Harbert Magazine -- Fall 2014 by Auburn University Harbert College of Business

HarbertMagazine Alumni Magazine, Fall 2014

FLYING TOWARD THE

FUTURE In this issue Masterful Orchestration A Simple Glass of Water High-Frequency Trading

How Big is Big Data? Efficiency through Frequency Telemedicine

Just because you can... Remember the Greek myth of father and son, Daedalus and Icarus? They’re imprisoned on an island in a tower surrounded by a labyrinth. Daedalus, master inventor, studies the birds and builds a set of wings out of wood and string and feathers and wax. As he and Icarus take flight, Daedalus warns the boy not to fly too low or too high. Sophrosyne, he urges. Moderation, balance, a middle way. Too low and the moisture from the sea will weigh your wings down. Too high and the heat from the sun will melt the wax. But human nature takes over, and Icarus, carried away by the power of flight, pushes the edge, soars too high. The wax melts . . . and it’s a long way down.

Unprecedented technology, unfortunate consequences. But, history tells us, not unusual. Competition in the marketplace compels us to find more effective ways to do business. New ideas, new technologies can make markets run more efficiently and provide the competitive edge that makes money. But it seems that any new technology and its attendant new business model bring, in almost equal measure, the potential for advantage and the possibility of abuse. A couple of professors at MIT, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee, suggest that we are entering a “second machine age.” In fact, that’s the title of their

book. They suggest that this second age, like the one before it, will produce tremendous benefits, but they warn those benefits won’t come trouble-free. You’ll hear it said, “It’s not the technology. The technology is just a tool. It’s how the tool is used.” True enough. So how do we use it? So a broker gets information about a company in advance of the general public. Is trading on that knowledge an unfair advantage, or just a quicker, more efficient movement of information into the marketplace?

Through an app, a company mines all the data on your phone and every device that phone is synced to. Then the company spins your social media to manipulate your buying habits. Invasion of privacy, market manipulation, or more efficient way to predict and manage customer demand? The obstacle to true economic progress—that rising tide that floats all boats—is our ability to balance the full range of possibilities and problems that new technologies and new business models create.

How do we take wing with new ideas, but avoid flying too close to the sun?

HarbertMagazine Credits Director, HCOB Communications & Marketing Troy Johnson

Editor, HCOB Communications & Marketing Joe McAdory

Design/Production

Show off your school spirit! Check out the apparel and gift items offered in the Harbert College of Business e-Store. Browse our assortment of t-shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, and caps, as well as coffee mugs, drink tumblers, USB drives, and luggage tags stamped with the AU logo and Harbert College of Business name. Visit us online at the Auburn University Marketplace: https://tpg.auburn.edu/ustores/web/ (select Harbert e-Store from the left-hand menu), or visit us in person at 23 Lowder Hall.

HarbertMagazine

WHAT’S INSIDE

FEATURES 19

Jason Adams Josh Carnley Jenni Hunt Tiffany Smith

DA A

Contributors John DiJulio Jim Earnhardt Bruce Kuerten Tiffany Smith

Wendy Perry

High-Frequency Trading

Big Data

Telemedicine

Bill Hardgrave

Masterful Orchestration Auburn University Raymond J. Harbert College of Business Office of Communications 023 Lowder Hall Auburn, AL 36849 (334) 844-8847

How Fast is a Flash?

What’s the Big Deal?

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MANNEQUIN (MALE) JUNE 2, 2004

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Masters of Business Administration:

LSU (10/4/14). Mainly MBA Students, faculty, staff, MBA Alumni. Lowder Lawn

HCOB Shareholder Tailgates:

For Shareholders of the HCOB Dates are: LSU (10/4/14), South Carolina (10/25/14), Texas A&M (11/08/14). Lowder Lawn AWAY at Georgia (11/15/14)

RFID

Efficiency through Frequency

MORE GOOD STUFF

The New House Call

Dean’s Last Word

Letters

International

36 Research

What You’re Up To

How We Think

38 With Your Dollar

What We’re Up To

20 Technology

42 Alumni News

HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 5

LETTERS Here’s where we publish your letters—where you have the space to comment or critique, reflect or rant. If you’ve got something to say about business, business education, the college or the magazine, let us hear from you. E-mail us at cobletters@auburn.edu.

Survey Says . . . More than 300 of you were kind enough to respond to our most recent magazine readership survey. We’re thankful for the feedback. We were pleased to learn we’re reaching all generations of alumni, and that many of you are social media butterflies.

New features to consider

What’s in a name?

Love the HCOB alumni magazine. A few things I like:

Several of our graduates and friends wrote to express their disappointment in our decision to change the name of our alumni publication from the Shareholder to Harbert Magazine.

• Enjoy keeping up with the family and seeing how our alumni are making great impact in life and business.

A word of thanks

• Great concise articles that keep my attention and encourage me to read the whole magazine.

Thank you for providing this website (harbertmagazine.com) that makes it so easy to keep in touch with the Harbert College of Business. I’ve just received my copy of the Harbert Magazine and it is really terrific—so many good and informative articles! I also enjoyed the alum section and in there found a long-lost friend, Jim Tanquary. I knew Jim while attending a junior college in Georgia and later when we were both at Auburn.

• Even though it’s an HCOB specific magazine, it still embodies the Auburn Spirit.

My son, daughter, and son-in-law and daughter-in-law are employed by Auburn University so I am on campus from time to time. I plan to come by the Harbert College of Business on my next trip to Auburn to personally thank you for including the old grads of the Business School at API in your alumni group.

R. Harry Dale ’54 We are proud to count you—and other alumni who earned business degrees before there was a College of Business—as members of our family. And we are especially happy to hear that you were able to reconnect with a friend through our magazine. We hope we can help other long-lost friends do the same. —Ed.

Attention-getting I must admit that I rarely if ever spent much time reading the alumni magazine. I’m not sure what grabbed me with the new Harbert Magazine, but job well-done. I have read it cover-to-cover.

I was trying to think of suggestions to make the magazine better. Here’s my two cents: •

In the Alumni News section under each decade, could you put subsections underneath by region? I’m living in California and it would be cool to be able to have a quick glance at the alumni from the West, Northeast, etc. from each decade.

•

Maybe add some social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) accounts of Auburn Clubs in different areas to promote networking. I was surprised by how many alumni aren’t aware of some of the large networking groups we have outside of Atlanta in big cities like NYC, L.A., Chicago, etc. It would give more of our HCOB alumni chances to get involved!

Love the magazine. And as always, “It’s GREAT...to be...an AUBURN TIGER!” War Eagle!

Jeremiah James ’12 Thank you for the great feedback. Take a look at the Alumni News section. We’ve tried to incorporate some of your ideas. We’re also pleased to share details about the college’s new Young Alumni regional network groups. Please contact us at cobletters@auburn.edu if you know of anyone who might be interested in leading a chapter in a region we haven’t yet covered. —Ed.

“Don’t use Harbert so much,” one wrote. “Sounds like a corporate publication,” wrote another. We appreciate your passion for Auburn University and our college. We have continued to honor the legacy of the Shareholder by using it as the masthead of the college’s new annual report—a publication that will chart our progress in fulfilling our mission and vision. Regarding the prominence of the Harbert College name, we are proud of our status as one of Auburn University’s two named colleges—the other being our neighbor, the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. There may be more in the not-too-distant future. Our publications will continue to carry the familiar interlocking AU logo and Auburn University identifiers, but most of the nation’s top colleges of business (Chicago Booth, UNC’s Kenan-Flagler, Penn’s Wharton, etc.) carry the names of their primary benefactors. Among the 14 Southeastern Conference member universities, 11 colleges of business are named for donors. We are grateful for the opportunities that Mr. Harbert’s gift—and the generosity of so many others—will create for our students and faculty. We believe we have honored a transformational gift in an appropriate manner. —Ed.

AGE OF READERS 19–25 26–34 35–44 45–54 55–64 65+

Facebook – 83% LinkedIn – 79% Twitter – 47% Instagram – 32% GooglePlus – 22% Pinterest – 18% Tumblr – 5% Flickr – 4%

Bob Moore ’87 Thank you, Bob. We’re going to do our best to hold your attention in future issues. —Ed.

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6% 17% 17% 22% 21% 17%

To send us your feedback or to get involved with the Harbert College of Business visit us at harbert.auburn.edu or e-mail cobletters@auburn.edu

WHAT YOU’RE UP TO

WHAT WE’RE UP TO Stay in touch!

Shoot us a photo. Drop a line. Jot a note. Draw us a picture. Put the message in the bottle and let us know what you’re doing. Here are a few of the things we’ve heard:

Let us know wh at you’re up to and keep up-to-date at h arbert.auburn.e du/news and with harbertm agazine.com.

On our side of the world, Harbert College of Business faculty and students are shakin’ it up.

US Army Gen. Scarparrotti, left, promotes Lt. Col. Richard Hoerner (’96), to the rank of colonel during a promotion ceremony at the Pentagon in March 2014, as his wife, Debbie, watches. Col. Hoerner’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Ranger Tab, Combat Infantryman Badge, Pathfinder Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge with Bronze Combat Jump Star.

Josh Patton (‘09), in the green polo shirt, celebrates the opening of his Chicken Salad Chick franchise in Chattanooga last April. Founded in the Auburn kitchen of university alumna Stacy Brown in 2008, Chicken Salad Chick has taken the region by storm with 85 franchises sold in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina. The fast-casual chain plans to expand nationally in the coming years.

Harbert College faculty and staff and other special guests sampled the goods at the grand opening of the new Starbucks located on the ground floor of Lowder Hall. The 3,000-square foot facility can accommodate 100 customers at a time and will be open on weekends as well as football gamedays.

Dr. Simran Singh, who earned her Physicians Executive MBA in May, challenged her PEMBA classmates to leave a lasting impression through a class gift. They raised $100,550, which effectively became $201,100 through 1982 alumnus Raymond J. Harbert’s offer to match endowment contributions. The gift will help create a speaker series and leadership workshop devoted to healthcare, innovation and business.

Joseph Guthrie, who earned a master of accountancy degree from Harbert in 2013, became the first Auburn graduate—and one of 55 nationally—to win the prestigious Elijah Watts Sells Award. Guthrie, a CPA at Cherry-Baekert, LLP in Atlanta, earned the honor by scoring a 97 on each of the four sections (REG, FAR, BEC, and AUD) of the CPA exam. His score was among the top .06 percent of the 94,154 individuals who sat for the exam.

Johnathan McConnell, who earned a degree from Harbert College in

C.J. and Xavier Uzomah (left to right) were a son/father Harbert College of Business tandem in 2013–14. C.J. is a tight end on the football team and a senior in marketing. Xavier, an Atlanta executive, graduated from the college’s Executive MBA program in May.

New Auburn men’s basketball head coach Bruce Pearl addressed Harbert College MBA and Physicians MBA students in a forum on August 15, giving lessons on management and leadership. Pearl, a two-time SEC Coach of the Year who has 462 career wins, told the nearly 100 students to “set the bar high for yourself,” and “work on your strengths.”

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2004, has founded Meridian Global Consulting—one of the first maritime security firms in the world. The company helps secure cargo ships from pirate attacks. McConnell recently visited with Harbert students, telling them, “Distinguish yourself. Never stop learning. Think of the next innovative thing and go with it. Learn to adapt on the fly and change.”

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MISSION IN ACTION

Explore. Expand. Elevate.

Sweet, Sweet Engagement

The Harbert College of Business offers a number of programs—on-campus and distance, from certificate to PhD—that are proven to add significant value to an undergraduate degree. Not only have these programs been proven to enhance the earning capability of hundreds of graduates, their quality has been recognized nationally and internationally. European CEO Magazine calls Auburn’s Executive MBA Program the “Best Executive Remote Learning Programme, North America,” and US News & World Report places Auburn’s online graduate business programs in the top fifteen nationwide.

What do you get when you mix Harbert College marketing “The group did a really great job for us,” said Daniele Frappelli, students and an aspiring Italian gelato company? Mango Passion, CEO of Concept Italia America, which has offices in Rome and Chocolate Addiction, Vanilla Passion, and Caramel Creation. in Auburn. “We basically mixed a little [knowledge] from the different groups. We’re going to follow what was good for each Students in Danny Butler’s spring 2014 Selling class served group—how we market this to the students and create events, as focus groups, then developed social media strategies for through social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) There were a few Michelangelato—Concept Italia America’s recently-released groups that were really amazing. frosty delicacy now sold in area grocery stores and on game days at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

“The students helped the investors understand their target market,” said Butler, the Thomas Walter Center Professor of Marketing, noting that focus group studies revealed students were unsure what gelato was—an important revelation for Concept Italia America, who then repositioned its US marketing strategies. “The Italian group assumed everybody knew what gelato was and it’s not ice cream. They realized, ‘we’ve got to change completely.’ It was the equivalent of thinking, ‘the world is blue’ and we’re finding out that the world is orange.” What was the best social media strategy to communicate the Michelangelato brand to 18 to 24 year-olds? Butler’s students were then divided into nine teams which used their savvy, marketing concepts and accounting skills to develop a social media strategy, keeping within a budget of $100,000. The projects were worth “almost half ” of each student’s grade, Butler said. The result: welcomed strategies.

“We have our own marketing team, formerly with Proctor & Gamble, and they analyzed some of the ideas and it was good that the students were focusing on some ideas that we were already working on. That basically gave us the confidence that we are doing the right thing but it was also amazing how the students are moving ahead, even thinking like a corporation.”

OUR GRADUATE PROGRAMS

Butler added, “Students got real-world experience, and for the client there were some good ideas in there that most of what was presented to them were things that they confirmed what they thought they learned in Rome. Students get paid with a grade, and the clients will ideally—in the long term—come back to Auburn to hire more of our students because they will know that they are good, knowledgeable people.”

Executive MBA

Master of Business Administration

For working professionals with at least eight years experience, the EMBA combines distance study with on-campus residencies to give executives the skills necessary to advance their careers.

Auburn’s MBA provides a broad business skill set and the opportunity to choose from six specialization options.

Call this engaged scholarship and thought leadership with a frozen, albeit sweet, twist.

The program prepares physicians for positions of leadership and helps them improve their practices.

With thesis and non-thesis options, the program offers specialized instruction for students who anticipate a career in finance or plan to pursue further graduate work.

Master in Real Estate Development

Master of Science in Information Systems

For professionals with three years experience, the program enhances leadership skills and professional knowledge.

This flexible program enables students to develop greater technical expertise while customizing the program to meet their individual career goals.

Physicians Executive MBA

Master of Accountancy Graduates have one of the nation’s highest pass rates on the CPA exam. They enjoy a good starting salary and a better chance at promotion once hired.

Graduate Certificate in Accountancy This program—which does not require an entrance exam— enables participants to update accounting skills and prepare for the CPA exam. 10 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Master of Science in Business Administration/Finance

PhD in Business This program offers three concentrations: information systems, management, and finance. Each prepares the graduate to contribute new knowledge to the operation of business organizations and compete for faculty positions at leading universities.

INTERNATIONAL

Executive Strategies for Global Success with Dr. Brian Connelly

Dr. Connelly, Here are a few things we do to make the international business class exceptional for the Executive MBA students. One of the keys to success is that the trip does not stand alone. Rather, it is tightly integrated with one of the students’ residencies so that we can combine classroom knowledge with overseas experiences to maximize their learning opportunities.

Role Playing This is one of the first things we do together. It gets students a little bit out of their comfort zone and into a cross-cultural experience that we create right in the classroom. We divide the class in two and separate the two groups. The groups each create a sub-culture, complete with a wide range of social norms, rules, and institutions. Then we bring visitors from one group into the other to experience the different cultures. The results are astounding, and offer keen insights into how to learn about a new culture.

Cross-cultural Cases Some business schools are entirely case-based and others are more oriented toward lectures. We use a blended approach, and cases are an important element of that mix. Our use of cross-cultural case studies is predicated upon the belief that tackling real international business problems is the best way to develop practitioners. Real problems are messy and complex, and the case method requires students to be active participants in the closest thing to a real situation.

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Panel Discussions

Create-a-Text

One of the greatest resources at our disposal here at Auburn is our vast network of alumni and corporate partners. We tap into this for our executives to learn about international business. One way we do so is by bringing a panel of experts with vast overseas experience, many of whom are graduates of the Executive MBA program, back to campus to discuss current issues in international business with our students. We have had discussants that have been involved, for example, with international acquisitions, manufacturing overseas, selling in emerging economies, and creating cross-border strategic alliances. They have hailed from industries as diverse as health care, education, technology, defense, and hospitality. These discussions not only provide a window on what is happening in the world of international business, but also form connections that extend beyond the classroom.

