Eric Alper; BBA '86, ["It's with indescribable sadness that I regret to inform the class of 1986 of the untimely passing of Eric Alper, 58, of Great Neck, NY on June 11th, 2023. Eric was the loving husband to his wife Jeri, and two sons Brett and Reid. Eric was a Partner, Deputy General Counsel and Head of Tax at SkyBridge Capital. "E"--as he was affectionally known by many, was also an avid Wolverines fan: football, basketball, hockey and baseball, he soaked it all in. Eric was an incredible person who will be missed by all. GO BLUE E! We will always love you and never forget the joy and love you brought into our lives." -- Robert Shapiro, Class of 1986]. The Michigan Ross community keeps Mr. Alper and his family and friends in our thoughts. In Memoriam: Eric Alper  https://give.communityfunded.com/o/university-of-michigan/i/memorials-and-tributes/s/eric-alper.

Premlata Poonia, MBA '13; Ever wondered what it is like to grow up in rural India, travel through the diverse layers, and land in Ann Arbor for an MBA? How does one find belonging through all this? My memoir, "Borders Bridges Belonging" will share that in all its vividness. The years in Ann Arbor are sure to make you smile and reflect. The proceeds from the book go to "Hamari Laado" for development of rural girls in India. You can find a copy on Amazon! #BeABridge [Est. 08.2023]

Stuart Jara, MBA '96;  as CEO, Stuart is currently focused on leading HydroGraph Clean Power Inc. through its next phase of accelerated growth and sustained commercial success. A  commercial manufacturer of high-quality graphene and other nanomaterials, producing both graphene and hydrogen through its patented detonation process. The company is based in Toronto, Canada, and publicly traded on the Canadian Securities Exchange. [Est. 08.2023]

Kyle Wismans, BBA '06; XPO (NYSE: XPO) announced the promotion of Kyle Wismans to the position of chief financial officer, effective August 11, 2023. The full press release can be found at https://news.xpo.com/2943/xpo-announces-appointment-of-kyle-wismans-as-chief-financial-officer/. [Est 08.2023]

Arathi Krishna, MBA ’92: was awarded by The Economic Times the “Business Woman of the Year 2022” for Corporate Excellence. In her four years at the helm of the Sundram Fasteners as its Managing Director, Arathi Krishna has made it a more diversified engineering company. Under her leadership, the business has moved beyond its traditional offerings to make a bigger play in the electric vehicles segment and non-auto segments, which provides it a cushion from the cyclical nature of the automobile industry. [Est 08.2023]

James Lowell Talen, MBA '70; passed away on July 14, 2023 in Rochester, MN. James was the retired President, CEO and Chairman of Eastwood Bank. https://www.postbulletin.com/obituaries/obits/james-l-talen-5ecfe7691e6ee72e56b8942b-64b6e2dea8f92007a8d24055.  The Michigan Ross Community keeps Mr. Talen and his family and friends in our thoughts.

Aaron McCloud, MBA '10; Intervene K-12, a Houston-based online tutoring platform, is proud to announce that CEO and founder Aaron McCloud was recently named one of “Houston’s Most Admired CEOs” by the Houston Business Journal. An independent panel from multiple industries chose the 49 honorees for the recognition based on their leadership, career achievements and contributions to the Houston community. “The City of Houston has been an ideal home base for Intervene K-12 and I am honored to be recognized by the Houston Business Journal for the work we do to support more than 30,000 young scholars in our community and throughout the country,” said Aaron McCloud, founder and CEO of Intervene K-12. “While it feels great to be recognized as a leader, it is important to note that the work my team and I do is not self-serving. Everything we do is focused on serving scholars, as we work to equip them with the tools they need to flourish in the classroom, the community and the workforce.” Intervene K-12 pairs data-driven instruction with high-dose online, small-group tutoring to help K-12 schools improve student outcomes through a fully integrated intervention program that drives measurable student growth. [Est. 07.2023]

Kevin Dolan BBA '85 and MBA '91; The Michigan Ross Community keeps Mr. Dolan and his family and friends in our thoughts following his recent passing.  https://beyondthedash.com/obituary/kevin-dolan-1088477508. 

Kimberly Williams, nee Dolan, BBA '81;  was recently named to the inaugural list of 50 women to watch for public corporate boards by 50/50 Women’s on Boards (https://5050wob.com/finalists-overview/). Since 2021, Kimberly serves as the Chief Executive officer and Chairperson of the board of Absorb Software a $100 million global cloud-based SaaS company. From 2014 through 2021, she was the CEO of Consumer Safety Technology, LLC, a $250 million IoT automotive technology company. She continues to serve as a board director for that company. She is a member of the Enterprise Software CEO Roundtable which brings together CEOs of the largest, most forward-thinking software companies to share insights. [Est. 07.2023]

Kejun (Lexi) Wei, MAcc '23; I moved to NJ and will work in NY. Free feel to reach out to me. [Est. 07/2023]

Robert (Bob) Nichols, BBA '53, MBA '54;  passed away on June 14, 2023. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Bob's memory may be made to the Robert and Carole Nichols Scholarship Fund at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Obituary here: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/heraldpalladium/name/robert-nichols-obituary?id=52252381. 

Jonathan Wachsman, BBA '00; Matthew Wachsman, BBA '14; Hello, My brother and I always wanted to work together and during the pandemic we launched Kooshy Croutons. We just went live in Whole Foods nationwide and are found all over Michigan at Meijer, Plum and Busch's. We are in the salad dressing aisle so when you see us -- know its two Wolverines that you're supporting :) Check us out online for a store near you kooshy.com Go Blue! [Est. 06.2023]

Susan Meyer, BBA/MAcc '89; The Ross School of Business lost a valued member of its alumni community with the unexpected passing of Ross School Advisory Board (RSAB) member Susan ("Sue") B Meyer, BBA/MAcc '89, on June 8, 2023. Sue was a respected member of the Atlanta community, where she worked as the Americas Deputy Risk Management Leader for Ernst & Young. She had been a member of RSAB since 2017. 

Vito P. Gioia II, MBA '05, was recently named Managing Partner of Solyco Wealth, a subsidiary of Solyco Capital in Rochester, MI. Vito was also elected the 106th President of the Detroit Athletic Club which is the #1 Athletic Club in the United States, six years running. [04.2023]

Ryan Achtman, BBA '14; Hey fellow Ross alum! Since graduating in 2014, I've combined my business education with my artistic spirit (I once set up an easel in the Winter Garden and painted the scene live!) into a freelance design career. I'm currently seeking new creative roles: brand design, frontend web development, and marketing consulting, beyond. My work can be found at ryanachtman.com, and I would greatly appreciate you sharing my information with anyone you know who might need creative support. I am currently based in NYC. Thank you so much - Go Blue! [Est. 03.2023] 

Wenyan (Winston) Ma, MBA '03; This month I officially became the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Executive Vice Chairman of the International Data Center Authority (IDCA). See the press release link. After my recent books The Hunt for Unicorns and The Digital War, my 2022 new book “Blockchain and Web3: Building the Cryptocurrency, Privacy, and Security Foundations of the Metaverse” was released by Wiley in October 2022. [02.2023]