Class Notes

By Peggy Bolstetter | Summer 2010

2006

Sean Brynjelsen (EMBA 2006)

Sean Brynjelsen has been named vice president of New Business Development and R&D at Akorn Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.  He will be responsible for identification and development of new products for the specialty pharmaceutical company.

Noreen Kazi (MBA 2006)

Noreen Kazi has been promoted to financial analysis officer at 1st Source Bank. Kazi joined the bank in 2006. She is a member of the Young Professionals Network and the Notre Dame Alumni Women’s Club, and volunteers with the Boy Scouts of America.

Justin Oldham (BBA 2006)

Justin Oldham has been named the financial consultant at the newly created Hassan, Oldham Investment Group of Hilliard Lyons. Oldham joins Hilliard Lyons after working at the Huron Consulting Group, Chicago.


 

2005

Harold Bijoy, C.S.C. (MNA 2005)

Brother Harold Bijoy, C.S.C., received his Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership in December 2009 from the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas.

John Waldron Jr. (MBA 2005)

John Waldron is a strategic marketing manager with Honeywell International. Waldron leads marketing for the newly created Honeywell Scanning and Mobility. The Waldron family has relocated to Charlotte, N.C.


 

2004

Andrew Bozzelli (MSA, BBA '03 2004)

Andrew Bozzelli recently joined Livingstone, a boutique investment bank. He previously worked with KPMG as a tax manager within the financial services group.


 

2003

Brenda Harmon (EMBA 2003)

Brenda Harmon has been named senior vice president, Global Human Resources and Communication, Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. She will lead all human resource and employee relations activities for the company.

Sarah Uhran (BBA 2003)

Sarah Uhran recently launched A Private Concierge LLC, a concierge service designed to enhance the experience of visitors to Nantucket, Mass. Services include travel arrangements, shopping, entertainment reservations, special event planning, and babysitting. www.aprivateconcierge.com


 

2001

Sean Price (MBA 2001)

Sean Price has been named the executive director of the University of Alberta Alumni Association and the University’s associate vice president responsible for alumni affairs. Price previously held a variety of leadership positions within the Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club.


2000

Heather Gapusan (BBA 2000)

Heather Gapusan has joined Howard, Merrell & Partners as a digital analyst in the interactive services department. She will develop and assist in managing interactive strategies for clients, as well as gather and analyze digital results.

Jeremy Griffin (MSA 2000)

Jeremy Griffin is the newest faculty member in the Mendoza College of Business department of accountancy. Griffin received his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in May 2010.

Michael McDaniel ( MBA 2000)

Michael McDaniel is the regional director of the Dallas Metroplex for Responsive Education Solutions, the largest charter school district in Texas. www.responsiveed.com


 

1995

Travis Smith (BBA 1995)

Travis Smith is the COO of Jo-Ann Stores Inc., and will become the retailer’s president. Smith, who will keep his current responsibilities of overseeing Jo-Ann’s marketing, merchandising, sourcing, inventory management, supply chain and store operations, will assume responsibility for information technology. Smith has been with the company since July 2006.


 

1994

Jason Konesco (BBA 1994)

Jason Konesco has been named president of Harrison College, which was formerly known as the Indiana Business College. Konesco joined Harrison College in 1999. Most recently, he was Harrison’s senior vice president of operations.

Mark Lambert (MBA 1994)

Mark Lambert (MBA)has joined Blurb, the creative publishing and marketing platform, as CFO. He will oversee all areas of financial management, drawing on more than 15 years of leadership experience in finance, strategic planning, operations and mergers and acquisitions.

Tim O'Neill (BBA 1994)

Tim O'Neill has found new inspiration to record more lullaby piano music—the birth of his twins, Owen and Gabrielle. Tim and his brother Ryan (’97)—The O’Neill Brothers—sold more than 800,000 copies of their songs in the last three months of 2009 alone. Channeling their business savvy and musical talents, The O’Neill Brothers are working with large manufacturers to add a $5 bonus sticker for five theme-specific free songs onto retail products. 
Listen to free samples of The O’Neill Brothers songs at www.pianobrothers.com

James Lucot (MNA 1994)

James Lucot was honored in December with the Robert I. Goldman Award for Excellence in Holocaust Education.

