1940s

Richard Essey (BS '47, MBA '48), of San Francisco, CA, was awarded the lifetime achievement award by California Staffing Professionals.

Frank J. Dito (BS '49), of Brooklyn, NY, won the US Small Business Administration's 2005 Stanley Mangeria Veteran's Advocate of the Year Award. Serving as the Veteran's Affairs Officer in the SBA's New York regional and district offices since 1991, he has provided outreach, training, and educational services to help veterans start and grow their small businesses.

1950s

Ronald Michman (BS '53), of Delray Beach, FL, recently co-authored The Affluent Consumer: Marketing and Selling the Luxury Lifestyle.

Barry H. Gordon (BS '56), of Rockville, MD, has recently retired from Paradigm Systems Corporation where he served as the Director of Corporate Development. He still plays an active role within Enterprise Rent-A-Car's marketing group.

Michael D. Levin (BS '56), of New York, NY, had a successful career in daily journalism, spending 26 years as a writer, producer, and founding producer of “News for the Grapevine” on WCBS AM. He recently retired and serves as Chief American Correspondent for China Drinks, the main wine and spirits magazine in China.

George Gero (BS '59), of New York, NY, was re-elected in May of 2006 to serve on the New York Mercantile Exchange Board. He is currently Senior Vice President of RBC Dain Rauscher and Vice President of Global Futures at RBC Capital Markets.

Charles A. Lipetz (BS '59), of Orange County, CT, and retired Executive Vice President of the American Association of Industrial Management, has been appointed to serve a second term as Chairman of Greater Bridgeport SCORE (a resource agency of the Federal Small Business Association), the largest SCORE district in Connecticut.

1960s

Joseph J. McCarthy (BS '61), of White Plains, NY, was recently named President of Sulgrave Owners Corporation Cooperative. He has previously worked for Philip Morris Inc., Olivetti Corporation of America, Morse Typewriter, and WRG Management Corporation.

Robert Donnelly (BS '65), of Paramus, NJ, authored a book, Guidebook to Planning: A Common Sense Approach, which is in its second printing. He is also President of Compact Inc.

Shau Wai Lam (MBA '67), of Summit, NJ, was presented with the 2006 Ellis Island Medal of Honor on May 13, 2006. This award recognizes distinguished American citizens of diverse origins who have made significant contributions to the US. He currently serves as President of the Dah Chong Hong Trading Corporation.

1970s

Lewis Altfest (MBA '70), of New York, NY, received the 2006 Career Achievement Award from the City College of New York, for his role in the development of the financial planning profession.

Kevin J. Berry (BS '72), of Milpitas, CA, was named interim CFO of CA Micro Devices. He is also a consulting CFO for several private technology companies.

Re: Insurance

Steven J. Bensinger (BS '76)

In the spring of 2005, American International Group, Inc. (AIG) was facing enormous challenges amid a leadership transition. And when the Board drew up a short list of potential leaders to steer the company, Steve Bensinger, who was Senior Vice President, Treasurer, and Comptroller, found his name was near the top. In March 2005, Bensinger was promoted to the post of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Today, along with CEO Martin Sullivan, he helps guide the finances and strategy of the massive global insurance and financial services company.

Under Bensinger’s guidance, AIG has taken many steps to improve corporate governance. The departments and functions he oversees include financial reporting, tax, treasury, strategic planning, enterprise risk management, actuary, operations and systems, investor relations, rating agencies, administration, corporate research, and development. Having assumed tremendous responsibility at a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Bensinger acknowledges that every day presents a new challenge. “AIG is such a large and diverse organization, both in terms of geography and products offered,” he notes. “We are in 130 countries, and brought in approximately $108 billion in revenue last year.”

After completing a double major in accounting and information technology at NYU Stern, Bensinger was unsure which career to pursue. But advice from his father, combined with a conviction that accounting would provide a strong business platform, led him to join Coopers & Lybrand. Bensinger enjoyed his work in general auditing, and in the late 1980s took the first of a series of operating and finance positions in the insurance industry. He joined AIG as Vice President and Treasurer in 2002.

Bensinger’s assessment of his accomplishments may come as something of a surprise. “I am most proud to see many people who have worked for me over the years emerge as today’s industry leaders,” he says. “Watching people grow and flourish under my guidance is what I consider to be my greatest achievement.”

