Mendoza Business Magazine

CLASS NOTES

1962

NEIL HITZ (BBA) launched My Life Directory (mylifedirectory.com), which offers a simple, confidential book or pdf to record important items and details to manage daily life.

1973

KELLY M. MORGAN (BBA) was recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Top Attorney in the field of Law. Morgan is an attorney at Morgan Law Offices LLC.

1975

THOMAS D. GAUL (MBA, BA ’72) is semi-retired but still working about 10 hours per week, which keeps him engaged. He enjoys the interaction with his fellow workers and feels lucky to have this outlet. Gaul is also active in the ND Club of New Hampshire and enjoys volunteering at a local soup kitchen. In 2018, Gaul welcomed his first grandchild, James. He is a joy and he smiles when his grandfather says “Notre Dame.”

1980

WILLIAM CALDWELL (MGT) is the chief executive officer of Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center and market president of Conemaugh Health System.

1981

THOMAS E. McCABE (MBA, JD) has been named as Outstanding Chief Legal Officer of the Year by the Association of Corporate Counsel’s National Capital Region chapter. McCabe is the senior vice president, general counsel, chief compliance officer and corporate secretary for BWXT.

1982

DOUGLAS SMITH (MBA) is the steward general of the Congregation of Holy Cross. Smith moved to the Eternal City and celebrated Christmas Eve Mass with Pope Francis. Smith plans to officiate the August wedding of classmate Terry Fairholm’s son Bryan, whom he baptized more than 31 years ago.

1988

MARY KAY LADONE (FIN) is senior vice president, Corporate Development, Strategy and Investor Relations, for Hill-Rom Inc.

KEVIN McGOWAN (ACCT) is vice president and chief financial officer of PC-TEL Inc.

1990

JOHN BAUMER (FIN) and his wife, Mollie, donated $20 million for a new residence hall on the south side of campus. Bau.mer Hall opens in August, housing 251 men in a four-story, 78,000-square-foot building with a two-story lounge, reading room and community kitchen, a chapel, laundry and vending, storage space and an exercise room. Baumer is a senior partner at private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners and a member of Notre Dame’s Campaign Cabinet and Wall Street Com.mittee. Baumer and wife are also members of the University’s President’s Circle.

MICHAEL BUENZOW (MBA) is interim chief executive officer of School Specialty Inc. He is also a senior managing director and company-side practice leader of the corporate finance segment of FTI Consulting Inc.

1992

STEPHANIE HASENBOS-CASE (MARK) is president and chief human resources officer for Black & Veatch, a global leader in engineering, procurement and construction services for energy, water and telecommunications.

1993

TRACY ELLIOTT (MSA) is president of the Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago. Elliott has more than 30 years of nonprofit adminis.tration experience, including 12 years in executive director roles at larger agencies.

1994

MICHAEL SEAMON (MBA, MGMT ’92) is vice president for Campus Safety and University Operations at Notre Dame. He continues to oversee Notre Dame Security Police, the Notre Dame Fire Department, Risk Management and Safety and the Emergency Management Program. He will also take on oversight for Building Services, Warehouse, Delivery and Transportation, the Office of Sustainability, Land O’Lakes and other operations vital to the life of Notre Dame.

1998

JOHN GARRETT (ACCT) was named to Accounting Today’s 2018 list of Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting Ones to Watch. Garrett recorded 105 episodes of his podcast in 2018 and spoke at 24 events for nearly 6,800 people. He is also the writer for the two-time Emmy-nominated “Echoes: Notre Dame Football Awards Show.”

TEMIKA MURRY (MBA) is a DeKalb County Juvenile Court Judge. Murry serves on the board of the Georgia Association of Counsel for Children and is a certified child welfare legal specialist through the National Association of Black Women Attorneys and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers.

1999

PATRICK VILLANOVA (ACCT) is chief accounting officer and oversees global accounting operations for BlackLine Inc.

2001

ANDREA BENDZICK (MBA, BS ’96) is chief financial officer of Astreya, a premier IT managed services solution provider. Bendzick brings over 15 years of technology services experience building and leading global finance and operations teams.

2002

JOHNNY EK (MSA) is chief financial officer of GenMark Diagnostics Inc. Previously Ek served as GenMark’s vice president of finance and accounting and controller.

BRIAN HARSHBERGER (EMBA) joined the Manchester University Board of Trustees. Harshberger is also treasurer for AM General and has served as a member, vice president and president of the Mental Health Association of Elkhart County.

2004

JOSHUA BERLO (MBA) and wife, Meg, a 10-year cancer survivor, welcomed their first child, Michael, in January. Berlo has been director of athletics at the University of Minnesota-Duluth for five years. In April 2018 their Bulldogs’ men’s hockey team defeated the Irish to win the NCAA National Championship. They also attended the Michigan football game and enjoyed cheering on Irish football from afar during their great 2018 season.

2006

BRIAN EMERICK (EMBA) is on the board of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership (NEIRP) and will represent the organization on the AgriNovus Board. NEIRP encompasses 11 counties with the mission to build, market and sell northeast Indiana to business investors. Emerick is CEO and founder of Micropulse Inc. and is a serial entrepreneur, helping to launch 10 companies through his “Orthovation” business incubator.

RYAN MORITA (MBA) was appointed chairman of the Hawaii State Federal Credit Union Board of Directors after serving two years as vice chairman.

2007

THOMAS J. GAUL (FIN) and wife, Sarah, wel.comed first child, James, on May 10, 2018.

CHRISTOPHER JACQUES (FIN) is associate director of institutional sales for Macquarie Investment Management. In his role Jacques supports the Midwest region and is based in Chicago.

