Alumnus at Founder Institute Partners with DePaul to Help Students Launch Startups

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Jason Jacobsohn (MBA ’02), director of the Founder Institute’s Chicago chapter
“The entrepreneurship ecosystem at DePaul is very diverse,” says Jason Jacobsohn (MBA ’02), director of the Founder Institute’s Chicago chapter. Photo by Kathy Hillegonds.

With guidance from alumni and professionals from a wide range of industries, 19 DePaul University students spent the spring quarter of 2018 developing businesses during a startup launch program hosted by the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center and the Founder Institute.

Students worked on various aspects of their business plans with the help of 50 mentors. Jason Jacobsohn (MBA ’02), director of the Founder Institute’s Chicago chapter, facilitated the program at DePaul.

Based in Silicon Valley, the institute hosts idea-stage accelerator programs for aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the country and the world, and has helped participants develop nearly 3,000 companies. This is the first time the institute has brought its program to a university.

Accelerator programs allow students to explore an idea while they have a safety net,” says Coleman Assistant Director Abigail Ingram.

“Students have access to all of the university’s resources and networks, and expertise in every possible area, so it’s one of the few times in their lives where they will be plugged into a network of PhDs and specialists as well as experiential opportunities.”

To qualify for the free program, students were required to fill out an application and take the Founder Institute’s aptitude test, which assesses problem-solving abilities, agreeableness and openness—qualities of a successful entrepreneur. The Coleman Center also hosted a mini version of the institute’s program in fall 2018 to gauge whether it was a right fit for DePaul students.

DePaul’s Entrepreneurship Ecosystem

Students at the Founder Institute and Coleman Center Accelerator Program
Students participate in the quarter-long accelerator program hosted by the Founder Institute and the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center. Photo by Kathy Hillegonds.

An adjunct instructor at the business college, Jacobsohn formed the Chicago chapter of the Founder Institute in 2011. Typically, the institute requires that participants’ business ideas be based in the tech industry and that applicants pay a program fee. Jacobsohn says while the DePaul-based program is free, students are held accountable through an online system that tracks the progress of their businesses.

“The entrepreneurship ecosystem at DePaul is very diverse, so we’re letting the students build whatever business they want to build,” Jacobsohn says. “They also have to be prepared every week to present to mentors so that by the time they’re done with the program, if they want to present to other stakeholders or a board, potential hires, co-founders, or investors they get really good and comfortable to present their business.”

During the first half of the program, students spent about 10 to 15 hours a week working on research to see if their business idea is a viable opportunity. In the second half, students worked on building the company by incorporating, developing a revenue model, putting together a market strategy and developing a solution to the problem for their business to solve.

Turning an Idea Into a Business

To further their business idea, undergraduate finance majors Austin Garwood and Tyler Cornelius decided to participate in the Founder Institute pilot accelerator program in fall 2017.

Austin Garwood
Austin Garwood

The two, who are DePaul transfer students, formed their idea as roommates during their sophomore year at the University of Missouri. An avid video game player, Garwood wanted to buy the headphones he really wanted—a pair of headphones designed in a galaxy skin—but also wanted the option of a neutral pair of headphones that wouldn’t clash with his clothes.

“In the headphone market, Beats has 400-something different colors in sports team patterns and all these crazy designs to choose from,” he says. “You have to choose one pair and stick with it, and if you want another pair, it’s another $300. So what we’re trying to do is create one pair of headphones that can be all of that at once.”

In addition to applying to more rigorous accelerator programs, Cornelius and Garwood are hoping that by the end of the accelerator program they have obtained a prototype and design for their product so that they can eventually obtain their intellectual property.

So far, the program has forced them to improve their elevator pitch by presenting their business idea to fellow founders and mentors. Jacobsohn also encouraged them to collect feedback on their product and business idea by conducting customer interviews and narrowing their target audience and price point.

“The biggest thing that we’ve gotten from the Founder Institute is just all of the connections that we’ve been able to make with people, especially the mentors they bring in,” Garwood says. “Jason and all of the mentors have given really good information on how to go about developing our ideas into an actual business and what it takes to go from an idea to getting to the market to creating an actual company.”

