Huntsman Alumni Magazine, Fall 2012

JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

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Huntsman A l u m n i

M a g a z i n e

ideas innovation Huntsman School Strengthens Entrepreneurship Programs

Alums Leading Innovation Around the Globe

ARE TAKING FLIGHT THROUGH

Gary Stevenson Receives Distinguished Executive Alumnus Award Fall 2012

The Legacy of Marriner Eccles: 1930s Chairman of the Federal Reserve

CONTRIBUTORS DEAN Douglas D. Anderson EDITOR Christine Arrington, Co-Director of Marketing and Branding Steve Eaton, Director of Communications

DESIGN Hilary Frisby COPY EDITORS Maren Cartwright Steve Eaton Allie Jeppson CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Christine Arrington Steve Eaton Michael Glauser Klydi Heywood Allie Jeppson Eric Schulz PHOTOGRAPHY Ron Adair Donna Barry Russ Dixon Steve Eaton Sterling Morris WEBSITE Shara Gibbons

Correction: The Spring 2012 Huntsman Alumni Magazine “Legacy” article on page 16, 4th paragraph, incorrectly cited George Thomas, Jr., as having been president of USU from 1917 to 1921. Rather, that sentence should have read, “He then served at the University of Utah as Dean of the School of Commerce and then as president there from 1922 until 1944.” We regret the error.

Send comments and letters to the editor to: huntsman.editor@usu.edu. Huntsman Alumni Magazine is published two times a year by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University. Logan, Utah. Copyright 2012 by Utah State University. All rights reserved.

thank you to all of our alumni and friends for the

8,954 gifts received during the university’s campaign.

CONTENTS: The Innovation Issue

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ON THE COVER: IDEAS ARE TAKING FLIGHT THROUGH INNOVATION. COVER DESIGN BY HIL ARY FRISBY.

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{Inspired by the Wright brothers, innovators of fixed-wing powered flight. This is an early drawing of their solution to “the flight problem.”}

featured in this issue

12 Legacy: Marriner Eccles,

Economic Innovator After The Great Depression

2 0 Marketing’s Role in Innovation and New Product Development

It’s The Most Fun Part Of The Job

Born and raised in Logan, Eccles ran First Security Bank, Until President Franklin Roosevelt Named Him Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1934

21 Future: Alum Blake Kirby is Blasting into Tomorrow

14 Ideas are Taking Flight Through

2 2 Distinguished Executive Alumnus Award

In Huntsman School Courses, Programs, and Clubs, in the Entrepreneurship Center and the Huntsman Alumni Community, the Winds of Innovation are Rising.

Huntsman School Honors Gary E. Stevenson, Leader in Business, International Relief, and Church Service

Innovation

19 Changes in MBA Curriculum

25 “Partners In Business” is Growing and Thriving

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DEAN’S MESSAGE

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ACADEMIC NEWS

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VISION

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MY FAVORITE PROFESSOR

10 RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS

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VOICE

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STUDENT NEWS

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KEEP IN TOUCH

ALUMNI NEWS

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CONTRIBUTIONS

Find these stories online at huntsman.usu.edu/alumnifall2012 1

dean’s message a message from Dean Douglas D. Anderson

It’s wonderful to reflect on the progress we have made at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business in the last few years. Thanks to the many dedicated people who have dared to see things in new ways, we continue to transform the school and accelerate the careers of our students. Thinking like entrepreneurial leaders isn’t easy because it can push us out of our comfort zones, but the rewards for doing so can be exhilarating. In this issue of the Huntsman If ever there was a person who Alumni Magazine, we celebrate innovataught us all to see things in new tion and what it has to the students ways, it was Professor Covey. brought and graduates of the — Dean Anderson Huntsman School. It would not be fitting to talk about shifting paradigms without recognizing the work of our colleague, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, the first Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair in Leadership. Dr. Covey died on July 16 due to complications following a bike accident. His passing was reported around the world, and we joined the millions who mourned

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photo by ron adair

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the loss of this great professor, leader, author, and friend. If ever there was a person who taught us all to see things in new ways, it was Professor Covey. The required reading for this year at the Huntsman School is Dr. Covey’s latest book, “The 3rd Alternative: Solving Life’s Most Difficult Problems.” The book is a guide to breaking away from an either-or mentality and learning to make dramatic progress by getting both sides to collaborate and craft a better third way. Dr. Covey wrote in the “3rd Alternative” that our universities should be “seedbeds of 3rd Alternatives.” At the Huntsman School the seeds have been planted, and this publication is packed with examples of their bearing fruit in the lives of our students and graduates. In this issue you’ll read about those who have found new ways to solve old problems and meet the next set of challenges. The cover story, on page 16, offers an excellent overview of innovation in the Huntsman School community. Don’t miss the article about Marriner Eccles with the account of how he kept his banks open after the Crash of 1929, “with quick thinking and nerves of steel.” You’ll read about Gary Stevenson, who we recognized on September 13 with our highest honor, the Distinguished Executive Alumnus Award. He now serves in a leadership position as the Presiding Bishop of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints. It was in 1977 that three Huntsman alums, Scott Watterson, Gary Stevenson, and Brad Sorenson, founded a company that eventually became ICON Health & Fitness. Today the company has hundreds of patents on treadmills, elliptical machines, and stationary bikes. The company is the largest developer, manufacturer, and marketer of fitness equipment in the world, and it employs more than 2,000 people at multiple locations around the world. As you take the time to read through this publication, I believe you’ll discover stories that will spark new ideas to help move your own work and life forward. In my experience, it is the people who constantly search for new insights and ideas who actually find them.

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HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

huntsman.usu.edu

myfavoriteprofessor Professor Ben Blau Connects Finance to Real World News of the Day

t o p p h o t o c o u r t e s y o f b o o n e b o w l e s , l e f t p h o t o b y s t e v e e at o n , r i g h t p h o t o b y e m i ly b e u s

BY BOONE BOWLES

Dr. Ben Blau, a professor of finance, has a unique philosophy when it comes to teaching, a philosophy that he explains to his students before every Boone Bowles graduated last May. difficult assignment or impossible midterm exam. He believes that professors who make students think that they Boone info? are thinking are loved, while professors who actually make students think are hated. “My goal,” Dr. Blau quips, “is to become your least favorite professor.” Fortunately for Dr. Blau, he proves his own philosophy false year after year. His teaching is engaging and rigorous. His exams are extremely Dr. Ben Blau’s caring personality makes him difficult and require hours of study. He absolutely accessible to his students inside succeeds in making his students think. Yet at the and outside of the classroom. same time he is entertaining, exciting, helpful, and approachable. Although he has forced me to think through two of his courses, he is anything but my least favorite professor. Dr. Blau begins all of his classes the same way; he pulls up CNBC.com on the projector and asks the class what is happening today. This inevitably leads to a class-wide discussion on current financial topics, which Dr. Blau then seamlessly transitions into the day’s lesson. Every subject that we covered in the regular curriculum of the course was applied to current news items. He used the discussion time to explain how we would use the information we were learning, and he used CNBC.com to show us how it was being applied in the real world. This activity is strengthened by the enthusiasm Dr. Blau brings to the discussion and by his skill at engaging the class and eliciting participation.

Professor Blau’s enthusiasm does not only come out during the open discussion portion of his class, but it pervades his teaching throughout the class period. Whether he is teaching the capital asset pricing model, explaining arbitrage pricing theory, or branching out into other disciplines such as calculus, statistics, and business management, he is always excited and entertaining. Dr. Blau’s excellence as a teacher is matched by his ability as an advisor and mentor. He has spent several afternoons with me discussing research, my coursework, and my future, and I know he has done the same with many other students. He has been encouraging and helpful in every interaction. Professor Blau is successful at making his students work, stretch, and think. His teaching style and general charisma betray him, however, as he fails to be anyone’s least favorite professor.

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student news Three Huntsman Students Follow Different Paths To the MBA Program

BY KLYDI HE Y WOOD

The Huntsman MBA program includes many unique students, all in various stages and circumstances in their lives. When they graduate, many students land full-time jobs because of opportunities given to them through the MBA program. Here are three short examples, demonstrating that a less traditional road can lead successfully to an MBA.

Family Man

In 2010, Bryce Huff quit his post-college bank job of five years, sold his home, and set out to further his education Samuel Mosquea celebrates with future Huntsman students. by attending the Huntsman MBA program. Married and with three children, Bryce was very involved at school. He became the account manager for The Agency, an internal, student-run marketing group. Through the Entrepreneurship Club he met the owner of Med Quest Pharmacy in north Salt Lake who offered him a position there.

International Road

Samuel Mosquea came with a group of 100 students from the Dominican Republic in 2007. He received his undergraduate degree in aerospace engineering in 2011 and immediately started his MBA at the Huntsman School. He attended the National Society of Hispanic MBAs’ conference in Anaheim. Networking there led him to a position at Ernst & Young in Austin, Texas.

Bryce Huff with his growing family

Single Mom

After getting a divorce her senior year at USU, Melinda Ryan became a single mom who needed to care for her son on her own. When she showed interest in earning an MBA at the Huntsman School, Dave Patel, assistant dean, worked to offer Melinda a full-time job with benefits and half tuition, so that she would be able to attend the MBA Melinda Ryan and her son program here. When fall came Melinda was working close to 50 hours a week, and her son was starting kindergarten. She networked with several companies and started a job she enjoys in Seattle, as a consequence.

Francisco Santos says that compared to the Dominican Republic, Logan, Utah, is quiet. “In my home country there is music playing on every street corner,” Francisco said. “Here, everything is just quieter.” Carolyn Coronado is a The quiet is just one of a Dominican student majoring in number of cultural differences faced by Francisco and a management information systems. group of some 100 students who come each year from the Dominican Republic to USU on scholarships that are fully funded by their government. USU started developing a relationship with the Dominican Republic in the 1980s, launching a variety of

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HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

projects and research. This affiliation has grown into a yearly tradition of mixing cultures by sending around 100 of the best Dominican students to USU. The program allows underserved, top students to study abroad. The students must meet all requirements of the country’s ministry of higher education, and then the recommendations are sent to USU, where the final admittance decision is made. Every year the Dominican Republic students celebrate their national independence at a USU event called Areito. The students host a native dinner and cultural presentations. That gives them a chance to share where they came from and to highlight some of the cultural differences between home and their new home-away-from-home.

huntsman.usu.edu

photo cour tesy kjersten adams

100 Top Dominican Republic Students Study at USU

Huntsman Students Recognized for Excellence

USU Woman of the Year Luci Griffiths

Elisabeth Arellano won the Bill E. Robins Memorial Award

USU Man of the Year Logan Smith

In Spring 2012, Huntsman students were recognized for their achievements in several categories. One woman even earned the right to be called the “Queen,” Hannah Marie Blackburn, at the Days of ’47 Parade. The Robins Awards are some of the most valued honors a student can earn at Utah State, and this year three top Robins Awards went to Huntsman students. Elisabeth Arellano, a marketing major, won the Bill E. Robins Memorial Award. It is an honor that recognizes college career achievements and is equivalent to a college lifetime achievement award. Logan Smith, an economics and political science major, won the Robins Award for USU Man of the Year. This was followed by Luci Griffiths, economics and political science, who received the Robins Award for USU Woman of the Year. Hannah Marie Blackburn, possessing both brains and beauty, was selected from among 30 contestants for one of Utah’s favorite, historic honors—the Days of ’47 Queen. Hannah and her attendants now will reign over more than a dozen community and state events this year. Other Huntsman students taking home honors included: (in order of photos)

Huntsman Student Rewarded for His Work to Empower the Disabled Huntsman MBA student and Dominican Republic native Diogenes Hernandez has been named the 2012 Student of the Year for USU’s Center for Persons with Disabilities, or the CPD. Diogenes was a member of a team that helped refine and develop the sophisticated online tool called WAVE, or the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool. WAVE is a remarkable free tool web developers can use to make sure their sites can be viewed and utilized by people with disabilities. He has also focused his efforts on a new version of WAVE (WAVE 5.0) that includes numerous improvements all aimed at making it easier for web developers to create web content that can be accessed by all.

