialist. A
native of the New York City area, she
began her college studies as a math and
science major at Rensselaer Polytechnic
Institute. In her junior year, she transferred
to the University of Rochester to major in
English literature with a minor in art history, resulting in what she calls a “fairly
eclectic” undergraduate education. That
degree led to a job as a writer/researcher at
an advertising and public relations firm in
Seattle. She wanted to get back to New
York, though, and an MBA at Columbia
seemed like the ticket to the marketing
fast track.
Once back in school, however, Dean
Kahn realized that she really enjoyed the
research and teaching associated with the
academic life. She did complete the MBA
degree, but then went on to earn a PhD in
marketing. Her dissertation focused on
measuring and modeling variety seeking
and brand loyalty behavior — why some
consumers, for example, buy primarily
Coke, while others drink a variety of flavors. Her first academic position was at
UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of
Management, where she met her husband,
Robert J. Meyer, another marketing professor. After five years together in Los Angeles, the two went on sabbatical to Wharton
to continue their research. Wharton turned
out to be a good match for their interests,
and they stayed.
Dean Kahn was very productive teaching and doing research, and she expected
her career to remain on that path. When
the Vice Dean position at Wharton opened
up in 2003, however, the school’s thenDeputy Dean approached her about the
job. He thought she would be ideal for the
BARBARA E. KAHN education
Selected Profile
PhD, Columbia University, 1984
MPhil, Columbia University, 1984
MBA, Columbia University, 1982
BA, University of Rochester, 1974
academic
positions
Wharton School,
University of Pennsylvania
Vice Dean and Director, Undergraduate Program,
2003–2007
Named Dorothy Silberberg Professor, 1999
Professor, 1995–1999
Associate Professor, 1990–1995 (tenured July 1992)
Visiting Assistant Professor, 1988–1989
University of Sydney (Australia)
Visiting Academic, July–December 1996
University of Tokyo
Hakuhodo Visiting Scholar, June–July 1993
Anderson School, UCLA
Assistant Professor, 1984–1988
Acting Associate Professor, 1989–1990
Pace University
Lecturer, 1983
12 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
position. He turned out to be right, and she
spent the next four years in the dual role of
professor and administrator. That’s when
UM’s search committee came knocking on
her door.
Robert S. Benchley, editorial director of
BusinessMiami, spoke with Dean Kahn to
find out what happened next and what her
plans are for the School of Business.
What attracted you to this new position?
After becoming Vice Dean of Wharton
Undergraduate, I was offered positions at
several other schools. Mostly I ignored
them because I was very happy at Wharton. The UM invitation sparked my interest, though, because it was an exciting
opportunity to become involved with a
school that is in a good position to become
a major player in the international arena.
UM President Donna Shalala was also a
big draw for me. I really respect what she
has done in her career and what she has
done for the University. I like the idea of
helping UM jump to the next level, and I
believe that UM has many strengths that
can be leveraged. It has seen tremendous
growth in the last few years, and will hopefully grow even more in the future. I also
liked that there were so many changes happening at once all around campus. Very
impressive people were attracted to the
university from many different fields and
perspectives. That creates a stimulating
environment. There are also some interesting strengths at the School of Business in
particular, and I hope to build on those and
take the School to the next level.
How did UM’s location factor into your
decision?
Miami was a big draw for me. It goes without saying that it is a beautiful city. I am
also drawn to the international aspect.
Miami’s location makes it truly a global
place, especially as a gateway to Latin
America. I love the diversity, the restaurants, the culture and the overall excitement. In addition, my husband went to
high school in Miami (see sidebar, page 14).
“Simply put, I want the
University of Miami School of
Business to be internationally
recognized on all fronts.”
What do you see as the School’s strengths?
Paul Sugrue leaves the School in great
shape. The physical facilities are state-ofthe-art, and the students in the various programs are impressive. Great strides have
been made over the past 10 years in the academic quality of the students who come
here. There are some terrific faculty members who are doing interesting research.
From what I have seen so far, the faculty is
also willing to do what it takes to go to the
next level — to move from having a wonderful reputation in Florida to becoming a
global player. Doing that, however, requires
a long-term strategy.
What is that strategy?
We are in the process of reviewing and
evaluating everything we do. First, we’re
going to build on the strengths we have
here to attract new scholars who have
global reputations and who can help us
increase our research reputation. That
means an aggressive recruiting campaign,
combined with the current successful practice of hiring top research rookies and
junior faculty. We also are reactivating the
School’s PhD program. Second, I have
appointed a task force to examine the curriculum in both the undergraduate and
graduate programs. I want to make sure
that the most up-to-date, relevant information is being taught so that our students are
well prepared for any business career they
might choose to pursue. Third, we intend
to study our placement opportunities to try
to increase the out-of-Florida possibilities.
Our students tend to focus on the Florida
marketplace, which is fine, but a worldclass business school should also look for
placement in other business centers, such as
New York City. Finally, I want to engage
the business community and the alumni to
actively participate in the excitement that is
occurring in the School of Business. There
are many possibilities for involvement, both
on campus and through financial support.
Obviously, we need resources to make some
of this happen.
You have already begun making significant
administrative appointments.
Yes. I am very pleased to have appointed
two current faculty members to fill two
Vice Dean vacancies. Dr. Anuj Mehrotra
(profile, page 17), formerly the Chair of
the Management Science Department, is
the new Vice Dean for Graduate Business
Programs, succeeding Dr. Harold Berkman (profile, page 21). Dr. Linda Neider
(profile, page 16), formerly the Chair of
the Management Department, has assumed the role of Vice Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs, succeeding
Dr. James Foley (profile, page 22). Both
have the vision, the skills and the solid
academic credentials to help the School of
Business reach the next level of excellence. Their successors — Dr. Edward
Baker in Management Science, who has
previously served as Chair, and Dr.
Yadong Luo in Management — have already been announced (story, page 5). In
addition, I am delighted to announce that
Dr. Steven Ullmann, Professor of Management, has agreed to become the
School’s Director of Health Sector Management and Policy Programs. Dr. Ullmann (profile, page 23) recently stepped
down from two senior UM positions —
Dean of The Graduate School and Vice
Provost for Faculty Affairs and University
Administration. We’re proud that he has
been succeeded as Dean of the Graduate
School by Professor of Management Terri
Scandura (profile, page 15). These appointments demonstrate the strength and
quality of the faculty I have joined here.
W h a t a r e y o u r l on g- t e r m g oa l s f or
the School?
Simply put, I want the University of Miami
School of Business to be internationally
recognized on all fronts — as disseminators
of state-of-the-art research and knowledge,
as producers of the best students (undergraduates, MBAs and PhDs), and as
providers of relevant business theory and
applications to the business community.
You have spoken of collaborative efforts with
other UM schools. How might that happen?
We are going to explore cross-disciplinary
opportunities where we can win. Right off
the bat, I see opportunities to collaborate
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 13
new directions
on health and business programs with the
School of Medicine and the School of
Nursing. I also see possibilities to collaborate with the School of Architecture in
real estate programs. Additionally, there
are entrepreneurial programs that provide
possibilities for cross-disciplinary collaboration. And we are thinking possibly about
a sports business program.
Do you see your expertise in areas such as
consumer choice and health care being
beneficial to the School?
I’m proud of my research record. I have
made significant contributions to the literature of consumer choice in variety, brand
loyalty, assortments and decision making
under uncertainty. More recently, I have
contributed to the literature exploring how
patients and consumers make challenging
health care and preventative care decisions.
I believe this research has increased our
knowledge base and so is valuable just for
that reason. But the process of doing indepth, careful academic research also
strengthens one’s skills in critical thinking,
problem identification and analytical
thinking. So the fact that I have been an
active researcher for the past 20 years has
prepared me to take on the new challenges
presented here.
Will you do any teaching?
Yes, I will. I’m planning to teach a strategic
branding course in the Marketing Department in the spring.
How do you plan to interact with alumni?
I am hoping to actively engage in alumni
relations, both here on campus and during
my travels across the country and throughout the world. I already held four alumni
get-togethers this fall, in conjunction with
marketing conferences that I attended in
Aspen, Denver, Memphis and Tokyo. In
addition, I recently presented my strategy
at a reception for South Florida alumni
and other local professionals here at the
School. I look forward to meeting our
alumni and encouraging them to become
more actively involved.
A FAMILY ON THE MOVE
Dean Kahn’s husband will join the faculty next year
Family portrait (left to right): Alyssa Meyer,
Tim Meyer, Dean Kahn and Bob Meyer.
F
or one member of Dean Kahn’s family,
the relocation to Miami will be a homecoming of sorts. Her husband, Robert J.
Meyer, moved to Miami with his family
as an adolescent and graduated from Killian High
School. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
in geography at Florida State, and a PhD in geogra-
Transition Leader
phy at the University of Iowa. Dr. Meyer is on the
faculty at the Wharton School, where he is the
Gayfryd Steinberg Professor of Marketing, Chair of
the Marketing Department and Co-Director of the
Wharton Center for Risk and Decision Processes.
Their son, Tim Meyer, 17, can’t wait to attend UM.
First, however, he has to finish his senior year of high
school, which he will do in Philadelphia. His father will
remain with him for the next year while Dean Kahn
gets settled in her new job in Miami. Following Tim’s
graduation, the two will relocate to Miami, and Dr.
Meyer will join the faculty at the School of Business.
Their daughter, Alyssa, 20, is a junior at George Washington University majoring in sociology. In addition to
her studies at GW, she is working in external relations
(development and alumni reunions) and may consider that a career option when she graduates.
— R.S.B.
14 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
that I decided to study mentoring as one of
my research areas.”
Her other principal area of academic interest is leadership, which dovetails neatly
with mentoring. “OrganizaTERRI A. SCANDURA tional behavior is an interdisDean, The Graduate School
ciplinary field of study that
draws from business, psychology, social psychology, sociology and other areas,” she explains. At heart, it is about how the
relationships between individuals affect
large institutions.
Now she has an opportunity to put her
research expertise to work in her new position as Dean of The Graduate School. It’s a
big job. The Graduate School provides assistance and oversight for more than 150
graduate programs in Architecture, Arts &
Sciences, Biomedical Research, Business,
Communication, Education, Engineering,
Marine Sciences, Music and Nursing.
“We support recruiting efforts for those
programs,” she says, “and we will be working
to improve the experiences of more than 5,000
graduate students. We will be monitoring program quality and placement of students upon
graduation.” Dr. Scandura succeeds Steven
G. Ullmann, also a Professor of Management, who is now Director of Health Sector
Management and Policy Programs at the
School of Business. (profile, page 23).
Dr. Scandura notes that her expertise in
leadership, team building and negotiating
skills are already proving essential in her new
position, and she plans to continue teaching
courses in those areas.
“Graduate education is fundamental to the
mission of the University of Miami,” says Dr.
Scandura. “Graduate programs enhance the
reputation of the university through the quality of the students they attract, the scholarship
produced by those students, and the placement of graduates in positions of prominence
in the field. The impact on students will be an
enhanced educational experience through enperience set the stage for more than 20
hanced program quality.
years of academic exploration.
“UM is going through an exciting tran“Dr. Graen sparked my interest in orgasition, with increased emphasis on graduate
nizational behavior, ” she says. “I found this
education,” she adds. “I look forward to
process to be so important in my own life
being part of that change.”
W
hen terri scandura arrived
at the School of Business in
1990, fresh from a stint as Assistant Professor of Management at the University of Kentucky, she was
enthusiastic about UM’s relationship with
the city of Miami. “I saw the University as
an institution that would have a major
impact on the community in which it was
located,” she recalls. “The diversity and
growth patterns of Miami made it an exciting place to be.”
Dr. Scandura is a Cincinnati native who
earned her BBA and PhD at the University
of Cincinnati. George Graen, a professor
there who was well known for his research
in leadership, became her mentor. That ex-
“UM is going through
an exciting transition,
with increased
emphasis on graduate
education. I look
forward to being part
of that change.”
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 15
new directions
Change in Management
“I realized the potential
for our School to
build one of the best
programs in the world.”
inda neider believes in the power
of the undergraduate experience —
how just one professor can steer a student onto a path of study that can
change his or her entire life. She knows that
it’s true because it happened to her.
Dr. Neider was a sophomore majoring in
chemistry when she was assigned to the
chair of the Psychology Department as a
work study. “He knew that as a ‘hard science’
major I was familiar with basic research
methods,” she recalls, “and he asked me to
L
16 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
within four years, from the State University
of New York at Buffalo.
As the new Vice Dean for Undergraduate Business Programs, Dr. Neider now has
the opportunity to influence the experience
of all of the School’s 2,150 undergraduates.
With assistance from senior faculty and her
staff, she is already reviewing the School’s
entire undergraduate education curriculum.
It’s a role she has played before in the
School’s Management Department, which
she completely revitalized during her tenure
as Chair. Dr. Neider hired 17 of the 23 current full-time faculty members. She also
raised an endowment of nearly $1 million
that is used to support faculty research,
travel and teaching needs. She developed
majors in entrepreneurship and human
resources management at the undergraduate level, and worked with faculty to
develop numerous graduate courses. Today
the department is the School’s
LINDA L. NEIDER
largest and has the thirdVice Dean, Undergraduate
largest number of undergradBusiness Programs
uate majors in all of UM.
Dr. Neider says she looks forward to continuing the progress made under the prior
leadership of James Foley (profile, page 22).
work with him on his lab studies dealing
Nonetheless, this career move, like her sophowith short-term and long-term memory effects. I ended up publishing two papers with
more shift from chemistry to social sciences,
him by the time I finished my undergraduhas been another surprising turn in the road.
ate studies. More importantly, I learned that
“I had never considered an administraI enjoyed working on research in the social
tive position in undergraduate studies, since
sciences. This ultimately led me to apply to
much of my teaching has been in the graddoctoral programs in psychology, and evenuate classroom,” she says. “But when Dean
tually to specialize in industrial/organizaKahn flew me to Wharton to see the innotional behavior.” The Syracuse, N.Y., native
vations she put into place there, I realized
graduated summa cum laude and went on to
the potential for our School to build one of
receive MA, MBA and PhD degrees, all
the best programs in the world.”