Despite formidable time constraints, Bensinger is an active alumnus. “I have a strong affinity for Stern because the combination of academics and practical work experience I received while at School was instrumental in my career,” he says. He is a former Board member and President of the Stern School of Business Alumni Association, and has served on the Board of the New York University Alumni Association. Bensinger received the 2005 Stern Award for Excellence in Global Business at the NYU Stern Global Business Conference. With his good friend, Joseph Puglisi (BS ’76, MBA ’83), Bensinger was one of the first sponsors of the Undergraduate College Cohort Initiative.

Bensinger’s recipe for success is simple. “Follow your passion, work hard, and make it easy for the people you are working for,” he says. “It worked for me.”

Thomas A. Bologna (MBA '72), of Rancho Santa Fe, CA, has been appointed President and CEO of Orchid Cellmark Inc.

Jan H. Newman (BS '72), of Hillsborough, CA, recently published a book entitled, Chance Meetings that Tied the Knot, Finding Love When Least Expected.

Michael Shaw (MBA '72), of New York, NY, was named Senior Vice President and Head of Credit Risk Oversight at Fannie Mae. He previously served as Senior Credit Executive for Consumer Banking for JPMorgan Chase.

Clifford Sobel (BS '72), of Short Hills, NJ, was nominated by President Bush to serve as US Ambassador to Brazil. He formerly served as US Ambassador to the Netherlands.

Frank P. Filipps (MBA '73), of Gladwyne, PA, has been named Chairman and CEO of Clayton Holdings Inc., which provides high-tech back-office services for processing mortgage transactions automatically.

Robert Hill (BS '73), of Syracuse, NY, has been named 2006 Renaissance Communicator of the Year by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. He serves as Publisher of the University of Pittsburgh's flagship publications.

Harvey Schoenfeld (MS '73), of Hackensack, NJ, has been elected to the Board of Trustees of the Endowment Foundation of the UJA (United Jewish Appeal) -Northern NJ.

Saby Behar (MBA '74), of Hialeah, FL, was elected President of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation. He is a real estate developer and CEO of General Stair Corporation, a company he founded in 1987.

Raymond W. Dusch (BS '76), of East Setauket, NJ, has been appointed to the Board of Editors of the Equipment Leasing Newsletter, which is published by a division of American Lawyer Media.

Carol Lewis (MBA '76), of Rockville, MD, was elected to the Ultralife Batteries Board of Directors. She is Co-founder and Principal of Suburban Capital Markets, a commerical real estate finance company, and President of MASDUN Capital Advisors, a private investment company.

Mark S. Finkel (MBA '77), of Greenwich, CT, CFO of Halo Technology Holdings, has been promoted to the additional position of President. In addition to his financial responsibilities, his new role will include oversight of day-to-day operations of all subsidiaries.

Gary Rautenstrauch (MBA '77), of San Diego, CA, was recently appointed President and CEO of Advanced Marketing Services Inc, a provider of customized wholesaling and contract distribution services. He previously served as CEO of Blackwell Book Services, a supplier of books and services to academic and research libraries worldwide.

Lewis Chakrin (PhD '78), of Mendham, NJ, has been appointed Dean of the Ramapo College of New Jersey's Anisfield School of Business.

George Handjinicolaou (MBA '78, PhD '83), of New York, NY, has joined the Board of Rockwater Hedge, an investment management firm, as an advisory member. He is Founding Member and Managing Partner of Etolian Capital, a capital structure arbitrage hedge fund.

Barry T. Mehlman (MBA '78), of Glen Ridge, NJ, has joined the Corporate Department of Loeb & Loeb as Partner in the New York office. His practice focuses on the representation of private equity firms in connection with the purchase, management, and sale of middle-market businesses. Previously, he was at Pitney Hardin where he was Of Counsel.

Richard A. Cohen (MBA '79), of Colts Neck, NJ, was recently named Business Manager for CitiBusiness Credit Cards after two years as Head of Risk Policy for Citicards Travel & Business group.

Kenneth J. Ferrera (MBA '79), of Alpharetta, GA, has been named Senior Vice President in the Credit Risks Management Division of Sun Trust Banks Inc.

Abby Kohnstamm (MBA '79), of Larchmont, NY, was recently elected to the Board of Directors for Progressive Corporation. She is President and Founder of Abby F. Kohnstamm and Associates, a marketing and consulting firm, and a member of the NYU Stern Board of Overseers.

Marc J. Oppenheimer (BS '79, MBA '84), of Fort Lee, NJ, has been appointed to the Corporate Board of Directors of IDT Corporation.

Christine L. Reilly (MBA '79), of Berkeley Heights, NJ, has been promoted to President of CIT Small Business Lending. Since joining CIT in 1994, she has served in various leadership roles, most recently as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development.

