Herbert Robertson (BS Finance ’62), who is a retired U.S. Navy commander, recently celebrated his 80th birthday. When he attended ASU, he lived in Best A dorm with only 97 men, after transferring from Lyons Township Junior College in Illinois. “It was almost a frat house because there was no Best C dorm adjoining it at the time, so Best A and B were very distinctive dorms with head residents and student governments,” he says. “We were almost always No. 1 academically, socially, and competitively.” Robertson made a generous planned gift in 2013 to support the Department of Finance, making him the largest contributor through the Herbert M. Robertson Support for W. P. Carey Finance donor fund.
Gregory Pearson (BS Management ’64) is celebrating his 55th year with State Farm Insurance as an agent. “Time goes by so fast,” he says. “I attended Phoenix Junior College for two years and then finished at ASU. The business college was great and I enjoyed the classes.”
Larry Carter (BS Accountancy ’74) and his wife established the Larry and Juana Carter Endowed Scholarship in 2019 to provide support for students graduating from high school in Globe, Ariz., where Carter was born and raised, and Miami, Ariz., where he graduated, as well as for the children of Arizona Highway Patrol officers. Carter, a member of the California Highway Patrol 11-99 Foundation board of directors, was inducted into the W. P. Carey Alumni Hall of Fame in 2019 for his significant contributions during his 20-year career as chief financial officer (CFO) and a member of the board of directors at computer networking company Cisco and to the W. P. Carey School of Business. In 2000, he was given the ASU College of Business Distinguished Achievement Award at the school’s undergraduate graduation ceremonies, where he addressed the students. “I told the graduating class that the internet will change the way people work, play, live, and learn,” he says. “So, I told them to focus on their career to come. Little did I know how true it was and what effect the internet would have.”
Tom Pulchinski (BS Management ’74) established two perpetual scholarships in 2014: one with the W. P. Carey School of Business and the other with the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. Since then, eight students have been assisted with financial aid from these scholarships. W. P. Carey asked him why he became involved with the ASU scholarship program as a donor. Hear it from Pulchinski — wpcarey.asu.edu/pulchinski-scholarship. Plus, student Julian Maglanoc shares his story on page 6.
Douglas Gallagher (BS Marketing ’77) retired in 1998 from the U.S. Army and retired as a government contractor in 2010. Today, he’s an amateur tennis player living in Jacksonville, Fla.
Allan Mayer Jr. (MBA ’77) is a retired marketing executive with more than 30 years of experience in strategic business leadership across a variety of industries. Mayer has had tinnitus for about 10 years and is keenly interested in patient outreach efforts, advocacy, and advancing progress toward understanding and curing tinnitus. “Personally, my biggest challenge with tinnitus has been understanding why it’s relatively mild one day, then incredibly strong and annoying the next.” Mayer is the founder and president of ConsumerView Research and also served as a partner at The HMC Company for more than 20 years. He served as a member of the National Institutes of Health’s National Advisory Board for Arthritis, Musculoskeletal & Skin Diseases, as well as the president of the Board of the National Psoriasis Foundation.
Michael McCoy (BS Transportation ’79) is a program manager at infrastructure consulting firm AECOM in Paradise Valley, Ariz. “I just returned after 25 years overseas, most of which was spent in aviation, and my degree from the W. P. Carey School launched and has sustained my career,” he says. “One of the best investments I could have made.”
Robert Zollars (BS Marketing ’79) made a generous planned gift in 2017 to support the W. P. Carey School Academic Enrichment Fund, which provides funding for the school’s most promising priorities, particularly those that enhance student success. Zollars has also donated his time and talent as a longstanding member of the W. P. Carey Dean’s Council, teaching classes, serving on the W. P. Carey School of Business Marketing Advisory Board, and chairing the school’s Center for Services Leadership. In 2015, he was named the chair of Trustees of ASU, which advises the university and President Michael M. Crow on philanthropic opportunities and new resources, and helps develop strategies for increasing donor affinity. The Trustees of ASU comprise individual volunteers whose interests represent the breadth of ASU and are advocates, advisors, and investors committed to ensuring the success of Arizona State University. Zollars was inducted into the W. P. Carey Hall of Fame in 2009.