Scaling
New
Heights
A
s a boy growing up in dehradun,
India, a town nestled in a valley in
the Himalayan foothills, Anuj
Mehrotra could see snow-covered
peaks from his window. He liked to hike
several miles up to a hill staANUJ MEHROTRA
tion called Mussourie when it
Vice Dean,
snowed there because it was
Graduate Business Programs
too warm for snow in
Dehradun. From that vantage point, he
could gaze off into the distance and think
about what life might have in store for him.
Today, his window looks out on palm
trees and the flat Miami landscape, and Dr.
Mehrotra is scaling different heights as the
new Vice Dean for Graduate Business Probehind him, Dr. Mehrotra arrived at UM as
grams. His life, however, has turned out
an assistant professor in 1993. Since then,
pretty much as planned.
his research has made him a well-regarded
“Education was always a major area of
authority on large-scale optimization and
focus in my family,” says Dr. Mehrotra, “so
interdisciplinary applications, and he has
I grew up never considering alternatives. A
taught many of the graduate-level courses
life of teaching and research, combined
he now oversees as Vice Dean. He became
with the multicultural environment that a
department chair in 2002, and was named
university campus offers, is one of the most
Leslie O. Barnes Professor of Management
fulfilling lifestyles that I can imagine. I
Science in 2003.
knew this was what I wanted to do when I
Dr. Mehrotra’s new challenge, working
was in high school.”
in conjunction with Dean Kahn and fellow
Dr. Mehrotra’s path to academia began
faculty members, is to review and revamp
with a mechanical engineering degree at
Graduate Business Programs. “Having
Birla Institute of Science and Technology
taught extensively in our graduate proin India. He earned his master’s degree at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute (where he
met his wife, Kashmira, a native of
Mumbai, who works in information technology at Burger King Corp.) and his doctorate at Georgia Institute of Technology.
Both were in operations research, which he
notes has been called “the science of better.”
His doctorate in hand, and a year as a
visiting professor at Carnegie Mellon
“I like to question
everything, and I am
not afraid to
implement change to
speed up progress.”
grams, I bring a fairly good understanding
of our strengths and weaknesses,” he says.
“I like to question everything, and I am
not afraid to implement change to speed
up progress. It is a challenging opportunity, but we have a strong faculty, talented
staff, and promising students and alumni,
and I am very open to receiving everyone’s
input. I am really looking forward to
making a positive contribution.”
Some of the changes he anticipates
include “aggressive recruitment of motivated and qualified students from around
the world, an improved admission
process, and more rigor in our curriculum
and classes. We must enhance the opportunities for our graduates to achieve leadership positions.”
That’s an ambitious agenda, but Dr.
Mehrotra believes he is stepping into a
role for which he has been preparing since
he hiked up the slopes overlooking
Dehradun. Of his experience at UM, he
says, “It has been a great ride that keeps
getting better.”
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 17
in appreciation
Builder
of the School of
Business
In 15 years, Paul Sugrue turned an unranked school
into an educational showplace
BY ROBERT S. BENCHLEY
T
That he did, but he also had some news
to share — he was stepping down as Dean
at the end of the 2006–07 academic year. As
he spoke, there was a collective gasp of surprise. After all, he was the only dean many
of the faculty had known at the School.
Dr. Sugrue told his colleagues his reasoning. The School was in great shape, it
was rising in the rankings, it was on sound
financial footing, its buildings (most of
which he had put up) were abuzz with
scholarly activity, and there was another
building on the drawing board. It was exactly the right time to step down after 15
years — a very long tenure for a dean anywhere — and let a new leader guide the
School into the future. The fact that the
School was in such good shape was a testament to Dr. Sugrue’s leadership — something the faculty acknowledged that
evening with a standing ovation.
Coincidentally, Dr. Sugrue’s academic
career had its very beginnings on a boat,
specifically a U.S. Navy warship. Growing up
in Cambridge, Mass., he became “fascinated
with the idea of the Navy,” he says. “I was 16
when I applied to the Naval Academy.”
Four years at Annapolis earned Dr.
Sugrue an officer’s commission, but the rigorous classroom training also pointed him
to another career path. “I excelled at mathematics, a subject I had always loved and
which many other students found difficult,”
PAUL MORRIS/GPA
he evening of Saturday, September 16, 2006, offered up typical late summer Miami
weather — hot and humid. The School of Business faculty was together for the annual
“welcome back” dinner held at the beginning of the new academic year. For the second
year in a row, the event was held on a dinner boat that cruised around Miami Harbor.
Short sleeves and a sea breeze helped cut the humidity, and the colorful lights of the Miami skyline and causeways provided a beautiful backdrop to the celebration. When Dean Paul K.
Sugrue stepped to the microphone to address the faculty, they expected him to say, as he did
each year, how nice it was to all be together again and what a good year it was shaping up to be.
PAUL K. SUGRUE
18 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
Dean
1992-2007
in appreciation
HAROLD W. BERKMAN
Vice Dean, Graduate Business Programs
1992–2007
20 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
Dr. Sugrue to become Dean of the School of
Business. Until then, the School had seen a
series of short-term deans and acting deans.
Dr. Glaser wanted someone in the job who
could provide strong leadership and longterm stability. His choice was Dr. Sugrue.
He had his work cut out for him. In
1992, none of the School’s programs was nationally ranked. The faculty was ranked 94th
BUILDING
THE SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS
1994 Ziff Graduate Career Services Center opens
1994 Jennings/De la Cruz Study Center opens
1997 McLamore Executive Education Center opens
1998 Storer Auditorium opens
1999 Graduate School facility opens
1999 Cesarano Plaza dedicated
2000 Cesarano Fountain dedicated
2001 Stubblefield Building renovated
2003 Kosar-Epstein Building opens
2005 Aresty Building dedicated
2005 Fernandez Building design begins
in research productivity (in first-tier refereed
publications). Freshman retention was 78
percent. Both SAT and GMAT scores were
lower than those acceptable to a top business
school. And even with the Jenkins and Stubblefield buildings, in many ways the School
was still more of an idea than a place.
“I didn’t have a single priority,” says Dr.
Sugrue. “I knew I needed to build the
School in all areas — faculty, students,
facilities and reputation.”
In the faculty arena, he set out to
develop a research-oriented culture by raising money to support all untenured faculty
on summer research grants throughout
their probationary period. He also hired
several outstanding research professors for
endowed chair positions. By 2007, the
number of full-time faculty had grown by
20 percent, and the School’s research productivity ranking has risen dramatically to
40th in the country.
New programs were introduced, and the
students responded to the increased quality.
Today, freshman retention stands at nearly
90 percent. The School is also attracting
higher-quality students: SAT scores are 210
points higher and GMAT scores 120 points
higher than they were 15 years ago.
The most visible difference is the
growth and development of the School of
Business complex. Dr. Sugrue oversaw the
construction of seven major capital projects
and several minor ones (see box at left), doubling the square footage of the School. “I
love to design and build,” he says, and the
School’s facilities show it. No longer
“scruffy,” they are state-of-the-art buildings
designed by top architects, and they rival
those of any business school in the country.
All of this required money, of course,
and over 15 years Dr. Sugrue raised more
than $200 million in gifts and discretionary
revenue for the School. But the investment
had a profound return in reputation. In
2007, the undergraduate program was
ranked 47th by BusinessWeek, with four
departments ranking in the top 10 of all
universities. The School’s MBA program
was ranked 14th among all schools of business by The Wall Street Journal, and 58th
nationally by U.S. News and World Report.
Along the way, Dr. Sugrue also led the
School’s AACSB reaccreditation and
SACS reviews. During his tenure, the
School attracted more than 50 endowed
scholarships, launched the highly successful
Mentor Program, began the Rothschild
Entrepreneurship Competition, fielded a
national champion ethics debate team, and
attracted dozens of foursomes to an annual
golf tournament that has raised more than
$300,000 for student scholarships.
Now Dr. Sugrue is returning to research
and teaching as part of the Management
Science Department that he never really
left. He does so with a feeling of great
pride. “I like to think that the School improved in all dimensions while I was Dean,”
he says. “We became better at everything,
and accomplished all that we set out to do.”
The Reluctant
Administrator
H
MARGUERITE BEATY
he says. “I realized then that I wanted to
teach and do research.” A stint as an instructor in naval operations and navigation
at the U.S. Naval Officer Candidate School
confirmed his instinct.
After fulfilling his service commitment,
Dr. Sugrue resigned from the Navy and
pursued graduate study, earning an MBA at
the University of Rhode Island and a PhD
at the University of Massachusetts at
Amherst. His facility with mathematics led
naturally to the field of management science. “I found the applications of mathematics in business very interesting,” he says.
Two years of teaching at Providence
College led to an offer from UM. “I have
always loved South Florida, and I was impressed with the potential for growth at
UM,” says Dr. Sugrue. He arrived in Miami
in 1977 as an assistant professor.
The School of Business then bore no
resemblance to today’s state-of-the-art
complex. “We were in two buildings, and
most of the faculty did not know each
other,” he says. “The grounds and facilities
were scruffy.” The Jenkins and Stubblefield
buildings, which were the beginnings of the
School’s current facilities, would not open
for another three years.
Years later, Dr. Sugrue would change all
that — and much more — as Dean, but
first the young academic began to move his
career full steam ahead. He authored one
book and 24 journal articles over the next
few years, becoming a full professor along
the way. His Annapolis-trained leadership
skills also became evident, and he served as
Associate Dean for a period. But in 1987,
Provost Luis Glaser, then in just his second
year at UM, spotted his talent and asked
Dr. Sugrue to join his staff as Senior Vice
Provost. While in that post, he also served
as Acting Dean of the Graduate School for
two years, starting in 1990. Dr. Glaser
became a mentor and close friend. “I have
the greatest respect and admiration for Luis
Glaser,” says Dr. Sugrue. “His support over
the years was invaluable.”
Their professional relationship changed
once again in 1992, when Dr. Glaser asked
arold berkman isn’t a pushover,
and his World War II medals —
including a Bronze Star — were
on display in his office to prove it.
Behind the tough-guy exterior, though, was
a dedicated, if reluctant, administrator. As a
symbol of his dedication, “Dr. B” did something highly unusual: He put his home telephone number on his business card.
“The truth is, I probably was only called
at home once or twice ever,” he admits, “but
I was trying to send our students a message.”
Sending messages may be what Dr. Berk-
man, who is retiring after 15 years on the job,
did best. A marketing whiz who believed it
took nine points of contact to attract, sell and
“I probably was only
called at home once or
twice ever, but I was
trying to send our
students a message.”
keep a prospective student in the highly competitive world of graduate business education,
he helped bring in students by the thousands,
create innovative programs, raise the School’s
MBA program in the national rankings and
generate the revenue that was critical in helping former Dean Paul K. Sugrue build the
School’s physical infrastructure.
Dr. Berkman didn’t start out intending to
be an academic. He attended the University
of Georgia on the GI Bill, then returned to
New York and spent two years working in
his family’s nonferrous metals business. The
entrepreneurial bug soon hit, though, and he
opened and ran a chain of 10 liquor stores
over the next 19 years.
But, he says, “one morning I woke up and
realized that I hated what I did. I liked
opening new stores and promoting them,
but I really didn’t like managing employees.”
His new career goal? College professor. Dr.
Berkman, then in his 40s, went back to
school “with a vengeance,” earning an MBA
and a doctorate at St. John’s University.
After teaching at Long Island University
for seven years, Dr. Berkman was wooed away
by UM in 1977. To sweeten the deal, he also
was made director of the Executive MBA
Program. Suddenly, the guy who got out of
retail because he didn’t want to be a boss was
an administrator. Later he was named Associate Dean, and then Vice Dean, of Graduate
Business Programs in 1992.
Dr. Berkman says he is proud of the many
students who have gone on to successful careers, of his devoted staff who stayed with him
and of the many programs he introduced, especially the Master of Science in Professional
Management. He also points to the rapid rise
in new students’ GMAT scores and the many
students attracted to the School’s graduate
programs from overseas. It’s been a great run,
he says, but it’s time for a rest.
“When Paul Sugrue became Dean, I
promised him that I would stay as long as
he did. I never expected it to be 15 years. At
81, I may have been the oldest dean in the
country,” Dr. Berkman laughs. “Now I’m
headed for a long-deserved ‘sabbatical.’ I
can’t wait!”
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 21
in appreciation
“I can be having a really
bad day and walk into
the classroom, and the
students energize me.”
A “Pretty Good” Career
Kahn asked him to fill a new position as the
School’s Director of Health Sector Management and Policy Programs. He said yes.
Saying yes to UM was easy from the start.
Following undergraduate study in economics
at the University of California at Berkeley, the
San Francisco native earned master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor. It was there that an influential
professor steered him toward health economics, which was then an emerging specialty.
“UM had everything I needed to do my
research,” says Dr. Ullmann. “They had a
business school that wanted me to do
health care work, a health administration
program, a medical school and a center on
aging. They also asked me to guest lecture
in the undergraduate economics course. I
thought, ‘Wow, what a cool signal, that
teaching is really important here.’ The final
thing that put it all together was that they
flew me down in January. Ann Arbor was
40 below, and it was 70 in Miami!”
