Alumni in the News

Diebold Hires Brown as Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development

29 April 2011 — www.diebold.com

Diebold hired Alex Brown to fill the role of Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Development. Brown will be responsible for helping Diebold identify and consummate successful corporate growth strategies and investments with an emphasis on acquisitions and strategic partnerships. "We are very pleased to have Alex join the Diebold team," said Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our company has definitive needs and aggressive goals from a growth perspective, and Alex's extensive management and advisory experience in corporate and business strategy will be invaluable moving forward in our development efforts.”

A native of Chicago, Brown will relocate to the Akron-Canton area of Ohio. He holds a master's degree in Business Administration from Northwestern University, and a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.

Brown most recently served as a partner at Marakon, an executive management consulting firm based in Chicago. In addition, he has held management and consultancy positions at Huron Consulting Group, Axeleration Inc., and A.T. Kearney, Inc. Brown also held leadership positions in the U.S. Army from 1990-1992.

Alex Brown
Last Title: Manager II, Administration
Previous Office(s): Chicago
Years: 1994 to 2000

Science Center CEO Named to National Innovation Advisory Board

5 May 2011

University City Science Center President and CEO Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D., MBA has been named to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s new Innovation Advisory Board, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announced May 4, 2011. The 15-member Innovation Advisory Board, established under the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010, will guide a study of U.S. economic competitiveness and innovation to help inform national policies at the heart of U.S. job creation and global competitiveness. The board will advise the Secretary of Commerce, in coordination with the National Economic Council and other federal agencies, on the development of the study. Board members will serve until the completion of the study in 2012.

“Entrepreneurship and innovation are front and center in the public debate for a good reason. Through my work at the Science Center, whose graduate companies are responsible for 15,000 current jobs in Greater Philadelphia, I have seen first-hand the positive impact of innovation and entrepreneurship on the economy. I am honored to serve on the Innovation Advisory Board and welcome the opportunity to contribute to the national discussion on economic competitiveness,” commented Dr. Tang.

Dr. Tang became President and CEO of the Science Center in 2008, following an extensive nationwide search. The Science Center, founded in 1963, is the nation’s oldest and largest urban science research park and also provides business incubation services and support to start-up companies.

A seasoned life science, energy technology, and management consulting executive, Dr. Tang previously served as group vice president and general manager with Olympus America Inc., where he led U.S. operations for the company’s $1 billion global life science businesses. Before joining Olympus in 2005, he was President and CEO of Millennium Cell Inc., an energy technology firm he led through its initial public offering in 2000. Earlier in his career, Dr. Tang served as Vice President and Managing Director of the global pharmaceutical and healthcare practice of A.T. Kearney Inc., and was Vice President and Co-Managing Director of the global chemical and environmental practice for Gemini Consulting Inc., now known as Cap Gemini.

Stephen S. Tang, Ph.D.
Last Title: Vice President
Previous Office(s): New York

Years: 1996-2000

Merkle Hires Steve Lavalle as Executive Vice President of Client and Advisory Services

26 April 2011 — www.merkleinc.com

Merkle, the nation's fastest growing customer relationship marketing (CRM) agency, has named Steve LaValle Executive Vice President of Client and Advisory Services. The move underscores the company’s emphasis on a consultative, strategically led approach to helping clients build and sustain profitable customer relationships.

LaValle brings more than 24 years of experience in direct marketing and CRM consulting to his new role. Prior to joining Merkle, he spent eight years with IBM, most recently as Global Leader, Business Analytics and Optimization Strategy Services. LaValle also held analytic and CRM consulting roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers and A.T. Kearney, providing strategic direction for Fortune 100 businesses. He is a graduate of The Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

“To build upon Merkle’s outstanding reputation for providing industry-leading database marketing and CRM solutions, we’ve made a commitment to partner with our clients using a more analytics-based, consultative approach,” said Merkle CEO David Williams. “With Steve’s background in both analytics and CRM consulting, this appointment represents a natural evolution in Merkle’s vision of true customer relationship marketing.”

LaValle leads the client services teams, account managers and consulting professionals across all industries served by Merkle. “As a strong believer in a true customer-centric approach to business success, I was attracted to Merkle’s reputation in the industry as the gold standard in CRM,” said LaValle. “Merkle’s advanced capabilities in analytics and database services create a unique opportunity for clients to improve the way they run their businesses – using insight not only for marketing, but for business strategies that improve operations at every customer touchpoint.”

