July 2011

Dean’s Message – Greg Hanifee, Assistant Dean of Executive Programs

Hot, Steamy Greetings from College Park –

As you can see from the long list of activities below (please read this poolside, on the beach or in the mountains), the Office of Executive Programs (OEP) is busy rolling through the dog-days of summer! While the full-time students vacated Van Munching Hall weeks ago, the staff and faculty have been busy providing programming, events, guidance and exceptional service to a variety of students and clients … and of course cohorts 10 and 11 are working hard to make it through the summer weekends with the Smith faculty. By the time another newsletter reaches you, we’ll have another group of Alumni to welcome – Cohort 10 completes their biz sim at the end of July!

In addition to the many activities listed below, there were also two events this past month that have me thinking more and more about our impact as a business school, and how much more we can do. First, we hosted a happy hour in Baltimore for all Smith and UMD alums that work at Constellation Energy/BG&E – we had a really fun, engaging turnout of about 35 alums/current students from the UMD world, and I was really impressed with the success of the individuals (EMBA shout-out: Scott, Kiati, Prakesh, Sandra – thanks! -Adam had Houston duties, unfortunately) that took the time out to meet with us. A special shout out to Shelbi Brookshire for working with Alumni Relations to organize everything, and of course many thanks to those in attendance. It was especially gratifying to have leadership from Constellation Energy Group attend, because they have recognized the value of our EMBA program, and the Smith School at large, as a real difference-maker in their organization. I’m committed to doing more in Baltimore, and our plan is to build significant life-long learning programs and special events for our corporate partners and alumni to the North.

Second, I’ve started to interview some of the candidates for the next cohort, which starts in January 2012, and it is gratifying to see how the program that you have built – through your success, feedback, and connection to us – has provided such a great platform for us to continue to grow and develop talented people from across the metro region, and beyond. To that end, we will launch a life-long learning program starting this fall that will seek to give you opportunities to continue to connect with us and the faculty at deeply discounted or free sessions. A premier event designed to kick things off will be offered Friday September 30 and Saturday October 1, 2011. We will hold an “Alumni Leadership @ Gettysburg” exclusively for EMBA Alumni, and we’d love to have you join us for this unique experience combining history with leadership lessons from the battle of Gettysburg. You can learn more about the special partnership between the Gettysburg Foundation and the Smith School at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/execed/gettysburg - I’ve run custom executive education programs at Gettysburg over the past two years, and combining our incredible M&O faculty with the Gettysburg experts creates an experience not to be missed. If you are interested, please email me ghanifee@rhsmith.umd.edu to get more details and to hold your spot – the plan is to spend Friday on the battlefield, hold an evening reception/networking event and a morning session of Thought Leadership. We’ll have a limited number of seats, and with all modesty, I guarantee an enriching, rewarding, and life-long memory.

Happy learning, happy summer, and I hope to see you soon,

Greg
ghanifee@rhsmith.umd.edu
Twitter: greg021

EMBA Updates

EMBA Cohort 12 - Recruiting Now!
July 15th is historically our most active application deadline. While the priority consideration we give for scholarships to those who made the deadline cannot be extended, we process and interview candidates on a rolling basis. Thus, if you know of someone who is interested in learning more about our top ranked EMBA, feel free to pass along their contact information to Shelbi and/or provide her information to them. She can be reached via email at sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu or 301-405-2386.

EMBA Alumni on the Radio!
We ran 60 second and 30 second radio spots employing the story of Daniel Nichols (Cohort 5) and Military to Medicine in a continuation of "The Smith Effect" theme. Check out the radio ads: click here and here.

Previous Alumni Events

Lunch with the Cohorts

Cohort 8		Cohort 9

We recently conducted individual cohort lunches in downtown DC. It was a great time to reconnect and share updates on family and professional lives. Cohorts 9 and 8. had the most attendees who spent a majority of the time laughing and reminiscing. We were thrilled to hear of the many positive professional impacts the EMBA has had for so many of you. We would be happy to include any announcements you may wish in the newsletter whether they be personal or professional. You can email Shelbi Brookshire at sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu.