Dr. Ullmann is proud of all that he
accomplished in his two administrative
positions. “UM is an institution with 8,000plus faculty and staff, and 15,000-plus students, so you’re dealing with a small city in
terms of the situations that come up,” he
director of UM libraries — twice.
says. But teaching is his tonic. “To me it’s
None of that, however, includes his first
almost therapy,” he says. “I can be having a
love — teaching. Dr. Ullmann has appointreally bad day and walk into the classroom,
ments as Professor in both the Manageand the students energize me.”
ment and Economics departments at the
Perhaps that is why Dr. Ullmann has won
School of Business, and in two
so many of UM’s Excellence
departments at UM’s Miller STEVEN G. ULLMANN in Teaching awards — 24, acDirector, Health Sector
School of Medicine.
cording to the School of BusiManagement and Policy
His juggling act is easier
ness records. “Actually, it’s 25
Programs
now. Dr. Ullmann has stepped
now,” he corrects. Is there
*******
down from both administrative
anyone else at UM who comes
Vice Provost, Faculty Affairs &
positions and returned to fullclose to that number? “I really
University Administration
time teaching. With one small
don’t know,” he says with a
1992–2007
Dean, The Graduate School
exception: Dean Barbara E.
smile. “I don’t count.”
The Master Juggler
ou might think that steve
Ullmann has trouble saying no.
When questioned about how he
became Dean of the Graduate
School in 1999, he replies simply, “They
asked me.” But he had already been the Vice
Provost for Faculty Affairs and University
Administration since 1992. How did that
appointment happen? “They asked me.”
Dr. Ullmann also served UM as Director
of Academic Programs in Health Administration (1986–1995) and Associate Director
of the Center on Adult Development and
Aging (1991–1993). And he was acting
Y
MARGUERITE BEATY
“You have to do
something you love.
That’s the key.”
MARGUERITE BEATY
J
im foley, with typical modesty,
uses the term “pretty good” when describing his abilities, but in 40 years at
UM he has proven to be a lot more.
Back when he was an undergraduate liberal
arts student at the University of Cincinnati, his
goal was to become a lawyer. Just in case law
school didn’t work out, though, he decided he
needed to major in “something marketable,” so
he chose economics. The law profession’s loss
ended up UM’s gain.
“I found I was pretty good at economics,”
he says, “and the Soviet Union had launched
State, where he entered the PhD program in
economics, he was required to teach and
found he was “pretty good” at that, too.
It was while he was at Michigan State
that Dr. Foley, who was interJAMES W. FOLEY
ested in the economies of develAssociate Dean, Undergraduate
oping countries, was influenced
Academic Services
by one of his professors to focus
1987–2007
on Latin America. Ultimately,
that focus is what brought him to UM.
“At most universities, you would be lucky
to teach one course a year on Latin America,”
he says. “Here at UM, I had the opportunity
to teach several courses a year because of the
strong emphasis on Latin America.”
Dr. Foley arrived in Miami in 1968 and
began teaching economics. Along the way, he
became director of the School’s graduate programs in economics. Ever the master of understatement, he says that experience “showed
that I had some administrative ability.” In
1987, then-Dean Jack Borstein offered him
the position of Associate Dean for Undergraduate Academic Services. That turned out
to be a “pretty good” idea, too, for Dr. Foley
held the position for the next 20 years.
Dr. Foley also takes pride in the leadership
role that he and his staff have taken at UM.
“We were the first school to put in our own
undergraduate admissions director, and our
recruiting model has resulted in a dramatic
rise in the SAT scores of incoming freshmen.
We also were the first to go to paperless files
and to a computerized degree-audit system,”
he says, “and our award-winning peer-counseling program may be the best in Florida.”
One of the benefits of being a dean — Dr.
Foley calls it “a real privilege” — has been the
opportunity to work with talented faculty
and administrators across UM. A teacher at
heart, he headed back to the classroom this
the Sputnik satellite in 1957, so the governfall, a practice he never abandoned in his 20
ment was pouring money into higher educayears as Associate Dean. “You have to do
tion.” That government money made it easy
something you love. That’s the key. I have
for Dr. Foley to get a graduate assistantship at
stayed active and involved with students,” he
Miami University of Ohio, where he earned a
says, smiling. “It’s been a pretty good choice.”
master’s degree in economics. At Michigan
1999–2007
22 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 23
Dynamic
Duo
How two years of teamwork
through the Mentor Program
paid off in a dream job
for a new graduate with
her heart set on New York
BY JENNIFER PELLET
PHOTOGRAPHS BY PAUL MORRIS/GPA
A
shley Cristol (BBA ’07) met Sherry Ulsh (MBA ’83) at a pivotal time in her education. The pair were matched by the Mentor Program at the beginning of
Cristol’s junior year, just after she changed her major from finance to marketing. It was a move that Ulsh, director of marketing account administration at
Miami-headquartered Burger King, could well understand. >>>
Opposite page: Mentor Sherry Ulsh (right) helped Ashley Cristol find the right job.
24 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
LEGAL EAGLES
New law student benefits from judicial wisdom
O
n his first day as a protégé, Ian Lerner
(BBA ’07) got started by simply watching his mentor, Florida Circuit Judge
Gill S. Freeman (MEd ’73, JD ’77), at
work. “I went to the courthouse and sat in on a
couple of hearings. Her bailiff would come over
and explain what was going on, and it was cool,”
he says. The experience was also ideal for Lerner,
who entered the UM School of Law this fall.
After that initial meeting, Lerner and
Freeman, of the 11th Judicial Circuit Complex
Business Litigation Section in Miami, met every
few weeks. Their discussions naturally centered
on the law — or more specifically, life as a lawyer.
“We talked about what his aspirations were and
where he ultimately wants to live and practice,”
says Freeman. “We talked about the nature of the
legal practice, getting your first job, what areas of
law are the most lucrative, and the nature of
practice and what you have to do to really be
successful in those areas.”
Law school, too, was a topic. “She gave me a
lot of good advice about how to tackle the first
year of law school — and not just the school part,
but the life part,” says Lerner. “She told me how
things are going to change, that I’m going to be
challenged, but not to worry — to just stay
focused. She also told me to be sure to make
some time for myself — for example, to continue
to go to the gym because I’m interested in training. She reminded me to work hard but also to
have a life when I’m in law school.”
Lerner credits the success of the experience
to Freeman’s ability to be friendly and down to
earth, and to make him feel comfortable. “The
relationship could have been awkward, but she
was nice and really open to everything I had to
say. That helped a lot,” he says.
Now a law student, Lerner still has occasional dinners with Freeman, con-
For her part, Freeman says that Lerner’s approach was critical as well. A
tinuing the relationship that developed through the Mentor Program. “This has
mentor can only do so much to initiate and shape the relationship, she explains.
been a great opportunity, having someone who’s really important in my field
For the most part, it is really up to the protégé to be proactive — and Lerner was.
being willing to help me,” Lerner says. “My friends used to ask me, ‘What do
“Ian’s personality and drive helped to make this work,” she says. “He made it
you do with a mentor?’ And I told them that it’s someone who cares and who
clear to me that he had an interest in gathering as much information as he
is looking out for me. That’s basically what it was, and that has been really
could and really learning, and he was very pointed and direct in asking about
valuable.”
things he wanted to know.”
26 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
— Peter Haapaniemi
“During our first few conversations, we
talked a lot about finding your passion,” says
Ulsh, whose MBA concentration was finance
but whose responsibilities now include financial
support of Burger King’s marketing department.
“Ashley realized that while she’s comfortable
with numbers and statistical analysis, hardcore
finance was not for her.”
Their first year together, the two women met
regularly, attending roundtable discussions held
by the Mentor Program and dining together
monthly. Initially, their conversations focused on
honing Cristol’s career plans. “We had conversations about the difference between finance and
marketing,” reports Ulsh. “Because my current
role involves supporting marketing, I was able to
share with her some insights about what each of
the two career paths would entail.”
Early on, Ulsh also gave Cristol her first look
at real-world business operations with a tour of
Burger King’s headquarters, office visits, and
meeting and speaking with Ulsh’s co-workers.
“Going to her offices was great networking for
me,” says Cristol. “And talking to Sherry every
month about her career and how she’s achieved
what I hope to do was incredibly helpful.”
The two also faced down the biggest challenge for a junior: finding the perfect summer
internship. Complicating matters, Cristol had
her heart set on interning in New York — a goal
that ruled out Burger King.
Meeting over dinner one night, they pored
over Cristol’s résumé, fine-tuning her accomplishments in anticipation of internship interviews. “Her résumé didn’t highlight what she
had accomplished as strongly as it could have,”
recounts Ulsh. “So we reworked it on a laptop
over dinner, moving her work experience up
higher, adding more action words and details on
the results she had achieved on various projects.”
Thanks in part to the revamp, Cristol secured
a highly coveted internship in the research and
planning department at Viacom-owned MTV
Networks — exactly what she had hoped for.
“I learned a lot about the media entertainment industry and MTVN as a company,” she
says. “I also learned how to work with Nielsen
and Scarborough and other research tools. It was
a really great internship because my department
was very small — five people, including the secretary — so they gave me actual work to do.”
Cristol and Ulsh asked to be paired again
during Cristol’s senior year. With most of the
basics already covered, this was an opportunity
for the relationship to evolve. BusinessMiami
decided to check in with the pair on a regular
basis. Here’s how the year unfolded.
fa l l 2 0 0 6
hen cristol and ulsh
reconnected at dinner shortly
after the start of the fall
semester, a deepening of their
mentor-protégé relationship
was immediately apparent.
“We talk about our personal lives a lot more,”
reported Ulsh. “The first time we met, we spoke
about what we as women want from our careers,
and about the challenge of balancing a job and a
relationship.”
Cristol’s summer in New York had solidified
her goal of moving there after graduation, so
subsequent meetings were focused on how to
bring that dream to fruition. “My mind is set on
New York, but I won’t move there until I have a
job set,” Cristol said. “So we’re spending a lot of
time on networking and what I need to do to
further my search.”
“New York isn’t for everyone, but Ashley will
do well there,” predicted Ulsh, who hails from
Pennsylvania. “It’s refreshing to see someone
who knows what she wants and is willing to do
what she needs to do to get down that path.
She’s not a person who will just fall into whatever comes her way.”
To help give Cristol insight into what companies look for in entry-level employees, Ulsh
arranged for her to meet with a member of
Burger King’s talent acquisition team, who
offered job search pointers. Ulsh also sent out
feelers to her contacts in the marketing world
and worked with Cristol to develop a spreadsheet of target companies in the media and
entertainment industry where she most hoped to
work, as well as at large New York publishing
companies and ad agencies.
“It’s hard to send your résumé into a large
company cold and wait for a callback,” said
Cristol, who checked in with Ulsh for encouragement as well as advice whenever she had
doubts about a cover letter or when to send a
W
“IT’S REFRESHING
TO SEE SOMEONE
WHO KNOWS
WHAT SHE WANTS
AND IS WILLING
TO DO WHAT SHE
NEEDS TO DO TO
GET DOWN THAT
PATH. SHE’S NOT
A PERSON WHO
WILL JUST FALL
INTO WHATEVER
COMES HER WAY.”
–SHERRY ULSH
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 27
–ASHLEY CRISTOL
winter 2006
B
y december, cristol had submitted her résumé to a dozen companies, including the Food Network,
Condé Nast, Walt Disney,
McGraw-Hill, Ogilvy & Mather
and Scholastic. In February the
search was in high gear, but it became increasingly
clear that landing a job from afar was unlikely.
Undeterred, Cristol made a visit to New York
— lured in part by the invitation to interview for
one of 12 paid internships for recent graduates at
the MTV Networks Summer Associate Program.
“The interview went well, and I’m really hoping it
will work out at MTVN, but I won’t find out until
April,” she said on returning from her New York
trip, adding that she also interviewed at Teach for
America’s corporate office and spoke by phone
with a contact of Ulsh’s at a large marketing firm.
“I am continuing to network and am staying in
touch with the people I’ve met so far. A lot of
companies in these industries only hire a few
weeks before they want you to start, so that makes
it hard. But I have faith.”
“She’s done a great job making connections,”
added Ulsh. “I really hope she can join the media
agency. That would be a great learning experience for her. I know that she would prefer MTV,
and in the end it’s her decision. I just put the
opportunity out there.”
spring 2007
W
28 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
hen the internship at
MTVN did not materialize,
Cristol broadened her
search, aided by contacts
provided by Ulsh’s network.
“Sherry got me contacts at
TAILORED APPROACH
so many New York agencies through her network,” she reported. “But in the end I graduated
without a job.”
Conferring, the two agreed that to join New
York’s media world, Cristol would need to break
her vow not to move without a job. “I wasn’t getting anywhere because I didn’t have a set date of
when I would be in New York, so I couldn’t set
up interviews or say, ‘I will be there on this
date,’ ” she said. “So I thought, I just have to go.”
No small feat, moving to the country’s most
ruthlessly competitive city without a job.
Undaunted, Cristol secured both an apartment
and roommates via the Web and booked a oneway ticket.
Communication is key to a successful relationship
Brett Brown’s experience with the program was similar. “We would talk
about nearly everything — Don’s experiences in business, investing, the
stock market, about choosing a career and advancing in a career,” he says.
“I definitely gained a real understanding into a lot of areas that are interesting to me as a finance major.” The program also led to Brown getting a
summer internship at Assurant Solutions, where Taylor’s wife, Renata, is vice
president of operations accounting. Renata, incidentally, joined the Mentor
Program this fall.
All agree that communication also is key. For Taylor, that means more
summer 2007
than formal meetings; it also means using e-mail to continue discussions.
“Fortunately, with e-mail you can share articles and items of interest with
met my roommates the same day we
signed our lease,” reported a relocated
Cristol in June. “It was scary, but at the
same time I knew that at some point I
would get a job. I was e-mailing and
making follow-up calls like crazy.”
Meanwhile, Ulsh had been hard at work on her
behalf, calling on contacts to open doors. Their
joint efforts led to interviews at Deutsch, Clear
Channel Radio Sales, Z100, the Food Network
and — yet again — MTV, as well as at VH1,
another Viacom network. “The opportunities at
MTV and VH1 came through Sherry’s contact at
the media agency, with whom I had kept in
touch,” says Cristol. “She called me and said that
since she couldn’t hire me [due to a hiring freeze],
she was forwarding my résumé to some people she
knew at the television stations they work with.”