Arthur L. Smith (MBA '79), of Houston, TX, is the Chairman and CEO of John S. Herold Inc. He was recently interviewed by Barron's in an article entitled, “Energy, an Aging Bull.”

1980s

Jeffrey P. Freimarket (MBA '80), of Fort Smith, AZ, has been appointed Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Intelsat Ltd. Previously, he was the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial and Information Officer of Beverly Enterprises Inc.

Mihir Doshi (BS '81), of Mumbai, India, was named Head of Credit Suisse First Boston's business in India. Prior to this appointment, he spent 22 years at Morgan Stanley, and served as Managing Director and CEO of JPMorgan Stanley Securities for the last 10 years.

William F. Spengler (MBA '81), of Baltimore, MD, has been appointed Senior Vice President and CFO of MGI Pharma, a biopharmaceutical company. He was previously Senior Vice President of International and Corporate Development at the firm.

Claudia Vargish (BS '81), of Westport, CT, founded a textile business, ASI – A Soft Idea, that designs and manufactures blankets and throws for the home, as well as a full line of baby blankets and sweaters.

Saving on Loans

Vishal Garg (BS '98)

As Co-founder and Chief Financial Officer of MyRichUncle, a student loan company, Vishal Garg is determined to “put the ‘student’ back in student loans.” Unlike its much-larger competitors, including Sallie Mae and Nelnet, MyRichUncle looks at the student borrower holistically. In determining eligibility for loans, the six-year-old company looks beyond purely credit-based criteria to include academic and work history, course of study, and institution.

Garg co-founded MyRichUncle with long-time friend Raza Khan shortly after he graduated from NYU Stern. Their motivation came from the realization, as Garg puts it, that the student loan industry “takes advantage of students and is completely unfair.” While in college, they had watched as high school friends failed to secure loans and were forced to choose between transferring to less expensive schools, dropping out entirely, or accumulating massive debt through less desirable means of financing.

In July 2004, the company went public with the name of MRU Holdings, Inc. (symbol: MHOI.OB). By February 2005, the company had raised $300 million from Nomura Credit and Capital Inc. to provide private loans to students. Three months later, MRU began offering a variety of student loan products through its consumer brand MyRichUncle, and it recently began offering Federal Student Loans at a significantly lower interest rate than other national providers.

MyRichUncle’s success has been fueled by Garg’s entrepreneurial spirit. During his time at NYU Stern, he traded approximately $200 million (using his dorm room as an office) while working in emerging markets for the hedge fund VZB Partners. After graduation, Garg worked briefly at Morgan Stanley’s Latin American Investment Banking and Mergers & Acquisitions groups. He subsequently started a hedge fund with a focus on emerging markets, 1/0 Capital LLC, before turning his attention full-time to MyRichUncle.

Garg remains strongly connected to his alma mater. A co-founder of the Young Alumni Leadership Council (YALC), he is proud to have watched a group of approximately 20 committed alumni grow to a membership of more than 330 across the University. “Eighty percent of my current friends were made at Stern,” says Garg. “YALC is a way for me to give back the positive experience I had, while enjoying a formal alumni network.” At MRU, he looks to Stern when hiring interns. “Stern students are of the highest quality, and we have found they have the best track record at our company.”

Garg’s entrepreneurial vision and early success have earned him numerous accolades. He and Raza were listed among BusinessWeek’s 2006 Tech’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, and also share a spot on FastCompany’s list of the 2006 Fast 50. He advises aspiring entrepreneurs that “the best path to success is one that has you doing something you truly believe in.”

Rick Handelman (MBA '82), of Scarsdale, NY, serves as Vice Chairman and CFO for the New Haven County Cutters baseball team. He has also been with his family's business, Meyer Handelman Company, since 1978.

Amar P. Singh (MBA '82), of Monmouth Junction, NJ, has been appointed Chief Commercialization Officer at Novacea Inc. He will oversee commercial strategy and implementation for Novacea's product candidates as well as licensing and partnering deals to enhance its oncology portfolio. He joins Novacea from Abraxis Oncology where he served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales and successfully launched the anticancer agent, Abraxane™.

Ellen Breyer (MBA '83), of Minneapolis, MN, and President and CEO of Hazelden, a national leader in drug and alcohol addiction treatment, was named Administrator of the Year by the American College of Treatment Administrators.

Seth Margolis (MBA '83), of New York, NY, recently published his sixth novel, Closing Costs, which is centered around the Manhattan real estate market. He is also a branding consultant to such companies as CIT Group, Pfizer, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Joseph Alotta (MBA '84), of Westmont, IL, married Lyudmila Lakisova, an internationally known concert pianist, in June 2005. In May 2006, he and his wife graduated from Charis Bible College, where he was elected President of the Alumni Association. Both are licensed ministers.

