milgard mba newsletter vol 3(3)
DESCRIPTION
Spring/summer newsletter 2013TRANSCRIPT
POINTS OF INTEREST:
Application Deadline—The application deadline for Autumn quarter is July 15th, 2013
Class Notes—send your updates to Aubree Steffens at [email protected] by October 15, 2013to be included in the next newsletter.
V OLUME 3 (3)
SPRING/SUMMER
2013
MBA Newsletter
UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON | TACOMA
Meet the Graduates 2
Executive Speaker
Series 4
Foster International
Study Tour 5
Spring TGIF & Class
of 2003 Reunion 6
Faculty Profile &
Beta Gamma Sigma 7
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Message From the MBA Director
I am pleased to present 26
students who should be join-
ing the alumni ranks by the
end of Summer if not sooner.
Please take a look at their
profiles in the pages that
follow. The founding presi-
dent of our alumni associa-
tion, Chris Inverso, has had
some success in recruiting
alumni to join the alumni
board. The Alumni Associa-
tion organized pre-event
gatherings before the au-
tumn quarter executive
speaker and the Professional
Networking Event. We look
forward to more alumni
association activity in the
near future.
It was great seeing many of
you at the TGIF/ 10 Year
Reunion. We hope you will
join us in the future for
these events and for our
quarterly executive speaker
series. We are very interest-
ed in having MBA alumni
guest lecture to our under-
graduate and MBA classes
as relevant. I had the pleas-
ure of hosting Brittany
Ellsworth 2011, David
Sloan 2011, Adam Small
2010, Paul Werner 2009,
and Geoff Lawrence 2007
in my own classes. If you
would like to guest lecture
please email Aubree of
your availability and the
topics you would be inter-
ested in speaking on. Also,
please do send us news
about you for the class
notes section—promotions,
additions to the family, etc.
Please read on to learn
more about Professor Dan-
iel Bryan.
Class Notes for Spring 2013 Class of 2003
Cheryl Ann Graf
While attending UW- Tacoma I was directing a local Emergency Department (ED) and
working clinically as a Nurse Practitioner. I went on to work as a consultant and sales
executive for a prominent Emergency software vendor for 5 years on a national level.
Traveling across the USA helping hospitals with key changes in their EDs related to doc-
umentation and provider adoption of software solutions. I went on to add one more
daughter (total 4) now with my husband and we have also become Grandparents x 2.
UWT has proven to open doors in my career and strengthen my professional relation-
ships and created a lasting relationship with the best professor of all time Richard Stack-
man who has taught me many lessons and challenges since my graduation in 2003.
Class of 2012
Graciela Tena de Lara
Grace and her family will be moving to Madrid this summer for her husband’s next mili-
tary assignment. Grace is excited to explore opportunities to use her MBA education
abroad. Stay connected with the Milgard MBA by liking us on Facebook and joining the Mil-gard MBA alumni group on Linked In.
Search for “Milgard School of Business MBA”
Search for “Milgard MBA Alumni Group” Sharath Gopalappa ‘13 participating
in the Foster School of Business
study tour in Argentina.
V OLUME 3 (3) P AGE 2
Meet the Graduates
Katie Parlin
Katie is looking forward to the
road that lies ahead. This in-
cludes her husband returning
home from Afghanistan in
June, followed by a much need-
ed boat cruise through British
Columbia after classes have
ended in August.
Charles Kraus
Attending the Milgard School of
Business has been a great experi-
ence, the knowledge and insight I've
attained has given me confidence
and preparation to seek out new
career options. I'm currently looking
at entrepreneurial possibilities in the
Puget Sound area and cultivating
options in International Business.
Also looking forward to an uninter-
rupted football season free from
study and student project deadlines.
Clay Krauss
Clay is currently working as an
IT Management Analyst for the
City of Tacoma. He looks for-
ward to using his Milgard edu-
cation to make a positive impact
in confronting complex organi-
zational challenges.
Brendan VanderVelde
Brendan is enjoying his new
role as the Budget Manager for
the Attorney General of Wash-
ington. He is looking forward to
spending more time with his
wife and son and the birth of his
daughter (May 2013!).
