CLASS NOTES

1971
David Kautter (ACCT) is the acting commissioner of the IRS. As acting commissioner, he presides over the nation’s tax system, which collects approximately $3.3 trillion in tax revenue each year. This revenue funds most government operations and public services. Kautter manages an agency of about 80,000 employees and a budget of approximately $11 billion. He also serves as assistant secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy. He directs the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy in developing, recommending and implementing federal tax policy on behalf of the department. Previously, Kautter served as partner-in-charge of the Washington National Tax practice for RSM, an audit, tax and consulting services firm.

1974
John Gawne (ACCT) is a founding member of the C.M. Russell Museum’s elite Skull Society. Gawne is known for his paintings of the western landscape and Native American culture and is represented in prestigious galleries and collections throughout the U.S. His work was recently part of the “Art in Autumn” exhibit at the Takes Horse Gallery, Polson, Montana. Gawne left the financial world in the early 1990s to pursue a childhood love of art and a passion for the American West.

1976
Judith Ploszek (ACCT) is executive vice president and CFO of Tampa General Hospital). Ploszek joined the hospital in 1998 as vice president for finance and later was promoted to senior vice president. She has more than 40 years of health care financial management, accounting and consulting experience.

1977
William DeLaney (ACCT) was appointed to the board of directors of Sanmina Corp., San Jose, California. DeLaney has more than 25 years of experience in accounting, finance, operations and management with Sysco Corp., a food marketing and distribution company.

John Veihmeyer (ACCT) was elected to the Ford Motor Company Board of Directors. He will serve on the Ford Board of Directors Audit and Nominating and Governance committees.

1978
Kenn Ricci (ACCT) and his wife, Pamela, made a $100 million unrestricted commitment to the University of Notre Dame through a Philanthropic Success Partnership (PSP). The $100 million commitment will begin to be fulfilled through lifetime gifts by the Riccis and completed with proceeds from the sale of business assets held by a Ricci family limited partnership that owns interests in Directional Aviation Capital.

Ricci has been actively involved with Notre Dame for more than 25 years, serving on the Undergraduate Experience Advisory Council and Mendoza College of Business Advisory Council, in addition to serving on the University’s Board of Trustees. Ricci also is a member of the boards of University Hospitals and the Smithsonian Institution as well as several corporate boards and is the aviation advisor to the Guggenheim Aero Opportunity Fund.

1979
John Levitske (MBA) joined Ankura as a senior managing director focused on business valuation and complex financial disputes. He serves as a senior advisor to companies, owners, executives and legal counsel in business disputes, shareholder disputes and M&A transactions regarding issues of valuation, finance, damages and accounting. Levitske associated with the Chicago office.

1980
Bill Caldwell (MGT) is chairman of the Wilson Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. Caldwell is the CEO of Wilson Medical Center, Wilson, North Carolina.

1982
Dan Dondanville (FIN) is one of 11 U.S.-based Merrill Lynch employees honored with the 2017 David Brady Award at a ceremony in New York City in November. Dondanville was recognized for his outstanding multi-generational client focus, 28-year tenure as resident director of the Springfield, Illinois, office, and overall commitment to his community where he and his wife (Anne Hesslau Dondanville, SMC ’82) continue to touch the lives of many people in profoundly positive ways.

The award honors David Brady, a New York-based financial advisor who died in the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Brady was highly respected for putting the client first and giving back to his community.

1983
Donald Casey (MBA, FIN ’82) is CEO at Dentsply Sirona Inc., a York, Pennsylvania-based dental supply company. Casey most recently served as CEO of the medical segment of Cardinal Health.

1984
Joe Sweeney (MBA) released his third book, After Further Review. In this book, Sweeney leans on personal experience to share wisdom and advice in the form of reflective questions, interactive exercises and more — all designed to help others think about their own path forward.

1986
Rick Hearden (MBA) is president of the northeast Wisconsin market of First Business Bank, First Business Financial Services Inc. Hearden previously served as senior vice president, commercial banking manager — Wisconsin market for Huntington Bank. He has more than 20 years of banking experience.

John Kunz (ACCT) joined the executive team of U.S. Concrete as senior vice president and CFO. He brings three decades of financial, governance compliance, public company reporting and internal controls experience to U.S. Concrete.

1987
Perry Dellelce (MBA) was elected chair of the board of directors of the Canadian Olympic Foundation.

Brian Schell (FIN) is executive vice president, CFO and treasurer of Cboe Global Markets Inc., an exchange holding company headquartered in Chicago. Schell previously served as deputy CFO. He is a 30-year veteran of the finance industry.