1,200+ Students Take Huntsman Courses Via Interactive Broadcasting When Dave Herrmann, executive in residence, talks about reaching all of his management students, he is talking about a reach that extends for hundreds of miles. Through USU’s distance education program, some of his classes are broadcast live to nearly 30 USU locations in places such as Moab, Tooele, Brigham City, Ogden, and Vernal. Courses offered in Logan in areas like accounting, economics, business, human resources, and management information systems are available to students all around the state, says Reuben Talbot, marketing and graphics coordinator for Regional Campuses and Distance Education. More than 1,200 students each semester tap into the expertise offered by the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business without ever coming to Logan for a class. For more information go to distance.usu.edu

Jill Aoki - Huntsman Scholar of the Year, valedictorian for the Huntsman School of Business Blake Nemelka - University Citizenship Award and the Legacy of Utah State Award Sterling Morris – Huntsman Graduate Assistant of the Year, Telly Award Joshua Blume – Huntsman Undergraduate Researcher of the Year Timothy Bikman - Council for Supply Chain Management Professionals Award. Kjersten Adams - First place for Undergraduate Research in the competition held by the Association of Private Enterprise Education Diogenes Hernandez - 2012 Student of the Year for the Center for Persons with Disabilities Hannah Marie Blackburn, center, is crowned Days of ‘47 Queen

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alumni news Brady Murray to Ride for Down Syndrome Orphans in IronMan Race Brady Murray, a Huntsman alumnus, has won the right to race in the IronMan World Championship competition in Kona, Hawaii, on October 13, 2012. He was inspired to enter by reading stories on “Reece’s Rainbow,” a nonprofit website that champions Down syndrome children who have been abandoned. Brady has a five-year-old son, Nash, who has Down syndrome. Brady and Nash created a 90-second video that they entered in the Ironman “Kona Inspired” competition. Of more than 100 videos submitted, theirs earned the most votes, and Brady got the invitation he wanted. Brady is riding to bring attention and funds to help these orphans. Particularly, he is riding to help a little girl named Maggie who lives thousands of miles away in Eastern Europe. Maggie is an orphan with Down syndrome, and the funds will go toward her adoption. More about his quest to raise awareness and help out orphaned children with Down syndrome can be read at www.rodsracing.org. You can also go to reecesrainbow.org for more information. Nash and Brady

Support this cause at rodsracing.com

Alum Steven Snow Joins President Obama’s Council to Help People in Need

Dean Anderson guides Elder Snow while he visits campus last March for his Dean’s Convocation lecture. 6

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

Steven E. Snow, ’74, accounting, said, “It is a privilege to serve,” when he was invited by President Obama to join the President’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships for one year. The council will find ways that government and charitable organizations can work together to better help those in need. “I also believe we all have a responsibility to engage in civic and community service,” he continued. Elder Snow already serves as the historian, recorder, and Church History

Department executive director for the LDS Church. “We will prepare a report to the President on matters where faith-based communities and other charitable organizations can cooperate with government in working on social problems,” he said. “Our first topic of study is human trafficking.” Elder Snow was recognized with a Professional Achievement Award by the Huntsman School of Business in March 2011.

huntsman.usu.edu

Aggie Alums Hold Top Positions in the Giant U.S. Sports Industry From the mountain west—a region that continues to grow as an outdoor sports mecca—Utah State and the Huntsman School of Business have produced some top executives for the professional sports industry. A short description of a few of them follows. Charlie Denson, ’78, marketing, for example, is president of the powerful NIKE Brand. He has been in the athletic consumer products industry for 30-plus years, after starting out in 1979 as assistant manager at Nike’s very first retail store, in Portland, Oregon. He went on to run Nike’s U.S. and European operations, and he launched Nike into Brazil, India, and China. Today he leads strategy for nine top Nike categories, ranging from Basketball and Running to Women’s Training and the Jordan Brand. David Olsen, the CFO of the Carolina Panthers, graduated in 1967 with a degree in finance, and added an MBA in 1968. He worked

for the Buffalo Bills for 15 years before he became the Panthers’ CFO in 1994. The Panthers completed a new privately financed stadium in 1996. Each year he sets the overall budget, including a system of controls to keep things under the budget caps. Gar Forman, ’82, marketing and education, is now the general manager of basketball operations for the Chicago Bulls. He started as a scout in 1998 and has been promoted repeatedly since then, until he became general manager in 2009. He was named a co-recipient of the 2010-11 NBA Executive of the Year after the Bulls won a league-best 62 games. M. Steve Mullins, ’03, marketing, is the vice president of corporate partnerships for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He joined the organization in 2007 and has generated more than $6 million in new and incremental revenue. He helped the Arizona team achieve a 45 percent increase in sponsorship revenues, according to the Diamondbacks’ website.

Alum Stephen Nielsen Wins Third Place for his “Geek-In-A-Day” Business Idea Out of thousands of participants, USU Alum Stephen Nielsen took third place in the first Grow America Competition in Utah this spring. His proposed business, “Geek-In-A-Day,” will use one-day seminars to teach customers how to write computer code—an increasingly valuable skill. The contest sponsor, Grow America, is a national company with a mission to create jobs and lift local economies. Stephen won $3,500 for his business proposal. He said, “The Grow America program was a great catalyst to get my idea off the ground. It forced me to reevaluate my ideas and take action.”

The Current Lion of the U.S. Senate Is a Utah State Grad Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Recalls His Mentor Leonard Arrington Did you know that Senator Harry Reid graduated from Utah State? Senator Reid is serving his fifth term in the U.S. Senate and has been the Senate Majority Leader for nearly six years, since January 2007. In fact, he double-majored at Utah State in political science and history, and his minor in economics led to his job as a teaching assistant to Professor Leonard Arrington. His fellow teaching assistant was Merlin Olsen. Senator Reid recently told the Utah Statesman’s Catherine Bennett, “My all-time favorite teacher—and we remained friends until he died—his name was

Leonard Arrington, and he was a great, very wonderful teacher. He taught in the economics department, and I had a minor in it, so I graded tests for him.” Professor Arrington’s children, James, Carl, and Susan, remember fondly that Senator Reid visited their father on several occasions when Professor Arrington lived in Salt Lake City. “Senator Reid made it a point to keep in touch with my father,” Susan Arrington Madsen said, “and he was so respectful and eager to learn. Our family could tell that dad really enjoyed the ongoing friendship he had with Harry Reid.” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid 7

academic&program news James Bullard, President of St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, Gives George S. Eccles Distinguished Lecture President James Bullard presented a lively lecture in April entitled, “Hawks, Doves, Bubbles, and Inflation Targets,” the latest in the series of annual George S. Eccles Distinguished Lectures that began at Utah State in 1974. President Bullard is an economist and monetary policy scholar who has been with the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis since 1990 and has been president and CEO since 2008. He participates in the powerful Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), which makes key decisions about interest rates and the growth of the U.S. money supply. He explained the Fed’s new explicit 2% inflation target and acknowledged that keeping interest rates too low for too long might lead to bubbles down the line. He described himself as “hawkish” on inflation, favoring early action against it.

Students Mark Business Week With Service, Information, and a Concert Business Week this year introduced students to a host of clubs, activities, and programs, while mixing in a service project for patients at the Huntsman Cancer Institute and a free concert for students by a group called Recycled Percussion. Students learned about the 18 clubs and a variety of student programs the school offers, such as the Huntsman Scholar Program, the Entrepreneurship Club, and the Global Learning Experience program. Business Week was aimed at a campus-wide audience.

Top Speakers Visit the USU Campus Last semester an impressive range of top-level speakers spoke with students.

See our full list of speakers and watch their videos at: huntsman.usu.edu/speakers

John Miller, National Beef Packing Company founder and Huntsman School of Business Convocation Speaker, spring 2012 Mr. Miller said students should become servant leaders, surround themselves with mentors, choose to work in an environment where “the truth is spoken,” be responsible, and trust others to be responsible.

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HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

Mark Holland, chairman and CEO of Intermountain Staffing Resources and owner of Ascend HR Solutions Mr. Holland spoke on the importance of effective time management, cultivating relationships, and taking smart risks. “Close friendships are difficult to come by, and if we don’t actively manage them… they will fade,” Mr. Holland said.

David Bell, Xinmei Zhang, and Yongge Dai Professor, professor of marketing at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania Dr. Bell said the majority of online businesses are started by students. He taught three internet marketing strategies: to create a solid customer base, to remember that how customers use the internet depends on where they live, and to make sure that marketing tactics are relevant.

Becky Anderson, founder of For Every Body and For Every Home Ms. Anderson offered 10 lessons that she said have greatly benefited her business life, including the importance of making educated decisions, managing time well, having passion, and setting big goals.

huntsman.usu.edu

Finance Scholar Scott Schaefer Named A Huntsman Presidential Visiting Professor Scott Schaefer, appointed as a Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Visiting Professor, is recognized for his research using economic theories to explore how people relate to each other within organizations. During the fall 2012 semester, he will teach an undergraduate managerial economics class at the Huntsman School and will hold several seminars for faculty and students. Dr. Schaefer earned both a bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from Stanford University. He taught at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management for ten years, where he earned tenure and held a named chair. He has been a professor of finance at the University of Utah for seven years, where he now holds the Kendall D. Garff Chair in Business Administration and where he has won three teaching awards. He has published in top academic journals in economics, management, finance, and accounting. He is a co-author of “Economics of Strategy,” a leading textbook in strategic management. His research on how people interact within an organization has focused on identifying effective incentives, understanding which decisions to delegate, and when delegation might not be effective.

Three New Faculty Hired at Regional Campuses The Management Department and the School of Accountancy have hired new faculty members in Brigham City and Moab, and the School of Accountancy has added one faculty member in the Uintah Basin. In Brigham City, Cynthia Gibson is teaching managing organizations and people (MGT 3110) and international management (MGT 3820). She recently served as executive director of International Services at Weber State, and she has taught business courses at several universities, as well as having worked in Singapore and lectured in China. She holds a Doctor of Education degree from Oklahoma State University, an MBA from Texas A&M, and a B.S. degree from Texas A&M. In Moab, Scott M. Allred is teaching management courses. He holds a Ph.D. in parks, recreation, and tourism management from

the University of Utah, an MBA from Utah State, and a B.S. in business management from UVU. He has taught business courses, and he has professional experience as a management consultant and as president of his own firm, Allred Accounting & Financial Services. Finally, in the Uintah Basin Rhett Hunt will be teaching introductory and intermediate accounting, cost and management accounting, and accounting information systems. He earned an accounting degree from Utah State in 2002, a Master’s of professional accountancy from the University of Utah, and he became a licensed CPA in 2008. His experience in both public and corporate accounting adds to his academic credentials.

Faculty and Staff Recognized with Awards The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business recognized faculty and staff from nearly all of its departments with awards this year, and Utah State University honored one faculty member with a campus-wide award. Chris Fawson, professor of economics, was recognized by the university as its International Professor of the Year, having served as director of International Programs and program leader for a variety of faculty-led international learning experiences. (story on page 10) Here are faculty and staff members who were recognized by the Huntsman School of Business in Spring 2012: (in order of photos) • D iana Thomas, assistant professor of economics and finance, Researcher of the Year (story on page 10) • B en Blau, assistant professor of economics and finance, Teacher of the Year award • J ack Peterson, professor of management, Undergraduate Faculty Advisor of the Year • T yler Brough, assistant professor of finance, Undergraduate Research Mentor of the Year • P aige Geslin, management department advisor, New Professional Advisor of the Year • J acob Raymer, director of education: The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, Professional Employee of the Year • M ary Price, assistant director of education: The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence, Classified Employee of the Year • G lenn McEvoy, professor of management, was given the Western Academy of Management (WAM) “State of Mind” Award

Read about Chris Fawson and Diana Thomas on page 10. Cynthia Gibson, Scott Allred, and Rhett Hunt

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research&academic highlights Endowed Professorship from Dr. Vern Buehler Will Be Held By Dr. Chris Fawson

“In the history of the College of Business no one has left a greater legacy than Vern Buehler.” — Dean Douglas D. Anderson

Dr. Chris Fawson, credited with playing a key role in the recent progress of the Huntsman School of Business, will now hold a professorship endowed by a professor who helped shape the direction of the school 40 years ago, Dr. Vern Buehler. Dr. Fawson has been named to the Dr. Vernon Maughan Buehler and MaRee C. Buehler Endowed Professorship. Dr. Fawson guided the school’s successful international programs until he left on a sabbatical leave to work for the Charles Koch Foundation in Washington, D.C., in 2011. Dr. Buehler played a key role in getting the Partners In Business program off the ground and helped launch what is now called the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. At a faculty retreat held on campus in August 2011, Dean Douglas D. Anderson made the announcement, praising the role that Dr. Fawson has had in moving the school forward in recent years. The dean has also paid tribute to Dr. Buehler’s contributions. “In the history of the College of Business no one has left a greater legacy than Vern Buehler,” he said. The Partners In Business program has attracted

great presenters over the years, including Milton Friedman, Peter Drucker, Alan Greenspan, W. Edwards Deming, and Shigeo Shingo. Dr. Buehler was recognized for his contributions to the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence when he was inducted into the Shingo Academy in 2008. Dr. Buehler also funded endowments in the Partners in Business program and scholarship endowments at the Huntsman School of Business. He received a prestigious university-wide honor when he was presented with the 2007 Spirit of Old Main Award. Dr. Buehler was pleased that the professorship he created would be going to Dr. Fawson. “I’m very flattered that they honored me by putting it (the professorship) in the hands of a doer,” he said. Dr. Buehler is now living in Logan at Sunshine Terrace in a building that is named after him and his late wife, MaRee. At age 93 he still exercises 90-minutes a day, and said he has been blessed with “race horse ankles” and good fortune. Dr. Fawson said he was “deeply honored” when he found out he would be getting the professorship. “I’ve known Vern personally, and I’ve worked with him on international projects,” Dr. Fawson said. “He’s just such a peaceful, passionate, dedicated professional. Whenever you are in the presence of Vern, you just feel like it’s a special experience because he’s such a great man.”

