Jennifer Mathieu ’09, ’23 MBA, executive director of the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the UConn School of Business, has been named a Hartford Business Journal 2024 Women in Business Honoree. Mathieu has helped to launch UConn Brewing Innovation, an initiative that connects the craft beer industry with UConn’s premier researchers across many disciplines. Mathieu has raised over $4 million in grant and donor funding over the past two years, directly enabling entrepreneurship activities throughout Connecticut.
2020s
Christina Phillips ’22 MBA
Christina Phillips ’22 MBA launched a new company, Puure, that provides women with a non-toxic alternative to traditional undergarments. Phillips attended the Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Summer Fellowship Program and was selected as one of six startups to compete in the Wolff New Venture Competition, hosted by the UConn School of Business.
Derrick C. Gibbs Jr. ‘21 MBA
Derrick C. Gibbs Jr. ‘21 MBA, CEO & founder of Change Incorporated, and equity joint venture partner, Budr Hartford LLC, have received approval to develop a cannabis dispensary in West Hartford, CT.
Alexandra Ocampo ‘20 MSHRM
Alexandra Ocampo ‘20 MSHRM was appointed chief people officer at Southwest Community Health Center (SWCHC), a federally qualified health center dedicated to providing the highest-quality medical, dental, and behavioral health to individuals and families in the Greater Bridgeport, CT, area.
Ilona Bastiaansen ’23 Ph.D.
Ilona Bastiaansen ’23 Ph.D. has successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Bankruptcy Spillovers in Firm Payout Policy”. Bastiaansen has accepted a position as an assistant professor at the University of Notre Dame.
Ben Arsenault ’22 MBA
Ben Arsenault ’22 MBA has been appointed deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). Arsenault is one of the youngest deputy commissioners within the state of Connecticut.
Arda Zuber ’14 MS, ’22 Ph.D.
Arda Zuber ’14 MS, ’22 Ph.D., Operation and Information Management doctoral student, has successfully defended his dissertation titled, “Applications of Inferential and Prescriptive Analytics in Information and Operations Management”. Zuber has accepted a position as an applied science manager with Uber.
Trent Krupa ’22
Trent Krupa ’22 has successfully defended his Ph.D. dissertation titled “How do Firms Assess the Costs of Tax Aggressiveness? Evidence from Mandated Enterprise Risk Assessments.”
Sule Nur Kutlu ‘21 Ph.D.
Sule Nur Kutlu ‘21 Ph.D. Please join us in congratulating Sule, OPIM doctoral student, who successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Essays on the Design of Digital Platforms.” Dr. Kutlu has accepted a tenure-track Assistant Professor position at the University of Calgary, to begin Fall 2021.
Tricia L Creta ‘20 MBA
Tricia L Creta ‘20 MBA has been named chief compliance officer at Amulet Capital Partners, a middle-market private equity investment firm focused exclusively on the healthcare sector. Creta joined Amulet in 2015 as the director of finance and operations.