Ventures: Spring 2018

S P R I N G 2018

SIGM UND WEIS SCHOOL OF BUSINES S AT SUSQUEHANNA UNIVERSIT Y

TOP STORY

Teaching the Teachers Making Economics Fun in K–12 | p.6

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE

House of Hawks Soars to Success Heikenfeld Shines at Forbes Women’s Summit

D E A N’S CO RNER

W ITH MAT THE W R O U S U SPRING 2 0 1 8 A key event in the history of Susquehanna University and the Sigmund Weis School of Business came to fruition 25 years ago, in April 1993.

We achieved AACSB accreditation—the top business school accreditation in the world, which fewer than 5 percent of schools worldwide have earned.

It is even rarer for schools like us, as there are only six private, undergraduate-only schools with AACSB accreditation.

AACSB’s key charge—that business schools continuously improve—is a directive we have taken seriously in 2017–18, by improving the experience for our students in many ways.

For the first time, all students in the London Program interned in that city. Now back on campus, this first cohort is touting their amazing, life-changing experiences. Students studying and interning in London this spring are sharing a similar sense of excitement.

International internships are rare experiences that few students worldwide receive, and we intend to expand these opportunities to more locations.

Interim Dean of the Sigmund Weis School of Business

MATTHEW ROUSU Editor

VICTORIA KIDD Associate Director, Advancement Communications Contributing Editor

BETSY K. ROBERTSON Director, Digital and Print Communications Contributing Writers

AMANDA O’ROURKE Digital Communications and Media Specialist

BRUCE BEANS EMILY GIBBS ’18 HOPE MARTIN ’19 Design and Layout

In spring 2019, several SWSB students will intern in Chester, UK, during a study abroad semester. And we still have our successful Stein Fellowship program, which will enable four additional students to study abroad this summer in locations throughout the world. About one-third of our students will now graduate having completed an international internship.

We’ve launched many other initiatives, such as the establishment of the Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship Education. We also created a student-managed investment fund, in which our senior finance students are making investment decisions with university funds; a new business data science major to better serve our students; and our first annual “House of Hawks” competition, in which student entrepreneurs competed for funds for their business ideas.

Numerous alumni and community leaders have come to campus to present guest lectures or to work with students on collaborative projects. Finally, the search for the next permanent dean of the Sigmund Weis School is in full swing, with an announcement likely in May.

AMANDA LENIG ’07 Creative Director

ERICA HOOVER Graphic Designer Lead Photography

GORDON WENZEL HEATHER NECESSARY Copy Editor

KATHLEEN FLORIO

SIGMUND WEIS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS Susquehanna University 514 University Ave.

We are excited to celebrate our 25th anniversary of AACSB accreditation and strive to continually improve our students’ experiences. We would love to share personally what’s happening on campus. If we did not see you back on campus this year, hopefully we will see you at Commencement or in 2018–19.

Selinsgrove, PA 17870 570-372-4455 As one of the few undergraduate business programs in the world to earn AACSB accreditation, we pride ourselves on our highly qualified faculty, rigorous

S I N C E R E LY, Matthew Rousu Interim Dean, Sigmund Weis School of Business

curriculum, and continuous assessment and improvement processes.

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2 | Student Spotlight Marketing Entrepreneur’s Creativity Spurs Innovation

4 | Faculty Spotlights For Emma Fleck, Entrepreneurship Is a Creative Mindset

6 | Top Story Teaching the Teachers Making Economics Fun in K–12

12 | Campus News Students Pitch Business Ideas in First-Ever House of Hawks Competition New Program: Business Data Science Major River Hawk Fund Boosts Students’ Investment Experience

16 | Student Spotlight Visit to Luxury Brand Dealerships Pays Off Big for Battiloro

18 | Alumni News Heikenfeld Shines at Forbes Women’s Summit Aluminum Bahrain CEO Visits Susquehanna Financial Analyst Uses His Business Experience to Launch Barkly Pets App

S T UDEN T SP OTLIGHT

OUR BEST AND B R I G H TE S T

C HRISTIAN COLEMAN ’19 marketing

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MARKETING ENTREPRENEUR’S CREATIVITY SPURS INNOVATION

BY EMILY G I B B S ’18 When Christian Coleman ’19 listens to music he wrote, he feels like he’s watching a movie.