Dr. Diana Thomas Researches How Political Entrepreneurs Affect Rules of Economic Exchange The research interests of Dr. Diana Thomas stretch across the globe. A German native, she has published papers on the regulation of late medieval German beer markets, on informal property rights institutions among taxi cab drivers in Trujillo, Peru, and even on the Aggie Blue Bikes program at Utah State! She was named Researcher of the Year at the Huntsman School last spring, and that has brought more attention to her work. An assistant professor of economics and finance, she was recognized for her work exploring the role political entrepreneurs play in changing the formal and informal rules that govern economic exchange and society more generally. 10

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

For example, she shows in one paper written with her Huntsman colleagues Tyler Brough and Ben Blau that the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was an example of redistribution in favor of special interests; specifically, for every dollar a bank spent on lobbying in the five years prior to the bailout, that bank received roughly $500 more in TARP money. Dr. Thomas earned her Diploma in Business Administration from Fachhochschule Aachen and her B.S. degree in finance from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia. She returned to George Mason University to complete an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics in 2005.

photos (top to bot tom) by s t erl ing morris, ron a da ir , a nd russ di xon

Two Key Huntsman Leaders From Different Eras Are Linked By Professorship

Huntsman Professors Have Written Some Books You Should Know About Yes, textbooks can be expensive to buy. Some big international publishers, such as Pearson, Reed-Elsevier, and Wolters-Kluwer, have been able to charge a high price for textbooks—books that can become obsolete every couple of years when a new edition is published. But Larry Walther, School of Accountancy head at the Huntsman School, has a different idea. His excellent textbook is available free online at www. principlesofaccounting.com. He is part of the new wave of “open access” authors that has been growing. Check out his online book. Perhaps you’d like to strengthen your accounting skills in an area that has changed or answer a question related to your own personal finances. Continuing education is just a click away with Dr. Walther’s book. Other Huntsman professors have published a number of textbooks, business books, and general interest books. Here are just a few noteworthy tomes to feed your appetite for lifelong learning. Chad Albrecht, Steve Albrecht, and M. Zimbelman have published “Fraud Examination: 4th Edition,” from Cengage Learning, 2011. Chester Brough published a standard, “Business Law and Ethics” in 2011, from Kendall Hunt. Mike Glauser has written two books about entrepreneurship. The second one is “The Business of Heart: How Everyday Americans Are Changing the World,” from Shadow Mountain Press. Stacey Hills is the author of “The Marketing Fundamentals Field Guide,” with an edition published in 2011 by Kendall-Hunt. Vijay Kannan now has written “International Business in the 21st Century, Volume 2—Going Global: Implementing International Business Operations,” published in 2011 by Praeger. Eric Schulz has published a new edition of his marketing book entitled, “The Smart Marketer’s Toolbox,” 2012. William Shughart has co-authored, with M. Reksulak and L. Razzolini, “The Elgar Companion to Public Choice,” 2nd edition, in Cheltenham, U.K., from Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Randy Simmons co-authored with B.D. Gardner “Aquanomics: Water Markets and the Environment,” 2012, in Piscataway, N.J., from Transaction Publishers.

Selected Faculty Publications ACCOUNTING D.R. Hermanson, J.L. Smith, and Nate M. Stephens, “How Effective are Companies’ Internal Controls? Insights into Specific Internal Control Elements,” Current Issues in Auditing, 2012, 6(1), pp. A31-A50. Kevin H. McBeth, “Charitable Contribution Deduction for Expenses Incurred in Providing Charitable Services While Away from Home,” Taxes: The Tax Magazine, 2012, Vol. 90, No. 8, pp. 65-71. Richard Price, Francisco J. Román, and Brian Rountree, “The impact of governance reform on performance and transparency,” Journal of Financial Economics, January 2011, Volume 99, Issue 1, pp. 76-96. ECONOMICS AND FINANCE Ben Blau and Tyler Brough, “Short Sales, Stealth Trading, and the Suspension of Price Tests,” Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 2012, 52, pp. 38-48. Frank Caliendo, “TimeInconsistent Preferences and Social Security: Revisited in Continuous Time,” Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, 2011, pp. 668-675. John Gilbert and Reza Oladi, “Excel Models for International Trade Theory and Policy,” Journal of Economic Education, 2011, 42, 95. Austin Kwag and Sang Whi Lee (in press), “Innovative Value Indicators: Firm-Specific versus Macroeconomic,” to appear in Journal of Asset Management.

“A two-study examination of work-family conflict, production deviance and gender,” Journal of Vocational Behavior, 2012, in press. Steven Hanks, four publications, “The Dynamics of Change: A Recent Review of the Literature. Linking Theory and Practice,” People and Strategy, Vol. 34, No. 4, 2011, pp. 12, 67; Vol. 34, No. 3, 2011; Vol. 34, No. 2, 2011; Vol. 34, No. 1, 2011, pp. 12-14. Daniel Holland, “Developing Organizational Trust as a Foundation for Success,” Corporate Finance Review, 2012, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 5-9. Glenn M. McEvoy and S. Henderson, “The Retention of Workers Nearing Retirement: A Job Embeddedness Approach,” Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health, 2012, Vol. 27, No. 3. Edwin R. Stafford and Cathy L. Hartman, “Resolving Community Concerns Over Local Wind Development in Utah,” Sustainability: The Journal of Record, February 2012, Vol. 5, pp. 38-43. MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS Yong Seog Kim and S. Moon, “Measuring the success of churn management models built on churn probability, retention probability, and expected yearly revenues,” Expert Systems with Application, 2012, 39(14), pp. 11,718-11,727.

M. Manley and Yong Seog Kim, “Exitus: Agent-based evacuation simulation for individuals with William F. Shughart II (in press), disabilities in a large sport arena,” “Supplying Private Goods and International Journal of Intelligent Collective Goods at Public Choice,” Information Technologies, 2012, in Michael Szenberg and Lall 8(2), pp. 1-13. Ramrattan (eds.), Experiences of Economics Journal Editors, K.D. O’Reilly, D. Paper, and Sherry Cambridge: MIT Press. Marx, “Demystifying Grounded Theory for Business Research,” MANAGEMENT Organizational Research Methods, Chad Albrecht, Jeffery A. 2012, 15, 2, 247-262. Thompson, and Jeffrey L. Hoopes, “Productivity and Prestige in Nicole F. Velasquez, H. Newman, Business Ethics Research: A and S. Miller, “The Impact Report and Commentary on the of a Secondary Market on a State of the Field,” Business and Consumer’s Intention to Buy Society, 2011, XX(X) 1-27, Sage. New Video Games,” Review of Business Information Systems, Ken Bartkus, Roy D. Howell, and 2012, 16(3) 103-112. N. Daren Haws, “The Type A Behavior Pattern and Sales Mary Beth Watson-Manheim, Performance: A Theoretical Katherine M. Chudoba, and Clarification,” Marketing Kevin Crowston, “Perceived Management Journal, Fall 2011, Discontinuities and Constructed Volume 21, Issue 2, pp. 123-135. Continuities in Virtual Work,” Information Systems Journal, 2012, Merideth Ferguson, Dawn Carlson, 22(1), 29-52. Emily Hunter, and Dwayne Whitten,

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BY CHRIS RIGBY ARRINGTON

Marriner leaving the Federal Reserve Building for the last time, 1951. The building was later named for him.

Marriner Eccles in Scottish kilts at around five years old. 12

Born and raised in Logan, Eccles Ran First Security Bank, Until President Franklin Roosevelt Named Him Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank in 1934 It’s all about his epiphany— an epiphany that didn’t come until he was 41 years old, and that resulted in his helping to reshape the postDepression world. The subsequent generosity of generations of the Eccles family to USU makes that family’s history a crucial part of USU’s legacy. This is evidenced by the George S. Eccles Business Building (named for Marriner’s brother), and by the Eccles name on a host of USU buildings and programs— from the nationally ranked Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services, to the Caine College of the Arts named for the family of Marie Eccles Caine, the Eccles Science Learning Center, and many more.

Eldest Son Marriner Eccles was born in Logan in 1890, the eldest of nine children of David Eccles and his second wife, Ellen Stoddard Eccles. If you drive down Center Street in Logan to 250 West Center, you can see the beautiful stone mansion that David Eccles built for Ellen in 1907, when Marriner was just 17 years old. Marriner left from that house two years later for an LDS mission to Scotland, having completed three years of high school in Logan. That was the sum total of his formal education. David Eccles had been born into poverty in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1849. David’s family joined the LDS Church and emigrated to Utah in 1863, funded by the Perpetual Emigration Fund. A gifted and hard-working entrepreneur, David Eccles founded 54 separate enterprises in the American West, including several banks, the Oregon Lumber Company, and the world’s largest mining and construction firm, the Utah Construction Company— one of a consortium of five builders of the gigantic Hoover Dam.

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

When David Eccles died unexpectedly in 1912 at age 63, his estate was valued at some $7 million. Marriner, by then age 22, ultimately came to run much of his father’s business empire, together with George, his brother. George had attended Utah State, had finished college at the University of California, and had completed a graduate degree from the Columbia University School of Business. Several of the family’s younger siblings also went to Utah State, including Spencer, Marie, and Willard. Marriner and George Eccles then led the creation of what is considered the first multibank holding company in the U.S., with banks in 17 locations in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming, in order to conduct interstate banking. They were joined in the business by brothers Spencer and Willard. Spence’s son and namesake, Spencer F. Eccles, became chairman and CEO of First Security in 1982, later merging it with the Wells Fargo Corporation in 2000. Spencer F. Eccles is now chairman emeritus of Wells Fargo’s Intermountain Banking Region and also chairman and CEO of the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation. He said of his famous uncles Marriner and George, “I worked for both Marriner and George for my whole First Security career up until their passing. I personally consider both of these leaders to be heroes, each in his own right. Marriner is considered to be the father of the modern Federal Reserve Bank, having restored its independence, back from New York City to the Washington Fed.”

Marriner’s Economic Innovations Marriner had learned from his father that “progress comes only through toil, economy, and thrift, and that these alone are the motive power which creates the enduring structure.” (Marriner Eccles, 1925) But then he experienced the Great Depression. When the Crash of 1929 occurred, Marriner Eccles was president of seven companies: the Eccles Investment Company, First Security Corporation, First National Bank of Ogden, First Savings Bank of Ogden, Eccles Hotel Company, Sego Milk Products Company, and the Stoddard Lumber Company. He was vice-president/treasurer of Amalgamated Sugar, and a director of more than six companies, including Utah Construction Company, UtahIdaho Central Railroad, Utah Power and Light, and Mountain States Implement. huntsman.usu.edu

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Legacy

Marriner Eccles, Economic Innovator After The Great Depression

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Plaque in the front lobby of Federal Reserve Board Building. Carter Glass, Marriner S. Eccles, Henry Steagall

Marriner successfully staved off potentially disastrous runs on his big Ogden banks with quick thinking and nerves of steel. He wrote in his autobiography “Beckoning Frontiers,” “No depositor lost one penny.” On the first day of the 1931 bank panic, he instructed his tellers to process every request slowly, requiring each signature and counting out bills and coins methodically. He had an armored truck deliver boxes, and he announced, “There’s plenty of money for everyone,” though only a few of the boxes contained money he could hand out. He kept the bank open late, serving every single customer. He experienced great sorrow and frustration during the Depression years, until he had a powerful realization in 1931, “The inherent instability of capitalism may be corrected by conscious and deliberate use of three compensatory instruments, taxation, varying government expenditures, and monetary control.” (Marriner Eccles, 1935) He further declared, “The government must be looked upon as a compensatory agency in this economy to do just the opposite of what private business and individuals do. The latter are necessarily motivated by the desire for profit. The former must be motivated by social obligation.” (Marriner Eccles, 1936) Both Franklin Roosevelt and Herbert Hoover ran for President in 1932 on platforms of balancing the budget. In February 1933, Marriner Eccles was invited with 45 other prominent Americans to address the Senate Finance Committee on causes of and cures for the Depression. Eccles said that, under the circumstances—the Great Depression, in which unemployment reached 25%—balancing the budget was exactly the wrong thing to do. He laid out a fivepoint program of government spending that would put money in the hands of people who would spend it immediately, versus corporations that faced very low demand for their products at that time and thus were unlikely to spend more. The program included unemployment relief and public works projects.

Marriner (left) greeting Franklin D. Roosevelt and his son James upon arrival at the New Federal Reserve Building for the dedication ceremonies, 1937.

He also proposed a plan, as described by Huntsman School of Business Professor L. Dwight Israelsen, “for long-run economic stability that included,” among other points, “unification of the banking system under the Federal Reserve” and “creation of an agency to guarantee bank deposits (FDIC).” These are both keystones of the financial system that we have today. (L. Dwight Israelsen, “Marriner S. Eccles, Chairman of the Federal Reserve,” American Economic Review 75, May 1985: 357-62.) Franklin Roosevelt named Marriner Eccles Chairman of the Federal Reserve in 1934, a position Marriner held until 1948, then serving on the Fed’s Board of Governors until 1951. He was credited with championing the Fed’s independence, from the New York Fed, from the Department of the Treasury, and from politics. Dr. Israelsen said that Marriner’s work during these years made him “the father of modern macroeconomic stabilization policy.” In 1946—after World War II—Marriner helped craft agreements that created the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. He supported the Marshall Plan for European Reconstruction in 19489, and served on the Export-Import Bank’s Advisory Board. Finally, he was very active in philanthropy, funding numerous charitable, scientific, and educational organizations. Marriner died in Salt Lake in 1977, at age 87. Five years later, the Federal Reserve Board Building in Washington, D.C., was named in his honor. On the 40th anniversary of the dedication of the George S. Eccles Business Building—May 8, 2010— Spencer F. Eccles gave the convocation address for the Huntsman School. Dean Douglas D. Anderson said on that occasion that the generous contributions of the Eccles family foundations made them “the bridge—the indispensable bridge—from our pioneer poverty to our future prosperity. Each one of us . . . owes a great deal to the vision and generosity of multiple generations of the Eccles Foundation and their family.”