Rashid Salman al-Khalifa
Sheikh Rashid Salman al-Khalifa (MBA ’82) has been in banking for more than 35 years and is one of the most prominent bankers in the Middle East. He is a deputy CEO of the Bank of Bahrain and Kuwait, has worked with Gulf International Bank in New York and Tokyo, and was a board member at Arab Banking Corp. in Jordan and Tunisia. He has a wide network of financial relations with many individuals and institutions in the Gulf and Middle East-North Africa regions. “The value of a degree is measured in what effect and how much influence it has on one’s life,” he says. “In my case, the MBA I earned at ASU has transformed my life entirely, opening new opportunities and horizons. I benefited enormously, building a rewarding career in banking primarily based on the sound education I received at ASU. I am forever thankful and indebted.”
Gregory Rindenello (BS Marketing ’82) is an executive cardiovascular sales specialist at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, in Rome, N.Y. He’s celebrating eight years with Janssen in central New York and has been in the health care field for 29 years.
Julie Pace (BS Business Administration ’83), a partner with Gammage & Burnham in Paradise Valley, Ariz., was reelected to the Paradise Valley Town Council and currently serves as vice mayor. At Gammage & Burnham, Pace is an employment, OSHA, and litigation attorney who assists businesses with solving problems, managing employees, and handling drug and alcohol policies and handbooks, as well as responding to a variety of government investigations including the U.S. Department of Labor — Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Carla Carter (MBA ’85) is celebrating her second anniversary at Wells Fargo in Tempe, Ariz., as vice president, process engineer after 25 years of independent consulting. She says, “Wells asked that I become part of their team full time. Very exciting and being an employee has been just fine. After 25 years as an entrepreneur, I wasn’t sure it would work, but great teamwork, work I love, and an important mission sure help.”
Keith Smith (BS Accountancy ’89) is celebrating his 20th year with the city of Tempe as a senior internal auditor.
Heidi Heraty Marshall (BS Finance ’90) is senior vice president of commercial banking, commercial and industrial team leader at Bell Bank in Phoenix. She focuses on loans to businesses, including niche lending for contractors and machine shops. Marshall has more than 20 years of experience in commercial banking, including financial analysis, loan underwriting, portfolio management, and business development.
Christopher Bissonnette (BS Business Management Systems ’93) is a registered principal at Holistic Financial Planning in Irvine, Calif. He partnered with the Orange County Public Library to bring college financial planning education to the community. The daily Zoom workshops, titled “How to Maximize College Financial Aid,” helped high school students, college students, and parents learn about annual FAFSA and CSS Profile filings, the college financial system, how assets are evaluated by the U.S. Department of Education, how COVID-19 has affected financial aid negotiations, and more.
Michael Julian (MBA ’97) is executive vice president of sales and marketing at smart grid communications technology company Tantalus in Chapel Hill, N.C. He leads the sales organization and is responsible for growing the revenue profile and market presence across the public power and electric cooperative utility market segment throughout North America. A former U.S. Air Force officer, Julian brings more than 20 years of leadership, sales, and sales management experience within the energy and communications industries through prior roles at General Electric, Ericsson, Tekelec, and Catapult Communications.
Tim Huang (MBA ’01), head of corporate banking for China at J.P. Morgan in Shanghai, was among 24 financiers recognized with a 2020 Shanghai Financiers Award for his contributions to the growth of the central coast municipality. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the awards, known as the annual “Oscars” of Shanghai’s financial industry, which coincided with the city being ranked fourth in the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI 27).
