Brandy currently serves as a Lead Consultant for Insights at 84.51°. Previously, she was a Category Manager at T. Marzetti Company, working primarily with Kroger and internal stakeholders, optimizing assortment, and informing strategy using Circana data systems.
Prior to this, Brandy managed data analytics on the Strategy Team, including forecasting consumption for all retail brands, along with monthly and ad hoc executive reporting.
Before joining T. Marzetti, Brandy led the Category Analytics Department at the American Licorice Company followed by client insights consulting with IRI.
Immediately after graduating from Purdue, Brandy spent the majority of her career at Sears Holdings Corporation in Hoffman Estates, IL. She held various analytical and business development roles within Sears Inventory and Sears Home Services organizations. Throughout her time at Sears Holdings, Brandy was also heavily involved in recruiting on behalf of Sears at Purdue, as well as managing and mentoring Purdue/Sears interns.
She is passionate about mentoring and providing growth and networking opportunities to college students as well as recent graduates. Brandy first assisted on the Professional Development Committee before joining the Daniels School Alumni Board.
Brandy received her undergraduate degree from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business in December 2005
Tom Arenberg retired from Accenture after 34 years in the consulting industry. At the time of his retirement, he was a Senior Executive and the Managing Director of the Milwaukee office, as well as the Director of Quality for the Products North America Operating Group. He worked with organizations to identify and implement improvements in quality, customer service, manufacturing, distribution and information technology. His clients included Harley-Davidson, Tombstone Pizza, Case New Holland, Winchester and others.
Tom is currently on the Board of Directors for the Children's Wisconsin Foundation and has served as the Board Chair. He is also on the Children's Wisconsin System Board. Tom served as Board Chair for 10 years for Next Door, an early childhood education agency in Milwaukee. He is on the Board and served as Board Chair for Beyond Vision, an organization that provides employment for the sight impaired. Tom is on the Board of Strive, a leadership development organization. Tom has been the Chair of the National Ghost Ranch Foundation served on the Governing Board.
Tom graduated from Purdue University, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics in 1974 and a Master of Science in Industrial Administration from the Daniels School of Business in 1975. He was named as a Distinguished Alumni of the College of Science in 2014 and received the Distinguished Service Award from the Daniels School of Business in 2015.
Carlos Banks is a partner in strategic transformation for IBM, working with senior client executives across a wide range of industries to shape critical enterprise transformation initiatives at the intersection of technology and business. Previously, he was managing director at Accenture, a multinational professional services firm, where he focused on the operations business. His work with his clients revolved around harnessing data, automation, analytics and applied intelligence to drive process transformation across large-scale enterprise functions such as finance, marketing, customer service, and HR. He was responsible for business development and sales across a broad range of industries including consumer goods, retail, life sciences, hospitality, and others. He is based in Dallas, TX.
Prior to his time with Accenture, Carlos was an Assistant Vice President and Global Relationship Manager for Genpact Corporation – a specialty consulting and execution firm focusing on enterprise process transformation, business analytics and information technology. He oversaw business development and client relationship management for multiple Fortune 500 companies in the Consumer Goods and Retail industries. Carlos began his career in professional financial services spending time at both Goldman Sachs and Deloitte.
Carlos received his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the Kellogg School of Management and his Master of Engineering Management (MEM) from the McCormick School of Engineering – both at Northwestern University, in 2014. His concentrations included Marketing, Operations Management, Organizational Management and Human-Centered Design.
While at Northwestern, Carlos was an active leader, serving as the Senior Vice President of the Kellogg Marketing Club, Director of Marketing for the Kellogg Black Management Association, Technology Representative for the Kellogg Student Association and a Captain for Kellogg Intramural Sports.
Carlos was a member of the 2004 class of the Business Opportunity Program (BOP) and received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from Purdue University in 2008. He received numerous awards and honors including The Dr. Cornell A. Bell Award, The Purdue Black Caucus Academic & Leadership Awards, The Krannert Outstanding Senior Award, Dean’s List and Semester Honors, among others.
Carlos was also heavily involved on campus, serving as President of the Society of Minority Managers, President of the Krannert School of Management Ambassadors and Treasurer of the 82nd Class of the Purdue Chapter of the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society. Carlos was also a member of the Krannert President’s Council and Purdue Black Student Union.
Today, Carlos is committed to remaining active in organizations that have had a major impact on his life and serves on the boards of the Purdue Black Alumni Organization and Daniels School Alumni Association, is a member of the BOP leadership council, and serves as an alumni Admissions volunteer for the Kellogg School of Management. He also serves as a volunteer for the Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) organizations and their respective professional development programs.
Carlos is a tech geek at heart and when time permits can be found exploring and learning about the latest and greatest in the consumer tech world – the most recent of which is aerial/drone photography and videography. During his time in both his undergraduate and graduate studies, he had side jobs or internships at Apple, Groupon and Best Buy.