“My music is just me painting a picture of my feelings,” he says. “It doesn’t really fit a genre. It’s just me telling a story.”

Coleman, known musically as Khan the Don, first recorded his own music at age 18 at the startup music studio Music Works NYC, where he completed a marketing internship last summer.

Yes, Coleman is a marketing major, not a music major.

That’s because—from art and entertainment to music and fashion—Coleman wants to be part of the machine that promotes it all.

As an intern, Coleman’s duties included working behind the scenes in the recording studio, creating artist websites and contributing to the production of content for the label artist.

“Having the chance to be innovative in a business atmosphere makes you more prepared for the future,” Coleman says. “You get to see your ideas come to life and how to make them work.”

Located on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Music Works NYC is a multifaceted company that includes a recording studio and two media record labels, one reggae and the other hip-hop.

“My music taps into something in me separate from school, and even working with other artists,” he says. “Although the more you know about marketing, the more you understand why people like what they like and how to find a market.”

Coleman participates in a wide variety of activities on campus, including Fashion Club, the Black Student Union and the organization Design, Innovation, Creativity & Entrepreneurship.

In addition, Coleman participated in the Sigmund Weis School’s House of Hawks business pitch competition in March. The competition allows participants 90 seconds to present their ideas before a panel of judges, win cash prizes and build networks with other business owners.

He presented a soundboard app prototype, called Lango, that he intends to develop throughout his time at Susquehanna. Coleman says the app will allow users to access a crowd-sourced soundboard for slang depending on location, offering multiple ways of interacting with each term and phrase.

Possible forms of interaction include reading definitions and watching related GIFs submitted by other users.

“I’ve always known that an incomplete app would be hard to sell, but I got a platform to share my idea through House of Hawks,” Coleman says. ■

C H R I S T I A N CO L E M A N P R E S E N T I N G AT T H E H O U S E O F H AW K S CO M P E T I T I O N

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FAC ULT Y SPOTLIGHT

IN T HE CL ASSR O O M

FOR EMMA FLECK, ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS A CREATIVE MINDSET

BY BRUCE B E A N S When Emma Fleck, associate professor of management, adventurously emigrated with her family from their native Northern Ireland to western Colorado five years ago, they initially had no friends or support network.

As a way to fill the weekends, she and her husband, Alex, staged what they called “Superhero Saturdays.”

With either handmade or purchased costumes, they helped their young sons—Patrick, now 6, and Harrison, now 5—transform themselves into superheroes.

“It was a really special time for me because, thanks to their creativity, I realized that they had no limits in terms of their imagination and what they wanted to be when they grew up,” she says. “At that age, no one puts limits on us and tells us something can’t be done, that we can’t be, for example, a pro football player or a ballerina. It was these moments with my children that inspired me in the classroom.”

“I want them to stop seeing challenges, limitations or constraints placed on them by society,” she says, “and try to get them to sense how they would feel about such things when they were 5—and then channel that into our entrepreneurial activities.

“Entrepreneurship is not just about starting a business,” she adds. It’s a mindset”—a mindset that, beyond start-ups, she asserts can also pay handsome dividends in business and nonprofit organizations and a wide range of other fields.

Fleck first got interested in entrepreneurship as an international business studies major at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland, where her father, Donovan McClelland, was an economics professor.

Her doctoral dissertation, at the same institution, investigated the growth and development of Irish firms developed by female entrepreneurs.

