Honoring & Celebrating CMU Alumni

HONORING & CELEBRATING CMU ALUMNI

Central Michigan University alumni span the globe, leading within their organizations and in their communities. The College of Business Administration annually recognizes some of these successful professionals — who proudly showcase their maroon and gold pride in everything that they do — through induction into the CBA Hall of Fame and the CBA Alumni Awards.

Meet the 2022 inductees, who were honored at a celebration on campus in April 2023.

KEITH GOODWIN ’74, Hall of Fame Inductee

The CBA Hall of Fame is the highest honor awarded by the college to its exemplary alumni. Inductees have distinguished themselves as transformational leaders in their organizations and in their communities.

Keith Goodwin serving as the 2013 Executive-in-Residence
for the College of Business Administration.

Inductee Keith Goodwin retired from Cisco Systems in 2013 as senior vice president of the firm’s Worldwide Partner Organization. In this role he led a team responsible for supporting Cisco’s global business with more than 60,000 partners, representing the company’s primary route to market. This global community included systems integrators, value-added resellers, distributors, and technology partners, accounting for more than 80% of Cisco’s revenue.

Goodwin joined Cisco in 1999 as vice president of operations for the Worldwide Field Group before becoming president of Cisco’s Americas International Theater, encompassing Canada, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America. Under his leadership, revenues increased more than 50% during his last two years in these regions.

Before his tenure at Cisco, Goodwin spent 21 years at Hewlett-Packard. In his last role with HP, he served as vice president and general manager of the Worldwide Enterprise Accounts organization. He led a team of 8,000 people in direct and channel sales, technical support, and partner relationships for HP’s computer systems business.

Goodwin was recognized by his peers with several industry awards, including one of the “Top 12 Channel Execs” by eWeek Channel Insider in 2008 and the “Channel Executive of the Year” in 2009 by Everything Channel. He also was named “Technology Executive of the Year” in 2005 by the Latin Trade business publication.

The impact and importance of Goodwin’s service to his community and alma mater is as impressive as his professional achievements. He is currently serving in his sixth year as Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the Salvation Army of Silicon Valley as the organization primarily focuses on supporting the homeless population in the region. He also served on the Board of Directors for Presidio Inc. for three years beginning in 2012.

A proud graduate of CMU’s College of Business Administration, Goodwin served as the college’s first visiting Executive-in-Residence, delivered the university’s commencement address, and has consistently participated in Dialogue Days and the New Venture Challenge. He also served on the college’s Executive Roundtable for a decade, including five years as chair. Goodwin also earned an MBA from Wayne State and completed the University of Michigan’s Executive Leadership Program.

DAVE & PENNY QUELLER ’91, Alumni Commitment Award

Dave and Penny Queller graduated from Central Michigan University in 1991 and both embarked on remarkable business careers. Dave earned a degree in finance and political science while Penny majored in marketing and management. While at CMU, Dave and Penny were actively involved in Alpha Kappa Psi, a professional business fraternity, and are still passionate about supporting the college’s chapter.

Penny recently served as the chief customer officer for Impellam Group and as an advisor to the CEO of the Mom Project. Early in her career, Penny became an area vice president for Adecco Staffing in less than seven years before moving on to Spherion, eventually earning the role of vice president-group executive in business development in 2008. Prior to her current role at Impellam, Penny was senior vice president Americas at Alexander Mann Solutions and executive vice president with Randstad.

Early in his career, Dave worked as sales director for Prudential Healthcare before moving on to Aetna in 1999. In over a decade with Aetna, he served in several leadership roles, culminating in the role of president of national accounts in 2013. In his most recent role, Dave served as president of Express Scripts. When Cigna acquired Express Scripts in 2018, Dave’s responsibilities grew to include oversight of pharmacy benefit of manager services for over 3,000 clients and 75 million customer relationships.

Dave and Penny have spent considerable time actively supporting the College of Business Administration and CMU. Penny currently serves as chair of the college’s Executive Roundtable and Dave has spent more than a year co-leading the Fired Up Task Force alongside faculty member Nick Hussein. The task force is comprised of students that have been working with CMU Admissions to experiment with targeted and customized recruiting and yield activities.

Dave and Penny also have served as trusted advisors during the development and launch of the HUB in 2022, the college’s Office of Student Engagement and Professional Development. With their time, financial support, and passion for student development, the college was able to recently establish the Dave and Penny Queller Scholars Program, a one-year leadership and professional development program for First Generation students majoring in business.

LESLIE VICKREY ’94, Distinguished Alumni Award

Leslie Vickrey graduated from CMU in 1994 with a journalism major. She began her career with McDonald’s Corporation before eventually finding a niche in technology and talent in 1998 as the head of marketing for Spherion’s technology division.

Seeing a need for business-minded marketing solutions that were as agile as the industries they served, Vickrey founded ClearEdge Marketing in 2006. ClearEdge has helped technology software, professional services and staffing clients differentiate themselves from competitors through services like branding, messaging, PR and digital marketing. As the CEO and founder, Vickrey leads a team of over 50 marketing professionals who have worked with hundreds of firms in the U.S. and Europe — from startups to Fortune 500. ClearEdge has been recognized five times as a BMA Tower Award Winner.

Vickrey is a co-founder of ARA — Attracting, Retaining, and Advancing Women in Technology — a national organization that has connected with over 6,000 professionals. Vickrey also hosts TheEdge podcast, shining light on remarkable women leaders (and their allies) transforming the makeup and momentum of the talent and technology industries. She recently published the book “Together We Rise,” a compilation of personal stories that exemplify the power of women empowering each other.

Vickrey has served for over seven years on the Board of Advisors for Chicago Innovation and participates as a judge for the Chicago Innovation Awards. She also serves as the senior executive subcommittee chair for the American Staffing Association’s Women in Leadership Council and as a member of the Executive Roundtable in CMU’s College of Business Administration.

In 2015, Vickrey was inducted into the UIC Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and in 2016 was named to the Enterprising Women of the Year list by Enterprise Women Magazine. In 2022, she was named one of the inaugural Innovating Women in Chicago honorees.

SAM BODMAN ’19, Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Sam Bodman is an Investor Relations Associate at Garda Capital Partners, a global hedge fund specializing in fixed income relative value strategies headquartered in Wayzata, Minnesota. Prior to his current role, Sam was a trading assistant at Garda, and spent last summer in Geneva, Switzerland, training his colleagues on portfolio management systems. He also interned as a summer analyst for Garda in 2019.

Bodman graduated magna cum laude from CMU in December 2019 with majors in finance and mathematics. During his time at CMU, he was investment chair of the Central Finance Club, founded the Wall Street Journal Club, and led a 20-hour investment challenge in the Voigtman Financial Lab. He was also a mock interviewer for the Career Development Center and played intramural soccer.

Bodman continues to support the college as a speaker at the Wall Street Journal Club and as a mentor and resource to current finance students.