Carlos is also expecting his first child with his wife, Adia, in March 2022. He is a native of Indianapolis, IN, where he graduated from Pike High School in 2004. While at Pike, he was President of the Pike Chapter of Business Professionals of America, involved in student government, Pike Men’s Volleyball, and marching and concert bands.
Jody Banks earned a bachelor's degree in Accounting at Purdue University. During her undergraduate years at Purdue, she was named the first student member of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. Following her service on the Commission for Higher Education, she was appointed by Gov. Evan Bayh to be the first African American woman to hold a seat on the Purdue University Board of Trustees. She also served as the president of Alpha Kappa Alpha and various leadership roles in Mortar Board, Iron Key and the Society of Minority Managers while at Purdue.
Following completion of her Purdue undergraduate degree, Ms. Banks earned her Juris Doctorate from Emory University School of Law. Upon graduation in 1996, she was admitted to the Georgia State Bar, and started her legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney's Office in Atlanta. In this role she was responsible for the lead prosecution in felony criminal cases in metropolitan Atlanta.
Following a successful career as a felony criminal prosecutor, she returned to her accounting and legal background to take a position as a senior international tax attorney with Arthur Andersen LLP, Atlanta. In this role, she led tax-planning initiatives for major clients, focusing primarily on German tax planning strategies in the transportation and healthcare industries.
In 2001, Ms. Banks returned to Purdue to pursue an MBA in both human resources and marketing. Upon completion of her MBA program in 2003, she joined Guidant Corp. While at Guidant, now Boston Scientific Corporation, she worked in talent acquisition, employee relations, sales internal talent management, college recruiting, diversity and inclusion.
Ms. Banks was recently named human resources director at UCB, a global bio-pharmaceutical company focused on severe diseases in two therapeutic areas: central nervous system and immunology. She is an active member of the Employment Law Section of the Georgia State Bar.
Dianne Beever is currently an Independent Management Consultant, specializing in strategic planning, change management, issue resolution, value creation, growth, and performance improvement for businesses in a variety of industries.
Dianne spent 11 ½ years at Dell, Inc. Most recently, she was a program manager for merger and acquisition integration responsible for managing the global integration of software companies with a focus in sales and go to market and key strategic projects in support of the new software business unit. During her time at Dell, she held leadership positions in operations management, supply chain strategy & design, process engineering, and manufacturing engineering & maintenance management. Prior to joining Dell, Dianne spent 7+ years at Cummins, Inc., in Columbus Indiana where she held positions in fuel system product development engineering, new product introduction, operations/supplier quality, and quality systems (ISO9001/QS9000).
With over 20 years of industry experience in global merger and acquisition integration, engineering, project and program management, supply chain, lean/six-sigma, and operations management, Dianne’s diverse background gives her a broad business perspective, from design and development through delivery and customer care.
Dianne is a Life Member in the Society of Women Engineers. She earned her BS in Industrial Technology, an MSM (MBA) Purdue’s Krannert School of Management, and an MS from Purdue’s College of Engineering Education. Her SWE experience includes section and region leadership positions as region governor, lt. governor, and treasurer; section president, vice president, section representative, and treasurer. She is currently the chair-elect for the finance committee, a professional senator, a leadership coach, and a member of the strategic initiatives committee and the region conference task force.
An avid supporter of education, Dianne serves on the Daniels Student Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Engineering Education Industrial Advisory Council. She is an alumni mentor, a member of the Purdue President’s Council, and the John Purdue Club. She is a new member of the University of Texas at Austin SWE Corporate Advisory Board.
Dianne lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, Phong, and their two golden retrievers, Taylor (8 ½) and Kenzie (2). She is an avid sports fan that loves college football and basketball and tries to catch any Purdue team that is playing in Texas! In her spare time, she loves to coach and mentor students, travel, read, and spend time with her family and friends.
Sameer Borwankar is currently an assistant professor at Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University, researching platform businesses' societal impact and economics. Before enrolling in the Ph.D. program at the Daniels School of Business, he completed an MS (Economics) and an MBA (Finance and General Management) from the Daniels School. Sameer was also an instructor of MGMT 382 during his Ph.D. program. Before entering academia, Sameer worked for Cummins Inc. in Columbus, Indiana, and was part of the Cummins Recruiting Team at the Daniels School of Business. Sameer is married to Nikita, a double Boilermaker who completed her MBA from the School of Business. They live in Montreal, Canada, with their 4-year-old son, Kabeir.
Leanne Bourdage currently leads the finance planning and analysis team supporting Global Procurement, partnering to deliver cost savings and working capital improvement as well as forecasting and mitigating commodity inflation at SC Johnson.
Prior to her current position, Leanne held roles of increasing responsibility within SCJ ranging from sales finance, global internal audit, and marketing finance support. Additionally, she was the finance and accounting recruiting lead for SC Johnson at Purdue.
