1970s
Donald Bear (BBA ’67, MBA ’70) recently moved to Bend, Oregon, to enjoy the outdoor life — skiing, cycling, kayaking, hiking — after more than 40 years in New York City. He’s now enjoying a great life in the high desert (except when the state is on fire and COVID is raging.)
Gregory Kent Grove (MBA ’72) recently turned over leadership of the Guardian Foundation in Atlanta after 30 years as president and CEO. After working in investment banking in New York City and Atlanta, Grove founded the organization in 1989 and led it to acquire and develop more than 30 facilities for senior care and care of the developmentally disabled in six east coast states. He will remain active as a member of the board of directors and chairman emeritus.
Doug Hertz (A&S ’74, MBA ’76), president and CEO of Atlanta-based United Distributors, was recently honored by the Council for Quality Growth with its prestigious Four Pillar Award. The award recognizes an outstanding individual in the Atlanta region who demonstrates the “Four Pillars” of leadership — Quality, Responsibility, Vision and Integrity — and exemplifies the council’s mission of promoting balanced and responsible growth. The 2020 Four Pillar Tribute was hosted virtually on Oct. 1, 2020, and featured remarks by special guests including Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. A native of Atlanta, Hertz has led United Distributors, one of Georgia’s largest privately held firms, since 1984. Prior to joining the company, he began his professional career in New Orleans with KPMG, working in the accounting and consulting services area.
Stacey Berger (A&S ’76, MBA ’78) was honored with the Mortgage Bankers Estate Finance (CREF) Distinguished Service Award at the 2020 Commercial Real Estate Finance/Multifamily Housing Convention & Expo in San Diego. Berger is executive vice president of Midland Loan Services, where he has worked for the past 30 years, and is a former executive-in-residence at the Freeman School’s Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Bergeris a past vice chair of MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Board of Governors and continues to serve on several MBA committees.
Wallace Boston (MBA ’78) recently retired as president and CEO of American Public University System. Boston joined the company as chief financial officer in 2002 and served as president and CEO for 16 years.
1980s
Frank Jordan (MBA ’82) has been named a partner at Crestline Investors, a credit focused institutional alternative asset manager. Jordan, who joined Crestline in 2016 as managing director and head of business development, is a member of Crestline’s management committee and leads Crestline’s Client Partnership Group. Prior to Crestline, Jordan spent 10 years at GoldenTree Asset Management as partner and co-head of business development. He was also a member of the company’s executive committee. Previously, Jordan was a partner of high yield sales at Wasserstein Perella, where in 1998 he was voted Institutional Investor, Bond Week High Yield Salesman of the Year. Earlier in his career, Jordan spent time with Citibank
and Salomon Brothers in various sales and marketing roles.
Laurie Elliott (BSM ’86) began working as a program aide for EAC CASA Long Island, focusing the organization’s efforts within the Office of Victim Services. With both her sons headed to college this fall, Elliott was sworn in in January as a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer, leading to her new position in social services. As an empty nester, she expects to do more reading and traveling with her spouse, David, (hopefully!) in the near future.
Constance Cannon Frazier (MBA ’86) has been appointed to the board of directors of Quantcast, an audience intelligence and measurement headquartered in San Francisco. Frazier is principal of Cardinal Change Consulting, a consulting firm that aims to foster diversity, equity and inclusion within academic institutions and corporations. Prior to that, she spent more than 15 years with the American Advertising Federation, most recently as chief operating officer.
Tiffany Bedran (BSM ’88) has been named chief administrative officer at the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation in Hollywood, Florida. The organization solely supports the Diabetes Research Institute at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Bedran was previously CFO of the Children’s Trust.
Jeremy Crigler (BSM ’88) recently retired as Tulane University’s chief investmentofficer. He joined Tulane’s Investment Management Office in 2008 and helped build the operation into one of the best in the nation. Prior to joining Tulane, Crigler served as a senior investment officer at Cornell University and investment director at Duke Management Co. He also founded Trusten Capital Management. He started his investment career as an equity analyst at Fidelity Management and Research in Boston.
Peter Rothman (BSM ’88) has been appointed chief operating officer of Marcum Technology, a member of the Marcum family of companies based out of New York.
Clay Grubb (BSM ’89) is the author of Creating the Urban Dream: Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis with Compassion, which was published by Forbes Books in March. Grubb is CEO of Grubb Properties, which recently teamed with the Pritzker Organization to take its Link Apartments concept national.
