Class Notes: Winter 2010

1940s
Edwin B. Raskin (BBA ’40) is chairman of Raskin Holdings in Brentwood, Tenn.

Mollyne Karnofsky (BBA ’66, G ’72) contributed “Stir Up,” a three-dimensional sculpture utilizing recycled materials, to the Figment Arts Festival, which took place on Governor’s Island in New York. The sculpture was on display through October 11, 2009. Karnofsky resides in New York City.

1960s
Frank A. Tapparo (MBA ’67) is an adjunct research staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Va. Tapparo continues his international activities both personally and professionally. For the past nine years, he and his wife, Marie, have been spending about half the year at their Perugia, Italy, residence, traveling throughout Italy and elsewhere in Europe. Tapparo’s recent professional travels have included extended stays in Indonesia, Cambodia and Brunei. In 2010 he expects to make several trips to Bogota, Colombia. Complete retirement, he says, is not yet in his plans.

Charles Toftoy (MBA ’69) is the author of It’s in the Eyes, a thriller published in August 2009 by Outskirts Press. In addition to his writing career, Toftoy has served in the military, corporate and academic sectors, including serving as general manager of Raytheon Service Co., director of marketing for Lear Siegler Inc. and president of PATCH Associates.

1970s
Bill Templeton (MBA ’73) is the sole owner of DCOR, an oil and gas exploration and production company. DCOR was recently listed by Oil & Gas Financial Journal as the 37th largest privately-owned oil and gas company in the United States based on production in 2008 (4,003,207 barrels of oil equivalent). DCOR has offices in Dallas and in Bakersfield, Huntington Beach, Ventura and Santa Barbara, Calif.

Edouard R. Quatrevaux (MBA ’75) was appointed New Orleans Inspector General in September 2009. Quatrevaux runs a small store in Metairie, La., and spent 10 years as inspector general for the federal Legal Services Corp., which awards grants to nonprofits that provide legal aid to the indigent.

Anil K. Makhija (MBA ’76), Rismiller Professor of Finance at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, recently co-authored a study that examines the relationship between a corporation’s debt and how much its CEO owes on his home mortgage. Makhija has served on the faculty of Fisher College for 12 years, chairing the finance department and serving as associate dean. Prior to joining Ohio State, he was on the faculty of the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business and served as associate dean.

Melanie Kusin (N ’74, MBA ’76) has been appointed vice chairman and senior client partner at Korn/Ferry International. Kusin will serve in the firm’s Board & CEO Services practice. Korn/Ferry is a global provider of solutions to help clients to attract, develop, retain and sustain their talent. Prior to joining Korn/Ferry, Kusin was vice chairman of Heidrick & Struggles.

Bud Tower (MBA ’76) is founder of the New Orleans Songwriters Festival, an annual event that highlights New Orleans and Louisiana-based songwriters. Tower began his career as a financial analyst, but he moved to Nashville in 2003 to pursue songwriting full time. Tower’s composition “Red, White & Pink Slip Blues” was recorded by Hank Williams Jr. and reached No. 43 on the U.S. country singles chart, and the members of Lynyrd Skynyrd chose his song “God & Guns” to be the title track of their latest CD.

Andrea Kislan (MBA ’77) recently accepted the position of controller at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. She was previously SVP and controller of EdisonLearning Inc., an educational management organization.

John R. Runningen (MBA ’77) is managing director of Runningen Associates, a middle market investment banking firm in Atlanta.

Bruce Spizer (MBA ’77) wrote the questions for the Trivial Pursuit The Beatles Collector’s Edition board game, which was released in August 2009. Spizer, a New Orleans attorney specializing in tax law and estate planning, is one of the nation’s leading Beatles experts, with seven books on the Fab Four to his credit.

Wallace Boston (MBA ’78) is CEO and president of American Public University System and its parent company, American Public Education Inc (APEI). APUS is a private, for-profit, online learning institution of higher education that is composed of the American Military University and the American Public University. APUS maintains corporate and academic offices in Charles Town, W.V., administrative offices in Manassas, Va., and offers associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees through its two constituent universities.