Leanne earned her bachelor’s degree in management, concentrating in both finance and marketing, from the Daniels School of Business. While at Purdue, she was involved in Purdue Musical Organizations as a Purduette, Delta Sigma Pi, and Mortar Board. Leanne, her husband Aaron, and their son live in Milwaukee, WI.
Dan Cakora is a Business Consultant at Vendavo, where he specializes in aligning the pricing challenges faced by executives with Vendavo’s solutions and best practices. Dan has been involved in the pricing industry since 2006, with experience ranging from measuring inflation for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to pricing millions of products at Grainger and leading pricing teams at Brady Corp. and in revenue management at Kraft Heinz. He has also developed, marketed, and sold new pricing products.
A frequent speaker on pricing and economic topics, Dan has presented at the Distribution Strategy Group’s “Applied AI for Distributors 2024” conference and, most recently, at the Professional Pricing Society’s “Unleashing the Power of AI-Driven Pricing with Explainability” webinar. His writing has been featured in publications such as IndustryWeek, SupplyChainBrain, and the Distribution Pricing Journal.
Beyond pricing, Dan has a passion for data visualization and is always eager to discuss charts, graphs, and data widgets. An economist by training (BS, Purdue University), Dan regularly writes about inflation on LinkedIn. Dan also holds an MBA from DePaul University.
Dan lives in Chicago, IL, with his wonderful wife, amazing son, and a cat who doesn’t appreciate
them nearly enough.
Ben holds a position as the Executive Planning Director of Kwangwoon Foundation in Seoul, Korea. Kwangwoon, named after his grandfather, is an educational foundation that was established in 1934. Kwangwoon, a non-profit organization in South Korea, introduced wireless communication technology for the first time in Korean history. Currently, Kwangwoon Foundation is composed of an elementary school(6 Years, Co-Ed), two Middle Schools(3 Years, All Boys), a High-School(3 years AI Technical School, All Boys), and a University(4 Years, Comprehensive).
Ben earned both of his BS(Economics, 2006) and MS(Human Resource Management, 2012) degrees from Purdue University.
Steve recently joined Eaton as its Director of Finance, Controller for the company's Energy Automation and Solutions Division, headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He owns all financial and accounting operations for the division, including business support, planning, analysis, and internal controls.
Prior to Eaton, Steve held roles of increasing responsibility with General Mills, ranging from brand finance, M&A, supply chain finance, and performance reporting. He has also worked for United Technologies and General Motors in various finance and accounting roles.
Steve earned both his bachelor's and MBA from Purdue's Krannert School of Management. He is also an actively licensed Certified Management Accountant. He and his wife Kellyn reside in downtown Minneapolis.
Liz Forman is the owner of Endwell Coaching & Consulting, a leadership coaching and HR consulting firm. With more than twenty-five years of leadership experience, Liz has served across a variety of industries – manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, and higher education. She has worked with Fortune 500 companies, and small privately held companies.
Following her Purdue graduation, she was recruited to the General Electric Human Resources Leadership Program, and went on to progressively more responsible HR leadership positions within GE’s Aircraft Engines, Electrical Distribution and Healthcare businesses during her eleven year tenure. Liz moved into healthcare as Vice President for Human Resources with Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee and later joined Fiserv as Senior Vice President Human Resources where she had enterprise-wide HR responsibility for Mergers & Acquisitions. In 2013, Liz launched her own company, Endwell Coaching & Consulting. Liz has also served in an interim role as Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources with University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Throughout her career, Liz has partnered with leaders to build their skills for success. She brings high energy, business savvy, listening skills, facilitation expertise, a passion for communication, and a focus on aligning leader capability to achieve business results. Liz believes we all have work to do to become great leaders, and she takes great pride in supporting leaders as they pursue their goals.
Liz earned her Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and her Master of Science in Human Resources from Purdue’s Daniels School of Business. She is certified as a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) through the International Coach Federation and a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR) through the HR Certification Institute.
She serves as President of the Cornell Alumni Club of Wisconsin, she is a member of the Cornell University Council, and she serves on the Alumni Board (DASB) for Purdue’s Daniels School of Business. Liz also serves on the board of Kathy’s House, a hospital guest house in Milwaukee. She is a member of Tempo Milwaukee, a professional women’s group, where she serves on the Mentor Circles Committee and a member of the Staff Advancement Committee for COA Youth and Family Centers.
Gary Fox is the managing partner of the Crowe LLP tax services group and the office managing partner in South Bend, Ind. His responsibilities include overseeing the service delivery of innovative tax compliance and consulting solutions to our federal, international, state and local, and private clients.
Gary has more than 30 years’ experience and specializes in assisting financial services and real estate organizations with:
Gary’s professional affiliations include:
Gary holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the Daniels School of Business at Purdue University.
Stacy is currently a Senior Buyer at Target Corporation, managing the P&L and assortment curation for Produce Refrigerated Beverages and Snacking. Prior to Target, Stacy spent seven years at General Mills in various roles across finance and brand management.
