In other news: April 2024

Giving spirit

Record-breaking numbers are only part of the story.

During GiveUNC on March 26, the University received 9,960 gifts totaling $8,586,254. The UNC Kenan-Flagler community led campus with a generous $1.5 million from 1,079 gifts.

The spirit of the Business School community shined brightest throughout the inaugural UNC Kenan-Flagler Spirit Week, held in conjunction with GiveUNC. Hundreds of students, staff, faculty and alumni connected with the School through everything from virtual roundtables to events held by regional alumni chapters. During the week, over 80 students were paired with alumni for flash mentorship sessions.

Dedicated staff and faculty were honored by colleagues. Alumni reached out to classmates during the week just to catch up. The UNC Wood Center for Real Estate Studies celebrated Professor David Hartzell and Associate Director of Undergraduate Programming Lynn Tocci through reflections from current students and alumni. Students such as Jesus Fernandez (MBA ’25) recognized mentors like Paul Howanitz (MBA ’15) and made gifts in their names. “Here’s to all the special mentors and sponsors challenging us to be the best versions of ourselves every day!” Fernandez wrote on LinkedIn.

During Spirit Week and every week, this is UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Thought leaders

• A business of health minor launching in January 2025, open to undergraduate non-business majors and providing an additional area of emphasis for business majors, will focus on pressing business challenges in healthcare and offer an overview of U.S. healthcare policy. The minor is a collaborative effort between the Business School, the UNC Gillings School of Global Health, UNC’s Department of Economics and Department of Philosophy, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Carolina Health Informatics Program.“The real innovation in the minor is the ability to bring together a diverse set of students with varied experiences to learn together,” says Zoey Kernodle, director of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Center for the Business of Health. “Business leaders, clinicians, pharmacists, public health leaders, engineers, ethicists — you name it, they all need to be able to work together and see the bigger picture.”
• UNC Kenan-Flagler Energy Center Director and Professor Stephen Arbogast hosted two panels at the UNC Cleantech Summit. The summit, organized by the Ackerman Center for Environmental Stability and the UNC Institute for the Environment, included discussions on sustainability at the center of business transformation and forms of innovative energy use.
• Professor Jan-Benedict Steenkamp talked with 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about his new book “Warrior, Queen, Scientist, Activist: Gritty Women Who Bent the Arc of History.”
• The Fulbright Humphrey Enhancement Workshop, co-directed by Professor Daniel Ringel, brought together professionals from 24 countries to learn about generative artificial intelligence (AI). “By empowering Humphrey Fellows with the knowledge of generative AI, we’re sending a powerful message from Carolina,” said Ringel. “We’re proving that generative AI impacts everyone, and together, we can harness it to build a better world for the people, by the people.

Standout students and alumni

• The Business School was well-represented on Charlotte Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Awards class of 2024. Honorees included Zachary Huneycutt (BSBA ’06), chief investment officer at Strathmore Capital Advisors; Faisal Lakhany (BSBA ’11), executive director of healthcare investment banking at Wells Fargo; Ben Lassiter (BSBA ’07, MAC ’08), director of business development and operations at Carolina Legal Staffing; and David Nelson (MBA ’25), head of premium partnerships sales and services with Tepper Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the Carolina Panthers.
• Brian McCarthy (MBA ’14) was named national hydrogen market lead for WSP, an engineering, environment and professional services consultancy firm.
• Christopher Apolito (MBA ’05) was named chief strategy officer for Mercalis, a life sciences industry commercialization partner.
• Britt Snider (MBA ’04) was appointed executive vice president and COO for COPT Defense Properties. Snider was most recently a principal at real estate developer Redbrick.

Matt Kalavsky (BSBA ’01). Courtesy of Disney

• Matt Kalavsky (BSBA ’01) was promoted to senior vice president and general sales manager of domestic theatrical distribution for Disney Entertainment, overseeing releases from all of Disney’s film labels, including Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm. Kalavsky first joined Walt Disney Studios as a sales representative in 2001.
• Sasha Surkin (BSBA ’25) won second place in the annual ACC InVenture Prize competition for her startup WeyeZE, a self-correcting glasses kit designed to make vision care more accessible. Surkin won $10,000 for her pitch. The competition aired live on East Coast PBS stations.
• Dalia Namak (MBA ’25) and Sonum Tharwani (MD/MBA ’25) were among 29 graduate students across the state, including 10 from UNC, honored with a 2024-2025 North Carolina Albert Schweitzer Fellowship. The organization supports students committed to addressing the world’s most pressing health needs. Namak and Tharwani will work on the launch of a free clinic at UNC Nash Cardiology.
• Natasha Austin (BSBA ’02), COO of Dogwood State Bank, was honored with a 2024 Women in Business Award from the Triangle Business Journal.
• Michael J. Sparks (MBA ’21) was named executive vice president and CFO at SSR Mining.
• Edwin Beale (MBA ’07) was appointed CCO of Cellipont Bioservices, a cell therapy development and manufacturing company.
• Meredith Weiss (MAC ’22) was named interim vice president for finance and CFO at Virginia Commonwealth University.
• David Cary (MBA ’05) was named deputy head of property treaty for Brit Insurance’s Bermuda operations.
• As director of energy storage development for Duke Energy, Laurel Meeks (MBA ’19) is shaping the future of renewable energy in North Carolina.
• Raven Heyward (BSBA ’26) talked with Luther Hodges Scholars Executive Director Kim Allen for Heyward’s podcast DiversifyHER.

Spotted on social

• Crystal Reed, associate director of MAC admissions, celebrated the inaugural Business of Being First event that focused on supporting first-generation students navigating college and the professional world, an idea she had about a year ago. The event included a panel discussion with Ivan Lujan (MAC ’05), Urantuya Purev-Ochir (MBA ’25) and Nora Elsayed (BSBA ’25). “As a first-gen myself, I recalled the challenges of navigating college and graduate school without familial guidance,” Reed shared. “Recognizing the importance of a supportive community, I envisioned creating a platform for resource-sharing and support.”
• Jack Healy (MBA ’24) marked nearly wrapping up his MBA journey by celebrating “an exciting chapter unfolding in Warsaw,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “I find myself, yet again, immensely grateful to UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School for the opportunity to broaden my horizons through studying abroad. My MBA journey will culminate with this incredible experience in Poland, and I can’t think of a better way to wrap up my MBA.”
  

  Mary Esposito (BSBA ’26) at the White House with Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona

• Mary Esposito (BSBA ’26) shared her experience of being invited to the White House to discuss the U.S. student loan debt crisis and meet Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
• A group of MBA students led by Climate Interactive Executive Director Andrew Jones participated in a world climate simulation, talking on roles of “national delegates” to propose actions taken to address global climate change. “This was one of the most engaging learning opportunities I’ve had at the Business School,” Hrushi Surendranath (MBA ’24) shared on LinkedIn. “An invaluable and thought-provoking experience!”
• Gemelli Biotech CEO Matt Mitcho (MBA ’06) reflected on returning to his alma mater to teach a course on healthcare entrepreneurship and strategic value creation after working closely with the Carolina Angel Network during his company’s early financing phase.
• Jared Molton (MBA ’15) reflected on his 10-year journey going from full-time magician to joining Udacity as its vice president of consumer, including advice for those seeking tech jobs and what he learned through the Full-Time MBA Program.
• Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers shared behind-the-scenes photos from the under-construction Steven D. Bell Hall.