In her entrepreneurship classes, Fleck helps her Susquehanna students try to reconnect with their creative 5-year-old selves by also having them dress up as superheroes and reconnect with that time in their lives.

Fleck, who worked for a billboard company while earning her Ph.D., initially thought she would go into business. “But I realized I loved learning and have a passion for helping others understand and apply what I’ve learned to the real world,” she says.

Of the three components that make up the entrepreneurial mindset—innovation, problemsolving and creativity—Fleck contends that the first two are fairly well understood, but the concept of creativity is still elusive.

After teaching for six years as a tenured professor at her alma mater, she spent three years as an assistant professor at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colo., before arriving at Susquehanna in 2016.

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Emma F leck

Since then, she: • helped launch and directs the Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship Education, a professional development program for K–12 teachers; • helped redesign and launch the entrepreneurship and innovation minor; and • directs the Leadership Institute for Entrepreneurship (LIFE), a summer program for high school students.

Fleck has embraced liberal arts education ever since she spent a year as an undergraduate exchange student at Cornell College, a small, highly regarded liberal arts school in Iowa.

“Because of their liberal arts education, Susquehanna students have a more-rounded understanding and can connect the dots more easily by bringing information they’ve learned from other classes into my classes,” she says. ■

“ I WA N T T H E M TO S TO P S E E I N G C H A L L E N G E S , L I M I TAT I O N S O R CO N S T R A I N T S P L A C E D O N T H E M B Y S O C I E T Y … A N D T RY TO G E T T H E M TO S E N S E H O W T H E Y W O U L D F E E L A B O U T S U C H T H I N G S W H E N T H E Y W E R E 5 — A N D T H E N C H A N N E L T H AT I N TO O U R E N T R E P R E N E U R I A L A C T I V I T I E S .” — Emma Fleck

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BY BRUCE BEANS Scottish writer Thomas Carlyle may have dubbed economics “the dismal science,” but don’t tell that to Dan Frake’s Selinsgrove Area High School business students.

Earlier this school year, he taught them about traditional economies by showing a movie clip from Moana, Disney Studio’s 2016 hit animated musical.

Detailing how much the ancient Polynesian villagers rely on the coconut, they sing in Where You Are: We use each part of the coconut That’s all we need We make our nets from the fibers The water is sweet inside We use the leaves to build fires We cook up the meat inside …

The island gives us what we need.

“That’s a prime example of a traditional economy that isn’t interested in becoming more economically efficient,” says Frake, who this year has also underscored economic and business concepts by showing his students clips from such television comedies as The Office and The Big Bang Theory.

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He learned to use those clips in his classrooms by attending free programs offered by the new Center for Economics, Business, and Entrepreneurship Education (CEBEE), which the Sigmund Weis School of Business launched last September. Focusing on innovative, engaging content, the center is providing professional development training for K–12 teachers to increase overall business comprehension and financial literacy among young people in the Susquehanna Valley region and statewide.

“What I’ve learned from the center has allowed me to inject some humor into my lessons, and the kids get really engaged and appreciate my ability to infuse real-life applications into their lives,” says Frake.

The Sigmund Weis School has long provided support to local businesses. The CEBEE, however, is the business school’s first major effort to support teachers and their students—an initiative aligned with Susquehanna President Jonathan D. Green’s emphasis on service as part of Susquehanna’s three-pronged mission to prepare students to achieve, lead and serve.

There is a significant lack of resources for Pennsylvania teachers to learn how to better teach business, economics and entrepreneurship, according to Matthew Rousu, interim dean and professor of economics.

“We want to improve the education for tens of thousands of K–12 students, and the way to do that is to help our teachers,” he says.

The goal, adds Emma Fleck, director of the center and associate professor of management, isn’t necessarily to just groom future business students or to just reach college-bound students.