We do not use an international business textbook. Instead, we create our own textbook during our time together in the classroom. This approach would not work with undergraduate students, but Executive MBAs generally have a decade of experience or more. There is a wealth of knowledge about global business residing in their heads. Therefore, we use our time in the classroom to dump their collective knowledge out on the table. Then my job as faculty, and as custodian of our organizational theories, is to help them organize and synthesize that knowledge into a cohesive framework of international business. Students gain so much more from the process because the information is current and relevant, and because they contribute to its development. You are going to remember the concepts much more if I ask you, “What do you think motivates firms to expand globally?” as opposed to just telling you, “Here are the six main factors that motivate firms to expand globally: 1, 2, . . . 6. . . .”

International Diversification Competition Executive MBAs are high-powered individuals who generally appreciate a dose of competition from time to time. We give them that in the form of making an international diversification decision for a public company. The students pair off so that they can compete head-to-head and are assigned a company with which they are likely to be familiar. We ask them a simple question: to what country should the company expand and why? Students research the company and use the tools learned in class to diagnose their opportunities. The winning recommendation receives an A for the assignment and the second place recommendation . . . well, does not receive an A.

Thank you for a great overseas experience. I had such a great experience that I have asked my management what it would take for a two year in-country experience. Thank you again! Scott Erb

Current Events Because there are no textbook readings, we are able to focus our out-of-class time on reading more popular press. These tend to be very current and applied, and centered around issues that are dominating the business headlines. This portion of the class generates a lot of opinion and debate. Here, we take many of the principles that we learned from various classroom exercises and discuss how they play out in a variety of practical contexts.

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HOW WE THINK Dr. Connelly,

International Business Decision-Making One of the most essential ingredients of our international business education for Executive MBAs is their visit to two countries and a number of companies in each country. We intentionally seek out a diversity of industries and also connect with the local consulate to learn key background information about the country’s culture and institutions. Going forward, we envision taking these visits a step further so that, following a visit, students assimilate information in teams and prepare a solution to a business problem that the company is facing.

Institutional Memory We intentionally rotate our Executive MBA trips to different regions each year. This is because we believe there is an extent to which the body of Executive MBA alumni have a collective knowledge about the world. For instance, the cases and examples build on each other through the years and alumni share their experiences with current students via social gatherings, reunions, and classroom exercises. By moving our trips from, for example, Europe one year to Latin America the next and Asia the next, we provide the student body as a whole with a shared understanding of a diverse range of international markets.

Thank you so much for the trip. It was one of the best experiences I have had in my academic and professional career. I learned so much on this trip.

Perfect Competition Isn’t Without Compromise

Thanks again, Alan

Reflection We also provide structured exercises where students gather more personal thoughts about how the international experience has affected them. Some of our Executive MBA students are million-mile frequent flyers and others have never been outside of the United States. We therefore give them opportunities to consider what they have learned in view of their own experiences and how it applies to their workplace. This is where individual personalities and preferences change the nature of the learning process. Some people might feel an affinity for the high-stakes world of international acquisitions, while others from a more manufacturing-oriented background may prefer what we learn about offshoring, and still others may even be considering cross-border entrepreneurial endeavors.

Holistic Approach A company’s decision about when, where, and why to expand globally is not purely an economic decision. We discuss the economics behind this decision at considerable length, but we also consider the decision in view of other less-tangible factors. This includes the effects of formal institutions, such a country’s laws and regulatory bodies, and informal institutions, such as their culture, ethical priorities, and norms of behavior. A large part of our classroom and overseas experience revolves around learning how to integrate the economics of international business decision making with the soft skills of cross cultural management.

Economists usually begin with a story of a magical world of perfect competition. In this realm, consumers rationally seek to maximize their satisfaction within an income constraint, and producers rationally seek to maximize their profits within production and cost constraints. Here no single consumer and no single producer have more information or more power than any other consumer and producer. Any new information is immediately reflected in the market, and as such, no one consumer or producer realizes long-term benefits from that information. In today’s technologically-driven economy, though, there are greater and greater inequities of information access, manipulation and use—inequities that often produce inequities in the factors of production. In other words, the gap between those that have access to information and those that don’t increasingly translates to a gap between the haves and have-nots.

In considering this question, I did what many academics would do and turned to the writings of my fellow economists. In 1759, Adam Smith wrote: Every individual is continually exerting himself to find out the most advantageous employment for whatever capital he can command. It is his own advantage, indeed, and not that of the society, which he has in view. . . . He intends only his own gain, and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention. Nor is it always the worse for the society that it was no part of it. By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good. More recently, Andrei Sheifer commented in 2004: The very same market forces that might encourage unethical conduct also motivate firms to innovate and create new products, leading to economic growth. As societies grow richer, their willingness to pay for ethical behavior, through both government enforcement and private choice, increases as well. As a consequence, both moral and regulatory sanctions work better in the richer countries, leading to more ethical behavior. . . . As societies grow richer the ethics of cooperation are much more likely to coincide with objective notions of efficiency. For both of these reasons, the increased willingness to pay for ethical behavior and the improving match between ethics and efficiency, competition is likely to promote ethical behavior in the long run.

Competition, ever the driver, leads to new technologies, new efficiencies, new speeds and new wealth. Today, information has become the tool of choice to improve efficiency and expand revenue opportunities. Some interesting questions emerge: how does one balance efficiency—the optimal use and allocation of the factors of production—and equity—how those resources are distributed throughout society? Economists have debated the balance between efficiency and equity for years. On the one hand, efficiency and expanded revenue opportunities are necessary for profits and reinvestment into growth. On the other hand, for a nation to become wealthier, it must save its equity—it must preserve “fairness.” However, the imposition of fairness may hurt the development of more efficient production in the future. This consideration takes us to a deeper question: when does the drive to be more competitive, more efficient, overwhelm ethical decision making?

As you may note, economists have weighed these issues for decades. And as you may surmise, there is no single, “right” answer. I guess you could say, “it depends…”

Joy Clark

Associate Provost of Undergraduate Studies Professor, Department of Economics, Auburn Montgomery

Dr. Connelly, I would like to start by expressing how fruitful and wonderful an experience the trip was to me and how it broadened my horizon in understanding of how businesses are conducted in the global environment. GiGi

Joy teaches microeconomic and macroeconomic principles and the MBA core course Economics of Decision-making. Though her PhD is from Texas A&M, she’ll be cheering for Auburn come November 8th.

EFFICIENCY EQUITY

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HOW WE THINK

A Simple Glass of Water My children came dashing into the house with a dozen of their local Indonesian friends, all dripping sweat from a rousing game of “kick-the-can” (which is actually called “knock-overthe-brick-pile” in Indonesia). Being that we lived spot on the equator, everyone wanted water, and plenty of it. As Americans, we were relatively well off, so we provided as much refreshment as the children wanted. Over the years of living in Southeast Asia, I came to learn that even the cold glass of water we provided to our children’s friends was something they were unable to get at home. In fact, the State Department tells us that nearly a billion people around the world lack access to clean water and, on average, women in developing countries such as Indonesia walk six kilometers a day to collect water. Prior to being a professor, I traveled extensively for many years with a view toward developing new business for a satellite communications company. My outlook on the world changed, though, when I stopped traveling business class and staying in five-star hotels and actually moved overseas. Living in an Indonesian neighborhood, eating at local establishments, and having my kids in area schools provided me with a window on how the rest of the world lives. As a result, when I think about international business, my mind turns not just to Louis Vuitton, BMW, and ING, but also to the billions of people who earn less than $2 per day, who some call the “base of the pyramid.” Historically, Western companies viewed this segment of the population as producers, but over the past few decades, a movement has been afoot to understand the base of the pyramid as consumers. This transition has opened new markets in emerging and transition economies and yielded social benefits as companies have developed products and technologies with these markets in mind.

The next step, as I see it, will be to move past our understanding of the base of the pyramid as producers or consumers and begin to see them as business partners and co-creators of value. Consider my former company, Hughes Network Systems, which originally sourced parts in China to keep costs down. Ultimately, they began selling satellite systems to China, first to large conglomerates, but later to rural government entities that provided telephone service to remote areas. More recently, one executive left the firm to spin off his own business, in partnership with Chongqing Normal University, to provide satellite-based learning services to post-secondary institutions and K–12 schools. From producer of cheap goods to large-scale consumer of goods to small-scale consumer and ultimately to business partner unlocking value in unique ways. For me, international business extends well beyond the massive multinational enterprises with which we are all so familiar (i.e., McDonalds, BP, Samsung), encompassing thousands upon thousands of entrepreneurial ventures that cross national borders and meet important needs that might otherwise go unnoticed. Think about that next time you down a glass of clean, cold water.

Brian Connelly

McWane Family Professor Department of Management Brian has extensive experience in engineering and internal business with Westinghouse and Hughes Network Systems and has traveled all over the world. He’s an avid runner which is good since he’s always on the move.

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HOW WE THINK

Masterful Orchestration If my work day has gone well, it’s very likely you didn’t notice me. That’s the way event planners prefer it. Our work typically occurs behind the scenes: reserving facilities, planning menus, distributing invitations, tracking RSVPs, coordinating speakers, and doing everything possible to ensure nothing will go awry when 300 guests show up for dinner.

Organizational Change I have studied and helped organizations implement change for my entire professional career, and I am regularly amazed that something so important is often so poorly executed. Estimates suggest that over half of all change efforts fall short and many are outright failures. Why? Leaders typically focus on what to change and not on how to change. My research with Achilles Armenakis suggests that in preparing for change, those leaders must cultivate five sentiments among their employees. Members of the organization must feel that: 1. Change is needed 2. Change is appropriate

I understand how to manage change. After all, I’ve worked on that understanding for years. Ironically, I found myself struggling with what to change. What is the right vision, the right mission? What is the right curriculum model? Struggling with one particular issue, I asked for input from my steering committee and got some good advice: “Just make a d@#% decision!” That’s an important lesson. You can’t just focus on the how and ignore the what. As a leader, I must balance both.

Sure, you might have caught a blur out of the corner of your eye while you were enjoying the roasted chicken and settling in to hear the keynote speaker. I’m surprisingly fast in high heels, and that’s an asset, considering Harbert College hosts hundreds of events each year—ranging from galas to graduation receptions to classroom guest speakers—with more than a few occurring simultaneously. In most cases, I will be the first person to arrive and the last to leave—all in the interest of ensuring our guests experience the highest level of hospitality.

I am changing from a full-time professor to a full-time administrator, and I am enjoying the challenge. I’m welcoming the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to have a positive influence on our programs, students, faculty, staff, and those whose lives they touch.

Throughout my juggling act, I’ve learned that job titles aren’t always accurate descriptors in the business world. We’re all jugglers and multitaskers to some degree. And we’re all trying to come up with ways to avoid getting overwhelmed by our daily demands. These tactics can help keep you on track:

3. The organization is unwaveringly committed to the change 4. The change is doable personally and organizationally; 5. The personal advantages of the change outweigh the personal costs Strategies exist that directly influence the development of these sentiments. Involve personnel in change decisions. Communicate frequently and directly. Work to remove any policy barriers to change and ensure that human resource practices support the change effort. Finally, undertake activities that underscore the reality of change to help people come to grips with the transition. In my relatively new role as associate dean for graduate and international programs, I’ve had an opportunity to practice what I preach. I have reviewed the MBA programs with the goal of upgrading—changing— the curriculum. Knowing the importance of involvement, I created a steering committee of students, alumni, faculty, and staff. We analyzed our key stakeholders, and drafted vision and mission statements against which to evaluate the curriculum.

18 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Stan Harris

•

Associate Dean for Graduate and International Programs Torchmark Professor, Department of Management Harris’ areas of expertise include organizational change, organizational assessment and corporate culture. He also has a wicked guitar collection.

Maintain and update a “to do” list. Prioritize and work your way through it each day. I look at and record a variety of factors for each event I plan: when, where, and what needs to be done? If I’m planning an event for 1,200 and another for 30, I focus on each event separately because they merit their own attention.

•

Try to envision the entire picture, whether you’re planning an event or managing a project. What will it look like at the end of the process? What steps must be taken to ensure the desired results?

•

Keep careful notes and refer back to them to avoid losing sight of small but crucial details. In my role, I often maintain a three-ring binder with clearly-labeled sections. If I need to refer to particular information, whether it’s a breakfast menu or security arrangements, I can find it quickly rather than waste five minutes rummaging through a pile of e-mail printouts.

•

Expand your network, and be available to your clients or guests. I think everyone I’ve ever been in contact with professionally has my cell phone number. I always want a guest to be able to reach me if they encounter problems with accommodations or require assistance.

•

Expect the best, but plan for the worst. Even though I am a planner by nature and strive for perfection, I have learned that, eventually, Murphy comes to visit. When I assisted with conferences and conventions in a previous job, I had to work with a guest speaker who had to Skype in due to an unexpected snowstorm. We got the program up and

running minutes before the session started. After that incident, I always visited the hotel front desk before calling it a night to make sure my guest speakers had arrived safely. And always test your computers, video monitors, and audio well in advance. You never know what needs might arise during an event. I frequently cart around a tackle box filled with scissors, a stapler, dental floss, Band-Aids, Neosporin, tape, Sharpies, Tums, glue, a sewing kit, wipes, hand sanitizer, and flash drives, among other things. It may sound extreme, but you never know when a guest will lose a button or suffer an untimely paper cut. There are, of course, developments that defy the best attempts at planning. What do you do when a waiter drops 20 perfectly-cooked steaks on the floor at a sit-down black-tie dinner for 200? Use your Southern charm and apologize profusely to each of the 20 guests, order more drinks for them and provide the best estimate of when dinner will arrive. And make a mad dash to the kitchen—just in case they need help on the grill!

Wendy Perry Event Coordinator at the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business Perry is responsible for planning and executing over 400 events each year. She has been scientifically proven to be able to be in two places at the same time, but does slow down on the weekends.

this License. If you do not agree to the terms of this License, do n TECHNOLOGY

the License, you may return the software to the place where you obtai . . . YOU are the data. ally, click "disagree/decline". For software included with your purchase of Every time you sign up for a free service, there’s a tiny checkbox at the end that means the difference between your staying a private citizen and licensing out practically everything you do on your computer or phone to a corporation.

Great. But check out the real language of the agreement:

kage in order to obtain a refund. Important Note: To the extent that this softw y for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the If you use Facebook’s messaging service on your phone, here are some of the rights you just granted Facebook: • Permission to make calls without your intervention

• Permission to send, receive, and edit your text messages

As between you and LinkedIn, you own the content and information you provide LinkedIn under this Agreement, and may request its deletion at any time, unless you have shared information or content with others and they have not deleted it, or it was copied or stored by other users. Additionally, you grant LinkedIn a nonexclusive, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual, unlimited, assignable, sublicenseable, fully paid up and royalty-free right to us to copy, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, remove, retain, add, process, analyze, use and commercialize, in any way now known or in the future discovered, any information you provide, directly or indirectly to LinkedIn, including, but not limited to, any user generated content, ideas, concepts, techniques and/or data to the services, you submit to LinkedIn, without any further consent, notice and/or compensation to you or to any third parties.

produce. To the extent that this software may be used for remote access to music file s only provided for lawful personal use or as otherwise legally permitted. If you are uncerta • Permission to determine your precise location using your phone’s GPS And this is pretty standard stuff! It’s why big corporations are interested in providing you with free applications. You get to stay in touch with high school friends, and they get to know everything they want to about you as a potential consumer.

ntact your legal advisor. 1. General. The software, documentation and any fonts accompanyi n any other form (collectively the "Orange Software") are licensed, not sold, to you by Orange Inc Or as a potential idea mine. LinkedIn tries to make its terms of service page user-friendly by providing helpful summary blurbs of each legal paragraph. For instance, the next paragraph sounds innocent enough:

“You still own what you own, but you grant us a license to the content and/or information you provide us.”

No wonder LinkedIn fosters connection and discussion. They want access to you, your colleagues, and your ideas.