Stacy graduated from Daniels with a B.S. in management and minors in finance and international business. She later went on to receive her MBA from Carlson School of Business at the University of Minnesota.
Stacy currently resides in Minneapolis with her fiancé.
Julianne currently works for GE Power in the Financial Management Program, a 2 year rotational program that contains four separate six month rotations. She is currently working in her 3rd rotation in product line Financial Planning and Analysis.
Before starting at GE, Julianne graduated from Purdue University in 2020 from Daniels School of Business with degrees in Supply Chain, Information and Analytics as well as Finance. While at Purdue, Julianne was a part of Executive in Residence Ambassadors, Delta Sigma Pi, and President of Beta Gamma Sigma.
Outside of work, Julianne likes to hike, play tennis, and read.
Shannon Hunt is a retail commercial real estate broker with Veritas Reality based in Indianapolis, IN. Shannon represents retailers in the states of Indiana and Kentucky to select sites, negotiate purchase or lease terms, and see the deal process through to completion. Shannon and her firm pride themselves on providing the best service to their clients through their work ethic, integrity, attention to detail, and strong market knowledge.
Prior to her career in Commercial Real Estate, Shannon was in Sales for The Dow Chemical Company based in Chicago, IL. There she trained in Dow’s Commercial Development Program and sold plastic across the country and in Canada.
Shannon graduated from Daniels in 2012 with a BS in Management and concentrations in Marketing and International Business. While at Purdue, she was involved with the School of Management Employers Forum (SMEF) and the Social Chairman for Kappa Alpha Theta. In addition to the Daniels School Alumni Board, Shannon is the Vice President of an Indianapolis based real estate organization called Real Estate Ascending Leaders and is a volunteer with Dress for Success of Indianapolis. Shannon and her husband Scotty also own and operate Indy Over Everything, which is an Indianapolis themed clothing company. In Shannon’s free time, she loves to travel, exercise, cook, and spend time with her husband, family, and friends.
Rose Kelly-Falls is Head of Global Procurement & Supply Chain at Cook Medical. As a procurement and supply chain professional, she has extensive management experience within small divisional start-ups and global corporations, including Zimmer Biomet, Ford Motor Co. and Rolls-Royce North America.
Her areas of expertise are focused on global strategic sourcing, supply chain risk management, supply chain strategic planning, contract management and inventory management. As a thought leader in both procurement and supply chain her work has been featured in multiple industry publications and media outlets.
Ms. Kelly-Falls holds a Master of Science degree in Management from Purdue University's Daniels School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Butler University. She serves as a board member on multiple professional organizations and as well as an active member of the Daniels School Alumni Board.
Bill Klenk has worked for Allison Transmission Inc. in Indianapolis, Indiana for more than 42 years and currently is the executive director of the off highway and hybrid electric business.
Mr. Klenk earned a bachelor's degree in Industrial Management from the Krannert School of Management at Purdue University. He currently serves on several educational and civic organizations.
Shengze (Terrence) Li graduated from the Daniels School of Business in 2016 with an undergraduate degree in accounting and business analytics and information management, and subsequently in 2017 with a master's degree in accounting. He is currently a Technology Risk Manager in the Financial Services Organization (FSO) Assurance of Ernst & Young LLP (“EY”) in Chicago, IL. During his time with the firm, he has worked with various high-performing teams at EY and helped a wide portfolio of clients to identify and manage their key IT risks, in industries such as health insurance, digital assets, manufacturing, REIT, professional services, etc. His projects typically focus on the identification of process and control weaknesses and providing clients with knowledge sharing and project oversight on a variety of IT assurance and consulting engagements, such as service organization control reports, financial statement audits, Sarbanes-Oxley 404 (SOX) Audit, and internal audit & risk consulting. Through those services and projects, Terrence has enhanced his leadership skills, project management skills, and strong work ethic. He desires to continue learning and achieve better performance in a fast-paced, challenging environment.
Terrence is also passionate about delivering on EY's commitment to support the next generation. Through the firm's corporate responsibility efforts, he currently co-leads the local College MAP Program (Mentoring for Access and Persistence) at the EY Chicago office that consists of around 100 participants and mentors underrepresented high school students on
college application and preparation.
While at Purdue, Terrence was part of the Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, School of Business Career Council (SBCC) (formerly known as SMEF), and Alpha Kappa Psi. In his spare time, Terrence enjoys spending time with his cat Conan, going to the movies/musicals/any theatre productions, watching F1 racing with friends, traveling and hiking, and exploring all the fantastic restaurants in Chicago!
Jennifer is the VP of Business Operations at OBXtek, which supports over 40 government contracts. The role provides governance and operational guidance for project onboarding through closeout, oversees compliance with functional area requirements, quality standards, and enterprise process and reporting.