By Jaclyn Lansbery

Connections: Jake Glover and Kim Kozeny

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Jake Glover and Kim Kozeny
Kim Kozeny (BUS ’09) and Jake Glover (BUS ’17)

Last spring, Jake Glover (BUS ’17) was a senior marketing major quickly approaching graduation when he went to see MaryAnn Gibney, who was the manager of student and alumni engagement at the Center for Sales Leadership at DePaul.

Glover was interested in working for Jellyvision, an interactive employee communication software company, and sought Gibney’s help in finding a connection at the Chicago-based company. Serendipitously, Gibney had just returned from lunch with Kim Kozeny (BUS ’09), who expressed an interest in becoming a mentor and was working at that time as a Jellyvision account executive.

“Really good mentors genuinely want to help mentees,” says Glover. “(They) take them under their wing and rise up with them.”

That is what Kozeny did for Glover. During casual conversations that spanned a range of topics, Glover asked Kozeny what it is like to work at Jellyvision, how to get a job there and what he could do to stand out as a job candidate. Kozeny knew how much Glover wanted to join Jellyvision, so she introduced him to her sales leadership team. Glover made a great first impression and was invited to return the following week for an interview.

“As a mentor, it’s important to understand what your mentee wants out of your relationship,” says Kozeny.

It is my job to help them find out what they are passionate about and to help fulfill that passion.”

Kozeny prepared Glover for the Jellyvision job interview, giving him feedback on his sales pitch, suggesting resources to read about the company and going over the interview process.

“I’ve been very lucky with the people who have mentored me in the past,” says Kozeny. “They gave me confidence to follow my own career aspirations. To do that for someone else is extremely fulfilling.”

Glover landed a job at Jellyvision as a business development representative and has been working there for more than a year. He now hopes to move up into an account executive role and continues meeting with Kozeny for career advice.

One of Glover’s former classmates has recently expressed interest in working for Jellyvision, so he has reached out to her in what he calls a “mini-mentor” role. Glover says it is his chance to pay it forward.

Learn more about business mentorship programs.

By Andrew Zamorski | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds

Connections: Rana Irfan Zaid and John Economos

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Rana Irfan Zaid and John Economos
Hospitality major Rana Irfan Zaid and John Economos

Rana Irfan Zaid moved to the United States from Pakistan during his sophomore year of high school and got a part-time job working at a local hotel. He enjoyed working in the hospitality industry, and his manager recommended that he pursue it as a career.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Zaid decided to study at DePaul’s School of Hospitality Leadership. The senior loves all facets of the hospitality industry but is currently interested in food and beverage.

Having the best guidance in the industry was really important for me to find success within a niche industry,” says Zaid.

“I wanted to pair up with a mentor in hospitality who could help me navigate through challenges and guide me toward my goals.”

Through the hospitality school’s mentorship program, Zaid was connected to John Economos, a partner at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE), the Chicago-based, family-owned restaurant group that manages and licenses more than 120 restaurants.

“I like being a point person for someone looking for guidance in the industry,” says Economos. “If I had a mentor in college, I probably would’ve started my career much earlier and with more confidence.” Economos, the general manager at Beatrix in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, studied communication management in college and had no hospitality experience. Through LEYE’s internal management training program, he worked his way from carryout clerk at Di Pescara restaurant into management through a series of positions with various LEYE restaurants.

“I come from a family of teachers, but I have never been a great teacher until I started mentoring students,” says Economos. “I am in a role where it’s not about me, but how I help develop others. I enjoy when Rana asks me for advice.”

Economos and Zaid met frequently at LEYE restaurants to talk about the industry, the interviewing process and opportunities throughout the company. Economos also let Zaid shadow him at Beatrix to see how to manage a restaurant. He then helped Zaid land a hosting job at LEYE’s upscale RPM Italian restaurant, as well as a spot in LEYE’s management intern program this summer.

“I was really lucky to find a mentor who I aspire to be like,” says Zaid. “John has helped expose me to different parts of the industry and become more informed. He has helped complete me.”

Learn more about business mentorship programs.