George Durot (BSM ’78) has been named senior vice president of business development at HealthPlan Services, a leading technology and administrative services provider for the insurance and managed care markets. Durot is responsible for client acquisition strategies, including lead generation and closing target prospects. Prior to joining HealthPlan Services, Durot spent 24 years with IBM, where he held a number of sales leadership and services general management positions, including global technology services vice president and sales director of the financial services sales team in Georgia and Tennessee.

Dale Aronson (MBA ’79) recently retired from her position as database marketing manager at the Times-Picayune Publishing Corp. in New Orleans. Aronson says she’s looking forward to traveling and taking it easy.

1980s
Lorna Donatone (BSM ’80) has been appointed a company chief operating officer and president of the Education Market at Sodexo Inc. In that role, Donatone will oversee operations and strategic growth for Sodexo’s operations at college and university campuses and public school districts and private schools in the United States. Prior to this latest appointment, Donatone served as president of Sodexo’s School Services Division, part of the Education Market.

Christopher Comfort (BSM ’82) was recently elected chairman of Nevada’s Republican Party.

Charlotte W. Dupre (MBA ’86) is CEO of River Parishes Hospital, a 106-bed acute care facility located in LaPlace, La., and owned and operated by LifePoint Hospitals Inc. Prior to joining River Parishes Hospital, Dupre was CEO of another LifePoint hospital, Acadian Medical Center, a 52-bed acute-care facility located in Eunice, La.

Lauren S. Haas-Cohen (BSM ’86) was recently promoted to executive director of JPMorgan Chase in New York. When not working, she spends her time trying to keep up with her four children, Julie (age 13), Nate (age 11), Ari (age 8) and Matthew (age 4).

Steven Reddy (MBA ’86) is owner and operations manager of Zetland Homes in Contoocook, N.H. Reddy was one of the first home builders in the country to earn the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation from the National Association of Home Builders, and Zetland’s Demonstration Green Home recently won the National Dream Home silver medal for Green Home Project of the Year.

Arvind Sanger (MBA ’87) has been appointed chairman of Pratham USA, an organization that provides underprivileged children in India with an opportunity to gain the reading and education skills needed to secure a job with a living wage. Pratham is a partnership between corporations, government and citizens, working closely with the governments in the belief that the fastest and most efficient change can be brought about only by motivating the government at various levels. Sanger founded Geosphere Capital Management, a global long-short equity hedge fund, in 2007. The fund focuses on natural resources and industrial companies globally with offices in New York and Singapore. Between 2002 and 2007, he was a portfolio manager at SAC Capital, managing a team of six investment professionals in New York and Singapore. Prior to his tenure at SAC, he had a 15-year career as a top-ranked sell-side oil services and equipment analyst at a number of firms, including Deutsche Bank, DLJ and Kidder Peabody.

Matthew Jones (BSM ’88) was appointed general manager of Cross Timbers Golf Course in Azle, Texas, in October 2009. Jones, a PGA professional, has 10 years of golf management experience.

Kalam A. Momin (MBA ’89) relocated to the Miami area in October 2008 to oversee the U.S. Southern Command Headquarters project for Critchfield Mechanical Inc. Based in San Jose, Calif., CMI is a leading design-build HVAC mechanical contractor for large-scale buildings and campuses. Momin and his family—wife Sufia, son Harun (age 5) and daughter Hafsa (age 3)—reside in Weston, Fla.

Thomas G. Pierce (BSM ’89) has been named chief financial officer at Darkstrand Inc., a pioneer in corporate high-speed connectivity. Prior to joining the company, Pierce provided board and executive-level corporate development and finance leadership at EarthLink Inc., the largest U.S. independent Internet service provider.

1990s

Darryl Maslia (BSM ’90) and his wife, Missy, announce the birth of their second child, Alexa Sasha Maslia, on Sept. 30, 2009. Alexa’s big brother, Mason, will be 2 on April 10. The family resides in Dunwoody, Ga.

