CLASS NOTES
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Coming Home to Darden: Phil Knisely (MBA ’78) Reconnects
“A
lthough the competitive environment for top business schools has intensified,” says Phil Knisely, “the core values that made Darden special are still there. I encourage the Class of 1978 to come see the Darden of 2011; you’ll be proud of your degree all over again.” For many years, Knisely’s engagement with Darden was limited to recruiting. He has reconnected in full force and was recently elected vice chair of the Darden School Foundation Board of Trustees. Knisely considers his days at Darden key to his business successes. “Many people talk about their time at Darden being transformational, and I’m no exception,” he explains. “Darden honed my work ethic and appreciation for seeking diverse inputs in building a consensus.” Darden also taught him how to inspire by, he says, focusing “organizations and individuals on what needs to be done, not what you think you can do … It’s not enough to just create a vision of where you are trying to go; you have to empower people to get there.” Of leadership, Knisely declares, “The best leaders I’ve come across all have one thing in common — intellectual curiosity. They know they don’t have all the answers, and their interest in people, businesses and processes makes them lifelong learners.” After more than 30 years in corporate strategy and manufacturing, Knisely retired from a full-time position with Danaher Corporation last year to become a consultant for the company and to work with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice — a leading private equity firm — as chairman of one of its portfolio companies. Knisely, 57, and his wife, Pattie, have been married for 28 years and have three daughters: Anne Marie, Marissa and Kate. The family splits its time between Chicago, Illinois, and Hilton Head, South Carolina. But life isn’t all about work for Knisely. “We just returned from a safari to the Masai Mara in Kenya with our daughters,” he says. “We went for the animals but fell in love with [the] Masai people. Great family trip.”
training? And it sounds like you may well be Broadway-bound!) Also checking in from Dallas, Mike Mische writes to inform us that he is “Still down here in Irving-Groves-III-land, saving (sorry I mean shutting down) the banking system. I have been ascribing to the Administration theory to: “never let a GOOD crisis go to waste.” Volumes and closings are off slightly and the FDIC is preparing and acting (scaling back) like it is over. But 800 banks remain on the bad bank list and almost 200 are on the very bad list. We have closed about 75 banks YTD and expect to close “fewer” for 2012. You can do the math. Are we done yet?? I manage a group of 36 to 39 accountant and item processors supporting the FDIC cash management team for AP, cash receipts, reconciliations and looking for escheated monies failed banks have sent to the states over time. I have been notified that they will execute the second annual extension of the contract until November 2012.” (Mike — it is good to know that at least one Darden person is involved in making things better … and making a living doing it! Congrats on that!) 42 THE DARDEN REPORT • Fall/Winter 2011
As for me, it has been 385 days since my company was acquired by a large, Paris-based international company. They (foolishly!) wanted me to stay on … and it has been, as they say … “interesting.” I thought I had escaped bigcompany activities … but not so much these days! Fortunately, as often as possible, I get to hang with our classmate Ted Gary! Ted and his great three boys are doing very well and occasionally he makes the trip back to Charlottesville to help Frank Genovese (MBA ’74) teach a class at Darden. I also heard from Joanna Miller DeZwart and her husband Pieter. Her news involved sailing excursions in Maine between lots of successful recruiting activities! Congrats again Joanna! So … maybe next year??? I also heard from Greg Reisinger recently. He and his wife Vanessa had a fantastic trip to Africa and came back with some great memories and incredible photos! Greg, you should send some of those pics on to Darden, as they display photos from alums and students in the hallways! And our own Class Agent Mike DeCola continues to provide dedicated service to the school as he serves on the Darden Board
of Trustees. Mike really is a force at the School, and should you wish to know more about ways you can help the School continue its success do not hesitate to give him a call. Thanks Mike for all that you do … for our Class and Darden! Now, unfortunately, I have to pass on some bad news to our class. It is with great sadness that I have to let you know that two of our classmates, George Stradtner Jr. and Steve Sell, have passed away. George died November 13, 2010 and Steve passed away on June 4, 2011. I’m sure many of you have fond memories of these two and if you want to send a note to their families you can contact the Alumni Relations Office and they will be able to help you. I am sorry that you are just getting this sad news now and I will try to forward this type of information through e-mails in a more timely fashion. All of these updates are the reminders that life is precious and short … and that love, family and friendships are to be treasured. I know that our Class of ’77 has been blessed with all of that … and more. As we are about to enter our 35th reunion year (gasp!), I hope all of you will try to make a special effort to venture back to Darden and Charlottesville April 27-29, 2012. So please mark those dates in your calendars now … and you will be hearing more about that incredibly fun event in the very near future! And if you need another reason to attend … rumor has it that Jesse Crews will be bootlegging in some home-grown special wine! Thanks to all of you that contributed to these notes here and I hope to hear from more of you soon … just drop me an e-mail anytime and I will make sure it gets into the Spring Notes. Bon voyage!
1978 Phil Knisely is featured in “New Members Elected to Darden School Foundation Board” on page 5 and in an Alumni Spotlight (this page). ANN WILKERSON ANNWWILKERSON@COMCAST.NET
Yes, it has been 35 years since we were shinyfaced First Year students at Darden, but Missy Ludlow says she is definitely not that old and has reminded Bunker Snyder, Joan Barrett and Bill Haggerty to stick to her story. Missy has started a new company in Cincinnatti — West Capital Advisors LLC — to provide outsourced advice to corporations that wish to invest in venture capital. Their first client, a local bank was just signed. Missy is continuing her education at Xavier to get her master’s in theology. She says she is not sure where that will lead but that she loves it. Her son Ben, a senior at Dartmouth, spent the summer in Las Vegas as a reporter for Poker News, covering the World Series of Poker. Fooling around on his new iPad gave Kevin Ramundo an excuse to e-mail his news. He has lived in Dallas about seven years as communications vice president with Raytheon but just became a Mavericks fan after they won the NBA championship. His two oldest are in col-
