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BABSON SUMMER 2026

FROMTHEPRESIDENT

launch a company, lead an organization, or pursue a cause they care deeply about. The result is more than 48,000 entrepreneurial leaders around the world. They are founders, leaders, and innovators making an impact in every sector and every corner of the world. They are the living expression of Babson’s mission. hen people hear the word entrepreneurship,

This issue of Babson Magazine explores that

they often think of startups. At Babson, we

theme through Startup Stories (Page 16), which

see something bigger.

follows three Babson ventures at different

For more than 50 years, Babson has demonstrated

stages of growth. From a venture participating

that entrepreneurship is a way of thinking, leading,

in the Summer Venture Program to a B.E.T.A.

and creating value. That understanding has

Challenge winner and a company continuing

established Babson as the world’s leading institution

to scale its impact, these stories illustrate how

for entrepreneurship education. At the heart of that

Babson supports entrepreneurs throughout their

success is our people.

journey. They also reflect the people, programs,

Faculty, staff, students, trustees, alumni, donors, and friends share a belief that entrepreneurship is a force for good. Together, we advance entrepreneurship through teaching, research, and practice. Even before students arrive at Babson, we know

and experiences that make Babson the Hub of Entrepreneurship. Earlier this summer, I announced that I will retire as Babson’s president at the end of next June. Serving this institution, my alma mater,

through the application process that incoming

has been the greatest honor of my professional

students have an entrepreneurial zeal. They

life. As I begin my final year, I do so with deep

are immediately immersed as venture creators

gratitude for this community and great confidence

in our signature Foundations of Management

in Babson’s future. The people who make Babson

and Entrepreneurship (FME) course and myriad

extraordinary will continue to shape the next

experiential learning opportunities. Students are

generation of entrepreneurial leaders and extend

taught to experience entrepreneurial action through

our impact around the world for years to come.

hands-on venture creation. More importantly, we teach them how to approach complex challenges. Students learn to connect ideas, solve problems, and create value. They develop an entrepreneurial mindset that shapes how they think and lead, whether they

Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD

‘Never Alone’

Startup Stories

The Greatest of All Time?

The journey of Jake Thibeault ’26 demonstrates how Babson brings out the best in one another. These three Babson-born ventures at various stages illustrate the campus’ impact on entrepreneurship. Tennis star Matia Cristiani ’26 wins the NCAA singles title—her third national championship in three years.

DEPARTMENTS

BABSON MAGAZINE STAFF / Vol. 93, No. 2 EDITOR Eric Beato PUBLISHER Kerry Salerno, chief marketing officer COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY Danielle Perry

Babson and Beyond

Office Hours

People of Babson

Advancement Spotlight

News, Notes, and Nods

Nic’s Parting Shot

The latest news and updates from campus. Rich Hanna brings experience to MSBC program.

For Amir Reza P’28, global education is personal. Babson ELevates tops $750 million goal.

Undergraduate, Graduate, In Memoriam A heartwarming hug at Commencement.

We welcome your feedback on the magazine. Contact Eric Beato at ebeato@babson.edu

CREATIVE MANAGEMENT Cheryl Robock CREATIVE ART DIRECTION Cathy Cahill SENIOR JOURNALISTS Hillary Chabot, John Crawford STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER Nic Czarnecki CONTRIBUTORS Kara Baskin, Scott Dietz, James Kiley, Erin O’Donnell, Thecla Ree, Melissa Savignano, Kevin Wong MULTIMEDIA TEAM Christopher Brown, Paul DeWolf, Maggie McGinnis, Adam Pearlman

Find out more about what’s happening at Babson College at: entrepreneurship.babson.edu On the cover: Illustration by Sarah McMenemy

TABLEOFCONTENTS

FEATURES

Babson Magazine (USPS 898-140) is published by Babson College, 231 Forest Street, Babson Park, MA 02457-0310, three times a year, in the spring, summer, and winter. Copyright 2026 by Babson College. Editorial office: Babson Park, MA 02457-0310. Send address corrections to advancement_services@babson.edu, or call +781-239-4044.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

BABSONANDBEYOND

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

PRESIDENT SPINELLI TO RETIRE at End of 2026–2027 Academic Year Babson College President Stephen

broadening the College’s reach, relevance,

Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD announced

and impact. Under his leadership, Babson

his plans to retire at the end of the

was named the No. 2 Best College in the

2026–2027 academic year, capping a

United States by The Wall Street Journal

presidency defined by strategic growth in

for two consecutive years—recognition

entrepreneurial leadership, innovation

driven by the College’s strength in career

in entrepreneurship education, and an

outcomes, return on investment, and real-

expanded global impact for the College,

world learning. His leadership has focused

and fueled by historic philanthropic

on extending Babson’s core strengths

investments.

into new areas, including expanding

Spinelli, Babson’s 14th president, has

innovation in teaching and technology,

continue in his role through June 30, 2027,

and strengthening the College’s position

as the Babson College Board of Trustees

as a leading business school and hub for

launches a global search for his successor.

entrepreneurial leadership on a global

“Serving as president of Babson College has been one of the great honors

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

lifelong learning opportunities, advancing

led the institution since 2019. He will

scale. “Steve has led Babson with vision,

of my life,” Spinelli said. “Together,

energy, and a deep commitment to

we have built on Babson’s strengths,

our mission,” said Jeffery S. Perry ’87,

expanded our reach, and positioned the

P’23, chair of the Babson College Board

College for continued impact in a rapidly

of Trustees. “Steve has demonstrated

evolving world. I am deeply grateful to

leadership amid challenging higher

our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and

education headwinds, pressing our

partners for all we have accomplished.”

competitive advantage and staying true

Spinelli has led Babson through

to the values of the Babson community.

a period of strategic transformation,

… Steve leaves the College in a position

reinforcing its position as the global leader

of strength, with clear momentum and

in entrepreneurship education while

upward trajectory for the future.”

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

BABSONANDBEYOND

LIFETIME OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP:

Professor Les Charm ’64 Reflects on Babson’s Rise When Les Charm ’64 arrived at Babson College as a student, entrepreneurship was not yet a formal academic discipline. In fact, he said, the word itself was rarely used. Babson was Babson Institute then, a small business school where students often came from family businesses and professors emphasized practical business lessons over theory. Yet, over the next six decades, Charm would witness and help shape Babson’s transformation into one of the world’s best-known entrepreneurship schools. Now, after 36 years teaching entrepreneurship at Babson, Charm

Associate Professor of Practice Les Charm ’64 retired this year after teaching entrepreneurship at Babson for 36 years.

retired as an associate professor of

Charm because of its accelerated three-

industry rather than purely academic

practice, bringing to a close a career

year business curriculum.

backgrounds. Entrepreneurs, executives,

deeply intertwined with the evolution of entrepreneurship education itself. “What I learned at Babson was

Charm later built a career in banking, finance, and entrepreneurial ventures

venture capitalists, and operators became central to the educational model.

after earning an MBA from Harvard

Alongside Timmons and other

practical and usable,” Charm said. “That’s

University. But Babson eventually pulled

groundbreaking entrepreneurship faculty

still what matters most to me as a

him back.

members such as William D. Bygrave

teacher.”

Roughly 20 years after graduating,

and Julian Lange, Charm helped shape

Charm reconnected with famed

Babson’s practical, experience-driven

members who retired this year with a

Babson Entrepreneurship Professor

entrepreneurship curriculum during

combined 169 years of service. Other

Jeffry A. Timmons, a former Harvard

a period when the College was gaining

retiring faculty members include Richard

classmate and one of the pioneers of

international recognition in the field.

Block, assistant professor of practice of

entrepreneurship education.

Charm is one of five Babson faculty

managerial accounting; John Edmunds,

At the time, Babson was beginning

Over time, Charm watched Babson evolve from a small entrepreneurial

professor of finance; Dennis Mathaisel,

to formalize entrepreneurship as an

business school into a global

professor of management science; and

academic field, helping to establish

institution increasingly associated with

Srini Rangan, professor of management

programs that would eventually

“entrepreneurial leadership,” the broader

and the Luksic Professor of Global Studies.

influence business schools around the

philosophy that now defines much of the

world. Charm joined a group of faculty

College’s identity.

Charm’s own entrepreneurial education began long before he stepped

members and practitioners who believed

onto campus. His father owned a

entrepreneurship could, in fact, be

Charm still defines entrepreneurship

manufacturing business in Boston’s

taught—a concept that was still debated

more broadly and practically than many

Scollay Square, producing wallets and

widely in academia at the time.

modern interpretations.

women’s pocketbooks, and Charm spent much of his childhood working there. Still, attending college had not

While he sees value in that evolution,

“We never questioned it,” Charm said. “Of course, you could teach it.” Babson’s approach differed from

“You don’t have to be innovative to be entrepreneurial,” he said. “Entrepreneurship is running your own

originally been part of his plan. His father

many traditional business schools

thing. It’s creating choices.”

insisted he go, and Babson appealed to

because faculty often came directly from

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

— Hillary Chabot

Reimagining Graduate Education:

NEW ONLINE MASTER IN BUSINESS CREATION Babson announced the launch of the

Thought & Action®

Master of Science in Management in

(ET&A®) methodology,

Business Creation (MSBC), a fully online

the program guides

graduate degree for future founders who

founders from idea

want to build a business while earning a

to launch through

master’s degree.

iterative, real-world

Unlike traditional master’s programs, the MSBC makes venture creation the

application. An integral part of

centerpiece of the educational experience.

the experience is the

Students develop their own businesses

Chomper, an MSBC-

throughout the program under the

exclusive venture

guidance and mentorship of Babson

competition inspired

faculty and experienced entrepreneurs

by Babson’s proven

from across the College’s global network.

model for helping

In addition to earning a degree, graduates

founders move from idea to launch.

Delivered in an online, flexible,

leave with a validated business concept,

The competition gives students the

part-time format, the approximately

an investor-ready business plan, and a

opportunity to test and refine their

two-year program combines

venture positioned for launch and growth.

ventures before a panel of experienced

asynchronous course work with

In response to the growing demand

entrepreneurs and business leaders.

live, faculty-led sessions to support

for business education that delivers

Babson College’s new MSBC program places venture creation at the center of the learning experience, propelling founders to graduate with both a master’s degree and a launch-ready business plan.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t learned in

collaboration, accountability, and

immediate, real-world outcomes, Babson

theory; it’s built through action,” said

community. Students learn directly

combines applied learning, flexible

Babson President Stephen Spinelli

from faculty members who teach

delivery, and direct pathways to venture

Jr. MBA’92, PhD. “Too many aspiring

and advise across Babson’s graduate

creation. Drawing on more than 30

founders face a choice between building

portfolio, bringing the same academic

years as the nation’s leading institution

a business and pursuing a graduate

rigor, entrepreneurial expertise, and

for entrepreneurship education and

degree. We designed the MSBC to

real-world perspective that define the

rooted in Babson’s Entrepreneurial

eliminate that tradeoff.”

