This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (Fall 2010)

Keith Fox ’80 offers advice to undergraduates at commencement

Keith Fox, who graduated from the University of Connecticut in 1980 with a major in  marketing, was Keynote Speaker for the 2010 Undergraduate Commencement  Ceremonies at the School of Business. Addressing more than 700 graduating students along with families, friends, and faculty, Fox wished the audience a Happy Mother’s Day,  and then spoke of the dedication and determination required to finally reach this important  milestone:

“You got to this wonderful day through incredible sacrifice and hard work — not all of it your  undertaking. You were under your parents’ wings the first half. Then you were given the opportunity to step out and earn some personal freedoms — your High School years. You passed that test, and it brought you here to UConn. You have done well, and your  presence here at graduation portends that you are ready to solo.”

Fox also recalled his four years at UConn, the classes, sports and dorm life, and of his own indecision following graduation:

“Now to be honest, I had the same range of emotions you are probably feeling today. I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I graduated. I wanted a job and to make enough money to be on my own. I started working at a small computer store in Norwalk Connecticut, in sales and marketing. I did well enough to be noticed and hired by a little company at the time called Apple Computer.”

Tracing the arc of his fifteen-year management career at Apple, and then at Cisco Systems where he was Vice-President of Worldwide Corporate Marketing, Fox offered a  challenge to the graduates:

“I tell you this because you will have many life experiences. You will continue to discover yourself. You will grow. You will have more than one job in your career. You will work for more than one company. You will most likely have a family… and you, like your parents, will invest in others.

Think big… have a plan… work hard… and have fun along the way. Compete hard… and play fair. If you aren’t in a good career place, change it. It’s your journey…it’s your life. UConn has prepared you well. Be confident that you can compete with professionals from all over the world… Continue to make yourself, your family, and your friends proud.”

Keith Fox

Fox is currently the CEO of the Keith and Pamela Fox Family Foundation focused on  children’s health and education. His philanthropic work also includes a board seat at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, a board seat at the University of Connecticut  Foundation, a board seat on the Leadership Cabinet for the Dean of the UConn School of  Business, and an executive cabinet position for the President of California Polytechnic  State University.

This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (Fall 2010)

A Conversation with Clinton Gartin ’77

Clinton G. Gartin is Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division and oversees the firm’s health care franchise. He graduated from UConn in 1977 with a BS in  accounting and later earned an MBA from Harvard Business School. He joined Morgan  Stanley in 1981 and has held a variety of positions with the firm since that time, including  co-head of Global Industries, Head of Health Care and Chief Administrative Officer of the  investment banking division. Mr. Gartin has extensive experience in both mergers and  acquisitions and capital raising. He has served as advisor to over $500 billion of M&A  transactions. He lives with his wife and four children in Darien, Connecticut.

You’ve pledged a substantial gift to the University of Connecticut School of Business over the next five years. What do you hope this gift will accomplish?

From my perspective, the UConn School of Business has made great progress over the last decade. National prominence is within reach and I hope my support and the support of others will help the School of Business reach that goal. This all ties into the difficult  economic times we’re currently experiencing. This is a time for alumni to step up with the financial support that will allow the University to continue its mission.

This is not your first gift to the school – can you tell us a little about your philanthropy and what has prompted it?

I had a great experience at the school. I had excellent professors and the courses I took were well designed; but despite that experience I had lost touch with UConn until about 15 years ago when I ran into Tom Gutteridge (former Dean of the School of Business) and got to talking about the school. He persuaded me to join the school’s board of advisors, and frankly, I became very enthused about what they were doing. It seemed like a good thing to give a little back to the school that had given me such a good grounding.

The other thing I’d say about general philanthropy is that I think education is the one great investment you can make as a donor that has a guaranteed return. You know that every dollar you invest helps the future. I think there’s a very clear payback. When you educate people and prepare them to do things for the rest of their lives, you get paid back forever.

Can you tell us a little bit more about your encounter with Dean Gutteridge?

Sure. I ran into him at a homecoming weekend celebration. My wife, who was a cheerleader at UConn, was marching in the parade and it was raining. I ducked into the School of Business to stay dry and there he was. So we got to talking.

Your wife also attended UConn?

Yes, I met my wife the second weekend of our freshman year.