“Not all of our students in central Pennsylvania will pursue business degrees and careers or even go to college,” she notes. “We want their teachers to be able to get them excited about financial literacy, to develop life skills so that they know how to choose between good and bad credit cards, to become knowledgeable consumers, prudent savers and investors, and to understand the economic impacts of voting.”

As of March, through a series of workshops and seminars funded by the Uncommon Individual Foundation and an anonymous donor, the center has introduced innovative pedagogical strategies, content and online resources to nearly 200 K–12 teachers—each of whom

“WE WANT TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATION FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF K–12 STUDENTS, AND THE WAY TO DO THAT IS TO HELP OUR TEACHERS.” —MATTHEW ROUSU

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teaches an average of 150 students. The presenters have included: • D AN KU E STE R Director of undergraduate studies in economics at Kansas State University, who talked about using clips from The Big Bang Theory and The Office • B R IAN O’ ROAR K a finance professor at Robert Morris University near Pittsburgh, on using The Hunger Games and other dystopian films/novels • M ICH E LLE VACH R I S An emeritus professor at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Va., on using popular novels to explore the intersection between, for instance, Adam Smith, the father of economics, and author Jane Austen • E R I N YETTE R Senior economic education specialist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, on using the Berenstain Bears books and other children’s literature • J AM E S TI E R N EY A lecturer in economics at Pennsylvania State University, on using clips from children’s TV such as Sesame Street and Teen Titans.

DA N F

Fleck herself discussed exploring superheroes as a way to help students develop creativity and the entrepreneurial mindset.

In addition, the center has directly impacted more than 1,000 students. With the assistance of Frake, who also serves as the Future Business Leaders of America faculty advisor at Selinsgrove High, the center hosted an FBLA Regional Competition that attracted more than 500 high school students. When not competing, they also learned such approaches as how to utilize improvisational theatre techniques to improve their business leadership skills.

Frake and Josh Shipton ’01, who was a business major with a finance emphasis, now a business teacher at Cocalico High School in Denver, Lancaster County, agree that the center is filling a significant void.

“In my 14 years I’ve had very few opportunities to receive training in business-related content,” says Shipton.

“I and my colleagues are hopeful that Susquehanna’s program will continue to provide more opportunities to get information related to business topics.”

Following Kuester’s workshop, Shipton illustrated the concept of opportunity cost—every decision we make involves giving up something else we could have done

RAKE

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instead—by showing his class a clip of The Big Bang Theory. In it, physicist Sheldon Cooper obsessed over whether he should buy a new Sony PlayStation or a Microsoft Xbox video game console.

“The kids love it because I’ll have a video clip loaded when they walk into my classroom or, from a spreadsheet Dr. Rousu distributed, I’ll have a song like the Beatles’ Tax Man playing,” Shipton says. He teaches an AP microeconomics course to juniors and seniors, in addition to a stock market course and an introductory economics course available to freshmen through seniors.

“Rather than just some words I’ve written on the board, it builds excitement for the day.”

Following up on the Moana song, Frake also had his Selinsgrove High students play a game. Supplied with beads and thin rope, they divided themselves into small teams to compete making bracelets and necklaces under the norms of three different economic systems: • a traditional economy, such as the one in Moana’s Polynesian village where they made just a few items, all that they themselves needed, and then took breaks to chant and sing; • a command economy, such as a communist system, in which they were required to meet quotas, such as five bracelets; and • a free market economy, in which they made whatever items they decided would generate the most profit.

“I AND MY COLLEAGUES ARE HOPEFUL THAT SUSQUEHANNA’S PROGRAM WILL CONTINUE TO PROVIDE MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO GET INFORMATION RELATED TO BUSINESS TOPICS.” —JOSH SHIPTON ’01

“Instead of reading a passage or a document, when kids get really engaged and are able to apply what they are learning, they retain it much better,” says Frake. “And the whole classroom environment is better and less authoritarian.”