Babson experience.

Babson Launches TEACHING CERTIFICATE FOR EDUCATORS As colleges and universities increasingly rely on industry practitioners and other nontraditional instructors, demand is growing for accessible, practical training that helps educators succeed in the classroom. To help meet that need, Babson launched a new Higher Education Teaching Certificate through Babson Academy and the College’s digital learning platform, Babson On-Demand™, designed to help educators teach with greater intention, confidence, and impact. According to the American Association of University Professors, 68% of U.S. faculty members now serve in part-time or non-tenure-track roles,

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

underscoring the growing need for practical teaching preparation for adjunct faculty, industry practitioners, and other educators entering the classroom. Whether preparing for a career in academia or refining a teaching practice, educators face a common challenge: turning expertise into meaningful learning experiences. Designed for educators across disciplines, Babson’s new teaching certificate provides practical frameworks for engaging students, assessing learner outcomes, developing a teaching identity, and integrating AI thoughtfully into the classroom. Offering one of only a few teaching certificates

grounded in experiential learning, the program draws on Babson’s distinctive approach to teaching and learning and translates proven practices into tools educators can apply immediately. “Whether someone is entering the classroom for the first time or adapting their teaching for today’s learners, there is growing demand for practical, accessible educator development,” said Amir Reza P’28, dean of Babson Academy and global education. “Through Babson Academy and Babson On-Demand, we’re making the College’s approach to teaching and learning accessible to educators around the world.”

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

BABSONANDBEYOND

A GREENER BABSON: Beehives Add to Sustainability on Campus As a self-taught beekeeper who

to bloom after

came to the practice out of medical

his bees arrived.

necessity, Manny Rodrigues can easily

“They

detail the many benefits of beehives,

pollinate

two of which were recently installed

everything,” he

in the apple orchard on Babson’s

said. “You start

Wellesley campus.

seeing flowers,

The average hive can yield more

fruits—things

than 50 pounds of honey per year,

that weren’t

breaking down to 66 12-ounce jars

there before.”

of the natural sweetener per colony.

Rodrigues

But, for Rodrigues, that’s only the

monitors the

beginning.

hives weekly,

“It’s not just about the honey,” he

feeding and

said. “It’s about everything else that

maintaining the

comes with them.”

busy community

From boosting pollination to

as they establish

improving plant health, the bees are

themselves, with

expected to play a quiet but powerful

the possibility

role on campus, helping fruit trees

of installing

bear more consistently, supporting

additional hives

biodiversity, and offering students a

throughout

firsthand look at how natural systems

campus as they grow.

work. The two hives, installed April 16,

Babson sustainability interns welcome two new beehives to campus as part of Babson Greenworks’ sustainability initiatives across campus during Earth Month in April.

systems, consumer behavior, climate

The beehives were just a piece of a larger sustainability push at Babson

action, and community engagement. The 20th anniversary of Babson’s

mark the beginning of what could

throughout April, as the College

Sustainability and Energy Conference

become a broader campus beekeeping

marked Earth Month with a wide-

spotlighted entrepreneurs focused

initiative. The colonies are expected

ranging series of events organized

on social impact, and included a

to directly enhance pollination in

through Babson Greenworks. Led by

keynote address from longtime social

the area—something Rodrigues has

Director Leila Lamoureux MBA’18,

entrepreneur David Shaw, CEO of the

already seen firsthand at home, where

other initiatives brought sustainability

biotech investment company Black

previously unproductive plants began

to life across campus, spanning food

Point Group.

— Hillary Chabot

HEAT, HILLS, AND HEART More than 50 faculty and staff members (along with one alumnus) ran and walked the course at the annual 10K for Babson, which is the highest number of participants in the seven-year history of the community event. The run raised $6,500 for the Melissa Shaak Student Emergency Fund, which supports Babson students facing unexpected circumstances. “I am thrilled by the response from our community,” said Rob Major, Babson’s director of undergraduate administration who organizes the event. “We are seeing more offices represented and more faculty members joining each year.”

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

PHOTOS: NIC CZARNECKI

Entrepreneurial Leaders UNITE IN BRAZIL Babson College’s global network of alumni

LGBT Corporate Ally Award

and friends has long been a differentiating

Babson was recognized again for its leadership among Boston’s LGBTQ community, receiving the LGBT Corporate Ally Award at the Boston Business Journal’s 10th annual Business of Pride Celebration. Babson was one of three organizations to earn the Corporate Ally Award, along with CrossCountry Consulting and Brown Brothers Harriman. The award recognizes Massachusetts companies and organizations that have demonstrated commitment and innovation to promote greater awareness of and solidarity with the LGBT community.

factor for the community. Alumni regularly start businesses with their peers and are quick to offer professional support to current students and recent graduates—either in the form of a job offer or career advice. Those connections play an important role in enhancing the College’s reputation. The engagement of the alumni network is a significant reason Babson was ranked the No. 1 alumni network by LinkedIn. For nearly 200 members of the Babson community, that connectedness was on

B.E.T.A. Challenge Winners

full display at Babson Connect Worldwide 2026 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Babson Connect Worldwide, or

BCW kicked off with cultural treks across Rio de Janeiro, where attendees immersed themselves in the city’s rich culture and history.

BCW as it’s more commonly known,

executive education sessions, cultural

serves as the College’s premier global

immersion, networking, and a breadth of

entrepreneurship summit for alumni

inspiring panelists and keynote speakers.

and friends. Since its inception more

Treks to iconic spots such as the Christ

than a decade ago, BCW has convened

the Redeemer statue, overlooking a city

global entrepreneurial leaders from

of nearly 7 million, immersed conference

around the world in bustling locales

goers into Rio’s charm and history.

such as Tuscany, Singapore, and Dubai.

“Entrepreneurial leadership develops

This year’s gathering marked a return

over time—through experience,

to Latin America for the first time since

collaboration, and continued learning,”

the inaugural conference was held in

said Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr.

Cartagena, Colombia, in 2015.

MBA’92, PhD. “We see that leadership

Like at BCWs past, conference

reflected across this region and

goers were greeted with a well-curated

throughout our Babson community here

experience that blended professional and

in Brazil.”

Lassiter Foregger ’27 won the undergraduate track and a special award with her clean-energy company, Foregger Energy Solutions, at the prestigious B.E.T.A. Challenge. Joy Meng MBA’28 of Tiny Star won the graduate track, and Jihan Ramdhani MSEL’24 of SANDE Perfumery won the alumni track.

Another Honor for Babson Dining For the third year in a row, Babson College Dining earned a prestigious Loyal E. Horton Dining Award by the National Association of College and University Food Services. This year, Babson received a Gold Medal Award for excellence in the Outreach & Education Program of the Year category, recognizing dining programs that place an emphasis on teaching their guests new skills.

Kyung Named Co-editor of Journal

DIGITAL EDITION

PODCAST SEASON 2 Listen Now!

Check out the improved digital edition of Babson Magazine

magazine.babson.edu

PHOTO: FRANCIS MA MBA’25

Babson’s podcast, From Problems to Possibilities: Entrepreneurial Leadership in Action, spotlights inspiring entrepreneurial leaders from the College community and beyond.

FOR MORE BABSON NEWS AND EVENTS: entrepreneurship.babson.edu

Babson Professor Ellie Kyung, a Peter Black Research Scholar, was named co-editor of The Journal of Consumer Research, widely regarded as one of the premier journals in marketing and consumer behavior. The Journal of Consumer Research is included on the Financial Times’ FT50 list and among the 24 leading business journals tracked by The UT Dallas Top 100 Business School Research Rankings, placing it among the most inﬂuential business journals in the world.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

OFFICEHOURS

Experiential Teaching Means Never Stop Learning Director of new master’s program, Rich Hanna brings real experiences to the classroom

or Rich Hanna, some of the best lessons in his digital marketing class often come from work he finished just days earlier. “I firmly believe that I have to know how to do it to teach it,” said Hanna, professor of practice in marketing and director of Babson’s new Master of Science in Management in Business Creation (MSBC) program. “That means I’m willing to get my hands dirty and figure it out.” That philosophy has shaped Hanna’s career since he joined Babson 12 years ago. A Boston native with family ties to higher education, Hanna came to academia after careers in public relations and business-to-business sales. He earned a doctorate in marketing and statistics from Boston University just as digital marketing was beginning to transform business. After teaching at Boston College and Northeastern University, he realized he wanted something different from traditional academic life. “I was always sort of an entrepreneur at heart,” Hanna said. “Working with businesses more closely and doing things that were more impactful—that inspired me.” Babson proved to be the right fit. At a time when few business schools emphasized digital marketing, Hanna built courses grounded in practical application rather than theory alone. One early experience cemented that approach. After a Babson alumnus who led media strategy at VaynerMedia visited one of his classes, Hanna spent two days shadowing the executive in New York, learning firsthand how a leading agency approached digital campaigns. He returned to campus and revamped his course so students would

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

I moved from just teaching to doing it and teaching it.”

Rich Hanna, professor of practice in marketing and the director of the Master of Science in Management in Business Creation (MSBC) program, says relevance is what separates a good class from a memorable one.

leave with skills employers actually needed. His teaching continues to evolve alongside his consulting work. Through Babson’s Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program, Hanna works directly with entrepreneurs, helping them solve real marketing challenges. More recently, he advised two startup fencing clubs—trading business consulting for lessons for his son—giving him another opportunity to test the same marketing and pricing strategies he teaches in class. “I moved from just teaching to doing it and teaching it,” he said. For Hanna, relevance is what separates a good class from a memorable one. “If I can’t make it relevant to you, you won’t fully hear what I’m saying,” he said. “I feel like, to teach, we have to

make it relevant.” That mindset also influenced a major career decision. Rather than pursue a traditional tenure-track path, Hanna helped create Babson’s professor of practice designation, allowing faculty to remain deeply engaged with industry while bringing those experiences back into the classroom. Now, as director of Babson’s new master’s program focused on launching new ventures, Hanna sees another opportunity to connect learning with action. Students won’t simply study entrepreneurship, they’ll also build their own businesses while earning their degree. For Hanna, that’s what Babson has always done best: giving students an education that’s immediately useful, taught by faculty who never stop learning themselves. — Hillary Chabot

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

PEOPLEOFBABSON Small Talk with

AMIR REZA

Amir Reza P’28 first experienced the transformative power of international education as an undergraduate student after spending his childhood in Iran surrounded by the effects of conflict and war. At the University of Maine, he often found himself in deep conversation with peers from four or five countries, their humanity transcending their disagreements. “That humanization that international education can create became this almost epiphany for me,” he says. That led him to Babson, where he has spent the past 26 years. Now, as the dean of Babson Academy and global education at Babson, Reza and his team create those same opportunities for students while also “bringing the best of Babson to the world.”