DAVID SAUCEDO II (ACCT) is vice president of the Texas Board of Nursing. Saucedo, president of El Paso-based Saucedo Lock Company, was appointed to the board by Governor Greg Abbott in 2015.

2008

EMMA GERGEN (ACCT) is vice president of Carlson Private Capital Partners, a privately held middle-market investment firm.

JOSHUA PLATEK (FIN) is vice president of Victory Park Capital and leads a new insurance services investment platform.

2009

MIKE CRAWFORD (EMBA) is chief executive officer of the Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village. The Village is described as a 10.part development designed to include the existing football museum, the Black College Hall of Fame, Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, a youth sports complex, retail and restaurants, a virtual reality and indoor wa.ter park facility, a four-star hotel and confer.ence center, a research and office building, a retirement community and medical facility, and an arena with convention space.

SHANNON CULLINAN (ACCT) was elected executive vice president of the University of Notre Dame effective July 1. Cullinan combines expertise in financial management with wide administrative experience and broad engagement with the academy and was formerly the University’s vice president for finance.

MICHAEL LENAHAN (EMBA) is chief execu.tive officer of KB Foundry Services LLC.

2010

SHELLEY KENDRICK (MNA) is president and chief executive officer of Ecumen. Kendrick has nearly 20 years of experience in senior services and is excited to build the organization’s future vision.

LARRY SWANK II (MBA) was named a partner at Sterling Group.

2012

RAYMOND UMIPIG (ACCT) is associate manager at Siegfried’s Chicago market.

2013

JASON AUBUCHON (MBA) is a brand and flavor marketing associate for the Lay’s Chips brand at Frito-Lay/Pepsico.

JASON JOSEPH (EMBA) is chief information officer of Spectrum Health.

2014

JACKIE MORALES (EMBA) is chief marketing and innovation officer of the Morales Group, an Indianapolis-based recruiting and staffing agency, where she oversees marketing, innovation and workforce development. Morales is an active business and community leader, having served on the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce’s Hispanic Business Council for nine years and for three years on the Indy Chamber’s Executive Committee.

FRANK OKUNAK (EMBA) is a board advisor for Vennli, a privately held Indiana-based company focused on driving the creation and execution of growth strategies. Okunak is also chief operating officer for leading global communications, public relations and engagement firm Weber Shandwick.

MARK YURAN (EMBA) is vice chancellor for human resources at the University of Minnesota-Duluth.

2015

FABIO FUKUDA (EMBA) is vice president of human capital management transformation at Oracle Corporation. As one of the senior leaders in the HCM Practice at Oracle, Fukuda works closely with C-suite leaders as an adviser on translating business goals into strategies that create value for organizations.

REGINA GILMOUR (MSM, BA ’14) is an associate attorney at Grand Rapids-based Mika Meyers. Gilmour’s practice is focused on civil litigation, labor and employment, and municipal law.

JACK KELLY (FIN) is an associate on the investment team of Geneva Glen Capital LLC.

DEREK RINALDO (EMBA) and his wife are parents to Maria Josephine, their fourth daughter, born Dec. 18, 2018, weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz. Rinaldo recently returned to the mining space with IMERYS after working for several years at Medtronic/ Cardinal Health, which allows him to spend more time with his family.

2016

ADAM GREENWAY (MNA), dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Ministry at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, was unanimously selected by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Presidential Committee as the next president of the Fort Worth-based seminary. Since becoming the dean in 2013, Greenway has led the Billy Graham School to become the largest graduate school at any Southern Baptist seminary with over 2,100 students currently enrolled.

2017

COREY LABENZ (ACCT) joined accounting firm Labenz & Associates.

MATTHEW McCORMICK (MGMT) was named to the Community House Board of Directors. He is director of business development at Metalbuilt LLC, a supplier of metal fabricated products.

LETTER FROM THE CHAIR

headshot Twenty-eight years ago, I stood on the steps of the Hayes-Healy building for my first day of a Notre Dame MBA, with a limited understanding of what I was stepping into. If only I knew! My Notre Dame experience continues to exceed expectations, and I anticipate it will for another 28 years. However, I don’t take this for granted. Anything worthwhile requires an investment, and the value of my Notre Dame degree is no different. As such, I have remained involved with Our Lady’s university, referring students, hiring graduates, volunteering (may I suggest ND Impact Partners), and of course attending football games.

As alumni, we can nurture our investment many ways. One way is to serve, and this year I have the honor of being elected chairman of the Mendoza Graduate Alumni Board, serving with Charles Florance (MBA ’13) as vice chair. We inherit a strong board, and on behalf of all alumni, I thank outgoing chair and vice chair Andrew Kahl (EMBA ’11) and Bob Woods (MBA ’01) for their contributions. I am confident their investment in Notre Dame is shifting, not ending. In addition, I express my gratitude to the retiring board members from whom I have learned so much and welcome an outstanding cohort of newly elected board members.

Another way to remain involved is to refer a student to a graduate program. We are uniquely qualified to understand who will thrive at Mendoza, benefiting from access to our enviable alumni network and personal growth without limits. The exceptional candidates you refer will have their application fee waived. More information and a simple referral form may be found online at Mendoza.nd.edu/refer.

This is an exciting time to be part of Mendoza. On behalf of the Graduate Alumni Board, we join you in congratulating Martijn Cremers on his appointment as dean and look forward to supporting his vision for the Mendoza College of Business.

In Notre Dame,

Geoff Colgan (MBA ’93)
Chair, Mendoza Graduate Alumni Board