Steve Lavalle
Last Title: Associate
Previous Office(s): Cambridge
Years: 1995 to 1996

SAMBASafety Promotes Chris McKay to President

4 May 2011 — www.sambasafety.com

SAMBASafety has promoted Chris McKay to President. McKay manages strategic relationships, development of new services and market expansion opportunities. McKay joined the management team shortly after the company was founded in 1998. Over the years, he has held a variety of executive roles, including Chief Financial Officer, Vice President Business Development, and Director of Government Relations.

Prior to joining SAMBASafety, McKay worked as a management consultant with A.T. Kearney in central Europe. His strong business acumen, combined with an ongoing interest in entrepreneurial endeavors, has provided a solid base of experience—from technology to real estate. McKay has an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin and a Bachelor of Arts in government and history from Claremont McKenna College in California.

Patented SAMBASafety technology streamlines business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) fleet, safety, and risk management processes with a robust suite of services, including monthly Driver Record Monitoring, Audit & Compliance Files, Accident Tracking, Online Driver Training, Criminal & Background Checks, and Driver Incident Tracking. SAMBASafety services provide mission-critical solutions to reduce employee accidents and liability – all in one easy-to-use online location.

Chris McKay
Last Title: Business Analyst
Previous Office(s): Prague (currently living in North America)
Years: 1996 to 1998

A Passion for Global Growth

27 June 2011 — www.broadcastingcable.com

Synopsis. After receiving an undergraduate degree from Harvard, Sean H. Cohan decided to pursue a career in media and entertainment, but ended up joining A.T. Kearney global management consulting firm as a Business Analyst to hone his basic skills. His next job, at NBC, confirmed his desire to make an industry switch. Steve Ronson, A&E’s Executive Vice President of Enterprises remembers meeting Sean for the first time and was impressed with his intensity, energy and passion for the business. At 36 years old, Mr. Cohan, named earlier this year as Senior VP, International, from leading a group that's launched more than 20 channels in the last six months.

Since joining A&E seven years ago, Mr. Cohan has been promoted three times, from Director of Business Development, to Vice President for International Business Development and Digital Media, to his current position. Mr. Ronson was looking for a change agent for his group, which is focused on helping the company advance rapidly into new areas, and Mr. Cohan has filled that bill.

Mr. Cohan started his career out of Harvard University with consulting company A.T. Kearney. He moved to NBC to work in ad sales strategy, then went to business school at Stanford. He did investment banking at Morgan Stanley and strategy at Primedia before joining AETN. Although he had just a little experience in doing business abroad, Mr. Cohan says he's now enjoying the international side of the television business. For one thing, there's the fact that no two deals are the same. "There's just so many agreements and transactions that are required that it really is an intellectual challenge to getting your arms around it, particularly when you're going into a new market that we've sold programming into but we don't have channels in," he said.

Ultimately, Mr. Cohan's goal is to be CEO of a company. He thinks his current position, running a division that faces diverse challenges and is growing, is preparing him for that role.

Sean H. Cohan
Last Title: Sr. Business Analyst
Previous Office(s): New York
Years: 1996 to 1998

Unisys Elects Finance Veteran Davis to Board

16 June 2011 — www.forbes.com

Information-technology service provider Unisys Corp. said Thursday that Alison Davis has been elected to its board of directors and the board's finance committee. Davis was most recently Managing Partner of private equity firm Belvedere Capital Partners Inc. She was Chief Financial Officer at Barclays Global Investors and a Senior Partner at A.T. Kearney, Inc. She began her career at McKinsey & Co.

Alison Davis
Last Title: Vice President
Previous Office(s): San Francisco
Years: 1993 to 2000

Conservative Party Member Bernard Trottier Elected to the Canadian Parliament

Bernard Trottier is a Canadian politician and the Conservative Party member-elect of the House of Commons for the Toronto riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore. Trottier was elected to the Canadian Parliament in the 2011 federal election when he defeated the Leader of the Liberal Party, Michael Ignatieff, who was also the Leader of the Official Opposition.