Why is international education so important, especially at Babson? “As we prepare and educate entrepreneurial leaders, we want them to be able to lead in a variety of cultural, economic, and organizational contexts. International education helps make that possible. It develops intercultural competence, adaptability, and the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively across differences. Those skills matter whether our graduates are launching a startup, joining a family business, taking a company global, or leading within a nonprofit. That’s why international education is so important to Babson. It’s not peripheral to our mission; it’s central to it. I would argue that, for Babson, it is second only to entrepreneurship education in helping us prepare graduates to create value and make a difference wherever they go in the world.”

What makes Babson so supportive for international students? “At Babson, international student support is everyone’s responsibility. Yes, we have an award-winning international education team in the Glavin Office that serves students with expertise, empathy, and a developmental mindset. But what makes the experience special is that support extends far beyond that office through our faculty, health services staff, career advisors, coaches, and student affairs professionals. Because international students are such an important part of our community, they’re not treated as a separate group, they’re fully integrated into the life of the institution. To me, that’s the real differentiator.”

How do you view Babson Academy’s impact around the world? “Through Babson Academy, educators from around the world engage with our programs and return to their institutions as stronger teachers, researchers, and leaders. One of the best examples is the Babson Collaborative, a network of roughly 40 universities across 30 countries. At our annual summit, I reminded participants that if each institution takes these ideas and best practices back to their campuses, together we have the potential to impact nearly 900,000 students globally. That’s what excites me most. Through our partners, Babson can influence the learning experiences of nearly a million students around the world. For a college of our size, that’s an extraordinary multiplier effect.” — Eric Beato WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW WITH Amir Reza in the digital edition. PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

Serving as the undergraduate student speaker, Jake Thibeault ’26 shared his inspirational story during Commencement.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

‘Never

Alone’ By John Crawford

The journey of Jake Thibeault ’26, capped with his inspirational Commencement address, demonstrates what happens when the people in the Babson community bring out the best in one another.

ake Thibeault ’26 will never forget

only guy in a wheelchair. I felt alone,”

his first day at Babson College.

he said. “But I was so wrong. I was

Having moved into his room, on

a beautiful warm day in late summer

never alone.” Four years later, Thibeault’s

2022, he rolled onto campus in his

undergraduate journey has come to

wheelchair. A new stage of his life was

a close. On May 16, he served as the

beginning, but he wasn’t sure what it

student speaker at Commencement.

would bring.

The long, loud, and rolling ovation he

Only the year before, he had been

received proved just how wrong his

injured during a hockey game,

younger self was on that move-in day.

crashing headfirst into the boards

Thibeault was, indeed, never alone. All

and sustaining two broken vertebrae

of Babson was behind him.

that left him paralyzed from the waist

“I wouldn’t be on that stage if not for

down. And now here he was at Babson,

an immense group of people,” he said.

a place full of promise, a place where

“Babson has been some of the best

he had dreamed of being, but yet, a

memories and some of the best people.

lingering sense of uncertainty hung

Every day, I am blessed with my best of

over him.

friends, and going to class, and being

On a day filled with excitement and hope for the days to come, he couldn’t

the best version of what I want to be.” As much as the people of Babson

help but look around at his fellow

have meant to Thibeault, though,

classmates in the Class of 2026 and

those same people have also taken

notice how different he was. “I was the

inspiration from him.

PHOTOS: NIC CZARNECKI

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

Finding His Place

The family kept moving forward,

am ready to fight.” But he remembers

Just after 8 a.m. on Commencement

however, and watched as Thibeault

when he was transferred to Spaulding

day, Thibeault gathered outside the

not only attended college but also

Rehabilitation Hospital, in the

Len Green Recreation and Athletics

flourished there. “It has been one of the

Charlestown neighborhood of Boston,

Complex (LGRAC) with the graduating

best chapters in his life,” Mike said.

almost a week after the injury. That

members of Babson men’s ice hockey

To watch Thibeault at Babson over

night in his room, alone for the first time

team, friends with whom he has grown

the years was to see someone who

in days, he looked at the Boston skyline,

close over the past four years. Dressed

had found his place. An energy, of

at the Mystic River as it flows into the

in their caps and gowns, they huddled

handshakes and laughs and stories

harbor. He had a lot on his mind.

together around the beaver statue as

shared, often surrounded him on

Jamie Rice ’90, P’28 ’29, Babson’s Boxer-

campus. People wanted to say hi to

His future felt cloudy and uncertain.

Rice Head Men’s Ice Hockey Coach, took

him, share a moment with him. Rice

Would he get married one day? Would

their photo.

witnessed this firsthand recently when

he have kids? Where was his life

he and Thibeault ate lunch at Trim

headed? The hard truth was that he

its usual heady mix of pomp and

Dining Hall. “Everyone in Trim, everyone,

didn’t know. “That Friday night is still

circumstance, nostalgia and pride.

wants to say hello to Jake,” Rice said. “He

one of the worst nights of my life,” he

“It’s crazy to think it’s already here,”

has time for everyone.”

said. “That night was really tough.”

Commencement day brought

“I was lost in thought,” Thibeault said.

Thibeault said. “It’s bittersweet. This

Rice and Thibeault have a strong

One thing he knew for sure, however,

place has meant the world to me.”

bond. “Personally, I will miss seeing Jake

was that he wanted to go to college. He

Commencement day also brought

almost every day,” Rice said, “but I am so

applied to Babson, in large part because

many emotions for Thibeault’s family—

grateful for the four years we have had

of his relationship with Rice. It was the

dad Mike, mom Tracy, and brother

together.” The pair first met less than

only school he applied to. Thibeault

Drew—who were hanging out at LGRAC

a week before Thibeault’s injury when

remembers the jubilant moment when

before the graduation ceremony.

the then-high school student visited

he heard he was accepted. Suddenly, his

Thibeault’s injury had been such a dark

campus as a prospective hockey recruit,

future came more into focus. He knew

moment for the family. “We didn’t know

and the coach later reached out to him

his next step: Babson.

what life was going to look like,” Mike

at the hospital, in those challenging

said. “When he got injured, we didn’t

days after the injury.

think traditional college was in the cards.”

Thibeault stayed upbeat and resolute in those first days, telling his doctor, “I

“We really celebrated,” he said. “It was amazing. It was a real sense of relief. I knew I was going to college. To have that in order allowed me to focus on rehab.”

At the undergraduate ceremony, C. Dean Metropoulos ’67, MBA’68, H’26 (left), founder of Metropoulos & Co., suggested undergraduates blend entrepreneurial ambition with family and philanthropy. At the graduate ceremony, Adriana Cisneros H’26 (center), CEO and third-generation leader of the global enterprise Cisneros, gave an emotional address about ﬁnding a personal cause, and student speaker Christelle Brandt MBA’26 encouraged classmates to take action despite uncertainty.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

PHOTOS: JUSTIN KNIGHT

No Quit, Chip Away Thibeault lived a busy life at Babson. Like any student, he had classes to attend and homework to do. He also spent as much time as he could with the hockey team, attending practices and games. “Even though I didn’t lace up the skates for four years, I feel like I played college hockey,” Thibeault said. Then there’s the sheer number of hours he spends sweating every week. On Mondays, he’s in a rowing program at a Spaulding outpatient facility in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and then from Tuesday to Friday, he spends several hours a day working out and undergoing electric stimulation at Journey Forward, an organization in Canton, Massachusetts, committed to helping those with spinal cord injuries. This work is repetitive and relentless. Continuing to exercise and maintain

With the help of teammates Charlie Andriole ’26 and Ryan Murphy ’26, Jake Thibeault ’26 strode to the podium as attendees cheered long and loud before he delivered his rousing Commencement address.

muscle mass is critical to gaining back movement. Progress is slow, but

put your head down. It gave me the

progress happens nonetheless. When

mental stamina now with what I’m

Thibeault was first injured in 2021, he

dealing with.”

couldn’t even sit up. His ultimate goal is

By staying busy, Thibeault doesn’t

to walk again. “I call it the battlefield of

have time for bad days. Sure, every

paralysis,” Thibeault said. “I really grind.

day brings disappointments or rough

I try to chip away at paralysis.”

moments, but no day is completely

WATCH: Jake Thibeault’s Commencement address:

Thibeault embraces the grind, not

bad if there’s time spent hanging

just in rehabilitation, but in life. “No

out with friends, or learning in the

The Meaning of Community

Quit, Chip Away” is a mindset he lives

classroom, or strengthening your

Positivity alone, however, is not

by. He does the work and trusts good

body, or just waking up to face a new

enough. To succeed, to be his best self,

things will follow. “I love grinding,” he

morning.

Thibeault has long known that he

said. “I love working. I love being on the

Cam Joslin ’26 has witnessed

move. I love being on the go and being

Thibeault’s mindset up close. Along

busy.”

with Charlie Andriole ’26, Ryan

needs help. “Great things are hard to accomplish alone,” he said. Since his injury, many communities

Thibeault first adopted this keep-

Murphy ’26, and Tommy Rooney ’26,

have offered Thibeault their

pushing mindset when he worked as

he was one of Thibeault’s senior-year

support: his hometown, Fitchburg,

a farmhand in his teens. On the farm,

roommates in Pietz Hall. “Living with

Massachusetts; his old school, Milton

the hay needed to be baled, and the

Jake has given me the opportunity to

Academy; and the New England

work wasn’t finished until that was

have a better perspective on life,” Joslin

hockey network, from the Babson

done. “We had some really long days

said. “He has this positive aura to him

Beavers to the Boston Bruins. “All of

trying to get it done,” he said. “The

that I have never seen with anyone

those communities have rallied,” he

farm was an environment where you

before in my life.”

said.

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

Read more about

Commencement

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

PHOTOS: NIC CZARNECKI AND JUSTIN KNIGHT PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

Hollywood even came calling. After the accident, Thibeault received a

people have helped Thibeault, he has helped them.

The caring and big-hearted community looking out for Thibeault,

call, notifying him that someone from

An army at Babson and beyond

and also feeling inspired by him,

Dorchester (a Boston neighborhood)

may have stood behind Thibeault and

demonstrates what happens when

wanted to speak with him. Turns out it

lifted him up, but he has done the

people bring out the best in each other.

was Boston-bred actor Mark Wahlberg.

same to them, inspiring them with his

“His commitment is inspiring, and

Since then, the pair talk frequently,

determination. “He has taught us that

the way he moves through Babson

and over spring break, Wahlberg invited

dedication and determination remain

encourages all of us to slow down,

Thibeault and his father out to Las Vegas,

one of our greatest personal resources,”

pay attention, and do better for one

where they played golf and participated

Rice said, “and when combined with a

another,” Powell said. “His presence has

in one of Wahlberg’s 4 a.m. workouts.

genuinely magnetic and positive outlook,

made our community more thoughtful,

“He’s a great friend, and he’s been great

nothing is impossible.”

more connected, and, honestly, more

to me,” Thibeault said.

human.”

