UNC Kenan-Flagler Alumni Council

I hope that this edition of UNC Business finds you doing well in the New Year.  It is my sincere hope that we can incorporate 2009’s learning derived from a year of challenge and change and yield a 2010 full of success, growth and prosperity!

Thank you to those who contributed to the Kenan-Flagler community of leadership knowledge over this past fall.  Your input coupled with the work of a core group of MBA Dean’s Fellows, has been a driving force behind the development of Career Specific Leadership Disciplinary Summary which is now being incorporated into the Leadership curriculum.

During our October 2009 Council meeting, we focused on three key discussion topics: Social Media Strategy, Globalization and Research Impact of Kenan-Flagler Faculty:

Social Media - Kenan-Flagler was an early adopter/participant of many mainstream social media sites – leading peer institutions in both presence and membership.  Be sure to join us on LinkedIn (approaching 5,000 members), Facebook, and Twitter where you can not only remain in touch with what is happening with the business school, but also follow Jim Dean real-time as he continues to drive our school’s mission and success both domestically and abroad.

Globalization - The main emphasis of the Globalization discussion was to further define our direction in developing corporate relationships in targeted countries (the Kenan-Flagler International Alumni Council has been focused on determining “where to play” via their Key Countries Global Reputation project).  We aim to work with companies to achieve a “win-win”, namely that we assist them to solve problems that exist within their industries or within their own company – leveraging the expertise of our students and our faculty and their research.  In other words, we aim to be a true “business partner” – creating a significant value proposition.  I look forward to sharing the outcome of this work with the broader community soon. 

Faculty Research Impact - Jay Swaminathan, Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, moderated this discussion with the aim to identify “real-world” business problems that can be shared with our faculty to help direct efforts toward making scholarly research more accessible to the entire business community.  Currently, Kenan-Flagler is preparing to launch a magazine where articles from current faculty research are being converted into content that can be shared in a “mini” Boston-based peer institution review fashion.  Also, the “Cutting Edge” series, where 6 key faculty members will conduct seminars for current MBA students to discuss the impact of their research on business, just launched in October.  The pilot session entitled “Successful Marketing Strategies Across the Business Cycle – Contrasting What Managers Do vs. What They Should Do.”  conducted by Prof. Jan-Benedict (JB) Steenkamp, chair of Marketing, incorporated a webcast component involving the alumni Council membership.  We plan to roll future webcasts out to the general alumni audience this spring.

At the conclusion of our meeting, we introduced the names of six new alumni who were just selected and approved to serve a three year term as members of the Alumni Council: 

• Nathan Andrews, BSBA 1993, MAC 1993 (Raleigh)
• Hobson Hogan, MBA 2001 (Raleigh)
• Reed Loughrey, AB Econ 1998, MBA 2004 (Chapel Hill)
• Battle Moore, MBA 2001 (Charlotte)
• Allison Phillips, MBA 2005 (Washington D.C.)
• Courtney Rowell, EMBA 2005 (San Diego)

Once again, I would be remiss not to mention all of the career services that are available to you.  Whatever your need, for more information, visit the “Jobs and Career” section on the website at http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/alumniCareer/index.cfm.

Please continue to stay connected and thank you for your support.  You, the alumni, are our best brand ambassadors – driving our reputation across the globe, we depend on you to succeed. 

Bill Warren
Chair Alumni Council 2009-2010

UNC Kenan-Flagler Alumni Council Members:

View a Photo of Your Alumni Council

Beth Alley (MBA ’00) — Raleigh, N.C.
Nathan Andrews (BSBA ’93, MAC ’93) — Chapel Hill, N.C.
Christine Benedetti (BSBA ’03) — San Francisco, Ca.
Yolanda Brown (MBA ’05) — Durham, N.C.
Kevin Clark (BSBA ’99) — Chicago, Il.
Maheen Cleaver (MBA ’04) — Chicago, Il.
Jan Davis (AB ’73, MBA ’79) — Wilmette, Il.
Banks Edwards (MAC ’90) — New York, N.Y.
Cesar Elizondo (MBA ’00) — Key Biscayne, Fl.
Amy Farley (MBA ’86) — Chapel Hill, N.C.
J.J. Froehlich (MBA ’03) — Durham, N.C.
Hobson Hogan (MBA ’01) — Chapel Hill, N.C.
Keith Hoverstad (Exec. MBA ’02) — Raleigh, N.C.
Steve Kass (MBA ’86) — New York, N.Y.
Chris Keber (Exec. MBA ’02) — New York, N.Y.
Reed Loughrey (AB ’98, MBA ’04) — Chapel Hill, N.C.
Shermon McMillan (BSBA ’99, MBA ’05) — Dover, N.J.
Battle Moore (MBA ’01) — Charlotte, N.C.
Allison Phillips (MBA ’05) — Washington, D.C.
Janet Ramsey (BSBA ’79, MBA ’83), Chair — Durham, N.C.
Courtney Rowell (Exec. MBA ’05) — San Diego, Ca.
Mark Scullion (Exec. MBA ’07) — Durham, N.C.
Jeff Tucker (MBA ’00) — Dallas, Tx.
Bill Warren (BSBA ’99) — Charlotte, N.C.
Steve Wolf (MBA ’00) — Richmond, Va.

To view photos of the Alumni Council’s last meeting, please visit Kenan-Flagler’s Flickr site.

Previous Alumni Council Articles:

Alumni Council Meeting – May 2009
Alumni Council Meeting – November 2008
Alumni Council Meeting – May 2008
Alumni Council Meeting – October 2007
Alumni Council Meeting – May 2007
Alumni Council Inaugural Meeting – November 2006
UNC Kenan-Flagler Alumni Council Announced