Marriner, on mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Scotland, 1910.

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A R E TA K I N G F L I G HT T H R O U G H

In Huntsman School courses, programs, and clubs, in the Entrepreneurship Center and the Huntsman alumni community, the winds of innovation are rising. BY CHRISTINE ARRINGTON

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HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

Dynamics Lab, in engineering, and in agriculture. Its Commercial Enterprises program launched in January 2012 is described as “the one stop shop for intellectual property protection and business development.” Add to this the business innovations that have come from graduates of the Huntsman School of Business—innovations that may be less well known, in some cases—and an even stronger picture emerges of how this culture, this kind of education, and these values have produced significant innovation and development for the better.

From Utah State to Korea Young-Chul Hong from Korea, for example, earned an MBA at Utah State in 1973. He returned to the specialty steel business his father had started, Kiswire Trading, becoming president and CEO in 1988. He oversaw the opening of new factories and the diversification of the company’s product line. Today the company has $2 billion in revenue, a 10% global market share, and 4,600 employees in 19 production facilities, in Korea, China, Malaysia, and the U.S. Young-Chul decided recently that even more innovation was needed. The company has opened a pioneering factory catering to homemakers’ schedules, and it has another socially inventive factory designed to be run by skilled retirees who told the management team that they didn’t want to retire yet. Kiswire also is deeply involved in developing state-of-the-art superconductive wire. The Foster Business magazine reported this past spring that Kiswire’s superconducting coils are to be “a key part of Korea’s contribution to the International Thermal huntsman.usu.edu

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Maybe it’s something in the water. Or in the famous dairy products. Aggie ice cream anyone? Or in the DNA. Some professors at Columbia University are doing research on whether or not the great migration from Europe to America selected a particular population of people who were significantly more risk oriented—genetically!—than those who chose not to come. And a tolerance for risk is an important part of innovation. The fact is that year after year more new businesses are started in Utah than in almost any other state, and many of those businesses are built on substantial, creative innovation. Call it a gift from the pioneer heritage or a result of the inveterate optimism of the West, innovation is alive and well in the Huntsman School of Business and its alumni community. In recognition of the economic resilience of Utah State’s hometown, Time Magazine christened Logan one of 10 “Boomtown USA” cities, in its April 2, 2012, issue. Under the heading, “A look at growing cities and what’s fueling their growth,” Logan was shown with just 3.9% unemployment on a “Boomtown” map of the U.S., at a time when the national rate was 8.3%. Why? “Roughly 1 in 5 employees works in manufacturing, much of it food-focused. Pepperidge Farm, for example, is expanding Goldfish-cracker production at an area plant.” Have you heard that theme somewhere else recently? The needed resurgence of U.S. manufacturing? Utah State University, of course, has a strong legacy of innovation, particularly in its Space

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d epshi g on t ob b y yh i l a r y f r i s b y

From Utah State to Afghanistan Young-Chul Hong

Kiswire also is deeply involved in developing state-of-the-art superconductive wire

A real son of Cache Valley, David Daines graduated from Utah State with a degree in economics in 1976. He earned an M.S. in agricultural economics from Iowa State in 1979, and then he worked all over the world for giant agribusiness firms such as Continental Grain. At one point he managed strategic planning, marketing, and accounting for 130,000 acres on five farms in Argentina and Brazil. He even found time to serve as an LDS mission president in Guatemala from 2002 to 2005, where he directed pastoral care for 12,000 people. Since October 2009, he has been wrestling with reinvention—how to craft 21st century redevelopment in Afghanistan, how to take all that history has taught us about culture and technology and infrastructure and use that to build a foundation that will foster stability and economic growth. Just imagine trying to rebuild a civilization almost from scratch. David is a field program officer and member of the Badghis Province Provincial Reconstruction Team of USAID. His job is to help “coordinate stabilization, reconstruction, and development projects with the military, local government, civil society, and other donors.” One can only imagine

how valuable his economic, agricultural, innovation, and leadership skills are in that brave new world.

From Utah State to Salt Lake City Ron Jibson is the CEO of Questar and the head of the Board of Trustees of Utah State. He graduated from Utah State in 1978 with a degree in civil engineering. Today he is conversant with the intense innovation needed to create sustainability in energy. When he spoke on campus last fall, he said the goal must be, “Meeting the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” He has a solar home in the mountains, off the grid, with a backup generator, and he can parse the strengths and weaknesses of every kind of power with ease. He says, for example, “Coal and nuclear steam towers are slow to turn on and inefficient under less than full capacity.” He is very interested that Utah State is working on turning algae into energy, and he notes, just as an aside, “There are seven billion people in the world now, and two billion of them don’t have electricity at home.” Ron sees hope in our “100year supply of natural gas,” as we “We are the continue to improve the technol- Saudi Arabia of ogy for “directional drilling” to natural gas.” retrieve it. “We are the Saudi Arabia of natural gas,” he likes to — Ron Jibson say. Now we can go down two miles and then drill one mile horizontally to get to the natural gas. This kind of technological innovation for retrieving natural gas from shale needs to continue, and he’s working to see that it does.

READY FOR LIFTOFF AT THE HUNTSMAN SCHOOL

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Here are a few examples of new developments and student successes that will continue to fuel the school’s growing strength in innovation.

By the time the student has earned that MBA, a nascent business idea can be well planned and ready to launch.

A New MBA Specialization in Enterprise Development

A New Undergraduate Minor in Entrepreneurship

In a new course called “Enterprise Creation,” students are able to fortify and shape their new business ideas. This course is followed by classes in “Enterprise Growth and Management,” “Enterprise Branding and Marketing,” and “Enterprise Planning and Execution.”

The new minor is designed to add a powerful component to a wide variety of majors, whether business or engineering or humanities. These students from disparate majors will be thrown together in the perfect setting to combine skill sets. The students are encouraged to work on developing their own

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

huntsman.usu.edu

photos cour t esy of young-chul hong a nd k is w ire t r a ding

Energy Reactor (ITER). The much anticipated nuclear fusion device, under construction in France, is attempting to atomically convert materials in sea water into plasma of 100 million degrees Celsius— an ‘artificial sun’ that could finally solve the planet’s renewable energy conundrum.” If the project succeeds, it will need coils that can carry “a magnetic field of unimaginable strength,” and that’s exactly what Kiswire is developing.

business ideas while taking a 12-credit minor. The minor is comprised of six two-credit short-course modules that can be taken in one seven-week summer program or spread out over a couple of semesters.

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t o b o t t o m ) p h o t o s c o u r t e s y o f w i k ip e d i a , j e r e m y pa c k , a n d t h e c e n t e r f o r p e r s o n s w i t h d i s a b i l i t i e s .

“Partners in Business” Brings Professional Innovators to Campus While students are taking courses in innovation, they can join businesspeople from the community at five “Partners in Business” conferences each year. The conferences are meant to give businesspeople an update on the latest developments in each discipline. A variety of business luminaries have spoken at these events. One of those speakers in February this year was Jeremy Pack. Think of him as “the poster child” for innovation. Jeremy graduated from Utah State in 2006 with degrees in both computer science and computational mathematics. Immediately after graduation he joined Google as a senior software engineer on the Google Street View project—a truly revolutionary undertaking that was really just getting started then. Jeremy explained that Google Street View had grown to providing street-level imagery along millions of miles of streets in 30 countries around the world, as well as images from inside businesses large and small. Then he demonstrated Google Street View’s capabilities on a large projection screen, taking the audience for a spin around the world. He shared specific examples of the improvements this radical innovation can bring to fields as diverse as television news, transportation, disaster response, architecture, city planning, contagious disease tracking, and just driving in a car. Finally he talked about the challenges of the Google business model, a topic that lots of technology innovators wrestle with. How can such “free access” technology enterprises avoid the “business model” pitfalls that have beset a number of giant players in that field?

Leadership Development for the Faculty Dean Douglas D. Anderson asked all faculty members to read a book over the summer for discussion at the faculty retreat in the fall. The book was “The New Entrepreneurial Leader”, by Danna Greenberg, Kate McKone-Sweet, and H. James Wilson, from Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2011, with copyright held by Babson College, a university well known for its powerful entrepreneurship curriculum. The authors described a capability called “cognitive ambidexterity,” in which entrepreneurs learn to combine and switch between two different skillsets: the more traditional “prediction approach to thought and action” and the newer “creative

approach to thought and action.” The prediction approach is what most business students traditionally have been taught, but the creation approach follows a different set of principles. For example: 1. If perceived resource needs are beyond your control, start to create something with what you have. 2. When the future is unpredictable, create the future by shaping opportunities. 3. When operating with limited information, take action in the real world to acquire information, but expect and leverage surprises or failures. This is a more assertive approach to business development and innovation. The authors then lay out a persuasive roadmap for how and when to use the prediction approach and the creation approach, with ample examples of the intertwined processes in action.

A Google Street View Camera Car showcased on Google campus in Mountain View, CA

Jeremy Pack, an Aggie engineer on the Google Street View project

A Wheelchair Lift James Somers is working on his MBA now, but he was a mechanical engineering student when he helped develop an innovative wheelchair lift. The device helps a caretaker lift and stow a wheelchair into the trunk of a car. A second device he also worked on, called a mechanics creeper, was developed to allow people to work under a car, even if they can’t use their legs. The creeper sits at a height that allows a person to transfer over from a wheelchair onto it, and then the creeper lowers and reclines so the person can slide under a vehicle.

James Somers, one of the students who designed the wheelchair lift, operating the device 17

The Center for Entrepeneurial Excellence is Well Underway

The marketplace for devices to assist aging Americans is likely to grow significantly, and graduates like James Somers, with business skills and engineering experience, will be well poised to continue to develop innovative new solutions for that market.

It was just launched in January, but a lot has happened in just a few short months.

Sterling Morris graduated from the Huntsman School in May of 2012, with a master’s degree in management information systems. His final grade, one might say, would be an A+ for the dramatic growth he created in the Huntsman School’s social media over the two years that he managed it. By April of 2012 the Huntsman School’s Facebook site ranked 15th in the nation among the nearly 500 business schools accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). That was a 967 percent increase in followers from when he started managing it. In that same month, just before Sterling graduated, the school’s Twitter account had reached more than 9,000 followers, making it number eight among AACSB schools. The YouTube account that he launched had drawn more than 40,000 views, reaching a rank of number 29 in the nation. He says that he studied what other business schools and companies did right and then tried to do even better. “I discovered a well-managed social media presence is consistent, responsive, and engaging,” he said. Further, he learned that the Huntsman community was most interested in positive news about the school and photos of events on campus. “The Huntsman School community is heavily invested in the school, from tuition dollars and donations to time spent,” he said. “They’re proud of the business school and want to hear about what’s going on there.”

Kyle Ivins

Brian Kartchner

David Reynolds

In addition to his social media success, Sterling Morris was also named the Huntsman School’s Graduate Assistant of the Year. 18

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

Reed Page

• Th ree businesses that were started by students within the Center are growing and thriving— PoliticIt, Denik, and EnvolvSocial. • A new undergraduate minor in entrepreneurship has been added, with six courses. Students are encouraged to work on their own business ideas while completing the minor. • A new graduate MBA specialty in enterprise development has been added, with four courses. • The Entrepreneurship Club has a new leadership team—four students who already have some entrepreneurial wins and valuable military service under their belts. • The Entrepreneurial Leadership series of weekly presentations will start again in January, hosting ten top innovators from around the world of entrepreneurship. The Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence is spreading the entrepreneurial spirit, not just on the Logan campus but also across the many regional campuses of Utah State. A key resource for making these connections is the Entrepreneurship Club; it helps students develop their ideas into sustainable ventures, and it also helps students prepare their ventures to compete in state-wide contests. Four students, all entrepreneurs at heart, have taken leadership roles in the Entrepreneurship Club for the coming 2012-2013 school year. The students represent multiple colleges across campus, including business, engineering, humanities, and social sciences. Kyle Ivins is the club president. A senior in business administration, Kyle has started and sold multiple companies, including Kilo Relay Series and EnvolvSocial. He took 3rd place in last year’s Opportunity Quest business plan competition. Kyle is supported by three vice presidents, Brian Kartchner, David Reynolds, and Reed Page. Brian Kartchner is a senior in sociology, launcher of his own window cleaning company, and an Army veteran who served in Iraq. David Reynolds is a senior majoring in mechanical engineering and a veteran of the Marine Corps, having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Reed Page is an economics and finance major who has helped start several companies, including Page-Stroud Finance, which took 2nd place in last year’s Opportunity Quest. huntsman.usu.edu

s t erl ing photo by ron a dair , e club photos cour t esy of pic t ured indiv idua l s

Social Media Success

MBA Curriculum Invigorated with New Focus on Entrepreneurial Leadership

photo cour t esy of by u – idaho

BY KLYDI HE Y WOOD

Konrad Lee wants the Huntsman MBA program to teach students all that they must be, not just know, to become successful entrepreneurs. Revamping the Huntsman MBA curriculum over the past year has been a first step in that process, according to Professor Lee, director of the Huntsman School of Business MBA program. At a Huntsman School retreat in August 2011, faculty and staff discussed refining the focus of the MBA program. It was decided that an increased emphasis on innovation would make sense, especially since Utah has such a strong entrepreneurial business environment. Since then, the MBA curriculum has been invigorated and now has an increased emphasis on faculty teaching business skills through experiential learning, Professor Lee said. “Instead of our graduates saying they learned about something, we want them to say they can do something,” Professor Lee said. “It is great to know about marketing, finance or accounting, but if our students can see how to put skills into action, they will be more successful.” New to the curriculum is a one-week “boot camp” orientation where students are exposed to an overview of the business subjects they will be covering in the upcoming year and are taught what it means to be a Huntsman MBA graduate. Additionally, the new curriculum’s project and planning class gives students hands-on experience as they provide firms from all over the world with consulting services on a wide range of problems that businesses face. Students are also required to participate in a global learning experience where they will travel to China, India, Japan, or Israel. There they will be offered opportunities to not only learn about doing business globally but to present recommendations to international firms about how to solve problems. Professor Lee said there are three key advantages for students who earn a Huntsman MBA. First, people associate success and integrity with the Huntsman name, so earning a degree from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business brings with it a high level of credibility. Second, students who are accepted into the program have the opportunity to earn a quality MBA degree, on an accelerated schedule, at a competitive price. And third is the benefit that students will now graduate with refined entrepreneurial instincts which give them a competitive edge in the workplace. “When MBA students graduate they will be able to point to successful projects they’ve completed and will have also gained practical international

experience,” Professor Lee said. “They can show employers the positive results they helped to create.” The MBA program has seen a 10 percent increase in applicants this year, and since the announcement of the MBA program offered at BYU-Idaho in July 2012, the school has received numerous inquiries from those interested in knowing more about it. (See related story on this page.) “Right now the upward trajectory of the Huntsman MBA program is being noticed,” said Professor Lee.