At Babson, Thibeault is grateful for the campuswide support he has received

Hope in Hard Times

from the first day he arrived at the

Looking to the future, Thibeault is

College. “Everyone was all hands on

interested in working in real estate

deck,” he said. “They were ready to make

development while continuing to serve

my experience as normal as they could.”

as a board member with the Thomas

Thibeault calls out a lengthy list of

E. Smith Foundation, a nonprofit that

Babson people who have had his back.

supports people living with spinal cord

They include not only senior staff at

injuries and paralysis.

Babson—Rice; Mary Powell, Babson’s

He also wants to serve as an

director of accessibility services; and

inspirational speaker. He already

Andy Moutinho, senior director of

has shared his personal story with a

operations in Facilities Management and

number of schools and organizations.

Planning—but also Jackie Quadra of Trim

“I hope to be a beacon of hope for

Dining Hall (who always took time to

others who may be going through a hard time,” he said.

bring him his plate of food) and his Pietz Hall roommates. “They made sure every single door was open for me, literally and

Jake Thibeault ’26 credits many who helped him at Babson, including Jackie Quadra (left) of Trim Dining Hall, who always brought him his plate of food.

Thibeault savored. “I’m very honored

figuratively,” Thibeault said. Thibeault is grateful for these

Addressing his classmates at Commencement was a privilege that

Living with Thibeault has left a mark

to be able to do this,” he said. During

relationships and so many others with

on his roommates. “Jake is extremely

his speech, he spoke of resilience, of

faculty, staff, and students at Babson,

humble and thankful, but we couldn’t

facing uncertainty, and of his belief

but truth be told, these interactions are

be more grateful for the impact he’s had

that there are no bad days, that

not simply one-way streets. As much as

on all of our lives,” Andriole said. “Jake’s

everyone should focus on the good

positive energy and incredible work ethic

moments to be found in their lives.

“His presence has made our community more thoughtful, more connected, and, honestly, more human.” — Mary Powell, Babson’s director of accessibility services

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

have been so contagious. I truly believe

He stood while he delivered

that being roommates with Jake has

his speech. With the help of his

made me a better human being.”

roommates, Andriole and Murphy, he

Joslin feels the same. “His work ethic

rose from his wheelchair and walked

is unmatched and has motivated me to

to the podium on his own using a

work harder and have the same positive

walker, his path made possible by the

outlook on life,” he said. “He has made me

hours upon countless hours spent in

be a better person and has helped me

rehab and by the community standing

grow into the type of person I am today.”

behind him. 

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

START Story by John Crawford Photos by Nic Czarnecki

Babson ranks No. 1 among colleges for the largest share of alumni who are founders or entrepreneurs. This is a snapshot of three ventures, all in various stages of their development, launched by Babson entrepreneurs. While their paths may be different, they share many of the hallmarks of the entrepreneurial journey: the pivots and surprises, the worries and long days, the setbacks and glorious successes. They also share something else, namely the lessons they learned at Babson.

ric Girouard ’08 believes that everyone

heart of the pandemic. He and his team of

has their own version of the American

three worked in his home garage, leaving the

dream. For Girouard, the founder and CEO of

board served as Girouard’s desk.

Brunt Workwear, a popular seller of boots

It was an uncertain time to build a

and apparel, the American dream is defined

business. One of Brunt’s lead investors

by autonomy. Girouard didn’t want a career

told Girouard to forget about the venture

spent punching a clock. Like numerous

altogether. “We had no idea what the future

entrepreneurs before him, he relished

held,” Girouard says. It was also a time of

independence.

growing family obligations. Girouard and his

That wasn’t an option for his father. To

wife, Sarah Girouard ’07, cared for Maverick,

support Girouard and his sisters as they grew

their rumbunctious toddler stuck at home

up, their dad held down two jobs. At night,

because COVID-19 closed his daycare, while

on second or third shift, he worked on an

awaiting the arrival of their second child.

assembly line machining airplane parts. In

Jagger was born in October, one month after

the morning, he went to work at his friend’s

Brunt was officially launched. “It was a wild

roofing company.

time we had to navigate together,” Sarah

Girouard pursued a different path. “From a young age, I wanted to control my own

doors open for ventilation. An old cornhole

says. Brunt entered a market paralyzed by

destiny,” he says. “I think of entrepreneurship

the pandemic, with competitors lacking

as freedom.”

inventory and laying off employees. In

Of course, earning that freedom isn’t easy.

that chaotic environment, Brunt gained a

It takes hard work. And guts. And a little luck.

foothold and hasn’t looked back. Today, the

Girouard launched Brunt in 2020 during the

company is sold in 2,000 retail stores and

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

Eric Girouard ’08, the founder and CEO of Brunt Workwear, stands in his company’s first retail store, which opened earlier this year in North Reading, Massachusetts. Founded during the heart of the pandemic, Brunt is expected to earn $300 million in sales this year.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

employs 125 people. It’s expected to

heights of Brunt, which has found a

to identify customers, an expense that

earn $300 million in sales this year. “It’s

loyal following and is still ascending,

eats into their profits and is typically

been incredible watching Eric build

to ventures in their formative days,

passed on to consumers.

this,” Sarah says.

those early chapters filled with promise

“These businesses are pillars of

but with much grinding and scraping

everyday life and the economy, yet the

ahead.

people doing the work aren’t the ones

As the longtime leader in entrepreneurship education, Babson ranks No. 1 among colleges for the

capturing the majority of the value

largest share of alumni who are

Early Stage: An Initial Pivot

founders or entrepreneurs, according to

In its beginning stages, a startup can

MBA’26, Go Revo’s chief innovation

a 2025 LinkedIn survey.

being created,” says Nicolas Munoz

experience more than a few twists and

officer. “The reason is that getting

That means a slew of Babson

turns. The four Babson entrepreneurs

customers has simply become too

alumni (and students), inspired by

behind Go Revo are in the middle of

expensive.”

the College’s courses and supported

that turbulence now as they grapple

As entrepreneurs, the Go Revo

by its network and resources, have

with a frequent question among early

team empathizes with home service

taken the leap into business creation.

startups: What happens when an

providers. “A lot of these operators

While their trajectories are all different,

original approach might not work?

built something from nothing, which

they commonly share many of the

The mission of Go Revo, which

is a story I know well,” says Roberto

hallmarks of the entrepreneurial

the entrepreneurs began to work on

Castro MBA’28, Go Revo’s chief business

journey: the pivots and surprises, the

in January, is to help home service

development officer. In Miami, where

worries and long days, the setbacks and

providers, such as roofers, plumbers,

all four of the Babson entrepreneurs

glorious successes.

or HVAC technicians, with the ongoing

are based and have attended (or will

challenge of finding customers. Too

attend) Babson’s MBA program there,

All are in various stages of launching

often, these providers are reliant on

many immigrants perform these home

and growing a business, from the

costly (and not always effective) leads

services. They work hard and are good

This is a snapshot of three ventures.

at what they do, but they also represent small, overworked independent businesses who might not have the time to improve how their ventures operate. Eric Girouard ’08 (left), talking with Brunt associate Jarrod Sweeney, began the company in his home garage with a team of three. Today, Brunt employs 125 people.

Why Is Babson No. 1 for Entrepreneurship? Here Are 30 Reasons

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

The excitement of building something and creating value—through Babson, I realized it’s more possible than I initially thought.” — Rodrigo Vogeler MBA’27, head of go to market and co-founder of Go Revo Alejandro Mejia Nauffal MBA’27 (left) and Rodrigo Vogeler MBA’27 of the Go Revo team participated in this year’s Summer Venture Program.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

their focus on AI search. Such pivots, the team has come to realize, are part of the process. “You feel like it is lost work, but it’s not lost work,” says Rodrigo Vogeler MBA’27, Go Revo’s head of go to market. “It is time used to point you in the right direction.” For Go Revo’s next direction, the team still plans to use AI but in a different way. Go Revo now aims to help Go Revo co-founders Rodrigo Vogeler MBA’27 (second from right) and Alejandro Mejia Nauffal MBA’27 (far right) talk with Santiago Ortega Ramirez MBA’26 (far left) and AJ Matise ’27 (second from left), two other entrepreneurs who participated in this year’s Summer Venture Program, an accelerator in which students hone their startups.

providers target former customers, who are an often-underutilized

hand. Like so many other entrepreneurs

resource. AI can identify former

providers’ online presences, seeking to

have done, they needed to pivot. The

customers who may need future

make sure they’re properly optimized

startup’s big-picture aim of helping

services, such as maintenance or

for search by generative artificial

service providers remained, but the

updated systems. “We’re using AI to

intelligence tools such as ChatGPT.

team required a new way to get there.

send them back to the customers they

Armed with better search results

“The North Star is solving a problem for

already have instead of buying new

in an increasingly popular way that

these businesses,” says Alejandro Mejia

ones,” Castro says.

customers look for services, providers

Nauffal MBA’27, Go Revo’s AI engineer.

With that critical pivot, the

To help, Go Revo first focused on

The venture pondered where and

entrepreneurial story of Go Revo

how to pivot in the first weeks of this

continues. “I can’t wait to see what

year’s Summer Venture Program (SVP),

happens next,” Mejia Nauffal says. “It’s

existence, though, that initial plan ran

an accelerator run by Babson’s Arthur

like a little adventure. It’s like you’re

smack into hard reality. Optimizing

M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship

starting to read a book or watch a

wouldn’t need to rely so much on costly leads. Mere months into Go Revo’s

movie.”

for AI search is tricky, and tech

in which teams of undergraduate

giants are already crowding

and graduate students hone

Babson makes for the ideal place for

the space. These facts

their startups for 10 weeks.

that movie to play out. “The excitement

forced the Go Revo team’s

Go Revo was one of 13

of building something and creating

participating teams this

value—through Babson, I realized it’s

summer, their ventures

more possible than I initially thought,”

representing a wide range

Vogeler says.

of industries, from

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

sustainability to tech

Mid-Stage: Steady Progress

to consumer goods.