1989
Amy Freeman (MARK) is chief operating officer at CoolSys, a refrigeration and HVAC company. In an operations capacity, Freeman will be instrumental in expanding the company’s capabilities, driving organizational efficiencies and overseeing M&A integration.

Dan Wallin (MBA) joined Quorum, a software innovator for the energy. Wallin is responsible for leading Quorum’s product strategy and roadmap, as well as overseeing the customer support function. He has more than 20 years of experience in various technology leadership roles with SunGard Data Systems.

1990
Michael Durbin (FIN) is president of Fidelity Institutional, the division of Fidelity Investments that provides clearing, custody, trading services, technology and investment management products and solutions to financial intermediaries and institutions. Durbin previously was head of Fidelity Institutional’s product and platform technology group.

1992
Robert Corrao (MARK) is CEO, president and chief operating officer of LAC Group LLC, a family of businesses helping law firms, corporations, government and media companies maximize the value of real-time and archived information. He joined LAC Group in 2009.

Pierce Keefe (MBA) is a shareholder and director at Aaron Smith, P.C., a certified public accounting firm serving individuals and businesses in the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts. Keefe has been a member of the firm since 2011 and currently serves as its tax director. He will focus on corporate, partnership, individual and multi-state tax issues; federal and state tax audits; and estate and gift taxation. Keefe is a member of AICPA, MSCPA and the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants.

1993
Chuck Coleman (ACCT) is senior vice president, general counsel and assistant secretary at KAR Auction Services Inc. The KAR group of companies provides sellers and buyers across the global wholesale used vehicle industry with technology-driven remarketing solutions. Coleman previously served as vice president, assistant general counsel and assistant secretary for the company.

Ed Policy (ACCT) is chief operating officer and general counsel for the Green Bay Packers. Policy, who is beginning his seventh season with the Packers, will take on a greater role in overseeing the business operations of the organization, including sales, marketing and human resources.
He also represents the team at the NFL level on legal and compliance matters.

1997
Jon Crutchfield (MBA) joined Penn State Information Technology (IT) as senior director for business intelligence. In this newly created position, Crutchfield will focus on establishing and implementing a strategy and an appropriate set of technology resources to enhance the University’s use of data for reporting, assessment, strategic insight and differentiation. Crutchfield’s prior experience includes serving as the director of IT for the Mendoza College of Business.

Alexa Guevara (ACCT) joined the law firm McDonald Hopkins in West Palm Beach, Florida. She has experience representing developers of commercial, residential, retail and equestrian projects in financing, leasing, sale/leaseback, acquisition, workout and development transactions.

1998
Mike Riegel (MBA) is the chief revenue officer at CloudFactory, a venture capital backed company in Durham, North Carolina. Riegel will lead all global sales, marketing and customer success. CloudFactory has a strong social mission to connect 1 million people in the developing world to meaningful technology work. Riegel previously worked at IBM and Cisco.

2000
Cassandra Campbell (MSA) joined The Siegfried Group LLP national leadership team as director serving the Houston, Texas, market. Her responsibilities include creating long-term, positive relationships with financial executives and assisting with the execution of the firm’s recruiting and business development initiatives.

Allen Greene (FIN) is the athletic director at Auburn University. He previously served as athletic director at the University of Buffalo and headed multiple business development and advancement functions at the University of Mississippi.

2001
Mike Cherubini (MARK) is director of construction services for Creative Business Interiors, Milwaukee, with responsibility for managing construction estimating, project management and field operations. He has more than 10 years of experience in the construction industry.
Sandeep Dhuper (MBA) is CFO of Winona Capital. Prior to joining Winona, Dhuper was the chief accounting officer and managing director of Z Capital Group LLC, an alternative asset management firm with private equity and credit businesses.

Eric Wachter (MNA) is a deputy executive director in the New Jersey Senate Majority Office. He previously served as the director of the Office of the Executive Secretariat in the Office of the Administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency where he led teams that manage the correspondence, federal records and Freedom of Information Act requests for the administrator and the deputy administrator.

2002
Richard Carrico (EMBA) recently joined WakeMed Health and Hospitals, Raleigh, North Carolina, as executive vice president and CFO.

Sean Colligan (FIN) joined Peak Rock Capital LLC, a middle-market private equity firm, as principal to its professional team. Colligan previously was a director at Z Capital Credit Partners.