By Andrew Zamorski | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds

Building Relationships, Serving Our Students

jlansber Notes from the Dean
Interim Dean Misty Johanson
Interim Dean Misty Johanson | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds

As an educator, researcher and professional focused on the hospitality industry for the past 20 years, I have gained a deep understanding of what makes organizations successful: the ability to build relationships and provide exceptional service.

The same two factors are important to the success of a business college. That’s why, as interim dean of the Driehaus College of Business for 2017–18, my priorities are to build relationships and to ensure that our programs and people serve our students well.

Our relationship-building goals for this year encompass both fundraising and friend-raising among our alumni and champions in the business community. The support you and the business community provide our college ensures that we can offer our students an enriching, real-world academic experience, as well as mentorships, internships and career opportunities that lead to post-graduation success.

Within the college, we are updating our programs and seeking new ways to improve the student experience. We have expanded our corporate partnerships to offer professionals the convenience of cohort degree programs at their workplaces. We recently moved our weekend MBA program to the Loop Campus to better serve students who want to attend classes downtown, near where they live and work. We also are offering more STEM-designated master’s programs, which are appealing for international students. You can read more about our new academic offerings in College News.

As this issue’s cover story about the experience-driven economy suggests, businesses must continually evolve to adjust to the needs of the marketplace. So must business schools. This year we plan to introduce a new master’s degree focused on data analytics, which responds to the market’s demand for more professionals who can mine business intelligence for actionable insights that enhance organizational performance. In addition, we are exploring an expansion of online programming and plan to introduce a second international MBA program in 2018.

While our program offerings evolve over time, one thing remains constant—our dedication to producing graduates who succeed personally and professionally while bringing value to the business world. DePaul’s most recent Post-graduate Outcomes Survey shows that this commitment is fostering positive results. The DePaul Career Center’s survey of the Class of 2016 found that 94 percent of business majors and the same percentage of Kellstadt graduates were employed, continuing their educations or not seeking employment. Among bachelor’s degree recipients, median salaries increased 3 percent, and marketing and economics majors saw 10 and 8 percent increases, respectively.

With the support of our alumni and the business community, we look forward to building on these gains and ensuring that our graduates continue to achieve success in the future.
Misty Johanson
Misty Johanson
Interim Dean
Driehaus College of Business

College News

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First Business Alumni Reunion Held in China

Alumni gather for the DePaul business college's first reunion and networking event in China.
Alumni gather for the DePaul business college’s first reunion and networking event in China.

For DePaul alumna Quen Wang (MSA ’16), attending DePaul University’s first-ever business alumni reunion in China last April felt like “coming home.”

“I saw so many friends and professors,” says Wang, an audit associate in Deloitte’s Suzhou office. “This is a good stage for us to network with new friends to exchange ideas with each other. Everyone was excited and enjoyed it.”

Held at the Fairmont Peace Hotel on The Bund in Shanghai, the reunion and networking event attracted more than 60 alumni who live and work in China. Accountancy professor Hui Lin, DePaul’s associate director of regional initiatives for China, organized the spring gathering through a new WeChat social media group for DePaul alumni in China that she created with Li Jin, director of DePaul’s Chinese studies program. The online group has about 300 followers.

Alumni gather for the DePaul business college's first reunion and networking event in China.“We haven’t had a formal event like this before in China, and everybody was really excited to be reconnecting with other alumni,” says Lin. “Given the recent increase in our student population from China, this made sense. We’ve received very positive feedback, including interest in DePaul having another event in the future.”

The success of the Shanghai event has already inspired alumni in Shenzhen to organize their own reunion, which took place in May.

Lin hosted the Shanghai event with Associate Professor of Marketing Zafar Iqbal and Elaina Mack, assistant director of recruitment at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business. While in China, the trio also connected with Chinese students interested in attending DePaul’s graduate business program. They answered questions about international admission, coursework, internships, career support at DePaul and life in Chicago. Lin notes that the growing number of DePaul alumni in China is a great career networking asset for Chinese students should they decide to attend DePaul.

Those alumni include Phoebe Shijun Li (BUS ’14), who traveled 300 miles to attend the April reunion in Shanghai. “I really appreciate Professors Lin and Iqbal for creating this awesome reunion opportunity for Chinese alumni,” says Li, vice president of marketing and sales at Honghai Glass Inc. “The reception brought us together from different industries. With this precious opportunity, we had a chance to (get to) know more people, learn from each other and reunite with our university professors and old friends.”