Shortly thereafter, Cristol received a call from
an advertising executive at VH1. She met with
the woman who was to be her future boss at a
Starbucks, where they hit it off immediately. The
conversation ended with an informal offer of an
advertising sales assistant position, quickly followed up with a formal offer from VH1’s HR
department that afternoon. “I started a week
later and I love it,” says Cristol, who credits Ulsh
with connecting her with the job — and helping
her persevere. “I had interned at MTVN, but all
of these contacts were through her. She was very
encouraging. She kept telling me, ‘Go to New
York. You are young, you have a great résumé,
you will succeed.’ ” ■
I
the protégé very easily, and say, ‘Let’s discuss this at our next meeting.’” He
adds that any communication has to be two-way, and that the mentor has
to be truly listening. “The mentor can leverage the program to learn what
young people are thinking,” he says. “After all, these kids are going to be
Brett Brown (left) got an internship at mentor Don Taylor’s wife Renata’s company.
the leaders of tomorrow, and it’s a good idea for all of us to know what is
on their minds.”
D
on Taylor (BBA ’84, MBA ’86) has been part of the Mentor Program
Brown is back at UM this fall, and Short, who graduated last spring, has
for several years, and he has learned to apply a key principle to
been in Tampa taking additional coursework for his Florida CPA license and
his efforts. “Being an effective mentor requires the application of
is now working at the Grant Thornton accounting firm. Both plan to stay in
the Five P’s — Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance,” he
touch with Taylor, and Short adds that he plans to follow Taylor’s example.
says. This past year, he brought that approach to his relationship with two
“Having Don as a mentor gave me renewed vigor and passion for volunteer-
protégés, Brett Brown, a finance major who is now a senior, and Rob Short
ing, and for taking the time to help others,” he says.
(BBA ’07).
— Peter Haapaniemi
For Taylor, a private investor, proper planning encompasses everything
from gathering basic contact information and looking at students’ class
schedules to asking the protégé about his or her philosophy of life. The idea
is to build the groundwork for a relationship up front so that mentor and protégé can hit the ground running when they meet, armed with topics that are
relevant to the student. “You have to tailor the mentoring to the protégé,” he
says. “Each one is looking for something different out of the program. Some
are interested in learning more about a particular discipline. Others just want
to interact with an adult whom they can talk to outside of the school environment on a myriad of topics.”
Taylor has also found that protégés often respond to a mentor’s willingness to explore and question, rather than just dispense information. “The
mentor’s goal should not be to change the protégé’s thinking, but rather to
expose the protégé to various options and viewpoints,” he says.
That approach worked well for Rob Short, who said his conversations with
Taylor would sometimes run five or six hours as they pursued various lines of reasoning. “Don really gave me a different perspective, not only on economics and
finance but also on the world in general,” he says. “It was nice to have exposure
to a more mature perspective that wasn’t just academic but a little more practical, and he gave me a lot of advice about how to get where I want to go.”
Rob Short plans to stay in touch with Taylor as he embarks on his career.
STEVEN KOVICH
“IT WAS SCARY,
BUT AT THE SAME
TIME I KNEW THAT
AT SOME POINT
I WOULD GET
A JOB. I WAS
E-MAILING AND
MAKING FOLLOWUP CALLS LIKE
CRAZY.”
follow-up e-mail. Both pointed out that had
Cristol still been pursuing a career in finance,
she would now be among the sought-after students being wooed by the throngs of recruiters
visiting campus from investment banks and
corporate finance departments.
“Ad agencies, entertainment companies and
publishing houses just don’t do that,” said Ulsh.
“It’s a different world, one where you have to go
to them.”
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 29
Generation
When it comes to
intelligent, inspired
ideas, the winners of the
2007 Rothschild
Entrepreneurship
Competition have it all
By Bob Woods
Photographs by Tom Salyer
Illustrated by Roy Wiemann, MFA’82
ou might call them generation “i” — the “i” for inspiration,
the overwhelming quality that all of the winners of the 2007 Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition possess. “I’m absolutely
inspired by all of you,” an energized Leigh M. Rothschild (BA
’73) told the group assembled on April 20 in the School’s James
W. McLamore Executive Education Center to honor the winners of the
annual competition he helped launch five years ago. While Rothschild
acknowledged outgoing Dean Paul K. Sugrue for championing the competition’s success, lecturer Philip Needles (BBA ’91) for coordinating the School’s
entrepreneurship curriculum, and the judges for steadfastly evaluating the 17
finalists’ presentations, he singled out the most important individuals. “What
inspires me the most are the students,” said Rothschild, the managing director of Rothschild Trust Holdings. “The level of their business plans is higher
than those of some of the companies I’ve invested in.”
Indeed, the five winning plans — as well as the UM students who created
them — represent the essence of ingenuity, diversity and perseverance that
Y
“I”
entrepreneurship embodies. There’s an MBA student
calculating that teahouses are the next big thing … a
marketing major’s novel idea for a drive-through sushi
restaurant … a law school grad wired into a patentpending way out of a common mess … a dynamic duo
determined to duplicate data … and a fashion-conscious flip-flopper.
And they get more than just recognition of their
winning entry. The two first-prize winners — one in
the High-Potential Venture category, one in the
Small Business category — receive $8,000 each. The
three second-prize winners (there was a tie in the
Small Business category) get $4,000 each. The 12
overall Honorable Mentions get $1,000 each.
Turn the page to find out more about this year’s
winning plans.
The winners of this
year’s Rothschild
Competition (clockwise, from lower
right): David Gunnarsson, Jeffrey
Blum, Ralph Jorge,
Aaron Greenblott,
Alexandra Ingersoll,
Sam Hill, Philip
Osborne
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 31
1ST PRIZE: HIGH-POTENTIAL VENTURE
2ND PRIZE: HIGH-POTENTIAL VENTURE
He’s Taking the Chai Road
Entrepreneur on a Roll
Jason Catlette wants to do for tea drinkers what Starbucks does for coffee quaffers
There’s nothing fishy about Leot Chen’s idea for a sushi drive-through
eigh rothschild calls it
the “elevator pitch.” As one
of the perennial judges for
the School’s eponymous entrepreneurship competition,
he throws down the same
challenge to each of the presenting finalists: In 15 seconds or less, give a synopsis of your business
plan. For those on the hot seat, it’s a tense,
ready-or-not moment. “We want to be the
Starbucks of the specialty tea industry,” Jason
Catlette shot from the lip, “and with growing
market conditions, we feel that there’s a lucrative opportunity for Chai Harmony.”
And how did that fastball strike Rothschild and his fellow panelists, Catlette was
asked a day later? “He told me I nailed it,” he
says. Indeed, Catlette, an International Business student in the School’s MBA Program
for Working Professionals, was relaying this
story a couple of hours after being awarded
first prize in the High-Potential Venture category. So beyond his rapid response, Catlette
obviously made a convincing, long-version
case for Chai Harmony, a network of “specialty teahouses that focus on delivering to
its customers the best teas, in both taste and
physical benefits, from around the world
within a feng shui-inspired atmosphere,” as
described in his business plan.
While the basketball world hopes to nurture the next Michael Jordan and software
makers strive to create the next killer app,
duplicating the phenomenal success of Starbucks has become the Holy Grail of food
and beverage retailing. Catlette, a self-proclaimed tea-aholic, decided to give it the college try after reading a case study on the
ubiquitous Seattle-based purveyor in a management class taught by Associate Professor
John Mezias. “One line that struck me,”
Catlette recalls, “was about Starbucks look-
eot chen (bba ’07) wants to
get something straight right
away. Despite her Jessica
Simpson-esque looks and effervescent personality, she has
the brains and the heart of a
world-class entrepreneur. “I’m
the first in my family to go to
college,” says the Dallas native, who graduated last May with a marketing degree, “and
I’ve worked the entire way through with jobs
in sales, marketing and customer service.”
Chen (pronounced like “hen”) hardly
needs to defend herself or her secondprize-winning business plan in the HighPotential Venture category, Sushi on the
Roll. The novel concept is summed up in
the opening line of her 55-page proposal:
“Have you ever said, ‘I wish there was some
sort of fast food that was healthy, that didn’t
cost a fortune and could easily be picked up,
while on the go?’” The Rothschild Competition’s judges concurred that Chen has the
answer in her notion for an affordable sushi
eatery that gives health- and style-conscious consumers both fast-casual sit-down
and drive-through options.
“I was always doing a million things at
once,” Chen says of her fast-paced college
lifestyle, which included Delta Gamma
sorority activities, community service and a
35-hour workweek. “Eating wasn’t a big
priority,” admits the regular patron of
McDonald’s and Wendy’s, “but I wanted
something fast, healthy and still tasty.” The
budding entrepreneur in Chen, along with
the impending start of the Rothschild
Competition, got Sushi on the Roll rolling
last fall. “I’m not someone who can sit in an
office all day,” she says. “To really be successful, you have to do it on your own.”
Even so, Chen recognizes that her
strengths lie more in the creative and per-
L
32 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
L
ing to utilize tea more because of greater
margins on tea than on coffee. Being a tea
drinker myself, I thought, I could do that.
“I feel alienated when I go into a coffee
store to get tea because of the limited selection,” he continues. “Combined with consumers’ health concerns and the reported
benefits from tea, I figured the market’s ripe.”
Along with attention to serving superior
green, black, oolong and other traditional
teas, as well as exotic blends from around the
world, Catlette’s plan recognizes that ambience plays a vital role in customer satisfaction.
Borrowing from the duality of chai — both a
spiced tea drink and a Chinese word referring
to Taoist rites of purification — the plan calls
for teahouses featuring Asian-accented furnishings and artwork, and upbeat jazz and
new-world music. The harmonic goal, stated
in the plan, is “to inspire a sense of ‘life’ and
‘being’ in each location,” the first of which
Catlette envisions in South Beach.
Catlette has a semester to go in his MBA
program, during which he’ll continue to work
full time as a financial analyst and fine-tune
his business plan. This summer, for instance,
he sampled rare teas while traveling in Bali.
And upon the recommendation of one of
the competition’s judges, Catlette read an
apropos book: Pour Your Heart into It: How
Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time,
by Starbucks founder Howard Schultz.
sonalized aspects of launching a venture and
less in crunching numbers. That’s why she
partnered in the early stages of creating her
business plan with friend Alex Garcia, whom
she met in a management class. “I explained
the idea to him and said, ‘Let’s team up,’”
Chen recalls. “I had the creativity and Alex
had prior business-plan competition experience.” Although he wasn’t able to continue as
a partner, “Alex supported me all the way,
right up to the presentation,” she adds.
That was the day last April, in front of the
discerning panel of judges, when Chen alone
elucidated on the viability of merging the
sushi craze with the ever-growing fast-food
business. Her product pitch? Easy-to-eat
sushi rolls in recyclable plastic cylinders that
fit into a vehicle’s cup holder, miso soup in
cups so it can be sipped, rice rolled into balls
that can be picked up without utensils and
nuggets of teriyaki chicken on a stick. “I want
the customers to be able to eat in the car, if
they choose, but also to pay attention to driving,” she explains. In a bow to classic sushi
restaurants, Chen will put her chefs behind
glass windows so they can we watched by
drive-through customers.
Chen impressed the judges with her attention to detail, as well as with her passion
for the concept, but she’ll need more than
the $4,000 second prize to fully realize her
dream of someday franchising Sushi on the
Roll (Chen also won the School’s inaugural
Entrepreneurial Woman of the Year Award; see
page 37). “My next step is finding startup
money,” she says, but she’s already on a roll.
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 33
1ST PRIZE: SMALL BUSINESS
2ND PRIZE: SMALL BUSINESS
They’ve Got Your Backup
The Untangler
Amir Khorsand has figured out how to pull the plug on those annoying wires
oh! that’s the collective sound of the Homer
Simpsons of the world
as they trip yet again
over another nest of
wires contorted from
overloaded
electrical
power strips boobytrapping homes and offices everywhere. Is
there a solution?
You bet. If Amir Khorsand ( JD ’07)
has his way, WireBase Solutions — the
patent-pending device that won him first
prize in the Small Business category of
the Rothschild competition — will soon
become a common peripheral in our
wired environs. The native Californian,
who came to Miami to study law, not
product design, nonetheless used his passion for clever, moneymaking ideas to develop a novel product and a way to get it
into the marketplace. “It was crazy to see
this idea in my head appear in front of my
eyes,” he says of the process.
It began, as sometimes a great notion
does, with a bit of serendipity. “One night
I was in my room, the lights were off, and
D
I had my computer plugged in,” says
Khorsand, who earned an undergraduate
degree in English from the University of
California at Irvine before coming to
Miami. “I got up to go to the restroom
and tripped over the wire.”
Doh! We’ve all done it before, right?
The difference, though, is that when
Khorsand got back into bed, he thought,
There’s got to be a solution to the mess of
wires in my house. The next morning, it
wasn’t just a dream, but soon a note in his
Palm Pilot … then a few rough sketches
… then a clay model … then an entry in
the competition … then a winning business plan.
Along the way, Khorsand applied for a
utility patent (which means that a product may be the first of its kind and completely new to the marketplace) for
WireBase Solutions. His business plan
describes the device as “a box-like enclosure which fits over surge protectors/
power strips and safely conceals the mess
of wires and adapters within an aesthetically pleasing form.”
The judges certainly applauded the
15-by-3 1/2-by-12-inch injection-molded,
plastic product itself, but the rest of
Khorsand’s plan is what put him over the
edge. For instance, consider the target
consumer for WireBase Solutions, which
essentially is any of the 70 million U.S.
households that own at least one computer. That doesn’t include the gazillions
of printers, scanners, TVs, DVD players,
stereos, gaming systems and other electronic gizmos whose wires emanate from
the multiple power strips needed to keep
them all humming.