The university has just initiated a major Capitol Campaign. What can you share with other School of Business alumni to prompt their participation in giving back to their alma mater?

I guess I’d say that for anyone who went to the UConn School of Business, at least some portion of their success can be attributed to the education they received there. We all had the good fortune of graduating during good economic times, which enabled us to leave school and embark on successful careers. Giving back to the school would enable others to enjoy the same benefits we have enjoyed, especially during these trying economic
times.

You mentioned the poor economy. What is your perspective on the current financial crisis?

I think it’s fair to say we’ve been through one of the most difficult economic times in any of our memories, and we’ve taken a number of steps that have been very positive to reverse that. I think we’re in the beginning of a recovery, but I don’t think anyone should underestimate the amount of work that we have left to do. It’s going to take an attitude
toward financial risk that is much more conservative than we’ve had for the last decade.

How did the education you received at the School of Business prepare you for your success in business?

I think the most important thing is that it created a very solid base level of business knowledge. All of the key tools in finance and accounting were extremely well taught at UConn. I walked out of UConn well prepared for a career in business.

Did you know your own career path from a young age?

I knew I wanted to be in business and I had a notion I might major in accounting. When I got to UConn and took my first accounting class, I liked it a lot and I decided that Accounting would be a great major. Interestingly, I’m one of the few people who turned down Duke to go to UConn — and I did that because if you go to Duke, you can’t take the CPA exam. They don’t have a very good basketball team either.

Are you a Connecticut native?

No, my father worked for GE so I grew up around the country. I lived my senior year of high school in Fairfield, Connecticut, so I decided to stay in-state for college.

Do you have any special memories of the school that you’d like to share?

Yes, there was one professor, a gentleman by the name of Dick Kochanek (currently Emeritus Professor of Accounting) who was my intermediate accounting professor. He was an exceptional educator and individual and he created a level of enthusiasm around a subject that does not always generate a great deal of enthusiasm. I came away from his classes excited about the field of business. One of the things that was distinctive
about him is he knew every student by name and called on them by name. The other thing that was distinctive about him was how excited he was about what he was teaching. He was interesting; he was funny; and he really captured your attention. He is still one of the most popular professors on campus.

Tell us what you did after college. How did you embark on the career you have now?

After I graduated in 1977 I went to work for one of the Big Eight accounting firms, Arthur Young & Company in Hartford. I left there in 1979 to go to Harvard Business School, where I graduated in 1981 and joined Morgan Stanley later that year. I started at Morgan Stanley as an associate in corporate finance. Over the years, I have done a variety of things,
but I now principally do mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. Last year, my colleagues and I represented Wyeth in its sale to Pfizer, for $68 billion dollars, the largest deal in the world last year. I also worked on the sale of Schering-Plough to Merck, which was $46 billion.Working at Morgan Stanley has been exciting and fun. I still enjoy it after all of these years.

What advice can you give to upcoming graduates?

I think the most important thing is to do something that you really enjoy because you’ll do the very best at those things you are most enthusiastic about. If work can be fun, you’ll do  well. If you wake up every morning saying, “I get to go to work” instead of, “I have to go to work,” you’ll be successful.

The only thing I might add is that nothing comes to people by accident. Success comes to people who work hard and who are focused and determined. Those who are self-reliant and have a goal can achieve a lot. I think that getting an  education at a school like UConn is a great base from which to achieve those types of goals. Students also need to understand that academic performance really matters. No one wants to hire someone who is average because they don’t think their business is average. They want to hire someone who is exceptional. College should be a wonderful time; it certainly was for me. But it needs to also be a time when you have objectives and goals. I’ve always told my kids that the eight most important years of your life are high school and college because they set the stage for everything that you accomplish thereafter.

This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1 (Fall 2010)

Jean M. LaVecchia ’81 MBA rewrites the rules to the triple bottom line

For Jean M. LaVecchia, Vice President of Human Resources at Northeast Utilities,life can be mysterious – and hopeful. From math to human resources, man-hole covers to energy grids, Millstone to ethics reform – LaVecchia has led the charge – bringing about changes in industry and education that affect not only how we live and learn, but how we interact with each other and the environment. Speaking to a group of over 200 MBA students and
alumni, LaVecchia retraced her career and the challenges that she has faced.