“Instead of our graduates saying they learned about something, we want them to say they can do something.” — Konrad Lee

Huntsman School of Business to Offer MBA Program at BYU-Idaho This January it will become much easier for people in the Rexburg, Idaho, area to become Aggies. In July 2012 the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business announced that it had come to an agreement with Brigham Young University-Idaho that will give students the opportunity to obtain a Utah State University Master of Business Administration degree on the Rexburg campus. Faculty members from the Huntsman School will teach the MBA courses, and the program will offer the same curriculum taught at USU, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship, strategic thinking, decision-making skills, leadership, and effective communication. Classes will be taught on Friday evenings and Saturday mornings. Current BYU-Idaho students and employees, recent graduates, and other interested individuals from local communities are eligible to apply. Tuition for the two-year, 36-credit program is approximately $25,000, and the application deadline for Winter Semester 2013 is Nov. 15. Admissions decisions will be made by USU under the same standards as for students applying for the Huntsman School’s other professional MBA programs. Those interested in learning more about the program, including admissions requirements, may visit HuntsmanMBA.com or phone (435) 797-2360. 19

Marketing’s Role in Innovation and New Product Development It’s the most fun part of the job Working on innovations and creating new products is the sexiest job in the marketing world. It offers the opportunity to experience the exhilaration that great inventors like Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, and others must have felt—bringing new ideas to life, creating something from the vast void of nothingness, using only visionary insights to bring thought to creative fruition. The dream of every new product manager and entrepreneur is to originate a great idea that will catapult a business into the sales stratosphere. Unfortunately, this dream is about as close as most marketers get to nirvana. More likely they end up feeling like Dr. Frankenstein, with a mutated idea that seemed pretty at the start, but ultimately must be destroyed in order to save mankind (or the company’s bottom line!) Academic studies affirm that eight out of ten new products fail within the first 12 months. Despite these daunting odds, innovation is what drives the world economy, and companies continue to invest millions of dollars every year in new product research and development. The New Product Development Process There are four steps in the process for new product creation: 1. Brainstorm lots of ideas 2. Develop an idea you think has potential 3. Write a “product concept” 4. Test the concept on real live consumers

Here’s a quick look at the first of these steps. Successful Brainstorming I often get invited to participate in on-site brainstorming sessions to help dream up new products, marketing, and promotion ideas. I love the art of strategic creativity, so I always jump at the chance. To crank up the creative juices, I have a routine I go through before going to the group called “gittinjiggywidit.” It includes loud music, looking at wild colors or beautiful landscapes, and turning loose the adrenaline. By the time I arrive, I’m wild-eyed, fired up, and ready to rock n’ roll. To get breakthrough creative results, you have to break out of traditional paradigms. Great ideas aren’t usually found sitting around a corporate conference table at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Preparing For Brainstorming Success There are three keys to creating the atmosphere where great brainstorming can occur. First, provide an environment that’s fun. When I was at Coca-Cola, I held creative sessions at Dave & Busters; it’s an adult’s dream playground, with thousands of video games and virtual reality simulators. We’d rent out the back room, do some creative exercises, and then play for a while in the big room before convening again to create. Fun is critical to the creative process. A University of Maryland study affirms that when people are laughing, they’re three to five times better at generating successful ideas. Music also is crucial—loud, upbeat, and eclectic are the best. Food is important as well— M&M’s, soft drinks, and anything laced with sugar to keep the blood racing. Second, bring lots of stimuli to provoke ideas. Stimulus can be anything you can see, smell, taste, or touch. Magazines, toys, products, pictures, and lists of interesting words all can work wonders. If you are doing a full-day creative session, you’ll need about 1,000 different stimulus items to maximize your effectiveness for the duration of the session. Third, invite creative people who don’t work for you to participate. You need to seed both business sense and non-sense into the invitees. You need outside thinkers who are unbridled by the confines of corporate conventionalism. It’s the only way to get out-of-the-box thinking. Eric Schulz is senior lecturer and co-director of strategic marketing and branding at the Huntsman School.

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huntsman.usu.edu

i l l u s t r at i o n b y h i l a r y f r i s b y

BY ERIC SCHUL Z

Alum Blake Kirby is Blasting into Tomorrow

photos cour t esy of el ec t ronicsproduc tion worl d.com

A few years after Blake Kirby graduated with an accounting degree (’91), he invested in a small firm called Inovar that was working out of a converted garage in Hyrum. The business had revenue of $1 million per year and employed 20 people. That was in 1998. The firm merged with Independent Witness, Inc., in 2007, and was renamed inthinc. Today Kirby is the president and CEO of inthinc, a company with $80 million in anBlake Kirby nual revenue and 350 employees, operating out of a 20,000-squarefoot facility in Logan. The company now makes 500 different products each month, including a missile guidance system for General Dynamics and a device used by the U.S. Air Force to communicate with unmanned drone aircraft. From a technologically savvy foundation inthinc created an innovative “on-board safety system” called the waySmart 820 RTS, that monitors a driver’s activity. The device has been installed in 12,000 vehicles, mostly trucks in the oil and gas service industry. “Our customers have achieved an 80 percent reduction in accidents using this product,” Kirby said. That led to an even more innovative product—a version of that “on-board safety system” called tiwi that is designed to monitor the driving habits of teenagers. The new device was launched in July of last year—with a big mission: “The number one cause of death for teenagers is auto accidents,” Kirby said. “Car accidents kill 6,000 teenagers every year and seriously injure 60,000 more. We want to change that.” Imagine if a small company from Logan could begin to solve an age-old problem that results in 60,000 teenage deaths every decade! Kirby’s focused drive has guided the company toward that goal. He and his employees are clearly doing something right; last year, for the fifth year in a row, inthinc was recognized as one of Utah’s fastest growing companies.

“Critical Analytical Thinking” Course Launched It begins with a discussion of the formal components of logic—deductive and inductive reasoning—and a discussion of logic’s champions, Aristotle and Plato, but then it quickly devolves into real-world conundrums. For example, what should Google do in China, given that it appears it cannot ensure the security of its servers, even from the Chinese government? Answer, the Google boys Larry and Sergey say pull all of the servers out of China and relocate them to Hong Kong. That’s a simplification of a complex case, but it’s a real-world example of the difficult questions today’s business executives must wrestle with. Ten Huntsman Scholars served as the inaugural class for “Critical Analytical Thinking” at the Huntsman School last spring. They were invited to debate different sides of thorny business issues. They played the roles of Sunni fighters, Shia citizens, American diplomats, and United Nations negotiators in wrestling with questions facing Iraq. The course was taught by Senior Lecturer Christine Arrington, who graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business and visited Stanford again to learn about its Critical Analytical Thinking course (CAT) from Dean Garth Saloner. He said Stanford puts its CAT course first, in a two-week program before the regular term begins, to throw students into the deep end, in a sense, and let them struggle with difficult questions, thereby engaging them deeply with the thorniest of problems. Christine also attended a three-day AACSB seminar on Critical Analytical Thinking, led by Jackson Nickerson, Professor of Organization and Strategy, at the Olin School of Business, Washington University. He cited the IBM global survey of business executives that found critical analytical thinking was the number one skill desired by company executives worldwide. The course will be offered again, for Huntsman Scholars only at this point, this coming spring.

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2 012 DISTING U I SH ED E XE CUTIV E AL U M N U S AWARD

Huntsman School Honors Gary E. Stevenson, Leader in Business, International Relief, and Church Service BY STE VE E ATON

At an awards banquet in September, Gary E. Stevenson was honored with the top award that the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business bestows, its Distinguished Executive Alumnus Award. Gary graduated from Utah State with a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration in 1979. While attending USU Gary cofounded Icon Health & Fitness, Inc., that went on to become the world’s largest developer, manufacturer, and marketer of fitness equipment. 22

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

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p h o t o c o u r t e s y o f t h e c h u r c h o f j e s u s c h r i s t o f l at t e r - d ay s a i n t s

He has served in the LDS church as a mission Gary served as ICON’s president and chief operary in the Japan Fukuoka Mission, as president of ating officer until his call into full-time church serthe Japan Nagoya Mission, as a member of the First vice in 2008. He is still a member of the company’s Quorum of the Seventy, and as President of the Asia board of directors. Scott has served as chairman and North Area. In fact, he was in that last role in March, chief executive officer since the firm was founded. 2011, when the tsunami hit Japan and the country Scott said that Gary always paid attention to the experienced 1,000 earthquakes. He was deeply details, took copious notes, and was an excellent involved in the relief efforts that followed there. communicator. He said he remembers a time when In March 2012, he was named the Presiding a large retailer in the southeast had a concern, and Bishop of the LDS Church, a position with enorafter talking about it on the phone with the cusmous scope and responsibility in which he oversees tomer, Gary felt more had to be done. many of the physical affairs of that worldwide “He just jumped on a plane and was at the office organization, including the relief efforts the church of that particular buyer that same day, and it kind launches after natural disasters strike. Between of startled the man,” Scott said. “It showed the com1985 and 2011 the church reports that it spent $1.4 mitment that the company has and that he had to billion on humanitarian assistance in places like making things right.” Japan, Haiti, Chile, Pakistan, Samoa, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Some 179 countries have received “He’s very caring and compassionate about the one. humanitarian aid from the Utah-based church since He’s very interested in knowing you personally and 1985. Bishop Stevenson, as he is called in his new posiI think that’s what makes him a great leader.” tion, also has responsibility for the distribution and — Brett Stevenson accounting of member contributions, including tithing, offerings, and other donations. He oversees programs that assist the poor, and directs the design, Scott said that Gary was an effective, hard-workconstruction, and maintenance of places of worship. ing business partner but also a loyal and true friend. Gary has been refining his business skills since “We always had each other’s backs,” he said. he was about 10 years old, when he started selling Gary Stevenson’s son Brett, who is now a programs at the Nelson Field House and at the old Huntsman student, said he predicts his father will Aggie football stadium. In college he soon became do well in his new calling. a part of the Huntsman School of Business, known “He’s a natural leader,” Brett said. “He’s very caring then simply as the College of Business. That’s when and compassionate about the individual. Programs he and Scott Watterson, a grade-school classmate, are important, but he’s more interested in the people teamed up. who he works with. He’s very interested in knowing “During the summer of 1977 we had a choice you personally, and I think that’s what makes him a between working for the water department or doing great leader.” something on our own,” Scott said. He said his roots run deep when it comes to USU He and Gary both served LDS missions in Asia, and that he has fond memories of his time there so they decided to take advantage of that experience. and feels an allegiance to the Huntsman School of With the help of another friend and Huntsman Business. student, Brad Sorenson, they launched a new busi “It was in some of those classes that our minds ness importing kitchenware, tableware, and marble were stimulated to the extent that we thought we products from Taiwan in 1977. Scott credits the wanted to apply these business principles that we school, the professors, and the culture there at the were learning ourselves in a practical way, so we time for encouraging them to think like entreprestarted a business,” he said. neurs and get their business off the ground. Several He said he feels “honored and undeserving” of ventures later, in the 1980s, they began manufacturthe award. ing trampolines, starting on the path that led them “I am impressed with the progress and direction into the health and fitness industry. of what is now the Huntsman School of Business, In November 1994 their company became ICON and I think there is a great level of respect it is Health & Fitness, Inc. Some of the company’s bestreceiving,” he said. “I think its stature just continues known brands include NordicTrack, FreeMotion to grow and increase under the leadership of Dean Fitness, ProForm, Weider, Health-Rider, Image, iFit, Anderson, and the great faculty and students who and Weslo, Tour de France, and Boston Marathon. are there now.” 23

From the heights in Beijing, China Visiting Franklin Covey in Japan

A visit to Peru

Jumping in Russia 24

Huntsman Students Feel the “World Shift” in Unfamiliar Territory Liz Allred said she likes to watch the “world shift” as she travels with students who embark on “Global Learning Experiences” with her. Liz, program director of Global Learning Experiences, said sooner or later the students who travel internationally experience a transformational moment. They see the importance of understanding new cultures and comprehending how political philosophies and social context impact economic activity. Dozens of Huntsman students seize the opportunity to infuse a heavy dose of international reality into their educational experience each year by traveling to countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, Russia, Vietnam, and Turkey. Every summer, groups of undergraduate students travel to South America, Eastern Europe, and Asia. These programs last from two to four weeks, and

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

integrate coursework with a variety of business and cultural activities. In their junior year, Huntsman Scholars travel to Switzerland, Belgium, and France as part of a 15-credit scholar semester. Scholars must qualify almost a year in advance, and are selected based on academic performance, leadership potential, and their commitment to service. MBA students are required to participate in one of four programs during spring break. The graduate students go to China, India, Japan, and Israel. Students in the Master of Science in Human Resources program traveled during spring break to either England and Germany, or India and Switzerland. Each of these programs is designed to foster within students an appreciation of the everyday realities of business in different parts of the world. huntsman.usu.edu

photos cour t esy of pic t ured indiv idua l s.