Although he’s the first law student to
win the Rothschild competition, Khorsand demonstrated business acumen in
his manufacturing, marketing and pricing
plans, and diligently scoured the Internet
for help in outlining his financial projections. He took a hiatus this summer to
cram for the bar exam, but once that’s
over, he has every intention of launching
WireBase Solutions. So don’t be surprised if before too long you hear a lot of
“Doh!”s out there — from sure-footed
consumers wondering why they didn’t
think of this idea first.
Two students found a better way to keep their digital lives in order
ike abadi was
bummed out last
winter when he
lost the USB flash
drive that he used
to back up data and
music files. “But I
was not going to
spend another $80 to get a new one,” says the
finance and management science double
major, revealing typical college-student behavior and spending priorities. Unlike many
of his peers, though, Abadi found a smart
solution to his problem. And like any future
entrepreneur, he teamed up with a partner to
help turn the idea into a possible venture.
Ultimately, their joint effort paid off when it
was selected as a second-prize winner in the
Small Business category.
Instead of buying another expensive flash
drive, Abadi opened an account on Gmail, a
free e-mail service provided by Google that
also allows users to store a limited amount of
data. “Basically, it’s a good, convenient concept,” says Abadi, now a junior, “and you
can’t lose it or damage it, like a flash drive.”
Then came the “aha” moment: “Wouldn’t it
be great if there was a place, just for college
and high school students, where you could
have all your stuff in cyberspace and access it
whenever you want?”
Abadi ran the notion past his good
friend, Itziar Diez-Canedo, who is majoring in economics and international finance
and marketing. She not only thought it was
brilliant but a great idea to enter in the
business plan competition. “As something
just for students, I thought it was really
unique,” says Diez-Canedo, who went to
high school with Abadi in her hometown of
Mexico City.
Thus was born MyGiga.com, “an online
storage site that facilitates the backup, shar-
M
ing and transfer of computer documents and
files for students and young adults,” according to the business plan. A user’s first gigabyte of memory is free, then the account can
be upgraded for a monthly fee of $5 for each
extra gigabyte of storage. The site will also
sell software upgrades and special functions.
Preparing the business plan taxed the
relatively limited classroom experience that
sophomores have in specialized areas such
as economics and marketing, but Abadi and
Diez-Canedo culled the knowledge gained
in an introductory finance course they both
took. “It was an interesting process,” Abadi
says, “because we had to materialize what
we learned in the class and put it into realworld perspective.” They also received valuable feedback from their mentor for the
competition, Andrew Heitner, a lecturer in
the School’s Department of Management
and an executive at New Frontiers Information Corp.
Then there was tech support. “We
needed to know what was possible with existing technology and if our idea could be
realized in a complex Web site like the one
we imagined,” says Diez-Canedo. That’s
when they called on mutual friend Yuval
Douer, a computer science major at Harvey
Mudd College in California who’s listed as a
technical advisor in the business plan.
Although Abadi and Diez-Canedo have
three semesters left at UM, they plan to keep
MyGiga alive and hopefully make it a reality
one day. “We are great believers that our idea
has potential,” says Abadi. “Plus, we now have
‘approval’ from 12 very distinguished judges,
and that gives us even more confidence.”
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 35
WELL-HEELED PATRON
2ND PRIZE: SMALL BUSINESS
A competition judge with a fondness for footwear establishes a new prize for entrepreneurial women
Call Him a Flip-Flopper,Please
Adam Weiss has landed on his feet with a fresh fashion product
he goings-on at the
White House have inspired
many a college student to
seek a life in politics or some
other form of public service.
For Adam Weiss, an incident at 1600 Pennsylvania
Avenue generated an idea
for a small business, the detailed plan for
which has earned him a second prize in the
Rothschild competition.
Weiss paid special attention two summers
ago when members of the Northwestern
University women’s lacrosse team, being honored by President George W. Bush for winning the 2005 NCAA Division 1 National
Championship, created some controversy.
T
36 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
Several of the young women chose to show
up at the Rose Garden wearing flip-flop sandals along with their dresses and skirts, which
incited a fashion faux-pas flap. While “FlipFlop-Gate” sparked a debate over what’s appropriate attire for visitors to the White
House, Weiss seized upon the sandal scandal
as the genesis for Stomps, a stylish line of
flip-flops for the hip-hop generation.
“That incident demonstrates the casualization of society and how people in my generation feel it’s permissible to wear flip-flops in
such situations,” says Weiss, who is completing
his JD/MBA degree (he received an MBA in
International Business in May). In his business
plan, he compared flip-flops to another generational breakthrough: “Just as blue jeans have
been completely gentrified, from their origins
as low-culture work items to their current
status as high-fashion leisure garments, flipflops are the fashionable future of leisure
footwear.”
Like dungarees, flip-flops are nothing
new. Yet while cheap rubber flip-flops have
become a pedestrian commodity for beachgoers, trendy designers have co-opted the
concept to produce high-priced accessories.
“But those still don’t resonate with the hiphop generation,” Weiss contends. “I want to
develop a niche where the product will evolve
to the point where Stomps aren’t just an accessory but become a staple fashion item.”
It’s safe to say that none of the Rothschild
Competition judges were wearing flip-flops
when Weiss made his presentation, but as
astute entrepreneurs and venture capitalists,
they know a good idea when they see one. As
much as they appreciated Weiss’ product
itself and his assessment of the demographics
and Stomps’ market potential, they pressed
him in follow-up questions about his financial projections.
“It’s easy enough to come up with an idea
and a design for a new product and put together a marketing plan,” says Weiss, “but
when people are investing in your idea, they
want to know that they’re going to get a reasonable return on their investment. To back
up projections with solid data was the most
difficult aspect of this experience — and what
I appreciate most from having done it.”
Admitting that after law school he may
get his feet wet in a traditional job in a big
corporation or law firm, Weiss is no flip-flopper about his entrepreneurial aspirations.
“My ultimate goal is to start a venture-capital
firm that solely invests in college students and
their business ideas,” he says. “I think college
students are the most underutilized entrepreneurial resources in the country.”
ynthia cohen believes in “doing deals in heels.” Like many of
her male counterparts, Cohen is the successful boss of her own company, a frequent public speaker and a member of several public and private corporate boards. Unlike her male counterparts, she does it all in
her signature brightly colored high heels. The sought-after strategy consultant has been a three-time judge in the annual Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition. This year, Cohen initiated the Entrepreneurial
Woman of the Year Award with a $1,500 grant to recognize the
achievement of a female finalist and inspire her to continue the pursuit of her entrepreneurial dream.
Never without her heels, Cohen wore blue stilettos when she addressed the students, faculty and fellow Rothschild Competition judges at the awards luncheon. When presenting
the award to this year’s winner, she spoke about the need for more women to be involved in
all aspects of entrepreneurship, from venture capital to business startups. The “Strategy
Diva,” as she proudly calls herself, said, “My mantra is there are not enough women in key
business roles. Until there are more female role models to inspire them, young women need
incentives such as this award.” The Strategic Mindshare Foundation, of which Cohen is
founder and chairman, sponsored the award. It also provides scholarship and mentoring to
young women across the country who are pursuing business careers.
Leot Chen (BBA ’07) was selected by the full judging panel as the inaugural winner for
her Sushi on the Roll idea — a drive-through restaurant serving sushi and other healthy
Asian fast foods (story, page 33). “Leot came across with credibility,” says Cohen. “She did
her homework, conveyed the essence of the business plan, had passion for it, and demonstrated leadership and innovation.”
Oh, and one more thing caught Cohen’s eye when she handed Chen the check. “She’s
wearing high heels,” the Strategy Diva remarked, “and has great taste in shoes.”
— B.W.
C
HONORABLE MENTION
The following teams received honorable mention awards of
$1,000 each for their business concepts.
HIGH-POTENTIAL VENTURE
ADSCENDANT
Adam Smith
ALL-AMERICAN
BASKETBALL
ACADEMY
Scott Fishman
APEX
Alex Phillips
GLOBAL CONCRETE
CORP.
Anthony Cerretani
Alexandra DiNardi
SCUBA STEVE
LEISURE
Pablo Davidov
John Espinosa
Roy Govshovitz
Robert Waxlax
SECURE ASSURE
Michael Lessne
TOMMY BAHAMA
MARINE RESORT
Annalisa Cariveau
PANEL OF JUDGES
BETTY G. AMOS
(BBA ’73, MBA ’75)
The Abkey Companies
SMALL BUSINESS
eCOLLEGE TOURS
Chris Kuczynko
Yiran Xu
iB-LIEVE
Joseph Discepola
LITTLE SCHOLARS
FOUNDATION
Nicole Denmon
TRIPLE CROWN BAIT
Leslie Debassige
YANCEY LAW
Ammon Yancey
CYNTHIA R. COHEN
Strategic Mindshare
SCOTT DEUTSCH (BBA ’89)
Orange Clothing Co.
DAVID EPSTEIN
Presidential Capital
Partners
LEIGH M.
ROTHSCHILD
(AB ’73)
Rothschild Trust
Holdings
GENE GOMBERG
(BED ’70)
The Continental
Group
WILLIAM HEFFNER
(BBA ’77)
Agg Rok Materials Co.
ANDREW HEITNER
Alcon Technology
Consulting
ROBERT RUBIN
(JD ’84)
Topp Group
JEFFREY W. SASS
Connected Media
Technologies
MIKE FERNANDEZ
MBF Healthcare Partners
ROBERT NEWMAN
Greenwood Gulch
Ventures
SANDY GOLDSTEIN
(BBA ’81, MBA ’84)
Capsicum Group
PHILIP OSBORNE
(BBA ’06)
StraightLine Logistics
MATTHEW W. SHAW
(BBA ’91, MPRACC ’92)
Crossbow Ventures
KAYA WITTENBURG
Majestic Properties
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 37
AlumniNews
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
Catching up with winners of the 2006 Rothschild Entrepreneurship Competition
1ST PRIZE,
HIGH-POTENTIAL
VENTURE
1ST PRIZE, SMALL BUSINESS
JEFF BLUM (BBA ’07)
AARON GREENBLOTT (BBA ’06)
marketing company serving the online
1940s
Cash 2 Bet, Inc.: Internet-based
ALI INGERSOLL (BBA ’06)
gambling/entertainment industry
CoHousing of America
Following last year’s competition, Blum
Development Co.: Housing com-
reports that Cash2Bet continued to grow at a
munities for aging populations
phenomenal pace until new federal regula-
“I’m a social entrepreneur now,”
tions governing online gaming forced him to
says Ingersoll, who is the director of
temporarily suspend operations. While wait-
the South Florida office for
ing for Congress to act on proposed regulato-
Generation Engage, a two-year-old
ry changes, Blum is working in Miami for
nonprofit organization focused on
Morgan Stanley as a financial advisor in the
getting young people involved in
Global Wealth Management Division.
ROBERT D. CHAMBLESS (BBA ’48), a retired minister, reports that his life has taken an unexpected turn
at age 85. The church-affiliated retirement community
in Raymore, Mo., where he and his wife live has gone
into bankruptcy. We wish them the best and hope that
his accounting training at the School may be of help
in straightening out their situation.
EDWARD S. FERRIS JR. (BBA ’49) reports that he is
retired, single and looking for a lady who would like to
travel by RV, ship, rail or auto, and who enjoys playing
golf and yachting. And, he asks, “where are all the ’49
grads?” He lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.
SI KREINDLER (BBA ’49) can provide Ed Ferris with at
least one answer: He’s the president of LaserLife
Recharge, Inc., a Westbury, N.Y., company that refurbishes toner cartridges for laser printers, copiers and
fax machines. He’s looking for news from other ’49ers,
including Richard Berk, Harvey Kuzel and Harris Levine.
community service and local politics. After graduating with an entrepreneurship
major, she traveled for several months, then moved to South Beach and sought
RUNNER-UP, SMALL BUSINESS
a job in the for-profit world. Unexpectedly, her résumé caught the attention of
DAVID GUNNARSSON
Generation Engage. “My entrepreneurial background has helped me, because
SAM HILL
I’m building something from nothing,” Ingersoll says, explaining how she’s setting
PureG: Proprietary bottle cap for the beverage industry
Beverly Cooper Stapleton, BBA ’54
up the local office from scratch and organizing local events.
Although CoHousing of America is “on hold,” she says, due to the turbulent
RETIRED, SAN JOSE, CALIF.
real estate market and its impact on funding for new ventures, she and Greenblott
keep in touch. He, too, has been on the road, most recently in Israel, where he’s
been involved in community development work. This fall he is traveling in South
AEROSPACE PIONEER
America and is considering going back to school to earn an MBA.
When NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope first beamed back thousands of photos in 1994, Beverly Cooper
Stapleton beamed with pride. And so she should. Stapleton was the contracts manager for the Hubble
RUNNER-UP, HIGH-POTENTIAL VENTURE
Space Telescope program at Lockheed, the prime contractor for the project, as well as for other major space
programs, and one of the women pioneers in the aerospace industry.
PHIL OSBORNE (BBA ’06)
Gunnarsson, a foreign-exchange student from Sweden’s Uppsala University who
RALPH JORGE (BBA ’06)
earned his degree in finance and strategy in January, reports that he and Hill met
But science wasn’t on her radar screen when she graduated from UM in 1954, admits Stapleton. Gov-
TranSupport: Rigging equipment for the boat-hauling industry
with several attorneys, engineers and other professionals during and after the
ernment was — she earned a master’s degree at the University of Alabama on a fellowship in political science.
A sharp decline in the boating industry has put plans for both TranSupport and
competition. “We had tremendous support from [judges] Sandy Goldstein (BBA
Her return from graduate school to her high school alma mater, Miami Beach High School, to teach Amer-
StraightLine Logistics, Osborne’s runner-up business plan in the 2005 competi-
’81, MBA ’84) and Andrew Heitner, and met with several of their contacts,”
ican history and government coincided with the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and a national interest in space
tion, on hold until the market recovers. “I am currently keeping very busy working
Gunnarsson says. “Unfortunately, after a thorough search showed that our
exploration. “Suddenly, teachers were required to take science courses,” she recalls.
in the family business, Naples Boat Mart, in Naples, Fla.,” he says, “and gaining
chances of obtaining a U.S. patent for our bottle cap were very slim, we decid-
valuable experience in the industry.”
ed to shelve the idea.”
