EMBA Alumni Newsletter - Robert H. Smith School of Business

February 2012

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

Dear Smith EMBA Community,

We've reformatted our newsletter to make it easier for you to get to the stories you want faster, providing the headings in bulleted format below and links to the detailed information - let us know what you think!

As part of our 12th cohort residency last month, we invited a few alumni from each cohort to join us for dinner and a small focus group. One of the outcomes from the focus group is a brief survey that we'd like you to complete - the survey is only 9 short questions - centered on how we can better serve you.

Please take 15 minutes and complete the survey as it really will help shape our opportunities to serve you - www.surveymonkey.com/s/SmithEMBA1Q12.

There are quite a few updates below as there are a number of opportunities coming up in the next month to build on the momentum from the great January we had (welcoming Cohort 12, connecting with Alumni and seeing Cohort 11 travel on global studies trips to either China, Australia or Dubai; while others stayed here in the 'balmy' Washington DC area to take selectives in either Finance, Innovative Marketing or Marketing for BioTech).

Greg Hanifee

In this issue:

Welcome Smith EMBA Cohort 12

The Smith School is extremely proud to introduce you to the most recent cohort of Executive MBA students - EMBA 12.

38 students began their Residency Week with a dinner on Monday, January 16, followed by six days engaged in various activities. They attended strategy, systems thinking and ethical leadership sessions, participated in team building exercises, and networked with current students, alumni and professors. One lucky student’s wife even had their first baby during Residency Week (see Community Updates below).

Students range in age from 30 to 57, with an average age of 38 and average years of work experience of 14.5 years. They bring a wealth of professional and cultural diversity: 47% underrepresented minority, 18% with military backgrounds and 37% born outside the United States. In addition, these EMBA students are involved with industries including defense contracting, information technology, cybersecurity, energy, education, engineering, financial services, consulting, healthcare and government.

29% of EMBA 11 attended an International Trip

January 2012 saw 12 EMBA 11 students take advantage of the opportunity to participate in an international trip with part time and full time MBA students. EMBAs represented in Australia, Singapore/Malaysia, Dubai and China. The trips ranged from case method and company visits to actual participation in a business plan competition. Zack Hill with Alliant Energy Corporation attended the Doing Business in Australia: Resource Management elective and had this to say:

“It was immediately clear something special is happening with the Australian economy. In the years ahead, it will be interesting to say that I was able to experience Australia’s energy boom up close visiting with the companies and talented people who are making it happen. I think we all wanted to bottle up some of Australia’s surprising business spirit and bring it back with us”.

This year was also the first time EMBAs were offered the opportunity to take a domestic elective at Shady Grove. Innovation and Marketing with Dr. Gaurav Bhalla (bio) and Business of Biotech with Dr. Trent Carrier Executive Director with Biologics Consulting Group.

Calling all Feds: Let Smith Support your Agency's Mission

The Smith School is now a GS contract holder and can offer preferred pricing to government agencies seeking training services (GS 874 7).

Our schedule number is GS 02F 0004Y. Let your CHCO and CLO know and talk to us about your team's learning needs. Check out a full list of executive education capabilities here.

Women Leading Women Conference Summary

So what’s it like to be in a room full of smart and accomplished women, nearly 200 such women from “the classroom to the C-suite” to be exact? If you attended the inaugural Women Leading Women event held at the Smith School on Friday, February 10 then you have an idea.

The energy in Frank Auditorium was palpable as our very own part time MBA alumna Lisa Anders delivered an inspiring keynote address about the challenges women face in the workplace and her triumphs and tribulations breaking the glass ceiling in two traditionally male dominated fields: business and engineering. Lisa Anders, Vice President of Business Development and Senior Project Manager at McKissack & McKissack is renowned for her work on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Smith Association of Women MBA (SAWMBA) faculty advisor Dr. Joyce Russell (bio) facilitated the ensuing discussion which punctuated the shared experiences of the women in the audience. EMBA alumna and President of the National Association of Women MBA (NAWMBA) Mid-Atlantic Chapter, Sandra Brummitt, Director, Investor Relations at Constellation Energy, was in the audience along with a huge contingent from both NAWMBA Mid-Atlantic and Constellation Energy. Topping off the evening was a beautifully arranged wine and cheese networking reception featuring Greek wines provided by EMBA 10 alumnus Sotiris Bafitis.

An Impossible Recruiting Challenge – Replace Yourself in 2013!

As you know, the value of your EMBA is often linked to the current ranking of the program. To that end, we continue to show well in several of the major ranking publications. In order to make this happen, we must continue to attract the best and brightest of the Washington, DC/Baltimore metro.

Thus, an impossible challenge was recently posed to the current EMBA 11 cohort – see if you can replace yourself. Who better to help our recruiting efforts with informing and motivating top talent to join the Smith EMBA Community than our alums and current students?