John L. Cusack (MBA '84), of Eastchester, NY, was recently hired to serve as a part-time Executive Director of the NJ Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability. In 1993, he founded a management consulting firm, Gifford Park Associates, that specializes in assisting financial institutions, manufacturing companies, governments, NGOs, and academic institutions to develop and manage their environmental/sustainability strategy, operations, and risk management practices.

George Lintz (MBA '84), of Sylmar, CA, co-founded QPC Lasers, where he serves as CFO, COO, and Director. QPC develops and produces next generation semiconductor lasers and associated optical components for the industrial, military, homeland security, and medical markets.

Steve Posner (MBA '84), of Evergreen, CO, authored Privacy Law and the USA Patriot Act, which is a scholarly treatise on the privacy-related aspects of the Act.

James B. Rosenwald III (MBA '84), of Rolling Hills, CA, recently co-founded Dalton Investments LLC, an asset management firm, where he also serves as Managing Partner.

Susan Marshall (MBA '85), of New York, NY, received certification as a financial planner (CFP) and recently founded Gateway Investments Inc., a financial and investment advisory firm.

Leslie F. Seidman (MS '85), of Westport, CT, has been reappointed to a five-year term as a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). She was initially appointed to FASB in 2003.

Donald L. Correll (MBA '86), of Franklin Lakes, NJ, has been appointed to President and CEO of American Water, a diversified provider of water services in North America. He was previously the President and CEO of Pennichuck Corporation.

Todd Korren (BS '86, MBA '94), of New York, NY, has been promoted to Senior Vice President and Director of Commerical Leasing and Operations at Swig Equities, a New York-based commerical and residential real estate development and management firm. Prior to joining Swig, he served as Managing Director of Rockrose Development Corp.

John M. McIntyre (MBA '86), of Short Hills, NJ, was recently awarded the fifth annual Stephen Dimino and Ian Schneider Beneficial Owner Award for Leadership. He won the award based on his contributions to the industry while leading the securities lending team at Prudential Fixed Income. He is currently a Principal and Head of the firm's securities team.

Phyllis Salzman (BS '86, MBA '89), of West Harrison, NY, was recently granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor of Business at Westchester Community College. She is currently studying diversity and marketing under a fellowship grant.

Ronald J. Terry (MBA '86), of Dix Hills, NY, was promoted to Senior Vice President in the Corporate Services Department at New York Life Insurance Company.

Jacqueline M. Ganim-DeFalco (MBA '87), of East Gloucester, MA, founded Marketing Recon, which provides marketing and business development services to executive teams in the technology and service fields.

John A. Kritzmacher (MBA '87), of Basking Ridge, NJ, has been appointed CFO of Lucent Technologies. Previously, he served as Corporate Controller for the company.

Robert Matza (MBA '87), of Scarsdale, NY, has joined GoldenTree Asset Management as President. He most recently served as President and COO of Neuberger Berman, as well as a member of the Management Committee at Lehman Brothers.

Christopher O'Leary (MBA '87), of Minneapolis, MN, has been named Executive Vice President and COO of General Mills International, with responsibility for the company's international and Canadian buinesses. He also serves on the board of the Minneapolis YMCA.

Michael R. Albert (BS '88), of White Plains, NY, has developed his own line of juices called SirReal. The labels feature his own Magritte-inspired artwork of fruits wearing tuxedos and debris, such as discarded cereal boxes and other consumer packaging.

Jeffrey H. Barnes (MBA '88), of Westford, MA, has joined iCAD Inc, a provider of Computer-Aided Detection solutions for the early identification of cancer, as Senior Vice President of Sales. He was most recently Vice President of Sales and National Sales Manager for Cardiac Resuscitation Solutions at Philips Medical Systems.

Leveraging Experience

Kathryn B. Swintek (MBA '79)

Kathryn Swintek is a pioneer in the world of finance in more than one way. In 1990, after holding senior positions in risk management, international banking, and acquisition finance at Irving Trust Company, she joined the New York office of French bank BNP Paribas to found its Structured Finance Group. The unit has since grown into a leading debt arranger of financing for leveraged transactions. A decade later, she founded the bank’s Global High Yield Group, and for three years, she ran the unit while simultaneously serving as Head of Merchant Banking Group.