March 10 – Alumni Event in D.C.

A great time was had by all at the third annual Smith EMBA community event at the St. Gregory in Washington, D.C. on March 10. Over 60 alumni, faculty, staff and prospective students gathered for a stimulating evening of learning and networking. Professor Ritu Agarwal moderated a panel discussion, entitled "The Evolving Healthcare Landscape and its Implications: A Multi-Stakeholder Perspective." The evening’s panel included fellow EMBA alumni: Dan Nichols (Cohort 5), Jennifer Wulff (Cohort 6), Rohit Gulati (Cohort 8) and James Green (Cohort 10).

Closing out the evening, Vice Dean Hugh Courtney introduced Greg Hanifee, the newly appointed assistant dean of executive programs. Following remarks from both, the evening continued with more reconnecting and networking.

It was great to see some new and familiar faces in attendance. Even though your team projects, papers and group work are in the past, it is great to see the continued support and encouragement you give each other!

Stay tuned for our next event this fall. We hope to see you there!

Message from the Office of Career Services

Summer greetings from Van Munching Hall!

On behalf of our Office of Career Services, I want to extend a big "thank you" to all those alumni who participated in our various career events this past year (e.g., Alumni Mock Interviews, Information Sessions and Industry Panels, Networking events, etc.). Our MBAs thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with and learn from our EMBAs. Borrowing from an African proverb, it will take a village - our entire Smith community - to propel our Smith rankings and brand upward. The engagement of talented alumni like you plays a key role in our journey ahead. If you are interested in becoming more involved and making a positive difference, please let me know. We would love to involve you in the exciting opportunities ahead.

We also appreciate your help as we seek to partner with businesses to meet their recruiting needs by infusing their talent pipelines with our Smith MBAs. In these economic times it has become even more important to employ a strong and talented workforce. As you know, our Smith School graduates possess a wide array of knowledge, skills and interests in areas such as finance, consulting, marketing, supply chain and operations, human capital management, social value creation, entrepreneurship and technology. The bottom line is that we have talented Terps who can enhance every level of your organization. Because "MBA employment rates" play a key factor in the major MBA rankings, we really need your help placing our remaining MBAs before mid-August. If you have any open positions in your company, please contact me as soon as possible so that we can help meet your hiring needs. To facilitate matters we can also provide you with resume books featuring information on our students currently seeking employment.

Thank you in advance for your support and commitment to the cause. Help us protect and enhance our Smith School brand by becoming an active and engaged alumnus and by speaking up for Smith. Your participation will provide you with the opportunity to build stronger connections within our Smith School community and to have a positive and enduring impact on the professional development and success of our future Smith graduates.

Go Terps!

Jeff Kudisch
JKudisch@rhsmith.umd.edu
301.405.9540

Message from Alumni Services

Give Back to Smith by Joining the Alumni Association…
Did you know that as an Alumni Association member, a portion of your membership dues goes back to Smith to help sustain alumni programming, scholarships and events for the school? When you become a member of the Alumni Association, you not only help to propel the university's ranking, you give back to the Robert H. Smith School of Business, thereby increasing the value of your business degree and creating invaluable experiences for current students and alumni. And as an added bonus, your alumni association membership is now 100% tax-deductible.

Membership also grants you automatic access to the University's Online Alumni Community which is an additional resource to SmithConnector, the Smith School's alumni community. Reconnect with former classmates; meet Terps who share similar interests, acquaintances and professions; and learn about special alumni networking and social events, on and off campus.

