Event Article

‘You are an Entrepreneur!’

Posted on by Claire Hall
Kathryn Friedrich, Head of Global Monetization, YouTube.
Kathryn Friedrich, Head of Global Monetization, YouTube (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

UConn’s New Xcite Conference Draws 200+ Women; Strives to Increase Connecticut’s Women Business Leaders

It was a simple assignment that YouTube executive Kathryn Friedrich gave to the audience of 200 business women: take a minute and think of an entrepreneur.

“If you’re not thinking of yourself, think again, because you are an entrepreneur,” she said. “Entrepreneurship is a mindset. You don’t have to start your own company to be an entrepreneur. You can start working on it right away!” Continue Reading

UConn Called Key to Stamford’s Business Future

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

News times – The University of Connecticut maintains its headquarters upstate, but its brand is quickly growing in the state’s southwestern corner.
The launch last week of a Stamford conference for businesswomen shows that university officials are intent on expanding UConn’s presence in the city through more programming and closer ties with the local business community.

Event Aims to Close Gender Gap for Entrepreneurs

Posted on by Melissa Ferrigno

Connecticut Post – After taking the stage Friday at the Crowne Plaza hotel, Kathryn Friedrich, YouTube’s head of global monetization, challenged her audience to question the stereotype of the entrepreneur.

Friedrich appeared as the keynote speaker at the Xcite conference, a new event organized by the University of Connecticut that aims to promote and support innovation and entrepreneurship among women in the business world.

“I Want Her On My Team”

Posted on by Claire Hall
Corliss Montesi '86, vice president and corporate controller at Stanley Black & Decker, addresses hundreds of enthusiastic students at one of several graduate student Convocation events.
Corliss Montesi ’86, vice president and corporate controller at Stanley Black & Decker, addresses hundreds of enthusiastic students at one of several graduate student Convocation events. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

Stanley Black & Decker Exec Urges New Grad Students to Find, Embrace their “Personal Brand”

One of the most important things you’ll bring to the workplace is your “personal brand”—your reputation, your expertise and the widespread perception that you are a valuable asset to the team.

“A brand is a promise of what’s to come,” Corliss Montesi ’86, vice president and corporate controller at Stanley Black & Decker, told hundreds of enthusiastic students at one of several graduate student Convocation events held on Aug. 25 at the Gershon Fox Ballroom in Hartford.Continue Reading

Watch Out!

Posted on by Claire Hall
Roger Piqueras Jover, a wireless security research scientist at Bloomberg, was among the speakers at UConn's TakeDownCon security conference.
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

Posted on by Claire Hall
Elizabeth “Liz’’ Pouya, a rising senior majoring in physiology and neurobiology, who ultimately hopes to become a physician, presents her idea to prospective investors.
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

Courage, Vision, Wisdom

Posted on by Claire Hall
Left to right, Mark L. Fagan, Scott Gillis, Bill Simon and Margaret Keane discuss business values at the "CEO Evolution."
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

Alums Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Posted on by Claire Hall
2016 Hall of Fame Alumni Inductees Robert Hughes '92, Drew Figdor '83, and Corliss Montesi '85.
2016 Hall of Fame Alumni Inductees Robert Hughes ’92, Drew Figdor ’83, and Corliss Montesi ’86 (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

School Honors Three Top Business Leaders Who Also Make Time to Give Back

The UConn School of Business honored three of its top alumni on May 6, inducting them into the School’s Hall of Fame during an elaborate and festive ceremony at the Hartford Marriott Downtown.

Those honored included: Continue Reading

Trailblazers: Three Outstanding Students Inducted Into Hall of Fame

Posted on by Claire Hall
Associate Dean of Research Sulin Ba presents Emily Vasington '16 with her Hall of Fame award.
Associate Dean of Research Sulin Ba presents Emily Vasington ’16 with her Hall of Fame award. (Nathan Oldham/UConn School of Business)

An undergraduate who worked to improve bachelor-degree programs, an MBA student who helped his colleagues make new business contacts, and a Ph.D. student with award-winning research were the three student inductees into the School of Business Hall of Fame on May 6.Continue Reading