So careless use of free (and paid) applications can mean major corporate security or copyright issues for you and your company. How do you protect yourself? Read the terms of service.

ghts not expressly granted to you. The rights granted herein are limited to Orange's and its licensors' inte ntellectual property rights. You own the media on which the Orange Software is recorded but Orange and/or O It seems daunting, but the language isn’t really that obscure. It’s comprehensible by any Harbert College alum. Sure, terms of service documents are often long, but Wikipedia lists the average human reading rate as 250 words per minute with 70 percent comprehension. That means you can read the entire Facebook Terms of Service in about 20 minutes and have a pretty good understanding of what’s going on.

will govern any software upgrades provided by Orange that replace and/or supplement the original Orange Software p Google’s ToS will take you all of eight minutes. iTunes requires an hour, but spending that time means you won’t miss gems like this warning that Apple products track your exact location and share that information with others:

se will govern. 2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions. A. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, you are granted

re may be used to reproduce materials, such use is limited to reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copy To provide location-based services on Apple products, Apple and

our partners and licensees may collect, use, and share precise ilable over a network where it could be used by multiple computers at the same time. You may make one copy of the Orange inlocation machine-re location data, including Software the real-time geographic of your

Apple computer or device. ained on the original. Except as and only to the extent expressly permitted in this License or by applicable law, you may not copy, decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, Oh, sorry—they’re tracking your device, not you. Good thing you don’t have yourto iPhone with you in your or brief- items t g VoiceOver Kit version 1.3, the Orange Software will periodically check with Orange for updates to the pronunci tion rules used by VoiceOver generate thepocket spoken case right now…

r, and when you have VoiceOver selected, the new version of the spoken items will be generated and synced to your iPod. The older version of the spoken items will no longer be available. Th

he Orange Software, and third party open source programs included with the Orange Software, have been or may be made available by Orange on its Open Source web site (http://www.ope source.apple.com/ is used, in place of the unmodified Orange Software, on a single Orange labeled computer; and (ii) you otherwise comply with the terms of this License and any applicable licensing terms governing use of the Open-Sourced

es, you may encounter content that may be deemed offensive, indecent, or objectionable, which content may or may not be identified as having explicit language. Nevertheless, you agree to use the Services at your sole risk and that Apple shall

tions are provided for convenience, and you acknowledge and agree that Orange does not guarantee their accuracy. D. Certain Services may display, include or make available content, data, information, applications or materials from third parties (“Third Party Materials”) or provide

decency, quality or any other aspect of such Third Party Materials or web sites. Orange, its officers, affiliates and subsidiaries do not warrant or endorse and do not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility to you or any other person for any thirdparty Services, Third Party Materials or w

fringe or violate the rights of any other party, and that Orange is not in any way responsible for any such use by you. E. To the extent that you upload any content through the use of the Services, you represent that you own all rights in, or have authorization or are otherwise legally permitted to upload, such content and that such content

ble intellectual property and other laws, including but not limited to copyright. You agree that you will not use such proprietary content, information or materials other than for permitted use of the Services or in any manner that is inconsistent with the terms of this License or that infringes any intellectual property rights of a third party or Apple. No portion of the Services may be reproduced in any form or by any mean

HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 21 work capacity. You further agree not to use the Services in any manner to harass, abuse, stalk, threaten, defame or otherwise infringe or violate the rights of any other party, and that Orange is not in any way responsible for any such use by you, nor for any harassing, threatening, defamatory, offensive, infringing or illegal messages orPlease read this software license agreement ("License") carefully before using the software. By using the software, you are agreeing to be

ware package in order to obtain a refund. Important Note: To the extent that this software may be used to reproduce materials, it is licensed to you only for reproduction of non-copyrighted materials, materials in which you own the copyright, or materials you are authorized or legally permitted to reproduce. To the extent that this software may be used for remote access to music files for listening between computers, remote access of copyrighted music is only provided for lawful personal use or as otherwise legally permitted. If you are uncertain about your righ

ange’s and its licensors' intellectual property rights in the Orange Software and do not include any other patents or intellectual property rights. You own the media on which the Orange Software is recorded but Orange and/or Orange’s licensor(s) retain ownership of the Orange Software itself. The terms of this License will govern any software upgrades provided by Orange that replace and/or supplement the original Apple Software product, unless such upgrade is accompanied by a separate license in which case the terms of that license will govern. 2. Permitted License Uses and Restrictions. A. Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, you are granted a limited non-exclusive license to i

HighFrequency Trading The Value of a Millisecond

Last year, at the end of the Iron Bowl, we all learned the value of a second. A lot can happen in such a brief period of time. But what about a millisecond? Can anything really important happen then? Well, as Einstein proved, time is relative. Imagine that you’ve got tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal today. You’d know before anyone else—with certainty—what will happen. It would be like knowing exactly which slot machine will pay off when: guaranteed money. Business thrives on information, and people have angled for an advantage for centuries. Galileo may have used his telescope to study the heavens, but he sold the designs to Venetian merchants who used the instrument to see what arriving trading ships were carrying. With that advance knowledge, the merchants manipulated the market for a profit. A few centuries later, Julius Reuters found that carrier pigeons could give him an early look at the difference between stock prices on the 22 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Paris and Berlin exchanges. If you have the information first, you can make money. Today, high-frequency trading (HFT) is the name of the game. The fastest, most powerful computers run complex algorithms to analyze multiple markets and multiple information sources and jostle for a competitive edge. Those with the fastest execution speeds will be the most profitable. In this world, the competitive edge is measured in milliseconds. Milliseconds. One thousandth of a second. The blink of an eye is 100 milliseconds. To high-frequency traders, that’s an eternity. Latency is the term they use to describe the time that elapses from the moment a signal is sent by one computer to the moment it is received by

1 second F

100 milliseconds 1 millisecond

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How fast is flash? 1 millisecond

100 milliseconds

A single stock can experience about 500 quote changes and about 150 trades in a single millisecond.

3 milliseconds

A housefly’s wing flap

10 milliseconds

The time measurement “jiffy”

50 milliseconds

Time interval between gear changes in a Lamborghini Aventador D

another. These days, traders measure latency in millionths of a second. At those speeds, a stock can experience 1,800 quote changes and 600 trades in less than the blink of an eye. This tremendous speed allows traders to take advantage of the small differences between markets and exchanges. “Slow market arbitrage,” or “latency arbitrage” is just what Reuters did with his carrier pigeons. The speed of those pigeons, relative to the post train, gave Reuters advance knowledge of how stocks were priced in one market—knowledge he could exploit for a profit in another market. And just like those Venetian merchants, today’s high-frequency traders pay big bucks for the technological innovations that give them that advance knowledge just a little bit sooner. In 2008, at a cost of $300 million, a group of investors ran a new fiber optic line between Chicago and Carteret, New Jersey,—home of the Nasdaq data center. That investment brought the estimated round-trip time of an electronic signal down from 14.5 to 13.1 milliseconds. 24 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

One fast blink of a human eye

200 milliseconds

The time it takes the human brain to recognize emotion in facial expressions

495 milliseconds

An approximate average of the round-trip time for communications via geosynchronous satellites

1 second

A single particle of light can travel 186,000 miles—the same as a round trip from Auburn to New York City 95 times.

It may not seem like a lot, but if you want to trade futures contracts in Chicago against present prices in New York, you have to have the fastest transmission time. Second place makes you zip. The same is true for small price differences among the thirteen stock exchanges. Does the difference of a few pennies amount to much? One analyst estimates that those small differences mean profits on the order of $20 billion a year. Now you know the value of a millisecond. By the way, advances in microwave technology have reduced the round trip time to 8.5 milliseconds—essentially the speed of light—and made that $300 million fiber optic line obsolete. Perfect speed, however, is being there, and high-frequency traders willingly pay millions to “co-locate” their servers next to an exchange’s servers. Physical closeness means a shorter fiber optic line, which equals a faster transmission. Colocation gives the trader access to stock prices milliseconds before the rest of the investing public allowing him to “flash trade” with the near certainty of making a profit.

And if you’ve got the speed, you can front-run, especially if you’ve paid to see the order flow. Some exchanges will, for a price, allow HFT firms to see the flow of buy and sell orders. The traders then run ahead of the buyers and sellers to trade against them. Remember those Venetian merchants? On the one hand, you could say that HFT creates a more efficient market. After all, arbitrage quickly equalizes the differences between markets, and you could argue that flash trading and front-running work to price a stock quickly and accurately given market demand. But you could also argue that the ability of HFT firms to pay millions for the fastest networks, the most favorable locations, and the first peek at the order flows create an unfair system where “haves” can buy preferred status and take advantage of the “have-nots.” High-frequency traders ping and spoof the market by placing and canceling hundreds of small buy and sell orders. These orders either prompt other traders to adjust their quotes or serve to detect the movement of a particular stock. The HFT players then race to take advantage of that movement. If you can’t go faster than the next guy, trip him. That’s quote stuffing. Place, then cancel, so many orders that you slow the whole thing down. Then you move in to profit from the confusion. Pinging, spoofing, and quote stuffing aren’t—strictly speaking—illegal, but they might be called highly manipulative. Okay, forget for a second—a millisecond—that HF traders are not really investing in the marketplace—at the end of the day they hold no position. Forget that HF trading accounts for at least 50 percent of all volume on America’s thirteen exchanges—about 3.4 billion shares daily. Forget for a second that 2 million quotes cross the markets in that second you just forgot. And forget that HFT firms make billions annually— what some have called a tax on the market. Shouldn’t those traders benefit from the investments they’ve made, the technologies they’ve developed? What’s wrong with that? What could possibly go wrong?

“One analyst estimates that those small differences mean profits on the order of $20 billion a year.” We got a glimpse on May 6th of 2010. It only lasted a few minutes, so you may have missed it. At 2:47 p.m., the Dow dropped—tanked is probably a better word. At the bottom, the index was down nearly 1,000 points—$1 trillion. The point decline was the largest single-day decline since the Dow debuted in 1896. The stocks of eight major companies in the S&P 500 fell to one cent per share for a short time, and other stocks, including Sotheby’s, Apple, and Hewlett-Packard, increased in value to over $100,000. And then, in the space of a few minutes, the market recovered. What happened? There several theories, but most experts suggest that just after 2:30, the system was overrun with quotes and overloaded. But the market corrected itself, and it was all over in minutes. In the last few months, there has been increased attention paid to high-frequency trading. The EU instituted regulations in April. In June, a class action lawsuit was filed against thirteen stock exchanges charging that the exchanges discriminated against investors by selling “advance access” to market data through private feeds and co-location services. In June and July the Senate banking committee held hearings to look into the issues. At the heart of these regulations and lawsuits and investigations is the question, “When does a competitive advantage become exploitive manipulation?” It’s human nature, but when, exactly, do we fly a little too close to the sun?

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL ABOUT BIG

DA A Think about the data that you spin off every day—every time you touch your phone, the photos you take, the emails you fire off, the search queries you send, the purchases you make with your credit and debit cards. Today, buildings know when you’ve entered and left. Cameras see the stoplight you ran, note where you park, and recognize you when you go through the airport, the train station, or the toll booth. And all this human data is dwarfed by machine data—information from production lines, from transportation and manufacturing processes, from banks, stock markets, insurance companies, and hospitals. The list is almost endless. We’ve accumulated more data in the past two years than in all of recorded civilization before 2012. That’s Big Data.

Our expanded ability to capture data increases the amount of information available, but it also increases the difficulty in recognizing the relevant, significant patterns in the data. To a business, not all information is of equal value, says Harbert professor Mark Clark. One of the first jobs of an analyst is to determine what’s significant and what’s not.

A prime example comes from the world of sports. Clark refers to the film Moneyball. The Oakland A’s took a chance and assessed players with objective data analysis, not with the subjective wisdom of managers, coaches, and scouts. With this analysis, the A’s, with approximately $41 million in salary, were competitive with teams like the Yankees, who spent more than $125 million in payroll that same season. “All the information was there,” Clark says. In this case: player statistics. The key was getting it into a format that could be analyzed. “When it comes to competing, where the margins are very, very small—when you find an edge, it can change the game,” he says. “You can frame any business decision that way. Sports are a perfect analogy for the business environment we live in today.” “There is a big data revolution,” says Harvard University professor Gary King. Not in the quantity of data we can collect and store, but in ever improving analytical tools. “The big data revolution is that now we can do something with the data.”

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HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 27

Data collection and analysis is nothing new. Henry Ford timed all the operations on his production line to search for and eliminate inefficiencies. A few years after Ford, Walter Shrewhart at Bell Labs developed statistical process control. Toyota lifted the study of efficiencies and inefficiencies to a new level. These analyses, though, are essentially backward-looking, and the data sets are relatively small. What happened to slow things down, to produce a defective part? Where is the problem and how can we eliminate it? Today, we’re able to discern patterns in those ever-growing sets of data and offer predictions. A business that can accurately forecast sales can better serve its customers and operate more efficiently. A bakery, for example, found out that customer demand for certain goods varied with the weather—more cake on rainy days, more paninis on warm days. The ability to predict—to forecast—means less waste and more sales. Retail giant Target knew that new parents change their shopping habits and make a lot of purchases. The question, then, became could they figure out—ahead of the public health records—who had recently gotten pregnant? Turns out that by analyzing a customer’s purchase history, Target was able to predict with nearly 90 percent accuracy when a customer was pregnant. And they found that with a focused campaign of ads and coupons, they could increase sales. Target is conservative about compliance with privacy laws, but one day a man walked into a store complaining that his teenage daughter was receiving too many ads for baby goods and suggesting that Target was encouraging her to get pregnant. You can probably guess the end of that story. The girl was pregnant and hadn’t told her family. Ultimately, Target didn’t stop using analytics to, well, target newly-pregnant women. It just found a way to package its efforts so they’d be less obvious.

28 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

To a large degree, Target’s actions are perfectly understandable. It wants to use all the resources it has available to serve its customers with the products they need, gain a competitive edge in the marketplace, and make money. And if you’re a Target stockholder, that’s exactly what you want them to do. “Forecasting and demand planning are about 75 percent accurate,” says Harbert College professor Brian Gibson. If you’re in the supply chain management business, you’re looking for ways to improve that efficiency. “Planning consumer demand would be easy if you didn’t have to deal with the consumer,” Gibson continues. But what if you could not only predict consumer demand, but actually control it? Facebook recently demonstrated that with some careful editing and management of its news feeds, it can influence the emotional state of its readers. And retailers know that “happy” consumers buy more. Amazon thinks it may be able to read and influence your desires so well that it wants to ship you a package even before you’ve ordered it. In fact, they’ve filed a patent for “anticipatory shipping.” Of course marketing, to some degree, is manipulation. But when does the manipulation become intrusive? It’s all based on the data we willingly give up when we click the “I agree” button on the software contract. Are we now so aware or inured that attempts at manipulation have no effect on us? How do we take advantage of all the opportunities that big data and its analysis present and steer clear of the problems it poses?

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HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 29

MIT professor Kevin Ashton, co-founder and former executive director of the Auto-ID Center, called RFID “the first important technology of the twenty-first century.” Embedded chips make it possible to track and manage products or people, authenticate, deter theft, control access, and accept payments. Ashton also coined a phrase you may have heard: “the Internet of Things.” RF technologies collect information about things– the temperature in your house, the contents of your refrigerator, the expiration date of your latest prescriptions. Humans don’t have to input or monitor data. With RF technology, machines can talk to machines.

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Right now, one of the leading uses of RFID technology is inventory management. Initially, researchers looked at the warehouse and the pallet and case level, but as the data came in, it became apparent that warehouse operations were fairly efficient and that inventory control at the store level would yield the greatest benefit. At the store level, manual inventory methods yield 65 percent accuracy rates, but with RFID tags on individual items, “we can get 95 percent accuracy in the store,” says Auburn RFID lab director Justin Patton. Tracking individual items allows retailers to reduce loss, minimize out-of-stock items, pinpoint item location and improve overall inventory accuracy. According to Patton, the dramatic increase in inventory control enables a shift in the retail business model. The sales force can attend to the customer experience rather than the mechanics of inventory control. Outside the retail inventory world, RFID has found its way onto credit cards, passports, and drivers’ licenses. Construction companies have used the technology to manage materials on large-scale job sites, and according to the Wall Street Journal, airline mishandled baggage losses fell 54 percent with the deployment of RFID tracking. Accenture Technology Labs is experimenting with a smart medicine cabinet that will remind

RFID: Efficiency Through Frequency Y

ou can’t see it, hear it or touch it, but it’s there. Radio frequency identification (RFID) accompanies you throughout your day as an invisible, silent companion. It rides shotgun during your morning commute as you bypass the rush hour gridlock in the E-ZPass lane. It grants you access to your office and to the gym after work. It puts in overtime, ensuring that your favorite brand of peanut butter will be in stock at the grocery store. And when you go on vacation, RFID hitches a ride as part of your passport.

The RFID device is a small chip—about half the size of a grain of sand—that can contain a variety of information. When hit with a magnetic field, the chip “reflects” a signal and sends information back to a reader. Small, passive chips depend on an external power source, store relatively small amounts of 30 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

information, and can usually be read only over short distances. Larger, battery-powered chips can store correspondingly larger amounts of information and project a signal over a longer range. The basic technology isn’t new; in fact, it dates back to World War II, when scientists developed ways to help radar stations differentiate between friend and foe. Eventually, RFID worked its way out of defense labs and into the business world, and proved its value to retailers as an effective way to monitor inventory. Over the last few years, RF devices have become cheaper, smaller, and able to carry more data. One researcher actually glued RF transponders to ants to track their movements and behavior.

you to take your medicine. There’s even been some experimentation with food safety and enhanced RF sensors that can not only pinpoint the origin of a particular food, but track how long it has been in transit and the temperatures at which it’s been stored, or even detect food borne bacteria like salmonella or e-coli.