We Need Volunteers for the Full-Time MBA Orientation

We would like to extend an invitation for you to participate in the Smith School of Business annual MBA orientation to be held here on campus in August. Every year the Smith School welcomes the nation’s top students into our competitive Full-time MBA program. This year’s Orientation will have multiple opportunities to engage with the MBA Class of 2013. Below are some ways to engage:

Thursday, August 24, 2011

Session 1:
9:45 a.m. – 10:45a.m. Employer/ Recruiter Panel –What are corporate recruiters looking for?
A panel of alumni to discuss that they are looking for “leaders that happen to have MBA’s.” Alumni to discuss specific issues from their point of view on contemporary trends, changing competency and requirements in the current business environment.

Session 2:
1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. How do you build authentic relationships with alumni?
A panel of alumni to discuss best practices in terms of how students can build positive and authentic relationships with them via networking efforts. Panelists will provide recommendations for students in their alumni outreach efforts for professional development and career support.

Session 3:
2:15 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Industry Panels
Full time experienced Alumni in Marketing, Management Consulting, Financial Services and Corporate Finance, Entrepreneurship, & Supply Chain/Logistics will host interactive sessions with students. Three sessions of each panel hosted during this time block.

Session 4:
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Etiquette Dinner / Networking Mixer
Students and alumni have the opportunity to connect in a less formal setting at the end of the day.

Friday, August 25, 2011

Session 5:
3:45 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Terps Helping Terps
A panel of alumni discussing their efforts at their respective company to integrate the Smith brand and community into their company. Developing the Smith community beyond the MBA program in the professional development.

Session 6:
5:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Etiquette Dinner / Networking Mixer
Students and alumni have the opportunity to connect in a less formal setting at the end of the day.

EMBA Updates

EMBA 12 - Recruiting Now!

It's that time of year again....the beginning of our recruiting cycle for the next cohort - Cohort 12 - which will begin January 2012. The first deadline of April 30th has passed. We will begin interviewing mid- to late-May. While the next deadline is July 15, we do accept applications on a rolling basis. If you have friends or colleagues who are interested in learning more about joining the Smith EMBA program, feel free to pass along my contact information. I am happy to help answer any questions they may have which we could do over lunch or coffee with you and your colleague.

One important note, the July 15, deadline is the priority deadline for anyone looking for scholarship funds. The Scholarship Committee will allocate 80% of the funds during this recruiting phase.

Shelbi
sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu
301.405.2386

Upcoming Events

Fall CEO Speaker Series
Save the dates are below for Smith's Fall CEO Speaker Series. The events are held in Van Munching Hall and begin at 5:00 pm. Registration sites will go live approximately one month before each event.

September 13th - PricewaterhouseCoopers
October 18th - McCormick & Company
November 15th - Frito Lay

Lifelong Learning Opportunities

Innovation & Leadership Beyond Borders
China, India and the United States are three key growth markets for the future, with distinct management and innovation strengths. Join a cohort of global executives for one-week stays at Robert H. Smith School of Business, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore and School of Management, Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China. Participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the study of global senior management, delivering the key to successful innovation in each of three critical markets abroad. This international certificate program and networking experience begins in September 2011. Sign up now to receive your 10% alumni discount!
Visit www.rhsmith.umd.edu/BeyondBorders for more information.

Executive Education in the News

The Office of Executive Programs is proud to announce two upcoming programs in the fall: SMPS Leadership Advancement Program and CAME Global Professional Leaders.

In partnership with Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS), the Smith School is launching a Leadership Advancement Program. The curriculum is designed especially for marketers and business developers in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industries who strive to support senior management with essential business information, guide the strategic direction of their firms, and advance to leadership positions. The program integrates marketing, finance, and service management principles into the strategic plan of the professional services firm, clearly illustrating their crucial roles in the business model of a successful practice. More information can be found at: www.smps.org/smps_university. 