Rousu himself has used business- and money-related popular songs such as Satisfaction by the Rolling Stones and Price Tag by Jessie J in his own classes at Susquehanna. “There’s something about seeing concepts that you are studying in a song or a movie or television clip that really helps it stick,” he says. “I’ve had students come back a year or two later and tell me, ‘I heard such-and-such song on the radio and I thought of your class and the topic.’”

Julie Vincent, a junior from Winsted, Conn., who is majoring in business administration and minoring in entrepreneurship and innovation, agrees. “There are so many facets to business that I think the best way to experience all the aspects is through interactive learning,” she says. As Fleck’s student office assistant, she helped kickstart the center’s programming last fall.

full-day workshops during teacher in-service days; and recording some workshops so that teachers in remote locations can later access the material.

Both Rousu and Fleck are pleased and surprised about how many teachers and students the center has reached already.

“I would not be the same economics teacher that I am today without the help of the center,” says Frake, a business teacher for the past 10 years who is in his first year of teaching economics.

“When I see either teachers or students engaged in the way that our guest speakers have gotten them engaged, that gets me very happy and excited,” says Fleck, who is planning enhancements for the next academic year based on teacher feedback. These include customized outreach work with individual schools;

“Normally it takes teaching one or two classes to get the material down pat before you can start creating engaging activities. But the center has helped me by leaps and bounds springboard into a very experienced economics teacher the first time I’ve done it.” ■

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C ATCHING UP W I TH TH E B U S I N E S S S CH O O L

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STUDENTS PITCH BUSINESS IDEAS IN FIRST-EVER HOUSE OF HAWKS COMPETITION Susquehanna’s first-ever House of Hawks competition brought students before a panel of judges in March to pitch their business ideas, win cash prizes and build networks with other business owners.

Contestants were each given 90 seconds to present their business ideas before taking questions. Junior David Giordano, a business administration major from Frenchtown, N.J., walked away the winner ($1,000) and crowd favorite ($300) with his pitch for Seal of Approval Junk Removal.

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Giordano conceived of the idea while working for a franchise of College Hunks Hauling Junk to make money during the summer. With no franchise in the Selinsgrove area, Giordano decided to open his own business. Employing some friends, Giordano removes and hauls away residential items from Harrisburg to Williamsport.

“We are not only preparing our students for the job market, but we are preparing them to create the jobs and business

D AV I D G I O R D A N O ’19

S H A N E E K A E M I L E ’2 0

they want to see,” says Amir Bahman Radnejad, assistant professor of management and event organizer.

“All of these students have dreams, and I thank them for taking a risk to present them.”

Seniors Alex Haggerty, a double major in finance and music, and Jessica Portzline, a music education major, won second place ($600) for Fermata, a music store that would offer supplies and services to local musicians. Junior Tyler Green, a luxury brand marketing and management major, won third place ($400) for TG Drones, a business that enhances a golfer’s experience with photography and videography.

OTHER PARTICIPANTS WERE: • Shaneeka Emile ’20, biology, Beauty Within, a salon where confidence is developed through the use of beauty tactics, meaningful conversation and a relaxing atmosphere.

• J ude DiGiacomo ’18, accounting, Cereal To-Go, an extension of an already existing product that provides consumers with a convenient and alternative approach to their breakfast routine.

• Jennifer S. Thorsheim ’18, Julia Bodner ’18, Hannah Gruber ’18, all business administration majors, Fairy Godmother, a car service to ensure safe and comfortable transportation for women, by women.

• Christian Coleman ’19, marketing, Lango, a soundboard application for slang that allows users to interact with different terms and phrases from different cities in the United States from a crowd-sourced database.