Jennifer has over 20 years of experience in project and program management. Prior to joining OBXtek, she worked at Verizon for 16 years in increasingly senior roles. Jennifer holds a B.S. in Business Management from Purdue University. Additionally, she is a SAFe Agilist 4.0, IC Agile Certified Professional, and Certified Scrum Master.
Jennifer credits being able to keep up with her twin boys to her love of working out. She also loves to craft, cook, bake and travel worldwide.
After 19 years with Sears Holdings Don MacKay retired, last holding the positions of Director of Business Integration and Director of Pricing for the SHC Homes Services group. Don also coordinated the SHC recruiting efforts at Purdue. Don and his wife Anne also served on the Purdue Parents Council for a number of years. Prior to joining SHC Don held a number of positions with Circuit City, Montgomery Ward and Xerox.
Don has a BSIM degree from Daniels with a minor in Industrial Engineering and a MBA from De Paul University with a concentration is Systems Analysis.
Sean Maroney currently serves as Principal/E2E Supply Chain Consultant with Greenlight Consulting, LLC. Most recently he worked as Sr. Director of Continuous Improvement with Treehouse Foods, Inc. headquartered in Oakbrook, IL.
He has held a variety of roles previously in logistics, operations management, and strategy with Fortune 500 consumer goods companies including Coca-Cola and The Clorox Company.
Sean holds a B.S. in engineering from The University of Notre Dame and an M.S. in operations and strategic management from the Mitch Daniels School of Business at Purdue University.
He sits on the Daniels School Alumni Board at Purdue and has been working with Conexus Indiana for a decade in multiple capacities including the Logistics Advisory Council. He resides in Carmel, IN.
Cait McPherson is a Senior Brand Manager - Global Export at Grainger. In this role, she is designing a full funnel omnichannel marketing program to drive acquisition, engagement and conversion. She is also leading the execution of strategic SEM campaigns and analytical modeling to optimize profitability and ROAS. Cait has been working in brand management since the fall of 2015.
Originally from Fort Wayne, Indiana, her entire family and husband are also Purdue graduates. Cait is a proud double Boiler as a BS ’11 and an MBA ’15 alumna. During her undergraduate career, Cait served as co-chair of the Barbara G. Doster Leadership Forum and secretary of the School of Management Council. As a graduate student she was president of the Krannert Graduate Student Association.
Cait loves to support students and alumni in any way she can to pay forward the years of mentorship she has received from the Purdue Boilermakers network.
In her spare time Cait loves to travel, to explore new restaurants in Chicago with her husband, Harry, and to read with her goldendoodle puppy, Mosby, curled up on her lap.
Mary Pat Meade retired from Delphi after 38+ years in the Automotive Component Industry. At the time of her retirement, she was the North American Quality Manager for the Connection Systems Business Unit of Delphi Packard Electrical/Electronic Architecture Division. During her career, Mary Pat held positions in Marketing, Industrial Engineering, Manufacturing, Strategic Planning, and Quality.
She graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mathematics and a Master of Science in Management from the Daniels School of Business.
Mary Pat is now a Director at Alpha Performance Group, a consulting group of experienced business professionals focusing on Revenue Growth, Product Development, Supply Chain Improvement, and Continuous Improvement for their clients.
Mary Pat has addressed numerous student groups at Purdue’s Daniels School as well as undergraduate and graduate classes on topics such as Women in Business, Team Building, and Networking. She has participated as a Team Leader at multiple Doster Leadership Conferences. In 2011, she received the Daniels School Distinguished Service Award.
Michael Monte has 40 years of experience in the financial services industry, primarily in corporate and investment banking.
He currently serves as a Managing Director with East Wind Advisors, an industry-specialized, New York City boutique investment bank. East Wind provides a full range of advisory services primarily to privately held middle market companies: mergers & acquisitions as well as equity and debt capital raising.
Michael is responsible for sourcing, negotiating and closing complex corporate finance transactions. In this capacity, he interacts with owners, board members, CEOs & CFOs, private equity & venture capital firms, and lenders. He holds Series 79 and Series 63 securities licenses.
Prior to joining East Wind, he had a 30-year career primarily in corporate banking and commercial finance. He has worked for money center firms such as Bank of America and JP Morgan, as well as regional banks and one of the nation’s largest commercial finance companies.
Michael Musleh is the Executive Vice President and founder of Stratic Global Sourcing and Consulting, a business unit of Oscar Winski. His firm supports clients in streamlining their supply chain while obtaining value-added advantages worldwide. His clientele includes but is not limited to Jtekt (Toyota/Koyo) company, Sigma Power Train (EV transmissions), Vanair (a Lincoln Electric subsidiary), RTR (a Ford high-end aftermarket up fitter), Hiab (a major EMEA material handling company), and many others.
With a career spanning nearly three decades, Michael has held a variety of Vice President roles in Fortune 100 companies. His experience covers sales, engineering, program management, advanced engineering management, and purchasing (managing up to 750M USD). He has made significant contributions to the automotive, general industrial, chemical, and medical sectors, with key roles at PWC, Douglas Autotech (now Jtekt), Oerlikon (now Dana), Zimmer (now Zimmer Biomet), Ecolab, and Stratic Global Sourcing and Consulting.