Based on a unique partnership between the Smith School and a consortium of higher education Schools in South and Central America (CAME Red), Global Professional Leaders 2011 is a senior management program that enables business leaders to acquire best practices in targeted disciplines. Focused on entrepreneurs and executives operating in South and Central America, the challenging five-day program, held October 11-14, will highlight our Center for Excellence in Service faculty, as well as several other faculty members from Smith. For details, see www.rhsmith.umd.edu/GPL2011. 

The Office of Executive Programs also had two successful pilot programs with CSX Transportation and Maryland Bankers Association. Both programs will be repeated in the fall.

A new custom program with CSX Transportation has successfully been launched with its first cohort of 26 participants. The Business Leadership Program is an intensive series of three, one-week sessions where participants are selected to engage in a series of cross-functional courses with the goal of defining new strategic directions, building teams to pursue those opportunities and deliver the newly found opportunities under their Action Learning Projects. With a very successful pilot program, we are excited to welcome the second cohort to College Park in September.

The Smith School, in conjunction with The Center for Financial Policy and the Maryland Bankers Association, is wrapping up the first series of workshops for the Maryland Bankers Board Director Education Program. This series of workshops is designed to provide the Community Bank Board member with a working knowledge of the key issues facing financial institutions in the State of Maryland. Key topics include: credit risk management, asset-liability management, deposit insurance, audit risk, corporate governance and strategic planning. Having received excellent feedback from current participants, we are looking forward to begin the second series, scheduled to begin this fall and continue through the spring of 2012.

In addition to the new programming and successful pilots, we will start our sixth cohort of MBA students at SAIC and will graduate our 10th cohort of the EMBA program on July 28. Congratulations, Cohort 10!

Announcements

Sue Adams (Cohort 1) became the proud grandmother of twins on April 19, 2011: Elias William (6 lbs. 9 oz.) and Abram Samuel (4 lbs. 13 oz.) joined their older brother Oliver Edward, who was 20 months old at their birth. All are doing well, though their parents aren’t getting much sleep!

Kimberly Gifford (Cohort 9) has accepted the position of Executive Director/CEO with ASTS.

The Northern Virginia Technology Council announced the winners of its 10th Annual Hot Ticket Awards, honoring the region’s best and brightest entrepreneurial technology companies in 2010. Kara Hedges (Cohort 10) and her company Everfi was named as a finalist in the “Hottest Buzz” category. Elie Ashery (Cohort 11) and his company, Gold Lasso was named a finalist in the “Hottest Startup” category. See the full story.

In March of 2011 David Pelgrim (Cohort 1) moved to accept a position as a Senior Manager supporting the Health & Public Service Group of Accenture, a global management consulting, technology and outsourcing firm. This follows a 10 year career managing one of the fastest growing divisions of E.K. Fox & Associates, Ltd, an engineering consulting firm based in northern Virginia.

Michael Yochelson (Cohort 10) has been named the Senior Vice President of Medical Affairs and Medical Director at National Rehabilitation Hospital. In that role he will lead all of the rehabilitation physicians at NRH and throughout the MedStar Health System, the largest health system in the area.

Rabia Zaman (Cohort 6) is the new President of International Cultural Center, a nonprofit located in Gaithersburg, MD. Their motto is "Sharing Cultures, Building Communities" www.theicc.net.

EMBA Alumni Newsletter

Previous editions can be found online at www.rhsmith.umd.edu/emba/newsletters.aspx.

Stay Connected

We have two areas where we ask you to make sure your email and mailing address are up to date.

1. UMD – Email university relations at bio_updates@ur.umd.edu. This is important if you want to keep getting the Smith Business Magazine and other UMD publications.
2. Smith Connector: www.smithconnector.com

Don’t forget to look for the Smith School on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

REMINDER - Please take a moment to ensure you are member of Smith's official EMBA Alumni on LinkedIn.

Finally, we would like to request personal updates to share with all of our EMBA alumni. We would like to highlight your successes! Please send any updates you want to share such as new job or new baby. Email the updates to emba_alumni@rhsmith.umd.edu.