CommonWealth Magazine - Fall 2006

Isenberg School Alumnus of the Year: Paul Carney ‘82

Paul Carney '82

The China trip received generous financial support from Isenberg School Alumnus of the Year Paul Carney ’82. A graduate of the School’s accounting program, Carney, a private investor and consultant to early-stage companies, embraced Asian cultures and markets as head of worldwide financial operations and corporate controller (2001-2004) at NetScreen Technologies (purchased by Juniper Networks in 2004). “At NetScreen, a leader in network firewalls and other security solutions, I gained great respect for the company’s cofounders, Feng Deng and Yan Ke. Both had earned degrees from Tsinghua University in Beijing (regarded as China’s MIT),” emphasized Carney, who visited the Amherst campus in May. “Our Asian operations, accounting for 30-40 percent of our sales, made Asia our most successful region.” Carney initially ran the firm’s international finances from its Sunnyvale, California headquarters, but eventually moved to Hong Kong, where he focused on growing the firm’s Asian and Europe markets.

“In Asia I frequently traveled to mainland China and Japan, where I learned first-hand about Asia’s economic climate and the importance of cross-cultural communication and respect,” explained Carney, who has established endowment scholarships to attract outstanding Asian students to the Isenberg School . “By creating scholarships and supporting international exposure for students, I’m trying in my own way to promote cross-cultural understanding and reduce cultural misunderstandings. Ultimately, it’s about getting people to respect one another’s cultures.”

Before NetScreen, Carney was Google’s first corporate controller. Before that, he was corporate controller at Adept Technology Inc., a California based leader in robotics. Carney has also worked for two other technology firms—Ampex Corporation and Xylogics Inc. His first position after graduating from the Isenberg School was with the accounting firm, Laventhol & Horwath.

In his evening address at the annual Isenberg School graduation celebration in the Mullins Center, Carney emphasized the importance of international involvement and a second theme—lifelong affiliation with the UMass community. With Isenberg School graduates increasingly active in the world economy, their participation and networking in the UMass community have never been more crucial, he insisted. “For those of you from outside the United States, thank you for choosing UMass,” he told an appreciative audience of 4,000 students and their families. “UMass is part of my extended family. It offers common ground and common relationships. Graduates from UMass hold their own with everyone. Stay connected by joining the Alumni Association. Hire UMass graduates and help grow the UMass network.”