"This award is presented annually to a teacher who demonstrates excellence and creativity in his teaching of the Holocaust," said Stanlee Stahl, executive vice president of The Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (J.F.R.). "He is the type of teacher you would want your kids to have."

"Every year the J.F.R. reunites a Holocaust victim with their rescuer. This year they reunited Bronislaw Firuta with Joseph Bonder, the Jewish teenager he and his family saved. The two had not seen each other since 1945. Words cannot even being to describe how amazing this was to experience," Lucot said.

Lucot was nominated for this prestigious international award by Dr. Edie Naveh, the director of the Holocaust Center of the United Jewish Federation of Pittsburgh.


 

1993

K.C. Mathews (MBA, BBA ’85 1993)

K.C. Mathews has been promoted to executive vice president and CIO of UMB Bank, the lead banking subsidiary of UMB Financial Corp. As CIO, Mathews is responsible for executing UMB Bank’s investment strategy and overseeing the day-to-day management of the bank’s investment activities.

Mathews is a Chartered Financial Analyst and a member of the CFA Institute. He is past president of both the Kansas City CFA Society and CFA Society of Oklahoma. He is on the board and executive committee for Junior Achievement, serves on the board for the University of Central Missouri’s Harmon College of Business Administration, and serves on the faculty of the School of Banks.

Vince Pryor (MNA, BBA ’85 1993)

Vince Pryor has been named senior vice president of finance/chief financial officer for Edward Hospital & Health Services. He previously was with Ingalls Health System.


1992

Matthew Knott (BBA 1992)

has been promoted to senior vice president, strategic planning and performance management of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization. He previously served as vice president of planning. In his new role, Knott is responsible for the development of the organization’s strategic plan. He works with the executive team and board of directors to establish and evaluate organizational outcomes and assess performance against goals. He also provides assistance to member food banks in the areas of strategic and operational planning and analysis.


 

1988

Mary Kay Ladone (BBA 1988)

Mary Kay Ladone has been appointed to serve as an officer of Baxter International Inc. Ladone, currently vice president of investor relations, has served in her current position since 2004. Previously, she held numerous positions within the company’s finance, business development and supplier management functions. Ladone has been with Baxter since 1988.

Peter Welsh (BBA 1988)

Peter Welsh has joined American United Life Insurance Co., a unit of OneAmerica Financial Partners Inc., Indianapolis, as the vice president of product and marketing strategy. Welsh previously was managing director of Pulse Logic, Chicago.


 

1987

Charles Avery Jr. (MBA 1987)

Charles F. Avery Jr. has been appointed to the position of vice president, information technology and controller at Federal Signal Corp. (NYSE: FSS), an environmental, safety and transportation solutions corporation. In addition to serving as the company’s principal accounting officer, he will have enterprisewide responsibility for information technology.

Pete Hanlon (BBA 1987)

Pete Hanlon joins Celect.org™ as the vice president of enterprise sales and development. He will oversee communication to and activities with enterprise-level clientele. Hanlon has more than 20 years of experience in IT development, management and consulting, along with sales and marketing analysis.

Thomas McCabe (BBA 1987)

Thomas M. McCabe has joined Buccino & Associates Inc., a financial and strategic advisory firm. He will be based in the firm’s Chicago office.

McCabe is a certified public accountant and is an active member of the Turnaround Management Association and the Association  for Capital Growth. He is a past board member of Financial Executives International-Chicago chapter.


1986

Armin Broger (MBA 1986)

Armin Broger returned to campus in April to accept the 2010 Theodore M. Hesburgh Award for Exemplary Ethical, Environmental, Social and Governance Practices on behalf of Levi Strauss & Co. Broger is the president of Levi Strauss, Europe.

The Hesburgh Award is presented annually by the University of Notre Dame Institute for Ethical Business Worldwide and Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business.


1985

Carlos Fernández Mazzi (MBA 1985)

Carlos H. Fernández Mazzi is CEO for the Clinton Giustra Sustainable Growth Initiative, William J. Clinton Foundation, New York City.


 

1984

Paul Stich (MBA 1984)

Paul Stich has been appointed to the board of directors of Procera Networks Inc. Stich has more than 25 years of technology industry experience and leadership.