Marc Lerner (MBA ’01) is the chair of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) regional advisory board, bringing his experience as a hearing attorney for Mercy Care, as board member of the Ryan House, and the past president of Congregation Beth Israel to the ADL board.
John Maeda (MBA ’01) is chief customer experience officer of Burlington, Mass.-based Everbridge, a leader in critical event management (CEM). Maeda has been recognized as one of the “75 Most Important People of the 21st Century” by Esquire and is expected as chief customer experience officer to innovate the next generation of CEM. He’s a globally recognized MIT-trained engineer, public company C-level executive, award-winning designer, and celebrated author, influencing millions through his TED talks, social media, and at Davos World Economic Forum.
Eddie Basha III (MBA ’02) and his family made a large donation in 2020 to the Dean’s Discretionary Fund for student needs and technological upgrades made over the summer. He’s president and CEO of Chandler, Ariz.-based Bashas’ family-owned stores that operate Food City, AJ’s Fine Foods, Eddie’s Country Store, and Bashas’ and Bashas’ Dine supermarkets. With more than 100 grocery stores, it’s one of the largest employers in the Valley and one of the Best Places to Work in Arizona. Since the company’s inception in 1932, Bashas’ has given back more than $100 million to the communities it serves.
Edward Beltran (BS Accountancy/Computer Information Systems ’02) is the CEO of Fierce Conversations, a Seattle-based training company that teaches you how to have effective conversations. He began at Fierce Conversations in 2017 as its CFO.
Tony Ambrozie (MBA ’03) is the senior vice president and chief digital officer of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest not-for-profit health care organization in South Florida. Previously, he served in leadership roles at The Walt Disney Co. in Orlando, Fla., including the senior vice president of technology and digital. In his new role, Ambrozie will manage the information technology division and oversee technology that supports digital applications throughout Baptist Health.
Chetan Choudhury (MBA ’03) is an advisor on public services, digitization, and innovation for the prime minister’s office in the United Arab Emirates in Dubai.
Jack Spitzer (MBA ’03) is CFO of health and wellness company Plexus Worldwide. Previously, he served as senior vice president of finance at Plexus, where he and his team made improvements in financial operations, reporting, analytics, and efficiency across the department. Before Plexus, Spitzer was the vice president of finance for health and wellness company Isagenix International, where he led global treasury and international and domestic merchant services teams. He also spent 15 years at Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide as assistant treasurer, head of global treasury operations, merchant services, and corporate receivables, among other roles in finance, IT, and Six Sigma.
Sudhakar Veluru (MBA ’03), is the vice president of technologies at Walt Disney Parks & Resorts Technology in Orlando, Fla.
Jon Howard (BS Finance ’04) is a partner at Quarles & Brady in Phoenix. He was honored in the 2020 Phoenix Business Journal class of 40 Under 40 for his work as a legal advisor to a range of local businesses — from startups to Fortune 100 companies — on mergers, acquisitions, sophisticated commercial contracts, reorganizations, and joint ventures. He was also recognized for his contributions to the greater Valley community such as the current chairman of WESTMARC, a non-profit organization that aims to address important economic issues facing the West Valley of the greater Phoenix region, and former director of the Arizona Sports and Entertainment Commission.
Geri Mingura (MBA ’04) embarked on her new role as Salt River Project’s associate general manager and chief human resources executive in January. Most recently, Mingura served as vice president for people and culture at ON Semiconductor, where she helped elevate the human resources organization for the company’s 36,000 employees located around the world. Those efforts included strengthening its workforce learning and development training, leading its culture initiative, guiding strategic planning, and building its diversity and inclusion practices. Before her role with ON Semiconductor, Mingura’s experience includes serving as the head of talent acquisition and workforce for APS, as well as leading or working in HR organizations for several technology and wellness companies including Motorola.
Tyler Maertz (MBA ’05) is executive vice president of acquisitions at STORE Capital, a real estate investment trust company in Phoenix. Previously, he spent 11 years at GE Capital managing customer relationships at GE Franchise Finance for numerous restaurant brands and a portfolio of assets approaching $1 billion.
