ALUMNI
In March, Jim Buncher (MAS,
BS Accountancy '61) was named president and chief executive
officer of SafeGuard Health Enterprises, and also joined the
company's board of directors. Buncher has more than twenty-four years
of experience in health care management and directorships,
most recently as a consultant to the industry. He currently serves
on several other boards of directors of health care companies.
In May, shareholders of Sears, Roebuck and Co., elected
Jim Cantalupo (BS Accountancy) to the board of directors. Cantalupo
is president and vice chairman of the board of McDonald's
Corporation, which in March announced the acquisition of a stake in Food.com, headed by Rich Frank (BS Marketing '64).
Robert Grossberg (BS Business Administration) has written to
share some pleasant news — Grossberg
& Associates recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary. Located
in Oak Brook, the firm is a retainer-based executive search
practice. Grossberg, who is managing partner, lives in Glenwood.
Doug Hoffmeyer (BS Accountancy) has joined eziaz as CFO.
The Chicago company is a national provider of Internet and
enhanced data services. Hoffmeyer formerly served as senior vice
president, finance, and CFO at Teltrend Inc.
In early March, Lou Vogt (BS Finance) was elected president
and COO of Associated Estates Realty Corporation in Richmond
Heights, Ohio. Vogt, who had previously served as senior vice president
of operations, joined the company in June 1998 and was elected a
director in May 1999. He has over twenty years of experience in real
estate operations.
In a recent note, Stephan Wilson (BS Accountancy) says that he
was promoted last December to the newly created position of
vice president, finance, customer network services for Alcatel U.S.A.
A worldwide telecommunications/Internet company, Alcatel is
located in Plano, Texas, where Wilson also makes his home.
Jim Hackett (BS Finance) has been nominated to the board of
directors of Kaiser Aluminum Corporation in Houston. He is chairman,
president, and CEO of Ocean Energy Inc., a company engaged in oil and
natural gas exploration and production worldwide.
 | Michael L. Gonzalez (BS Finance) was recently
named president and CEO of Interlake Material Handling,
Inc., a recognized world leader in the manufacture and
design of storage rack, conveyor, and order
fulfillment solutions in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to joining Interlake in
1995, Gonzalez held senior management positions at IBM, XL/Datacomp, and Storage
Tek. While at Illinois, Gonzalez was Chief Illiniwek. |
 | Lane Kramer (BS Accountancy) writes that,
earlier this year, he joined Texas Capital Bank as senior
vice president, corporate banking. The com-pany, located
in Dallas, serves middle market companies in the North Texas area. |
In April, Larry Birch (BS Finance) joined Brigade Solutions in
the newly created position of CFO and vice president of
administration. Located in San Francisco, the company is a provider of
outsourced Internet customer support. Birch had previously served as CFO
at Gateway Homecare and has also held senior executive positions
at MCI Worldcom.
Steven Meyer (BS Accountancy) has been named CFO of
Millbrook Corporation, a developer of physician practice management
software, located in Carrollton, Texas. He formerly served as regional
finance director for U.S. Oncology/American Oncology Resources, a $1.5
billion physician practice management company.
Kathy Wheadon (BS Business Administration) has been
named vice president of operations for whatifi.com, an online
financial services company in San Francisco. She had previously held the post
of senior vice president for Bank of America. As part of its initial
offering, whatifi.com has partnered with Barclays to offer a family of
index funds.
In May, Jeff Johnson (BS Accountancy) was named senior vice
presi-dent and general manager of the Los Angeles Times. A
sixteen-year veteran of the Tribune Company, Johnson had most recently
served as president and CEO for Landoll, Inc., a publisher of
educational materials and books for consumers.
Valarie Remmers (BS Accountancy) has been promoted to
vice president of information technology for PFSweb, an international
provider of e-logistic services, located in Plano, Texas. A
seventeen-year veteran of the IT field, she has
been with PFSweb for two years.
Alan FeldmanAlan Feldman (BS Commerce Curriculum '74, MBA '76) probably deserves a break today. But he's probably not going to get it. President of McDonald's USA since 1998, the energetic and affable Feldman has a schedule so tough that even catching up with him for a fifteen-minute phone conversation can require a month of lead time.