We ask you to consider who in your network would be a good fit and benefit from our top ranked EMBA program. Shelbi Brookshire is always happy to facilitate opportunities to discuss the program, visit a class, grab coffee/lunch, etc.

Additionally, we encourage you to consider bringing an interested colleague/friend to the upcoming April 17th Smith EMBA Alum/Current & Prospective Student Happy Hour (information below) in Washington, D.C. Feel free to contact Shelbi at 240-464-8597 (mobile); 301-405-2386 (office) or sbrooksh@rhsmith.umd.edu with referrals or suggestions for reaching out to talented individuals.

Springtime Certificate for Startups

Do you know the five critical areas that investors want to see in business plans?

What equity and debt strategies should be part of your capital formation goals?

Refresh and update your business education--and boost your enterprise as you earn a Certificate in Innovation Management from your alma mater this spring. The program will be held in downtown Washington, D.C. for five Fridays from April 13-June 22.

Learn from highly successful, global entrepreneurs, including:

John May, venture capitalist and globally-recognized thought leader on angel investing

Tien Wong, recognized international expert in venture capital investment, CRM and direct marketing

Andrew Sherman, IP and intangible assets expert; counsel to Dow 30 companies and growing start ups

5 Interactive Sessions include:

  • Growth Strategies
  • Customer Centric Marketing
  • Negotiation and Partnerships
  • Dynamic Project Management
  • Raising Capital

To learn more, contact Liz Barron at lbarron@rhsmith.umd,edu or call 301 405 5387 or check out the website here.

Smith Social Media--Don't Miss Out!

Sign up for an RSS feed of our blog--and don't forget to share your own stories and pictures--we love to share success stories with our alumni.

Upcoming Events

Smith EMBA Alum/Current & Prospective Student Happy Hour

On April 17th, Smith will host the 4th Annual Spring EMBA Happy Hour. Those of you who have attended the Spring event in the past, know it is a mixture of an informal panel discussion and networking. Last year’s topic of healthcare reform was a big draw. This year, our own Dr. Joyce Russell will be discussing the changing nature of the workforce with a focus on the impact of millieneals. We encourage you to bring an interested colleague/friend who you think would be a good fit for the 2013 cohort.

Smith School Events Calendar

Yes, there is a lot going on with Smith these days. Our centers are hosting Congressional Briefings (Center for Financial Policy on Feb. 29th), Symposia on Social Enterprise (Center for Social Value Creation on March 1st) and of course there is Monte Carlo night this Saturday night with an MBA cocktail hour before! One way to keep up with these events is via Smith’s event’s calendar. The calendar provides a quick glance into Smith happenings that may be of interest to you.

Community Updates

Alison Buckley EMBA 7 has recently accepted the role of Associate Vice President for Enrollment Services at Howard Community College.

Orlando Carvalho EMBA 4 formerly the vice president and deputy of the F-35 project at Lockheed Martin was recently confirmed as vice president and general manager of the F-35 program. Orlando joined Aeronautics as the F-35 deputy in August 2011 after serving as president of Lockheed Martin's MS2 business unit. He has been with Lockheed Martin over 30 years.

On March 1, 2012, Jennifer Clinton EMBA 7 will assume the role of President for The National Council for International Visitors. Jennifer has most recently served as Executive Vice President of The Washington Center.

Ron Josey EMBA 5 recently joined ThinkEquity, LLC as a Senior Research Analyst – Internet. Ron is leading up ThinkEquity's Internet equity research practice where he will have primary coverage responsibilities for the overall Internet sector.

Cahba Kingwood EMBA 6 recently accepted a role with Microsoft as a Principal Business Application Strategist. He will focus on advising clients on building and transforming their most mission critical business applications on Microsoft technologies and platforms. He joined Microsoft on January 30th and is extremely excited about this new challenge and opportunity. This role has considerably less travel and affords him more time at home with his family and newborn baby boy.

Dan Nichols EMBA 5 joined Victory Media, Inc. in January 2012 as an equity partner with the title, Senior Vice President, Military Alumni. Prior to Victory Media, Inc., Dan was Executive leader and a Founding Director of Military to Medicine, a not for profit organization providing healthcare training and career placement for military families within the healthcare industry the success of which Dan partly credits to his experience in the Smith EMBA.

Tom Parsons EMBA 9 alum and member of the Smith School Advisory Board announced that his recent venture - Parsons Ventures, Inc.- has acquired its first business, B&R Associates. B&R Associates is an automotive equipment distributor and installer. It has been a family owned business for the past 40 years primarily serving Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. The closing occurred January 26, 2011.

Drew Rouland EMBA 12 and his wife welcomed their daughter Sienna Rouland at 4:45 p.m. on January 20, 2012 (the first official day of his Residency Week!).

EMBA Alumni Newsletter

Previous editions can be found online.

Stay Connected

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  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.
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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.

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