Kellstadt Enhances Program Offerings

The Kellstadt Graduate School of Business has made several moves recently to strengthen its programs and meet the evolving needs of its students. They include:

  • Forming new corporate partnerships through DePaul’s Corporate and Employer Outreach initiative to provide on-site degree programs at area organizations. This fall, Kellstadt added MBA cohort programs at Bosch and Northern Trust, joining existing MBA programs at MB Financial, Fifth Third Bank, Walgreens and CDW.
  • Relocating the DePaul Weekend MBA program to the Loop Campus this fall to be closer to prospective students, who increasingly work for companies based in the city.
  • Expanding STEM-designated master’s degree offerings. This Homeland Security designation for science, technology, engineering and math-related degrees allows international students to extend their stays in the United States to pursue education and career opportunities.
  • Introducing an MBA management concentration, which provides students the flexibility to focus their studies on coaching and talent development, consulting, leadership and change management, managing human capital or supply chain management.
  • Renaming the Master of Accountancy (MACC) the Master of Science in Audit and Advisory Services (MSAA) to better reflect the expertise that students gain in this degree program.

“We are constantly enhancing our programs to meet the changing needs of our students,” says Assistant Dean Christa Hinton (MBA ’98, EdD ’12), director of the graduate business school. “Kellstadt is committed to providing programs that allow graduates to reach their professional goals and bring value to their employers.”

DePaul also has increased its combined degree offerings, which allow students to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees together. “Not only do I save time and money by earning two degrees at once,” says student Prima Bautista, who is pursuing a combined bachelor’s and master’s in accountancy, “but also the program will make me eligible to sit for the CPA exam and therefore more marketable and attractive to recruiters.”

Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Forges New Alliance


The Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC) is partnering with the School of Music, College of Law and College of Computing and Digital Media to create a DePaul membership at 2112, a Northwest Side incubator for music, video and creative technology startups.

The membership provides faculty, students and alumni access to workshops, lectures, mentorships and other engagement opportunities with entrepreneurs at 2112’s two-year-old facility in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood.

Bruce Leech (MBA ’81), executive director of the CEC, says DePaul is the first university to join 2112, which is named after an album by the rock band Rush.

Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Executive Director Bruce Leech (MBA ’81) and Assistant Director Abigail Ingram (MA ’15) with 2112 Director of Strategic Initiatives Amor Montes de Oca and Director Scott Fetters.
Coleman Entrepreneurship Center Executive Director Bruce Leech (MBA ’81)
and Assistant Director Abigail Ingram (MA ’15) with 2112 Director of Strategic Initiatives Amor Montes de Oca and Director Scott Fetters.

“No matter what business or career you enter, the skill sets of entrepreneurship and innovation are important for sustainable success,” Leech says. “We believe by joining 2112 we will reach a more diverse group of DePaul students and alumni who are interested in starting a business in these areas.”

Leech adds that alumni interested in getting involved in 2112 through DePaul’s partnership should email the Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at CEC@depaul.edu.

Scott Fetters, director of 2112, says that “providing DePaul University students with educational resources, physical workspace and real-world industry experience perfectly aligns with 2112’s vision to help define the future of the creative industries. It’s a privilege for 2112 to support DePaul’s long standing commitment to their students.”

The CEC also formed a new internal alliance in July when DePaul’s Center for Innovation (CI) was merged with the CEC.

“Integrating CI’s most successful initiatives into the CEC’s programming creates synergies that will boost engagement among the ideation and entrepreneurship communities they serve,” says Misty Johanson, interim dean of the Driehaus College of Business.

Management Professor Lisa Gundry, who directed CI, will continue to provide oversight for the innovation programs that have moved to the CEC.

Mark Frigo Named Ezerski Chair

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Mark Frigo
Accountancy Professor Mark L. Frigo

Since joining DePaul University more than 30 years ago, Accountancy Professor Mark L. Frigo has taught thousands of students how to create value. Students who take his courses gain a deep understanding of strategy, risk management, accounting and financial analysis, as well as how successful companies achieve sustainable high performance.