1982

Julie Hersh (BBA 1982)

 Struck by Living, published by Brown Books, is a narrative nonfiction book that chronicles Hersh’s journey as she navigates through clinical depression, tracing her search for identity through her career, marriage and motherhood. The book provides a personal account of what a clinically depressed person feels, and the challenges presented by a medical problem with an inexact methodology for recovery.

Brian McLaughlin (BBA 1982)

Brian McLaughlin is a film producer and president of Emerald Elephant Entertainment LLC in Tucson, Ariz.He has completed four feature films, two of which will be released by mid-2010—Red 71 and Good Boy. McLaughlin also teaches business and math classes at The Art Institute of Tucson.


 

1981

Thomas McCabe (MBA, JD 1981)

Thomas McCabe has been hired as general counsel and secretary at Alion Science and Technology, an employee-owned technology solutions company. McCabe has more than 25 years of legal and business experience. His most recent position was executive vice president and general counsel at Braintech, Inc.

Thomas Shilen Jr. (BBA 1981)

Thomas Shilen Jr. has been named senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer of CBS Corp. Shilen will have overall responsibility for the controllership and financial reporting activities of CBS Corp. He will also have oversight of the company’s Legacy Operations and Information Systems and Technology departments.

Shilen joins CBS from Sara Lee Corp., where he was senior vice president and corporate controller.

Michael Tower (BBA 1981)

Michael J. Tower has been appointed to the board of directors of True Partners Consulting. Tower is a partner at A.T. Kearney, a global management consulting firm focused on strategic and operational CEO-agenda concerns. Tower’s consulting experience includes a combination of strategy, operations and organizational work across many industries. In addition to his client and managerial roles, he is a member of A.T. Kearney’s public sector and defense services board of directors, and the chairman of the North America Diversity and Inclusion Council. 

Tower is a member and past president of the board of Shelter Inc., a nonprofit organization that provides emergency care for abused and neglected children. He is a board member of Junior Achievement of Chicago, and a member of both the civic committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago and the Economic Club of Chicago. 

He is a strategic advisor to PartScription, a startup enterprise, and serves as a mentor to several members of the New Leaders Circle Development Program of The Executives’ Club of Chicago. 


1978

Joe Dwyer (BBA 1978)

Joe Dwyer has joined Capstone Advisory Group LLC in the newly created role of chief administrative officer. As a member of Capstone’s executive 
management team, Dwyer is responsible for the management and execution of functions including finance, information technology, human resources, administration and facilities.

Paul Reilly (MBA, ND '76 1978)

Paul C. Reilly is the president and CEO of Raymond James Financial. Reilly serves as a member of the Mendoza College of Business Business Advisory Council.

T. Michael Nevens (BA, Physics 1978)

T. Michael Nevens was recently appointed to the board of directors of NetApp. He is a senior advisor to Permira, an international private equity fund and sits on the boards of directors of Altera and ModelN Software. He is president of the board of trustees of the San Jose Museum of Art and a member of the board and executive

committee of ZER01: The Art and Technology Network. He is also a member of the Mendoza College of Business Advisory Council and an adjunct professor of Corporate Governance and Strategy at the College.


1977

John Veihmeyer (BBA 1977)

John B. Veihmeyer was named the 2010 Outstanding Alumnus of the Year by the Mendoza College of Business Department of Accountancy at the department’s annual awards banquet.

Veihmeyer is CEO of KPMG LLP and will begin a five-year term as chairman and chief executive of the audit, tax and advisory firm in June, 2010. He has served as deputy chairman of KPMG LLP (U.S.), CEO, and chairman of the Americas region.

Veihmeyer is also a member of the Mendoza College Business Advisory Council and the Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College.

Pat Cathey (BBA 1977)

Pat Cathey has been named vice president of enterprise sales of Web-hosting provider Rackspace Hosting. This position is newly created to support Rackspace market growth. Cathey joins the Rackspace Enterprise Services division after serving seven years as president of Avnet Electronics Embedded Solutions.


 

1976

Betsy Brosnan (BBA 1976)

Betsy Brosnan joined the grant committee of The DuPage Community Foundation.

Robert McDonald (BBA 1976)

Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell addressed Virginia Tech’s Class of 2010 during the university’s commencement.