Brian Wentzel (BS Economics ’06) celebrated his son Bodhi’s first birthday on Nov. 21, 2020. Wentzel, who has been on the W. P. Carey Alumni Council since 2017, works for Premier Health Networks in Dayton, Ohio, as system director of strategic market development.
Nicholas Woodruff (BS Supply Chain Management ’06) is development director at Irgens, a real estate developer in Phoenix. In his position, Woodruff applies his expertise in all facets of commercial real estate, allowing Irgens to expand its regional development efforts. He is responsible for the overall direction of development projects, including promoting new business development, structuring successful real estate transactions, developing and maintaining client relations, and identifying and evaluating health care and commercial development opportunities.
Skip Bourdo (BS Marketing ’00) became COO at Athletico Physical Therapy in Chicago after 27 years at Walgreens. Bourdo began at Walgreens at age 16 as a service clerk in Tempe, Ariz. In his last position at the health retail store and pharmacy, he was responsible for 4,700 locations in the Western and Southern United States, plus Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. “I’m thankful for everything I’ve learned from the 250,000 Walgreens team members and will continue to cheer the team on from the sidelines,” he says.
(MSIM ’07)
Brian Bernardo (MSIM ’07) is system vice president of mergers and acquisitions at CommonSpirit Health in Scottsdale, Ariz., the nation’s largest Catholic health care system, and the second-largest nonprofit hospital chain.
Ashish Goulatia (MBA ’08) is president of revenue collections and executive vice president of technology enablement for Nashville-based Envision Healthcare, a leading national medical group. Goulatia heads Envision’s revenue cycle management function and chairs the Revenue Operations Committee. He’s responsible for bridging Envision’s business needs with its technological capabilities spanning across all clinical and business platforms. Goulatia joins Envision from Fresenius Medical Care, where he most recently served as senior vice president, finance and led revenue cycle operations. Before joining Fresenius, he held leadership roles at American Express across its finance and technology sectors. A qualified chartered accountant, Goulatia earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and business from Delhi University, India.
Laura Krivec (BS Finance/BA Business Sustainability ’11) is director of corporate development at Z Capital Group, a leading privately held global investment firm with approximately $2.8 billion of assets across private equity and credit businesses. She’s responsible for project management and developing new and existing relationships with pension consultants, private wealth platforms, and fund placement groups, as well as coordinating all outreach to current and prospective investors.
Chris Olsen (MSIM ’11) is COO at Ash Auto Group. He’s responsible for implementing technology-driven solutions to drive organizational optimization and operational efficiency. Previously, Olsen was a senior software systems analyst for Lockheed Martin, a provider of technology-driven flight simulation and training services.
Veronica Aguilar (BA Business Communication ’12) is associate director of career services at ASU. She was selected by the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce as a finalist for the ATHENA Young Professional award. ATHENA finalists are chosen for excellence in business and leadership, dedication to the community, and support and mentorship of other women.
Bob Maguire (MBA ’13) is president and CEO of medical products company BioLab Sciences in Scottsdale, Ariz. BioLab Sciences is the Phoenix Business Journal 2020 Small Business Award winner for financial performance, contributions to the industry and the local economy, and its potential to influence the Phoenix-area business community.
Kate Hastings Winterland (BS Economics ’13) is a personal injury lawyer for Hastings & Hastings in Chandler, Ariz. She represents clients who have been the victims of catastrophic injury, or automotive, motorcycle, pedestrian, or trucking accidents, among other practice areas in accident law. Hastings Winterland has worked at the firm since 2007.