2003
Carolyn Irwin (MSA, ACCT ’02) is a partner at PBMares, LLP, Fredericksburg, Virginia. Irwin, who joined the firm in 2004, is a tax specialist helping companies in the transportation, real estate and not-for-profit industries as well as high-net-worth individuals. She is a member of the firm’s tax research and tax internal training team. Irwin is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA). She is also a member of the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce and is a graduate of the 2016 Leadership Fredericksburg class. Irwin is a licensed CPA in Virginia.

2004
David LaBarre (MNA) is the CEO and executive director for the Catholic Cemetery Conference (CCC), the preeminent international member association committed to Catholic cemetery advocacy and education. LaBarre has more than 30 years of significant operational and managerial leadership within multiple industries including financial services, Big Four consulting, human resources, supply chain, and both charitable and association nonprofits. LaBarre previously served as director of business operations at American Medical Association.

2005
Patricia Drury (EMBA) Former U.S. Army Master Sgt. Drury was the featured speaker during Birmingham’s Veterans Day ceremony, co-hosted by the Piety Hill Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the city of Birmingham, Alabama. Drury served stateside during Operation Desert Storm and was part of a garrison unit whose mission was to take over operations at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin.

2006
Chris Trick (FIN) is a principal at Pritzker Group Private Capital. As a member of the manufactured products team, he will continue to provide strategic, investment and operational support to the firm and its manufactured products companies. He previously served as vice president.

Thomas Welsh (MSA) is CFO of TCM Bank, Tampa, Florida. Welsh is responsible for accounting and finance operations, including asset liability management and development of the bank’s financial strategy. Welsh most recently he served as senior vice president, controller and chief accounting officer for HomeBanc. He previously held finance positions at Skyway Capital Partners and Deloitte & Touche LLP.

2007
Joseph McNeely (EMBA) joined The Andersons Inc. as president of the Rail Group, Maumee, Ohio. McNeely has more than 30 years of experience in the financial, manufacturing and distribution industries, specializing in the railcar business. He previously served as president and CEO of FreightCar America Inc. and held vice president roles at Mitsui Rail Capital and GATX Corporation.

2010
Jolene Kirsch (MSA) and James Craig Wisinski Jr., both of Grand Rapids, Michigan, were married on May 27, 2017, at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids.

Kristin Wetzel (FIN) is a consultant at EY, Charlotte, North Carolina, and is pursuing her interest in music and art. Wetzel recently signed with Sioux Studios and Mike Pepe Music. She describes her original music as being in the pop country vein of Norah Jones, Taylor Swift and Michelle Branch, and her paintings are primarily portraits.

2011
Vaughan Robison (MNA) joined the C12 Group, a Christian advisory network, as chair of the northeast Florida region. He previously was a principal consultant at InfoWorks Inc. and founded Mindful Data Science, Seek Insights and Grace Conservatory.

2013
Ryan Heatherman (MBA) joined Coan, Payton & Payne LLC in Greeley, Colorado. His practice focuses on business and banking litigation, business transactions and corporate contracts, business formation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate and regulatory compliance, all areas of real estate, oil and gas-related issues, insurance coverage, creditors’ rights, judicial foreclosures, employment issues, estate and probate administration, family law and military law. Heatherman has 12 years of legal and litigation experience.

2014
Mark Las (EMBA) is chief information officer for Preferred Risk Insurance Services, Bedford Park, Illinois. Las previously was the senior director of IT operations and security at Columbia College, Chicago.

Kevin Oakley (MBA) is leading investment banking efforts for clients in North Carolina and South Carolina for Lancaster Pollard, a subsidiary of ORIX USA Corp. Oakley joined Lancaster Pollard as an associate in 2014 and became a vice president in 2017. He is based in the firm’s Atlanta office.

2015
Daniel Falkenberg (FIN) joined KIG CRE, Chicago, as a financial analytics associate. Falkenberg will support the sales team by valuing assets and providing underwriting analysis for institutional asset sales.

Blaise Lezynski (MARK) joined the Penn State baseball coaching staff as a volunteer assistant coach. Prior to joining the Nittany Lions, Lezynski played professional baseball with the Joliet Slammers, Joliet, Illinois, in the Frontier League.

Mark Madrid (MNA) was appointed to the honorary advisory board of The National Veterans Opportunity Coalition. Madrid is CEO of the Latino Business Action Network, Palo Alto, California.

2016
David Martin (EMBA) and Marlon Scott were married Sept. 23, 2017, in Riviera Maya, Mexico.