“Understanding the pattern of strategic activities of high-performance companies helps our students create value as business professionals, entrepreneurial managers and in managing their careers,” he says. Given his significant contributions to DePaul and its graduates, it’s fitting that the Chicago native has been named the Ezerski Endowed Chair in the School of Accountancy and Management Information Systems. Established by a 2010 gift from Ronald Ezerski (BUS ’68), former vice president of finance at Patterson Co., the endowed professorship recognizes accountancy faculty excellence.

“Being named the Ezerski Chair is a great honor,” Frigo says. “Reflecting on memorable accomplishments at DePaul, there are so many I can recall and most importantly there are many more yet to create in the future.”

Prior to joining DePaul, Frigo led a successful career in corporate financial analysis and management consulting at KPMG. He is the author of seven books and more than 100 articles that have been published in leading journals, including the Harvard Business Review. His research on high-performance companies is featured in “Driven: Business Strategy, Human Actions, and the Creation of Wealth,” a book he co-authored with Joel Litman (BUS ’93) to help leaders better analyze and prioritize value-creating strategies. It is the basis of courses he teaches as a professor and director of DePaul’s Center for Strategy, Execution and Valuation.

Frigo has won numerous teaching awards at DePaul and also was named an Outstanding Educator by the Illinois CPA Society. A fourth-degree black belt in Shotokan karate, Frigo has been practicing and teaching martial arts for five decades and incorporates elements of it into his classroom and executive education presentations.

“I try to instill the wisdom, energy and philosophy from martial arts in my courses to reinforce a learning and creative mindset,” says Frigo. This includes creating an atmosphere of mutual respect and trust between teacher and student in the classroom, he says.

“DePaul is a great university with very motivated and driven students, a talented faculty and very successful and loyal alumni,” he says.

My ‘why’ is to help our students to achieve greater success professionally and personally by changing the way they think in a positive and powerful way.”

By Jaclyn Lansbery

Double Demon Leads Business Simulation Company

jlansber Alumni Profiles

Reda Chafai BUS '05, MBA '10
Reda Chafai
BUS ’05, MBA ’10

Residence: Palatine, Ill.

Occupation: President, Capsim Management Solutions Inc., a Chicago-based company that delivers online business simulations and rich learning environments for both academic and corporate clients. I began working there as a business training analyst in 2007 and have since held a number of positions that have helped me in my current role as president. When Capsim started in the 1980s, it delivered business simulation-based training to corporations. Our first testing ground in the university market was DePaul in the ’90s. I did my first Capsim simulation as a DePaul undergraduate, and I currently use simulations in teaching strategy as an adjunct professor in the college’s Department of Management & Entrepreneurship.

What I like best about my job is: I know many companies say it, but we truly want to make a difference. I think the reason we are still around in this rapidly changing environment is that we are determined to keep making learning more accessible, relevant and applicable.

The biggest challenge I face in my job is: Sifting through all the available opportunities and working out what to say “yes” to and what to say “no” to. Some of the things we reject look so good and tempting, but like every company, we have limited resources—time, people, expertise, cash. It’s my job to allocate the resources to the opportunities that have the best chance of success and best align with our strategy.

My DePaul experience helped me to: Face the different challenges that come with managing teams, making executive decisions and aligning tactical decisions with a strategic direction. What I was taught at business school, and what I teach at business school, is what I do every day at work. It is an amazing opportunity for me, as a teacher and a leader, to see how the theory and the practice work together.

Advice for new graduates:

  • Never stop learning.
  • Aim as high as possible.
  • You’ll be surprised by how much you can achieve.
  • Give back in any way you can.
  • Nurture the network you build as a student.

By Jaclyn Lansbery

Internships Pave a Path to Success

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Dimitri Eliopoulos (BUS '01), managing director of Central Midwest, left, and Benjamin J. Albrecht, CFP, Vice President, Wealth Advisor at RMB Capital, right.
Dimitri Eliopoulos (BUS ’01), managing director of Central Midwest, left, and Benjamin J. Albrecht, CFP, Vice President, Wealth Advisor at RMB Capital, right.