Graduating in 1973 summa cum laude from Connecticut College with a degree in  mathematics, she began her career in the Bell Telephone system as an economic  engineer for Southern New England Telephone. Luckily, her managers stressed the importance of education – providing opportunities for internal and external development.  So, when she had the opportunity to enroll in UConn’s Full-Time MBA Program in 1980, she jumped at the chance.

“I would drive from New Haven to Hartford each day to attend classes – and it has provided me with opportunities I never would have had… Earning an MBA degree demonstrates your own commitment to learning and investment in your own career,” notes LaVecchia who graduated from the UConn Program in 1981 and resumed her career at SNET.

Notwithstanding the recession of the early 1980’s, LaVecchia was able to advance within SNET – becoming Assistant Treasurer in charge of 401(k) plans, financial planning and analysis and soon thereafter, being appointed Vice President for Retail Marketing. Yet, through a series of “quirks and wonderful opportunities,” she found herself transitioning from finance to human resources. It began in the late 1980’s – a challenging time for SNET as labor strikes over benefits threatened to halt service. With an agreement reached, the organization underwent internal changes at the executive management level – creating more opportunities in Human Resources that would bring the focus back on talent development. For LaVecchia, it was an opportunity to blend her analytical and strategic capabilities with people – and she was a shoo-in for the role of Senior Vice President of Organizational Development. Leveraging her ability to analyze issues, she realized that the jump from finance to human resources wasn’t as vast as she originally believed.

And she was off. During deregulation of the telecom industry, LaVecchia led the restructuring of SNET into wholesale and retail operations and developed a multi-year strategic change management process focusing on leadership and organizational adaptability. She later left her 24-year career at SNET to accept an opportunity at People’s  Bank in 1998 – becoming Executive Vice President of Corporate Services directing the bank’s strategic planning and overseeing its human resources functions. But, while the
corporate environment was undergoing dramatic changes brought on by the dotcom era and a hyper-competitive global market, LaVecchia was undergoing a change management process herself – and took on quite possibly her most challenging (and gratifying) career  move.

LaVecchia left People’s Bank in 1999 to join Northeast Utilities – reeling after the Millstone Nuclear Power Plant crisis. Memorialized on the cover of TIME magazine – the media castigated Northeast Utilities, challenging them to upgrade their safety initiatives and punish those managers who chose retaliation against employees for reporting safety violations. By chronicling the plight of whistleblowers who went outside the company to tell their story because senior managers wouldn’t listen, Northeast Utilities found itself in an ethical quandary. “We learned the hard way; and many companies and leaders are still learning the hard way…”offers LaVecchia who now serves as Vice President of Human Resources and the organization’s Chief Ethics Officer. “Ethics and leadership build the heart of the company – and human resources fills a necessary role in informing and educating employees. But it takes great leaders to ensure a pervasive culture of ethics – and great leaders are role models who always do the right thing.

Ethics is now a top priority for the company and our leaders course-correct when  necessary, even if they need to eat humble pie. My mother always told me that ‘if it’s too good to be true, it is’, so when you see something wrong, you’ve got to be proactive,  courageous, speak up, and not just go along with the crowd. Could-a, should-a, would-a  never helped anyone.” Motivated by the spirit of service, LaVecchia has been the chief promoter of doing the right thing – and promoting “doing the right thing” as a core corporate value. “We need to know  that when we move, we’re moving in the right direction; and it benefits everybody,” offers  LaVecchia who now evaluates opportunities on the basis of their economic, environmental and social impacts.

Of course, infusing a culture with innovation can be a bit “like turning the Queen Mary” admits LaVecchia. “These days are much more exciting as this industry is on the leading edge of change; but we’ve met the innovation challenge head on. We found that we had
to infuse new talent into the organization and hire those who have more strategic planning skills and know how to react quickly. We need people who have experienced the pace of change. There are tremendous opportunities advancing through the stimulus package to upgrade our network – to automate it so that it is self-diagnosing and self-healing.”

LaVecchia also praised the expertise of UConn students. “UConn is our premier school.  We recruit heavily at the undergraduate and graduate levels. In fact, over 400 NU employees are UConn graduates and this past summer, we hosted 120 interns.” UConn’s graduate and undergraduate degrees boast a robust curriculum that incorporates  experiential learning, so students now have the advantage of working in cross-curriculum-based teams. “To the extent you can work in teams, learn from each other and faculty, test assumptions and models, probe for better information, better understand the  interdependent role of regulation and government, network, and build your team and communication skills – it will be very helpful to you in your careers,” she noted.

