Bruce Besanko, ’92, was named executive vice president and CFO of grocery store chain SUPERVALU Inc., headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.
Charles Sorrentino, ’78 (XP-40), was named interim president and CEO of GSE Holding Inc. The Houston-based company makes synthetic lining containment and drainage products used in waste management, mining, water, wastewater, and aquaculture.
Joseph Beatty, ’89, and David Brueggen, ’75, have been named to the Board of Trustees of the new hospital system created by the merger of Naperville, Illinois-based Edward Hospital & Health Services and Elmhurst Memorial and Healthcare. Each hospital continues to do business under its own name with further branding information expected to become available next year. Beatty is former president and CEO of Chicago-based data software company Telular Corp. Brueggen is retired CFO for Melrose Park, Illinois–based Anson Industries Inc., which makes paintless dent repair tools.
Michael Kaufman, ’98, has been named to the board of directors of Middlefield, Connecticut-based Zygo Corp, manufacturer of precision measurement instruments and optical subsystems and components. Kaufman is founder and president of New York–based fund MAK Capital One LLC.
Clayton Rose, ’81, has been appointed to the board of directors of Charlotte, North Carolina–headquartered Bank of America Corp. Rose is a professor of management practice at Harvard Business School.
Stephen Shortell, MBA ’71, PhD ’72, was named to the board of Appleton, Wisconsin-based ThedaCare Center for Healthcare Value. Shortell is the dean of the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley where he also teaches health policy and management and organization behavior.
Marc Usem, ’93, was named to the board of directors of Minneapolis-based information technology firm IVDesk Holdings Inc. Usem is managing partner of Minneapolis-based hedge fund Usem Bergstrand Capital Management LLC.
Thomas Watkins, ’79, partner at Hunton & Williams law firm and former Supreme Court of Virginia justice, has been appointed to the William & Mary Board of Visitors, the governing body of Williamsburg, Virginia-based College of William & Mary. Watkins also chairs the William & Mary Foundation Board of Trustees.
At Chicago-based MB Financial Bank, Tim Broccolo, ’80, was promoted to group president, commercial banking. He most recently had focused on financial services in the commercial banking sector.
Cathy Carroll, ’97, founded Legacy Onward, which offers leadership coaching for family businesses.
Former CEO of Yves St. Laurent Paul Deneve, ’03 (EXP-8), joined computer and technology giant Apple Inc. as vice president, special products. Deneve worked for Apple Europe as sales and marketing manager from 1990 to 1997. Apple is headquartered in Cupertino, California.
John Gerdes, ’94, joined New York–based investment and merchant bank KLR Group LLC as managing director and head of research.
Rupa Goswami, AB ’90, MBA ’93, was named a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.
Douglas Harrison, ’88 (XP-57), joined Chicago-based boutique investment bank Pegasus Intellectual Capital Solutions LLC as partner and head of turnaround management and management consulting practices.
David Hill, ’95 (XP-64), was named chair of the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission Council. The council is tasked with fostering innovation to improve economic opportunities in the state.
Harry Hixson, ’78 (XP-41), was named a life director of the nonprofit San Diego Opera Company. Hixson, CEO of San Diego–based genetic analysis biotech firm Sequenom Inc., is only the sixth life director in the company’s 49 years of existence.
Philippe Jaccard, ’96, joined Melbourne-based Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) as global head of liquidity management.
Blair Jordan, ’02, was chosen to help lead the Japan initiative at Toronto-based brokerage firm Euro Pacific Canada Inc. from the firm’s Vancouver office. He had been managing director, investment banking.
Evelyn Lazare, ’70, announced the electronic publication of her novel The Ladies Who Don’t Lunch, about a group of women who have been meeting and eating together for more than 20 years.
Jonathan Reinsdorf, ’02, joined the Payment Advisory Committee powered by Montreal-based mobile payment software provider Hybrid Paytech. The committee, to be made of six to eight members who have international and entrepreneurial business experience, will work with emerging market tech start-ups and financial institutions. Reinsdorf is president of Chicago-based online, retail, and mobile payment company FroogaliT LLC. He also sits on the executive committee for the United Center Joint Venture, the group that owns and oversees the Chicago sports arena the United Center.
At Bahamas resort Baha Mar, Vaughn Roberts, ’01, was promoted to senior vice president, finance and corporate alliances, from vice president, corporate finance and treasury. Roberts also serves as treasurer of the Bahamas Hotel & Tourism Association.
Conrad Sheehan, ’95, joined C-Sam Inc. as vice president and general manager of strategic initiatives. The mobile transactions tech firm is based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
Markus Stricker, ’97 (EXP-2), joined Zurich-based insurance-related investment management firm Twelve Capital as partner, responsible for risk management.
Adis Vila, ’97, was named one of five Pikes Peak 2013 Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Colorado. Vila recently completed service as the first chief diversity officer at the US Air Force Academy, where she designed the Ambassadors of Inclusion program. Profiles in Diversity Journal has awarded the program an honorable mention in the innovation category. A July 1 article in the Journal says, "Interactions with allies (NATO), nonprofits (in humanitarian spheres), and the private sector require officers to operate in an increasingly global environment."
Patrick Goff, ’06, joined Aviva Investors as a senior research analyst in the Chicago office. The firm is the global asset management business of London-headquartered Aviva PLC.
Kevin Hinton, ’05 (XP-74), joined Chicago-based association management and services firm SmithBucklin Corp. as chief staff officer of Site and executive director of Site International Foundation, a nonprofit organization that raises funds for research and education for travel and event professionals.
Pete Kotz, ’03, joined McLean, Virginia-based business development company Gladstone Investment Corp. as managing director in the Chicago office.
Afua Osei, MBA ’13, MPP ’13, was crowned Miss Ghana USA and Miss Congeniality. The former Fulbright Scholar and intern in the Office of First Lady Michele Obama will work to advance her platform of “Empowering and Connecting the Next Generation of African Female Business Leaders” by facilitating connections between young Ghanaian women and mentors and organizing professional development seminars and networking events in both the US and Ghana.
Jennifer Shih, ’09, writing under the pen name Jennifer Shea, wrote a debut novel, Blood in the Stars. It is available through Amazon.
Rebecca Thompson Boyle, ’08, was named executive director of Teach for America–Indianapolis. The organization recruits professionals who then teach for two years to boost achievement in public schools, particularly among students from low-income families.