Judges were Davide Della, owner, Kind Café, Selinsgrove, Pa; Philip DiMuro ’12, CEO and founder, Loople; Shelby McGuigan ’17, marketing associate, Nucleus Brands; Jeff Reis ’86, founder, Wicked Dog Grille, Selinsgrove, Pa.; and Lauren Elsasser ’13 Smith, manager, franchise performance, Burger King Corporation. ■

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Peter DaDalt

NE W P ROGR AM:

BUS INES S DATA SCIENCE M A JOR As of April 1,

74%

OF 2018 ACCOUNTING MAJORS ALREADY HAD JOBS, including placements at

• KPMG • PWC • • DELOITTE • • BOYER & RITTER • and EISNERAMPER

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The Sigmund Weis School of Business is excited to offer a new major this fall. The business data science major is for students who want a thorough understanding of data analysis within a business curriculum.

“We have long had an emphasis on information technology, and all students currently receive eight credits in data analytics coursework,” says Matthew Rousu, interim dean of the business school. “We are uniquely poised to offer a business data science major because of our intentional integration of the liberal arts and business.”

Rousu pointed to a recent internal study at Google (Project Aristotle) that suggested technical skills are necessary but not sufficient for workplace success.

The differentiating factor, the study found, is the ability of employees to master “soft” skills—communication, leadership and teamwork—which the business data science major brings together.

“New computer technologies for handling very large sets of data, along with new analysis algorithms, have created a demand for people with understandings in statistical analysis that will exceed supply,” says Associate Professor of Management Richard Orwig. “Data science is the discipline that provides students with both an understanding of statistics as well as the programming skills to apply analytical algorithms to all types of data.” ■

RIVER HAWK FUND BOOSTS STUDENTS’ INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE Finance students in the Sigmund Weis School of Business are getting firsthand experience by managing the investment portfolio of the Student Government Association.

including Mike Coyne, co-chief operating officer and vice president for finance and administration, and alumni with investment experience.

Named the River Hawk Fund, students in Peter DaDalt’s 400-level finance course of the same name are investing $180,000 in three $60,000 installments. The first installment was invested in the fall 2017 semester and the final installment will be invested in the coming fall semester.

“This process gives us the best chance of making a good return on our money while managing the risk as prudently as we can,” DaDalt says. “It’s a little slice of Wall Street right here at Susquehanna.”

Students are admitted into the course only after receiving instructor permission.

They are split into working groups, each focused on a different industry—healthcare, utilities, consumer discretionary, etc. Using Susquehanna’s Bloomberg Terminals, they conduct what at one time would have been exhaustive research into the financial indicators within each sector.

“Using Excel, they make spreadsheets to see the patterns within the financial indicators,” DaDalt says. “Then each group votes on their investment recommendations.”

Those recommendations then go before the River Hawk Fund advisory board, made up of university administrators,

With the stock market return averaging approximately 10-12 percent annually, DaDalt expects to see the River Hawk Fund exceed $250,000 before long.

Beyond opening up an additional revenue stream for student activities, DaDalt says the River Hawk Fund provides students with priceless investment management experience—minus the risk.

“The fancy term is critical thinking,” he says. “We’re teaching them to take hazy, imprecise and ambiguous information and make decisions that are useful.

“Students are learning Wall Street techniques, and they’re earning course credit,” DaDalt continues, “and if they have a bad year, they can’t get fired.” ■

WE ARE RANKED AS THE NO. 9 BEST COLLEGE IN PENNSYLVANIA TO PURSUE A MARKETING DEGREE, according to Zippia Inc.

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S T UDEN T SP OTLIGHT

OUR BEST AND B R I G H TE S T

M A R I S A B AT T I LO R O ’20 luxury brand marketing & management

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VISIT TO LUXURY BRAND DEALERSHIPS PAYS OFF BIG FOR BATTILORO

BY EMILY G I B B S ’18 When Marisa Battiloro ’20 attended the recent Lamborghini Paramus and McLaren Bergen County (N.J.) visit organized for Susquehanna students, she already knew she was interested in securing an internship.

Battiloro, one of 14 luxury brand marketing and management majors on the trip, lives near Paramus.