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Eric Seeger (MBA ’91) recently completed a Master of Arts in Leadership Studies from Lancaster Bible College. Seeger consults to law firm leaders on strategy and management issues with Altman Weil Inc., based in Newtown Square, Pa.

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Douglas Charles (MBA ’92) has joined Capgemini as vice president of market development and sales officer for the Technology Services (TS) division in North America. Charles will develop and lead the business unit’s market development and sales strategy and continue to position the company as a leader in technology transformation and implementation services in key industries across North America.

Ford F. Graham (L ’82, MBA ’92) has been appointed vice chairman of the board and president of Miller Energy Resources. Graham is managing partner of Vulcan Capital and the Vulcan Partners family of private equity funds and companies. Graham has over 25 years experience as a private equity investor and an investment banker in the energy and natural resources sectors. Graham has previously worked for Solomon Smith Barney, Bear Stearns and Dean Witter. Miller Energy Resources is a high-growth oil and natural gas exploration, production and drilling company operating in multiple exploration and production projects in North America. The company’s focus is in Cook Inlet, Alaska, and Tennessee’s Appalachian Basin.

Todd G. Richardson (BSM ’92) has joined Deloitte Consulting as a manager in the Federal Solutions Group. Richardson is based in Washington D.C.

Andrew Keenan (MBA ’93) has been named vice president of sales and marketing at Ascentis Corp., a leading human resources software and online payroll services company. Keenan is responsible for the strategic vision and tactical execution of all sales, marketing and partner initiatives for the company. Prior to joining Ascentis, Keenan was vice president of sales for Baynote Inc. and prior to that he built the national field sales organization for NetSuite. Keenan resides in the Bay Area with his wife and three sons.

Roderick Anderson (MBA ’94) and his wife, Marta, announce the birth of their fourth child, Rigby Conran, in August 2009. Anderson is CFO and director of administrative services at the U.S. Office of Special Counsel in Washington D.C. The family resides in Fairfax, Va.

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Jai Diwanji (BSM ’95) is a partner in the M&A/Private Equity group of Desai & Diwanji, a full-service law firm in India. Desai & Diwanji topped the Mergermarket league tables for 2008 and 2009 for law firms in India both in terms of value and number of deals, advising in the first three quarters of 2009 on transactions worth U.S. $3,677 million. Diwanji is married and has two boys, aged 5 and 2. The family resides in Bombay.

Kenneth M. Malter (MBA ’95) has been promoted to vice president, gas supply and services, at Atmos Energy Corp. Malter had served as Atmos Energy’s director of gas supply and services in New Orleans since 2007. He joined a predecessor to Atmos Energy’s Louisiana Division, Louisiana Gas Service, in 1998 as manager of contract administration. In 2001, he moved to the predecessor of Atmos Energy Marketing in gas supply operations. Atmos, headquartered in Dallas, is the nation’s largest natural-gas-only distributor, serving more than 3 million natural gas distribution customers in more than 1,600 communities in 12 states.

Arnie McFalls (MACCT ’95) has been named CEO of Southwest Resources Inc. Prior to his appointment, McFalls worked as controller at Toreador Resources Corp., an independent international energy company, where he was responsible for SEC reporting. Prior to that, he worked as an audit manager for KPMG, where he assisted public clients with SEC reporting and SOX compliance.

Donald H. Schepers (MBA ’95), associate professor of management at Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, has been named academic director of the Zicklin Center for Corporate Integrity. The Zicklin Center serves the students, alumni and faculty of Baruch College and neighboring academic institutions as well as practitioners in the New York area with conferences and seminars on business ethics, corporate social responsibility, finance and accounting standards, and sustainability issues.

Michael Cohn (MBA ’96) has been named chief financial officer at the Historic New Orleans Collection. The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) is a museum, research center and publisher dedicated to the study and preservation of the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South region of the United States. It is located in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Cohn was also named to the board of Parkway Partners and serves as its treasurer. Parkway Partners
is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to empower residents to improve quality of life through the preservation, maintenance and beautification of neutral grounds, green spaces, playgrounds, parks, community gardens and the urban forest in New Orleans.

