Class Notes
New job? Promotion? Your classmates and colleagues want to know. Send your updates for Class Notes to mgt-editor@buffalo.edu.
Please note: Individuals are listed in Class Notes according to the year of their most recent School of Management degree.
1960s
Philip C. Ackerman '65 retired as chief executive officer at National Fuel in Buffalo, but will continue to serve as chairman of the board of directors.
1970s
Michael J. Clair '69, MBA '71, was appointed chairman of the board at Phoenix Technologies Ltd.
Robert E. Pfeil '72 was appointed director of human resources at Niagara University.
Alan DuBrow, MBA '73, joined Booz Allen Hamilton's supply chain and logistics practice in McLean, Va., as lead in automatic information technology (AIT) strategy for the U.S. Army.
Stanley F. Gasiewicz '75 was appointed chief operating officer of senior services at the Catholic Health System.
Joseph V. Curatolo '76 was one of the 500 top financial advisors in the country invited to participate in Barron's magazine Winner's Circle Summit. He is president of Georgetown Capital Group in Williamsville.
Timothy W. Noe '76 was appointed plant manager at the Goodyear Dunlop Tires North America manufacturing facility in the Town of Tonawanda.
Robert L. Montgomery '63, MBA '77, was appointed chair of the Beechwood/Blocher Foundation board of directors.
1980s
Bernard Brothman '80 has served as vice president of human resources for Ranbaxy Inc. in Princeton, N.J. since April 2007.
Daniel R. Koscielny '80 earned an ABV (accredited in business valuation) designation from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Keith Schwabinger '80 works in real estate management and development in residential markets in Clearwater, Fla., Long Beach, N.Y., and Burbank, Calif., and develops income-producing commercial property in Clearwater and St. Petersburg, Fla. He also is a spokesperson and appears as an actor in commercials.
Anthony Brown '81 was appointed vice chancellor for student affairs at Elizabeth City State University in North Carolina. He is also completing certification as a personal and executive coach.
Ann Burstein Cohen, MBA '82, CPA and associate professor of accounting in the School of Management, was elected president of the Foundation for Accounting Education, a not-for-profit corporation formed by the New York State Society of CPAs.
Christopher A. Smigielski '81, MBA '84, was named senior vice president of finance and management information systems at Waterford Village Bank.
Donald R. Fishback, MBA '85, was named vice president of finance at Moog.
Nancy R. Hourigan '88 was appointed manager of physician compensation and pay for performance at CIPA Western New York IPA.
W. Earl McCartney, MBA '88, was appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer at The Hamister Group.
1990s
Mark J. DePalma, MBA '90, was appointed chief marketing officer and vice president at BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.
Jeffrey D. Parrish '90 was promoted to national sales manager at Robert-James Sales.
Michael A. Alessandra '87, MBA '92, was promoted to director of internal audit at Merchants Insurance Group.
Sandra T. DeSimone '92 was appointed staff accountant at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC.
Gregory A. Ahrens '94 joined Alliance Advisory Group as a financial professional.
Thomas M. Burns '94 was promoted to senior manager at Lumsden & McCormick LLP.
Michael M. Reilly, MBA '94, was named vice president of primary care services for the Catholic Health System.
Sherry Sutton, CEL '94, received the Outstanding Philanthropic Small Business Award from the Western New York chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. She is president of Sassy Design Group.
Gregory M. Colombo '95 was promoted to manager in the tax department at Gaines Kriner Elliott LLP.
Kathleen A. Grieco, MBA '95, was promoted to tax manager at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP.
William G. Avon '96 was appointed insurance and benefits consultant for Ryan Insurance, a subsidiary of Ulster Savings Bank.
Paul J. Gareis, MBA '96, was appointed assistant director for facilities, planning and design at the University at Buffalo.
David T. Merrell '91, MBA '96, received the human resource excellence award from the Buffalo Niagara Human Resource Association. He is vice president of human resources at Perry's Ice Cream.
Chris Bossert '98 is a planner/buyer for Carleton Technologies, working with individuals involved with the space shuttle and Apollo-type rockets.
Kim Di Maurizio '97, MBA '98, is the human resources manager at Campbell Soup Company.
Lori A. Rizzo '90, MBA '98, was appointed corporate accounting manager at Gibraltar Industries.
Mark J. Tempest '98 was promoted to senior accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP.
Justin Marx '99 is vice president of Marx Companies and CEO of Marx Foods, a distributor of premium food products to the restaurant industry, consumers and home chefs.
2000s
Thomas M. Barney, MBA '00, was promoted to director of strategic planning and development at Delaware North Companies.
Jeffrey S. Burroughs, MBA '00, was named senior project manager at the Buffalo office of URS.
