Brenda Lewis ’81 MBA has launched TechXel Stamford LLC, the first & only enterprise accelerator in Fairfield County. TechExel Stamford will prepare early stage (pre-revenue) enterprise ventures to better compete for a national seed funding pool shrunk to 2002 levels. The accelerator will focus on ventures with scalable IP. A backbone of the program is TechXel’s Venture Expert Series presented every Wednesday at 6:30pm at Workpoint Stamford.

Dhrumil A. Shah ’04, ’11 MBA has been named group controller for High Concrete. High Concrete provides financial, marketing, human resource and information services to High Industries and High Real Estate Group. He previously held positions as accounting and finance manager at Hershey Co. Mr. Shah has both a bachelor’s and MBA degrees from the University of Connecticut.

Marc A. Levine ’88 MBA is the current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at JDA Software; a $1B supply chain software company based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Most recently, Mr. Levine was Corporate Controller at Hewlett Packard. He spent 25 years at the company in various roles, most of which in the Finance organization, including CFO for the $57B Enterprise Business and CFO and COO for the Enterprise Services business. Currently at JDA, he has had the opportunity to lead a growing business, develop a team of Finance, Accounting, IT and Legal professionals, and work closely with the capital markets.

Joanne C. Crevoiserat ’85  has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. while continuing her current roles as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She has held these roles since May 2014 and has been a member of the Office of the Chairman since October 2015. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Ms. Crevoiserat served in various management roles at Kohl’s Inc., senior finance positions with Wal-Mart Stores and May Department stores, including Chief Financial Officer of the Filene’s, Foley’s and Famous-Barr brands.

Brandon T. Parrinello ’09 MBA has been promoted to audit manager at the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General in Denver Colorado. Most recently, Mr. Parrinello held the position of senior analyst in the Tampa, Florida field office. While in Tampa he served as a Team Leader and Auditor-In-Charge on multiple audits and reviews, and has worked on audits of the VA Fiduciary Program, Technology Acquisition Center, Implementation of HSPD12, and Denver Replacement Hospital to name a few. He is a 2016 Graduate of VA’s prestigious Leadership VA program.

Scott E. Newland ’11 MBA has been promoted within the Officer Group at Burns & McDonnell. Mr. Newland is senior vice president and general manager in Chicago, Illinois where he leads a regional staff of more than 250 employees. He joined Burns & McDonnell in 1999 as a structural engineer and was previously the general manager of the firm’s New England Office.

Shelly J. (Ouellette) Nicholas ’08 MBA owner of PRETTY KNOTTY, has announced the launch of FIT Ties. This patented hair accessory is the first to be created for athletes and active users. Its low-profile design, innovative manufacturing process, and proprietary material blend, combine to create a durable product that keeps hair securely in place while reducing friction on hair. Ms. Nicholas began developing her idea while studying her MBA at UConn. Her product can be purchased at www.prettyknotty.com.

Yihong Xiao ’10, ’17 PhD has successfully defended her dissertation titled, “Three Essays on Gender Diversity” receiving her PhD in Finance. Her dissertation focuses on the impact of gender diversity in the corporate boardroom, and shows that it is beneficial for firm profitability, corporate decisions and stock price to have more female directors.

Christopher T. Calio ’00 MBA, ’00 JD has been appointed as president of Pratt & Whitney’s commercial engines business. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United Technologies Corp. Mr. Calio joined UTC in 2005 and has served several positions across the company. He has been a business partner in leadership roles at Otis, UTC Aerospace Systems, and chief of staff for the UTC Chairman and CEO.

Willard I. Hill Jr. ’81 MBA joined the Board of Trustees for PCSB Bank. Mr. Hill has also been elected to serve as director of the Bank’s holding company, PCSB Financial Corporation. Mr. Hill is currenty an attorney with executive leadership experience in the financial services industry. Most previously, he served as managing director, chief marketing and communications officer, and head of government relations for MBIA Inc.