Stapleton married in 1959, three years before the National Academy of Sciences recommended building
a large space telescope. Her then-husband worked as an aerospace engineer, and in 1973 the couple relocated
to San Jose, Calif., where Stapleton focused on raising a family and began a second career in publishing.
Jorge, meanwhile, is in his
Following graduation, Gunnarsson traveled for three months before moving
second year in the School’s MBA
back to Sweden, where he now is the financial controller for Swedish McDonald’s
“Working in publishing was a great launching pad for preparing, processing and negotiating contracts,”
program, with a concentration in
80 fully owned restaurants. “It’s a rewarding job with great responsibility and a
says Stapleton, who quickly discovered that she had an affinity for them. In 1978, she made another career
marketing. After graduation in
great start toward a career and future business ventures,” he says.
change and landed a job in the defense industry preparing proposals for United Technologies.
May, he plans to join his family’s
Gunnarsson and Hill, an exchange student who graduated from Glasgow
business, Specialty Automotive
University in Scotland with a master’s in mechanical design engineering, speak
Treatments, where he will launch
regularly, Gunnarsson says. “Hopefully we’ll find a solution [for launching PureG]
a new retail division.
in the future or perhaps focus on another business idea,” he adds.
After less than a year working for Echo Science (now DRS Precision Echo), Lockheed wooed her away
to negotiate large, complex contracts with NASA and the Department of Defense. The challenge was exhil-
still keep in touch. “Ralph and I
living in Hong Kong, he’s hoping to land a position with Cathay Pacific Airways.
often discuss potential business
“Whether I manage to become a commercial pilot or not, I will continue to draw
ideas and use each other as a
on the fantastic experience I was afforded by UM and the Rothschild Competition
sounding board,” Osborne says.
and hope to be involved in entrepreneurial ventures,” he says.
— B.W.
arating, and her acumen in contracts was considered unmatched. Stapleton remained with Lockheed (which
became Lockheed Martin in 1995) until her retirement in 1998.
She admits that her greatest thrill, however, occurred at Cape Canaveral in the 1990s, when she witnessed
JIM DOWDALL
Hill recently was awarded a scholarship from Scotland’s Royal Air League. Now
TOM SALYER
The business-plan partners
38 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
“The company designed solid rocket motors for spacecraft liftoffs,” she says. “Within a year I was promoted
to contract administrator. In 1982, Echo Science hired me to be the manager of their contracts department.”
a space launch and later walked past a display of aerospace history. “I realized that I was walking past the time-
1950s
JAMES R. BLACKBURN (BBA ’53) is president of Aero
International Corp., in Tequesta, Fla. His book,
Norman … A Most Unforgettable Character, was published in June. He received the FAA’s Wright Brothers
Master Pilot Award, given for 50 or more consecutive
years of safely piloting aircraft, at the Greater Miami
Aviation Association luncheon meeting in September.
ALVIN LLOYD BROWN (BBA ’57) is of counsel at
Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra LLP in Miami. In June,
he received the Neal Menachem Award from State of
Israel Bonds for 21 years of sponsorship. He lives in
Boca Raton, Fla.
ANGEL CORTINA JR. (BBA ’59) recently retired as a
principal from Lewis B. Freeman & Partners, a forensic accounting firm in Coconut Grove, Fla. He lives in
Islamorada, Fla.
KENNETH HOBBS (BBA ’57) retired from the savings
and loan industry in Miami and moved to Crossville,
Tenn., where he is chairman of the Cumberland
County Playhouse Volunteer Committee and a member of the Executive Board of Directors for the Playhouse. He invites all UM alums to visit and see just
how good country theater can be.
RICHARD MCCONAGHY (BBA ’50) is president/
owner of Armac Associates, a manufacturer’s representative for pumps and cooling towers in Oreland,
Pa., where he also lives.
DAVID V. RUSSELL (BBA ’57), a former U.S. Air Force
officer and pilot, is retired as vice president of
line of my life’s work,” she says, “seeing it etched in a fascinating, historical perspective.” — Stephanie Levin
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 39
AlumniNews
Harvey Wagner, BBA ’63
RETIRED, WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.
CHANGE AGENT
Harvey Wagner has enjoyed a
ringside seat at some of the
most important events in
business
and
Alan D. Rector, BBA ’64
Realtec, Inc., in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
HARRIS N. STEINBERG (BBA ’58), a self-employed
financial consultant in Miami, reports that he works a
little (consulting with real estate developers) and
plays a lot (tennis). He also enjoys his grandchildren
and travels as much as possible.
MAYNARD W. THOMPSON (BBA ’55) lives in Lakemont, Ga., and reports that although he lived in
Miami for virtually half a century (1935 to 1984), he
“loves the mountains.”
technology
RETIRED, BLENHEIM, NEW ZEALAND
RISK AND REWARD
Many people think they are risk takers. Alan Rector is one. He probably inherited some of his hardcharging style from his father, Maurice, who played on UM’s first football team, in 1926, but he credits his
classes at UM with giving him the business acumen to survive and thrive in a career defined by taking
chances. He even named his dog Havoc. Clearly he is not a man who fears change.
Following graduation in 1964, Rector went to work at a subsidiary of Griffith Laboratories, a food-
during his career, from the
ingredients manufacturer owned by his family. The fit was not right, so he took a job with the staffing firm
leveraged-buyout craze of the
Manpower. He rose quickly, but six years later, when his career seemed on a steady climb, the phone rang
1960s
1980s to the technology
boom of the late ’90s. But
more exciting, says Wagner,
who has been the CFO of
numerous companies, has
been his role as “an agent of
change.”
“Whenever there was
change required, I was the
guy to do it,” he explains. “My
personality is such that I get
bored early and quickly.
When things are running
smoothly, I start itching to
find the next thing to do.”
After graduating from
UM, Wagner went to work
at a public accounting firm in
Fort Lauderdale, Fla. A
public company hired him as
controller four years later, and he stayed on the corporate financial track. He went on to become the CFO
of another public company, and eventually held that title at four New York Stock Exchange-listed compa-
with an offer that would change the course of his life. It was Griffith Laboratories, wanting to know if he’d
MICHAEL Z. BRENAN (BBA ’60), CEO of FCB Advisory, Inc., in Homestead, Fla., has been inducted into
the Order of the Golden Helmet of the International
Fraternity of Delta Sigma Chi for 50 years of continuous service and membership. He lives in Miami.
H. EDWARD DOWLING JR. (BBA ’66) retired from the
motorcoach industry after 30 years but says he and
his wife couldn’t sit still. As a result, they opened a
cabin-rental company in Bat Cave, N.C. They live in
Orlando, Fla.
RODNEY L. LAYER (BBA ’61) is the president of Reyal
Enterprises in Eustis, Fla.
RALPH H. POLSTER (BBA ’66) is president and treasurer of Ralph H. Polster Enterprises, Inc., in Miami.
HOWARD J. RUBIN (BBA ’62) owns The Glove Doctor,
in Boca Raton, Fla., which designs and manufactures
ski gloves. He also is working on designs for gloves
that help prevent sports injuries or restore function to
people with certain hand and wrist ailments.
WILLIAM P. SIGGINS (BBA ’65) retired from a 25year career in the Real Estate Division of the city of
Phoenix and now lives in Oceanside, Calif.
EMANUEL “MANNY” TOPAKAS (BBA ’65) is retired
and living in Bensalem, Pa.
chuck it all, move to Australia and start up some manufacturing plants Down Under.
“I had obtained plenty of management experience, but I knew nothing about doing business in Australia,
nor did I know a single person there,” Rector recalls. “But I believed in my ability to undertake the task.”
Today, he knows he made the right choice. He and his wife, Leigh, live on New Zealand’s South Island,
surrounded by mountains, on a plateau spread with sauvignon blanc-producing vineyards. They have a small
collection of Jaguar automobiles, and most days drive along the winding roads or spend time on their boat.
“Leigh was the marketing manager for one of Australia’s premier wine companies, so living among vineyards
and wineries and enjoying the wines have made all the hard work worthwhile!” he laughs.
Hard work and lots of change. After arriving in Australia in 1970, Rector spent eight years overseeing
manufacturing facilities in Melbourne and Sydney, and in Auckland, New Zealand. Over the years, though,
came other phone calls with other opportunities to run ever-larger companies in a variety of industries. In
1987, he founded his own hospitality asset-management company, Raffles International Resorts Pty. Ltd.,
which he ran until his retirement in 2000.
UM inspired him to operate a major business, Rector says, and he believes he gained something from
every course. He still has most of his textbooks and says he can’t count the number of times he has consulted them.
“My experience at UM formed the foundation of my business life,” says Rector. “It lit a desire to succeed
and gave me the confidence to take assessed risks. I was able to fly solo and rise or fall on my own efforts. I
cannot imagine a more rewarding feeling.”
nies and two NASDAQ-listed companies, most of them in the technology industry. Early in his career, he
He was the CFO brought in to execute the last major leveraged buyout of the 1980s (the J.H. Whitney
Group’s LBO of Prime Computer), then moved on to become CFO of the leading cable box and transmission network supplier Scientific-Atlanta (now part of Cisco Systems).
In 2004, Wagner decided to try to limit his professional activities to serving on boards and consulting.
His first assignment was with financially troubled software developer Quovadx, where he did such a good
job as interim CEO and board member that the board asked him to stay on as chief executive officer and
organize the company’s sale to a private equity firm for $139.4 million, which was completed in July.
Wagner values the professional foundation he got at the School of Business. “Without the degree in
accounting and the excellent professors at Miami, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I’ve done for 40plus years,” he notes. Today, he serves on UM’s President’s Council.
With his recent relocation White Plains, N.Y., to be closer to his family, Wagner is again trying to
scale back professionally. That may be easier said than done. Within weeks of closing the Quovadx deal,
he was asked to sit on two company boards. “I turned them down,” he says. “I want to continue to do
some interim work and sit on some boards, but I am going to be very choosy.”
— Michael J. McDermott
40 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
1970s
MIRTHA GUERRA AGUIRRE (BBA ’72), president of
MGA Accountants & Consultants, Inc., in Miami, has
been appointed business valuation examiner by the
American Society of Appraisers.
ARTHUR G. BAITZ III (BBA ’74) is a project management consultant for Bechtel International, assigned
to Petrotrin, the national oil company of Trinidad and
Tobago. He is working on the Gasoline Optimisation
Program, a major engineering and construction upgrade project at the Pointe-a-Pierre Refinery, located
on the west coast of the island. He lives in San
Fernando, Trinidad, West Indies.
ROBERT BENDER (BBA ’77) is a retired financial
advisor in West Windsor, N.J., but “retirement” hasn’t
slowed him down. He is an active personal investor,
serves as an arbitrator for the NASD, devotes time to
NICK SERVIAN
Along the way, he held positions with high-tech companies on both coasts during the industry’s heyday.
DENNIS CHALKIN
set a goal of becoming CFO of a Fortune 500 company — he ended up doing that four times.
— Ellen Ullman
a local literacy center, writes a blog, and pursues
interests in music and photography.
GERALD R. CAHILL (BBA ’73) has been named president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami.
LEO FALLON (MBA ’76, PhD ’84), a Wal-Mart pharmacy manager in The Villages, Fla., was installed as
chairman of the board of directors of the Florida
Pharmacy Association on July 1.
LEWIS B. FREEMAN (BBA ’71, JD ’74), founding principal of Lewis B. Freeman & Partners, a forensic
accounting firm in Coconut Grove, Fla., received the
2007 Ultimate CEO Award from South Florida
Business Journal.
ROXANE KRONON GALATI (BBA ’78), an agent with
New York Life Insurance Co., in Naples, Fla., was
selected to attend the company’s Leaders for Life
workshop.
MARTIN J. GANDERSON (BBA ’73) is the principal at
Martin J. Ganderson Attorneys and Counselors at Law
in Norfolk, Va.
DAVID GOODELMAN (BBA ’74) is casino supervisor
at the Hilton Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
RICHARD J. GRECO (MBA ’72) is president and
owner of Celebration Homes, Inc., in Champions
Gate, Fla. The company has been named a Featured
Builder at Reunion Resort and Club in Orlando, Fla.
LIZANNE TREDWELL KALL (BBA ’79) works in Las Vegas
as an affiliate with Video Mail Direct, which she says is
“the next Google, MySpace and AOL rolled into one.”
WILLIAM LECHTNER (BBA ’71) reports that he was
inspired, in part, by his Westie, Buster, and his cairn
terrier, Cinnamon, to open The Lechtner Group, a private consulting team specializing in pet products and
maintaining the special bond between people and
their pets.
EDWARD J. NIEDZ (BBA ’75) is retired in Bradenton,
Fla. He was a senior vice president at Lehman Bros.
on Wall Street and a director of a nonprofit Consumer
Credit Counseling program in southern New Jersey.
JILL NUSSINOW (BBA ’76), president of The Veggie
Queen in Santa Rosa, Calif., recently released a DVD
titled “The Veggie Queen Cooks Under Pressure:
Delicious Meals in Minutes,” extolling the benefits of
pressure cooking.
JOAN R. PINDER (MBA ’79) is retired chairperson of the
College of the Bahamas. She lives in Nassau, Bahamas.
ROBERT N. RHYNEARSON (BBA ’72) retired as a captain in Miami-Dade Fire Rescue after 30 years of
service. He lives in Key Largo, Fla., and reports that his
retirement plans include traveling and sleeping late.
DEAN STONE (BBA ’71) is self-employed in Havre,
Mont. He reports that many years of living in Big Sky
Country make UM look “very different” when he
comes back to visit.
SAKAE YOSHII (BBA ’74) is CEO of Japan Wealth
Management, Inc., in Tokyo.
