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 Romance
Begins with EMBA
Shannon Francis edged into a seat in the back of her Marriott School Executive
MBA classroom, trying not to draw attention to herself since she was among the
few not wearing a suit. "Then about twenty minutes late, Steven waltzed in the
door in rumpled, wrinkled casual attire, and I said to myself, ‘We could get along!'"
Besides that, Shannon was sure that it meant he was single.
Eight months and dozens of study groups later, Steven Clegg finally asked
Shannon out for the first time and proposed that same night—the last day of March.
The next day they had fun trying to convince classmates, family, and friends that
it wasn't an April Fool's joke. The next week Shannon brought a cake into finance
class to make the announcement. The cake was decorated with the words, "Steven
bites the dust!"
Steven is cofounder of EmergeCore Networks and has been selected to serve as president
and CEO of the company responsible for strategic positioning and financial growth.
EmergeCore, located in Salt Lake City, constructs equipment for high-speed switching
and routing applications that run the web.
Before joining EmergeCore, Steven was senior vice president of sales and marketing
at Phobos Corporation, which was recently acquired by Sonic Wall. In addition,
Steven founded and continues to maintain management of Beacon Strategies, an Internet
and telecommunications consulting company.
Shannon has worked for Intermountain Health Care (IHC) since 1984, where she has
held positions as director of physician recruitment, manager of the perinatal
outreach program, and staff nurse in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. Two years
ago, she completed her International Board Certification to become a lactation
consultant. She also participates on two corporate policy committees for IHC:
Continuous Quality Improvement Team for Breastfeeding and the Corporate Perinatal
Outreach Education Committee.
The Cleggs have six children, five under the age of ten, and reside in Fruit Heights,
Utah.
Alumni Board Launches Burst Projects
Twenty-two Marriott School Alumni Board members met 8–9 March to
plan projects for the next five months. The board, which consists of twenty-nine
active members, meets each fall and spring.
Members discussed the implementation of burst projects—short-term, manageable
projects designed to be accomplished in two months or less. Each committee—undergraduate,
alumni relations, and fund-raising—sets measurable goals to be accomplished through
developing and following specific action plans. Each committee's progress is reported
and tracked by the Marriott School's Alumni and Public Relations office.
The board discussed projects such as recruiting student mentors, assisting with
undergraduate orientation, increasing the percentage of contributing alumni, sending
email updates to alumni, setting up a general alumni board email address, increasing
efforts for alumni job placement, and merchandising Marriott School logo products.
New Alumni Board Members
| Tina
Ashby joins the board as an alumni relations committee
member. Her expertise includes finance and management consulting.
Ashby works as a freelance writer for the Public Affairs Department
of the Church. She previously was director of finance for
Catholic Healthcare West, a manager at UCLA Business Enterprises,
and a management consultant with Arthur Andersen. Ashby earned
her BS in community health education in 1982 and her MBA in
1984 from BYU. She and her husband, Eric, reside in Farmington,
Utah. |
|
| Paul Carter is vice president of strategic marketing for
emWare, Inc. Carter has extensive international experience, having worked in Germany
and France. He has held senior positions in marketing and sales. Carter earned
his MBA from BYU in 1988. He and his wife, Kathy, reside in Sandy, Utah. |
|
| Dean Ossola
will serve on the alumni relations committee. He is
employed at UBS PaineWebber, Inc., and has worked at
Microsoft Corporation. His expertise includes sales,
marketing, finance, and technology. Ossala earned his
BS in marketing from the Marriott School in 1989. He
and his wife, Amelia, reside in Aliso Viejo, California.
|
|
| Stephanie Sorensen, alumni relations committee member, is
manager of billing operations for I-Link. She specializes in operational finance
and has worked for Security Reprographics, Inc., Firestack and Associates, and
Companion Corporation. She earned her BS in business management from the Marriott
School in 1992 and her MBA from the University of Utah in 1998. She resides in
Salt Lake City, Utah. |
|
| Mark Webb is vice president of finance for EmergeCore Networks.
He joins the Alumni Board as a member of the undergraduate committee and has experience
in finance, accounting, and management. He has worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers
and Tenfold Corporation. He earned his BS in accounting and his MAcc from the
Marriott School in 1994. He resides with his wife, Angela, in Provo, Utah. |
|
| Dow Wilson, undergraduate committee member, is general manager
of GE Medical Systems' CAT scan business. His areas of expertise include industrial
marketing, business development, general management, and healthcare. He has been
employed by GE Plastics and Booz- Allen & Hamilton. Wilson earned his BA from
BYU in 1982 and his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth University. Wilson brings
a wealth of international experience to the board after having been an expatriate
in Europe for six years. He and his wife, Lynne, reside in Brookfield, Wisconsin. |
|
Alum Succeeds as Olympic Athlete
and CEO
 Many
people would be content with running the semifinals of the 100x4
meter relay in the 2000 Summer Olympic Games. Not Kenneth Andam;
he plans to compete again in the 2004 games and bring home a medal.
However, his wins aren't only on the track. He is lapping competitors
on the business fast track as well. Andam earned a double BS in
information systems and economics from BYU in 2000 and is now a
graduate student at BYU studying mass communications. His education
gives him the technical and analytical skills he needs to compete
in the global economy.
Andam, from Ghana, West Africa, was just promoted to CEO of Worldwide
Financial Holding, Inc., a publicly-held company that deploys wireless
technology set to revolutionize how the world communicates. The
company develops and markets user-friendly, web-based software applications
and development tools on an integrated service platform. The instruments
allow both large organizations and small, stand-alone businesses
to exploit the full capabilities of the Internet as a communications,
information management, marketing, and e-commerce platform. As CEO,
Andam's responsibilities include developing business plans, managing
staff, fund-raising, and offering expertise in strategic partnerships,
possible mergers and acquisitions, and investor relations.
In addition, Andam serves as chairman of the board of Squanet Communications.
Andam founded Squanet to provide companies with the information
and Internet technology needed to market their products at cheaper
rates. Squanet helps companies cut infrastructure costs so corporate
resources can be directed toward Internet advertising. The company
also helps investors obtain the necessary investment contacts needed
in African countries like Ghana and Gambia—opening Africa's industrial
sector to foreign investors.
Andam's long-term career goal includes returning to Ghana to become
a political leader. "That's what keeps me moving," he said. "I'll
be taken more seriously when I return with skills and knowledge
I can impart to my people."
Referring to his racing capabilities, he said, "I believe that I
have the potential to be the best in the world if I want to be."
Andam is already training heavily to run for Ghana in Greece in
2004. His athletic ability coupled with a clear business course
will advance him to the front—no matter what track he's on.
|