John M. Porter (MBA ’98) was appointed chief financial officer of Astrotech Corp. in July 2009. Porter, a senior vice president of the company, had served as interim CFO since June. Prior to joining the company in October 2008, Porter co-founded Arabella Securities, an investment firm that specialized in providing trading services and equity research on small-cap companies to institutional investors. Porter previously served as director of business development for Luminex Corp. and as an analyst in the global equity research division of Salomon Smith Barney. Astrotech is a commercial aerospace company that provides spacecraft payload processing and government services, designs and manufactures space hardware, and commercializes space technologies for Earth-based applications. The company is based in Austin, Texas.

Mike Sellers (MBA ’98) has announced the formation of Sellers Intellectual Property Law Firm. The firm, based in Houston, specializes in working with small businesses and inventors to meet their patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, contract and transactional needs.

Gelasia Steed (BSM ’98) has started a registered investment advisory and financial planning firm in Fort Worth, Texas. The firm recently launched a new website, www.steedinvestments.com.

Lawrence P. Beron (MBA ’99) appeared in the 2009 film Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, starring Michael Douglas and Amber Tamblyn. Beron portrayed Det. Lt. Anthony Merchant.

Brian Gavagan (BSM ’99) is export sales and marketing manager for Sauska Wines, a Hungary-based wine producer with vineyards throughout the country, including the Tokaj region known for its outstanding dessert wines. Gavagan’s focus is the Asia/Pacific region, a rapidly expanding market for the company’s products. In November 2009, Sauska began selling its wines in China. Joining Gavagan, center, in Shanghai at the product launch were friends Michael Feldman (BSM ’98), left, and Daniel Mitzenmacher (BSM ’99). Gavagan and Feldman reside full time in Shanghai, and Mitzenmacher resides in San Francisco.

Maggie Giddens (BSM ’99) joined Hilton Worldwide as director of brand public relations, Embassy Suites Hotels, in August 2009. Previously she was with Delta Air Lines in its London office as senior manager, corporate communications – EMEA & India.

Tammy Little (MBA ’99) is technology and engineering manager at Norco Chemical, a division of Shell Oil Co.

2000
Alexis G. Krot (BSM ’00) and Edward Trojanowski were married in August 2009 in Detroit. Attending the ceremony were Ryan Small (BSM ’00), Tom Nosewicz (A&S ’68, L ’73) and Sally Dupuy Nosewicz (N ’67).

2001

Rakesh Bhatia (MBA/MACCT ’01) is manager of financial planning and analysis with Edison Mission Group, a subsidiary of Edison International that manages the company’s competitive power generation business and other unregulated subsidiaries. In 2008, Bhatia received the Edison International Chairman’s Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Edison International group of companies. The award recognizes employees who deliver outstanding performance, live up to the company’s values and serve as role models to other. Bhatia was one of 40 recipients selected from among 18,000 employees to receive the annual award. Bhatia joined Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of EMG, in 2002. In April 2008, he was promoted to his current position, and in August 2009, he relocated from Chicago to EMG’s corporate office in Irvine, Calif.

Debbie McCook-Wilson (MBA ’01) and her husband, Andrew, announce the birth of a son, Russell Craig, on July 2, 2009.

2003
David Ratowitz (MBA/JD ’03) is running for the U.S. House of Representatives representing the 5th Congressional District of Illinois. In 2007, Ratowitz established the Ratowitz Law Firm in Chicago, which specializes in federal employment law and provides investor real estate services. Ratowtiz is the father of two young children and currently resides in the Avondale neighborhood of Chicago.

Shaun Sanghani (MBA ’03) is the creator and co-producer of “Guardian Angels,” a half-hour reality television show that premiered on the Biography Channel in August 2009. The show, a production of Sanghani’s company, SSS Entertainment, documents the work of the Guardian Angels, the volunteer group founded by Curtis Sliwa that works with police to help communities take back their streets. Sanghani lives in Alexandria, La., and Los Angeles.