1990s
Vinay Piparsania (MBA ’90) has been appointed as the first CEO of the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi Endowment Management Foundation. Piparsania currently serves as consulting director-automotive with Counterpoint Technology Market Research, a leading Asia-headquartered research firm focused on emerging technology. He is also founder and principal of MillenStrat Advisory & Research, which specializes in developing strategies focused on millennial customers. Piparsania was previously associated with Ford Motor Co. for more than 18 years, including roles directing marketing, sales and service teams at Ford India, Philippines, Asia Pacific and Ford’s Global Business Services.
Holley Haag (BSM ’92) has joined The First, a National Banking Association Financial Institution, as New Orleans region market president, responsible for leading commercial, retail and business banking activities. Haag was previously a senior vice president and relationship banker at First Bank & Trust Co. in New Orleans.
Timothy Alexander (BSM ’96) has been named head of strategy at Ardent Financial, which recently launched as a new global securities dealer trading bonds and reorganized equities in credit markets across Europe, the U.S. and select emerging markets, including Latin America. Alexander has more than 20 years of experience in finance, including serving as partner/European head of Sound Point Capital Management and building UBS Financial Services’ European loans and distressed trading business.
2000s
Jesse Murdock (MBA ’00) has been named managing director of Legacy Capital, where he’ll lead the investment bank’s new turnaround and restructuring services. Prior to joining Legacy, Murdock led the corporate development group of business-to-business media company PennWell Corp. in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Mike Henson (MBA ’01) retired from Chevron in 2019 after a 40-year career. For the last 11 years of his Chevron career, Henson was a business development manager in Chevron’s Downstream organization. In this role, he formed, managed and dissolved joint ventures as well as managed divestiture activity. His other roles at Chevron included managing the U.S. West Coast fuel oil business and managing lubricants supply chain operations in North America as well as various positions in Chevron’s trading organization. Henson is now enjoying time with his family as well as developing an independent consulting practice around leadership, negotiations and team development.
Jayson Seidman (BSM ’01) recently moved back to New Orleans after over a decade in New York City to focus his efforts on historical preservation with Sandstone, the real estate development company he founded in 2007. His New Orleans portfolio consists of the Drifter on Tulane Avenue, the Frenchmen on Frenchmen Street, Hotel Saint Vincent on Magazine Street and, most recently, Tulane favorite the Columns Hotel. The Columns renovations are scheduled for completion this fall.
David C. Lawler (MBA ’03) has been appointed chairman and president of BP America. In addition to his new responsibilities, Lawler will continue to serve as CEO of BPX Energy, a position he’s held since 2014. He joined BP from SandRidge Energy, a U.S.-based oil and gas independent, where he had served as executive vice president and chief operating officer. As chairman and president, Lawler is BP America’s chief representative in the United States. With 13,000 employees and $30 billion invested since 2016, BP has a larger economic footprint in the U.S. than anywhere else in the world. In 2019, these businesses accounted for a third of BP’s global revenue. Lawler takes the helm as BP embarks on a new ambition to become net zero by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get to net zero.
Shannon Brice (MBA ’04) recently joined the board and began a one-year term as president-elect of the Junior League of New Orleans. Brice is chief financial officer of Richard’s Disposal, where she’s responsible for managing financial risk, financial planning and market data analysis. Prior to joining Richard’s, Brice was program and commodities supervisor at Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), and before that she held several different positions with Entergy Corp., including supplier diversity specialist, lead analyst in supply chain and financial analyst in treasury/ cash management. She also serves as CEO of Brice Consulting.
Dr. Jonathan Jones (MBA/JD ’05, M ’13) recently opened an office at the Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, Louisiana. Jones is a neurologist who treats headaches, epilepsy and neurophysiology.
Matt Sislen (BSM ’05) has joined Standard Communities, the affordable housing arm of Standard Cos., as managing
director of East Coast production. Based in Washington D.C., Sislen is responsible for growing Standard’s portfolio of multifamily assets on the East Coast. He comes to the company from Audubon Enterprises, an affordable housing advisory firm he co-founded in 2012. Prior to that, he served as vice president and CFO of Dantes Partners, manager of acquisitions and finance at East of the River Community Development Corp. and associate at the Reznick Group.
Theo Spencer (MBA ’06) recently ran for the Camden School Advisory Board in Camden, New Jersey. Spencer is vice president of software engineering with J.P. Morgan.
Corlin LeBlanc (BSM ’08) has been named vice chancellor for finance and administration at Baton Rouge Community College. A CPA with 12 years of professional-level accounting and financial management experience, LeBlanc had served as interim vice chancellor of finance and, before that, as assistant vice chancellor of finance and as director of accounting and finance. Before BRCC, LeBlanc served as a senior financial auditor at the Louisiana Legislative Auditors Office and a financial controller at Nunez Community College.