Those summers spent at Babson

SVP’s advisors

can leave a lasting influence on an

helped to ease the

entrepreneur. Five summers earlier,

uncertainty the Go Revo

Nathalya Mamane MBA’21 participated

team members felt as

in Babson’s Summer Catalyst, an

they turned away from

accelerator program that basically

ILLUSTRATION: SARAH MCMENEMY

B.E.T.A. Challenge Winners

served as an online version of SVP

diagnosis was something Mamane

during the pandemic.

knew all too well. “This came out of a

It was a meaningful experience,

personal pain point,” she says.

so much so that she volunteers for

When Mamane started at Babson,

SVP today, serving on a mock board

she wasn’t new to entrepreneurship,

that advises one of the SVP’s current

having run her own successful event-

startups. “I am always available to help

planning business for years, but

students,” she says.

launching a venture in health care was

Most significantly, the business idea

something else entirely. “The pivot

she was working on five years earlier is

was huge,” she says. “I didn’t know

still a concern now. “I am so committed

anything about science. I had to learn

to this mission,” she says. “I can’t let it

what I wanted to accomplish with zero

go. I live and breathe it every day.”

knowledge.”

That mission centers around

That outsider perspective isn’t

developing at-home diagnostic testing,

entirely a drawback, says Dr. Michael

with a particular focus on creating a

Mina, an expert on public health and

test for strep throat. That ailment, so

home diagnostics. “She is bringing with

common among children, can result

her the voice of the patient, the voice of

in missed days at work and school, as

the parent,” he says. “It is a refreshing

parents need to take their kids to the

perspective in biotech.”

doctor for a diagnosis. As a mom of four, the inconvenience of a strep-throat

Mamane’s venture has gone by several names since the Summer

One of the milestone moments for Nathalya Mamane MBA’21 in her entrepreneurial journey was winning the B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®) Challenge, in which entrepreneurs in three tracks (undergraduate, graduate, and alumni) compete for financial prizes. Here’s a look at some other recent winners.

Mai Soli Foundation Aria Mustary ’21 won the undergraduate track in 2021 with Mai Soli Foundation, which empowers girls to break the generational cycles of child marriage, by providing education, entrepreneurship training, and family support that build choice, agency, and lasting independence.

Computers 4 People Dylan Zajac ’25 won the undergraduate track in 2023 with Computers 4 People, a nonprofit that bridges the digital divide through digital literacy education, refurbished devices, and improved connectivity. Zajac has generated a lot of recognition and attention for his venture, including appearing on “The Kelly Clarkson Show.”

River Otter Renewables Amelia Thomas MBA’22 won the alumni track in 2023 with River Otter Renewables, whose patented process produces renewable crude oil from different kinds of waste.

Jahazii Vaidehi Tembhekar MBA’21 won the alumni track in 2024 with Jahazii, which helps enterprises in Africa offer on-demand access to earned wages. In 2025, Jahazii won the inaugural Zest for Africa Challenge, earning $10,000 in funding from Innovest Afrika. Tembhekar also won the graduate track in 2021 with Busy Boda, a ride-hailing app in her native Kenya, which she ran for five years.

PetPax Co. Anthony Gatti MBA’24 and Nathan RuffWilliams MBA’23 won the alumni track in 2025 with PetPax Co., a premium pet wellness company whose fast-dissolving oral melts deliver support for anxiety. PetPax won the Grand Prize at the 2026 Purina Pet Care Innovation Prize at the Global Pet Expo.

Tiny Star Nathalya Mamane MBA’21 (center) is co-founder and CEO of Anywhere Dx, which is developing at-home diagnostic testing, with a particular focus on creating a test for strep throat. In Anywhere Dx’s lab in Woburn, Massachusetts, she talks with the other members of the company’s team: Dr. Michael Mina (left), co-founder and chief science officer, and Nikhil Gopalkrishnan, director of research and development.

Joy Meng MBA’28 won the graduate track in 2026 with Tiny Star, which promotes literacy education by encouraging children ages 6 to 10 to write their own books. The books are then published and available for purchase on Amazon and other locations. SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

I am so committed to this mission. I can’t let it go. I live and breathe it every day.” — Nathalya Mamane MBA’21, CEO and co-founder of Anywhere Dx

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

Catalyst five years ago. Last year,

“When you come into

it reorganized under a new name,

this space, it is very

Anywhere Dx, and Mamane recruited

male dominated.”

Mina as a co-founder and chief science

Still, progress

officer. Mamane serves as CEO. “She is a

is being made.

force of nature. She keeps us all moving

Now finishing up

forward,” Mina says. “If I’m going to

a prototype of its

found a company, this is the type of

at-home strep test,

person I want to do it with.”

Anywhere Dx is

Mamane admits, though, that the

planning to submit

“Strep is our

process of moving forward is a slow

what is known as a Q-Sub to the Food

beachhead,”

one. The work is hard. The wins can

and Drug Administration, a process

Mamane says. “It is the

be small. Investment in diagnostics

that allows medical device developers

largest market. From there, we would

has cooled since the pandemic, when

to solicit preliminary feedback from the

customize it.”

at-home COVID-19 tests were so badly

agency. “I am very eager to have this

needed. There’s also the matter of

first milestone done,” Mamane says.

Mamane often is reminded of her

gender, which Mamane doesn’t like to

Ultimately, Anywhere Dx hopes to offer

grandmother, who devoted herself

linger on as an excuse but can’t ignore.

tests for a number of illnesses beyond

to the poor and sick and essentially

“The reality is women get underfunded.

strep, including sexually transmitted

started what is the equivalent of the

You’re dealing with that,” she says.

infections and urinary tract infections.

Red Cross in her native Morocco.

When she thinks about her work,

“She is a force of nature. She keeps us all moving forward,” says Dr. Michael Mina (right) of Nathalya Mamane MBA’21, who first became interested in pursuing a venture devoted to at-home diagnostic testing during her MBA days at Babson.

ILLUSTRATION: SARAH MCMENEMY

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

Medals that were awarded to her hang

his wife. He wanted

on the wall of Mamane’s home office

to know what she

in Newton, Massachusetts. “She is a

thought of him

huge inspiration to me,” Mamane says.

potentially quitting

“When things get tough, I look at the

his job to create a

medals as a reminder to not give up.”

workwear brand. He

Mamane also feels grateful to have

couldn’t take on

the support of her husband and

such an endeavor

four adult children. “My kids are so

without her

incredibly proud of me,” she says. “They

support, and

talk about me as if I’m this superstar

admittedly, the

mom.”

timing wasn’t the

Late Stage: Sustained Success

best. The couple had a new mortgage and a new baby.

Brunt may be an established

Their lives could grow rocky if he went

front-row seat to the company’s growth,

company, much further along in its

through with it, he told her.

though she and Girouard always have

entrepreneurial journey than Go Revo

A Babson graduate herself, Sarah

agreed that family comes first. After

or Anywhere Dx, but like those ventures

Girouard understands the business

building her own career in employee

and countless others, it began with an

world. Hearing his plans, she knew he

benefits, Sarah decided last year to stay

idea.

had the knowledge, work ethic, and

home with their two sons (her own

passion to pull it off. “When he talked

entrepreneurial venture—Early Apres, a

Connecticut, in a blue-collar

about it, his face lit up,” she says. “I have

ski hat brand—also remains on pause).

neighborhood filled with nurses,

always believed in him. When he says

“It’s a partnership,” she says. “Eric

hairstylists, janitors, and electricians.

he will do something, he does it to the

focuses on building the business while

Inspired by his dad and childhood

nth degree.”

I provide the foundation at home that

Girouard grew up in Bristol,

friends, many of whom are now

The next day after that talk, with

allows our family, and the company, to

employed in the trades, Girouard was

Sarah expressing her faith in him,

driven to create a brand for working

Girouard quit his job. His Brunt era had

This summer, Brunt moved to a

people like them.

begun. Along the way, Sarah has held a

larger 56,000-square-foot corporate

Pursuing this idea was not without

thrive.”

headquarters in Wilmington,

risk for Girouard, for it meant stepping

Massachusetts, where it continues its

away from a successful business. He

weekly tradition of opening its garage

was serving as a co-founder of Trade

doors and inviting customers for

Coffee, an online marketplace for craft

games, drinks, and the chance to give

coffee, as his workwear idea began

feedback on Brunt products.

to take shape in the late 2010s. Trade

Girouard gives much credit for Brunt’s

Coffee was flourishing, but Girouard

success to the strength of its gritty,

saw a chance to build a brand in an

blue-collar brand. “A lot of consumer

industry he knew personally. He sensed

companies really focus on product.

it represented a big opportunity.

Product is always king, but they skip the

“I just knew that I was going to build

brand piece,” Girouard says. “You really

a brand for the 34 million blue-collar Americans,” he says. “Those were my buddies. I didn’t even have a business plan. I just knew. They were dying for a new brand.” In 2018, Girouard sat down with

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

need the one-two punch of brand and

We’re launching a new series on Babson Thought & Action highlighting ventures created by Babson alumni and student entrepreneurs.

Nominate your venture at news@babson.edu.

product.” What the Brunt brand looks and feels like is on full display at the company’s first retail store, which opened earlier this year in North

ILLUSTRATION: SARAH MCMENEMY

From a young age, I wanted to control my own destiny. I think of entrepreneurship as freedom.” — Eric Girouard ’08, CEO and founder of Brunt Workwear

Reading, Massachusetts, not far from Brunt’s corporate HQ. Welding tables, toolboxes, and a cinder block pile all serve as places to display merchandise, while a porta-potty (with its insides removed) acts as the entrance to a secret room where the company conducts product research. Many of the shirts, hoodies, pants, and boots for sale are named in honor of Girouard’s longtime friends who inspired him. One boot is named for a foreman at a dry wall contractor, for instance, while another takes its moniker from a manager of a city water treatment department. Despite all that Brunt has accomplished, Girouard doesn’t linger on his successes. “If you just focus on the highs, you can lose your grounding,” he says. Entrepreneurship is exhilarating, but it’s also humbling. Girouard knows that every entrepreneur, whatever the size of their venture, still has lessons to learn. “I spend a lot of my time thinking about my mistakes,” he says. Inside Brunt’s retail store (bottom), Eric Girouard ’08 (top) shows off one of the company’s boots. Girouard was inspired by his dad and childhood friends, many of whom are now employed in the trades, to launch Brunt.

“That’s how you learn. That’s how you continue to get better.” 

