1960s
1970s
Michael Cooper (BS Marketing ’73, MBA ’74) is celebrating his retirement after 14 years as a board member at Pilgrim’s Pride, a global food and beverage manufacturing company and one of the largest chicken producers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Throughout his 50-year career, Cooper held senior leadership roles at Dial, Perdue Farms, and Pilgrim’s Pride. He lives in Paradise Valley, Ariz.
David Chanko (MBA ’79) is an adjunct professor at Grand Canyon University. He teaches finance and economics classes and lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Elaine Ralls (MBA ’79) is celebrating 25 years as co-founder of Commit Agency, an advertising services company in Chandler, Ariz.
1980s
Brad Rogers (BS Marketing ’81) is celebrating his retirement after 26 years as a nationally ranked marketing manager and executive sales representative in the college publishing industry.
Edward Hunter (BS Business Administration ’82) is welcoming his retirement after 38 years at Kroy Sign Systems, a sign and architectural signage subcontractor, where he held various roles, including national sales manager, president, and CEO.
Gregory Rindenello (BS Marketing ’82) retired after 11 years at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. His career spanned 31 years in health care and 10 years in the consumer products industry. He looks forward to traveling and spending time with his family.
Rob Zack (BS Accountancy ’84, MBA ’84) is CEO at MicroAge, an information technology (IT) services and consulting company based in Phoenix. His wife, Leah Zack (BS Management ’92), and daughter, Jamie Zack (BS Accountancy/BS Marketing ’23), are also Sun Devils.
Joe Pizzimenti (BS Marketing ’87) is a partner at Agital, a national marketing agency. Pizzimenti is a founding member of the Phoenix-based advertising company Highnoon and a Sun Devil 100 honoree.
Steven Wright (MBA ’87) is CEO of Macadamia Solutions, an internet marketing solutions consulting company, and authored 2023’s Ethics, Law, and Technology Adoption: Navigating Technology Adoption Challenges.
1990s
Jeff Riley (MBA ’92) is the CEO and director of CaraVan Biologix, a cell therapy biotechnology research company, and serves on the board of directors at Gain Therapeutics, a preclinical biotech company specializing in developing rare disease treatments.
Heather Stewart (BS Management ’92) is the director of strategic engagements at Cimplifi, an integrated legal services provider, where she maintains and grows client relationships.
Neil Russell (BS Management ’94) is chief administrative officer at Sysco, a marketing and food product distribution company. He lives in Houston.
Kim Knotts (BS Finance ’97) is the chief financial officer at Kim Knotts & Co., where she advises a select group of clients on real estate, tax strategies, and financial planning. In addition to her work at Kim Knotts & Co., she is a real estate broker with Engel & Völkers, specializing in residential real estate.
William Nolde (BS Accountancy ’97) is head of finance at DraftKings, a fantasy sports contest and betting company.
Neil Baier (MBA ’98) is celebrating his 16th year at Crescent Crown Distributing, one of the largest wholesale beverage distributors in the country, where he rose from vice president of finance to CFO.
2000s
Lisa Young (BS Supply Chain Management ’00), former vice president for enterprise development at ASU, where she spearheaded universitywide partnerships with major brands like Starbucks and adidas, was appointed deputy athletics director for Sun Devil Athletics in May.
Michele Piccirillo (BS Finance ’02) is senior vice president and group director at New York-based Flagstar Bank.
Graham Rossini (BS Management ’02, MBA ’11), who was chief business officer at Sun Devil Athletics, was named ASU’s athletics director in May.
Laura Van Antwerp (BS Marketing ’07) is the founder and CEO of Your Sober Pal, a mental health care company supporting substance-free living.
Sharry Veres (MHSM ’07) is a professor and chair of family, community, and preventive medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She was named one of the Phoenix Business Journal’s 2024 class of Outstanding Women in Business.
Jolean Fleck (MBA ’08) is Delta Dental of Arizona’s vice president of people and organizational development.
Eric Habermas (MBA ’08) is the chief marketing officer at the Better Business Bureau, a company rating service. He lives in Clarkston, Mich., with his wife and two daughters.
