Author: Claire Hall

A ‘No Phony Gimmicks’ Guy

Posted on by Claire Hall

Bob Kaufman ’74, founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture (Bob’s Discount Furniture)

Alumnus Bob Kaufman, Founder of Bob’s Discount Furniture: ‘I Believe Everyone Should Work for Themselves!’

One of the biggest decisions that anyone will make in life is whether to work for themselves—or work for someone else, said UConn business school alumnus Bob Kaufman ’74, founder and president emeritus of Bob’s Discount Furniture.

“I believe that everyone should work for themselves,” said the man who created the rapidly-growing, 73-store furniture giant, and who, thanks to his prolific advertising, is arguably one of the most recognized people on television.

“Being an entrepreneur is Continue Reading

‘Analytically Eloquent’ Dissertation

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Alumna Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. Continues to Win Recognition for Research

Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. (management) was recently awarded the J. Richard Hackman Award for her Ph.D. dissertation. The award is given to a recent graduate whose work shows the greatest potential to advance the understanding of groups beyond one discipline.

Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. (UConn School of Business)
Margaret Luciano ’15 Ph.D. (UConn School of Business)

Luciano’s dissertation, “Unpacking the Dynamics of Cross-Unit Coordination: A Multi-Level Quasi-Experimental Investigation,” studied 2,357 hospital-patient transfers between units over a 16-week period and investigated the implications for patient care.

She received the Hackman Award at the 2016 INGRoup conference in Helsinki, Finland in July. Her adviser, UConn Management Professor John Mathieu, was also in attendance.

At the award ceremony, Luciano’s dissertation was described as “theoretically sophisticated and interesting, methodologically rich and analytically eloquent.” Her research improved the work processes and quality of work life for hospital employees, improved patient quality of care and paid dividends to the hospital, the award committee concluded. “She not only advanced our science, but also our practice,” they said.

Luciano is now an assistant professor of management at Arizona State University.

Business School Hosts Corporate Recruiter Summit

Posted on by Claire Hall
Distinguished corporate partners including Cigna, Cognizant, Gartner, IBM, Priceline and Prudential, at last week's Recruiter Summit. (Theodoros Menounos/UConn School of Business)
Distinguished corporate partners including Cigna, Cognizant, Gartner, IBM, Priceline and Prudential, at last week’s Recruiter Summit. (Theodoros Menounos/UConn School of Business)

The School of Business’ Graduate Career Development Office hosted a Corporate Recruiter’s Summit recently, inviting top business and human resources leaders from across Connecticut to share ideas for engaging and recruiting graduate business students.

“Our corporate partners were very open to sharing their feedback and how they intend to continue working with our students going forward,” said Robert Volle, assistant director of the Graduate Career Development Office. “Our goal is to make it as easy as possible for our corporate partners to engage and hire our students.”

The July 13 event was well-received and Volle and other organizers said it further strengthened partnerships with top companies, including Cigna, Cognizant, Gartner, IBM, Priceline and Prudential, which were recognized for their outstanding commitment to UConn students.

Watch Out!

Posted on by Claire Hall
Roger Piqueras Jover (pictured), a wireless security research scientist at Bloomberg, was among the speakers at UConn's TakeDownCon security conference. (UConn School of Business)
Roger Piqueras Jover (pictured), a wireless security research scientist at Bloomberg, was among the speakers at UConn’s TakeDownCon security conference. (UConn School of Business)

Security Experts Offer Warnings, Recommendations During UConn’s Cybercrime Prevention Conference

The world is in the throes of a love affair with mobile technology and it shows no signs of abating.

We love to do our banking on our phones, text our friends—whether a block away or halfway around the world—and even set our thermostats using our mobile devices.