Matt Schemp
Professionally, I continue
working at Weyerhaeuser
Company as Finance & Plan-
ning Manager for our distribu-
tion business in the North-
west. Personally, after gradu-
ation, I'm looking forward to
spending more time with my
wife, Megan, and son, Griffin
(2).
Megan Bentley
After finishing up in a-term this
summer I am getting married,
and then I plan to put all the
vacation time I’ve saved up
over the past two years for a
great honeymoon! Professional-
ly, I will be continuing in my
current role here at UW Taco-
ma with an eye toward further
advancement within the field of
Higher Education.
Christy Allen
In September 2012, Christy ac-
cepted an Associate Product Man-
ager position within the product
development group of Russell
Investment's Private Client Ser-
vice business unit. Upon com-
pleting her final quarter of grad
school this summer, Christy plans
on preparing for and taking the
Series 7 exam. And then Christy
plans on enjoying life without any
exams or study nights.
Brendalynn Taulelei
Brendalynn plans to continue her role as
Aviation Business Systems Manager for
the Port of Seattle. She hopes to pursue
more senior level positions within the
organization now that she has completed
her MBA. In the meantime, Brendalynn
is looking forward to some much needed
relaxation. She plans to do some travel-
ing with her family in the summer-
time and just enjoy her free time before
starting on new projects.
V OLUME 3 (3) P AGE 3
Meet the Graduates
Mike Warjone
Mike looks forward to
spending more time with
his wife and daughters. He
was also recently promoted
to Forestry Manger for US
Operations at Port Blakeley
Tree Farms
Ryan Finley
Ryan will continue his work in
project management at Ra-
zorfish. This summer he will
be working on his Project
Management Professional
(PMP) certification in addition
to training for cycle tour, and
catching up on two years of
pleasure reading.
Rocale Timmons
Currently applying to move from the
public to the private sector.
Scott Miloscia
Scott is looking forward to
spending more time with his
family and in-laws back in
Asia. He still works for the
State of Washington and is
now focusing on Quality/
LEAN continuous process
improvement.
Oscar Rangel
I am planning to continue work-
ing as a financial analyst for
Weyerhaeuser. I want to use the
skills that I have acquired from
this MBA to open my way in-
to more challenging opportuni-
ties. I am also looking forward
to spending more time with my
family and catching up with all
my other hobbies (e.g. soccer).
Paula Greuling
Paula continues in her search for
excellence in home and in work.
“I just plan to live each day the
best I know how and hopefully
the result will be goodness --- in
the children I turn out, in the job I
do for my employer and in the
relationship I have with my
spouse.”
Sharath Gopalappa
I am currently working as
a Software design engineer at
Microsoft. I am planning to ex-
plore the financial roles after my
graduation. I would like to thank
my family members (parents,
sister and my wife) for all their
support towards my management
career.
Rick Griffith
After a recent change from private
sector to the public sector, I will con-
tinue to work for the Washington State
Department of Enterprise Services as
the Enterprise Network Operations
Manager. Leading technical staff
through fast-paced change, providing
them a vision for the future and imple-
menting innovative technologies to
modernize our government is a chal-
lenge that I look forward to.
V OLUME 3 (3) P AGE 4
On May 28th the Milgard MBA Executive
speaker, Anthony Hemstad, President and
CEO of World Trade Center Tacoma
spoke to the audience about international
trade and the work of the World Trade
Center. Mr. Hemstad’s educational back-
ground includes a Bachelor’s degree from
the University of Puget Sound; Master of
Arts degree from University of London
and his MBA from University of Chicago.
His career has been varied and has includ-
ed being a professor in Prague, running his
own public affairs firm, and serving as
City Manager of Maple Valley.
Mr. Hemstad started his talk by offering
his advice for students about to graduate.
His main pieces of advice were to con-
tinually reinvent yourself and your ca-
reer-take stock in your achievements
and seek new challenges and opportuni-
ties. He discussed the importance of
having strong network of colleagues that
you take time to know both personally
and professionally. Develop relation-
ships with people who can serve as men-
tors. Take advantage of opportunities to
experience new cultures and languages,
if possible, spend time overseas and
learn how different cultures operate.
Mr. Hemstad has served as President of
World Trade Center Tacoma since 2009.