2004
Angela Michael-Olmeda (BSM ’04) and her husband, Luis Olmeda, announce the birth of a son, Luis Emilio Olmeda Jr., on March 9, 2009. Michael-Olmeda is a knowledge base specialist with ICT Group Inc. in Newtown, Pa.
Ross A. Pine (BSM ’04) graduated in April 2009 from the National University of Health Sciences in Lombard, Ill., with a Doctor of Chiropractic degree. He is a partner at the Pine Chiropractic Center in Pompano Beach, Fla., and is also a certified Kinesio Tape practitioner.

Bryan A. Stelmack (BSM ’04, MFIN ’05) is an assistant vice president with Piper Jaffray & Co. in Denver.

2005
Aaron J. Borgan (MBA ’05) and Susan T. Seibold were married in June 2009 in Fort Worth, Texas. Borgan is an engineer with Hillwood International Energy in Fort Worth.

Lauren Caplan (BSM/MAACT ’05) received her CPA license in the fall of 2008.

Sarah Elizabeth Edgar (BSM/MACCT ’05) and Robert Douglass Keepers were married on Nov. 14, 2009, in Dallas. The wedding party included Ashleigh Hite (N ’07), Meg Johnson (N ’05), Laura Pennebaker Gallichio (E ’04), Sarah Wallace (N ’05), Tess Whitney (BSM/MACCT ’05), Kerry Walsh Stockwell (N ’05) and Leora Rockowitz (N ’06). Edgar is a CPA and a senior in the audit practice of Ernst & Young.

David Lipp (BSM/MACCT ’05) has been promoted to vice president of business development and legal at Magnum Hunter Resources Corp. Lipp has been with the company for two years, working in the finance, treasury, accounting and legal departments. Magnum Hunter Resources is an independent exploration and production company based
in Houston.

Anna L. Melia (BSM ’05) and John R. Slaughter were married in December 2008 in New Orleans. Melia is a title examiner with National Credit Union Administration. The couple resides
in Dallas.

Philip K. Mobley (MFIN ’05) and Elizabeth “Bess” Campbell (N ’05) were married in August 2009 on Kiawah Island, S.C. Mobley is employed by Commercial National Bank in
Texarkana, Ark

Rod West (MBA ’05), president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans, recently received the National Eagle Leadership Institute’s CareerFOCUS Eagle Award. The institute serves as a leadership development resource for African-American and Latino professionals and college students. The CareerFOCUS Eagle Award honors African-American and Latino professionals who excel in business and community leadership. West joined Entergy in April 1999 and by January 2007 had been promoted to president and CEO of Entergy New Orleans. He led the team that restored the electric infrastructure following Hurricane Katrina. He also led Entergy New Orleans out of bankruptcy following the storm and has since lowered electric rates by $35 million.

2006
Natalie Hebert Barranco (MBA ’06) was named CFO of Calco Travel and Hotard Coaches in November 2009. Established more than 50 years ago, Calco Travel and Hotard Coaches are two of the region’s largest motor coach companies, with over 140 employees. Barranco completed her CPA certification in 2008. She is married to John Barranco, director of sales for Cox Sports Regional Television. The couple resides in New Orleans.

Lauren B. Mittenthal (BSM ’06) and Eric B. Israel (BSM ’06, MFIN ’07) were married in June 2009 in Atlanta. The couple resides in Houston.

David Silver (BSM ’06) is a research analyst for Wall Street Strategies, where he actively covers companies in the transport, auto and beverage sectors. He has appeared on television and radio shows including Fox News, Fox Business News, the Business News Network of Canada, WCBS Radio and the Wall Street Journal Radio, and he has been quoted in publications including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Market Watch, CNN Money and Autoweek.

2007
Yunke Yu (MFIN ’07) is a research associate at the LSU Center for Energy Studies. Yu joined the center in 2007, and his research interests are related to modeling and economic evaluation. Yu co-authored the report “Gulf Marginal Production 3: Model tracks structures’ transition from marginal to abandonment” in the Dec. 21, 2009, issue of Oil & Gas Journal.