Bernard, a 1992 graduate of University of Western Ontario, resided in Toronto and was a management consultant at. A.T. Kearney in the Toronto area before joining IBM Global Business Services as a senior consulting manager, a job he held at the time he was elected to Parliament. He previously served as the President of the Etobicoke—Lakeshore Conservative Association and of the Sunnylea Co-operative Nursery School. He also volunteered as a coach in the Royal York Baseball League and the Islington Rangers Soccer League.

Bernard Trottier
Last Title: Manager
Previous Office(s): Toronto
Years: 1995 to 2000

Boyden Global Executive Search Expands Miami Team

30 June 2011 — www.miamiherald.com

Boyden, a global leader in executive search, announced today that Thomas Connelly, a seasoned expert in the tourism and hospitality sector, has joined as a Managing Director in Boyden’s Miami office.

Mr. Connelly will play a key role in developing Boyden’s links to the firm’s fast-growing Latin American offices and he will serve as a conduit for the burgeoning economic relationship between the Miami area and the Asia Pacific region. “We are delighted to welcome Tom to Boyden’s Miami team as we further expand our client service links among South Florida, Latin America and Asia,” said John Byrne, Managing Director at Boyden Santiago. “He brings a great experience in executive search with top name clients and he possesses a unique depth from the hospitality and tourism sectors.”

“Tom brings a strong recruiting track record in the local South Florida search market, which fits well with our plans for growth with our Latin American offices,” said Steven Bartley, Managing Director at Boyden Miami. “His experience working in multiple cultures and business environments complements our team’s diversity and makes him an effective partner in building Boyden’s local and cross-border presence.”

Mr. Connelly’s career has included 20 years in executive search with Korn/Ferry International and at A.T. Kearney. He served in Korn/Ferry’s Washington DC office and opened the firm’s Miami Office in 1995, while helping establish a Latin American regional focus in South Florida. During his tenure, Mr. Connelly worked with some of the world’s premier hotel, airlines, cruise lines and restaurant corporations.

Most recently, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer of a South Florida-based technology startup that developed state of the art speech recognition software for applications in the hotel and restaurant industries.

In addition, Mr. Connelly launched an innovative high-end adventure travel company in Southeast Asia building distinctive distribution channels and reaching out directly to a global audience via internet search engines. During this time, Connelly also participated in a major trade mission to Asia promoting Miami Dade County in China and Malaysia. Presentations were made in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin and Kuala Lumpur.

Tom Connelly
Last Title: Associate
Previous Office(s): Miami
Years: 1990 to 1995

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation appoints Andrew Williams to FOAMGLAS® Division

13 June 2011 — www.pittsburghcorning.com

Pittsburgh Corning Corporation, a global manufacturer of applied glass technology and systems, announced today that Andrew P. (Andy) Williams has been appointed Vice President and General Manager of the company’s FOAMGLAS® Industrial business worldwide. Pittsburgh Corning manufactures FOAMGLAS® cellular glass insulation and accessories for industrial, commercial and building applications.

In his new position, Williams, 46, has full responsibility for the FOAMGLAS industrial business and will directly lead the sales, marketing, technology and manufacturing groups in the United States and a sales and service team in Europe and the Middle East. Williams joins Pittsburgh Corning from the CANBERRA nuclear detection division of AREVA, a global manufacturer of nuclear detection devices, where he served as Executive Vice President, Operations.

Prior to CANBERRA, he worked at Saint-Gobain as General Manager of the Scintillation Products business unit after being promoted from his position of Director, Strategic Planning and Business Development. Earlier in his career, Andy was a management consultant for A.T. Kearney and in operations for the Midwest Dental Products division of Dentsply, a worldwide leader in the manufacturing and distribution of dental products.

Williams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer and electrical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also is a veteran of the United States Air Force.

“Andy’s breadth of experience in domestic and international settings and various functional areas make him the right leader for our global FOAMGLAS business,” said Jim Kane, President of Pittsburgh Corning Corporation. “Our FOAMGLAS® product line has a reputation for exceptional quality and performance, and despite the challenging global economy, we are confident that Andy has the insight and leadership abilities required to profitably grow this major segment of our business.”

Andy Williams
Last Title: Manager
Previous Office(s): Atlanta
Years: 1995 to 1999