In this time membership has tripled and
continues to grow. World Trade Center
is the largest international network sup-
porting global business. The WTC Ta-
coma is one of the fastest growing in the
western hemisphere. The benefits of
joining include trade consulting and
research; trade education and training;
and trade missions. The resources avail-
able help businesses create trade oppor-
tunities worldwide and offers expertise
in trade with China, an important global
market.
Another goal of WTC Tacoma is pro-
mote international investment in Pierce
County. Currently, Washington State
ranks 35th in states with Foreign Direct
Investment. There are some challenges
with increasing foreign investment in
Pierce County, China is a large investor,
but tends to invest more heavily in San
Francisco, Orange County, and Vancou-
ver, BC where there are larger Chinese
populations. Another challenge is that
with the global economic crisis, many
countries are aggressively seeking foreign
investors. Additionally, other countries,
such as Canada, are common wealth na-
tions which have processes that make it
easier to get an investment visa. The Unit-
ed States EB-5 program is similar in idea,
but has more loop holes. The EB-5 pro-
cess has been revised but still has a way to
go to work as well as the Canadian pro-
cess.
Mr. Hemstad pointed out that Washington
state is largely trade dependent. Forty
percent of the state’s jobs are tied to trade.
The top exports are transportation goods
and agriculture. He also pointed out the
importance of service exports such as
healthcare and education. Mr. Hemstad
provided the students with some great
insights into international trade as well as
gave them some wonderful advice to keep
in mind along their journey towards their
MBA.
Executive Speaker Series: Anthony Hemstad, President and CEO of World Trade Center Tacoma
Meet the Graduates
Stephanie Puleo
Stephanie plans to spend her vastly
increased free time with her hus-
band working in their yard and pre-
paring their house for sale. Next year
her and her husband plan on moving
somewhere new (and hopefully sunni-
er). Stephanie is looking forward to
finding a company to work for where
she can apply her new MBA
knowledge and be a true asset.
Wes Bailey
Wes Bailey plans to take a short
break after graduation to reconnect
with family and friends. After that,
Wes will be working on entrepre-
neurial ventures and developing
various concepts.
Not pictured: Shana Konschuh,
Sean Falk, Lee Kirkpatrick, Geoff
Moody, Kurt Jones, Todd Malone,
Leah Marquez-Glynn
Clint Farleigh
I believe that I have grown in many
ways through my experiences in the
last two years and I will continue to
try to challenge myself. I look for-
ward to spending time with my family
after graduation.
V OLUME 3 (3)
Todd Malone-Foster School of Business International Study
P AGE 5
The Global Business Center at the
Foster School of Business organizes
global business study tours. The
study tours are between 10-14 days
and usually depart during winter
quarter finals week and span spring
break. This year five Milgard MBA
students took advantage of the op-
portunity, three students went to
China and two went to Argentina.
One of our China study tours partic-
ipants, Todd Malone wrote up a few
paragraphs about his experience.
The International Study Tour to Chi-
na was AMAZING! Having an op-
portunity to meet with key players,
expats, and senior management of
organizations such as; Amazon Chi-
na, Apple China, KPCB China, SKF
China, and of course US Chinese
Ambassador Gary Locke, was invig-
orating. The professionalism, insight,
and experience of not only the indi-
viduals but the organizations brought
so much deeper of an understanding
(and application) of concepts that I
have learned through my time at the
Milgard MBA.
We had the opportunity to travel to a
beautiful, historical, and culturally
rich country. Having time and oppor-
tunity to see historical landmarks or
even ride a bullet train (somewhere
around 300 kmh) was insane! My
favorite had to be the Great Wall;
how crazy is, not only, the size of the
structure but the fact that there was
drainage built into the wall with a
natural grade sloping from one side
to the other (funneling then to holes
which released the water)? My fa-
vorite moment was that I was able to
toboggan down from the Great Wall
to the town below.
I feel that where possible every
MBA student should take the oppor-
tunity to do a study tour and gain
appreciation for other cultures. You
may just end up falling in love with
a whole new world.
Check the Global Business Center
website for information about their
2014 tours.