As a woman entering the finance industry in the early 1980s, Swintek, a graduate of the College of Mount Saint Vincent, was in the distinct minority. “Being the only woman in the room never bothered me, I just continued on,” she said. “I was tapped at a very early age for a position in North Africa, which is not the safest place for a young woman. I took the position anyway – it’s all about taking a risk.”

Today, Swintek, who is a Managing Director and Head of leveraged finance for North America at BNP Paribas, is recognized as a leader at the bank, and in the industry. She is a member of BNP Paribas North America’s Management Committee and Business Council, the US representative of the Global Structured Finance Division of BNP Paribas Group, and a Director of BNP Paribas Securities Corp. She also chairs the Leveraged Finance North America Business Council.

Regarding her experience as an entrepreneur in the corporate world, Swintek said, “I don't work on cruise control. You have to find a way to distinguish yourself from the pack, and taking risks is how I’ve done that. It’s definitely not for everyone, but it has worked for me.”

Swintek is a champion for women in the workplace. “If you want to create value, you should reach out and get the best assets to create that value,” she said. “As investors, we should all be looking for the best assets. When we overlook a class of people, it’s just not in our best self-interest.”

Swintek joined the Board of Trustees of the College of Mount Saint Vincent in 1998 and is a member of its Executive and Development Committees. She is also a member of the Committee of 200 and the Women Business Leaders of the US Health Care Industry Foundation. Additionally, Swintek is a Director of rue21, a privately held apparel retailer.

Christopher Blake (MBA '88, MPhil '89, PhD '92), of Wayne, NJ, the Joseph Keating, S.J., Distinguished Professor of Finance at Fordham Univeristy's College of Business, delivered the commencement address at William Paterson University's 183rd Commencement on May 16, 2006, and was honored with the University President's Medal.

Bill Donohue (MBA '88), of Wilton, CT, joined Alvarez & Marshal Real Estate Advisory Services as Managing Director. Prior to this position, he was a Principal of Gemini Realty Advisors and Gemini Realty Asset Management, both of which he co-founded.

R. Todd Firebaugh (MBA '88), of Allen, TX, has joined the Board of Advisors of Solutran®, a national treasury management service provider. He is currently the Chief Administrative Officer of Piper Jaffray.

Khaled T. Haram (MBA '88), of Oyster Bay, NY, has joined Handleman Company as Senior Vice President and CIO. He will be responsible for all aspects of the company's information technology systems. Handleman Company is a category manager and distributor of pre-recorded music and video game hardware, software, and accessories.

Susan Holden (MS '88), of Croton-on-Hudson, NY, has been appointed to the Board of Directors for the Hudson Stage Company, a Croton-based theater company.

Joseph A. Michalik (MBA '88), of Hillside, NJ, was recently promoted to Vice President and Chief Credit Officer of MetLife Bank.

David M. Nuyen (BS '88), of Yonkers, NY, has been named Manager of Hotel Bandolero, a rural hotel and restaurant located in the Serrania de Ronda Mountains in Malaga Province, Spain.

Teri P. Cox (MBA '89), of Lawrenceville, NJ, has been awarded the St. George National Award by the American Cancer Society. She is currently a Senior Managing Partner of Cox Communications Partners, which specializes in public relations, advocacy, and marketing and corporate communications.

John Cutting (MBA '89), of Greenwich, CT, joined MBIA Asset Management as Managing Director and will focus on the asset-backed securities (ABS) sector. He previously served as Managing Director of Eurohypo, where he built the US Asset Management Group.

Tina L. Fiumenero (BS '89), of Princeton, NJ, has been appointed to Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration at Bristol-Meyers Squibb.

Marie L. Wieck (MBA '89), of Cold Spring, NY, has been awarded the 2005 Work/Life Balance Award from the Society of Women Engineers. She is currently the Vice President of the WebSphere platform group at IBM. The award recognizes her role in establishing a landmark program for IBM to improve the ability of all employees to balance work, family, and personal interests.

1990s

Matthew B. Burris (MBA '90), of Westport, CT, has been named Executive Vice President, CFO, and COO of Klinger Advanced Aesthetics. He previously worked in Liz Claiborne Inc's Wholesale Non-Apparel segment in senior finance and operations positions.

Thomas M. Boehlert (MBA '91), of Larchmont, NY, has been appointed Executive Vice President and CFO at Kinross Gold Corporation. Previously, he was Executive Vice President and CFO of TX Genco of Houston.

Patricia C. France (MBA '91), of West Orange, NJ, has been appointed Vice President of Marketing at ALM, a media company serving legal and business professionals.

John Gonsalves (MBA '91), of Edison, NJ, has been named Partner in the communications and hi-tech practice of BusinessEdge Solutions. His new responsibilities will span thought leadership, business development, and service delivery.