Huntsman students in Brazil

A few members of the Partners In Business team. A packed conference center is a warm welcome for Stephen R. Covey’s last visit.

“Partners In Business” is Growing and Thriving The Partners in Business program has been getting bigger and better every year. In fact, since 2009 when each conference began to be advised by members of the related department of the Huntsman School, attendance has increased at every conference. This nonprofit organization sponsored by the Huntsman School of Business offers five major conferences each year, featuring experts from across the nation. These experts speak on campus to business practitioners and students, and they also interact with the business students who staff the program, under the direction of associate director Jamie Andrus and executive dean of the Huntsman School Ken Snyder. The conferences include:

l ef t photo by s t erl ing morris, righ t photo by russ di xon.

• Operational Excellence—continuous improvement through development and training. This year to be held October 3-4. • Accounting—the latest information for today’s accounting environment. Scheduled for October 25. • Information Technology—helping IT professionals stay up to date with advances in business virtualization, social media, and mobile apps. February 6, 2013. • Leadership—developing leadership skills in professional, personal, and social aspects of life. April 2-3, 2013. • Human Resource Management—the Crossroads Conference, held with the Utah Human Resources State Council, covers training, benefits, and compliance with employment law. Recently held, September 18-19, 2012.

Jon Huntsman, Jr. has said of the program, “Partners in Business is one of the country’s premier forums for promoting and analyzing best practices and cutting-edge thinking in business.” Recent speakers have included professionals such as Cynthia Cooper, the WorldCom whistleblower, who described the “less well known” pain that is often visited back on the whistleblower. At the time of her going public, she was heavily criticized for “endangering” her community’s largest employer, and recalled her low point, lying in bed while her father read her the 20th Psalm over and over. Thomas Bittman, vice president of Gartner Research, has led the industry in his grasp and explication of the potential of cloud computing, private cloud computing, and virtualization. He invented the term “real-time infrastructure,” an operational approach that has been widely adopted in industry. The beginning of Partners in Business goes back to 1970, when Dr. Vern Buehler started a banking seminar with support from the Utah Bankers Association. In the 1980s, seminars were added on world trade, human resource management, and management information systems. The program was named “Partners in Business” in May 1976, when it held its first productivity seminar. Over the years, such luminaries as the following have spoken at the conferences: Milton Friedman, Peter Drucker, Alan Greenspan, W. Edwards Deming, Shigeo Shingo, and Malcolm Forbes. Today the program gives businesspeople in the mountain west access to the latest operational “best practices,” straight from the executives at the forefront of each field. 25

‘60s Paul H. Woehlke ‘67 is employed as a Director of Development at Lima Convalescent Home Foundation and lives in Lima, OH Gary S. Wixom ‘69 is an Assistant Commisioner for the Utah System of Higher Education and lives in South Jordan, UT Virgil R. Pugsley ‘69 is an Assistant Treasurer at Security National Financial Corporation and resides in Independence, MO

‘70s

KEEP IN

TOUCH

Quentin K. Stewart ‘74 is employed as a Director at Solar Turbines Inc and lives in Montgomery, TX Mark J. Hall ‘76 is the Owner/Real Estate Agent for Landmark CFP and lives in Sandy, UT Boyd A. Lewis ‘77 is an Accountant at Cache Valley Electric Company and lives in Richmond, UT Brice Withers Dimond ‘77 is the COO at Alcoa and lives in Independence, KS

‘80s Bruce J. McMurdie ‘80 is a VP and Director of Tax for Pacific Capital Bancorp and lives in Glendale, CA Theron Lynn Stoker ‘81 is the COO at Tanner Clinic and lives in Layton, UT Blair K. Carruth ‘82 is an Assistant Commissioner for Academic Affairs at Utah System of Higher Education and lives in Sandy, UT

Have you written a book or climbed a mountain? Had a baby or run for office? Gotten married or started a new job? We would like to know—and so would your classmates! Share your news by scanning this code or submitting your classnote online at usu.edu/alumni/records/ Don’t miss out—let your fellow alumni know what you’re up to! Kenneth J. Berry ‘84 is a Partner for Spring2 Technologies and lives in South Jordan, UT

Stephen Michael Rasmussen ‘93 is a VP of Customer Care for Comcast and resides in Venetia, PA

Bryan Charles Humpherys ‘85 is a VP of Finance and Controller for Participant Media and lives in Canyon Country, CA

Lon Raymond Searle ‘94 is the CFO at Young Electric Sign Company and resides in Draper, UT

Craig W. Schiffman ‘88 is a Coowner at E.K.S. Corporation and lives in Providence, UT Jeffrey McMurdie ‘89 is a Purchasing Director for Infinia and lives in Millville, UT

‘90s John P. Stephens ‘90 is an Account Manager at Michelin North America, Inc and lives in Overland Park, KS

Randall I. Bambrough ‘82 is the CFO at TechMediaNetwork, Inc. and resides in Ogden, UT

Rula Taher Qalyoubi ‘90 works as an Economist and Environmental Director at 3rd Group Consultancy Engineering and lives in Littleton, CO

Glenn R. Stokoe ‘82 is a Senior VP for Lee & Associates Commercial Real Estate Services and resides in Encinitas, CA

Bruce K. Dunn ‘90 works as a Finance Executive at Transcript Bulletin Publishing and lives in Tooele, UT

Larry H. Harmsen ‘83 is the COO at ProLogis and lives in Englewood, CO

Dan Peterson ‘90 is the Vice Chancellor for South University and resides in Frisco, TX

Mark H. White ‘84 is the CEO at Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and resides in Salt Lake City, UT

Dr. Abdinasir Mohamed Abdulle ‘91 is the Minister of Finance for the Country of Somalia

Mark Stewart ‘84 is the CFO at Motion Federal Credit Union and lives in Bloomingburg, NY 26 26 26

David Jon Warnick ‘91 is a VP of Human Resources for Weir Oil and Gas and lives in Logan, UT

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Zane R. Heninger ‘94 works as a Manager at Booth Creek Management Company and lives in Denver, CO

Terrace Foundation Inc and lives in Providence, UT June Wang Scortino ‘98 is the President and Owner for IVY Counselors Network LLC and lives in Bridgewater, NJ Jason F. Thompson ‘98 is a Senior Director for Keystone Solutions and lives in American Fork, UT

‘00s Spencer W. Anderson ‘00 is the CFO at West Valley National Bank and resides in Goodyear, AZ. Eric A. McCuistion ‘00 is the Director of Manufacturing at Lashbrook Designs and is located in American Fork, UT Brett T. Rowe ‘00 works as a Managing Partner for Adam Smith CPA and is located in Riverton, UT Joseph J. Hicks ‘01 is the CFO at The Color Run and lives in Layton, UT David G. Wirthlin ‘01 is the President of Associated Retail Stores and lives in Farmington, UT Jonathan E. Woods ‘01 is the Technology Risk Manager for Commonwealth Bank of Australia and is located in Newport, Australia Michael B. Shipley ‘02 is an Account Director at Yahoo! and lives in Frisco, TX Gregory O. Hatcher ‘02 is the Owner of GC Pacific, Inc and lives in Lahaina, HI Joshua J. Baxter ‘02 is the VP of Global Services for LANDesk

Marketing Alumna Julie Hubbard Simmons Named One of Top 30 Women to Watch Julie Hubbard Simmons was named one of the top 30 women to watch by Utah Business Magazine. Simmons spent ten years in the international electronics industry. She has served in the senior management of several companies, including Bourns, Entek, and Intelisys. Simmons sits on the board of the Women Tech Council, serves on the Career Technology Advisory Committee for Weber School District, and volunteers for Expanding Your Horizons. She also helps young women find fulfilling careers through a website she co-created named lookilulu.com. Simmons received her B.S. degree in marketing in 1989.

Annmarie Geddes ‘96 is a VP/ Corporate Controller for Boart Longyear and lives in Farmington, UT

Heather M. Bennett ‘98 is a VP Business Operations and Strategy for Toys R Us and lives in Wayne, NJ

Gregory Dale Butikofer ‘97 is a Project Manager for ISL Inc. and lives in Pocatello, ID

Douglas B. Adams ‘98 is the VP of Business Development for Vertex Business Services and is located in Logan, UT

Cary J. Burr ‘97 is the VP of Crane Sales for H&E Equipment Services and lives in Mesa, AZ Sherrie Ann Cheney ‘98 works as a HR Generalist at Sunshine

Michael Lyman Rich ‘99 is a Regional Director for Quest Software Systems, Inc. and resides in Meridian, ID.

Software, Inc. and lives in Lehi, UT Jeffrey D. Steed ‘03 is an Associate at Callister Nebeker & McCullough and lives in Kaysville, UT A. J. Rounds ‘03 is the Director of Business Services and Marketing at Lone Tree Remote Housing Solutions and lives in Spanish Fork, UT

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photo by

KE E P IN TO UCH

K E E P I N TOUC H

Alumnus Mitch Zundel is Box Elder County’s New Economic Development Director The Huntsman School of Business wants to be an engine of economic growth for its communities, state, nation, and the world. It has one graduate in Box Elder County who is taking that goal quite seriously. The Ogden Standard-Examiner reported that Mitch Zundel, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business information systems in 2003 and a master’s in business administration in 2006, was named Box Elder County’s economic development director last March. Mitch also has an online business that sells running shoes called ZRunning.

Brian K. Smedley ‘03 is Director of U.S. Rates Research for Bank of America and lives in New Canaan, CT

Donald B. Hogan ‘08 works as an Environmental Auditor at URS Corporation and is located in Stockton, UT

Matthew D. Adams ‘03 works as an Escrow Officer at Hickman Land Title, Co and is located in Logan, UT

Ted Charles Peterson ‘08 works as an Executive Director for the Utah Governors Office of Economic Development and lives in Salt Lake City, UT

Robert W. Ward ‘03 works in Marketing Operations Management for Rally Software Development and lives in Denver, CO Robert King ‘03 is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Westmoreland Coal Company and lives in Venetia, PA Scott Bills ‘03 is a Vice President at Merrill Lynch & Company Inc and lives in Littleton, CO Dan L. Gay ‘04 is an Associate at Innosight and lives in Natick, MA Todd C. Blake ‘04 is the Director of Clinical Operations at St. Alphonsus Regional Medical Center and is located in Meridian, ID Richard S. Swart ‘04 is the Director of Strategic Programs at Grow America Ventures and lives in Riverton, UT Dhiren V. Amin ‘04 works as a Group Planning Director at McCann Erickson and resides in Mumbai, India Ryan J. Burgoyne ‘05 is a VP, Business Development for LoanSifter, Inc. and lives in Idaho Falls, ID Oscar Marquina ‘06 is employed as a Business Manager & Trader at Scoular and lives in Logan, UT

photo by ron adair

Mike Douglas ‘06 is the General Manager at Malouf Fine Linens and lives in Nibley, UT Jonathon T. Gay ‘07 is a Vice President for Huntsman Gay Global Capital and lives in San Francisco, CA

Trevor S. Watkins ‘08 works as a Human Resource Manager at Utah Power Credit Union and lives in West Jordan, UT

Nicholas Craig Hammer ‘09 is a Vice President for JP Morgan and is located in Gilbert, AZ

‘10s Stephen Young ‘10 is an Associate at Huntsman Gay Global Capital and lives in Draper, UT Adam Robert Beus ‘10 is a Project Manager for Stratus Exteriors and lives in Ogden, UT

Blake A. Wilkins ‘08 is the Owner of Blake’s Cabinetry and resides in Vernal, UT

David R. George ‘10 is the Controller at Skullcandy, Incorporated and lives in Draper, UT

Christopher Twj Connell ‘09 is the Co-founder and Econometrist at Kwelia and lives in Logan, UT