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

ATHLETICS

She won three NCAA national championships, including the women’s singles title this spring, capping an extraordinary tennis career at Babson, raising the question: Is Matia Cristiani ’26 …

The Greatest of All Time? By Eric Beato

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

ichael Kopelman knew before she ever set foot on campus. The Babson director of tennis realized the first time he watched Matia Cristiani ’26 play tennis in person that she could be a college national champion. In 2022, he flew to Naples, Florida, for the University Sports Program College Tennis Showcase, a prime event for coaches to get a live look at so many of the top high school tennis players, an opportunity to see a little bit of a lot of players all at once. But Kopelman couldn’t take his eyes off what he saw on the court when Cristiani was playing. “I sat and watched every single one of her matches from start to finish,” Kopelman says. “It was very clear to me that (a national championship) was her ceiling, and that was what she was capable of. Even me thinking that, she exceeded my expectations.” This spring, Cristiani capped a historic tennis career at Babson, completing a perfect season to win the NCAA Division III national championship in singles. It’s her third national title in three years, following backto-back doubles championships with Olivia Soffer ’25, and only the second individual national title in Babson Athletics history. Cristiani’s tennis accomplishments are unmatched (see sidebar). She was an eighttime All-American, a finalist for the prestigious Honda Award, and the ITA Division III Player of the Year, one of only five

PHOTO: SEWANEE ATHLETICS

Babson athletes to win national player of the year honors. “She had an illustrious career,” says Mike Lynch, the Pamela P. and Brian M. Barefoot Associate Vice President for Athletics and Athletics Advancement. “Together with Olivia, they rewrote the record books and put Babson tennis and our program in many ways on the map. The two of them set a standard so high it felt impossible to ever reach. Until this year, when Matia took her play to an even higher level. She departs as the most accomplished athlete in the history of our program.” In the history of Babson Athletics, there have been nine NCAA championships, and Cristiani has won three. It raises the question: Is Matia Cristiani the greatest student-athlete in Babson history?

The Final Hurdle Although she was so highly regarded out of high school in El Salvador, Cristiani didn’t rest once she arrived at Babson in 2022. Or anytime. “She’s such a workhorse, and she’s always the first one to ask for extra practices,” says Emma Hall, who took over as women’s head coach after Cristiani’s first year as Kopelman moved into the role as director of tennis and men’s head coach. At that point, Cristiani and Soffer had just reached the national final of the doubles competition in Cristiani’s first year, and the duo was en route to back-to-back national titles in doubles in 2024 and 2025. Cristiani’s senior season, though, as the clear-cut No. 1 singles player on the team, was different. “Winning the singles national championship was my goal for the whole season,” she says. “There’s an immense amount of pressure that she’s dealing with,”

Kopelman says. “It’s almost kind of expected to win every single time she goes out there, so that’s something that she’s learned to deal with and handled extremely well this year.” With the expectations, Cristiani needed to overcome a final hurdle to reach the peak of the singles mountaintop. “Tennis is so mental, so Matia kind of just made it her mission to handle the nerves better,” Hall says. “This year, Matia was the most confident she’d ever been, stepping into every match, knowing that she could find a way to win.” And she did. She posted a perfect 37-0 season in singles, including

i’s Matia Crisshtmieannts A c c o m p li

pion, n III national cham io is iv D A A C N e Three-tim title twice 26 and doubles 20 in e tl ti s le ng 25 winning si 5) in 2024 and 20 ’2 r fe of S ia liv O (with 6), onda Award (202 H e th r fo t lis na fi ds Women’s tennis en’s Sports Awar om W e at gi le ol C presented by the (ITA) nnis Association Intercollegiate Te 26 of the Year in 20 Division III Player champion in 2025 ITA Cup singles le singles and doub s ip sh on pi m ha C ITA New England d 2025 titles in 2023 an ional d Northeast Reg ITA Division III an the Year in 2026 Senior Player of ion ll-America select Eight-time ITA A t d all-league firs an , 26 20 in ar Ye of the s in a row NEWMAC Player doubles four year d an s le ng si th team in bo

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

ATHLETICS

TROPHY CASE: Matia Cristiani ’26 has become accustomed to hoisting hardware on the court the past three years, winning three NCAA tennis championships, including the singles title this spring (above) and two doubles titles with Olivia Soffer ’25 in 2025 (top right) and 2024 (bottom right). Cristiani reached the national final in doubles four consecutive years, including in 2023 with Soffer and this year with Sandra Sikharulidze ’29.

34 straight-set victories. She also paired with a new doubles partner, Sandra Sikharulidze ’29, and they advanced to the national final, where they lost a heartbreaking tiebreaker. Both Cristiani and Sikharulidze also advanced to the singles semifinals and nearly faced each other for the title. Along the way, Cristiani also led the team to new heights. The Beavers defeated MIT to win their first NEWMAC conference championship since 2014, then advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament for the first time in their history. Cristiani says the team’s success

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

was the highlight of her season, and she credits her coaches and teammates for inspiring her success. “I had such a good support system throughout my four years at Babson, and I think that a big part that I was able to accomplish everything was because of my teammates,” she says. “I just love to play for them. That’s why I put in so much hard work into my practices, because I just wanted to play better for them.”

The GOAT Debate The Greatest of All Time. The GOAT. It’s a lofty title and nearly

impossible to compare athletes across generations and across sports. Babson has a host of impressive contenders (see sidebar), but Cristiani’s resume firmly plants her at the heart of the debate. “There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s the best athlete in Babson Athletics history,” Kopelman says. “I had extremely high goals, and she exceeded those. She’s done everything that you could hope to achieve, and then some. I just hope that she fully grasps what she’s achieved, and how proud of her that we are.”

PHOTOS: SEWANEE ATHLETICS (LEFT), CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS ATHLETICS (TOP RIGHT), TEMI BAJULAIYE (BOTTOM RIGHT)

BABSON’S BEST

In addition to Matia Cristiani ’26, here are the other Babson student-athletes who have won national player of the year awards or individual national titles: • Joey Flannery ’17 (men’s basketball) was named NABC Player of the Year in 2016 and both NABC and D3hoops.com Player of the Year in 2017, when he led Babson to the Division III national championship. He graduated ninth in Division III history in scoring. • Jamie Murray ’16 (ice hockey) received the Sid Watson Award as the Division III Player of the Year in 2016. • Tom Sasso ’88 (ice hockey) was a two-time Division III Player of the Year when it was the Hobey Baker Award (1987, 1988). As a pro player, he recorded three seasons of at least 90 points in the minors. • Olivia Soffer ’25 (women’s tennis) won two national titles in doubles, with Cristiani, in 2024 and 2025, and was named the women’s tennis finalist for the Honda Award in 2025. • David Weisman ’98 (men’s tennis) won the singles national championship in 1998.

The soft-spoken, humble Cristiani is simply content to be mentioned. “It’s just so great, and cool to see that I was able to do so much for the athletics program and the tennis program,” says Cristiani, whose tennis future remains unclear. “That’s just awesome to be a part of such a good and close athletics community.” “I will let others debate who’s the GOAT across Babson Athletics,” Lynch says. “Each sport likely has one, and Matia has made a very strong case. What is definite is that we may never see another like her.” On that point, there’s little debate. “I don’t think I’ll ever coach somebody like her again,” Hall says. For Kopelman, Cristiani’s championship and career are the culmination of what he first saw on those courts in Florida. “I’m just extremely grateful that she came to Babson.” 

PHOTO: SEWANEE ATHLETICS

That’s just awesome to be a part of such a good and close athletics community.” — Matia Cristiani ’26

FOR MORE SPORTS NEWS, VISIT: babsonathletics.com

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

ADVANCEMENTSPOTLIGHT

MISSION:

The College announced the completion of its Babson ELevates campaign after surpassing its ambitious $750 million fundraising goal, concluding the largest philanthropic effort in the institution’s history.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

t began as the most ambitious fundraising project in Babson’s history, in celebration of the College’s Centennial in 2019. It cleared every goal, even as the bar was raised and raised again. And it concluded this summer as the largest, most successful philanthropic effort in the institution’s storied history. The Babson ELevates campaign topped its final, elevated goal of $750 million, a full year earlier than anticipated. Babson ELevates was designed to accelerate Babson’s future by expanding access, advancing academic excellence, and reimagining the campus experience. The campaign has since transformed nearly every aspect of the College, driving investments in scholarships, faculty, research, and campus infrastructure that will extend Babson’s global leadership in entrepreneurship education for decades to come. “This historic milestone reflects the strength of the Babson community and the results we achieve when we commit to a shared vision,” said Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD. “We are an entrepreneurial community defined by aspiration. Throughout the campaign, alumni, donors, colleagues, and friends continuously supported our efforts to accelerate our growth, broaden our impact, and strengthen our global reputation.” The ambitious campaign launched during the College’s centennial year in 2019 with an initial goal of $300 million, which increased to $500 million and then $750 million following historic donor

PHOTO: KEVIN THAI

The Babson community celebrated the topping-off ceremony in June for the new Executive Lodge and Conference Center, which is scheduled to open in 2027. The boutique-style executive lodging facility is the latest major campus initiative fueled by the record-breaking Babson ELevates campaign.

PHOTO: NIC CZARNECKI

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

ADVANCEMENTSPOTLIGHT

$750,979,942 TOTAL AMOUNT RAISED

45,172 TOTAL DONORS

engagement. Philanthropic investments have funded expansive scholarships, 23 faculty term chairs, new state-of-the-art facilities and classrooms, and strategic centers and institutes within the Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership, which was fueled by a transformative gift in 2019 by Arthur M. Blank ’63, H’98. “Throughout the campaign, alumni, donors, governance members, colleagues, and friends engaged and contributed in record numbers,” said former New Hampshire Gov. Craig R. Benson ’77, H’03, chair of the Advancement Committee. “Babson is poised to bring our proven brand of entrepreneurial leadership and innovative approach to business education to new learners and

professionals around the world, thanks to the generosity of our community.” As the campaign draws to a close, Babson continues to transform its physical campus. Construction is underway for a new 77,600-square foot Executive Lodge and Conference Center that will include 70-plus modern guest rooms, 8,900 square feet of highquality classrooms, and a large banquet space for executive, corporate, and community events. The College’s Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village— which opened in 2024 with new classrooms, study spaces, and the largest residence hall on campus— continues to undergo the next phase of renovations. Slated for completion in 2027, the space will add 128 new

INVESTING IN

STUDENTS 149

FACULTY 23

new scholarships established

term chairs established

6 endowed professorships established

student beds, provide a 275-plus seat dining venue, and add 13 classrooms and learning spaces. When completed, the Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village will be one of the largest investments in entrepreneurship education at the College. “Philanthropic support is critical to Babson,” said Edward Chiu, the College’s Governor Craig R. Benson Endowed Executive Vice President for Advancement. “The full impact of this campaign will be realized through the students we educate, the ventures they lead, and the communities they impact. As we mark the successful conclusion of Babson ELevates, we remain steadfast in our commitment to expanding our fundraising efforts to deepen our impact for generations to come.” 