Lawrence A. Lieberman (MBA '91), of Dobbs Ferry, NY, has been named Chief Marketing Officer at Virgin Comics/Virgin Animation. He will oversee the company's US operations, as well as the company's global licensing business, strategic marketing, publishing, and advertising sales divisions.

Harvin Moore (MBA '91), of Houston, TX, was elected to a second term on the Houston Board of Education.

Melinda Poon (BS '91), of New York, NY, has been named Counsel of Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP, where she works in the firm's real estate practice.

Seth Rosenfield (BS '91, MBA '98), of Rye, NY, recently joined Harris Nesbitt, the US investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group, as a Director in its Media, Communciations, and Technology Group.

Matt Ross (MBA '91), of Cresskill, NJ, was recently appointed CEO of the Paul Green School of Rock Music LLC, which is based out of Philadelphia, PA. He is also President and Founder of the Kids Foundation, which raises money for children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Tayeb Tahir (MBA '91), of Barrington, RI, has been named Senior Vice President of Business Development for EnerZ Corporation, with a focus on international expansion opportunities. He most recently served as Vice President of Business Development for Calpine Corporation.

Jean-Pierre L. Trouillot (BS '91), of Miami, FL, has been promoted to Partner at KPMG LLC.

Robert S. Derbabian (MBA '92), of Croton-on-Hudson, NY, has joined Signature Bank's private banking team as Associate Group Director and Vice President. Most recently, he worked for Sterling National Bank.

Todd Neufeld (MBA '92), of Chappaqua, NY, has been appointed to the WCM (Wyper Capital Management) Fund plc Board of Directors. He is COO at Wyper Capital.

Henry Queiro (MBA '92), of Verona, NJ, has started a program called “shopwithpurpose,” which allows users to shop over the Internet at discount prices while supporting their favorite nonprofit organizations.

Jacques Tizabi (BS '92), of Los Angeles, CA, was elected Co-chairman of the Board and Chairman of the Executive Committee of VSUS Technologies Inc. He is CEO and Chairman of the Board of Universal Detection Technology, a publicly traded company that manufactures a biological weapons detections device. He is also Principal and Co-founder of Astor Capital Inc., a specialized investment banking and asset management company.

Catherine M. Bonneau (MBA '93), of Wallingford, CT, has recently joined PRIMEVEST Financial Services as COO, with responsibility for the customer service, operations, and trading departments. She most recently served as President of ING Trust USA.

Michael J. Gebo (MBA '93), of Hoboken, NJ, has joined Piper Jaffray as Managing Director in the Financial Services Investment Banking Group. He will head the insurance practice within the financial services division. He was previously at Bank of America Securities, where he worked in the financial institutions group and focused on the insurance sector.

Steve Luttman (MBA '93), of New York, NY, and CEO of Leblon Holdings LLC, recently unveiled a new beverage, Leblon Cachaca, a popular liquor in Brazil.

Vincent J. Costa (MBA '94), of Shrewsbury, NJ, has joined ING Investment Management as Senior Vice President and Head of Portfolio Management for Quantitative Equity.

Gerald B. Lee (BS '94), of Darien, CT, has been appointed Vice President of Business Development at JetBlue Airways Corp. He was most recently Assistant Treasurer of the firm.

Amy E. Beard (MBA '95), of San Francisco, CA, has joined Merriham Curhan Ford & Co. as a Managing Director in its sales and trading group. She was most recently at CIBC World Markets where she served as Executive Director of Sales and Trading.

John Boylan (MBA '95), of Houston, TX, was elected to the Houston American Energy Corporation Board of Directors. He is CFO and Director of Business Development for Atasca Resources and Owner/Operator of Boylan Energy Corporation, independent oil and gas exploration/production companies.

Linda Soldatos (MBA '95), of Brooklyn, NY, was recently named Senior Vice President of Customer Relationship Management for Monster, where she will direct Monster's CRM strategic business plan. Previously, she held several management positions at JPMorgan Chase, including her most recent role as SVP, Chief Marketing Officer for Chase's Small Business Unit.

John J. Trizzino (MBA '95), of Southborough, MA, has been appointed Vice President of Trade and Distribution at MedImmune Inc. Previously, he was Senior Vice President of Business Development at ID Biomedical.

Tony Anzalone (MBA '96), of Houston, TX, joined IDev Technologies as Vice President of Marketing. IDev is an emerging leader in the development and marketing of minimally invasive stent systems. He was previously the Senior Director of Marketing for Cyberonics Inc., a manufacturerer of medical devices for epilepsy and depression.