When Dimitri Eliopoulos (BUS ’01) began attending DePaul University to study finance, he knew he wanted to work with money and people. So, at the start of his senior year at the Driehaus College of Business, Eliopoulos began applying for internships in the wealth management industry through the DePaul Career Center. He soon scored a summer internship in Chicago working with a small team at a large financial services firm.

Now, more than a decade later, Eliopoulos is working with the same team of people who founded RMB Capital, an independent firm that specializes in wealth and investment planning for organizations and individuals. Previously a senior wealth manager, Eliopoulos was promoted to managing director of Central Midwest at RMB Capital, overseeing the firm’s wealth management business in the Central Midwest region.

Eliopoulos credits his success to getting his foot in the door through an internship. “My internship was very hands-on,” he says. “The individuals who led the team that I joined years ago are mentors to me and they’re my partners today. I was able to do everything from job shadowing to helping prepare investment and financial planning recommendations for clients or prospective clients. I had the ability to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”

Fostering Career Success

According to a report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 63 percent of college graduates who completed a paid internship received a job offer, compared to 35 percent who never interned.

“Internships are a crucial component for business students, especially for those who are looking to start their career or make a transition,” says Enrique Guerrero, assistant director at the Kellstadt Career Management Center. “At face value, internships provide beneficial, real-world experience. With that experience comes the chance to get a feel for an industry that may be new for you. It isn’t uncommon for students to complete an internship knowing that it wasn’t something they see themselves doing long-term, and that is okay.”

To prepare graduate students for post-graduation employment, the Career Management Center hosts career strategy sessions and recruiting and networking events, and connects students to Kellstadt’s extensive employer and alumni network. The DePaul Career Center helps undergraduate students by providing similar career coaching services.

Courtney Hubbard's (MBA '17) transfer pricing internship at Ernst & Young led to a full-time job.
Courtney Hubbard’s (MBA ’17) transfer pricing internship at Ernst & Young led to a full-time job.

For Courtney Hubbard (MBA ’17), taking advantage of Kellstadt’s resources played a large role in determining her career goals. Hubbard enrolled in Kellstadt’s full-time MBA program after working in public affairs in Washington, D.C., for more than six years. The Career Management Center connected Hubbard to an alumnus working in transfer pricing at a large accounting firm through DePaul’s Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) alumni mentor program. The connections eventually confirmed Hubbard’s interest in transfer pricing and led to a summer internship in transfer pricing with EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms. Following her internship, Hubbard landed a full-time position with EY.

“The good thing about transfer pricing is that people come from a lot of different backgrounds,” says Hubbard. “It was a great place for me to use my experience in an area that was open to someone with a unique set of skills.

“Utilizing the Kellstadt Career Management Center and using the DePaul ASK network were crucial for me,” she continues. “I would not have gotten this job if the Career Management Center had not had my back (when) I came in and asked for help.”

Persistence, Communication and Networking

Eliopoulos, who is the first in his family to graduate from college, says, “One of the skills that I think is critical and necessary, in addition to learning a trade and getting a degree in a specific field, is to learn how to be a great communicator. You could be the smartest person and have the greatest idea, but if you can’t communicate or articulate it, you’re not going to be as successful.”

Being intentional about expanding your network and utilizing professional development events and workshops are keys to securing an internship and full-time employment. Hubbard advises students to use Handshake, DePaul’s job portal, research connections on LinkedIn and be persistent.

“It’s a commitment to get an internship. You have to be hungry, do what it takes and do the work yourself,” she says. “No one is going to come to you offering you an internship. You have to go look for them.”

Get connected

Looking to hire DePaul student interns?

Undergraduates:
DePaul Career Center
career_center@depaul.edu

Graduate students:
Kellstadt Career Management Center
cmc@depaul.edu

Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) volunteer mentor network:
ask@depaul.edu

By Jaclyn Lansbery

Business Insights From Driehaus Faculty Research

jlansber Scholarly Pursuits

Financial Executives and Risk

Research brief coverWhat skills do financial executives need to manage risk successfully in a rapidly changing business environment? To answer this question, Ezerski Chair Mark L. Frigo of DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business and Paul L. Walker, Schiro/Zurich Chair in Enterprise Risk Management at St. John’s University, conducted interviews with financial executives from top companies.