Michael's dedication to community service is a cornerstone of his personal and professional life. He has served as a board member and long-term volunteer at the Wabash Center of Lafayette, a leading organization that has been enhancing the quality of life for individuals with disabilities or special needs through innovative services since 1953. He has also served on the Board for Tree Lafayette, which provides education, leadership, and inspiration in planting and caring for trees. Trees benefit individuals, neighborhoods, the community, and the environment. Since its inception, Tree Lafayette has planted over 4,300 trees. Michael has also taken on the role of a community Ministry Leader at Celebrate Recovery, where he has been instrumental in providing support to at-risk individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, he actively volunteers in church missions, the Special Olympics, Food Finders, and other worthy causes.
He and his wife Melissa enjoy their children and extended family and exploring the local eateries, parks, and crafts such as painting, pottery, and hot glass work.
Michael is a proud Boilermaker earning a BS in Industrial Management, minor in Mechanical Engineering, from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business in 1995, a Six Sigma Black Belt in 2017, TPS / TPM certification in 2016.
Katarina is a proud graduate of Purdue University, earning her degree in marketing and a certificate in entrepreneurship and innovation in May 2023. She has embarked on an exciting journey at Eli Lilly and Company, the world's leading pharmaceutical company, where she serves as a marketing associate in the oncology business unit. Her primary focus is contributing to pre-launch brand strategies for a groundbreaking breast cancer treatment.
Born into a family deeply rooted in the Purdue tradition, Katarina's destiny as a Boilermaker was evident from the start. Both of her parents dedicated their careers to business and entrepreneurship at Purdue Northwest, and her sister pursued a degree in medical laboratory sciences.
Katarina was involved in the Purdue Marketing Association (president), Business Ambassador Program, Relay for Life (vice president of marketing), TEDxPurdueU, and an active case competition mentor and participant. Notably, Katarina and her team placed 1st in the National Women’s Case Competition and 1st in the Kelly Daniels Case Competition. Additionally, she received 1st place and $35,000 of funding in the Burton Morgan Startup Pitch Expo. She has been recognized across the university for her servant leadership to students and the community. Katarina was honored with the Outstanding Senior Award, Excellence in Service and Leadership Award, Brock-Wilson Center Servant Leadership Award, and the Undergraduate Student Service Award.
Katarina is passionate about mentoring students and hosting workshops. She currently leads personal workshops across universities on personal branding, networking 101, landing internships, public speaking, and critical thinking.
Annemarie received her MBA with concentrations in OBHR and Marketing in 2015 and since has been working with Trane Technologies. As a member of the Accelerated Development Program, she has rotated through many facets of HR as a generalist and a specialist in the 2.5 year program. Upon graduation from the ADP program she decided as the HR Business Partner for the Digital, Product Management, and Marketing functions and a small manufacturing facility based in Charlotte, NC and then Sr. HR partner for Engineering, IT and Finance. Data an Analytics is a favorite interest area and is in all her roles post ADP graduation where she has become the HR analytics leader for each of the businesses she supported. A passion for people and data fosters her excitement for the future of the HR function.
Whitney Overturf serves as a Regional Sales Manager at WEKA IO. WEKA is architecting a new approach to the enterprise data stack built for the AI era. The WEKA Data Platform sets the standard for AI infrastructure with a cloud and AI-native architecture that can be deployed anywhere, providing seamless data portability across on-premises, cloud, and edge environments. She has been a recognized leader in industry and has strategically grown her business.
Whitney has been in the information technology business for over 18 years working in technical and sales/consultative oriented roles. She is passionate about the State of Indiana and the businesses that are thriving here locally. Prior to her IT career, Whitney started out working in state government for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation under the leadership of three administrations, Governor O’Bannon, Governor Kernan, and Governor Daniels.
Whitney holds a Bachelor of Science degree in economics from the Daniels School of Business with a minor in German. She earned her MBA from Lake Forest Graduate School of Management. Whitney resides in Westfield with Justin and her blended family and is a proud second-generation Boiler!
A native of Lafayette, Augie Pence works as a private equity professional for Centerfield Capital in Indianapolis. His primary responsibilities include leading the evaluation, execution, and monitoring of M&A investments for Centerfield Equity, the firm’s control strategy.
Augie has spent his entire career in middle-market private equity and investment banking. Prior to Centerfield, Augie was an Associate at Prospect Partners in Chicago, a lower middle-market private equity fund focused on leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations. At Prospect, Augie was actively involved in all aspects of the firm’s investment process. Earlier, he was an Analyst in the Chicago office of the Investment Banking Group at Stout where he worked on middle-market mergers and acquisitions.