Mark K. Bhasin (BS '96), of New York, NY, is a Senior Associate at CW Capital. He recently received his CFA charter and completed his master's degree at Columbia University.

Mike Fish (MPhil '96), of New York, NY, was recently promoted to CIO at Swift, the industry-owned financial cooperative that supplies secure messaging services and software to financial institutions.

M. Benjamin Gerig (MBA '96), of Valley Stream, NY, has joined Black Diamond Capital Management LLC as Director in its Greenwich, CT, office. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of General Electric Real Estate.

David B. Kestenbaum (MBA '96), of Upper Saddle River, NJ, has been named Director of Equity Research and promoted to Managing Director at Morgan Joseph & Co., an investment bank serving middle-market companies.

Robert I. Matayev (BS '96, MBA '03), of Forest Hills, NY, welcomed daughter, Rebecca Eleanor, on September 30, 2005.

Peter A. Barna (MBA '97), of New York, NY, has joined Deutsche Bank Securities as Director in the US Convertible and Equity Linked Solution group. Previously, he was Director in Equity-Linked Capital Markets at Merrill Lynch where he was responsible for both public and private equity derivatives.

Robert Toole (MBA '97), of Manlius, NY, formed a consulting company in 2005, Kona HR Consulting. With offices in New York and Connecticut, the firm specializes in human resource solutions for corporations. He also completed the IronMan triathalon in March of 2006.

Mark A. DeWyngaert (MBA '98), of South Salem, NY, has joined Huron Consulting Group as Managing Director in the Pharmaceutical and Health Plans practice. He previously worked at Ernst & Young in the Health Sciences group.

The Italian Job

Patrizia Micucci (MBA ’90)

Born and reared in a small, impoverished town in Southern Italy, Patrizia Micucci never dreamed she would share the stage with accessories maven Miuccia Prada and eight other accomplished women. But in 2005, the women were included in The Wall Street Journal’s list of the top “10 European Women to Watch.”

Micucci, who joined Lehman Brothers’ New York office in 1990 before transferring to Italy in 1992, leads Lehman Brothers’ Italian investment banking division. Since then, she has been involved in some of the most significant Italian mergers and acquisitions and capital market transactions of the past 15 years, including the privatization of Banca Commerciale Italiana, Aeroporti di Roma, and SEAT Pagine Gialle. Micucci also advised on the IPO of STMicroelectronics, the acquisition of Deutsche Telekom, and Telecom Italia’s stake in Eutelsat, among others. In 2003, she was the sole adviser to DeAgostini on its acquisition of Toro Assicurazioni from Fiat – a deal that created one of the largest insurance and financial services companies in Italy.

Prior to her corporate life, Micucci, 47, worked in academia at two of her alma maters. She was a visiting scholar at NYU, where she received her MBA, and an assistant professor of mathematics at LUISS University in Rome, where she earned her degree in economics. She also served as a visiting scholar at the University of California at Berkeley.

Currently, Micucci is a member of Lehman Brothers Investment Banking European Operating Committee. She lives in Milan with her husband and two children.

Merideth Fiedler (MBA '98), of New York, NY, was married to Mark Dennes on May 13, 2006, in New York, NY.

Andrew Frazier (MBA '98), of Montclair, NJ, has been appointed to the position of Assistant Vice President of a newly created diversity office at New York Life Insurance Company. He will be assisting in the achievement of diversity and inclusion goals for the corporation.

Barry Friedson (MBA '98), of Scotch Plains, NJ, joined Arden Asset Management, a leading fund of hedge fund managers, as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously Director of Deutsche Bank's Absolute Return Strategies Technology Group.

Mark Sparano, (MBA '98), of New Canaan, CT, was recently appointed Vice President and Chief Auditor for Mellon Financial Corporation. He was formerly Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer at US Trust.

Glenn Turell (MBA '98), of New York, NY, has been appointed Vice President of Finance and Adminstration at EliasArts, a company that uses the emotional power of music and sound to launch, grow, and reposition brands and companies.

Baruch Katz (MBA '99), of Narberth, PA, has been appointed CIO of Ecount. He will focus on technology strategy and oversee the further development of Ecount's electronic payments platform.

Elona J. Logue (MBA '99), of New York, NY, and husband, Michael, welcomed their son, Noah Bryant, on October 21, 2005. He joins his sister, Rachel Alisenne. Elona is a marketing consultant and recently founded her own firm, PROJEX Marketing, specializing in marketing within the nonprofit sector.