But the freedom and power that technology gives to mobile users is also a gateway to trouble for professional hackers, said Roger Piqueras Jover, a wireless security research scientist at Bloomberg. Because every time your phone or mobile device switches to a different transmission tower, a passive eavesdropper in your vicinity could potentially track the location of your smartphone, he said. Continue Reading

2016 iQ Winners

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Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology, who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

“I Was Surprised That Someone Hadn’t Invented This Yet”

UConn senior Stephen Hawes debuted as an entrepreneur several years ago, working diligently to perfect his first invention: a wrist-mounted, propane-driven flame thrower.

His parents worried that their son, a mechanical engineering student, would burn down their home.

But Hawes persisted, and brought his prototype to an engineering conference in New York City. There, he saw a company demonstrating artificial appendages for children missing fingers.Continue Reading

‘Treat People Right Throughout Your Life’

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Bill Simon '81, '88 MBA, former Walmart CEO, at the UConn School of Business Stamford campus. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA, former Walmart CEO, at the UConn School of Business Stamford campus. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

‘Treat People Right Throughout Your Life’ Says Former Walmart CEO Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA

A store manager had been abruptly fired in a small North Carolina town and Walmart president and CEO Bill Simon‘s phone was ringing off the hook.

Customers were irate, store associates were upset, and even the town’s mayor called to lodge a complaint.

“Our store manager had chased a shoplifter into the parking lot, tackled him and brought him back into the store,” recalled Simon, who earned both his bachelor’s degree and MBA from UConn. “Our policy was that we don’t chase shoplifters because of the risk of someone getting hurt, and he had clearly violated the policy.Continue Reading

Adding Value to the Team

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Logan Bement (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Logan Bement (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Logan Bement ’16 Uses Marketing, Data to Improve Professional Baseball for Fans, Players

Logan Bement ’16 may have stopped playing baseball after high school, but his love of the game has never diminished.

With a passion for marketing, a strong grasp of data analytics, and a powerful dose of initiative, Bement has launched a career that he hopes will enhance the best of Major League Baseball—both for the fans and the players. Continue Reading

Courage, Vision, Wisdom

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Left to right, Mark L. Fagan, Scott Gillis, Bill Simon and Margaret Keane discuss business values at the "CEO Evolution." (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)
Left to right, Mark L. Fagan, Scott Gillis, Bill Simon and Margaret Keane discuss business values at the “CEO Evolution.” (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Three Top Executives Share Business Advice, Values at ‘CEO Evolution’ Program in Stamford 

When UConn alumnus Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA, was a newly hired executive at Walmart, before he became its president and CEO, he made a gutsy decision that he knew could make or break his career there.

The low-price retail giant was excelling in its cost-saving mission on many fronts, but when Simon looked at the profit margin on prescription medicine, he realized it could do much better. Continue Reading

Xcite Program Debuts

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Xcite - Connecticut's Conference for Women in Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship

YouTube Executive to Speak This Fall About Bringing Entrepreneurial Mindset to Business 

A top executive at YouTube, who helped grow the company to its present value of upwards of $85 billion, will be the keynote speaker at a new entrepreneurship and innovation conference for women sponsored by the University of Connecticut.

The program, dubbed Xcite, will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 16 at the Crowne Plaza Stamford Hotel at 2701 Summer St., in Stamford, Conn. It is presented by the University of Connecticut School of Business and the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CCEI). Continue Reading

Celebrations

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A view of the School of Business on April 28, 2015. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)
A view of the UConn School of Business. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

School Honors Faculty Whose Accomplishments Shine Brightly; Professor Golec Awarded ‘Research Excellence’ Honor

Finance professor Joe Golec, a scholar who keeps a running list of at least 100 potential research topics at all times, was awarded the School of Business’ top honor this spring, its Award for Research Excellence.

Meanwhile accounting professors Yanhua “Sunny’’ Yang and Michael Willenborg earned the School of Business’ Best Paper award for a highly regarded research paper about IPO prices. One of the reasons she chose to work at UConn, Yang said, was the value the University places on research distinction. Continue Reading