Gary Lance Wilson ‘10 is the Director of Marketing at Specialized Analysis Engineering and lives in North Miami Beach, FL

Erin Nicole Cottle ‘09 works in the Credit Research Group at Goldman, Sachs, and Company and is located in Logan, UT

Christopher Scott Cloud ‘10 works as a Manufacturing Engineer for Raytheon Aircraft and lives in Frisco, TX

Matthew B. Fankhauser ‘09 works as a Marketing Manager for Snell and Wilmer, LLP and resides in Salt Lake City, UT

Joseph W. Thackeray ‘10 is an Accounting Team Manager at ADP Lightspeed and resides in Riverton, UT

Cynthia Lea C Gleed ‘09 is a Programmer/Analyst for Mesa Development Services and is located in Fruita, CO

Blake K. Walker ‘10 is the Owner of ASA Insurance and resides in Midvale, UT LeeAnn E. Palo ‘10 is a Pricing Analyst for Darigold and lives in Seattle, WA

Beau S. Pitcher ‘10 is a Senior UI Designer for Overstock.com and lives in Salt Lake City, UT

Michael G. Severe ‘11 is the Owner for 5 Star Window Cleaning and resides in Logan, UT

Colby W. Thompson ‘10 is a Virtual Brand Advocate for MarketStar Associates and lives in Salt Lake City, UT

Ryan Marc Welling ‘11 is the Owner/Operator of Pryor Mountain Construction, LLC and lives in Missoula, MT

Ryan J. Quarnberg ‘11 works as an Analyst at Overstock.com and lives in Tooele, UT

Nathan J. Bradshaw ‘11 is a Partner at Olixo and resides in Kaysville, UT

Jordan B. Livingston ‘11 is an Associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers and lives in Fruitland, ID

Jason Kakazu ‘11 is a Technical Lead/Project Manager for FJ Management Inc. and resides in Clearfield, UT

John Paul Fazzio ‘11 is employed as a Director/Property Manager at The LaPorte Group and lives in Helper, UT Matthew Ellsworth Smith ‘11 works as an HR Manager at PepsiCo, Inc and is located in Columbia, TN Thomas W. Brough ‘11 works as a Manager, Business Partner Services for Clearone Communications Inc and resides in South Jordan, UT Brady James Spackman ‘11 works as a Manager for Ziplocal, LP, and lives in Orem, UT. Alice Clare Coddington ‘11 is a Professional Basketball Player for TransACT Canberra Capitals and lives in Australia.

Jamie Lynn Dodge ‘12 is an Accounting Manager at Intermountain Healthcare and lives in Salt Lake City, UT Duaine Phillip Dorton ‘12 is employed as a Director of Finance at Sundance Resort and lives in Orem, UT Matthew Alma Spencer ‘12 works as a Government Relations Executive at Ceridian Corporation and lives in Salt Lake City, UT Mark Thomas Sheffield ‘12 works as a Manager of Operations for Deseret Mutual and lives in Sandy, UT Jon Grant Shields ‘12 is a Regional Manager for New West Marketing and lives in Mesa, AZ

Jeffrey L. Simmons ‘11 is an Optician at Sugarhouse Vision Clinic and is located in Salt Lake City, UT

Jonathan K. Williams ‘12 is a Senior Auditor for J.C. Penney Company, Inc. and lives in Salt Lake City, UT

Porter Gines ‘11 works as a Forestry Tech at Forest Service and lives in American Fork, UT.

David D. Rowley ‘12 is a Senior Manager for Symantec Corporation and lives in Spanish Fork, UT

Ronald Allen Bianchini ‘11 is a Resource Manager for Tri-Hurst Construction, Inc., and lives in Blanding, UT.

Jeana M. Haderlie ‘12 is an Accountant at Larson & Rosenberger, LLP and is located in Fairview, UT.

Leonid Korikov ‘11 works as a Flight Instructor for the American Aviation Academy and resides in Northridge, CA

Phillip W. Witt ‘12 is employed as a Continuous Improvement Analyst at WesTech Engineering, Inc., and lives in Provo, UT.

National Advisory Board Member Dr. R. Pepper Murray Recognized For Unusual Talent–Cow Chip Throwing The Huntsman School of Business values R. Pepper Murray for his many contributions as a member of its National Advisory Board. The Salt Lake Tribune recognized him last July for a different reason. A story featuring his volunteer work with the Days of ’47 said that Dr. Murray was the USU Men’s cow-chip throwing champion. (He said he came within six feet of setting a new world record.) The story also focused on the fact that he is the co-medical director of the Justin Sports Medicine Team, an organization that offers medical care to rodeo athletes at more than 150 events across the country.

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contributions

LEADERSHIP GIFTS

In recognition of individuals and organizations whose cumulative giving exceeds $100,000.

Society of 1888 $25,000,000 or more

The Huntsman Foundation

Juniper Society

$1,000,000 – $10,000,000 The Call Family Foundation George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation Kem & Carolyn Gardner Woodey B. Searle & Vonetta S. Searle Trust Duane & Marci M. Shaw Menlo F. Smith

Benefactor

$500,000 – $1,000,000 Vernon M. Buehler, ‘41

IBM Corporation Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation Oracle Corporation Mignon Perry, ‘41 & ‘47 James H., ‘74 & Bonnie B. Quigley, ‘74 O. C. Tanner Company

Dean’s Circle $100,000 – $500,000

Alan, ‘74 & Kathleen Allred, ‘72 Gary, ‘78 & Marjorie Anderson, ‘78 Gary R., ‘63 & Karen K. Walton Black, ‘65 Joseph L. & Karen Black, ‘58 Boeing Company Brian, ‘93 & Natalie Broadbent, ‘94 Val A. Browning Foundation

Harold W., ‘48 & Ruth B. Dance, ‘49 Scott & Cathie Davis Deloitte Foundation Eccles First Security Foundation Mark V. & Jennifer Erickson Ernst & Young Foundation Ford Motor Company Great Plains Software David D., ‘77 & Loretta S. Hickox Mark K., ‘86, ‘88 & Wendi Holland Young-Chul, ‘73 & Mira Wie Hong Philip Kyupin, ‘68 & Gemma Yang Hwang, ‘68 Dell Loy, ‘82 & Lynnette Hansen, ‘73 & ‘75 Joseph L., ‘67 & Diane Keller Ross E. ‘60 & Nancy Kendell Jack D. & Betty Lampros

Jay H. Price, Jr., Rational Software Corporation Jim K. Sorenson, ‘70 Edna Southworth Harold C., ‘42 & Grace M. Steed, ‘46 Donnell B. & Elizabeth D. Stewart Education Foundation Workers Compensation Fund Estate of Leah M. Wright, ‘27 Morris H., ‘35 & Loree McGee Wright, ‘37

Dennis A. & Julie A. Parker PricewaterhouseCoopers Frank D. & Anita F. Shuman Ross D. & JoAnn Stokes Steven H. & Betty Stokes The Black Family Foundation

Bruce E. & Karen P. Thompson

2011-2012 GIVING

TO JON M. HUNTSMAN SCHOOL OF BUSINESS In recognition of individuals and organizations who contributed.

The Huntsman Foundation

$100,000 – $499,999 The Call Family Foundation Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation James H. & Bonnie B. Quigley Menlo F Smith

$50,000 - $99,999 Dell Loy & Lynnette Hansen Jim Sorenson, Jr.

$10,000 – $49,999 Douglas D. & Katherine C. Anderson Gary C. & Marjorie H. Anderson Timothy & Paula Ann Barney Gary R. & Karen W. Black Mary McAllister & C. Mark Bold 28 28 28

Brian R. & Natalie I. Broadbent William H. & Patricia Child Jeffrey D. & Bonnie J. Clark Eccles First Security Foundation Mark V. & Jennifer Erickson David D. & Loretta S. Hickox Kurt L. Larsen Roger Brodil & Rebecca McOmber Steve, Jr. & Tammy K. Milovich Brady & Andrea A. Murray William G., Jr. & Billie L. Murray Jay H. Price, Jr. Questar Corporation Duane & Marci M. Shaw Kay & Judy Toolson Workman Nydegger

$5,000 – $9,999 C. William, Jr. & Margaret M. Bullen

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012 HUNTSMAN HUNTSMAN ALUMNI ALUMNI MAGAZINE MAGAZINE •• SPRING FALL 2012 2012

Tracy Christman George S. & Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation Larry R. & Myra Hendricks Kennecott Utah Copper Corporation

$2,500 – $4,999 Dale B. Adams AIM Utah Andrew Allen

why we give Both of us are graduates of USU, along with two sons. Additional sons will be attending. USU is special and has been good to our family. Tyler (BS economics, ‘85, M.S. economics, ’87) & Marni Bowles (B.S. accounting, ‘96)

huntsman.usu.edu huntsman.usu.edu huntsman.usu.edu

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$500,000 and above

why we give We both had a tremendous undergraduate experience at Utah State, we love the University and we’re grateful for the impact it has had on our lives. We’re happy to “give back” and hope that it, combined with others’ contributions, will help USU and the Huntsman School continue to deliver an exceptional educational experience to future generations. Stephen (B.S. Economics, ‘95) & Michelle Koch (B.A. liberal arts and sciences ‘95)

Margaret F. Anderson Autoliv ASP Haven J. Barlow Kent E. Bracken Deloitte & Touche Douglas J. & Toni K. Hansen Jones Simkins LLP Key Foundation Stephen W. & Michelle H. Koch Peck Hadfield Baxter & Moore, LLC Steve & Chanin Lynn Peterson Douglas L. Polson Rawhide Western, Inc. William L. & Carol Woolley Rich Signal Peak Ventures O C Tanner Company Jason J. & Tami R. Van Tassell Paul R. & Marilyn Stevens Woodland

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$1,000 – $2,499 Curtis & Venice Andersen Gail Anger K. Boyd & Donna Baugh Kenneth J. Berry Neff & Denese Jensen Broadbent Jeffrey H. & Linda Champlin W. Boyd & Jean Christensen Frank A. & Caroline Condie Jeffrey T. & Sheryln C. Doyle Barry Eden Christopher & Christa A. Fawson Terry & Barbara B. Glover HJ & Associates, LLC Craig L. & Lisa Ray Janes Paul D. & Jan Judd Joseph L. & Diane Keller Jack D. & Betty J. Lampros Mike Larsen Jim & Carol B. Laub Gene W. & Ruth E. Miller R. Pepper & Rachelle T. Murray Scott & Shiree Nixon Tyler R. & Marce E. Olsen Sheldon L. & Angela Peck L. Tom Perry Ann S. Rice Kenneth J. Rose

Schmitt Griffiths Smith & Co PC Michael R. & Jessica R. Seeley Gregory D. Shuman Matthew Shuman Randy T. & Janet Simmons Cortney L. Taylor Larry M. Walther Dominic A. & Jeanette Welch

$500 -$999 Roy V. & Judith Allen Keith D. Andersen John & Debra Aoki Michael Gary Ball Greg D. & Cindy P. Bangerter Blake L. Bench Chris P. & Michelle Bingham Tyler J. & Marni G. Bowles Dell C. Boyer Campbell Scientific Matthew Todd Cook Todd V. & Sally S. Erickson Herbert H. & Rosemary R. Fullerton Tyler A. & Anna M. Gillespie E. Vance & Tamara Grange Abel F. Herrera Brian Michael-John Huculak & Paula L. Rosson Richard L. & Carol Jenson Kenneth D. & Amy J. Jeppesen Lyndon G. Jones Ross E. & Nancy M. Kendell

Tyler R. & Cristina Kirkham James Paul Klein Gaylyn Larsen Dayton Lierley Mason B. & Carrie L. Niederhauser Katherine Papanikolas Eric W. & Michelle Rasmussen Dan C. & Manon C. Russell Michael B. & Alisha Shipley Clark P. Skeen Janice & Clifford R. Skousen Michael & Barbra A. Spuhler

$100 -$499 Nucor Steel Company Funmilayo Ojo John A. Olsen Takeshi Omura Jack W. Orrock Paul H. Oto David P. Otterby Fred G. & Margaret Palmer Michael J. Petersen Shirley Ann Polejewski Jeffrey Dean Poulsen Katherine M. Chudoba & Dave Powelson Cynthia Marie Rankin Doraleen Rich Bruce L. & Denise Litz Richards Daniel P. Rinehart Brian G. & Leeann Russell

William J. Schwegler Patrick Shuldberg Helen L. Simmons Steven R. & Vanette D. Skabelund Christopher J. & Sally Marie Skousen Sharon P. & Ron Snow John J. Spinner, Jr. Melvin J. & Linda B. Stanford Mark W. & Jean Stevens Brent Phillip Stewart Lynn J. & Ruth Marie Stoker Ward & Mary L. Taylor Louise R. Thomas Trizon, LLC Rick L. Velasquez Ryan R. Warburton N. C. Whitehouse Cardon W. Willis Dennis M. Winward Paul H. & Genoveva E. Woehlke Wen-Wen Wu Wesley J. & Cori A. Yeomans Qingping Zhu

$99 and below Robert G. & Nancy Adams Ryan Paul Adams Brian C. Allen Clint E. Allen Fred & Connie Allsop Carolyn C. Anderson Darren V. & Lisa Skousen

Anderson Ryan Val & Alena Christine Andreasen Sheila R. Angerhofer Brady P. & Lisa S. Bagley Robert L. Bailey Richard James Baird Brennan L. Bateman Jana Beebe Stacy L. Bingham Kraig Robson Black Boeing Company Julie A. Bott Eddie Brinkerhoff J. Curtis & Marilyn P. Broadbent Lawrence W. Bull Brent Raymond & Kristine Burge Walter & Kristine Burzlaff Zoe Grehta Cardon Thomas F. Carlson Jason Christiansen Derald B. & Mary Ann Clark Robert M. & Linda L. Clegg Thomas Wilson & Stephanie M. Colligan Daniel W. Colvin Deanna S. & Bradford Cowley Don R. Cowley Mark Ronald Curdy Arnold J. & Margaret L. Dance David Duane & Debra Stokes Deakin Randy B. Dean Greg S. & Mandy Dixon Scott R. & Charie Draper Rebecca Dianne Drebin Lynn W. Edwards Matt Egnew Crystal E. Eldridge Ryan B. & Whitney L. Ennis Les Essig Vernon W. Fielding Dale & Angie Fillmore Steve Lee & Laurie Ann Fisher Danielle V. Franks Abdirashid Abdirahman Gary William Lamont, Jr. & Dorothy A. Glover Rachel B. & Brett Keaton Godfrey

why I give After working at USU for nearly 20 years, I see and appreciate the quality of students in the Huntsman School of Business. I see how hard they work to balance school, family, and church responsibilities, in addition to working long hours in order to reach their educational goals. I know that consistent donor contributions, whether large or small, make a tremendous difference in our school’s ability to offer much needed financial awards to our outstanding students. Mary Ann Clark (B.S. social work, ‘70) 29 29

CONTRIBUTIONS

why we give We loved the time we spent at Utah State and feel blessed to be able to help students today have some of the same experiences we had. We have really enjoyed our involvement with the Huntsman School and believe our contributions have made a difference in students’ lives.