Feldman is extremely proud of the fact that Fortune magazine ranked McDonald's the number one corporation in social responsibility in its March 7 issue on "Most Admired Companies." "With 13,000 stores in the United States, we have a strong commitment to location. It's something we view with a tremendous amount of responsibility," said Feldman. His work has also drawn attention from Advertising Age, which ran an article in January, detailing the company's new regional emphasis — a process that began in July 1997 when McDonald's split into five geographic divisions. (Feldman was promoted to his current post during the corporate reorganization that took place last year.) The company recently completed its introduction of "Made for You," a new made-to-order food preparation system that allows restaurants to serve food faster, fresher and hotter and also consigns to obsolescence the heat lamps and burger warming bins of old. A few years ago, McDonald's partnered with a new national advertising agency, and reduced spending on TV advertising by 25 percent, while almost doubling the number of weeks spent on local marketing promotions, from a dozen to twenty-three. The trade journal noted: "Company insiders, Wall Street analysts, and even franchisees say these changes, along with the beefed up emphasis on local marketing, have made McDonald's a stronger player in the hugely competitive $100 billion U.S. fast-food business." Feldman's energy, vision, and good humor have served him well since the launch of his business career almost twenty-five years ago, when he went virtually straight from MBA convocation to a job with Cidair Structures Corporation, a Chicago firm which designs and installs "bubble" structures (such as tennis court domes) for clients both in the United States and internationally. He credits Rick Winter, former professor of business administration and department head (now dean of the business school at the University of Pittsburgh) with helping him get the job. "I came right out of school with the opportunity to run a small company," he told InSight. In 1983 he moved to Pepsico, taking up a position as an internal consultant for the corporation's Frito Lay operation in Dallas. In '86, he took over restaurant operations for Pizza Hut, another Pepsico subsidiary. He was promoted to chief operations officer and, later, to chief financial officer. He joined McDonald's in 1994 as senior vice president and zone manager, becoming Northeast Division president in 1997. The following year he was promoted to president of McDonald's USA. "Honestly, I never would have gotten started without the opportunities I had at the University of Illinois," he said. "The education. The experience. And the people. I'm still in touch with several of the people I knew while I was in business school." He adds: "Here at McDonald's there is a strong University of Illinois contingent, both among our corporate executives and our franchisees." Commerce alums include James Cantalupo (BS Accountancy '66), who in December became president of McDonald's Corporation, adding the new title to that of vice chairman. "Some of my neighbors in Hinsdale are alumni as well. We spend a lot of time commiserating about academics and athletics — not necessarily in that order," Feldman said. "And, of course, I got my start in foodservice while I was a student," he continued. "I was bar manager at the Round Robin." Food memories from college days remain vivid. "I remember going to Green Street on Sunday nights when the university foodservice was closed. There was a restaurant that sold three cheeseburgers for a quarter. I could eat dinner for $1." "It's always fun to go back to campus," he concluded, in an observation heavily bordering on a strong hint. "Though I definitely think we need another McDonald's there. If the students would sign a petition — that would be great!" |
Alejandro (Alex) Andrade (BS Marketing) writes from
glorious Cancun to say that in March he was promoted to managing director
of the Fiesta Americana Cancun by
the Mexican hotel chain Grupo Posadas. Previously he was
hotel manager of the Fiesta Americana Grand Coral Beach.
A recent note from Kevin Gilbert (BS Accountancy) tells what
he's been up to since graduating from CBA. Having gone on to earn a
law degree from the University of California at Berkeley, he has worked both in private practice
and as a corporate transaction attorney for Motorola. In 1995, he joined
the corporation's business development office and became vice
president and director for the office last February. He is "actively
involved in merger and acquisition, joint venturing, and equity
investments for all of Motorola's business
units," and currently resides in the Lincoln Park area of Chicago.
Clark Lienemann (BS Accountancy) e-mailed in to say that,
in December, he became director of business and fund development
for Easter Seals Crossroad Rehabilitation Center in central Indiana,
"a leading social services, not-for-profit organization serving
children and adults with disabilities and special needs." He lives
in Indianapolis.
In early March, the board of directors of GS Industries
elected Mark Essig (EMBA) as chairman. Essig also continues in his duties
as president and CEO for the corporation, which is located in
Charlotte, North Carolina. Before joining GS Industries in January 1998,
Essig held top executive posts at AK Steel Corporation in Middletown,
Ohio, and Washington Steel Corporation, Washington, Pennsylvania.
Matt Graves (EMBA) was recently named senior vice
president of financial and insurance services for Biztro, a provider of
online services for merging businesses, headquartered in Santa
Clara, California. He had previously served as president of
Allstate Bank, a subsidiary of Allstate Corporation.
In April, Mark Keithley (BS Accountancy) joined oCen
Communications, assuming the post of CFO for the Asia-focused
Internet communication services provider, which is headquartered in
Los Angeles. He had previously held the post of vice president and
CFO of Asia, Middle East, and Africa operations for Global One Communications.
Pete Nicholson (BS Accountancy) has been appointed vice
president and CFO of MorganWorks.com, a Chicago company specializing
in online and traditional recruiting. He had previously served as senior
vice president and CFO for Total Control Products, a designer and
manufacturer of industrial automation control software and hardware.
Michele Dodd (BS Accountancy) has written to tell us of a
recent career change. She now holds the position of regional director of
real estate for CVS Pharmacies and is based in Chicago. Prior to
accepting this position, Dodd was director of real estate for the Eastern
Division of Blockbuster Video. Good luck with your new venture!