Theresa Maher Johnson (MBA ’08) is vice president at the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based media production company Hire Story and serves on the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences’ executive committee for The Emmy Awards.
2010s
Kyle Huskey (BS Global Business & Financial Management ’10) is the assistant controller at District Medical Group in Phoenix.
Brian Petrie (BS Management ’11) is the senior vice president of sales and marketing at DB Schenker, a global logistics provider.
Sam Ciurdar (BS Marketing ’12) is the founder and president at Ciao Logistics, a transportation, logistics, supply chain, and storage solution company based in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jinhua Jiang (MBA ’13) is vice chair of Flat Glass Group, a glass production company headquartered in Jiaxing, China. She is one of Forbes China’s 100 Outstanding Businesswomen of 2024.
Aaron Russell (MBA ’13) is head of edge production infrastructure and connectivity at Meta in Menlo, Calif. He was named one of Capacity magazine’s 2023 Power 100. This global index lists 100 of the most influential people in the wholesale carrier and information and communication technology communities.
Kevin Wohlman (BS Accountancy ’13, BS Entrepreneurship ’14) is the founder and CEO of Southern Scholar Socks, a luxury men’s dress sock brand. He lives in Dallas.
Kristin Howell (MBA ’14) is the global vice president of retail solution management at SAP, a leading enterprise resource planning software company based in Walldorf, Germany. She lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Brennan Lawson (MBA ’14) is the founder and designer at ISM Fashion House, a black-owned, designer-led boutique specializing in androgynous eyewear and accessories. He lives in Los Angeles.
Ning Zhang (DBA ’15) is the founder of Shanghai Red Avenue Chemical and chair of the Red Avenue New Materials Group board. She is a 2023 W. P. Carey Alumni Hall of Fame inductee and is one of Forbes China’s 100 Outstanding Businesswomen of 2024.
Kazem Harfouche (BS Finance ’16) is the founder and managing partner at Cedar Crest Capital, a private investment firm based in Phoenix. He lives in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Jonathan Brown (MBA ’17) is a senior associate of product development and manufacturing advisory at PricewaterhouseCoopers, the global accounting firm providing tax, human resources, and performance improvement services. He lives in Phoenix.
Karthi Chakravarty (BS Management/Supply Chain Management ’18) is co-founder and COO at EarthEn in Phoenix. The solar electric power generation company develops flexible thermo-mechanical energy storage solutions.
2020s
Samantha Hobert (BS Finance ’20), a former ASU soccer player, is a real estate developer at Heslin Holdings, a leading commercial real estate development company in Laguna Hills, Calif., where she lives.
Shane Speirs (MBA ’21) is CEO of Mesa, Ariz.-based Adageis, which provides a software platform to help institutions move to value-based health care. He lives in Phoenix.
Becky Cooper (MBA ’22) is CEO at Kennon Products, an aviation and aerospace component manufacturing company specializing in ligature-resistant doors and military aircraft protective covers. The company is based in Sheridan, Wyo.
Manas Pathak (MBA ’22) co-founded EarthEn, a Phoenix-based solar electric power generation company.
Caden Richter (BS Business Entrepreneurship ’23) is a freelance social media manager and salesperson for New York-based Rumble, a boxing-inspired group fitness company. He lives in Tempe, Ariz.
Qiong Wei (MBA ’24) is the founder and chair of MS Energy, a green energy aggregation service provider based in China. She was one of Forbes China’s 100 Outstanding Businesswomen of 2024.
Sun Devil 100 celebrates 10 years with largest class
In March, the ASU Alumni Association inducted 171 exceptional alumni—including 64 W. P. Carey alums—into the esteemed Sun Devil 100 Class of 2024, an annual awards program that recognizes the fastest-growing alumni-owned or -led organizations.
Collectively, the 134 organizations comprising this year’s cohort reported a staggering revenue of $17.42 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, employing over 166,000 full-time professionals across 16 states. Reflecting the interdisciplinary ethos of Arizona State University, the class boasts representatives from 14 colleges and holds a cumulative total of 210 ASU degrees.
Nominations for the 11th annual Sun Devil 100 are being accepted. If you or someone you know is a proud Sun Devil who owns or leads an innovative business, you can learn more and nominate for the Class of 2025 at