 

1974

Thomas Greanias (MBA 1974)

Thomas Greanias has been elected assessor for Decatur Township. He became aware of the intricacies of property assessments through the computer consulting business he ran for more than 30 years.


 

1971

George Herbst (MBA 1971)

George Herbst has been named vice president for finance at Stetson University. Herbst has spent his entire career in education, beginning as a high school teacher and spending 38 years as a chief financial officer. His areas of expertise include budgeting, endowment management, strategic planning, institutional governance, town-and-gown relations, and commercial real estate development, as well as campus planning, design and construction.

Active in civic affairs in Winter Park, Fla., Herbst was recently appointed to the board of directors of the Winter Park Health Foundation. He chaired the building committee of the Chamber of Commerce and served as vice chair of the Economic Development Advisory Board for the city.


 

1968

J. Russell Bellamy (BBA 1968)

J. Russell Bellamy has been appointed president of the board of directors of The Dallas Institute of Humanities and Culture, a nonprofit organization that conducts public programs aimed at discovering what the humanities have to offer to the cultural life of the city. Bellamy is vice president in the investment management division of Goldman, Sachs & Co. where he has been employed since 1968.

He began serving The Dallas Institute in 2007 as chairman of the Finance Committee. In 2008, he was awarded the George L. Allen YMCA Distinguished Leadership Award.  Bellamy also serves as treasurer of the Santa Fe Art Institute.


 

Weddings

Stacy Russo (BBA 1980)

Toni Zaccagna Murray and Stacy Russo were married on Aug. 07, 2009

Andrea Miller (MBA 2006)

Andrea Miller and Mark Hayse were married on March 06, 2010.


 

Future Domers

Tim O'Neill (BBA 1994)

Annie (ND '01) and Tim O'Neill welcomed twins, Owen and Gabrielle on May 26, 2009

Mollie Peirick-Busam (BBA 1998)

Mollie Peirick-Busam and Matt Busam (ND '97) welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Ann (Annie), on Feb. 10, 2010.


John Waldron Jr. (MBA 2005)

Sara and John Waldron  welcomed a son, Andrew James, on Sept. 21, 2009


 

In Memoriam

Daniel Hickey (BBA 1985)

Daniel C. Hickey passed away on March 06, 2010.

Steven Simpson (BBA 1975)

Steven G. Simpson passed away on Feb. 16, 2010.

Roger McCauliff Jr. (BBA 1969)

Roger J. McCauliff Jr. passed away on Feb. 15, 2010.

John Darago (BS, Commerce 1954)

John L. Darago passed away on Jan. 01, 2010.

Lawrence McNally Sr. (BS, Commerce 1953)

Lawrence B. McNally Sr. passed away on Dec. 27, 2009.

Thomas Emery (BS, Commerce 1952)

Thomas J. Emery passed away on Jan. 20, 2010.

Fred Tuch Jr. (BS, Commerce 1951)

Fred T. Tuch Jr. passed away on Feb. 19, 2010.

Charles Clauss (BS, Commerce 1946)

Charles J. Clauss passed away on Dec. 28, 2009.

James Leising (BS, Commerce 1942)

James Leising passed away on Feb. 26, 2010.

Leonard Kramer (BS, Commerce 1950)

Leonard Kramer passed away on March 06, 2010.

Thomas Nessinger (BBA 1954)

Thomas J. Nessinger passed away on April 19, 2010.

Following graduation from Notre Dame, Nessinger was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, serving in Korea until he was discharged in 1955. He then joined the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen where he remained until he retired as partner in charge of recruiting in 1989. During his tenure with Arthur Andersen, Nessinger managed the recruiting relationship between the firm and Notre Dame at a time when Arthur Andersen hired more Notre Dame students than any other employer.

"Tom Nessinger was a remarkable person and a true friend of the University. His recruiting efforts extended beyond the accountancy department and the College of Business to the entire University," recalls Bill Nichols, former associate dean.

Nessinger was a member of the Mendoza Business Advisory Council and served on the Board of Trustees of Saint Mary’s College.

Mr. Nessinger is survived by his wife, Catherine "CC" (Shaughnessy) (SMC ’56), children Thomas (ND ’82), Molly and Mary, and grandchildren Sophia and Genevieve Mook.