The car dealerships are part of the Prestige Family of Fine Cars, a third-generation, family-owned and -operated business founded in 1947. The company operates dealerships in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.

Battiloro says it was eye-opening to learn what goes into selling luxury items.

“From talking to staff—the manager, sales representatives, marketing team and auto staff—I learned how each car is designed, sold and marketed differently. They value their customers and put their desires and needs first,” Battiloro says.

Upon the advice of Assistant Professor of Marketing Minjung Park, Battiloro took her résumé along. At the end of the visit, she introduced herself to Allie Lagomarsino, marketing manager at Prestige Motors, and kept in touch afterward. She was rewarded with an internship over winter break.

As an intern, Battiloro’s responsibilities included managing social media pages for the company and following up on customer reviews.

“This field is time-oriented, and time management was an important skill I learned,” she says. “Complications come up, and you need to be prepared to handle them.”

She says the internship solidified her passion for the luxury brand field. “It helped me truly understand the business world. I was able to see the little details in marketing that help companies sell their products.”

Battiloro is currently working toward an internship with Jaguar Land Rover in Mahwah, N.J. Martin Pinter ’98, a Susquehanna Board of Trustees member who helped to organize the visit, says he participates in events such as this because he wants to show students that there are people who care and want to help them succeed.

“As a board member, what drives me is the great responsibility and passion we have to help the university in any way that we can,” Pinter says.

“We are dedicated to offering opportunities that set Susquehanna apart from peer institutions, and creating an open line of communication for students to ask questions and get advice.” ■

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OUR BEST AND B R I G H TE S T

HEIKENFELD SHINES AT FORBES WOMEN’S SUMMIT

BY AMANDA O’R O U R K E Fewer than 10 percent of portfolio managers are women. Heidi Heikenfeld ’00 is one of them. She credits hard work, emotional resiliency and deep intellectual curiosity for her success.

Heikenfeld, an Emerging Markets portfolio manager for OppenheimerFunds, recently addressed the importance of female empowerment at the prestigious Forbes Women’s Summit.

“I take the responsibility of representing women in portfolio management very seriously,” she said. “One important way to combat gender bias is to be very good at your job. When your ideas are highly valuable, you are expensive to ignore.”

Heikenfeld calls portfolio management one of the most exciting and influential jobs in the world.

“ONE IMPORTANT WAY TO COMBAT GENDER BIAS IS TO BE VERY GOOD AT YOUR JOB. WHEN YOUR IDEAS ARE HIGHLY VALUABLE, YOU ARE EXPENSIVE TO IGNORE.” —Heidi Heikenfeld ’00 “Investors have a lot of power,” she says. “We can encourage entrepreneurship, fund the development of new industries within a country, and reward companies that add value to their communities, with a powerful responsibility of investing client money.”

She credits her years at Susquehanna—crammed full of extra classes to satisfy a double major in finance and economics, filled with extracurricular activities and multiple internships—

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with giving her a unique skill set that many of her graduating peers from other universities did not receive.

“Susquehanna provided me with a very practical education.

I graduated with strong accounting, economics and computer programming skills. This allowed me to be immediately employable and useful to my bosses, firm and clients.”

During her time as a student in the Sigmund Weis School of Business, Heikenfeld completed four internships, including one on a currency trading desk in London.

“Internships are incredibly important. They give you a risk-free opportunity to try potential careers and identify what’s most exciting for you.”

Her travels have taken her to six continents and 73 countries—but Heikenfeld’s first international trip followed her junior year at Susquehanna, and “it sparked a passion for learning about the world.” She now spends at least 30 percent of her year overseas.

Her passion for learning, fueled at Susquehanna, continues.

Heikenfeld notes that her job offers her access to politicians and business leaders.

“The opportunity to ask questions and learn how businesses work and how cultures and political systems differ is very fulfilling.” She invests in 30 countries, with a focus on identifying innovative companies in high-growth sectors such as healthcare, technology and consumer goods.

