Alumni Connections

No. 57 - May 2009

Alumni Connections is a sampling of alumni news gleaned from media online and in print, including news submitted to Chicago Booth Magazine. Submit information about yourself or fellow alumni to editor@ChicagoBooth.edu.

• Alumni on the Move
• Alumni to Know
• CEO Watch
• Alumni Connections Archive
• Chicago Booth Magazine

Alumni on the Move

Apollo Group, Inc.
Joseph D'Amico, '84 (XP-54), has been promoted to president and chief operating officer from president. The Phoenix-based firm provides education programs from high school through doctoral levels through its subsidiaries, the University of Phoenix, Institute for Professional Development, College for Financial Planning, Western International University, Meritus University, Insight Schools, and Apollo Global.

BMO Capital Markets
Christopher Donohoe, '93, has joined as a managing director in the financial institutions group. The New York-based financial services provider is the investment and corporate banking arm of BMO Financial Group.

Brook Furniture Rental, Inc.
Robert Crawford III, '91, has been promoted to president from executive vice president. Based in Lake Forest, Illinois, the firm leases and sells residential and office furnishings to individuals and corporations.

Buccino & Associates, Inc.
Gerard Buccino, '96 (XP-65), has joined as senior vice president and director. The strategic and financial consulting firm is based in Chicago.

Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Clifford Stocks, '89, has been appointed chief business officer. Based in Seattle, the pharmaceutical firm develops medicines for patients with cancer and inflammatory diseases.

China Housing & Land Development, Inc.
Albert McLelland, '87, has been elected an independent director and chairs the board's audit committee. The Chinese real estate development company is the first to be traded on NASDAQ. It is based in Xi'an, China. McLelland is senior managing director of AmPac Strategic Capital LLC.

Harris Financial Corp.
Arnold Donald, '80, has been appointed to the board of directors. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm is a holding corporation for banking and financial services subsidiaries. Harris is a member of the BMO Financial Group. Donald is former president and CEO of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.

Harris Williams & Co.
David Allebach, '07, has been promoted to vice president from advisor for Cobblestone Advisors, an affiliate focused on the lower-middle markets. Cobblestone is an investment bank based in Philadelphia.

Horizon21
Christoph Buerer, '07 (EXP-12), has joined as vice president, structuring insurance linked securities. The alternative investment manager is based in Pfaffikon, Switzerland.

Keane, Inc.
Bob Gray, '90, has been appointed executive vice president, global services. The San Francisco-based company specializes in information technology investments.

KPMG
Elena Nosova, '05, has joined as manager in the strategy group of transaction services. The major accounting and consulting firm has world headquarters in Amsterdam. Nosova is based in Moscow.

National Committee for Quality Assurance
Michael Davis, '81, has been elected to the board of directors. Based in Washington DC, the nonprofit organization accredits and certifies health care organizations. Davis is senior vice president of global human resources at General Mills.

New Zealand Capital Market Development Taskforce
Mary Holm, '82, has been named to the task force launched by Commerce Minister Lianne Daiziel. Comprised of government and private-sector experts, the group is charged with producing an action plan for developing New Zealand's capital markets. Holm is an investment writer and commentator.

Ocean Tomo, LLC
Michael Anglin, '03, has been named co-head of the transactions business unit. Headquartered in Chicago, the merchant bank specializes in intellectual property transactions.

Sears Holdings Corporation
Bill Jackson, '88, has joined as senior vice president and president, automotive. The corporation operates through its subsidiaries, including Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart Corporation. It is headquartered in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.

Veritas Capital
Lou Bremer, '02, has joined as a vice president. The private equity firm is based in New York.

Vocento
Alberto Diaz, '05 (EXP-10), has been named general manager for sales. He also is a member of the executive committee. Based in Madrid, the multimedia company runs a number of newspapers, websites, and radio and television stations.

Walgreen Co.
Steven Davis, '83, has been elected to the board of directors. Headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois, the company operates the Walgreens drugstore chain. Davis is chairman and CEO of Bob Evans Farms Inc.

WNET.org
Robert Clauser, '93, has been appointed vice president, CFO, and treasurer. The television and internet public media company is based in New York.

World Trade Center Tacoma
Anthony Hemstad, '01 (EXP-6), has been named executive director. Based in Tacoma, Washington, the trade association for exporters, importers, and service providers offers programs to stimulate international trade.

Alumni to Know

Lincoln Cheng, '72, owner of Zouk, a popular nightspot in Singapore, was featured in an April 13 article in The Straits Times. Celebrating its 18th year, Zouk was called by the publication "a landmark on both the physical and cultural landscapes of Singapore." In 2004 Cheng was named Tourism Entrepreneur of the Year 2004 by the Singapore Tourism Board. "In most countries, clubbing is a sin, a vice," Cheng said. "The award was a sign that clubbing is accepted by the government."

Jules Kamin, PhD '73, founder and president of ValueEconomics, was quoted in a March 24 NewsReleaseWire.com article about a strategic alliance between his firm and Avant Advisory Group. ValueEconomics, Inc. provides economic analysis and litigation support. Avant is a consulting firm. Kamin said the alliance "only strengthens our firms and the superlative results we are determined to provide our clients. Our relationship provides depth and wide-ranging expertise, experience, and knowledge that we will use to further leverage high-quality solutions for the benefit and success of our clients."

Ann Rutledge, '85, who rated securities for Moody's Investors Services during the housing boom, was featured next to former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on CNBC's February 13 documentary on rating agencies and the subprime crisis. During the boom, as revenues for rating agencies went up, so did their stock prices, the documentary said. As a result, Rutledge said, the business got more competitive. "You just wanted to make sure you had as much business or more than the next rating agency," she said. This competition led to distorted rating standards, the documentary said. "The problem is, if you are the only person who knows how these standards work... if investors aren't paying attention and investment banks are only comparing what they can get if they go to you versus the next ratings agency, nobody's paying attention," she said. This led to failure to accurately judge the risks of mortgage-backed securities, the documentary said.

An unusual high-tech ice cream shop co-owned by Cora Shaw, '07, was featured in an April 1 story in the Chicago Tribune. What makes Shaw's shop, called iCream, so different is that it serves ice cream made to order using liquid nitrogen. Customers choose a base (such as ice cream or soy milk), flavor (such as burnt sugar), a "mix-in," and color – ingredients instantly frozen using liquid nitrogen. Shaw told the Tribune she got the idea from watching Good Eats host Alton Brown. "Shaw was an MBA candidate at the University of Chicago," the article said. "One night she took liquid nitrogen home from the university and began tinkering." The shop is located in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood.

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CEO Watch: Taking the Lead

Alex Abadie, '89
CEO
Shore Capital Limited
The London-based firm is the asset-management business of Shore Capital Group plc, an investment bank focused on capital markets and alternative asset class funds.

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Submit information about yourself or fellow alumni to editor@ChicagoBooth.edu.