Huntsman From Goldman Sachs and Honeywell to ICON Health & Fitness and Zion’s Bank, companies find that our students demonstrate success working in small and large, public and private enterprises in Cache Valley and beyond.

Did you know? different languages spoken by Huntsman students

%

of Huntsman students speak a second language

%

of Huntsman students have lived in a foreign country for at least six months

%

of Huntsman students work 10+ hours a week while attending school

Tim (M.A. political science, ‘03) & Paula Barney

Danny L. & Kirsten Godfrey Daniel D. Good Wesley J. & Janet Daw Greenhalgh John Kenneth Gunn Jon Steven Haderlie Bernard J. Hale Rustin Ray Hansen Thomas J. Harding Julie King & Joel Harris Ruth Checketts Harrison George F. Heiner Usher J. Henrie Dawn Marie Higley Stacey Hills Brady B. Hoggan Peter S. Hristou Duan-An A. & Laura Hsu Dale C. & Linda K. Huffaker Bryan J. & Chandi Hurd Peg A. Ivanyo Keith S. & Cozette Jeppson Joseph Junior Johnson Norman L. Johnson Ronald N. Johnson Lynn Berry & Ann N. Kennington Lynn A. Kinner Kathy B. Knight Andrew D. Laing Robert T. & Karen E. Larson Thad K. & Emily L. Lemon Matthew A. & Lynze L. Lenio Kathryn A. Leonard Richard Eric Levie Klint G. Lewis Peter J. & Marie Light Erik T. & Julie Lindstrom Richard A. & Brooke N. Linton Shin M. Liu Megan N. Low Nolan F. & Marian Mangelson

Eric T. Marnell Lucretia Wilson Mattson Susan T. Maxfield Patricia P. McFerson Doreen J. McLaughlin Cem McMillan Lyman & Michael P. Lyman Jeffrey & Julie Perkes McMurdie James A. McNamara Ian B. & Raylyn K. McNeal David V. Meadows David J. Mecham Douglas & K. Marie Mecham Theodore J. Meyers Tracy Janes Miller Brandon Len Mills Grant C. & Mary Jane Mohlman Sherry L. Munther Jordan E. Needles Brandon C. & Kathryn A. Nelson Rocky Kent & Adele K Nielsen Jason Edward & Kimberly Ann Norton Daniel Oehler Paula Olsen Shelly A. Owen Eric S. & Danielle D. Pace Paul Ian & Laura Moulton Packard Ruel Anthony & Janet Waldron Parent Peter W.C. & Suzanne Elizabeth Paton Gene A. Peaden* Sid Perkes H. Craig & Maradee S. Petersen Mary E. & Sage Johnson Price David Garrett & Sheila Showell Rex Stephen Ray Richards Larry E. Richins Boyd Ringel

Jim W. Roberts Julianne Balls Roberts Ryan Roberts Joel T. & Lori J. Robins Richard Roth Sharon Thornley Schnell Donald R. Smith Hyrum L. & Melissa L. Smith Marcia M. & Ronald W. Smith Doyle John Snow Norman King Solomon Vladimir Sosa Ron & Jeanette B. Squires John W. & Carol T. Steinitz Hua-Yi C. Stern Gary M. & Julie Jensen Stevens Dustin C. & Suzanne S. Stoker Kevin B. & Tracy T. Suminguit Jaak & Arika D. Sundberg Bill G. Sundermann Mykola Valerjevich Suvorov Kevin B. & Amy L. Tams Lyle D. & Kathy Thornley Robert M. & Raeanne R. Tibbs Keith & Shaunla Sue Todd Brent G. Tregaskis Bonnie B. & Oscar Villarreal Beverly Duncan Wagner Gary D. Walker John Chung Wang Terrance I. & Cassie E. Washington Brian D. & Melissa O. Webster Laura Weston Lawrence D. & Lory Larkin Wight Jim B. Wightman Nancy Woodward Carey D. Woolsey Aaron & Megan J. Woolstenhulme Travis R. & Michelle Lee Young

: Your help is needed to fulfill the vision

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HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012 HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

Visit usu.edu/campaign/giving to contribute to the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business.

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huntsman.usu.edu/hire

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Dr. Abdinasir M. Abdulle, ‘91 M.S., ‘01 Ph.D.

Minister of Finance, Republic of Somalia

Building a Society Based on Trust I have always been deeply connected to Somalia, my homeland, and I am also very connected to Utah State University, where I earned both a master’s degree in range science in 1991 and a Ph.D. in economics in 2001. My thesis was an optimal dynamic control model for livestock in central Somalia. I met my wife, Habiba Nur, at Utah State, where she also was a student from Somalia, and we were married at the Student Union Center. I had to be in Somalia at the time of the wedding, and so my father stood in as my proxy in our Islamic wedding, and then we were reunited when I returned. We have three children, a 19-year-old daughter, Mayran A. Mohamed, who is a freshman at Utah State, a 15-yearold daughter, Ladan, and a 13-year-old son, Lidan. I have taught at Weber State and at the University of Phoenix, as well as working for a number of years in the private sector and for the State Health Department of Utah. Over the years, I had always stayed in touch with a man who grew up very near me in Somalia, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali. For years, we both dreamed of a better future for our country, as it struggled, with the civil war in 1991, with the radical Islamist group al Shabaab, with Somali pirates, with drought and the destruction of the country’s infrastructure. Mr. Ali became Prime Minister of Somalia in June 2011, and I applied for the position of Minister of Finance, to which I was appointed in July 2011. I now oversee 500 employees in the Finance Ministry, with an annual budget of $98 million. We are at a critical time in the history of this nation—a country that famously lies along the ancient Silk Road trade route, stretching from southern Europe through Arabia, Somalia, Egypt, Persia, India, and Java until it reached China. Since the second millennium BC, Somalia traded with Egypt and Greece, exporting short-horned cattle, incense, ebony, gold, ivory, and animal skins. Today we are working very hard to take back control of the land from rebel groups. In July 2011 we controlled just one street in the capital city of Mogadishu, and now in mid-2012, we’ve liberated 80 percent of the city and most of the surrounding country. The people have lost trust in al Shabaab, which has deprived them of all services, schools, and infrastructure. We need to reestablish trust with the people, to provide social services, schools, and to undertake other development projects. International help is needed for this. Our financial system needs to be built on strong accountability and transparency. Dr. Abdulle and his wife Habiba Nur are both graduates of Utah State.

We’ve made a lot of progress, and our main task now is to move from the transitional government to a permanent government, and to secure international legitimacy. We are following a four-step roadmap to stability: 1. Good governance practices 2. Work on security 3. Reconciliation of the many groups in the country 4. Adoption of a constitution and political reform We brought together the elders of the clans, members of the Somali diaspora, young people, women—a crosssection of society to debate elements of the constitution, which was rectified in the Assembly in early July 2012. Then the Assembly selected 550 members of Parliament, half of them new. The Parliament chose a speaker, a president, a prime minister, and cabinet. Right now the whole world is waking up and helping Somalia, after 20 years of struggles. People like Ban Ki Moon and Prime Minister Erdogan of Turkey are helping us move forward. Finally, we need our stability, services, and infrastructure to develop so far that they are irreversible. That’s economics 101.

Join us this Fall for TWO outstanding conferences

OPE R AT IO NAL E X C E L L E N C E

October 3-4, 2012 People, Purpose, and Passion: The Pathway to Success FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Stan Pruiett Dustin Ott Hyrum Smith

ACCO U NTI NG

C O N F E R E N C E

October 25, 2012 Understanding Principles, Achieving Results Denny Beran Jason Collins Weston Smith

Paula Eldredge Jonathan Duersch James Leisenring

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FEATURED SPEAKERS:

Register at partners.usu.edu 32

HUNTSMAN ALUMNI MAGAZINE • FALL 2012

huntsman.usu.edu

Steve Neeleman, ‘94

‘CEO, Health Equity, Inc.

Dare to Take the Higher Road WHAT ARE SOME GUIDING PRINCIPLES THAT ANCHOR YOUR LEADERSHIP PHILOSOPHY?

There are enough people in this world who try to lead by telling people what to do. I think it is more important to lead by example. Since I founded HealthEquity in 2002, I have always been willing to jump on any plane, fly to any city, or pick up the phone to make any call to help our sales and business leaders perform their important duties. If we ever have a client conflict or challenge, I will support our team to make the right decisions to serve our customers. We try to instill in our team members 3 key principles: 1) Team members (the word “employee” is a pet peeve of mine) must be “ambassadors” of your brand. 2) We must strive for “flawless execution.” 3) If we make a mistake, or if our customer perceives they have been wronged in any way, fix it quickly and thoroughly and they will become more loyal than if we had never made a mistake. We measure our success in these efforts by conducting regular surveys, utilizing the Net Promoter methodology, to track our success. Our team members have helped us to become one of the most highly regarded service companies in the health care and financial service industries by adhering to these principles. WHAT DOES “DARE MIGHTY THINGS” MEAN TO YOU?

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As I was completing my 5 year surgical residency at the University of Arizona, which followed 4 years

of undergraduate education at USU and 4 years of medical school at the University of Utah, I decided to start HealthEquity. I love practicing medicine and feel a remarkable sense of responsibility for patients that have been entrusted to my care. That being said, I realized that while a busy surgeon may treat several thousand patients and employ a few dozen people during the course of a long career, starting a company has the ability to serve millions of people and employ hundreds or thousands of people. Surgery is a very demanding career choice with high stress and long work hours. But there is minimal career or financial risk in medicine. There is typically high market demand for a general surgeon’s services. I chose to “Dare Mighty Things” by starting a company to help change the way that Americans consume health care and help people build health savings for their future health care needs. HealthEquity’s mission statement is bold, long term, and noble: “We will save health care by helping people better save and spend their health care dollars.” We currently provide services to more than 1 million Americans and have over 250 team members. We manage nearly $1 billion of our customers’ health savings account deposits. I am lucky to still be able to practice surgery on a part-time basis so I get the best of both worlds of serving people in medicine and business. Dare Mighty Things means to me to not take the easy or safe journey in life, but rather to take the road that can help the most people to have a better life.

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs even though checkered by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt

Non-Profit Org US Postage PAID Utah State University

Office of the Dean 3500 Old Main Hill Logan, UT 84322-3500

in memoriam Dr. Stephen R. Covey { 1932 – 2012 }

“

While his contributions to the world have been remarkable, we know he measured his success in the individual lives of those he taught. We are grateful for the time and effort he invested here with each of us sharing his insights, talking with our students and helping us refine a vision of

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the kind of leaders we can all be. — Dean Douglas D. Anderson

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“ ”

As a young business leader, Stephen Covey codified timeless leadership skills that have powered my business endeavors for over 33 years. He personified the ‘servant leader’ better than anyone I have ever encountered.

—John Miller, former CEO of National Beef

Stephen was one of the world’s great human beings. His impact is incalculable and his influence will continue to inspire generations to come. ­— Bob Whitman, chairman and CEO of FranklinCovey

REQUIRED READING Jon M. Huntsman, Sr., called “The Third Alternative” a “must read for all future leaders.” It is, in fact, required reading at the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business this upcoming academic year.

the3rdalternative.com

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”

Dr. Covey touched the lives of people around the world in very personal ways. He was an inspirational leader who was always a powerful voice for individual integrity, strong character, and extreme trustworthiness in every aspect of life. — USU President Stan L. Albrecht

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