Her advice to students seeking an investment career: “Try investing. When you make a mistake, when you lose money on a stock, take a breath, assess what when wrong, regroup and try again. Learn accounting and economics. These are your building blocks, and you’ll be able to rely on these critical skills throughout your career.” ■

HEIDI H E I K E N F E L D ’00

ALUMINUM BAHRAIN CEO VISITS SUSQUEHANNA

BY HOPE MAR TIN ’19 Tim Murray ’93, chief executive officer of Aluminum Bahrain, also known as Alba, visited Susquehanna in December to share his strategies for success with students of the Sigmund Weis School of Business.

TIM MURRAY ’93

Murray presented a talk titled CEO Words of Wisdom to about 300 students in Degenstein Center Theater. He spoke about his career path and shared several tips, including the following: you never get a second chance to make a first impression; trust your instincts; don’t equate activity with success; and remember you can always do more than you think.

Murray concluded by suggesting that people should read for 15 minutes each day, and then shared a list of relevant books, such as The Five Temptations of a CEO by Patrick Lencioni.

An accounting major at Susquehanna, Murray worked his way up through the industry to lead Alba, one of the largest aluminum smelters in the world, in 2012. He previously was Alba’s chief financial officer. ■

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Chris Gonzalez '08 (far right) with other Barkly Pets cofounders

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FINANCIAL ANALYST USES HIS BUSINESS EXPERIENCE TO LAUNCH BARKLY PETS APP

BY HO PE MA R TI N ’19 Chris Gonzalez ’08, an economics and finance double major, recently cofounded Barkly Pets, a dog-walking app that matches owners and on-demand, trained and insured dog walkers.

humility and pride. We guarantee to deliver individualized care and … built features for you to take every step of the walk with us,” the app’s website states.

After graduating from Susquehanna, Gonzalez joined CNN as a financial analyst after having completed an internship there the previous summer. He later served as director of finance and remained with CNN and Time Warner for several years before launching Barkly.

In March, the startup won the 2017–18 Pet Care Innovation Prize, a global competition powered by Purina.

“We created Barkly out of our frustration with the available options for pet care. The industry hadn’t changed since the leash was invented and wasn’t meeting the needs of today’s working professionals,” Gonzalez says.

Currently available in New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C., the Barkly app enables owners to customize their bookings to their dogs’ specific needs and schedule, and monitor the progress of the walks and the care that their dogs receive.

Tired of traditional dog-walking businesses that formed in neighborhoods and often led to underpaid and undervalued dog walkers controlled by a middleman, the Barkly team decided to build technology that would allow them to transfer value to the walkers.

“We recognize that you entrust us with the care of a beloved family member, and we carry this responsibility with

Gonzalez attributes much of the app’s success to the Susquehanna alumni network and his education in the Sigmund Weis School of Business. While he and his cofounder were working on getting the business up and running, plenty of fellow alumni offered their support and expertise.

He says the business curriculum gave him a solid foundation in accounting, finance and economics that led to the strategic thinking that is crucial when building a business with limited resources. In addition, his experience as an economics tutor gave him teaching skills that translated to good management skills down the line.

Gonzalez recently visited with Sigmund Weis School of Business students in the Entrepreneurial Experience class to share his story and business success.

“If things don’t break your way, it’s not the world working against you. The ability to understand and improve your shortcomings helps you move much faster toward success and attaining your goals,” Gonzalez said. ■

“IF THINGS DON’ T BREAK YOUR WAY, IT ’S NOT THE WORLD WORKING AG AINST YOU. THE ABILIT Y TO UNDERSTAND AND IMPROVE YOUR SHORTCOMINGS HELPS YOU MOVE MUCH FASTER TOWARD SUCCESS AND AT TAINING YOUR GOALS.” —Chris Gonzalez ’08 VENTURES | SUSQU.EDU/BUSINESS

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