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 41
AlumniNews
1980s
Joseph McGoldrick, BBA ’75
PRESIDENT & COO, GAS OPERATIONS,CENTERPOINT ENERGY, HOUSTON
TEAM PLAYER
He shot some memorable rounds of golf on the lush course at the Biltmore, where just $150 bought students a full year of play. He trooped to the Orange Bowl — seats were plentiful then — to watch football. And he made the ’Canes varsity baseball team as a walk-on.
But what Joe McGoldrick recalls most about his days at UM — which awarded him an academic scholarship — is the deeply invested faculty and how they let it show. Take the time he stood outside a classroom
talking with Kermit Roberts, then a professor of accounting.
“He said, ‘If you don’t go Big 8, I’ll toss in my chips,’” McGoldrick remembers. “That was the Big 8
public accounting firms at the time. And that made me feel good. I felt like I’d do OK, but I didn’t really
know. And here was somebody I really respected giving me that vote of confidence.”
That boost, and magna cum laude status, helped launch McGoldrick into the Miami office of Haskins
& Sells (which became Deloitte & Touche). In 1979, the Elmhurst, Ill., native joined the Houston firm that
would become CenterPoint Energy, which has more than 5 million electric and gas customers in six states.
He is now president and COO of gas operations.
It’s a tough business. McGoldrick navigates complex rate-change proceedings. A major internal consolidation took nearly nine months last year. Still, he has always felt prepared.
“I think the fact that I’ve had a lot of positions and taken on additional challenges at CenterPoint has
a lot to do with my education at Miami,” he says. “It enabled me to adapt well to changing environments
Jose Rodriguez, BBA ’81
HUNTING F. DEUTSCH (MBA ’82), executive vice
president for wealth management at BankUnited in
Coral Gables, has been elected to the Board of
Directors of the Vizcayans.
DOUGLAS J. EATON (BBA ’87) is president of Eaton
Financial Group in Coral Springs, Fla. He lives in
Parkland, Fla.
SHAWN R. ELLIOTT (BBA ’84) is president of Shawn
Elliott Luxury Homes & Estates in Woodbury, N.Y. The
company recently opened its fifth office, in Roslyn, N.Y.
CHRISTINE D. HANLEY (MBA ’85, JD ’89) is full of
news. Her law firm, Christine D. Hanley Associates, PA,
in West Palm Beach, Fla., was recognized as one of
the top 25 law firms in South Florida by South Florida
Business Journal, and she was named a 2007
Florida Super Lawyer in a peer-balloting process of
attorneys throughout the state.
JOHN ARTHUR HOON (BBA ’88) trades stocks and
securities at Fraser Securities Pte. Ltd., in Singapore.
MARTIN KARP (BBA ’86, MSEd ’91, EdD ’95) was
elected vice chair of the school board for MiamiDade Public Schools, serving as the representative
from District 3.
PATRICK B. MCSTRAVOG (BBA ’81) joined the Order
of St. Augustine after graduation and became a
Roman Catholic priest. He teaches at Malvern
Preparatory School in Malvern, Pa., and is chair of its
Theology Department.
PRINYA RATANAPHANYARAT (BBA ’86) is the owner of
Thai Plastic Hose Co. Ltd., in Nakornpathom, Thailand.
ROLAND SANCHEZ-MEDINA JR. (BBA ’88) announces
the formation of his new law firm, Sanchez-Medina,
Gonzalez & Quesada LLP, in Coral Gables.
SANDI VIDAL (BBA ’88) was named executive
director at Christian HELP, a Casselberry, Fla., nonprofit organization providing social services to
prevent homelessness.
HENRY J. WEISS (MBA ’87, MSIE ’87) completed his
tour of duty as U.S. Peace Corps country director in
Albania and has been named the next country director for Cape Verde.
DAVID L. WILSON (BBA '81) is president of
Equifinancial LLC in Miami, and writes that his company is now a member of the National Association of
Securities Dealers.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE PARTNER, AUDIT, KPMG, GREENSBORO, N.C.
FOUNDATION FOR SUCCESS
When Jose Rodriguez was elected to the board of directors of KPMG LLP late last year, he became a member
of a very exclusive club. In fact, he is only the second alumnus of the School to receive that honor. (The first
was Michael Conway, BBA ’67, former head of professional services at the Big 4 accounting firm, now retired.)
Rodriguez was elected by KPMG’s 1,700 U.S. partners to serve in an oversight role for the firm’s affairs
and those of the partnership. “I would hope that it was my reputation for integrity and fortitude, along with
my background, my work and my experience as a regulator in Florida, that led to their choice,” he says.
With the title of Professional Practice Partner — Audit, Carolinas and South Florida Business Units,
Rodriguez is KPMG’s lead partner on Reynolds American, the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco
Co. His responsibilities include coordinating the services KPMG renders to Reynolds, “but my ultimate
responsibility is signing the firm’s audit opinion on financial statements for Reynolds,” he says.
Previously, Rodriguez was KPMG’s audit partner for the University of Miami. He describes the duties
involved as similar to what he does now but notes that each engagement involves different challenges. “One
big difference is the size of the account,” he says. “It’s a full-time job at Reynolds, which it wasn’t at UM,
but it’s been an honor and a pleasure to serve both organizations.”
Rodriguez has been in public accounting since graduation, joining KPMG in 1989 and making partner in the Miami office. He credits the School with giving him the foundation, knowledge and tools to
succeed as a CPA and a professional. “In both accounting and non-accounting courses, there was always a
stress on critical thinking and an emphasis on writing and communications,” he says. “Those attributes
have served me well.”
He also credits his advanced accounting professor, Howard Zacur, with convincing him to interview
with what were then the Big 8 accounting firms, even though he had a generous job offer from a prestigious local firm. “I took his advice,” Rodriguez says. “In hindsight, it was probably a critical moment in my
future development and career path.”
Rodriguez and his wife of 22 years, Silvia Rodriguez (BBA ’82), live with their three children in Winston-Salem, N.C. Silvia, also a CPA, worked for a former Big 8 accounting firm after graduation. “She put
her career on hold to support me in achieving our shared goals and in raising our three children,” he says.
— Michael J. McDermott
and changing circumstances. I wasn’t afraid of change.” One post, in the 1990s, had McGoldrick working
though he stays involved with UM, giving through the President’s Circle and the Hurricane Club.
As a reserve pitcher he mostly threw batting practice for a rising power. McGoldrick’s first year on the
roster also marked the start of Miami’s current NCAA-record 35 straight regional appearances. That
shaped him, too.
“I saw what it can do when everybody’s pulling in the same direction and nobody’s worried about who
gets credit,” says McGoldrick, a father of four boys who along with his wife, Judy, likes to coach. “I use
that all the time — in running this business and in everything I do.”
42 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
— Clayton Collins
1990s
MARCELLO AMATI (BBA ’97, MBA ’00) lives in
Novafeltria, Italy.
ROBERTO M. CID (MBA ’94, MA ’98, PhD ’00) was
ordained as a priest on May 12 and is assigned as
parochial vicar to St. Gregory the Great Catholic
Church in Plantation, Fla.
D. JEFFREY DEVER (BBA ’90) joined Bernstein Global
WILL MCINTYRE
ings, and they would often be in Miami,” he says. Trips back since have been tough to schedule, he says,
PAM FRANCIS
with privatizing utilities in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela. “We had monthly partners meet-
Wealth Management in West Palm Beach, Fla., as vice
president and financial advisor.
XIAOHUI “PAUL” DUAN (MBA ’99) is owner and president of Diyi Technology, a 3-D animation and multimedia company in Plantation, Fla.
BRUCE FOLLANSBEE (MBA ’91) has joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as client relationship executive to
focus on business development with major clients
in the Seattle area. He would like to hear from others
in the Executive MBA Class of 1991. He lives in
Sammamish, Wash.
MARIA R. (EDWARDS) HARTE (MBA ’93) works in
the Restructuring & Decentralisation Action Unit at
the Ministry of Education in Port of Spain, Trinidad
and Tobago.
MARILYN P. HETT (MBA '96) has joined the South
Florida Advisory Council of the Trust for Public Land, a
national nonprofit land conservation organization.
She lives in St. Petersburg, Fla.
BRYAN THOMAS HOFFMAN (MBA ’99) is living in
Bethesda, Md.
RICK A. MARROQUIN (BBA ’93) has moved back to
Miami from Chicago and is chief marketing officer
for Batanga, a leading Hispanic music site based in
Coral Gables.
J. P. NAPIER (BA ’86, MBA ’97) is a vice president
at Fidelity Investments in Cincinnati. He is married
to MICHELE TYNES NAPIER (MBA ’97).
TIMOTHY LEE NEWBY (BBA ’93), vice president of
Central Music, Inc., in Clearwater, Fla., announces a
new addition to his company — representation of
Blüthner pianos from Germany — and to his family —
Alexander Logan Newby, born November 17, 2006,
and, says his proud father, already being prepared for
the UM Class of 2027.
GILL FARINACCIO PEREZ (BBA ’99) and ANTONIO
PEREZ (BBA ’98) announce the birth of their first
child, Alexander Michael Perez, on April 7. They live in
East Brunswick, N.J.
MARCO PIENKNAGURA (BSIE ’92, MBA ’94) works
for Summit Sales in Scottsdale, Ariz. He lives in
Phoenix.
JORDAN S. ROTHBERG (BBA ’99) lives in Melville, N.Y.
LORI (TWELE) SAMBERG (BBA ’91) is manager at
Southeast Insurance in Boca Raton, Fla.
JARED M. SMITH (BBA ’94, MST ’95) is chief financial officer at Welcome Funds, Inc., a life insurance
settlement brokerage in Boca Raton, Fla.
VALERIE R. TOWNSEND (BBA ’93) is vice president at
Farmers Bank in Parsons, Tenn.
PEDRO VALENTE (BBA ’97, MBA ’99) organized the
UM Jiu-Jitsu Club, and with his friend and former
classmate JAMES R. ROBERTSON (BBA ’98, MBA
’00) went on to found Valente Gracie Jiu-Jitsu,
Miami’s largest school of self-defense. This summer,
Valente and other educators took part in a program at
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 43
AlumniNews
Trish Blasi, BBA ’86
PARTNER, PANATTONI DEVELOPMENT CO., FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.
CAREER BUILDER
In the 21 years since she earned her degree in finance at the School of Business, Trish Blasi has built a towering career in commercial real estate in South Florida. After an inauspicious start in the department store
business during an economic downturn, Blasi went to work for the Edward J. DeBartolo Corp., the largest
mall developer in the country, where she got her grounding in commercial real estate.
In 1994, Blasi joined the Codina Group, “where I launched my career.” She began by working on the
Beacon Center, South Florida’s largest business park, which at the time “was on the cutting edge of mixed
North Beach Elementary School about the value of
early education in jiu-jitsu and various other activities
on young children. He and the others had been invited by U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was present, to speak at the program.
ALICE S. VILMA (BBA ’99) is an associate for communications, media and entertainment finance at CIT
in New York. She lives in Woodbury, N.Y.
WAYNE S. WAXMAN (MBA ’93) is marketing manager
at Coinstar E-Payment Services in Bellevue, Wash.
SEAN ZAWYER (MBA ’94) is vice president at Gissen
& Zawyer Process Service, Inc., in Miami.
David Landsberg, MBA ’88
PRESIDENT & PUBLISHER, MIAMI HERALD MEDIA CO., MIAMI
MEDIA LEADER
David Landsberg doesn’t
spend much time wringing
his hands about the future of
the newspaper business. He’s
too busy transforming it.
use.” Blasi — who calls the firm’s principal, Armando Codina, “an absolute real estate visionary” — spent
“Newspapers have more
10 years with the company, learning every facet of the business. She became president of Codina Devel-
competition than they’ve ever
mercial real estate advisory firm, where she had the opportunity to run the entire organization. After
three years, though, she came to the realization that her heart was really in the development side of the
business. Around that time, she was approached by Panattoni Development, which had established an
office in South Florida but not yet engaged a partner to run it. “We really turned out to be a great strategic fit, with similar values and similar investment strategies,” says Blasi, whose current position involves
identifying real estate opportunities, whether they are pieces of vacant land that are suitable sites for new
projects or existing buildings
that are poised for renovation or redevelopment.
In the “absolutely maledominated” field of local
commercial real estate, Blasi
maintains that she has been
extremely lucky. “I have
never been discriminated
against, never been the
victim of gender-based harassment,” she says. Frequently called on to do
public speaking, Blasi finds
that the toughest questions
are posed by the students in
the University of Miami
School of Law’s LLM graduate program in real property
development,
where
she
guest lectures on the topic of
shopping center development. She also finds time to
offer practical advice to students who ask for it.
“I’ve
been
extremely
blessed in my career,” Blasi
says, “and we all need to find
ways to give something back.”
— Karen Bennett
44 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
had,” says Landsberg. “It’s a
defining moment for the industry. We have to figure out
strategically how to go from
being a newspaper company to
a media company. Change is
tough in a 103-year-old organization, but it’s going well.”
Landsberg is at the helm
of a business that publishes
two newspapers — the Miami
Herald in English and El
Nuevo Herald in Spanish —
and channels their content
into two heavily traveled Web
sites. “We have more than 3
million unique visitors a
month, including considerable traffic in Latin America. The Web is a huge growth engine for us,” he says. The company also is in the
radio business through a joint venture to program drive-time news for public radio, and was one of the first
media companies in the U.S. to start text messaging.
“The market demanded it,” says Landsberg. “The fragmentation of media is both a challenge and an opportunity. If you keep doing the same thing, you’re going to lose traction. We’re ahead of the curve on text
messaging and e-mail newsletters. The daily video feature on our Web site, What the 5!, is a younger and
hipper product than everything we’ve ever done.” (The videocasts are a joint venture with the University of
Miami School of Communication.)