“The scope of CFOs’ responsibilities toward enterprise risk management has been expanding,” Frigo says. “We wanted to identify the capabilities that CFOs need to have today, as well as tomorrow, to manage risk and anticipate disruptions before they impact organizations.”

CFOs and other executives from Microsoft, Oracle, Boeing, Dow Chemical, Martin Marietta, Coca-Cola and Pitney Bowes were among the leaders interviewed. Based on these interviews, the researchers identified four things financial executives must be able to do:

  • Proactively recognize the sources of enterprise
  • Develop insights and an enterprise-wide understanding of their organizations’ risk profiles and capabilities to manage risk.
  • Think and communicate strategically.
  • Create a forward-thinking, strategic finance organization.

Frigo and Walker’s research report, “The Strategic Financial Executive: Managing Enterprise Risk in a Disruptive World,” was sponsored by Grant Thornton and published by the Financial Executives Research Foundation.

Read the report summary.

Can Siri Become Your New BFF?

Journal of Consumer Research coverScience fiction is full of stories about robots that become so lifelike that people can’t tell they’re not human. As our digital products increasingly take on the characteristics of people, researchers are looking to see whether science fiction may be morphing into science fact.

“We are anthropomorphizing more and more of our products,” says James Mourey, assistant professor of marketing. “The best examples are Amazon’s Alexa or Siri on your iPhone. The theory we had is that if we make these increasingly humanized, to what extent do they start potentially replacing human-to-human interaction? And through a series of studies we show that, yes, scarily enough, products that do have humanized qualities can fulfill social needs, like the feeling that you belong, that are typically fulfilled by interpersonal interaction.”

But don’t worry—these “robots” are not really replacing your friends and loved ones. “Most people immediately jump to the doomsday scenario in which we are not going to be interacting with humans anymore. But what we find is that once you are told that your device is not human these effects go away.

“While there’s no replacing people with products,” Mourey says, “tech companies do need to be aware of the effect that these products can have on interpersonal relationships.” Mourey and two co-authors published their findings in the Journal of Consumer Research last January.|

By Robin Florzak

Career Coaching Workshops Help Students and Alumni Advance

jlansber Professional Development

There is no such thing as a one-size fits-all approach to career education at business schools. While some students are just entering the workforce and need help with résumé building and interview skills, others are looking for career coaching to help them advance on the path to the C-suite.

The Kellstadt Career Management Center offers a variety of programming for students and alumni at all career stages, though career advancers make up the majority of requests for its coaching, says Jennifer Kopczynski (MED ’08, BUS MS ’17), director of the center. “They have an idea of what they want to do with their careers, whether it is staying in the same company, function or industry, and are looking for additional career education to help them advance.”

The Career Management Center created the Executive Career and Leadership (EXCEL) workshop series for working professionals who have at least three to five years’ experience. The quarterly workshops have tackled such subjects as “How to Build a Personal Brand,” “Building a Business Case to Hire You” and “Take Charge of Your Career.”

Naeem Morris (MBA ’17)
Naeem Morris (MBA ’17)

Naeem Morris (MBA ’17) attended every EXCEL workshop offered during his time at DePaul.

“I like to get to workshops a few minutes early and stay a little later to exchange business cards,” says Morris, who works in sales management. “I found EXCEL to be a great opportunity to network with other MBA students and alumni and come away with tactics and information to help with career goals.”

Morris’s goal is to be a chief marketing officer (CMO). The EXCEL workshop that he felt was most effective for him was “Advancing Your Career While Employed.” This seminar taught participants how to leverage their MBA within their organizations to move ahead in their careers.

“I always come away with a new tool or tip that has helped me in my career,” says Morris, who recently started a new position at LeasePlan USA. “In this particular workshop, I learned the ROI of advancing internally or externally, and how to identify and develop special skills, create corporate capital and understand the importance of having advocates on your team.”

In addition to the EXCEL workshops, the Kellstadt Career Management Center offers BUILD workshops for early career development and a BOOST webinar series for ongoing career management. Alumni are welcome at any workshop series and can take advantage of the center’s unlimited career coaching.

Learn more

For more information about the EXCEL workshops, email cmc@depaul.edu.

By Andrew Zamorski