Augie spends most days chasing his three kids (two daughters and a son) around the house and backyard. A jack of some trades and ace of none, he can be found in his spare time golfing, playing tennis or pickleball, shooting hoops, snow/water skiing, or singing at church. As the 29th person in his family to attend Purdue, Augie will cheer for his Boilers to the grave. He is also an avid Colts, Pacers, and Cubs fan.
Keith Pence is a self-employed consultant and investor.
Pence is a native of Liberty, Missouri. After graduating from Liberty High School he attended Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana graduating with a BS in Industrial Management in 1975. While at Purdue, Keith was active in a number of organizations including the Purdue Marching Band.
He returned to Kansas City and was employed by Hallmark Cards from 1975 to 1981. He received his MBA from Rockhurst University in 1985. Prior to his current activities Pence worked in product development for Faultless Starch/Bon Ami. As an investor he was an active manager with Franklin Associates and Cephas.
Pence has served on numerous civic and charitable boards including The Boys and Girls Clubs of Kansas City (currently active), Children’s TLC, the Wildwood Outdoor Education Center, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art Council of Fellows, TMC Charitable Foundation, past member and treasurer of the board of Kansas City Public Television and past board member of Child Protection Center. Pence served as a member of the Rockhurst Regents; and is currently active on the Kansas University Advancement Board and the Alumni Board of Daniels School of Business at Purdue University.
His personal interests include civic and charitable work, photography and scuba diving.
Pence lives in Leawood, Kansas with his wife, Margi. He has three children.
Christian is a co-founder and CCO of Pollen Technologies, Inc. where he is responsible for business development, fundraising, sales, and strategy. Christian brings 15+ years’ experience of supply chain execution, strategy, and digitalization from project44, Amazon, Grainger with roles of increasing responsibility.
Prior to Pollen, Christian was VP, Digitalization & Sustainability at project44 where he was responsible for research with consortiums and leading global universities and building Scope 3 emissions strategy. His research topics include lead time, sustainable transportation procurement, and supply chain resilience against disruptive events. Prior to joining project44, he spent four years with Amazon in supply chain execution and optimization roles for Amazon Freight, WePay as a Product, and NA Inbound Transportation.
He is a lecturer at DePaul University’s Kellstadt Graduate School of Business and an instructor for the University of Tennessee’s Executive Education for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Christian is Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business 2023 Young Alumni Award winner. He is a member of the Board of Advisors at Morpheus.Network. He was previously VP of CSCMP Chicago Roundtable and involved with the World Economic Forum. He has been quoted in several publications, including Yahoo! Finance, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Inbound Logistics, SupplyChainBrain, and MIT’s Annual State of Supply Chain Sustainability.
Christian earned his bachelor’s from Purdue University where he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.
Pablo Puente is Vice President, Assistant General Counsel at JPMorgan Chase's Chicago office, specializing in fintech partnerships, strategic investments, data, and artificial intelligence as part of the Innovation, Data, Analytics & AI legal team.
Previously, Pablo served as in-house counsel for Citadel and as a finance attorney with Mayer Brown LLP and Sidley Austin LLP. He holds a B.S. in Business from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business and a J.D. from Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law. He joined the board in 2021.
During his undergraduate career, Pablo was part of Delta Sigma Pi, School of Management Employers Forum (SMEF), the Student Organization Grant Allocation Board, and Mortar Board.
Nick graduated from Purdue in May 2021 with a Bachelor of Science degree in supply chain, information and analytics with a concentration in MIS. He also holds a minor in computer information technology. During his time at Purdue, Nick was an active member of the Operations and Supply Chain Organization (OSCO), serving as the treasurer and president.
Nick joined Lilly the summer after his graduation. At Lilly, Nick works in API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) - External Manufacturing as a supply chain analyst. He handles responsibilities such as demand planning, forecasting, purchase order issuance, invoicing, and logistics for all of Lilly’s external contract manufactures.
Outside of work, Nick enjoys golfing and cooking! Fun fact about Nick… he met his current partner during Boiler Gold Rush his freshman year and they’ve been together ever since! She is currently studying for her DVM at Purdue’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Nick comes back to campus quite often to visit, so there’s a good chance you may see him!
Terald Shaw currently operates a financial services practice as an advisor with Thrivent. Terald’s practice focuses on developing a tailored plan, customized to his client, that provides clarity and helps them efficiently achieve their goals. His practice strives to help benefit the community by finding a balance in holistic dedicated planning services, biblical views, and generosity. Terald’s primary office location is in Windermere, FL, where he resides with his wife and two sons.
He is passionate about his family, community and Purdue University. He is an active lifetime member of the Purdue Alumni Association, John Purdue Club Legend donor, and President’s Council member. He enjoys staying active attending sporting events, playing pickleball, basketball, golf, and coaching youth sports.
Terald enjoys spends time working closely with student organizations in the Daniels School of Business while serving on the Alumni Board. He also serves on the Central Florida: Dr Phillips YMCA advisory board and Windermere Little League Board. Terald’s current student engagement in the Daniels School involves working with the Financial Management Association club and Business Opportunity Program.
