Tepper School to Honor 11 Outstanding Alumni for 2020-2021 Alumni Awards

Today, the Tepper School announced the alumni who will be receiving awards this year for their outstanding service and leadership. The group is made up of honorees from 2020 as well as 2021. On May 12, the Tepper School community will come together to celebrate their professional achievements and contributions to the university during a special virtual event that is open to all. Registration is currently open.

The Tepper School Alumni Awards recognize excellence in the alumni community for outstanding career accomplishments or achievements and for impressive service to the school and alumni community. The alumni selected were nominated by their peers for each award, which was then voted on and confirmed by a committee made up of Alumni Board members.

Aurobind Satpathy (MSIA 1996), chair of the committee, said of this year’s selection process, “The award recipients were selected by a committee of the Tepper Alumni Board from nominations received from the Tepper community. It was a robust review process for our committee this year as a very strong pool of candidates were nominated.”

The award categories are:

• Lifetime Achievement, which recognizes both the longevity and consistency of professional achievement of the highest caliber over one’s professional career.
• Alumni Achievement, which recognizes the nominee’s outstanding accomplishments and leadership in his or her profession.
• Alumni Service, which recognizes volunteer service to the Tepper School community or its alumni organizations.
• Recent Alumni Achievement or Service, which recognizes either outstanding professional accomplishments and/or service to the Tepper School community.

The 2021 awards, along with the 2020 recipients, encompass the spirit of the Tepper School alumni community and have made remarkable and recognizable achievements throughout their careers and service to the school.

John Sengenberger, Executive Director of Alumni Relations, stated, “They are an incredible group of alumni this year. You will be able to experience this soon during our event on May 12. It is one of my favorite events of the year, and it gives me great pleasure to honor such an accomplished group.”

The 2021 Awardees

Lifetime Achievement Award

For his incredible career accomplishments and innovative leadership in his field, Francisco (Frank) D’Souza (MSIA 1992, T) is receiving the Tepper Alumni Award for Lifetime Achievement. Frank has had a stellar career in the technology field since graduating from the Tepper School in 1992. In 1994, he co-founded Cognizant Technology Solutions, a New Jersey-based information technology, consulting, and business process outsourcing company, serving as the company’s CEO from 2007 through April 2019, and as the vice-chairman of the company’s board of directors until March 2020. In November 2019, he became Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Recognize, a private equity firm that builds technology companies by partnering with talented management teams and providing industry insight, operational expertise, and strategic capital to spur innovation. Frank is a member of the Board of Trustees for Carnegie Mellon University.

Lifetime Service Award

For his lifetime of faithful service and dedication to the Tepper School, the school is honored to present Frank Risch (MSIA 1966, BBA) with the Tepper Alumni Lifetime Service Award. Frank has been a dedicated and active alumnus since graduating from GSIA. A trusted advisor to more than five Tepper Deans, he has served as a member of the GSIA Council on Finance and later as a founding member of the Tepper School’s Business Board of Advisors. Frank was active as recruiter for ExxonMobil throughout his career, assuring a steady stream of Tepper and CMU alumni at the company. A consistent annual donor to the Tepper School, he and his wife, Helen, have generously supported the new Tepper School building on the David A. Tepper Quadrangle, named the Office of the Dean, and established the Frank A. and Helen E. Risch Faculty Development Professorship in Business.

Achievement Award

For all his impressive accomplishments and innovation in his field, the Tepper School presents Rajinder Singh (MSIA 1996) with the 2021 Tepper Alumni Award for Achievement. Singh is the chairman, president, and CEO of BankUnited, as well as one of the founders. He has served on the board of the company since July 2013 and became president and CEO in January 2017. Raj has had an impressive career in financial services before founding BankUnited. He was a managing director and led the financial services practice of Invesco's WL Ross & Co., a private equity firm with more than $8 billion under management and one of the original investors in BankUnited, Inc. A true Tepper success story, Raj bought a one-way plane ticket from his home in India to the U.S. at the age of 22 with only $700 in his pocket. His master’s degree from the Tepper School was instrumental in his career achievement.

Service Award

For his unselfish service and dedication to the Tepper School community, PJ Juvekar (MSIA 1996, ABA) is receiving the 2021 Tepper Alumni Award for Service. Juvekar is an outstanding example of a passionately dedicated alumnus who invested his time and energy in giving back to his alma mater. Breaking into financial services in Wall Street at a time when our alumni network was limited, PJ was instrumental in establishing the Tepper Wall Street Network and opening up recruiting opportunities for future Tepper students. Professionally, he has been rated by Institutional Investor as the #1, #2, or #3 analyst consistently in a fiercely competitive industry. He continued his service to the school as a founding member of the Tepper School Alumni Board (2008-2013) and as President of the Tepper New York Alumni Chapter President (2009-2015).

For his loyal service and unabashed enthusiasm as an ambassador for the Tepper School, Barton O’Brien (MSIA 1981, ABA) is being awarded the 2021 Tepper Alumni Award for Service. O’Brien stands out among our alumni as one of our most passionate advocates of Carnegie Mellon University. Forever grateful for the education he received at GSIA which led him to a successful career as an entrepreneur in the technology field, Bart has always been ready to serve the Tepper School community. He and his wife, Barb, have hosted an annual summer networking reception for interns and alumni at their Napa Valley vineyard since 2004, leaving a lasting impression upon the attendees of their gracious hospitality and commitment to the school.