This historic milestone reflects the strength of the Babson community and the results we achieve when we commit to a shared vision. — President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

ELEVATING BABSON The Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership The Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson was founded in 2019, thanks to a grant from Arthur M. Blank ’63, H’98 and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The Blank School is the home of eight of Babson’s entrepreneurial centers and institutes, including the Bertarelli Institute for Family Entrepreneurship, the C. Dean Metropoulos Institute for Technology and Entrepreneurship, the Frank & Eileen™ Institute for Women and Allies, the Tariq Farid Franchise Institute, and the TARCO Institute for Real Estate and Entrepreneurship, which were created or evolved during the campaign.

Campus Transformation

Kerry Murphy Healey Park

Weissman Foundry

Babson Commons at Horn Library

Herring Family Entrepreneurial Leadership Village

Len Green Recreation and Athletics Complex

Executive Lodge and Conference Center

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

NEWSNOTESANDNODS 34

UNDERGRADUATE

Enrique R. Turegano ’83, MBA’85 is opening an art gallery in Barcelona featuring prominent Latin American artists such as Fernando Botero, Enrique Grau, Luis Alberto Acuña, Gonzalo Ariza, and Pierre Daguet, among others. “I am looking into the Generalitat de Catalunya to get an Art Gallery License so they can be viewed by those following Latin American art,” Turegano wrote. “I have quite a few unique pieces, all originals!” Joanne Thomas Grove ’77 (right) celebrated daughter Caroline Zack’s wedding in New Braunfels, Texas, in October 2025. Grove’s friend Toni Kellerman Youkhana ’78 (far left) also attended the event.

Jesse O’Rourke ’94 won the Rookie of the Year award as owner of a FastSigns franchise location in Portsmouth, New York. O’Rourke received the award at the 2026 FastSigns Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in January.

1990

Tim Bertschmann ’90 recently founded the Bertschmann Group, an information technology and cybersecurity company, after a 28-year career in the field. Bertschmann previously worked at Harbor Networks alongside his brother before creating his own company.

Charlie Allieri ’90: See 2016

2000

1989

Matthew J. Kidd ’89, founder of the law offices of Matthew J. Kidd & Associates in Boston, was recognized in the 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America, a peer-reviewed designation honoring top legal professionals. A global network of attorneys reviewed more than 26 million evaluations this year, and only 5% of lawyers in the United States were recognized.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

Yan Katz ’00, co-founder of HUB Wealth Strategies, was named a President’s Council Club qualifier for the second time by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. The President’s Council is one of Guardian’s highest annual honors awarded to the top 2% of financial professionals.

Ryan Jones ’10 and Victoria Jones welcomed daughter Gwendolynn James Jones on May 5.

Jeffrey Del Papa ’00, co-founder and managing partner of Equity Asset Management, and three other Babson alumni who are senior investment professionals, returned to the College’s Wellesley campus in April to speak with students in the Babson Finance Association (BFA). Mike Pugatch ’01, managing director of HarbourVest Partners; Matthew Gosselin ’07, managing director of Audax; and Andrew Gonzalez ’16, vice president of HighVista Strategies, discussed direct investments and secondaries with the student-run BFA.

Michael Pantuosco ’80 and 16 other alumni held a golf fundraiser in memory of Fran Pantuosco ’79 on May 29 at the Cedar Knob Golf Course in Somers, Connecticut. The group played soccer at Babson between 1978 and 1983, and the raised money goes to the David Sinclair Fund at Harvard to research Alzheimer’s and other diseases of aging. Back row: Lou Pantuosco, a soccer coach who worked at Babson in 1985, Brandon Masterson ’13, John Pantuosco ’83, Gio DiMambro ’82, John Shepherd ’79, Mike McQuillan ’79, Jeff Hutchins ’83, Michael Pantuosco, Tim Marken ’81, Gary Newcomb ’81, Don Lake ’79, Charlie Cormay ’80, Jim Stento ’81, P’13, and Mark Silva ’82. Front row: Paul Tucceri ’78, George Salvitti ’80, and Bob LeBlanc ’82.

Lucas Malloy ’19, manager of hockey operations for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, was recently named to The Pittsburgh Business Times’ 30 Under 30. Malloy, who joined the Penguins in 2024, was noted for working closely with general manager Kyle Dubas and for leading key initiatives across coaching hires, NHL draft operations, and organizational strategy and infrastructure projects. The annual 30 Under 30 list recognizes young professionals making an impact in their workplaces and communities.

Stephanie Radman ’93 (left), founder of Mayflower Home Organizing, appeared on NBC CT, where she shared expert insights on home organization and discussed how thoughtfully designed spaces can support productivity and overall wellness. Mike Massaro ’00, the CEO of Flywire, a global payments enablement and software company, made The Boston Globe’s fifth annual list of Tech Power Players. Massaro, who has been CEO of Flywire since 2013, was 47th on a list of 50 individuals considered the most influential and interesting people working across technology in New England. Chosen by business journalists at The Boston Globe, this year’s list honored the most innovative leaders across AI, quantum computing, consumer tech, cybersecurity, health tech, sustainability, and beyond, demonstrating exemplary contributions to the industry and considerable career impact on technology and business in Boston, New England, and beyond.

Sheilagh Hamill McNeil ’86 and classmates celebrated their annual trip to Cancun, Mexico, in April. The friends, who all lived off campus in an old Victorian house while attending Babson, call themselves the Green Gables Girls. From left: McNeil, Kaylee Dodge Murphy ’86, Maryellen Papelian ’86, Gerri Nathan Russo ’86, Lisa Haskins ’86, Marianne Citro Flayhan ’86, and Linda Lackey ’86.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

NEWSNOTESANDNODS

William Sparks ’09 married Tatum Reynolds on September 13 at the Weekapaug Yacht Club in Westerly, Rhode Island, surrounded by friends, family, and fellow alumni. From left: Spencer Hughes ’12, Yates Campbell ’11, William Shaw ’07, Alex Brooks ’11, Jeff Festa ’11, Sarah Switlik ’11, William Pearce ’08, Sparks, Gian Filippo del Bono ’09, Reynolds, Matt Miller ’09, Wes Sparks ’77, MBA’80, P’09, Pam Sparks ’78, P’09, Karen Dubois ’82, Dick Dubois ’82, Elizabeth Riley, Michael Sands ’87, Suzette Sands ’87, Kyle Natichioni ’08, and Tim Pansini ’09.

2001

Mike Pugatch ’01: See 2000

2006

Nasser Alghanim ’06 was recently appointed chief executive officer of City Hypermarket, Kuwait’s fastest-growing local hypermarket chain. Alghanim, who has worked for City Hypermarket since 2015, became the CEO in May. “It is a privilege and a responsibility I do not take lightly,” Alghanim said. “We are proud that City Hypermarket is a homegrown Kuwaiti company and one of the most rapidly expanding retail brands in Kuwait. I am proud of what this team has achieved, and I am excited about what we will build together.”

2007

Matthew Gosselin ’07: See 2000

2016

Matt Brazel ’19 and Emily Park ’19 wed on December 31, 2025, in Newport, Rhode Island. They were joined by many of their friends, loved ones, and fellow Babson alumni. Front row (from left): Emily Fredette ’19, Christine Regan ’19, Taylor Welsh ’16, Brazel, Park, Siri Dominguez ’19, and Lucy Culleton ’19. Second row (from left): Kyle Morrissey ’13, Ryan Gouveia ’18, Michael Phillips ’17, Matt McMorrow ’18, Zach Phelps ’18, Paul Wagner ’18, Tim Searles ’17, Charlie Ackerman ’18, and Ryan McDougall ’20. Third row (from left): Pat Matvichuk ’13, Josh Casper ’18, Rob Devaney ’18, Bryan Botcher ’19, Jamie Murray ’16, Matt Pompa ’19, and Stevie DeForge ’19. Top row (from left): Jamie Zikos ’17, Sean Wright ’14, and Pat Young ’17, MBA’22.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

Jerry Baker ’16 was named as one of GlobeSt’s aspiring leaders of 2026 in commercial real estate. Baker, the founder and managing principal of Baker 1031 Investments, specializes in the transition from active property management to passive tax-advantaged ownership. Baker and others on the list were chosen because they are an inspiring group of professionals shaping the future of commercial real estate. Andrew Gonzalez ’16: See 2000

Elissa Kempisty ’23 won the International Skating Union’s world championship in synchronized skating in April as part of Team Canada. Kempisty, who joined the Canadian synchronized skating team, Les Suprêmes, last year, returned to Babson’s Wellesley campus with her gold medal (pictured with President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA’92, PhD) shortly after the victory. The world championship victory, which took place in Austria, was the fourth gold medal for Team Canada. Nick Weldon ’16, founder of business intelligence company 5x5, is part of a growing network of Babson alumni and venture founders collaborating in the business data space. Charlie Allieri ’90, president of the growth marketing firm Intensify, acquired 5x5 two years ago as part of a broader push to expand the company’s data and analytics department. Most recently, Intensify purchased Salutary Data, a firm founded by Scott Gordon MBA’89 that specializes in highly curated business contact intelligence. The

GRADUATE 1987

Walter Dillingham MBA’87 wrote an article published in the March edition of The Chronicle of Philanthropy detailing how philanthropies can best plan for an unexpected windfall. The article comes amid a flurry of donations from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, who gave $26.3 million in unrestricted grants to 2,700 nonprofits as of the end of 2025. “No leader wants to be caught off guard and forced to scramble to ensure a large gift is spent wisely,” Dillingham wrote.

1989

Scott Gordon MBA’89: See Undergraduate, 2016

Arjun Bhatnagar ’17 (right), co-founder and CEO of personal data security company Cloaked, announced in March that the company secured $375 million in Series B funding and growth financing to expand its consumer offering and move into the enterprise market. Cloaked, founded by Arjun and his brother, Abhijay Bhatnagar, in 2020, offers a bundle of security and privacy solutions such as data removal, identity theft insurance, VPN, and dark web monitoring. The brothers also were named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list in 2024.

acquisitions strengthen Intensify’s ability to help companies identify and reach target customers more effectively. By combining 5x5’s member-driven data ecosystem with Salutary Data’s verified contact database, Intensify’s acquisitions helped them provide a comprehensive data engine that pairs marketing execution with high-quality underlying data.

Cambridge Memorial Group, a business that acquires and operates funeral homes. Baker and Cambridge Memorial Group co-founder Cole West purchased Betzler Life Story Funeral Homes in May. The funeral home company serves about 250 families per year throughout Michigan. Former owner Scott Betzler has joined Cambridge Memorial Group as partner to help with the transition.

2018

Sarah Lerner-Mantel ’18, MBA’20, as the managing partner of Roll Tack Ventures, received a $10 million boost via Indiana’s 21st Century Research

1993

Neal Faulkner MBA’94 was elected secretary of the National DCP’s board of directors in April. The National DCP is the $3 billion supply chain management company serving Dunkin’ franchisees. The board members are elected by their peers. Faulkner, a founding board member of the National DCP, has been a Dunkin’ franchisee since 2000 and operates 28 stores throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

John Baker ’18 recently closed on his first acquisition as co-founder of

Chris Cardinal MBA’93 was hired in May as partner at the Paris-based operational consulting firm EFESO Management Consultants. Cardinal has 37 years of experience in chemical and material consulting. EFESO focuses on strategic and operational excellence across the manufacturing, energy, and life science industries.