Terald received his undergrad degree from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business in May 2006.
Mary Slater currently serves as the Business Excellence Manager for Shell TechWorks– an innovation and technology development group within Shell. Leveraging her experiences in multiple Shell businesses, creative problem solving, analytical skills, and team leadership skills, she is responsible for all operations including physical operations, contracting and procurement, and financial reporting as well as supporting innovation project delivery and organizational strategy development.
Mary excels in developing and applying business efficiency tools across commercial and supply chain areas. She is a skilled project and team leader with experience leading breakthrough projects. She has led projects ranging from creating strategic roadmaps for Shell businesses to revolutionizing the way small bulk packaging is handled within the lubricants industry to identifying opportunities for significant business improvement through commercial partner development and adjustments.
Her previous assignments within Shell span Shell Strategy, Chemicals and Lubricants businesses in a variety of roles including strategy consulting, sales, business analytics, supply chain and project management. She has been able to bring new perspectives through her roles at Shell by partnering strong understanding of the local and global markets, business unit and commercial marketplace with technical skills like business analytics, end-to-end management, and process improvement.
In addition to other duties, Mary has responsibilities for leading the campus recruiting effort at Purdue University for Shell. This involvement has allowed her to stay connected with students and faculty while also helping support the business units in identifying and overcoming some of the challenges with bringing the next generation of graduates into the workforce.
Outside of work, she relaxes by playing and coaching soccer. Additionally, she enjoys reading and participating in distance running events as she attempts to complete a half-marathon in each of the 50 states. She currently serves as the President of Daniels School Alumni Association board and has previously served as an advisory board member for Purdue’s College of Health and Human Sciences and the President of the Purdue Club of Houston. She’s also actively involved with Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo as part of the Wine Garden Extended Leadership Team.
She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Management with concentrations in Finance and Marketing and an MBA with concentrations in Marketing, Operations, and Strategy, both from Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business.
Jeff Solak is a Vice President and Private Banking Advisor at Northern Trust. In this role, he is responsible for providing comprehensive wealth management solutions to high net worth individuals, families, and privately-held businesses. His client-centered approach guides investors through a broad range of investment, wealth structuring, and specialized credit and banking services.
Before joining Northern Trust in 2018, he was Vice President and Private Client Advisor with U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. He brings broad professional expertise in the financial services industry, crafting complex wealth management solutions to meet the needs of high-net-worth individuals, corporate executives, private business owners, entrepreneurs and wealthy families.
Jeff graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana – Champaign with a Master's in Business Administration degree in 2016, and he received a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management from Purdue University in 2005.
He is the President of the Purdue Alumni Club of Chicago and a proud member of the Illinois Alumni Association.
Dave Stowe is the founding partner at Adventus Consulting. His firm works with clients to develop procurement operating models, analyze supply costs and sourcing options and evaluate and implement sourcing and procurement digital tools.
With over 25 years of experience, Dave has had both industry leadership and consulting roles. Prior to Adventus, Dave led the sourcing and procurement teams at Horizon Therapeutics and Purdue Pharma where he transformed them to be more agile and responsive to business goals. His consulting experience includes senior roles at PwC and Oliver Wyman where he led sourcing and operational engagements for private, public and private equity midsized clients.
In addition to serving on the Daniels School Alumni Board, Dave is also a board member with St. Catherine Academy School for students and adults with special needs and the St. Vincent de Paul Food Bank of the Valley. He and his wife live in Shelton, Connecticut and in their free time spend time with their kids at ice rinks, swimming pools and local mountain ranges.
Dave earned his MBA and an MS in industrial engineering from the University of Michigan and a BS in industrial management from Purdue University’s Daniels School of Business in 1989.
Jyotika, also known as Joy, currently works at Accenture in New York City as a senior manager. She graduated from the Daniels School of Business with a B.S. in management and marketing in December 2015 (with the Entrepreneurship Certificate). While attending the Business School, Joy was very involved in extracurricular activities where she held leadership positions in Alpha Kappa Psi and TedXPurdueU. She also worked for Melissa Evens, and with her guidance was able to create the Stamina Case Competition, Krannert Research Symposium, and help set up the Krannert Leadership Communication Studio.
While at Purdue, Joy completed internships with OTIS Elevator and GEICO. However, she ultimately joined Accenture after graduating. She is currently the governance lead for a complex infrastructure transformation program. She is also the North America People lead for the cloud infrastructure engineering practice. She has had the privilege to travel domestically and abroad for her projects and is excited to continue her life in the skies.
Accenture solves our clients' toughest challenges by providing unmatched services in strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations. We partner with more than three-quarters of the Fortune Global 500, driving innovation to improve the way the world works and lives. With expertise across more than 40 industries and all business functions, we deliver transformational outcomes for a demanding new digital world.