Ronald Worthy (MBA '99), of Brooklyn, NY, married Dana A. Peck on May 28, 2006, at the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum in Chicago.

2000s

Joseph A. Cambareri (BS '00), of Staten Island, NY, has joined VanthedgePoint Securities as Director of Finance, and will serve as the firm's Financial Operations Principal (FINOP). Previously, he was at Morgan Stanley, where he served as Controller for the distressed debt and private equity desk.

Peter J. Eastwood (MBA '00), of Norwell, MA, has been named Senior Executive of AIG Healthcare, a provider of professional liability insurance for the healthcare industry. He also serves as Senior Vice President of Lexington Insurance Company, a member company of AIG.

Brian Fitzgerald (MBA '00), of Ridgewood, NJ, joined the Equity Research Department at Banc of America Securities as a Senior Research Analyst covering the Internet sector.

Jake Kamuonka (MBA '00), of New York, NY, has been appointed Vice President of Finance and Operations for Skins Inc., an emerging footwear company. He was previously Senior Associate at Moody's Investors Service.

Oded Agam (MBA '01), of Hertzeliya, Israel, and his wife announced the birth of their third son, Edo, on March 19, 2006.

Marcelo Fischer (MBA '01), of Brooklyn, NY, was named CFO and Treasurer at IDT Corporation. He previously served as Controller and Chief Accounting Officer for the corporation.

Carlo Mantica (MBA '01), of New York, NY, and wife, Amy Bennett Mantica (MBA '01), welcomed their first child, Marco Michael, on May 22, 2006.

Eric Merrill (BS '01), of Atlanta, GA, married Kerri Bernstein on December 18, 2005, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel Buckhead in Atlanta.

Raymond G. Pullaro (MBA '01), of New York, NY, joined Blackstone Alternative Asset Management as Managing Director. He was previously a Senior Investment Officer of the alternative investment solutions team at UBS Alternative and Quantitative Investments.

Aaron L. Smith (BS '02), of Boca Raton, FL, is the US Managing Director of Superfund, a $1.7 billion virtual hedge fund.

Dan Suratt (MBA '02), of Brooklyn, NY, was recently named Executive Vice President of Digital Media and Business Development for Lifetime Networks. He was previously Director of Business Development for NBC Olympics.

Juchiro Tampi (BS '02), of Jakarta, Indonesia, has been appointed President and Director of PT Seleraya Merangin Dua, a production sharing contractor of oil and gas in Indonesia.

Susan E. Terry (MBA '02), of New York, NY, has been named Vice President of Finance and Administration for the International Copper Association Ltd.

Michelle Boisvert (MBA '04), of New York, NY, married Spencer Cutter, on May 7, 2006, at the Winterthur Museum in Delaware.

Pablo Triano (MS '04), of Madrid, Spain, is currently Associate Professor at the Instituto de Empresa, a business school in Spain. He also recently authored a book entitled, Corporate Derivatives: A Practioner's Guide, published by Risk Books.

Russ Axelrod (MBA '05), of Seattle, WA, joined Microsoft as the US Manager for Entertainment and Alternative Marketing for Microsoft Xbox. He is also Co-founder of the NYU Stern ProMotion Pictures Film Competition, which brings together business and creative talent from NYU's Stern School of Business and NYU Tisch's Kanbar Institute of Film & Television graduate programs to produce branded entertainment films for major companies.

Michael Royal (MBA '06), of Fair Haven, NJ, recently graduated from the TRIUM Global Executive MBA program and joined Cadence Pharmaceuticals as Vice President of Clinical Development, Analgesics. He was previously Chief Medical Officer of Solstice Neurosciences where he was responsible for research and development and medical and regulatory affairs.

 

In Memoriam
Bertha S. Amrhein (BS '28)
Mandel Weiss (BS '29)
Pearl K. Orson (BS '34)
Ellsworth B. Hurwin (BS '39)
Geraldo J. Sasso (BS '39)
Estelle C. Zelnick (BS '40)
William Petrie (BS '42)
John B. Huttlinger (BS '45)
Sandord B. Halperin (BS '47, MBA '54)
Saul J. Katz (BS '48)
Michael R. Nadurak (MBA '54)
Eileen E. Carlson (MBA '58)
Philip D. Vock (BS '59)
Walter S. Skolnik (BS '61)
Robert M. O'Conner (MBA '72)
Diane M. Luisi (BS '85)
Judith S. Nunez (BS '91)
Charles M. Miller (MBA '02)
Rachelle S. Curry (MBA '04)
Richard Fisher (Professor)

 

 

 

 

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