Machines talking to machines, the first important technology of the twenty-first century.

Last year, the Walt Disney Company rolled out the RFID-enabled MyMagic+ program. With a mobile app, an interactive website, and an all-purpose electronic bracelet, it merged an enhanced customer experience with NSA-style intelligence. The RFID-tagged bracelets, known as MagicBands, serve as all-in-one theme park tickets, hotel room keys, and payment systems. The bracelets can also tell park personnel if the wearer bought a set of Mickey ears in the gift shop or stopped for a selfie with Snow White. Disney promises not to use the information it collects to personalize or target advertising to children under the age of thirteen. And here’s where things get a bit dicey. There’s no doubt that RFID technology can improve efficiency and enhance customer service, but that may be one thing if the technology is used to track a pair of pants, and another thing entirely if it’s used to track you. In August, the European Commission moved to protect consumer privacy. The commission urged that RFID tags

RFID through the years 1945 During World War II, Scottish physicist Sir Robert Alexander Watson-Watt leads a top-secret project that results in the British developing the first active “identify friend or foe” (IFF) system. Transmitters on British planes could receive signals from radar stations and broadcast a signal back, confirming themselves as “friendlies” and essentially becoming the first passive RFID system.

1950s–1970s American, Japanese, and European scientists present papers explaining how radio frequency energy can help with remote identification

of objects. Nuclear proliferation drives RFID research in US government sector and development of tagging systems for equipment and personnel.

sector, enabling companies like Amtech and Indentronix to explore civilian uses of RFID.

1973

Research in the academic sector includes placing RFID transponders on backs of dairy cows to identify, track, and monitor the animals’ health.

Mario W. Cardullo claims to have received first US patent for an active RFID tag with rewritable memory. Entrepreneur Charles Walton receives patent for passive transponder that can be used for keyless door entry and licenses it to Schlage.

1977

1979

1981 Railroad industry begins investigation into RFID as a solution to industry problems. Perceived advantages of RFID include ability to read through a variety of weather elements.

Los Alamos Scientific Laboratories transfers technology from government labs to public HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 31

74 174 174 86

STO RAG E

Control the temperature of your house with your smart watch? No problem with RFID. That same technology can monitor your pantry and refrigerator and send you a grocery list. Or, if your supermarket is up to speed, the ingredients for dinner may be waiting on your doorstep when you arrive home. After all it’s just machines talking to machines.

RFID may well be the most important technology of the twenty-first century, but that’s no guarantee it will work in every application, every time. Careful, considered research is necessary to expand the use of the technology and give us a clear-eyed view of its potential and its limitations.

RFID through the years (continued) 1982

1988

2003

Spin-off applications, including automatic toll collection, cargo vehicle identification, and remote keyless entry emerge.

Focus of RFID application shifts toward cost reduction and performance enhancement.

Walmart announces it will require RFID to be used by its suppliers.

1984

1994

US and European companies increase regular manufacturing of RFID tags which can be programmed once at the time of production or manually programmed during the installation phase.

Railroad industry implements RFID detection systems for cars.

1987 First toll road RFID payment system introduced in Europe.

32 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

1999 Uniform Code Council, EAN International, Procter & Gamble, and Gillette support establishment of the Auto-ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for UHF RFID research.

2005 University of Arkansas researchers conclude that RFID reduces retail “out-of-stocks” at store level by 16 percent over non-RFID stores. Hackers at DefCon technology convention use an antenna attached to an RFID reader to scan information on a tag nearly 70 feet away, helping demonstrate the need for encrypted tags for securing information.

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A former supermarket near Auburn’s campus has been transformed into several small7 er retail spaces, but everything,4 from74the t-shirts to the potato chips, are props in the 74 new 13,000-square-foot77 RFID Lab at Auburn University. Here, researchers will, as lab 8 director Justin Patton puts it, help retailers “redefine 1how stores will operate for the next 77 20 to 30 years.” 7

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Despite efforts at security and encryption, hackers seem to be a step ahead. In 2006, supposedly to discourage terrorists and counterfeiters, three million British passports were issued with RFID technology. According to London’s theGuardian.com, it took only 48 hours for $500-worth of over-the-counter equipment to read and hack the chips, and obtain enough data to “make a perfect clone of the passport.” Experts at the Black Hat security convention were able to read tags in US passports from 200 feet, and believe the range could be extended to 1,000. The device intended to improve our security did anything but.

New Lab, New Opportunity

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The Internet of Things

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be deactivated at the point of sale and recommended that companies disclose what data is encoded and how that data will be used. Some companies have pushed to keep RFID tags alive after a consumer has made a purchase. If the tags remain intact, a reader can report every tagged item you’re wearing or carrying and match those items with your credit and debit cards and your purchasing history. “Smart tags and systems are part of everyday life now,” said European Commission vice president Neelie Kroes in a media release. “They simplify systems and boost our economy. But it is important to have standards in place which ensure those benefits do not come at a cost to data protection and security of personal data.”

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75 this is a trial environment where we can “We’re not only demonstrating the78technology; look at specific use cases to determine the impact on the business model,” says Patton. “If we can improve your retail store’s inventory accuracy from 65 percent to 95 percent, what advantage does that give you? How does that change the way you do business?”

“RFID technology is increasingly critical to the ability of business and industry to excel in a global, networked marketplace,” Auburn University president Jay Gogue says. “The new lab will serve as an engine of economic growth as it develops technologies and processes that improve efficiency and customer satisfaction.” OFF ICE

1 RFID 1/8" FURNIT = 1'URE 0" LAY OUT

2006

2009

Cincinnati-based video surveillance CityWatcher.com offers employees the option of having an RFID chip implanted in their arms as an alternative to electronic access keys for secure areas.

Researchers at Bristol University successfully glue RFID microtransponders to live ants in order to study their behavior.

Companies increasingly rely on RFID to track employees in the workplace, while some schools begin experimenting with it to document student attendance.

2007 The US begins inserting RFID tags in passports.

2008 RFID technology utilized for ticketing and food-tracking systems at the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing.

2010 New York City Marathon uses RFID to time runners and display personalized messages from family and friends of race participants.

2011 The value of the RFID market is projected to be $6.37 billion.

2012

2013

Walt Disney World introduces MyMagic+, an RFID-enabled wristband that serves as an all-in-one locater, ticket, hotel room key, and payment system for theme park visitors.

2014 To offer real-time statistics for fans, the NFL announces plans to embed RFID chips in players’ shoulder pads. European Commission recommends smart chip companies guard consumer privacy by deactivating “stock-control” RFID tags when items are purchased.

The value of the RFID market is projected to be $7.46 billion. HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 33

The New House Call:

TELEMEDICINE

Telegraph transmissions, Perth and Halls Creek, Australia, 1917:

“You must operate.” “But I have no instruments.” “You have a penknife and razor.” “I can’t do it.” “You must.” “I might kill the man.” “If you don’t hurry, the patient will die first.” Jimmy Darcy was strapped to a table, and the postmaster, F.W. Tuckett, operated on a ruptured bladder—counseled by a doctor 1,700 miles away. And the operation was a success. Today’s telemedicine has come a long way since the days of the telegraph. In fact, twenty-first century technology may very well change the way doctors do business. 34 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Here’s an example from a recent issue of Businessweek: Beth Ferrin’s nine-year-old son came home with a swollen throat and fever. It was after dinner, so she flipped open her laptop and dialed into LiveHealth Online, a service that connects patients with doctors via video calls. After a quick diagnosis of an infection (the doctor, Ferrin says, treated it as strep, though he couldn’t diagnose that without a test), a prescription for an antibiotic was called in to a pharmacy near Ferrin’s home. Not only does telemedicine make access to health care more convenient, in some cases it makes health care possible. Ferrin, living in a suburb of Dayton, Ohio, might have used an urgent care facility or the ER, but to a patient in, say, rural Alabama, health care can be far enough away to be almost nonexistent.

Remote monitoring of patients, however, may improve efficiency and save money. “As patient care moves from the acute care setting and toward the patient, we need technologies that accommodate that shift,” says Brown. He points out that cost is still a significant factor, and many rural settings that might benefit do not have the funds to provide telemedicine.

Harbert College professor Rafay Ishfaq looked into access in Alabama’s Black Belt. “Can you imagine post-operative care and “The combination of forces that are shaping the future of healththe regimen that needs to be with a person with a heart condicare delivery will make the case for increased use of telemedition? . . . They need regular monitoring. A specialist is not going cine,” says Brown. “The greatest opposition to this trend is the to travel to a remote location to see his patient.” lack of alignment of incentives relative to telemedicine encounters and reimbursement. If that issue is corrected we will see a Dr. Mason Brown, chief medical information officer at Baptist dramatic increase in the adoption of this modality.” Health in Montgomery, echoed Ishfaq’s conclusion. “Spurred on by advanced use cases, such as military applications, the Telemedicine inevtechnology has become less expensive and more widely utilized. itably means that Taking the consultants, virtually, to the patient can provide private, personal data more complete and efficient care.” is moved, stored, and manipulated—raising The opportunities created by new technologies can potentially the possibility that the change the basic business model of health care. information will be sold Brown, who earned his MBA from Harbert in 2006, considers or worse, stolen. If your the future of telemedicine “amazing, complete with devices doctor tells you to lose connected with a computer—including high-resolution cameras weight, take an aspirin that can look down patients’ throats, noses, and ears.” a day, and pick up a few fish oil pills, you might Brown doesn’t believe remote consultations can completely refind yourself targeted place in-person evaluations, however. “Potentially, you couldn’t by ads for statin drugs. evaluate the patient the way you would like to.” Laws exist to protect the Dr. Mason Brown (MBA ’06) As for care, the Federation of State Medical Boards recommends privacy of doctor-patient Chief Medical Information Officer that physicians be licensed by the medical board of the state interaction, but those Baptist Health, Montgomery in which the patient is located; before providing telemedicine laws fail to address how, services, the physician must establish a relationship with the precisely, information is to be secured. Harbert College profespatient. Further, the federation advises that the physician should sor Casey Cegielski, who educates physician executive MBAs in have or take a thorough medical evaluation and clinical history the use of technology, likens the laws to a football coach telling before providing treatment or writing prescriptions. his defense to stop the opposing offense without providing instruction or playbook. “The laws don’t say ‘you must use this Recall Beth Ferrin’s son. The only way to authoritatively ditechnology,’ or ‘you must not use that technology.’” Cegielski agnose strep is with a strep culture. It’s contrary to best pracsays. “Protection has to become a little bit more standardized, tice to prescribe an antibiotic without a test. The Centers for but it’s going to be an evolution.” Disease Control is emphatic: “Incorrect prescribing practices are significant problems. In addition to driving drug resistance, New technologies are creating potential for a new medical these poor practices introduce unnecessary side effects, allergic business model. The advantages appear significant—lower cost, reactions, and serious diarrheal infections. These complications increased access to care. But the devil lies in the details. Accordof antibiotic therapy can have serious outcomes, even death.” ing to Cegielski, “Everything with technology is an evolution.” This reaction may seem over the top, considering a prescription Both the business and the practice of medicine are exploring for strep would likely just entail a dose of penicillin, but the what this evolution will bring. temptation may be for caregivers to assume and guess, rather than to know and prescribe. HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 35

RESEARCH

Hey, did ya hear?

Business Research. Seriously? When you think of a university and research programs, you might think of medicine or engineering. Business is not usually the first program that comes to mind. True, businesses relies on research data, but usually there’s a premium put on the timeliness of that information. Otherwise, it’s about as valuable as yesterday’s newspaper. We got a different perspective, however, when we talked to the faculty at the Harbert College. “As researchers, we look for ways to make things better. People who do cancer research try to understand what causes cancer, and [how] to prevent cancer,” says Jim Barth, Lowder Eminent Scholar of Finance. “I want to know a better way to regulate our financial system.”

“How can we reform the regulations and supervision of financial systems so that we don’t have financial crises?” he asks. “How do we better assure that systems will function properly and contribute more to economic growth and job creation?” Ketchen points out that research leads to a three-dimensional classroom experience. “The professor is going to take the textbook and translate it into lectures,” he says. “That’s one dimension. They’re going to bring their personal experience into it. That’s the second dimension. If the person is not a researcher, the story stops there. If the person is a researcher, you get the third dimension, which is exposure to the cutting edge state of knowledge.”

“We’re attacking a central question, and we might be attacking “If somebody is involved in the research process, they are aware of what’s going on out there in various universities in terms of it a bunch of different ways asking little pieces, little aspects of it—trying to get a better sense of that picture,” says Kevin Yost, new hot ideas, much like somebody who’s in the pharmaceutical who researches firms and securities. “Even research that isn’t to be business is very much aware of what kind of clinical trials are groundbreaking or earth-shattering is important because it helps going on. When your professor is an active researcher, you’re fine-tune some of our questions and answers.” getting a third dimension to the educational experience that you’re not getting from somebody else.” “I’ve always liked the notion from Plato that we might never discover the truth, but by seeking the truth we become better people,” says Dave Ketchen, Lowder Eminent Scholar of Management. “Part of it is an effort to extend myself and improve my way of thinking and become a more educated, knowledgeable person. I get a lot of calls from people wanting to start franchises and a lot of the work that I’ve done forms those discussions. It gives me the chance to help others.”

When research has a practical focus, whether shaping policy, refining our thinking, or helping others, it can leap from the academic journal into the real world, into law, into business and into Harbert’s curriculum. Barth says he originally began his research to meet tenure requirements, but now feels an obligation to do “policy-oriented” work.

36 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Yost agrees, suggesting that today’s leading edge research becomes tomorrow’s textbook. “We’re coming up with the stuff that we teach students,” Yost says.

Whether the research of Auburn faculty shapes public policy, serves as the basis of a new text, or is cited by other scholars, the quality of that research attracts the best students and faculty and extends the reach and impact of the college. Through research, Barth notes, the college does a better job “not only for the students, but also the broader economy in which we all live.”

A glance at where the college stands in various publication and website rankings: Best Executive Remote Learning Program in North America

European CEO Magazine

No. 1 Physicians Executive MBA (among MBA programs for physicians) Modern Healthcare

No. 2 among “MBAs with the Most Financial Value at Graduation” US News & World Report

No. 8 undergraduate supply chain program Gartner

No. 12 online graduate programs

US News & World Report

No. 14 online graduate business program

GraduatePrograms.com

No. 20 online MBA program Poets & Quants

No. 20 Master of Real Estate Development program in the US Eduniversal

No. 27 public university MBA program Forbes Magazine

No. 35 public university undergraduate program Poets & Quants

No. 51 undergraduate business school (No. 31 among public universities) US News & World Report

HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 37

WITH YOUR DOLLAR Annual Awards

Gift Agreement

Annual Giving

Major Gift

Capital Campaign

Outright Gift

Contributions made in support of the yearly recognition of outstanding graduate students and faculty in the college. The act of providing gifts designated to do such things as enhance academic programs, supplement undergraduate scholarships or upgrade technology. -n- |'kapitl kam'pan| An intensive effort to reach a specific fundraising goal within a clearly-defined timeframe.

Campaign Committee

A group providing counsel and guidance through an organization’s capital campaign. The Harbert College of Business’ campaign committee consists of fifteen alumni who share the message of the benefits of investing in the college’s programs and people.

A document containing the terms and conditions of a donation, including payments or transfers required of the donor. A donation far larger than the norm for an organization. For the Harbert College, the benchmark for a major gift is $25,000. A donation of cash or another asset, including real estate, personal property or stocks and bonds. All rights in the transferred property are vested in the recipient.

Planned Gift

Challenge Match

A GLOSSARY

of FUNDRAISING TERMS Learn the Language

Getting Involved

As Auburn University prepares for the launch of a comprehensive campaign, you’ll hear about things like “challenge match,” “endowed chairs,” and “funds for excellence.” These are all essential to the college’s success, but may not make much sense to the uninitiated. What does it all mean? We’re here to help.

When Raymond J. Harbert made a $40 million commitment to the college in June 2013, he called it “an investment in intellectual capital.” Invest in our students and faculty by contacting the Office of Advancement at 334-844-2983. We believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, and that a strong college of business serves to enhance the capabilities and reputation of Auburn University.