1994

Caren Deardorf MBA’94 was appointed chief business and strategy officer at Neutrolis Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on treating autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Deardorf will lead corporate and pipeline strategy, business development, and early commercial strategy as the company advances its clinical pipeline.

1996

Carmen Alonso MBA’96 has been appointed global CEO of Santander Asset Management, the asset management division of Banco Santander, effective in July. She previously served as head of clients for Europe and the Middle East at Patria Investments. Banco Santander is one of the world’s largest financial institutions and a leading retail and commercial bank in Europe, with operations across

and Technology Fund for the venture capital investment firm. The $10 million grant, which is meant to expand growing technology companies throughout Indiana, was announced by Indiana Gov. Mike Braun in April. “By supporting Indiana-based funds like Roll Tack, we are strengthening our innovation ecosystem and connecting new knowledge, expertise and technology with Hoosier businesses,” Braun said. Lerner-Mantel has been with Roll Tack Ventures since it was founded in 2024.

Europe and the Americas and a broad range of services including asset management, investment banking, and wealth management.

2001

Neil Geary MBA’01, a partner at SeatonHill who advises mid-sized and private equity-backed companies on financial strategy and growth, wrote an article that was published in the March 2026 edition of GGI INSIDER. The article details the ways mid-sized companies can navigate today’s challenging financial environment by building profitability into their business models from the outset, while maintaining disciplined operations and financial transparency. The article appeared in GGI INSIDER, a digital publication sharing news and insights from GGI Global Alliance’s international network of accounting, legal, and advisory firms.

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

NEWSNOTESANDNODS

Yama Habibzai MBA’01 was named chief marketing officer at Aptean, a software company that helps manufacturers and distributors grow their business, in June. Habibzai joins Aptean as the company deepens its vertical AI capabilities across its industryspecific portfolio and scales its global presence in manufacturing and distribution markets.

2004

Justin Johnson MBA’04 has been named CEO of Arevon Energy, formalizing a role he had held on an interim basis. Johnson previously served as the company’s COO and has more than two decades of experience in energy infrastructure, including work at Horizon Wind Energy, where he helped scale the organization into a major global operator. Earlier in his career, he spent seven years as a U.S. Air Force officer in flight test engineering. Arevon owns and operates more than 6 gigawatts of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects across 18 states. “Electricity demand is increasing nationwide, and reliable infrastructure has never been more important,” Johnson said.

2005

Jeni Wheeler MBA’05, co-founder of the Family Table Collaborative (FTC), recently received a donation of $90,000 worth of food from Dole & Bailey, a Woburn, Massachusetts-based premium meat and seafood company. The donation, which included 11 pallets of food, helped the nonprofit organization continue to provide meals across Cape Cod. The donation came after FTC was part of Barnstable County’s emergency response during the blizzard of 2026. FTC prepared and distributed 15,000 meals across Cape Cod between Sunday and Friday during the storm response in February.

2011

Jen Wirt MBA’11 recently closed a $13 million Series A round for Coral Care, a tech-enabled marketplace connecting families with pediatric therapy providers and supporting independent clinicians across multiple states. Wirt founded the business after experiencing frustrations during her daughter’s early developmental journey.

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

2016

Anthony Valentino MBA’16 recently started working on the CoreAI Microsoft Foundry team at Microsoft. Valentino, who founded the electric vehicle business VOLT+STEEL in 2023, is focused on building and scaling foundational AI platforms at Microsoft. Meanwhile, VOLT+STEEL, which builds high-end, bespoke classic electric vehicles, won two prizes at the 2026 Grand National Roadster Show. A 1958 Electric Corvette by the company won best engineering and took first place in its class.

DON’T MISS OUT

on the latest news from Babson’s community of entrepreneurial leaders. Subscribe today to our weekly newsletter! Richard Howell MBA’94 recently earned the designation of Five Star Wealth Manager in Boston Magazine’s March 2026 issue, the fourth year he has been named. Howell, formerly vice president of Staples’ e-commerce, analytics, and site operations, joined The Bulfinch Group in 2016.

John Kluge Jr. MBA’17 recently co-wrote a book with his wife, Christine Mahoney, about investing in refugee entrepreneurs. Banking on Belonging: Why Investing in Refugee Entrepreneurs Beneﬁts Everyone was set to be published in July by Columbia University Press. The duo spoke with refugees on every continent over the past decade, and the book tells dozens of stories of transformative and scalable solutions built by refugees.

2020

Sarah Lerner-Mantel ’18, MBA’20: See Undergraduate, 2018 Jay McHarg MBA’20, CEO of AeroSafe Global, was named as the 2026 recipient of the Herbert W. Vanden Brul Entrepreneurial Award by Saunders College of Business at Rochester Institute of Technology in June. The award, established in 1984, is presented annually to a Rochester, New York-area entrepreneur who has enhanced the regional economy through innovative business leadership. McHarg, who has more than 30 years of leadership experience in operations and innovation, leads the Rochester-based AeroSafe Global, which ensures the safe delivery of temperature-sensitive therapies to patients and providers worldwide.

Sasha Gambhir MSEL’24 and Rahul Sandeep Vasani MSEL’24 got engaged April 1 in Tokyo, Japan. The couple met while pursuing their graduate degrees at Babson. Vasani flew to Japan in April to surprise Gambhir on her trip with the proposal.

GOT NEWS?

INMEMORIAM

Feyzi Çelik MBA’92, president and CEO of Boston-based technology company OnePIN Inc., has written a techno-thriller series based on his work and many travels. Çelik first released Guardian: Mission Northern Atlantic, followed by Guardian: Mission Genesis and Guardian: Mission Earth. The Guardian Missions series follows a technologist drawn into a hidden global conflict shaped by rapidly evolving technologies; artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, genetic engineering, and humanity’s expansion beyond Earth. Çelik wrote the series “as if it were a film,” unlike most novels, because his “broader mission is to bring the Guardian Missions series to life on screen.”

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William Rankin “Bill” Dill H’91, Babson College’s eighth president, died March 31 in Auburndale, Massachusetts. Dill served as Babson’s president from 1981 to 1989, a period of important growth and development for the College. During his tenure, Babson expanded its reach and reputation, including opening new opportunities for students and faculty to engage internationally. Under his leadership, the College also strengthened the facilities and infrastructure that support student life, executive education, and learning across campus.

Graham Norman Nock ’50, of Bellevue Hill, Australia, May 12, 2025 William O. Hood ’55, of Scottsdale, Arizona, July 4, 2025 Irving Harris Tucker ’55, of Charlotte, North Carolina, March 22 Robert Ingersoll “Bob” Lyman ’58, of Billerica, Massachusetts, Feb. 22 Paul Raymond “Ray” Senecal ’58, of Nantucket, Massachusetts, March 10 Earle J. Ellingwood ’59, of East Montpelier, Vermont, March 2 Myron Cohn ’60, of St. Petersburg, Florida, July 31, 2025 Robert Bruce Reymann ’60, of Greenport, New York, March 9, 2025 William Mason Gladwell “Bill” Wilson ’60, of Front Royal, Virginia, March 2 Augustine Bradford Conant III ’63, of Bedford, Massachusetts, April 24

ALUMNI NEWS is in demand!

Charles T. “Chuck” Kreiser Jr. ’63, MBA’66, of Melvern, Kansas, May 25 Michael S. Cohen MBA’63, of Longmeadow, Massachusetts, March 15 Donald R. Irwin III ’64, of Mount Dora, Florida, Feb. 5 Peter W. Reinke ’64, of Vernon, Connecticut, April 15 Jacob Charles “Jay” Rosenthal ’64, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, March 1 Willard Ward Dube ’65, of Berlin, New Hampshire, March 31 Edward William “Ed” Wingren ’65, of Rochester, New Hampshire, Feb. 27 Benjamin E. Grant ’66, of Holden and Marlboro, Maine, March 31 John W. Slomba MBA’66, of Eureka, Illinois, May 7 George Cosgrave Dey ’67, of Greenwich, Connecticut, March 31 Robert J. “Bob” LaBrie MBA’67, of South Deerfield, Massachusetts, Feb. 10

Dr. Paula M. Rooney, Babson College’s former vice president of student affairs from 1985 to 1995, died March 17 after a lengthy illness. A dedicated college leader whose career spanned several institutions, Rooney impacted thousands of students and colleagues through her commitment to student development and higher education leadership. She went on to serve as president of Dean College for 27 years and held national leadership roles, including president of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators.

Robert K. Burns Jr. ’68, of Provincetown, Massachusetts, March 17 Robert Byron Jamieson ’68, P’08, of Greenwich, Connecticut, May 27 Ronald John Seidel ’68, of Harwich, Massachusetts, May 24 Edward Lee Findlen ’70, of Peabody, Massachusetts, May 13 John Edward Conlon MBA’70, of Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 2026 John Frank Strayer Jr. MBA’70, of North Canton, Ohio, March 24 Peter F. Suchy ’73, of Fairfield, Connecticut, May 19 Frank S. Benson III ’74, of Columbus, Ohio, March 7 Scott C. Hayden ’76, of Wrentham, Massachusetts, April 4 Murray G. Bodine ’78, of San Francisco, California, April 8 Lori Roveto Aldrich ’79, of Plymouth, Massachusetts, March 6

David E. Alpert ’81, of Bonita Springs, Florida, April 10 Frank Citrone Jr. MBA’81, of Dedham, Massachusetts, March 12 Raymond Anthony Molinaro MBA’82, of Medway, Massachusetts, May 27 William Joseph Knittle ’83, of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, April 3 Judith Genevieve Butler Pepper DeFusco MBA’83, of Port Hueneme, California, April 13 James G. Crosby MBA’84, of Danvers, Massachusetts, May 29 Stephen M. Dings ’88, MBA’97, of Hingham, Massachusetts, April 22 Pamela Marie Feingold MBA’90, of Scituate, Massachusetts, March 16 Eberhard Lange ’07, of Oberrot, Germany, January 2026 Kavian Sebastian Sabery ’24, of Newton, Massachusetts, March 9 William T. Goodhue MBA’27, April 2

SUMMER 2026 / BABSON MAGAZINE

PHOTO BY NIC CZARNECKI

DAD THE GRAD / A young child hugs her father at the start of the procession for the graduate Commencement ceremony May 16.

Check out more photos by Nic in the digital edition

BABSON MAGAZINE / SUMMER 2026

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