V OLUME 3 (3)
Spring Quarter TGIF & Class of 2003 Reunion
P AGE 6
V OLUME 3 (3)
eventually took a management position. I
spent a total of six years living in Japan. I
spent one year learning Japanese at a lan-
guage school, and four and a half years with
Nortel. The other six months I spent just en-
joying Japan.
Q: Could you tell us about what you are
currently researching?
A: I am working on a paper on bankruptcy
emergence, the impact or role of auditor’s
opinion, and management gaming the system
through aggressive accounting techniques or
changing auditors. I am also currently work-
ing on a paper about the effect that accruals
have in compensation.
Q: What made you choose academia?
A: My father was an accountant and auditor
for the United States Air Force. He also
taught part time community college night
classes. Both of my parents went back to
school so I was in an academic environment
from a very young age. Having academia as a
very visual piece of my childhood was a large
factor in my decision to teach.
Q: Could you share with us some changes
or improvements you have seen in manage-
rial accounting and auditing processes
from when you started your career to to-
day?
A: There have definitely been some changes
in auditing since the late 80’s to early 90’s in
the area of efficiency. The swing towards
higher efficiency decreased the amount of
work and detail in audits and in turn lowered
the quality. This change is what created the
many famous auditing failures such as with
the company Enron. Now, thanks to many
recent government regulations, the efficiency
is swinging back towards more work/detail.
This has caused parts of auditing to begin
being outsourced, which I do not think is
necessarily a good thing. The outsourcing is
removing the main audit team from exam-
ining some of the internal controls of the
business processes. This could definitely
lead to problems in the future because the
audit team may lose some understanding
of internal controls and business processes
important to the production of the compa-
ny’s financial statements. It may also af-
fect the on the job training of the entry
level auditors.
In regards to managerial accounting, I
would say that the most significant change
has been in compensation. Now top man-
agement, more often than not, is compen-
sated with stock options. This can be very
good for a company’s growth, as a person-
al stake in the company’s success could
drive the top management to take some
healthy risks. However, when the growth
begins to subside this could drive them to
be overly aggressive and try to manipulate
the system. Some would say that Sarbanes
Oxley is supposed to fix this possible is-
sue, but I am not sure it has helped with
the management philosophy side.
Q: Do you have any advice for students
as they strive toward earning their
MBA?
A: I would tell them to study hard and to
build that foundation of business language,
marketing, and strategy negotiations. Find
opportunities to use and practice your
work. I would also say to build up your
networking through your MBA colleagues.
Take advantage of the networking oppor-
tunities that are available while earning
your MBA.
Q: Dr. Bryan is there anything else you
would like to share with the Milgard
School of Business MBA candidates?
A: Don’t get too engrossed in your pursuit
of career goals to miss out on the world.
Take some time off and explore. You owe
it to yourself to take a break, and I would
suggest taking a couple weeks after gradu-
ation to travel.
Q: Dr. Bryan, when did you begin at the
University of Washington Tacoma’s
Milgard School of Business?
A: The fall of 2007.
Q: What about the Milgard School of
Business attracted you to this very
young (est. 1994) program?
A: The Northwest location along with its
size and potential for growth is what at-
tracted me. It reminded me of my days at
Cal State San Bernardino. I was also
drawn by the opportunity to work with
such great colleagues who have a good
publication record.
Q: Where did you attend college?
A: I received my undergrad and MBA at
California State University, San Bernardi-
no. I then attended the University of Ore-
gon for my PHD.
Q: Tell us about your professional expe-
rience and any affiliations you would
like to share.
A: I did various internships during under-
graduate school, but my first real profes-
sional experience was with Ernst & Young
as an auditor. I spent three years with E
&Y and finished my time there as a senior
auditor. I next worked at Nortel in Tokyo,
Japan. I started as a systems analyst, and
Published by:
University of Washington Tacoma Milgard School of Business
1900 Commerce Street, Box 358420
Q&A—Faculty Profile with Dr. Daniel Bryan, By Jennifer Rea, Milgard Scholar, MBA Program Intern
P AGE 7
Congratulations to 2013’s Beta Gamma Sigma Inductees!
From left to right: Lee Kirkpatrick, Megan Bentley, Clinton
Farleigh, Clay Krauss, Geoff Moody, and Brendan VanderVelde