Landsberg was second in command at the Miami Herald Media Co. as general manager when he was
tapped for the top job in October 2006. He had previously been vice president of advertising at the Herald,
as well as chief financial officer, and had played various other financial roles. He earned an undergraduate
business degree from the University of Florida, and landed at the Herald in 1984.
“As soon as I took the job, I started the MBA program,” he says. “Being in nighttime classes with other
businesspeople made the curriculum relevant. I got a real sense of how academic topics might play out in the
working world.”
Landsberg is committed to South Florida for the long term. “I’m a lifer,” he says, “born and raised in
Miami. I’m both a ’Gator and a ’Cane. One of the reasons I haven’t left the Herald in 23 years is that we don’t
JEFFERY SALTER
Blasi left Codina in 2004 to become the president of Terranova Corp., South Florida’s largest com-
2000s
MARLENE ALVAREZ (AB ’04, MBA ’07) is assistant
brand manager at Bacardi, USA in Miami.
MARTHA LORENA AYERDIS (MBA ’04), a PhD candidate in the Public Administration Program, is human
resources director at Miami Rescue Mission. Last
year, she opened her own company, MWL Management, Inc., to provide human resources, marketing
and management services for Central and South
America. Her daughters Leonor (AB ’07) and Wenddy
(BS ’06) also work at the company.
CLAUDIA D. BABICH (MBA ’02) is senior financial
analyst at Bacardi-Martini, Inc., in New York. She lives
in Milford, Conn. Her move from Miami to New York is
both professional and personal. On December 29,
she will be married to ANDREW F. POTTER (MBA
’03), who is with Colonial Consulting LLC, also in
New York.
CARLA BARRERA (BBA ’03) is a relationship manager at Bank of America’s International Wealth and
Management Department in Miami. She lives in
Homestead, Fla.
GABRIEL A. DIEPPA (MBA ’03) has been promoted to
district sales manager at Bombardier Recreational
Products in Sunrise, Fla. He and his wife celebrated
the birth of their daughter, Zoelle Alexandra Dieppa,
on June 5. He lives in Miami.
LAURA EVERDING (BBA ’05) works in contemporary
event marketing at Anheuser-Busch, Inc., in St. Louis.
ROSEANN MARIE (COLE) FERRETT (BBA ’04) is a
medical sales representative at Lincare in Bradenton,
Fla., where she also lives.
RAFAEL FERNANDEZ JR. (MBA ’00) is senior vice
president for state government relations at the
Recording Industry Association of America in Miami.
FELIPE FORJAZ (MBA ’02) is founder and CEO of
Elemidia, the largest out-of-home media company in
Brazil. He works and lives in Sao Paolo.
PATRICIO E. FUENZALIDA (MBA ’01) has been promoted to director of development for mergers and
acquisitions at Transalta in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
THOMAS J. HACKER (BBA ’06) is an associate at
JEFFERY SALTER
opment while it was the largest regional developer in South Florida.
simply run a great, financially viable company every day, we also provide an extremely important community
service. If we can fulfill our mission of being a full-fledged multimedia company and reflecting and being of
interest to the entire community, we’re going to have a great future.”
Investment Real Estate Associates in Miami, where he
also lives.
BENJAMIN JOITHE (BBA ’02) is project manager for
the Asia-Pacific region at Hellmann Worldwide
Logistics Ltd., in Shanghai, China.
NATHAN JONES (BBA ’01) has been named manager
of affiliate ad sales at The Weather Channel in Atlanta.
MARCOS KANTT (BBA ’05) is an analyst at Credit
Suisse Investment Banking in New York, where he
also lives.
VIRGINIA B. KING (BBA '02) is an attorney at Goldberg, Miller & Rubin PC, in Philadelphia. She lives in
Downingtown, Pa.
JAMES R. KNEER (BBA ’05, MSEd ’06) is the database marketing coordinator for the Miami Heat Group
at the American Airlines Arena in Miami. Jim previously worked in the Office of Alumni Relations at the
School of Business, assisting with special programs
and events. He lives in Miami.
ISRAEL KOPEL (MBA ’02) has been promoted to vice
president at Bank of America’s Commercial Real
Estate Division in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
VERONICA MANCHEL (BBA ’05) lives in Atlanta.
JOE MANTILLA (MBA ’05) has joined the Orlando, Fla.,
office of Petrizzo Strategic Group, a government relations and strategic communications firm, as a principal.
RUBEN MILLARES (MST ’06) is running Millares &
Co., his family’s 24-year-old CPA and personal
financial planning firm in Coral Gables. But when
he’s not crunching numbers, he and his brother
Javier are laying down tunes with their band Smiling
Gums. None of the songs on their Web site involves
dental work.
FERNANDO NARANJO (MBA '04) is president of
The Orange Group, Real Estate Corp., a brokerage in
Miami serving large real estate developers and clients.
GLENDA PACANINS (MBA ’02) has been named
director of entertainment strategy at Telemundo
Network in Miami.
FELIX PEREIRA (MBA ’00) is distributor sales manager
at Miller Brewing Co., in Tampa, Fla. He lives in Miami.
TYRONE D. RAJU (MBA ’02) is a client financial manager in IBM’s Global Technology Services segment.
He lives in Sunrise, Fla.
RISHI RAMNARAIN (BBA ’05) has joined Lehman
Brothers in Miami, where he manages the assets of
companies and high-net-worth individuals.
GABRIELLE ANNE RAPKE (BBA ’06, BA ’06) is an
analyst at Citigroup in Miami.
CHARLES A. RODGERS (BA ’93, MBA ’01) is senior
vice president and director of investments at Lydian
Bank & Trust in Coral Gables.
MARIA CECILIA SANGUINETTI (MBA ’02) is director
of direct marketing at Carnival Cruise Lines in Miami.
E. JOSEPH STEIER III (MBA ’06), president of Home
Quality Management, Inc., in Palm Beach Gardens,
Fla., was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entre-
— Catherine O’Neill Grace
Fall 2007 | BusinessMiami | 45
AlumniNews
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 2007-08
Henry Thompson, MA ’00, MPA ’02
VICE PRESIDENT, CORPORATE AFFAIRS,
ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY FAMILY HEALTH CENTER, MIAMI
HELPING FAMILIES IN NEED
Henry Thompson is a man on a mission, and if he continues to broaden his horizons with the personal and
professional ideals he’s set for himself, that mission may one day be global.
Thompson is in the business of helping those he calls “the medically underserved” — people who but
for his organization and other cooperating community programs would not have any access to basic health
care. As vice president of corporate affairs for Economic Opportunity Family Health Center, Thompson
sees how the lives of economically disadvantaged families are changed every day by the services his company
helps make available to them.
“We have a direct impact,” Thompson says. “We shape policy and lives for future generations.” He
attributes the development of his leadership skills to the knowledge he came away with from the School.
“Not only did it give me a good understanding of international business,” Thompson says, “it taught me
reflective thinking, to explore different ways of thinking and how to address, analyze and understand certain
issues and policies. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.”
Thompson was born in the Bahamas and came to Miami with his mother when he was just 18 months
preneur of the Year Award. He was one of 12 executives from HQM to graduate from the School’s MBA
program in 2006.
CLAUDIO JOSE TRASLAVINA (MBA ’00) is an electrical engineer at Motorola, Inc., in Plantation, Fla.
NUBIA VILLEGAS (BBA ’03) works in Miami as an
executive assistant at Best Buddies International, a
nonprofit organization providing opportunities for
people with intellectual disabilities.
LAURYN C. WILLIAMS (BBA '04) was awarded a
Miami-Dade “gold medal” by Miami-Dade County
Mayor Carlos Alvarez for her community service and
work with Fun 4 Kids, a nonprofit organization that
gives abused, neglected and underprivileged children a taste of sports, arts and culture. The 2004
Olympic silver medalist in the 100-meter dash is
currently training for the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing.
CHRISTINE WOLL (BBA '04) is a marketing specialist
at Coconut Grove Bank in Coconut Grove, Fla. She
lives in Coral Gables.
JACK ZISKA (BBA ’02) is branch manager at JP
Morgan Chase Bank in Denver.
Barbara E. Kahn, PhD
Dean
Anuj Mehrotra, PhD
Vice Dean
Graduate Business Programs
Linda L. Neider, PhD
Vice Dean
Undergraduate Business Programs
Steven G. Ullmann, PhD
Director
Health Sector Management and Policy Programs
Mark A. Robinson
Chief Financial Officer
necticut, where he played outside linebacker on a football scholarship. After a stint with the logistics department of Coca-Cola in East Hartford, Conn., he returned to Miami in 1996. He began working for the
Florida Department of Labor
during the day and enrolled in
night classes at UM, earning
two graduate degrees.
His diligence was not
wasted. Since joining EOFHC
in 1998, he has received several promotions. Hired as a
human resources specialist, he
became contract manager for
the family center, then director of corporate affairs, and
eventually rose to his current
position, in which he oversees
four directors as well as contractual services that provide
labor for the center.
“I am interested in finding solutions to people not
having access to adequate
health care,” he says. “I want
to give them a sense of hope.
Director
Alumni Relations
Linda K. Rump
Director
Sanford L. Ziff Graduate
Career Services Center
OBITUARIES
W. WALLACE HENDERSON (BBA ’43) passed away
June 8, 2005. He had been the owner of Henderson
Realty in Charlotte, N.C., where he lived.
RODERIQUE V. KITZ (BBA ’50) passed away August
15, 2004. He lived in Gainesville, Va.
THADDEUS OBUCHOWSKI (BBA ’50) passed away
June 1, 2007. He worked at William C. Roney & Co.,
in Detroit and lived in Michigan Center, Mich. He is
survived by his wife of 56 years, Dorothy Arasim
Obuchowski, and four siblings.
LYLE R. PALANT (BBA ’56) passed away in 1997. He
lived in Tucson, Ariz.
ANIEL SHIPP (MBA ’75) passed away April 17, 2005.
He lived in Miami Gardens, Fla.
L. ALLAN SOLIE (BBA ’61) passed away March 5,
2005. He lived in Winter Park, Fla.
THOMAS D. WILSON (BBA ’74) passed away April 9,
2007. After taking early retirement, he used his
accounting and financial skills to assist several small
local firms. He also served his condominium in Key
Biscayne, Fla., as treasurer for more than 30 years.
He is survived by his wife, Lynn Liddell, who writes
that she and their several cats all sorely miss him.
WILLIAM O. WILSON (BBA ’64) passed away. He lived
in Pelham, Ga.
— Compiled by Robert S. Benchley
MISSION STATEMENT
The mission of
the University
of Miami School
of Business
is to provide
an environment
in which the
creation and
dissemination of
business knowledge
can flourish.
Eventually, I would like to be
policy, wherever there is the
greatest need.”
— Bella Kelly
DO YOU HAVE NEWS that
you would like
to share with your friends and classmates?
E-mail us at alumni@exchange.sba.miami.edu or, if
you prefer, fax it to us at (305) 284-1569.
JEFFERY SALTER
involved in global health
COMMENTS ON THE MISSION
STATEMENT SHOULD BE ADDRESSED TO
BKAHN@MIAMI.EDU
46 | BusinessMiami | Fall 2007
ACCOUNTING
Kay W. Tatum, Chair
Royce C. Burnett
Shirley Dennis-Escoffier
Diana Falsetta
Mark E. Friedman
Elaine Henry
Oscar J. Holzmann
Lawrence C. Phillips
Olga Quintana
Sundaresh Ramnath
Avi Rushinek
Ya-Wen Yang
FINANCE
Douglas R. Emery, Chair
Sandro Andrade
W. Brian Barrett
Gennaro Bernile
Thor W. Bruce
Timothy R. Burch
Vichi Chhaochharia
Andrea J. Heuson
Qiang Kang
William Landsea
Ricardo J. Rodriguez
Tie Su
BUSINESS LAW
Rene Sacasas, Chair
Patricia Abril
Anita Cava
Ann Morales Olazábal
MANAGEMENT
Yadong Luo, Chair
Harold W. Berkman
Cecily Cooper
John D. Daniels
Joseph Ganitsky
Haresh Gurnani
Vaidyanathan Jayaraman
Marc T. Junkunc
Jeffrey L. Kerr
Duane Kujawa
Yadong Luo
Marianna Makri
John M. Mezias
Harihara Prasad Natarajan
Linda L. Neider
Terri A. Scandura
Chester A. Schriesheim
Steven G. Ullmann
Ling Wang
Joshua Wu
William B. Werther Jr.
Yi Xu
Faye M. Harris
old. His mother worked in environmental services at various local hospitals and, though she had little formal
schooling, was a big advocate of education. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Con-
FACULTY
ADMINISTRATION
COMPUTER
INFORMATION SYSTEMS
Joel D. Stutz, Chair
Robert T. Grauer
Robert T. Plant
Peter Polak
Sara F. Rushinek
Mario Yanez
ECONOMICS
David L. Kelly, Chair
Serife Nuray Akin
Luca Bossi
Michael B. Connolly
Carlos Flores
James W. Foley
Laura Giuliano
Pedro Gomis-Porqueras
Shirley Liu
Luis Locay
Oscar Mitnik
Adrian Peralta-Alva
Tracy Regan
Philip K. Robins
Manuel Santos
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Edward K. Baker III, Chair
Ronny Aboudi
Hernan Awad
Howard Seth Gitlow
Anito Joseph
Anuj Mehrotra
Paul K. Sugrue
Huiliang Xie
Tallys Yunes
MARKETING
Arun Sharma, Chair
Joseph Johnson
Howard Marmorstein
Schweta Oza
A. Parasuraman
Dan Sarel
Michael Tsiros
Jiao Zhang
Shengui Zhao
POLITICAL SCIENCE
Fred M. Frohock, Chair
Merike Blofield
Louise Davidson-Schmich
June Teufel Dreyer
Elise Giuliano
George A. Gonzalez
Casey Klofstad
Gregory Koger
Michael E. Milakovich
Luis Rueda
Donna E. Shalala
Joseph Uscinski
Jonathan P. West