A drive that begins with a substantial gift from a donor and continues with the donor promising to equal subsequent gifts. In the case of Harbert College, 1982 alumnus Raymond J. Harbert included a challenge match component in his $40 million commitment to the college, promising to mirror additional gifts dollar-for-dollar up to $15 million.

Endowments

A fund made up of bequests and gifts in which the principal is maintained intact and invested to provide a source of income for an organization.

Endowed Chair

The highest academic honor a university or college can bestow on a faculty member. The designation honors the holder of the appointment and serves as an enduring tribute to the donor who establishes it.

Funds for Excellence

An endowment that helps an academic department or program accomplish strategic goals. In the Harbert College of Business, these funds helps support summer research, faculty grants, specialized research publications, faculty and student travel to professional meetings, and technology. Endowment investments are $25,000 or more.

-n- |plan'd gift| Also known as deferred gifts, these are structured to benefit an organization in the future. These gifts typically fall into two categories– revocable and irrevocable–and can take such forms as a transfer of property, pooled income fund, or charitable gift annuity.

Pledge

-n- |plej| A promise of future payment from a donor.

Proposal A formal plan of gift impact and use presented to a potential donor that is specially designed to serve both the interests of the donor and the organization.

Restricted funds

A reserve of money that can only be used for specific purposes, a framework that guarantees donors that their contributions will be used in accordance with their wishes.

Spendable

Interest income from an endowment that is available for current use. The principal portion is reinvested in perpetuity.

Unrestricted Funds

Donations an organization may use for any purpose. These typically cover operating expenses.

HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 39

We want to recognize your achievements To honor the achievements and success of Auburn’s business men and women, each year the Harbert College will confer four awards: Top Tigers, the Entrepreneur of the Year, the Young Entrepreneur, and induction into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame. We hope you will help us identify candidates for recognition.

The nomination window closes on Saturday, November 1. To nominate a business, submit the name of the company and contact information to Shanna Ullmann. (shanna.ullmann@auburn.edu) Nominations are accepted from all sources, and self-nomination is welcome.

A virtual makeover Stop in and visit our redesigned website and make yourself at home. We’ve changed the color scheme and made it easier to find the content that matters to you—nominating Top Tigers, finding information on upcoming events, alumni success stories, updates on your favorite professors, and snapshots of current students’ experiences.

www.harbert.edu

For more visit:

harbert.auburn.edu/entrepreneurship-summit

Top Tigers Presented by the Harbert College and Business Alabama magazine, Top Tigers recognizes the fastest-growing companies founded, owned or led by Auburn alumni. To qualify for Top Tigers consideration, companies must meet the following standards:

• Company must be founded, owned or led (CEO, CFO, presidents, vice president, etc.) by an Auburn alumnus • Company must be in business for at least five years • Company’s revenues must be at least $250,000 for base year of evaluation period • Company must operate in a manner consistent with the Auburn Creed

40 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Entrepreneur of the Year This award is open to Auburn University alumni who graduated more than ten years ago.

• Evidence of significant professional accomplishments during the previous calendar year, specifically:

Young Entrepreneur of the Year Hall of Fame Inductees This award is open to Auburn University alumni who graduated less than ten years ago.

• Evidence of significant professional accomplishments during the previous calendar year, specifically:

• Entrepreneurial spirit

• Demonstrates high standards for leadership

• Demonstrates high standards of leadership

• Demonstrates perseverance in the face of adversity

• Demonstrates independent thinking and the ability to manage risk

• Nominees must demonstrate a positive impact on those he/she has led

• Nominees must demonstrate integrity, ethics, and engaged citizenship

• Nominees should serve as role models to Auburn students

This award is open to all Auburn University alumni.

• Nominees must demonstrate, over their lifetime, outstanding contributions to the business community • Evidence of a long-term leadership role (more than ten years) • Nominees must demonstrate a positive impact on those he/she has led • Nominees must demonstrate integrity, ethics, and engaged citizenship • Nominees should serve as role models to Auburn students

HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014 41

ALUMNI NEWS

From fork lifts to fine art: hard work and happenstance pay off ROBERT HARRIS learned the principles of hard work and developed an entrepreneurial spirit on the family farm near Bessemer, Alabama, in the 1950s and 1960s.

You came to the Harbert College of Business where you learned the skills that help launch you into your career and into your life. Thanks to all of you who have written in so far. Keep sending us your news. If we haven’t heard from you, please drop us a line and stay in touch with us and with your fellow alums. We want to hear how far you’ve flown.

“My dad, Harvey, was a merchant, a farmer and a trader, a businessman, and an opportunity person,” says the 1961 Harbert College of Business graduate. “It didn’t make any difference if it was chickens or eggs, as long as it was something that he could sell. I’ve always had an entrepreneurial spirit too.”

Send your news and comments to:

cobalumnews@auburn.edu

But you won’t find chickens or eggs at Harris’ business today. Instead, his clientele at R. Alexander Gallery in Atlanta purchase fine art, including works of some of the most recognized painters and sculptors in the world.

In Memoriam Gen. Carl E. Mundy Jr. (’57, business) passed away in April

2014. A Vietnam veteran, he served in the US Marine Corps for 38 years and was appointed to serve as its 30th commandant from 1991-1995. After retirement, Gen. Mundy served as CEO of the United States Organization from 1995–2001 and as president of the Marine Corps University Foundation. He was also a member of the board of directors for several corporations and a 2007 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award presented by the Auburn University Alumni Association. Gen. Mundy was an active supporter of the university as well as its NROTC program, Auburn Student Veterans Association, and the Marine Corps League.

E. Wycliffe Orr Sr. (’68, business administration) passed away in May 2014, shortly after earning the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Center for Human Rights. Orr, a respected trial lawyer and former Georgia legislator, was honored for “his extraordinary contributions to justice and fairness in Georgia,” according to the SCHR committee.

42 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

1950s Forrest Guthrie (’52, business) retired in 1977 from the US Secret Service. He wrote and published Special Agent in Charge earlier this year. He returned to his hometown of Albertville, Alabama, in June for a book signing with the Rotary Club and connected with friends and former classmates who “took me down a wonderful trip on Memory Lane.” His book is available at www.olbbooks.com.

Phil Hayes (’58) retired from Honeywell Sperry in 1991 after 34 years as controller and lives in Durham, North Carolina. In his spare time, he enjoys softball and racquetball. Russell J. Hill (’55, business) enjoys retire-

ment with his wife and spends time with his four “wonderful” grown children— twin boys and two girls, “all in their 40s and 50s”. His hobbies include chess and wood turning.

Before pivoting into the business world of art, Harris parlayed his agribusiness degree from Auburn into a 25-year career in the trucking industry with International Harvester.

1960s

How did it start? By chance, in a grocery store. “A neighbor saw my wife, Pat, and invited us to come over to what they call an art party,” says Harris, who was based in Chicago at the time and had little desire to sell art. “It was sort of like a Tupperware party. My wife told me about it and I said, ‘I don’t know anything about art. I’ve been traveling all week and I don’t want to go to some darn art party.’” But he was amazed by the presentation, and the entrepreneurial wheels in his mind began to turn. He and his wife, Pat, began to host their own art parties. After moving to Atlanta in 1981, the couple opened DE Fine Art, which later grew into R. Alexander Fine Art—a 2.75-acre complex which boasts a 10,000-square foot showroom of exquisite tapestries and sculptures. “We went from being like a used car dealer to becoming a Mercedes dealer,” he says. So how does one go from a family farm to the trucking industry to becoming one of the most prominent art dealers in the South? “You have to believe in yourself and what you’re doing,” Harris says. “You also have to have to ability to relate and connect with people and sell yourself. If you can’t sell yourself, you can’t sell your product.”

tant. In 1995, he earned the Outstanding Fund Raising Executive Award and International NSFRE Convention Scholarship Award from the National Society of Fund Raising Executives’ Gulf Coast chapter. Last April, he celebrated his 20th wedding anniversary with his wife, Mary Ellen Gary Beasley (MBA ’67) retired from “Ellie” Tutwiler [’70]. He also stays busy ConAgra Foods, Inc. in 1999 at the age of with volunteer work for organizations 55 after serving as controller. His wife of including his local chamber of commerce, 48 years, Lynn Hobbs Beasley, worked at the Better Business Bureau, the Society for Ware Jewelers while he finished his degree. the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the March of Dimes, to name a few. William W. Cox Jr. (’66, business administration) has been enjoying retirement in Scott May (’65, business administration) Bluffton, South Carolina, since retiring practices law in Memphis, where he in 2008. He spent 35 years in construcspecializes in general office and civil trial tion equipment sales before retiring from practice with an emphasis on conservation Linder Industrial Machinery. “I attribute easement and riparian (water) law. He any success that I have achieved in my ca- enjoys hunting, fishing, hiking and scuba reer to the education and work ethic that I diving with family and friends. was taught at Auburn University.” Gene McGriff (’68, business administration) Paul Allen Fox (’69, business administration) is an owner and agent at State Farm Inis self-employed as a philanthropy consul- surance in Dothan, Alabama. He recently

celebrated a pair of milestones—47 years of marriage to his wife, Saundra, and 38 years of running his agency.

Donald Ray Moore (’65, business administration) enjoys retirement in Big Canoe, Georgia, where he has lived for the last 14 years. He will celebrate his 50th anniversary with his high school sweetheart and fellow Auburn graduate Barbara Mullin in June 2015. Having retired from the retail industry, he stays busy enjoying travel, spending quality time with his two sons and their families, being involved with his church and his community, and watching Auburn football. Russell Murray (’67, business administra-

tion) is a retired HVACR business owner and technician. He donates his time in charity volunteer work and enjoys a number of diverse hobbies, including mechanical work, auto racing, pistol and shotgun matches, rock crawling, and off-road riding in his Jeep.

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 43

Lee Ozley (’61, business

administration), who now resides in Hilton Head, South Carolina, has written four books. His most recent, 95% What if . . . Dealing with Prison Inmates, explores the improvement of rehabilitative programs for inmates. He has worked as a coach, consultant, teacher and adviser to more than 140 organizations and 100,000 employees in North America and Europe. Learn more about his work at leeozley.com.

John Penick (’64, business administration)

is a former guest lecturer for the Harbert College of Business, a member of its advisory council, and executive-in-residence. He has embarked on an acting career since moving to the Atlanta area. He has appeared in three stage productions at the Legion Theatre and Grand Theatre in Cartersville, Georgia. John, who retired as vice president of Crawford & Company, is a former president of the Atlanta Auburn Club and earned Volunteer of the Year honors from the Red Cross.

“partaking of the wonders of new technology every day.”

1970s Robert S. “Spence” Adcock II (’77, industrial

management) serves as assistant manager and bookkeeper for Gold’s Gym in Rainbow City, Alabama. He retired from the US Postal Service in 2009.

Timothy A. Barton (’78, accounting, MBA ’79) serves as vice president of finance for Travelink, Inc./American Express Travel in Nashville. He took on the role in July after previously serving as senior finance director for Cinram Group, Inc.

B. Rush Bricken (’73, account-

ing), CEO of Coffee County Bank in Manchester, John E. Prickett (’67, business administration) Tennessee, has been active in is retired after a 34-year tenure in federal public office, serving as a law enforcement and government service. county commissioner for 30 years. His present role is chairman of the John Self (’69, business) commission’s budget and finance commitearned a master’s degree and tee. Two of his four children graduated PhD after 15 years in the from Auburn. He remains active by restaurant industry. He now swimming daily and runs at least one serves as a tenured full marathon per year. professor in the Collins College of Hospitality Management at Ron Coppock (’76, business California State Polytechnic University in administration) serves as Pomona. He will spend the fall in Helsinki, president of global sales and Finland, teaching students as a Fulbright marketing at ARRIS, a world Scholar. Before coming to Cal Poly leader in the provision of Pomona in 2002, he taught at Golden Gate video and broadband techUniversity and the University of Alabama. nology whose products enable service pro“I know anyone who knew me back then viders and programming networks to help (at Auburn) will be shocked that I ever people connect with each other and their went back to school for a PhD—probably favorite content. He was recently named a the last person they would have chosen!” Cable Pioneer by the North American Cable Center. In 2013, he helped facilitate the David Strain (’69, business purchase of the Motorola Home division administration, MBA ’70) from Google. describes himself as a “retiree and itinerant turkey huntBill Crozier (’79, personnel management er” who lives in Alpharetta, and industrial relations) is president of Georgia. His hobbies include Progressive Data Systems in Roswell, shooting sports, hunting, reading and Georgia.

44 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

Mike Davis (’79, marketing) and Lyn Gavin Davis [’79, marketing] both began their marketing careers in Atlanta after graduating from Auburn and getting married. After 25 years of working for others, they purchased Mid-South Business Construction, a commercial construction company in Jackson, Tennessee, and have enjoyed the last 10 years as entrepreneurs. MSB Construction takes on projects in the South and Midwest. “We found our education through Auburn’s business school invaluable throughout our careers.” Donnie Dobbins (’73, business) is retired from BellSouth in Shelby County, Alabama. He enjoys hunting, fishing and playing with his two granddaughters. Randall H. Giles (’70, business administration), president and CEO of FNB Bank in Scottsboro, Alabama, also serves as a member of the board of directors for the Alabama Bankers Association. He recently enjoyed a “bucket list” vacation to Niagra Falls and enjoys spending time with his five grandchildren, ages four through 13. Rodney Harbin (’71, business) is president of Wellness Pharmacy, a third-generation family-owned business which celebrated its 50th year in business in July. His sons, Rod Jr. [’99] and Matt [’03] work in the pharmacy. Wellness is a PCAB-accredited, licensed non-resident pharmacy in all states. Rodney recently celebrated the birth of his first grandchild, Thatcher Owen Roth (“Thor”) in January 2014, and is looking forward to an upcoming trip to Munich. Rodney has been a pilot for 47 years and enjoys traveling with his wife, Cathy, and their black Lab, Josey Wales. Debbie Mitchell Hill (’79, accounting) serves as senior vice president and CFO for Citizens Bank & Trust Company in Ardmore, Oklahoma. She and her husband Larry Wayne Hill [’81] are avid travelers who were in the stands cheering Auburn on in the 2011 and 2014 national championship football games. Ashley McGaha (MBA ’79) serves as vice

president of sales for STMicroelectronics in Burlington, Massachusetts.

Buffalo Rock’s growth the result of sweat equity As the leader of a fourth-generation, family-owned Pepsi bottler, Buffalo Rock chairman of the board and CEO JIMMY LEE III frequently jokes that he “bleeds soft drink syrup.”

When other 12-year-olds were off at summer camps, Lee worked up a sweat by putting returnable bottles into cases. Before earning his driver’s license, he graduated to operating forklifts and helping on route trucks. That background not only helped him appreciate the unique role of each employee, but reinforced his credibility to his future colleagues as he gained more responsibility with the company.

It would be perfectly understandable if carbonation coursed through the veins of the 1970 business graduate. He has played a vital role in nurturing what started in the late 1800s with his great grandfather Sidney W. Lee and Selma chemist Ashby Coleman as a ginger ale sold by a grocery company. Headquartered in Birmingham, Buffalo Rock is one of the nation’s largest single-family, privately-owned Pepsi bottlers.

“I had a lot of summers where my buddies were having a good time and I was working my butt off,” Lee says. “I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Trying to act like the boss’ son was the last thing I wanted to do. You start at the bottom rung. A lot of those guys I worked with in the summer I ended up working with after I got out of college. A lot of those guys grew up in our business.”

When Lee graduated from Auburn and started full-time with the company, Buffalo Rock generated between $5–6 million in annual sales from its lone location. It currently generates more than $525 million and employees more than 2,000 at 13 locations in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. That success stems, in part, from Lee’s willingness to learn every detail of the enterprise at a young age.

Craig Nolan (’78, business administration) is a partner with Nolan & Vinson, LLP in Albertville, Alabama. He has raised five children with his college sweetheart, Kay Mundee Nolan [’78], whom he married after graduation. Michael Northrup (’79, indus-

trial management) serves as vice president of information technology for America’s First Federal Credit Union in Birmingham.

Okwudili Obidigbo Odi Nwosu (MBA ’78) was

recently appointed as an ambassador of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in Bujumbura, Burundi. His hobbies include visiting national parks, playing badminton and golf, and watching football, soccer and tennis.

George Pierce (’75, industrial management) is employed at the Associated Builders and Contractors’ Alabama chapter in

In addition to learning the importance of appreciating and investing in the success of the company’s employees, Lee learned another valuable lesson from his forebears—one that explains his activity as vice chairman of the board of Children’s Hospital of Alabama and past president of the Vestavia Park Foundation. “My dad was a big believer in supporting the local community,” Lee says. “My grandfather was on a committee that helped build Jefferson (Towers) Hospital at UAB. Dad always believed that, if a community is good to you, you have to give back.”