Timothy P. Frier '00 was promoted to senior accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP.
Jill M. Spisiak Jedlicka, MBA '00, was promoted to director of ecological programs at Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper.
Adam Souliske '00 was promoted to manager of corporate accounting at Moog.
Josephine Fitzner '01 was promoted to manager at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP.
Ryan C. Grady '01 was appointed accounting and audit manager at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC.
Mark J. Notarius, MBA '01, received the Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation Award from the Western New York chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He is owner and president of Premium Wine & Spirits.
Dawn E. Sanders, EMBA '01, was one of 30 Western New Yorkers honored at the Black Achievers in Industry Awards banquet. She is executive director of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority.
Randolph R. Bianchi, EMBA '02, was appointed senior vice president of business development at Summer Street Capital Partners.
Russell D. Burr '02 was promoted to manager at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP.
Miche C. Needham '02 was promoted to manager at Lumsden & McCormick LLP.
Anna G. Olson '93, MBA '02, received the Hearst Eagle Award as part of Hearst's newspaper division.
Michael W. Cropp, M.D., EMBA '03, received the 2008 Service to Mankind Award from the WNY and Finger Lakes Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Christopher S. Kicinski '03 was promoted to manager at Lumsden & McCormick LLP.
Patricia R. Knapp '03 was named senior associate at Gaines Kriner Elliott LLP.
Patrick J.S. Mathews '03 was promoted to manager at Tronconi Segarra & Associates LLP.
Jonathan L. Roller '03, MS '04, passed the Uniform Certified Public Accounting exam.
Hal P. Kingsley, EMBA '03, CEL '04, was named director of business for the Russell J. Salvatore School of Hospitality & Business at Trocaire College.
Peter M. Trzybinski '04 was promoted to senior accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP.
Connie R. Vari, EMBA '04, was promoted to chief operating officer at Kaleida Health.
Jeffrey T. Hassler '05 was appointed loan analyst at Capital Source.
Shafiq N. Jalal, MBA 05, was promoted to senior analyst at Brisbane Consulting Group.
Mark C. Feltz '06, MBA '06, was appointed accountant at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC.
Anthony J. Paolucci '06 was appointed account manager at Brown & Brown Insurance.
Joseph J. Abdallah, MBA '07, was named chief development officer at the Greater Niagara Frontier Council Boys Scouts of America.
Patrick W. Crist '07 was appointed assistant accountant at The Bonadio Group.
Monique E. Emdin, JD/MBA '07, was named associate attorney at Hiscock & Barclay.
Jedediah J. Jacobi '07 was appointed staff accountant at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC.
Christopher R. Majewski '07 passed the Uniform Certified Public Accounting exam.
Lindsay M. Myers '07 was appointed staff accountant at Schunk Wilson & Co. Certified Public Accountants PC.
Larry Rosenthal, JD/MBA '07, passed the New York and New Jersey bar exams and was sworn into the bars in both states. He is an associate with Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP in Manhattan, specializing in intellectual property law.
Kevin Spencer '07 was appointed staff accountant at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs PC.
Rachel M. Stickney '07 was named to the staff at Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub LLP.
Caroline Szydlo, MBA '07, was named manager of human resources at Brock, Schechter and Polakoff LLP.
Trevor M. Torcello, JD/MBA '07, was appointed associate attorney at Gross Shuman Brizdle & Gilfillan PC.
William J. Wells '07 was appointed assistant accountant at The Bonadio Group.
Keith B. Wright '01, MBA '07, was promoted to senior accountant at The Bonadio Group.
Brian T. Zoldowski '07 was named staff accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner LLP.
Alumni Spotlight - Robert W. Black '82
Robert W. Black '82 is group president of developing and emerging markets for Kimberly-Clark, a leading global health and hygiene company.
Black leads Kimberly-Clark's businesses in Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Previously, Black served as Kimberly-Clark's chief strategy officer, leading the development, execution and monitoring of the company's strategy. Prior to joining Kimberly-Clark in 2006, Black served as chief operating officer of Sammons Enterprises, a multi-faceted conglomerate and one of the world's largest privately held companies with more than $27 billion in assets.
In his current position, Black enjoys "the opportunity to work with a very diverse and bright group of people from all different cultures and backgrounds."
There are challenges, as well. "International versus domestic business is like watching video in full color digital vs. black and white analog," Black says. "You have to understand enough about dozens of countries where you have limited exposure and often don't even speak the language-yet still be able to lead, make good decisions and, most importantly, select and coach the right people to run the businesses."
As a member of the Dean's Advisory Council for the School of Management, Black believes the school has made "tremendous progress," particularly over the last several years. "The school is becoming even more global and increasingly relevant to the actual running of businesses," he says.