Chad Makovsky (MBA ’14) is director of aviation services for the city of Phoenix, which includes executive leadership of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix Deer Valley Airport, and Phoenix Goodyear Airport. He’s served as executive vice president of operations for Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport since March 2017. Before this, he was an assistant aviation director for the Phoenix Aviation Department. Makovsky has nearly 30 years of experience in the aviation industry, including leadership positions at Hollywood Burbank Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, in addition to DFW and Phoenix.
Spencer Nast (BA Global Politics ’14) is a principal at commercial brokerage firm Lee & Associates Arizona in Phoenix, specializing in the leasing and sales of office properties across the Valley, representing both landlords and tenants.
Amber Hivon (BA Business Communication ’15) is an account specialist with premium pet food manufacturer Carnivore Meat Co. in Orange County, Calif. With more than six years of experience in sales, customer service, and account management, she promotes the company’s culture and mission by contributing to customers’ success in her sales territory. She generates market intelligence to support the company’s manufacturing of high-quality pet food and treats.
Kentaro Kawamori (MBA ’15) is an entrepreneur who raised $3.5 million to help companies measure their carbon footprint. Kawamori co-founded software company Persefoni, which takes various data points within a company that are required to calculate a carbon footprint, brings them together, and structures them into a data system for businesses’ annual sustainability reports and investor disclosures.
Ye (Jerry) Zhou (DBA ’15), chairman and CEO of IT service management company Huifu in China, is among 24 financiers recognized with a 2020 Shanghai Financiers Award for his contributions to the growth of the central coast municipality.
Robin Kania (MiM ’16) is chief of business support for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Pullman, Wash.
Weiming Wang (DBA ’17), who is a chairman at Weye Construction Group in Jiangsu province, created the Weye Scholarship Endowment to support Chinese business majors.
Nura AlDawood (MSIM ’18) is a junior network operations center administrator/support representative at CellTrust Corp. in Tempe, Ariz.
Mohit Bharti (MS-BA ’18) is a senior data analyst at Footlocker in Tampa, Fla.
Stefanie Causey (MSIM ’18) is an associate partner in IBM’s Salesforce Services Innovation Unit, focusing on banking solutions in the financial services sector. She uses her expertise in Salesforce combined with strategic practices learned in the MSIM program to help Fortune 500 corporations enable transformational strategies through a hybrid cloud-enabled technology strategy.
Jianhong Zhou (MSIM ’18) is CEO at Hoop in Phoenix. Zhou shares his account of the past seven years: “In 2013, I quit from IBM as a sales director in China; in 2015, I came to ASU to study counseling psychology; in 2016, I founded HOOP to help people struggling in life and career; in 2017, I added another program — information management — to my counseling program; in 2018, I graduated with two additional master’s degrees, and I have five academic degrees; in 2019, I launched the third iteration of HOOP; in 2020, I ran out of cash and started doing marketing myself; today, I have 12,000 followers on TikTok and some paid clients.”
(BS Marketing ’19)
Xavier Lam (BS Marketing ’19) is a digital marketing specialist at Google who was the top account manager from July 2019 to October 2020 before his promotion to assistant manager overseeing the LGS team.
Hailin Li (DBA ’19), chairperson and CEO at global real estate firm Dongdu International in Shanghai, established the Li Family Scholarship at W. P. Carey to support graduate students.
(MiM ’19)
Derrick Osei (MiM ’19), who is a funding specialist at Peoples Mortgage Co. in Tempe, Ariz., says, “Great master’s degree in management program with people I call friends. The program equipped me with the needed tools and skills that has made me a top performer in my company funding mortgage loans. Courses taken such as project management, business communication, financial accounting, and finance have been very useful in my career as a funding specialist.”
Huan Wang (DBA ’19), a former chairperson at Rosefinch Fund Management in Shanghai, initiated the China DBA Scholarship Endowment at the W. P. Carey School from the fifth cohort of the doctor of business administration (DBA) program. Inspired by fellow graduates in 2020, the sixth cohort of DBA graduates continually contributed to the endowment, which is a need-based scholarship for first-generation college students.