Birmingham, overseeing ad sales for Alabama Construction News Magazine. He and his wife, Kacy, live in Vestavia Hills, where he serves on the city council. Their children, Adam, Ali, and Amy, are all graduates of Auburn. The Pierces have five grandchildren with two more on the way.

John Sadler (’70, business administration) retired in 2011 from Zurich North America, where he served as a senior property risk engineer specializing in hurricane risk. He and his wife, Barbara Reece Sadler [’69], celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in 2013.

Al Thompson (’78, marketing) was named the Alabama State Department of EducaRobert Pope (’75, business administration) tion board member for District 1, which retired from the aerospace and defense encompasses much of south Alabama. Afindustry after more than 40 years of flying ter graduating from Auburn, he managed and international marketing and sales for his family’s five specialty clothing stores Sikorsky Aircraft, McDonnell Douglas in Gulf Shores, Spanish Fort, Fairhope, Helicopter Company, Boeing Helicopters Bay Minette, and Atmore. The owner of and Bell Helicopter. These days, he enjoys Thompson Properties in Bay Minette, cycling in the North Carolina mountains. he has served as a member of the Harbert College of Business advisory council. Russell Dennis Warren (’74, business) is

president of Warren Manufacturing, Inc. in Birmingham, as well as other Warren companies in Florida, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas. He celebrated the

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 45

Taking surgical sales directly into the operating suite Surgical device sales representatives are often a part of the operating team and are in the operating room during the procedures. “It was an odd concept for people to grasp that I would be there telling the surgeon, ‘That’s this and you need to put the instrument here and fire it there’ and that sort of stuff,” he said. “That’s how I started out in the industry. People would ask, ‘Are you a doctor?’ Then I’d say, ‘No, I have a degree in industrial management.’” Ethicon’s sales representatives must undergo an extensive 10week training by surgeons and an anatomist before they reach the operating room.

Fred Blatchford consults in surgery—even though he’s not a doctor

“When you’re standing in an OR and the surgeon asks, ‘what do I do next?’ . . . ‘I don’t know’ is not the answer they are looking for,” Blatchford says. “

FRED BLATCHFORD (’85) is director of sales for Ethicon—the $3 billion subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson responsible for the sales and marketing of minimally-invasive laparoscopic surgical devices and sutures. He leads the sales organization that provides clinical professional education and economic solutions to hospitals and clinicians.

Blatchford believes that successful business professionals must be willing to take on new challenges, regardless of vocation.

Blatchford started his career at Johnson & Johnson 21 years ago as an operating room sales representative. He’s overseen plenty of hemicolectomies, gall bladder removals and other laparoscopic procedures.

“The ability to flex your style and take some risks are major components of being successful in the sales world. You clearly have to be able to deal with ambiguity because there is never solid ground beneath you for very long.”

birth of his first grandchild, Russell Dennis Warren III, in 2013.

Patti Palmer Zedrow (’74, accounting) “`retired’ to a self-employed, flexible position (and a full-time mom)” in Atlanta after 22 years in public and private practice. She enjoys scuba diving and spending time at the beach or the lake. Her daughter is a senior at Auburn.

1980s Bill Allen (’80, business) serves as chief

“A year before [Ethicon] if someone had told me ‘you’re going to be standing in an OR as a medical device sales person,’ I would have said ‘There’s no way.”’

York City. He leads the company’s human resources, corporate communications, external affairs and diversity strategies and reports directly to the CEO.

Sharon Bragg Beiswenger (’80, accounting) serves as director of internal audit for Sterne Agee Group, Inc. in Birmingham. Last August, she enjoyed a “wonderful trip through England with a quick stop in Paris” with her oldest son, Erik, a student at UAB.

as CFO and general counsel for Taggart International, Ltd. in Liberty, Missouri. His daughter earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the Harbert College of Business in August 2014.

Kelly Banda (’85, international business)

Hartselle. Their youngest daughter, Emily, enrolled as a freshman at Auburn in August, while their oldest daughter, Anna, plans to begin working on a master’s degree at Auburn in 2015.

Cathy Browne (’83, business management)

Larry Davis (’80, business administration),

is a multi-million dollar-producing agent with Ebby Halliday Realtors in Dallas, which produced $6.4 billion in sales volume last year. “I remember taking real estate courses under Dr. Charles Edmonds, and never dreamed that I would turn out to have such a fabulous career in real estate.” Her father, Dr. Charles Snow, was a professor in the Harbert College of Business for a number of years. “He always stressed to us the importance of having a business degree, and the power of a good education in this world.”

Steven Byrd (’86, business management)

serves as human resources manager for Daehan Solution Georgia in West Point, Georgia. He and his wife adopted a sevenyear-old girl from Ecuador in April 2014. He enjoys going to the beach, playing with his children, and visiting Auburn.

Joel Chyke (’86, accounting) serves as business director for Safeguard by FISI in Nashville. He recently sold his company, FISI, to Deluxe Corporation. His son, Joel Michael Chyke Jr., recently graduated from the Harbert College of Business with an accounting degree. His daughter, Elizabeth, is a student in the College of Education. Joel’s activities include saltwater fishing and working out. Sherrill Sisler Clontz (’82, industrial manage-

ment) serves as district superintendent for the Cheaha District of the United Methodist Church.

Linda Hogue Cook (’81, business adminis-

tration) recently celebrated her 10-year anniversary with Sonic Drive-Ins in New Orleans, where she works as the company’s market leader. Her interests include gardening and cooking.

Patrick Baggette II (’80, accounting) serves

serves as international benefits manager human resources officer for Macy’s in New for American Airlines Group in Dallas.

46 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

Kelly’s hobbies include baking, travel and volunteer work at an animal rescue shelter.

a group of salons in the Austin, Texas, area. Steve recently made his fifth trip to Tanzania for volunteer work and has also taken trips to South Africa, Malawi and Swaziland.

Steve Bixler (’89, marketing) serves as director of global strategic alliances for Dell in Round Rock, Texas. He and his wife, Peggy [’89, accounting] also own and operate

Brent Craig (’85, business economics) completed his first six-year term as Morgan County (Alabama) district judge. He ran unopposed in his bid for re-election in 2014. He and his wife, Angela, live in

director of supply chain for Cobalt Boats, LLC became a grandfather in March 2014. Larry’s hobbies include fishing and following Auburn University athletics.

Andy Eden (’88, finance) coaches varsity

boys’ basketball and serves as an assistant football coach at Ragland High School in Ragland, Alabama. He has guided the basketball team to the state’s Elite Eight in each of the last three seasons, including a Final Four berth in 2013. When he’s not coaching, he enjoys watching his daughters, Cate and Laney, play soccer. Cate plays for Faulkner University, while Laney is a senior in high school.

Jonathan Andrew Gannon (’82, finance) recently celebrated his 27th wedding anniversary with his wife, Kayla. Their son, Jake, graduated from the Harbert College of Business in 2012, while their daughter, Cameron, is a junior at Auburn studying apparel merchandising.

Joe Hart (’83, finance) is president of J. Hart Enterprises, Inc. in Waycross, Georgia. He and his wife, Pam, have two sons.

gan, Thomas and Rusk. His various hobbies include outdoor sports, golf, fishing and travel.

Stephen P. Jones (’86, industrial operations)

recently earned a promotion to director of human resources for the Jack Daniel Distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee. He is also pursuing his juris doctorate.

Lisa Boggs Justus (’81, accounting) is presi-

dent of Benchmark Homes and Vinings Designers in Atlanta. Her daughter, Lauren, recently graduated from Auburn, while her son, Charles, will soon graduate from the Harbert College of Business with a degree in supply chain management. Lisa’s hobbies include tennis, water skiing, reading, and travel.

Angie Johnson Keller (’88, human resources management) launched Sophic Partners, LLC, a human capital advisory services firm based in Atlanta, and serves as its CEO and managing partner. She was featured in Workspan Journal in a June 2013 article, “A Look Beyond the Numbers.” She and her husband, John, have a seven-year-old daughter, Meghan. Michael Kirkpatrick (’81, industrial management) is president of DESE Research in Huntsville, Alabama, and was selected as a member of the 2014 class of Leadership Alabama, a statewide invitational program developed to “create a network of relationships and provide a structure to seek understanding of problems and priorities for Alabama’s future.”

Sidney Mays (’82, marketing) serves as vice president of ment) is the summer school coordinator at marketing support services the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. for Vulcan Materials ComHe previously worked for SACS Commispany. He enjoys running sion on Colleges before moving to Tennesmarathons, fishing, boating, see in January 2014. He stays busy away and spending time with his two grandchilfrom the office following his son’s youth dren, ages two and four. baseball team, serving as president of the Jefferson Middle School PTO, and riding Charlotte Miller (’81, accounting) is a CPA his BMW dual sport motorcycle. with Bartlett, Gunter & Yeager, CPAs, P.C. in Opelika. She is also a writer and Patrick Henry (’85, economics) serves as novelist who has three books in print—Bepresident of Daniel Corporation. He and hold, This Dreamer, There is a River, and his wife, Patti, have three children—MeaThrough a Glass, Darkly. Heather (Snow) Gibbons Hartman (’89, manage-

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 47

David Ray Mitchell (’88, finance) has founded

a number of businesses since graduation, including AuburnSouvenirs.com, and serves as vice president of small business marketing for Harvard Risk Management. His wife, Tonya [’91], serves as the forensic toxicology lab director in Knoxville. Their oldest son, David, will graduate from Ole Miss this year with a business economics degree, while son Tanner will enroll at Auburn next year. “Alaina, my four-year-old, will be attending Auburn in 2028,” David promises.

Nelson Murdoch (’81, accounting) serves as

strategic national account manager for HP in Atlanta. He credits his educational background and the power of the Auburn networking brand for helping to lay the groundwork for his 30-plus-year career in information technology sales. “My first interview when getting into this space, after

year in business in August, as well as his son’s enrollment as a business major at Auburn.

Cynthia Poole Sumners (’84, business adminis-

James Thompson (’89, economics) serves as

Karl Rayborn (’87, accounting) serves as

Larry Sellers (’80, business) has been at Auburn University for the last 30 years and currently serves as assistant director for engineering continuing education in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. He serves as the college’s liaison with the Federal Highway Administration and the Alabama Department of Transportation for technical training.

John Robinson (’82, finance) is owner and

Annette Winters Stinson (’81, accounting) earned her PhD two years ago and now serves as a biblical counselor. She enjoys spending time with her three-year-old grandson.

several years of accounting work, allowed me to win the position because I graduated from Auburn.” He has been married to his college sweetheart for 31 years and they have three grown sons.

Julie Arnold Pinnix (’84, accounting) serves

as director of business and finance for St. Luke’s Episcopal School in Mobile. Her daughter, Molly, is a sophomore at Auburn.

senior vice president and CFO for the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives. He enjoys playing tennis in his free time. president of Property Valuation & Consulting, Inc. and Property Investment Specialists, Inc. He celebrated his 20th

James “Rod” Stroud (’82, marketing) is product manager for Turnils in Atlanta.

FedEx managing director reveals keys to seamless supply chains How do you navigate the modern logistics data stream? Just ask Harbert College graduate DAVE POLLARD (’85 finance). As managing director for FedEx Customer Solutions, Pollard asserts that collaboration, innovation and connectivity are the keys to operation in today’s complex retail environment. Collaboration: “You’re not just collaborating with the people you directly do business with—you have to also collaborate with your customers, your customers’ customers, your suppliers, and your suppliers’ supplier,” he explains. “You have to collaborate with your competitors—not to give them the keys to the kingdom, but instead really come together and say ‘hey, we’re in the same industry.’ Figure out what they are doing really well, what you’re doing really well, how can you collaborate and make the overall industry better and the overall business environment within that industry better.” “You also have to collaborate not just upstream to your immediate tier one supplier, but all the way back to the point of origin. You need to understand how the entire flow works.”

48 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

Innovation: Pollard notes that former ice hockey great Wayne Gretzky often skated to where he believed the puck was going to be. He moved toward the future. “Innovation is a critical component because if you are not forward-thinking, everybody is going to overtake you and you are going to lose to the competition,” he says. Connectivity: What’s happening along the supply chain from the store to the point of origin? The successful logistics professional must be connected from the beginning to end. “You have to have the connectivity all the way back to the point of where they’re digging the raw materials out of the ground,” Pollard says. “From a risk mitigation standpoint, you have to understand all the way back to the origin point and downstream to the end customer and their customer’s customer, to figure out where some of the constraints are in the supply chain and how that is going to affect you in the future.” What happens to companies that do not evolve? “In today’s digital age there are devices available for people to have instant information and instant gratification through those devices,” Pollard answers. “If companies don’t adapt and innovate, they will be left behind, their market will shrink, or they will become a niche player.”

tration) is “having fun in Florida” as a retiree who enjoys Zumba and water volleyball.

assistant athletic director and director of student activities at Brookstone School in Columbus, Georgia. He enjoys attending Auburn sporting events and spending time at Lake Martin.

Francis Hospital. His hobbies include trav- Brittney Blue (’96, management information eling and watching Auburn athletics. systems) is director of quality control and regulatory affairs for PRIDE Industries in Roseville, California. Her hobbies include exercising, hiking, and completing home improvement projects.

1990s

James Tierney (’85, accounting) is owner/ broker for Gulfsands Rentals, LLC in Gray Absher (’91, finance) works as a senior Gulf Shores, Alabama. His hobbies include financial analyst with DataScan Technolmodern muscle cars and the restoration of ogies, an Alpharetta, Georgia-based classic vehicles. company. Among his proudest accomplishments is having “converted my wife, Gretchen Van Valkenburg (’86, management) Kimberly, to an Auburn football fan from recently celebrated her 15-year annivera Georgia Bulldog.” The couple recently sary with the University of West Florida, celebrated its fifth anniversary. where she serves as executive director of development and alumni engagement. Gretchen earned an Honorary Alumnus Award from the Pensacola, Florida-based university. R. Lee Walters (’86, industrial operations)

serves as an investigator for Morgan and Morgan P.A. in Northern Virginia. He retired from the FBI in October 2012 as a supervisory special agent. He currently conducts nationwide qui tam/False Claim Act investigations on behalf of Morgan and Morgan clients. He stays busy in his free time, playing volleyball, riding his bike, and watching his children play sports. A recent highlight for the family included a summer 2013 trip to Northern Ireland, where they attended a Van Morrison concert near Dunluce Castle. “Perfect night and perfect company,” Lee says.

Jason Anderson (’98, management informa-

tion systems) works for OnX Enterprise Solutions in Houston as a senior solution architect.

Rob Bouton (’99, international business) has been living all over the world while acting in numerous film and television productions. He has appeared in a recurring role on the BET television series Second Generation Wayans and is starring in the movie Crackerjack by Jeff Foxworthy. He also has an upcoming role in Captive, starring Kate Mara. Keep up with Bouton’s appearances by viewing his IMDB profile page at: http://www.imdb.com/name/ nm4363025/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

Kevin Braswell (’94, management informa-

tion systems) owns Smart Solutions, a Birmingham-based company specializing in assistive technology and home automation. Kevin’s firm has been awarded an Accessible Housing and Smart Home Technology grant.

Mike Arndt (’96, economics) started law school at Denver University Strum College of Law. When he’s not studying, Mike Phillip Cantilo (’94, marketing) is senior vice enjoys cycling and playing hockey. president and group account director for BBDO in Atlanta. BBDO is a US-based Chris Bailey (’95, finance) global advertising agency and a division serves as president and CEO of Omnicom Corp. Phillip is in his third of Liberty Bank in Geraldine, year of helping lead his industry’s enAlabama, where he lives with gagement with AT&T. “We manage all of Edgar Fort (Bo) Ward III (’80, transportation) his wife, Amy (’95) and their AT&T’s advertising across their business is truck fleet sales manager for Alligator three children. units, representing over $1.5 billion in North America in Concord, North Caroliad spending annually.” He’s married with na. He looks forward to Auburn basketball. Berne Barton (’92, operations management) three children, including a 10-year-old son is a partner and agent with Arnold & and twin 8-year-old girls. David Winters (’85, MBA) specializes in Burton Insurance Group in Naples, facility design as an engineer for the City Florida. He enjoys tailgating with his Cynthia Fanning Chamberlayne (’92, finance) is of Atlanta. He also does volunteer work at family at Auburn football games. a national director portfolio specialist with the Georgia Aquarium. Davis Advisors in New York City. Jim Zacharias (’87, finance) serves as senior administrative director for physician groups at St. Francis Hospital in Columbus, Georgia. He helped guide a successful merger of the Columbus Clinic into St.