Recent Alumni Award

For her impressive career achievements and her dedicated service to her alma mater, the Alumni Board is honored to present Elissa McGee (MBA 2011) with the 2021 Tepper Recent Alumni Award. McGee stands out among our recent graduates from the Tepper School for her high level of career achievement and her dedicated service to the school and the alumni community. Currently, she holds the role of general manager of Nalgene Outdoor at Thermo Fisher Scientific. Active as a student leader at the Tepper School, Elissa was President of the Tepper Marketing Club, Vice- President of Tepper Women in Business, and received the Distinguished Service to the Tepper School of Business Award. Upon graduation, she continued to serve, becoming active as a chapter volunteer in both New York and later in Boston.

2020 Alumni Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

Bill Lambert (MSIA 1990, BBA) received the Tepper Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding career achievements as a leader and innovator in his field. He currently serves as non-executive chair of the board of MSA Safety Incorporated, a global leader in the development, manufacture, and supply of safety products that protect people and facility infrastructures. After joining MSA in 1981 as a design engineer, he advanced within the company, providing leadership at the division level and ultimately moved into the C-Suite where he served as Chair, CEO, and President before retiring in 2018. Among his many awards, he was honored for his contributions to North American firefighter safety by Design News magazine, which named him the publication’s 2002 “Special Achievement Award” winner. Ernst & Young also named him “Entrepreneur of the Year” in the manufacturing category in 2012 and elected to the Business Hall of Fame Junior Achievement of Western Pennsylvania in 2019.

Cindy Padnos (MSIA 1980, BBA) received the Tepper Alumni Lifetime Achievement Award in honor of her impressive career accomplishments and innovative leadership in the field of technology, entrepreneurship, and venture capital. As founder and managing partner of Illuminate Ventures, she focuses primarily on the Enterprise/B2B cloud and mobile computing sectors. As a VC, she has been instrumental in raising and deploying $100's of millions in venture financing for early-stage tech companies. A champion for women in technology, Cindy has been named one of the Most Influential Women in Silicon Valley (The New York Times) and One of the Most Influential Women in Technology (Fast Company). She is a highly engaged senior-level alumna, serving on the Tepper School's Business Board of Advisors since 1998 and a regular speaker at events for alumni and students on campus and in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Achievement Award

Shrinivas Dempo (MSIA 1995, T) received the Tepper Alumni Achievement Award. Dempo is chairman and managing director of the Dempo Group, a family conglomerate headquartered in Goa, India. He assumed the leadership of the family business in 1998 as the third-generation head and gave new direction to the business group sparking innovation and expansion of existing businesses in industries ranging from industrial products and shipbuilding to newspaper publishing and digital media and real estate development to renewable energy generation and mining. He has strengthened the tradition of corporate social responsibility with unique initiatives that demonstrate total commitment to sustainable development. Shrinivas is also the chairman of the Dempo Charities Trust which supports four educational institutes. An active alumnus and generous supporter of the Tepper School, Shrinivas is a new member of the Carnegie Mellon University Board of Trustees and a former member of the President’s Committee on India.

Service Award

Tammy Loucks (BS/TPR 2000, MBA 2005), a two-time Tepper alumna, has been a passionate Tartan since her undergraduate student days receiving a CMUAA Student Service Award in 2000 and a Tepper MBA Spirit Award in 2005. She is being awarded the Tepper Alumni Service Award. She actively participated in alumni chapters in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Los Angeles before moving to Cleveland where she served two terms as Chapter Vice-President. She has been an active corporate recruiter, an admissions volunteer, a reunion committee, a career mentor, a generous donor, and a class-giving leader. A natural leader, she served two terms on the Tepper School Alumni Board including serving as Vice-President of the Membership Committee. After completing her board leadership role, she has continued to serve as Co-Chair of the Tepper Undergraduate Alumni Task Force, developing a strategic plan for increasing undergraduate alumni engagement with the school.

Recent Alumni Award

Daniel Angarita (MBA 2014) is an outstanding example of a highly engaged recent alumnus and is receiving the Tepper Recent Alumni Award. His activity began as an MBA student where he was a Tepper School Consortium for Graduate Study in Management Fellow, active in student clubs, and received the Tepper Distinguished Service Award. Since graduation, he has served as a member of his Class Tepper Reunion Committee, an active corporate recruiter, and Tepper admissions ambassador. He has also served as an active Tepper Alumni Philanthropy Volunteer at both PwC and at AlixPartners where he inspired his classmates to contribute financially, communicate and connect back with the school. He has been active in arranging alumni events for MBA students on their trek visits and serving as an alumni mentor for students interested in the consulting field.

All awardees will be honored and asked to say a few words as they receive their awards on May 12. Alumni Board President Rob Rice (MSIA 2000), and Dean Bajeux will attend the event to present the honorees with their awards.

Register today to be part of the celebration.