Joe Ruble (BS Accountancy) has been appointed CFO of
Geodesic Systems in Chicago, a provider of software application
infrastructure solutions that improve business-critical server performance
and reliability. Previously managing partner in a corporate
financial consulting firm, he has also held positions at KPMG Peat Marwick, Liquid Carbonic Industries, and
PricewaterhouseCoopers.
At the beginning of March, Susan Lawler
(BS Accountancy) became associate dean for the Lake
Forest Graduate School of Management. She writes: "I am running
the downtown Chicago campus of LFGSM and looking for faculty
and students!"
In March, Jeff Libert (BS Accountancy) took over the post of CFO
for Oil-Dri Corporation of America in Chicago, having previously
served as vice president, corporate development and planning. He joined
the company in 1989 after working for Arthur Andersen.
Brad Stevens (MBA, AB Economics '86) has been named senior
vice president of marketing for NxView Technologies, a provider of
business-to-business infrastructure services for delivering
3D-based real-world environments on the Web. Prior to joining the
company, located in Cary, North Carolina, he was director of online strategy
and market planning for ibm.com.
Barclays Capital has announced the appointment of
John Welch (PhD, MS Economics '84) as chief economist for Latin America.
The company, which is the investment banking division of Barclays PLC,
is headquartered in New York. Welch had previously served as a
chief economist for Latin America and head of emerging markets
fixed income research for Paribas. He has also worked for Lehman
Brothers and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, and has taught at the
University of Texas, Austin, and the University of North Texas.
 | David Williams (BS Finance)
writes from Hong Kong to say that
he is now working for the Silicon Valley-based
venture capital firm of Draper Fisher Jurvetron, as
partner responsible for the Asia Pacific region. He had previously served
as head of emerging markets Internet investment banking for
Merrill Lynch, where, he writes, "I covered Asia and Latin American Internet companies." E-mail him
at david@dfj.com. |
www.cba.uiuc.edu/alumni
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Li Chio (MBA) writes that he has served as vice president of the
Hong Kong branch of Hamburgische Landes Bank since September 1998.
Scott E. Sullivan (BS Accountancy) sent an e-mail to let us
know of a recent promotion — to ABAS Assurance Senior Manager in
the Peoria office of PricewaterhouseCoopers. A loyal Illini, Sullivan is president of the HOI Illini Club
in Peoria. He writes to say that "I can be reached at
scott.e.sullivan@us.pwcglobal.com and would love to hear from all of my college
accounting friends."
Mike McLeer (EMBA) recently wrote a letter of appreciation
and congratulations to Dean Thomas, including thanks for
"inspirational words telling me to `GET OFF
THE FENCE!'" (Also enclosed was an article about how Guinness
stout, that quintessentially Irish drink, may actually have originated in Wales.) McLeer, who spent
four years in England working for Caterpillar, now lives in Peoria
and proudly reports that his son will be enrolling at the University of
Illinois this fall, and plans to major in accounting. "We are proud
parents!!" he wrote. "GO ILLINI!"
Stephen James Butler (BS
Finance) wrote that he is now an attorney in Bonney Lake,
Washington, where he works in the law offices of Hal J. Geirsbach. He
lives in Renton.
An e-mail from Sara Marshack Levy (BS IDM) finds her "all
the way in London," where she lives with husband Scott Levy (LAS
'86). She recently accepted the post of production and operations
manager for Kuan Ltd., "a manufacturer
of cosmetics that are produced in England and distributed all over
the world." In 1996, she completed a master's degree at the
London School of Economics. "It is always
a pleasure to receive the quarterly Commerce
InSight," she wrote. "I always look to see if anyone I
know is in there!"
In a fax sent from Seoul,
Sungshik Cho (MBA) said that he "recently became the new
president and CEO of New Star Trading Co., Ltd., a 30-year-old
trading company that has been mainly dealing in textiles and
chemicals." He plans to launch a major
Internet initiative, which he has been working on for
that last two years, while an executive manager for
the Korean company.
ChanYul Lee (MSF) sent an e-mail from his native Korea, where he
is now risk manager for the strategic finance team at SK Corporation.
Lee assumed that post when the company moved to Seoul early
this year. He had previously worked
for SK's investor relations team. He wrote: "It has been a great
pleasure for me to have a chance to read
InSight, and I appreciate the effort you make with it."
Cecilia Giordano Zanini (MBA) took a position as product
manager at Motorola this past January. She is living in Schaumburg, Illinois.
J.P. Montalvo (BS Finance) wrote that he is living and working
in Greenwood, Indiana, where he is
a commodity trader for Archer Daniels Midland. He notes that
he also has his own business — "MOSOC Enterprises, powered
by Quixtar" — and is engaged to be
married in October. Congratulations!
Patsopon Khananusapkul (MBA) now lives in Kansas City, where
he works for Aquila Energy, as a structure desk analyst in the
commodity transactions analysis group. The group's vice president is also
a CBA alum — David Haley (MS Economics '86).
Also at Aquila Energy is Darius
Vahabzadeh (MBA), who joined the Kansas City company in June as
an associate hourly power trader.