Bill Davis (’95, finance) is a partner with A&R Super Markets, Inc. Leslie Patterson DiMaggio (’90, business administration) is vice president of HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 49

operations and information technology for Jeff Jones (’90, finance) is self-employed as a Atlas Financial Holdings, Inc. in Chicareal estate developer and appraiser in Pell go. She has four sons ages 8, 9, 15, and 17. City, Alabama. He enjoys coaching youth sports and playing golf.

Andy Easterling (’92, accounting) opened a new company, Birmingham-based DoubleOak Financial Group, LLC, in June 2014 and serves as a certified financial planner. In his off time, he enjoys water skiing, running, and spending time with his family. Kevin Hagler (’93, finance) has

spent 21 years in the banking industry—the last 17-plus as a bank regulator. He currently serves as the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance.

Amanda Jowers (’96, marketing) serves as vice president and financial advisor at Raymond James Financial Services in Panama City Beach, Florida. She enjoys supporting the sports activities of her nine-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter with her husband, Jason. Jeffrey Kirk (’92, business administration,

management information systems) serves as vice president of web services for Kirk Enterprises/Sigmatrix. He enjoys “coaching or attending my children’s sports and activities . . . and taking the family to Auburn sporting events.”

Sara Bliss Kiser (PhD ’98,

management), an associate professor of management at Alabama State University John E. “Josh” Hall (’94, operain Montgomery, recently tions management)is partner earned “Faculty Member and senior managing direcof the Year” honors from the College of tor of Valbridge Property Business Administration. The award is Advisors in Montgomery. determined by a vote of students. She also He helped his firm work with had two articles accepted for publication 41 other appraisal firms to launch a nain the IFRSA Business Review. tional corporation in March 2013. “We are a shareholder and our Montgomery office Patrick Ledbetter (’93, finance) works in Orservices Alabama and the Florida Panlando, Florida, as a developer and analyst. handle,” he says. When he’s not working, In his free time, he enjoys DJing. Josh enjoys spending time with his four children, coaching sports, playing tennis, Gary Long (’92, marketing) serves as chief reading, hunting, and traveling. sales officer for Premier Healthcare Alliance. Pepper Romine Helms (’91, accounting) serves as director of accounting for Pathways Sammy Long (’91, business administration) for Little Feet in Houston. She previously owns a mini-storage complex and serves served as controller for HardHat Technol- as a Social Security disability representaogies, her husband Jerry’s [’88] business tive. He retired after 30 years as a rehabilifor 15 years. After he passed away in 2013, tation counselor with the State of Georgia. she opted for a new sector by working for He’s married with one daughter and three a nonprofit specializing in interest-free grandchildren. loans for adoptions. Corey Maxwell (’95, marketing) serves as Chris Jones (’94, business administration) president of Strategic Risk Partners, LLC earned 2013 Salesperson of the Year in Birmingham. honors from Trivantis, where he serves as director of sales for healthcare/insurance. Ashley Armenakis McClendon (’93, accounting) He resides in Cincinnati. lives in Arlington, Virginia, with her hus-

50 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

band of 19 years, Trey [’91 and ’97], and their 10-year-old daughter, Mary Glen. Ashley serves as vice president of finance for a non-profit organization in DC, where she has worked for the last 15 years.

Finding creative ways to become a profitable and flexible leader “Our goal was to create an efficient organization that is not controlled by Wall Street analysts and burdened with fat executive compensation programs. We feel that we know what a reasonable profit margin is and that affords us the ability to pass along cost savings to our customers.”

Christina Cobb Million (’97, marketing) is an

associate vice president with Georgia State University in Atlanta. She celebrated the arrival of a second baby boy, Fisher Lee Million, in March 2014. Christina enjoys travel and spending time with family.

Orton, who has worked for Suntrust Corporate and Investment Banking and as a project manager for IBM, knows real-time data can be a highly-valuable commodity.

William Aiken Morris (MBA ’95) works in PQ supplier development for Honda Motors of Alabama. He earned the State Guard Association of the United States’ Faithful Award for President Elect and was named to the the Alabama State Defense Force Legion of Merit. Dan Murphy (’93, business administration) is owner and partner of Murphy Matza Wealth Management in New Bern, North Carolina. Away from the job, he enjoys spending time at the beach and lake with his family. Jimmy Don Overton (’92, finance) is self-employed as a construction and real estate development attorney with the Overton Firm in Little Rock, Arkansas. He also serves as national director for the National Association of Home Builders. Justin Panzer (MBA ’99) teamed up with two colleagues in 2013 and founded eventuosity, which offers software applications for event planners. “We have just launched our beta software and will be fully commercial later this summer.” Justin lives in Philadelphia. Jeff Powell (’98, business

administration) opened First Baldwin Insurance, a property and casualty agency in Foley, Alabama, in 2009. First Baldwin handles personal and commercial lines of insurance, and Powell serves as its president.

Barbara Grainger Pressley (’90, accounting) teaches mathematics at Hoover High School near Birmingham.

“Supply chain is far more than moving freight from point to point. Customers rely on information to plan every aspect of their business from budget to planning and sales to purchasing. We have found success in . . . giving the customer real time visibility via our traffic IT system,” he says. “As the economy has changed and importers move closer to JIT inventory strategy, shipment information is not only critical but also the expectation.”

Orton, co-founder of Anker International FORD ORTON didn’t believe in a top-heavy corporate environment where executives are heavily compensated for less production. So he co-founded his own company under the principle of always giving the customer more than they expect. Since its inception in 2011, Atlanta-headquartered Anker International continues to find creative ways to become a profitable leader in the global freight industry. “We are a transportation company that has very strong partnership agreements with extensive agency networks in Asia, Latin America, and Europe,” says Orton, a 1999 Harbert College graduate with a degree in finance, whose company helps ship products for customers who source from overseas markets.

Kenny Prince (’91, management information systems) serves as purchasing director for Global Purchasing Systems in Carthage, Missouri. He enjoys “following [his] boys’ sporting events.”

Wayne Rigler (’93, business administration) serves as vice president of sales for Avero Diagnostics in Irving, Texas. In his spare time, he spends time with family, coaches youth basketball, and participates in CrossFit.

Matt Rodgers (’98, management information systems) serves as an account executive with Adobe Systems in Atlanta. “After 15

“We took a risk and jumped into it and here we are today. Through very hard work and determination, we have grown exponentially over the past three years to a multimillion-dollar corporation.” “[Harbert College] gave me the core fundamental tools to excel when working for large corporations and ultimately myself.” Orton said the products that Anker International ships range from retail, industrial equipment, tires, and “anything that can be manufactured and imported into the US. We have learned to adapt as the economy declined. No longer do we occasionally review pricing. We have to revisit our price points on a monthly basis”. “With these principles, we have been successful in growing from a startup logistics provider, debt free, and continue to be a profitable corporation today”.

years in a variety of consulting and sales roles, I finally get my ‘dream role’ and manage higher ed accounts in Alabama and Georgia,” he says. “That’s right, I get to return to Auburn as often as invited on expense account! And, yes, I still frequent Momma Goldberg’s on every business trip.” He enjoys fatherhood and the occasional round of golf.

Keri Sauer (BS ’98, international business,

MBA ’00) in March 2014 was named vice president of technology delivery for Global Technology Solutions in Atlanta. In addition to following Auburn football, she enjoys gardening, cooking, and traveling.

Brett Sheedy (’95, accounting)

is president and in-house counsel for Partners Tax & Accounting, LLC in Birmingham. He recently joined Birmingham Southern College as an adjunct professor of accounting. Brett earned a UAB National Alumni Society Top 25 Excellence in Business Award in 2014.

Brad Stroup (’96, management information systems) recently began a new career as a solutions account executive for Dell in Birmingham after selling the remote managed services technology company HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 51

he founded in 2001 and operated for 12 years. “From each step of my journey, from Houston Carr’s telecommunication class to community banking solutions to enterprise solution consulting and business owner, I have had the opportunity to gain unique perspectives and skill-sets providing the complex solutions to propel my customers’ potential.” Brad is also the proud father of five children.

sion. His promotion afforded the opportunity to relocate to Frisco, Texas, with his wife, Courtney, and daughters Ellie, Sydneym and Mallory.

Caroline Hubbard Sturgeon (’95, business administration) is the general manager at Marriott International—Courtyard by Marriott Scottsdale Old Town in Arizona. She was recently promoted to general manager from senior account executive. Her hobbies include “repurposing and upcycling ‘found’ items into art or usable things,” and she recently completed her first half-marathon.

Lisa Sively Bennich (’02, accounting) serves as a senior accountant for Wear, Howell, Strickland, Quinn & Law, LLC in Decatur, Alabama. She obtained her CPA license shortly after graduating from Auburn and married a fellow Auburn accounting alum, Matt Bennich, in 2002. They have two children.

Ryan Tabor (’99, management information

the villages of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, with Zulus. Their travels have also taken them to Israel and Palestine.

dent of finance for Coastal, an Old Castle Company—a manufacturer and distributor of masonry and hardscrape products in Florida.

family business) serves as an international enrollment counselor for Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina. She got married in March 2013.

Brett Bunch (’07, business

administration), deputy district chief of contracting for the US Army’s Philadelphia District, was selected for a GS-14 promotion in January 2014. “This is a very senior level position which requires frequent interaction with headquarters—Department of the Army,” he says.

Tyler Campbell (’00, finance) recently earned

systems) was promoted to managing consultant at c3, a management consulting firm in Nashville. In July, he celebrated his 15-year anniversary with his wife, whom he met at Auburn. He enjoys playing and coaching soccer and volunteering in the community when he’s not working.

Megan Brown (’09, accounting) serves as

a promotion to investment management consultant and moved to Columbus, Ohio, with BlackRock. He says “free time is all about spending time with my three boys.”

Craig Tindell (’93, marketing) recently cel-

Kasey Brown Bryan (’07, management

Matthew Cessna (’08, accounting) recently celebrated his engagement to Lisa Prezzano. He works for the Home Depot in Atlanta as finance manager.

ebrated 20 years in the residential mortgage business. He serves as a managing member of Principal Mortgage, LLC and works with fellow Auburn alum Adam Stoffregen. In his spare time, he enjoys coaching and relaxing at Lake Martin with his family.

a V&A finance specialist for Accenture in Atlanta. Her interests outside of work include reading, travel, and wine. information systems) worked for KPMG before becoming an educator. A teacher for five years, she works at the Bedford School and resides in Fayetteville, Georgia, with her husband—a fellow Auburn grad—and daughter.

Britton Edward Turner II (’98, flight manage-

ment) began a new position as an attorney with the Veterans Administration Board of Veterans Appeals in Washington, DC.

2000s William Andrews (MBA ’06) was recently promoted to vice president of sales over Batesville Casket Company’s West Divi52 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

Allison and Michael Buckelew (’04, marketing;

’03, management information systems, respectively) founded Zulu Racing in Atlanta and have been actively involved in philanthropic efforts overseas. They have built three libraries in South Africa, a school and orphanage in the Dominican Republic, and are working to complete a soccer field in Israel. They’ve completed Florida’s Ironman Triathlon and the New York City Marathon, and have also run in

president and credit manager with People’s United Equipment Finance Corp.

which offers organizational effectiveness, strategic change and corporate learning enhancement for its clients.

Mazen El Nakib (’00, business administration, Kevin Lott (’04, marketing) serves as chief

Ken Arnott (MBA ’02) serves as vice presi-

Nicole Brooker (’07, entrepreneurship and

Brett Dekle (’09, MBA) is an assistant vice

Meridith Vinson Collari (’00, management information systems) earned a promotion to senior implementation project manager with Vital, a Tosbiba Medical Systems Group company, in May 2014. Meridith works out of Birmingham for the Minneapolis-based company. She enjoys traveling, spending time with family and friends, and playing with her one-year-old who “is growing into a smart little human right before my eyes.” Stephanie Parsons Day (’02, marketing) and

her husband, Steve, welcomed their third child in February. Miss Elliot Kate joined big sister, Savannah (8), and big brother, Cooper (5).

MBA ’02), the youngest branch manager at lending officer for Heritage South Credit Fransabank SAL, lives and works in Saida, Union in Sylacauga, Alabama.When he’s Lebanon. not working, he enjoys reading, playing Legos with his children or spending time John Michael Giambrone (’09, aviation with them poolside, or at their treehouse. management) supervises airside operations and coordinates construction at Ryan Mahtani (’02, human resources manHartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International agement) is an investment counselor with Airport as part of the City of Atlanta BB&T in Mobile. He is a recipient of the Department of Aviation. President’s Cup Award.

Brad Hamilton (’06, marketing) Kisha McLoyd-Mitchell (MBA ’07) earned a

serves as a senior systems engineer in the information technology department of Brasfield & Gorrie in Birmingham. He and his wife, Abby, welcomed their first child, June Frances, into the world in March 2014.

Bradley Hammer (’03, finance) owns the

Bradley Hammer State Farm Agency and recently welcomed the arrival of his second child.

promotion to financial support supervisor last year for the State of Alabama-Department of Human Resources in Bessemer.

A.J. Mills (’09, marketing) works in the Auburn University athletics department as an executive support specialist for the athletic director. In addition to serving as director of the Auburn Leadership Institute, she is nearing the completion of a PhD in higher education administration.

have two children—daughter Maryanne Ford and son Kevin Cornelius.

Christopher Partridge (MS ’07, human

resources management), human capital management system coordinator for Steptoe & Johnson PLLC in Bridgeport, West Virginia, and his wife, Mica, celebrated the arrival of their son, Ryder, in February 2014. In addition to “spending our time with the little guy,” Christopher enjoys hunting, fishing, golfing, and brewing his own beer.

Josh Patton (’09, management) is franchise owner of Volunteer Restaurant Concepts LLC and recently opened two Chicken Salad Chick franchises in Tennessee.

John Landon Pendleton (’00, management information systems) serves as chief technology officer at Instant Diagnostic Systems.

Katherine Mitchell (’06, international business) is an associate attorney with Sullivan Andy Redman (’02, business administration) tax manager for Sitel in Nashville. & Cromwell, LLP in New York City. serves as vice president of Teach for America in Chicago. This fall, he will start a new job Joseph Hodnette (’08, human resources man- Chris Moeller (’08, accounting) investigates as the chief operating officer at OneGoal, a agement) has been promoted to director narcotics and money laundering organiza- nonprofit and the nation’s only teacher-led of human resources at the Ritz-Carlton tions in an effort to “take the profit out of college access and persistence program. He Chicago, a Four Seasons Hotel. criminal activity.” Chris, a financial inves- and his wife, Sarah, have a two-year-old tigator for the US Department of Justice, daughter, Aubrey, and are expecting the Christopher D. Huff (’08, business administra- will be getting married in October 2014. arrival of another girl in December. tion) is process/safety manager for Sejin He enjoys playing golf and spending time America in Dadeville. He recently comin downtown DC and Georgetown. Levi Rentz (’05, logistics) works pleted the Hyundai Sonata’s 2015 facelift in Columbus, Georgia, as and is about to embark on one for the Kia Lucas Monroe (’09, finance) serves as prodistrict sales coordinator for Sorrento. “Business is good,” he said. He is duction planning manager for Card-MonAflac, the nation’s largest the father of a two-year-old boy. roe Corp. in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He provider of supplemental celebrated the birth of a daughter, Palmer insurance. Jennifer Kessler (’04, finance) works at Quinn, in December 2013. Wright Patterson Air Force Base in DayBrian Robbins (’08, accounting) serves as ton, Ohio, as a civilian contract negotiator Katie Murnane (MAcc ’08) is FSO assurance a business and tax attorney for Gilpin in the Air Force Security Assistance Coop- manager for Ernst & Young, LLP in BirGivhan, PC. He earned his law degree eration Directorate working to set up base mingham. She recently completed a three- from New York University in 2013. His operations support in Iraq. month rotation in Zurich, Switzerland. hobbies include spending time at Lake Martin and watching Auburn football. Brad Knueven (’03, management informaMolly Forsythe Partlow (’09, accounting) tion systems) lives in Cincinnati, where serves as a senior accountant at the UniRobert Shiver (’08, marketing) has helped he serves as director of business developversity of Alabama. She and her husband, Senior Life Insurance Company in ment for TiER1 Performance Solutions, Kevin, a 2009 building science graduate, Thomasville, Georgia, double in size since James Hildreth (’09, accounting) works as a

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 53

Out of darkness comes hope: one marine inspires a host of heroes may not be interrupted by a fortuitous phone call. According to Veterans Affairs, the suicide rate for male military veterans under 30 increased by 44 percent from 2009-2011. Female veterans saw an 11-percent increase in their suicide rate in that same span. On average, 22 veterans take their lives each day. Stuckey, the commanding officer of Transportation and Support Company, Combat Logistics Battalion 2, 2nd Marine Logistics Group at Camp Lejeune, wanted to do his part to find a solution. As he talked to other Marines, he found that many opened up about the problems they were encountering.