2010s
Moises Davidovits (MGM ’10) was recently named master chocolatier by First Foods Group, a U.S. holding company that specializes in the sale of a variety of Cannabidiol (CBD)-based products through its Southeast Edibles subsidiary. In that role, Davidovits is responsible for perfecting the art of combining cacao ingredients with hemp-based CBD oils to create specialty chocolates. A native of Venezuela, Davidovits was previously co-founder and CEO of Chocolates Khao Caribe SRL in the Dominican Republic, where his responsibilities included overall business strategy, factory design, product development, and hands-on sales and marketing. His previous experience also includes senior management positions at Chocolates Theobroma, Tratelo.com and Trader.com.
Wes Gautreaux (MBA ’10) has been named managing director of Summit Financial Wealth Advisors. Prior to
joining Summit, he served in management and ownership roles at companies including Broad Point Energy and Frac-Chem in Lafayette and in leadership positions at companies owned by multinational corporations, including Koch Industries. Founded in Lafayette in 2003, Summit provides wealth management services to clients in the Gulf South region.
Blaise Zuschlag (MBA ’10) was recently promoted to vice president and chief administrative officer of Acadian Cos., the Lafayette-based parent of Acadian Ambulance Services. In that role, Zuschlag will manage the company’s purchasing, fleet maintenance, IT and building maintenance departments as well as assist in planning and directing all corporate administrative, financial and operational activities. He joined Acadian in 2013 and has held roles including business analyst, director of administration and, most recently, chief of staff. Prior to joining Acadian, he served as an advisor for JP Morgan Chase’s Private Bank.
Tracy Rosser (MBA ’11) has joined the Arkansas Research Alliance Board of Trustees. Rosser is executive vice president of operations at Transplace, a leading provider of transportation management services and logistics technology solutions.
Carlos Gil (MGM ’12) has been named head of sales, Commercial Customers – Americas, at Liebherr Appliances. In that role, Gil is responsible for leading the operational implementation of sales targets, specifically in the frozen food and food retail industries as well as other commercial sectors, throughout North America and in select Latin American markets. Gil has more than 15 years of experience in the food and beverage CPG retail industry and has been responsible for the product strategy execution and channel relationship development in multiple markets across the United States, Canada and Latin America. Prior to joining Liebherr, Gil led the international expansion of Colombina, one of the top 50 candy and snack companies in the world.
Maxx Stiefel (BSM ’13) has been promoted to vice president general manager at Maxxsonics, maker of mobile, marine and powersports audio products under the brands Hifonics, MB Quart, Crunch and Autotek. Stiefel previously served as the company’s director of project management, where he managed engineering, tech support and supporting roles in operations and finance. In his new position, Stiefel will oversee many aspects of the company’s business initiatives in addition to continuing his main focus on project management with new products and ISO overview.
Blake Boyd (MBA ’14, MFIN ’15), chief operating officer of TowWorks in Lake Jackson, Texas, was recently honored by the Waterways Journal as one of its 2020 “40 Under 40.” The award recognizes individuals for their outstanding contributions to the inland marine transportation industry in a variety of fields.
Alexandra Quitko (BSM/MACCT ’14) and Adam Baranski were married on Jan. 25, 2020, in Miami Beach. Quitko is a wealth adviser at Omnia Family Wealth, a wealth administration agency in Aventura, Florida.
Robert M. Franklin III (MBA ’15) is the new director of Derivatives and Commodities Compliance at Cargill Inc. He will be based in Wayzata, Minnesota. Previously, Franklin was senior compliance officer for the Global Markets Swaps trading unit of BBVA USA Bank in Houston.
Jennifer Grau (MBA ’17) was recently promoted to the role of director of diverse learners (K-3) at Moving Everest Charter School in Chicago. In this role Jennifer will be responsible for budgeting, compliance and management of staff and contractor resources in support of the special education function.
Louisa Smith (MBA ’19) has been named managing director of the NO/LA Angel Network, where she’ll oversee membership services, educational programming, sponsorship, finances, community outreach and deal activity. Founded in 2014, the NO/LA Angel Network consists of over 100 accredited investors from Louisiana who have invested nearly $10 million in 21 companies. Smith previously coordinated screenings, due diligence reports and deal negotiations for the network. In addition to her role at NO/LAAN, Smith will also serve as manager of the new Pelican Angel Fund.