In offering advice to students, LaVecchia added “Consider, more broadly, what you want to do – and as you go through your program, explore other fields… As one of my  management professors told me, do not seek a career or positions because you want to be it – seek it because you want to do it. ‘Being’ is one thing, but finding your passion is  ever more important.”

Jean M. LaVecchia

Jean M. LaVecchia is vice president – Human Resources and Ethics Officer for the Northeast Utilities system (NU). She is a member of the Senior Management Committee responsible for all aspects of human resources, including workforce planning and  development, ethics and safety.

A native of Connecticut, LaVecchia joined NU in November of 1999. She has more than 25 years in the telecommunications and banking industries at People’s Bank and Southern  New England Telecom Corporation (SNET, now AT&T) where she has played integral management roles in strategic planning, human resources and organization development,  communications, marketing and auditing.

LaVecchia is a member of the Board of Governors for Higher Education and a member of the board of advisors of the University of Connecticut’s School of Business. LaVecchia graduated from Connecticut College summa cum laude in 1973 with a Bachelor’s degree
in Mathematics. She received her MBA degree in Finance from the University of Connecticut in 1980. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Societies.

This article first appeared in the UConn Business magazine, Volume 1, Issue 1 (Summer 2009)

“Creativity is in our DNA at Walmart,” noted Bill Simon ’81, ’88 MBA, a distinguished UConn School of Business alum.  Simon, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Wal-Mart US., and his colleague, Hank Mullany, President of Wal-Mart Northeast, were addressing questions from Full-Time MBA students at a forum about organizational  transformation on Tuesday, April 21st.

After the forum, they opened the floor to a question and answer session regarding career management, a topic of particular importance to students in this economic climate. The forum held at UConn was focused on the organizational transformation that Walmart Executives Address Organizational Transformation and Careers with MBA Students Walmart has undergone in the past few years and career advancement.

Mr. Simon started with a quote from Walmart CEO, Lee Scott, “To stay out in front of change, we must make unique contributions to the community.” Walmart does this through a strong strategy around climate, waste and products. Stores are becoming more energy efficient through solar power and renewable energy, creating zero waste and selling products that sustain resources and the environment. This is a two-fold effort: it gives Walmart a great image, but it also saves the company millions of dollars a year. Smaller packing allows the company to save waste and lowers the cost of operation. Aerodynamic trucks save 32 million gallons of fuel each year.

Walmart’s corporate motto “Save Money. Live Better.” follows this notion. Mr. Simon is proud to be a Walmart employee; he believes that Walmart’s position as an established leader in the retail segment is driven by its ability to save consumers money and provide them with fast and friendly stores. Simon also noted that Walmart is adept at executing new ideas by staying on the cutting edge; he’s never experienced a company that does it better.

In the career session, Simon and Mullany spoke to MBA students about the skills and traits that are needed to excel in today’s business world. Students should leave their MBA program with a willingness to work hard. Mullany notes that having a “fire in your belly” that will fuel work ethic is among one of the most important skills. In addition, strong  communication, leadership and analytical skills will contribute to success in the business world.

Today’s business world is competitive and Mr. Simon and Mr. Mullany reminded all students to be proactive, not reactive. A new employee can make a difference early on and has the opportunity to shine when first starting a new job. In order to be successful in finding the right job, Mr. Simon reminded all students not to take a job simply because the pay seems right. He asked the students to always remember three basic principles: ask yourself what you get from the position, what you give to the position/company and what is in it for you. Mr. Mullany followed with stressing the importance of having a vision of what you want out of a career. The skills Mr. Simon learned at UConn helped to prepare him for his career trajectory.

Mr. Simon is currently Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of WalMart US. He is responsible for the retailer’s U.S. operations, covering more than 3,600 stores, logistics, asset protection, transportation and store innovation. The Walmart U.S. retail units include Discount stores, Supercenters, Marketsides and Neighborhood Markets. He was promoted to his current position in 2007. Mr. Simon was previously EVP of Professional Services and New Business Development where he managed Pharmacy, Optical, Tire and Lube Express, Photo, and Connection Centers. Mr. Simon also led the team that created and launched Walmart’s $4 generic prescription program.