US Marine Corps Capt. LEE STUCKEY slid his pistol into his mouth, closed his eyes and began to squeeze the trigger. Injured by an improvised explosive device in Iraq in 2007, plagued by post- traumatic stress disorder and haunted by visions of lost comrades, Stuckey wanted to end it all. As Stuckey’s finger tensed on the trigger, his cell phone rang. The screen displayed the identity of the caller as “Mom.” Stuckey, a 2004 supply chain management and logistics graduate, put down the pistol, picked up the phone and made an admission that was too long in coming. “I was crying,” Stuckey says. “I said, `Hey, I need help.’” Over the course of the next few weeks, as Stuckey faced his demons with the help of family and counseling, he considered other young men and women in uniform attempting to cope with unbearable stress and loss. Those contemplating suicide

becoming director of marketing in 2011. He and his wife Lindsay Shirley Shiver [’09] have two sons, Grayson and Landon, who are learning to say “War Eagle!”.

Stuckey invited a group of 65 veterans to his farm in Shorter, Alabama, for a deer hunting trip. The pastoral setting proved ideal for what Stuckey calls “screen porch therapy” and inspired him to start A HERO Foundation (America’s Heroes Enjoying Recreational Outdoors)—a year-and-a-half-old non-profit that connects Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans with peers and provides opportunities for healing. “We make suicide such a taboo conversation,” says Stuckey, who began his seventh deployment in August. “No one ever wants to talk about it.” The tones are even more muted in the military, where alpha personalities, physical prowess and mental toughness are points of pride. “It’s not weak to talk about your emotions,” Stuckey said. “We bring the guys together, take them hunting and fishing. At the end of it, we’ve had a counseling session. We’ll talk about what we’ve been through, what we’re going through.” Of the 435 veterans who have been served by A HERO thus far, Stuckey said 90 had admitted to contemplating suicide. “They’re all still alive,” he says.

the airport as lead project manager and earned his MBA and PMP certification. He enjoys cooking and yard work and is currently in the process of planning his wedding.

Michael Ryan Snuggs (’06, entrepreneurship

James Simon (’06, business) serves as project manager for DaVita Kidney Dialysis in Brentwood, Tennessee. He recently launched the TSA pre-check program at 54 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

and family business) serves as manager of Bromberg’s in Birmingham. A certified gemologist, he will launch his own line of cufflinks in fall 2014. He and his wife, Taylor Burns [’08], will celebrate their second anniversary in October 2014.

Robert Sommerville (’05, information systems

management) works as a technical solution

engineer for Health Information Designs in Auburn, but resides in Hoover. He earned his MBA from UAB in 2013.

Daniel Cody Sparks (’01, ac-

counting) works in Columbus, Georgia, for Aflac as a strategic sourcing consultant. He recently purchased his first home. In his free time, he enjoys golf, basketball, volleyball, and kickball.

Tim Speakman (’00, finance) works for TCF Inventory Finance, Inc. in Alpharetta, Georgia, as a credit analyst.

Steven Spraggins (’08, information systems) serves as lead engineer for the Department of the Air Force at Maxwell-Gunter Annex in Montgomery. His activities away from the job include enjoying Cub Scouts and Auburn football with his three children. Austin Suellentrop (’05, finance) serves as vice president and leadership development specialist for Regions Bank in Birmingham. He is also a Gallup-certified strengths coach. Kane Sutphin (’09, finance) serves as marketing director for TreeHouse, an Austin, Texas-based home improvement store focused on “green solutions.” N. Kevin Tavakoli (’02, finance) recently earned a promotion to vice president with Regions Bank in Birmingham, and also serves as a branch manager. He recently married Jane Zack of Titusville, Florida. He and his wife, a Florida State graduate, enjoyed a trip to the BCS national championship game in January and followed it up with a visit to the taping of The Price is Right. Robert Thayer (’01, marketing, MBA ’09)

serves as vice president for marketing for Tri-North Builders in Madison, Wisconsin. He recently completed the organization of “Kids Building Wisconsin,” a free, interactive event aimed at getting children interested in the construction industry. He and his wife are expecting the arrival of their second child in December.

Jeff Thurston (’03, logistics) is division trainmaster for BNSF Railway in New Orleans.

Kimberly Weber (’02, finance) recently received a promotion to assistant vice president at Grandbridge Real Estate Capital in Birmingham. Rachel Williams (’08, market-

ing) has won seven sales awards for top performance as an advertising account executive for the Washington Post.

Christian G. Zimmerman (MBA ’04), a complex spinal neurosurgeon for Trinity Health,

Saint Alphonsus Health System in Boise, Idaho, is also chairman and founder of the Idaho Neurological Institute. His professional honors include an appointment as a Royal Society of Medicine Fellow in 2011, recognition as a “Health Care Hero” by the Idaho Business Review from 2009-2011 and the NCQA Lower Back Pain Award. He’s the proud father of James (17), a West Point appointee; Christina (15), a company apprentice with Ballet Idaho; and John (12), a junior high school student.

2010s

employee (ACE) and certified member (CM) designations from the American Association of Airport Executives.

Evan J. Chumbler (’12, aviation management) is a maintenance associate with S&S Aviation Co. in Canton, Georgia. When he’s not working, he enjoys mountain biking and playing golf. Mary Katherine (Ledbetter) Clancy (’10, accounting) lives in Wilmington, North Carolina, and serves as staff accountant for Sage Island Ultimate Design. Carmen Eiland (’11, human resource man-

agement) serves as payroll and accounts payable coordinator for Lipman Brothers in Nashville. Her hobbies include cooking and traveling.

Clayton Adamy (’13, aviation management)

Jake Gannon (’12, entrepreneurship and family business) serves as an account manager for Insight Global in Dallas.

Asim Ali (’11, information systems manage-

Andy Gilpin (’13, finance) is a senior associate with PMRG in Washington, DC.

Christina Allen (’10, accounting and finance) was recently promoted to her first leadership position as accounting supervisor for the Home Depot in Atlanta. She also bought her first home.

Matt Golden (’13, marketing) creates content as motion graphics designer and video editor for “one of the nation’s largest churches” in North Point Ministries in Alpharetta, Georgia. “I’ve also been able to have a hand in our TV show, Your Move, with Andy Stanley that comes on NBC after Saturday Night Live in 11 different markets.” Matt, who married his high school sweetheart shortly after graduating from Auburn, enjoys woodworking in his free time.

is first officer with Hyannis Air Service in Hyannis, Massachusetts.

ment) began a new position in May 2014 as project manager for university initiatives at Auburn University. He is also pursuing a PhD in adult education.

Kurtis Brackney (’14, supply chain management) is enrolled in CSX’s Procurement and Supply Chain Leadership Development Program in Jacksonville, Florida.

Arianne (Guerra) Breiteneicher (MBA ’11) lives

in College Station, Texas, and works as assistant brand manager for US WorldMeds, a Louisville, Kentucky-based firm.

Nicole Halpin (’13, business

administration/marketing) serves as a marketing assistant for the University of Texas Southwestern Barry Lee Brown II (’10, aviation management) Medical Center in Dallas. serves as airport operations agent for the She says living in a big city has its perks, Lee County Port Authority in Fort Myers, and when she’s not working, she enjoys Florida. He and his team are finishing up playing tennis and attending sports and several large-scale construction projects in live musical events. order to build an additional runway within the next few years at one of the nation’s David Hardage (’11, marketing) lives and busiest single runway airports. He is in works in San Antonio, Texas, as a strategic the process of obtaining airport certified analyst.

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 55

Simone Harris (’13, supply

chain management) is a trainmaster trainee with Norfolk Southern. She recently visited her father’s place of birth—Kingston, Jamaica— for the first time.

Will Hart (MBA ’11) works for Tuck-Hinton

Architects in Nashville.

Morgan Hatcher (’14, marketing) is a mem-

ber of the leadership program at Acuity Brands, an electronics manufacturing company in Conyers, Georgia. Morgan, who is currently working with corporate accounts, said she loves exploring Atlanta in her spare time. “Since I am from a small town, living in Atlanta never lets me get bored.”

Carter Hawkins (’14, finance) serves as a campus missionary for Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). He enjoys “being outside and picking up new—or revisiting old—sports.”

Kerale Hill (’11, accounting) serves as a

financial analyst for CenterPoint Energy in Houston. She recently earned an MBA in energy finance from the University of Houston. During her free time, Kerale enjoys training for and competing in marathons and half-marathons.

Sam Holt (’13, marketing)

works for Chartwells (Tiger Dining) at Auburn University as marketing manager. “I’ve been learning the process of creating marketing plans for the dining program here at Auburn University. It has been a challenging yet rewarding experience so far,” he says. Sam likes finding time to play golf and dine on sushi.

Joseph Hudson (’14, supply chain manage-

ment) works as an operations supervisor for DAMCO Distribution Services Inc., a division of AP Moller Maersk, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He is also a member of DAMCO’s leadership development program.

Stuart Hunt (’13, management information systems) lives in Atlanta and works as an

56 HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014

IT risk auditor for Crowe Horwath. His hobbies include kayaking.

Josh Kerley (’12, human resource management) serves as a sales and services advisor for BBVA Compass in Huntsville, Alabama. He participates in recreational softball, hockey, and a golf league. Troy T. Mannan (MBA ’14) accepted a new role as director of finance for Pinnacle Consulting, Inc. in Gilbert, Arizona. Lindsey Mettelman (’13, marketing) earned

two promotions in the last year and now works as the golf event sales representative for the Cliffs Clubs-South Carolina. Her other highlight from the last year was getting married.

Brett Miller (’14, marketing) is a sales trainee with Ferguson Enterprises in Nashville.

Jeffrey Mitchell (’13, finance) joined GMP

Securities LLC in Houston as a junior associate for US energy sales. He previously worked as an analyst for Duff & Phelps.

Brittany Murphy (’13, finance) is an analytics consultant with Wells Fargo in Phoenix. Gene Osborne (’11, supply chain manage-

Parker Richardson (MBA ’10), who is the

global MBA development program associate and regional oncology sales manager for GlaxoSmithKline in Seattle, recently completed a year-long assignment in Paris. The assignment enabled him to become fluent in a second language. He welcomed the arrival of his fourth child in May.

Spencer Ross (’10, supply chain manage-

ment) manages a large group and three separate coordinators who handle shipments from major manufacturers across the US as national account manager for Coyote Logistics in Birmingham. He enjoys spending time with his wife (a 2008 AU graduate) and their three daughters.

Charles Story (MBA ’12) co-founded Gamertopia LLC in New Orleans. His current projects include “developing a new gaming platform that will bring the video games of our childhood into the 21st century.” J.J. Sumerel (’13, finance) is a CMBS analyst

for Spring 11 in Atlanta. When he’s not working, he frequently enjoys a round of golf. “Atlanta is absolutely amazing for a young professional to start their career and enjoy life.”

Dustin Taylor (’12, supply chain management) started with Variscosity Management Group as a summer intern Ryan Parten (’10, supply chain management) in 2011 and began full-time lives in an ideal place to pursue his hobwith the company in 2012 as bies of golf, camping and other outdoors director of operations and finance. Since activities. He resides in Portland, Oregon, he joined the Birmingham-area company, where he works as a quality assurance it has expanded from four regional clients analyst for TekSystems. Among his profes- to more than 25 hospital-based vein sional triumphs is the successful deploycenters nationwide. Dustin’s duties include ment of a sustainable material calculator operational oversight at all facilities and for Nike Inc. focusing on operational strategies. ment) is an explosive ordnance disposal expert for the US Army stationed in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Ciara Perritano (’10, international business) works for Deutsche Bank in Jacksonville, Florida, as an operations analyst. Michael Pittman (’13, finance) works for Delta Air Lines as a senior financial analyst.

Brett Thompson (’10, business administra-

the Lumber Division at Georgia Pacific’s corporate headquarters in Atlanta. He also became a father in October 2013 to “a beautiful, healthy boy” named Cash.

J.H. Williams IV (’11, business administration) works in management and commercial sales for J.H. Williams Oil Company Inc. in Tampa, Florida. Free time activities include hunting, fishing, and golfing.. Emily Winkelman (’13, market-

ing) recently moved to Nashville, where she serves as patron services agent for the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. When she’s not hard at work, she enjoys spending time with friends and family. Emily looks forward to joining the local alumni association.

Matthew H. Young (’13, accounting, MAcc

’14) will join Sellers, Richardson, Holman, and West LLP in Birmingham in November as an assurance associate. He recently passed all four parts of the uniform CPA exam.

Harbert College launches alumni youth movement Harbert College alumni 35-and-under in Atlanta and Birmingham now have opportunities to network with business peers, catch up with former classmates and make new connections in their communities.

If you’re interested in joining one of these groups, or in starting a chapter in your city, please contact Harbert College development coordinator Stephanie Froehlich at 334.844.2983 or via e-mail at stephanie@auburn.edu.

The college worked with graduates to launch Young Alumni chapters in both cities over the summer. The groups host quarterly happy hour social events featuring guest speakers.

Joseph Young (’14, aviation management/ supply chain management) works for American Airlines in Dallas, Texas, as a revenue management analyst. In his free time, he enjoys exercising, playing golf and “using my travel benefits at American to see the world.”

Stay connected with Harbert College!

tion) works for the East Central Alabama Gas District in Ashland as operations manager.

Bailey Westcott (’13, marketing) works as a field sales representative for Techtronic Industries in Birmingham.

E. Preston Pritchett III (’12, business administration) serves as graduate assistant for the Interfraternity Council in Auburn Univer- Chad Williams (’11, supply chain managesity’s Division of Student Affairs. ment) serves as an account manager for

Facebook: facebook.com/AUBusiness Twitter: twitter.com/AUBusiness LinkedIn: linkedin.com/groups/ Auburn-College-Business-Alumni-153974

HarbertMagazine, Spring 2014 57

DEAN’S LAST WORD

OUR MISSION: “We are dedicated to producing

HIGHLY-DESIRED GRADUATES

Striving for Balance

and generating knowledge that

DRIVES INDUSTRY THOUGHT AND PRACTICE.”

Let’s take a moment to meditate on balance. Since humans first began to trade, innovation has driven business practice and created new business models. Technological breakthroughs have always accelerated at, by definition, an unprecedented rate, but today’s pace is mind-boggling. We now possess a level of knowing that was inconceivable a decade ago. We’re able to collect and act on information about the needs, wants, and habits of clients, customers, partners, competitors, patients, casual acquaintances—essentially, everyone. We’re able to complete business transactions in less time than it takes a hummingbird to flap its wings. Beyond the development of enhanced computer might and megabyte, our lives have been undeniably changed by the proliferation of “smart” devices that make it so handy. That handiness would be nothing more than a cute oddity if it could not control the machines and process of production. And those machines would lay idle if we couldn’t effectively deliver their products to the marketplace.

the task. We offer the benefit of being able to see over time and distance, to look ahead to the next year or next decade rather than the next quarter. We understand the trade-offs between efficiency and equity, and the difficulties in implementing and managing change. And in our effort to balance these disparate elements, we can and should lead business thought and practice.

Not only has the speed of technological innovation increased, but the scope of this innovation now stretches across every aspect of business. As we’ve noted throughout this issue of Harbert Magazine, new technologies and the business models they inspire can engender an assortment of possibilities and problems.

It has been said that you train for the expected, but you educate yourself for the unexpected. We know that our students need a (again that word) balance of both—training to handle the practical aspects of the marketplace, and education to prepare them for the possibilities and problems we have yet to comprehend.

That’s where we come in. As a college of business, we have an obligation—a mission—to drive business thought and practice, to create possibilities and solve problems. We simultaneously inform industry and are informed by it. That mission extends to our students as well—to train and educate them for leadership.

War Eagle!

Like Icarus, we know we should pursue a middle path, but we expect business to pursue the highest efficiency, the greatest profit. Moreover, we expect that pursuit to be, if not single-minded, highly focused. For business to maintain that focus and balance the positives and negatives of emerging technologies may be unrealistic. However, a college of business is uniquely suited to

58 HarbertMagazine, Fall 2014

Of course, all of this balanced thinking won’t amount to much if I can’t straighten my legs.

Let Us Hear From You Bill C. Hardgrave, PhD

Dean and Wells Fargo Professor Harbert College of Business

Whether you are an alum or a supporter, a student or a parent, you have a stake in our future.

web: harbert.auburn.edu email: cobletters@auburn.edu

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