Leaders of Impact 2026: Stafford and Siokos Inspire Isenberg Community to Lead with Purpose
Approximately 150 alumni, faculty, staff, students, and friends of the Isenberg School of Management received valuable lessons in leadership at the school’s annual Leaders of Impact event on Oct. 22, 2026: take chances, don’t be afraid to fail, and have confidence in yourself.
Those messages came from featured speaker Earl Stafford Jr. and 2026 Leader of Impact awardee Stavros Siokos ‘93MS, ‘98PhD during Isenberg’s signature fall event, held at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. (View photos from the event.)
“We seek to do special things and demonstrate leadership via our innovations in teaching and learning, our research, and our service engagement with various communities,” said Isenberg Dean Anne Massey, PhD, the Thomas O’Brien Endowed Chair, in her introductory remarks. “We recognize, at Isenberg, that developing effective leadership is at the heart of business education, and events like Leaders of Impact allow us to celebrate and honor impactful leaders—within our Isenberg community and beyond.”
Earl Stafford Jr. on Leading with Integrity
Stafford, CEO of Aperio Global, a technology firm specializing in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and data analytics for government and defense agencies, was recognized for his leadership and community impact.
During a fireside chat with Massey about his approach to business, Stafford encouraged the audience to approach leadership with purpose, integrity, and a commitment to others.
“To the students here, I would humbly offer a charge,” he said. “I believe impact is driven from an authentic purpose. You need oxygen—you must be alive to make an impact. And then have a non-negotiable: Have an obligation to do good in a non-transactional way, in a relational way.”
He noted that making a difference doesn’t require grand gestures.
“Do not allow society to determine how much impact you need to make,” said Stafford. “A smile, a kind gesture, a commitment to be of good character, of your word, goes a long way. And that’s the impact that I would charge for you to have.”
Isabella Federico, a sophomore marketing major who participated in the 2025 Isenberg Dean’s Academy,said she was moved by Stafford’s emphasis on faith, family, and putting others first.
“His father—Isenberg alum Earl Stafford Sr. ’76—was in the audience, and it was very touching to hear (Earl Stafford Jr.) talk about him and credit his success to him,” she said.
Stavros Siokos ‘98PhD Named a Leader of Impact
Massey also presented a 2026 Leader of Impact Award to Siokos, co-founder of London-based Astarte Capital Partners, which invests in sustainable real estate assets and natural resources around the world, including forestry projects in Paraguay.
Siokos, who co-founded Astarte in 2015, said the recognition was significant because he hopes to demonstrate that it is possible to “do well by doing good.”
“Receiving this award is important to me,” he said. “I always wanted to create something with an impact in the financial world—for the next generation to see that you can make serious money by doing something good, you don’t have to be a shark.”
Siokos emphasized that financial success and positive social impact can go hand in hand.
“You can be something more meaningful, and the current young generation seems to care more about that,” he said. “You can touch lives globally and can make it in a system that is a win-win for everyone.”
Turning his attention to the students in the audience, Siokos encouraged them to pursue their ambitions, take risks, and learn from setbacks.
“First of all, you are very lucky. You are here. You can study in a developed country, with safety. The second thing you have to think is, follow your dreams; there is no limit. The only limit you have is yourself,” he said.
“There’s a Formula One driver who told me once, ‘You know your limit only when you crash.’ So, you will have to crash a couple times. Just brush off the dust and go back and do it again—and do it again quickly, before you feel fear. Fear and insecurity hold people back. Insecurity is the source of any problem. Don’t be insecure. Be brave.”
Connecting Students with Business Leaders
Prior to the event, Stafford and Siokos spoke with 40 members of the Dean’s Academy, a selective program for first-year students recognized for their outstanding academic achievement in high school and potential for success at Isenberg.
The fifth cohort of Dean’s Academy students has spent its first two months at UMass Amherst participating in weekly seminars with Isenberg faculty and meeting with prominent alumni, corporate executives, and industry leaders. They had received coaching to prepare them to network with alumni and members of the Boston business community and came ready with questions for Stafford and Siokos about their leadership experiences.
First-year finance major and Dean’s Academy member Matthew Krieger shared his biggest takeaway from the speeches: “That it’s important to have strong values to have an impact in business.”
Alexa Rodrigue, a first-year accounting major and Dean’s Academy member, noted, “My biggest takeaway was that failure is not a ‘thing’—only a learning opportunity.”
First-year finance major Sudhiksha Ramesh, also a Dean’s Academy member, said she learned from the speakers “to have faith in yourself.”
Alumni Reconnect with Isenberg Community
Leaders of Impact also provided an opportunity for Isenberg alumni to reconnect with former classmates, faculty, and staff while celebrating the school’s commitment to leadership and innovation.
Saniya Aubakirova ’25MS, a business analyst at a small healthcare company in the Boston area, said she was inspired by Siokos’ presentation. “I was inspired by his company’s work. I come from a developing country—Kazakhstan—so it’s very interesting to see a company actually investing in other parts of the world.”
Joshua Baldwin ’25MBA, vice president and business technology liaison at BNY in Boston, welcomed the opportunity to reunite with the Isenberg community.
“I enjoyed my time at UMass Amherst and Isenberg, and when I see an event in Boston, there’s a familiarity, and I wanted to reconnect,” he said.
Isenberg marketing major Isabella Federico ’29, a social media marketing intern in the Isenberg Office of Marketing and Communications, contributed to this report.
