Alumni News & Profiles

Profiles in Leadership: Kristin Peters '13

April 09, 2014

When Kristin Peters '13 attended an orientation at Isenberg before she applied, she knew it was the right school for her. ʺI just got a really great vibe,ʺ she says. Plus, both her parents graduated from UMass, and they were eager to keep the tradition alive.

Behind the Scenes at Coca-Cola's Sponsorship Activities at Sochi and Brazil's FIFA World Cup

April 09, 2014

In connecting its soft drinks with sports mega-events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup, Coca-Cola populates its marketing messages with those events and ordinary people rather than celebrities, emphasized Peter Franklin '83. The Isenberg accounting graduate is Coca-Cola's Group Director for Worldwide Sports and Event Management. In an open presentation at Isenberg on April 2nd, with many in the audience from the school's Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management, Franklin shared a behind-the-scenes look at his company's sponsorship activities for the Sochi Winter Olympics and the forthcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

Profiles in Leadership: Beth Gamel '78 MSBA

April 07, 2014

The time is right to showcase Isenberg's fantastic alumni in a stylish annual event like the school's Business Leadership Awards Dinner (IBLA), observes Isenberg alumna and IBLA host committee member Beth Gamel '78 MSBA. Now in its second year, the annual gathering on June 18th at the Colonnade Hotel in Boston had a spectacular launch last June with its principal honoree and keynote speaker, Red Sox General Manager Ben Cherington '97 M.S.

Sports Marketing Super-Agent Dissects Sales

March 25, 2014

"As an agent, the only things you can control are preparation and effort," emphasized sports marketing uber-agent J.B. Bernstein '90 in Stephen McKelvey's class in sport promotion & sales. To that end, the UMass Amherst graduate offered a structured approach to pitching an athlete's promotional value to potential "buyers." As the cofounder, president and CEO of Access Group of Miami, Bernstein has represented a host of high-profile athletes, including baseball's Barry Bonds and football's Barry Sanders and Emmett Smith.

Isenberg Community Mourns the Passing of School Namesake Eugene M. Isenberg '50

March 20, 2014

The Isenberg School of Management mourns the passing of Eugene M. Isenberg '50, '00H who died on March 16, 2014. For 25 years, Gene was chairman and CEO of Nabors Industries, a world leader in gas and petroleum drilling. Gene's gift with his wife, Ronnie, to the then School of Management was the largest contribution from an individual in UMass Amherst's history. The gift brought the Isenberg alumni community together with unprecedented energy in the school's campaign to build its 42,000-square-foot Harold Alfond Management Center wing. In 1998, the school became the Eugene M. Isenberg School of Management in honor of Gene's generosity and leadership.

Elkins Boardroom Will Expand Isenberg's External Reach

March 13, 2014

Isenberg's dedication ceremony for the Arthur '57 and Barbara R. Elkins Business Intelligence Boardroom on March 10 attracted an enthusiastic gathering, including Chancellor Subbaswamy, Dean Fuller, former Dean O'Brien, and a number of Arthur Elkins' beloved former colleagues on the Isenberg faculty.

40th HTM Career Day Resounds with Strong Employment Prospects

March 10, 2014

On March 5th 2014, several hundred students met with recruiters from 68 companies in the 40th annual Isenberg Hospitality & Tourism Management Career Day. Run like clockwork by Isenberg HTM students, the stylish event featured a central career fair in the Campus Center Auditorium, individual information sessions hosted by recruiting firms, and, at the end of the day, a lavish reception and networking event for recruiters and students in HTM's Marriott Center for Hospitality Management.

Three Isenberg Ph.D. Students Honored with Eugene M. Isenberg Awards

February 27, 2014

Three Ph.D. candidates at Isenberg are among ten recently named UMass Amherst recipients of the 2014 Eugene M. Isenberg Awards. Established in 1995 by Eugene '50 and Ronnie Isenberg, the annual scholarships of up to $10,000 per awardee recognize outstanding graduate students who are committed to the integration of science, engineering, and management. The three Isenberg Ph.D. students are Sara Saberi (Operations & Information Management), Ryan Guggenmos (Accounting), and Xiaohui Yang (Finance).

Inaugural Women of Isenberg Conference Highlights Alumni Panelists and Networking Opportunities

February 21, 2014

Isenberg's inaugural Women of Isenberg Conference on February 8th attracted over 150 alumni, students, faculty, and staff members to a full day of panels, networking, and relationship building. Organized by the student group, Isenberg Women in Business, and generously sponsored by Target, the event featured seven breakout panels with 24 alumnae panelists spanning the Isenberg classes of 1978 through 2012. Several Isenberg faculty and staff members were also panelists. In an eighth panel, four women managers at Target described their career paths and the firm's culture.

Isenberg Alumnus Dissects Firm's Strategic Playbook

February 17, 2014

"In devising a strategy, good marketers include what-if conditions that might cause that strategy to fail," observed Marc Schneider '81 in his late November visit to Professor Marc Weinberger's class, Managerial Perspectives in Marketing Strategy. A former Isenberg management and finance major, Schneider is Group President of Heritage Brands in Manhattan, one of three divisions in the American-based clothing giant, PVH Corp (Phillips-Van Heusen). Schneider's division manages such high-profile brands as Izod, Van Heusen, Arrow, Speedo, Warner's, and Olga. "We sell one in three dress shirts in the United States. We also own 60% of the market for ties-35 million ties a year," he told the students.

Alumni Insights: Brett Wagner

February 13, 2014

Since graduating with a Finance degree from Isenberg in '09, I have worked in two different industries (both unrelated to Finance), in two different countries and for four different companies. It was during my final months of living in New Zealand in the Spring of 2012 that I had an epiphany and realized the following - I’m an entrepreneur at heart and I need to be part of something where I’m not just a number in a large corporation but rather a highly visible member of an intelligent, ambitious and innovative team.

Alumni Insights: Ben Stein

February 04, 2014

You probably don't know this but UMass is the second most represented alumni group at Uber - a technology company employing a few hundred people globally. I believe this is the product of young alumni's respect for their University and the recognition of talent that has shaped the course of one of the fastest growing companies in the country right now.

Alumni Insights: Ian Whear

January 27, 2014

Sometimes it can be overwhelming to try to think about a “real world” career when you are still in a “college” environment. I was always the type of person that did not like the unknown and/or not knowing what I was going to do after school. Understanding that there were many different paths to the top of the mountain made me feel better and de-emphasized some one-off events that I thought at the time may hold way more value than they really did.

Isenberg Alumnus Dissects Firm's Strategic Playbook

January 16, 2014

Former Isenberg management and finance major Marc Schneider '81 was a guest speaker in Marc Weinberger's class, Managerial Perspectives in Marketing Strategy. Schneider is Group President of Heritage Brands in Manhattan, one of three divisions in the American-based clothing giant, PVH Corp (Phillips-Van Heusen).

Senior Alumni Offer Strategic and Professional Insights to Isenberg's MBA Program and Freshmen

November 08, 2013

On a two-day visit to Isenberg in September, David Fubini '76 (Marketing) and David O'Leary '81 MBA offered strategic advice to the school's MBA program. Fubini, a Director with McKinsey & Company, and O'Leary, former Chief Administrative Officer with State Street Corporation, met with MBA faculty, administrators, and students.

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