Kimberly Williams (BBA '87);  has been appointed as a board member with EquiLend.  EquiLend’s innovative technology solutions deliver efficiency, automation, and connectivity in the global securities finance marketplace. EquiLend technology is used by more than 190 financial institutions around the globe, including agent lenders, broker-dealers, beneficial owners, and hedge funds. Kimberly is the Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of Absorb Software, a leading global learning technology company. Previously, Kimberly was a board member of True Commerce and Consumer Safety Technology. [Est. 03.2025]

Merrill Lynch Financial Advisor Paul Selvin named on 2025 Forbes "Best-in-State Wealth Management Teams" list. Paul has also been recognized on the 2024 Forbes list “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors", and 2018 Barron's Magazine list of "America's Top 1,200 Advisors." 

Paul leads the Selvin Furst Group, based out of Merrill Lynch’s New York City office. The team also includes his partner and fellow U-M alumni, Robert B. Furst. The Selvin Furst Group focuses primarily on high-net-worth individuals and families, and delivers customized financial strategies to help clients pursue their goals. Drawing on combined industry experience of more than 70 years, the team leverages Merrill Lynch’s global resources to help meet the complex needs of managing multi-generational wealth. Paul joined Merrill Lynch in 1989. He currently resides in Livingston, N.J. with his wife Rachel LSA 89’ and sons Jason LSA 25’ & Alex LSA 27’. 

Go Blue! 

[updated post: Jan. 2025]

Mr. William Thomas Robie passed away at the age of 104 on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, just 3 weeks shy of his 105th birthday. 

He served as a First Sergeant in the United States Army, enlisting in January 1942, a member of the 92nd Infantry Division Buffalo Soldiers. After his honorable discharge from the Army, he returned to Atlanta and obtained his GED from Washington High School, and later completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Clark College in Atlanta with the support of the GI Bill. He relocated to Michigan in 1948, and in 1950 he graduated from Michigan’s Ross School of Business Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. 

He then returned to Atlanta and joined the faculty of the Department of Business Administration at Clark College where he taught and mentored countless students for 21 years. At Clark College, he taught a number of courses including Real Estate. During the same period, he obtained his real estate broker’s license and established the Robie Real Estate Company. A proud Michigan fan, he attended his alumni reunion at Ross in his 90s. Go Blue! Julie Williams Gauss, DO, MPH (BS, ‘03).

The Michigan Ross community keeps Mr. Robie, his family, and friends in our thoughts. 

Jeffrey (Jeff) Spahn, BBA '75; With the support of Mike Kaufmann, a Fortune#15 CEO, I am creatively disrupting leadership. Marshall Goldsmith, the only two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the world, describes my book, We the Leader, published by McGraw-Hill as,” A new and radical model for the leader of the future … a critical read for every leader today.” Here's an introduction to my latest article 'The Creative Disruption of Leadership: The We the Leader Difference' featuring Mike Kaufmann. 'We cannot solve today's problems with the leadership that created them.' Einstein paraphrase The latest Gallup research: 13% of employees are engaged and 87% are not engaged. 87% of employees are quitting quietly or loudly! The problem is the 'clear' answer proposed by Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup, 'Change the way people are managed.' This 'clear' answer is the problem! The answer is not just changing the way people are managed, but not attempting to manage and lead people in the first place. It is time to manage and lead teams, projects, and organizations together and let go of trying to lead people or create followers. Why? Only you can lead you and that's true for everybody!" [Est. 12.2024]

2024 Career Update: Joe Haehner, EMBA '14; Big News: Financial Advisory Powerhouse Joe Haehner Joins Riveron! Joe Haehner, MBA CPA, an accomplished executive with over two decades of experience in Big4, PE-CFO, and Board Member roles, has just signed on with Riveron. His expertise spans transactional finance, strategic business advisory, and emerging fields like global carbon reporting. Based in our Washington, D.C. office, Joe will focus on delivering integrated financial accounting and advisory solutions to national and international clients. His innovative approach and global perspective promise to bring exceptional value to our team and clients alike. Learn more about Joe's impressive background: https://bit.ly/470BaY5. Congratulations! [EST 11.2024]

2023 Career Update: Joe, is leading his firm's Risk & Accounting Advisory Carbon Reporting Solutions offering and was recently featured by the Charlotte Business Journal. https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/news/2023/10/20/net-zero-and-the-transition-to-low-zero-carbon.html. Congratulations! [EST 11.2023]

2020 Career Update: Joe, recently joined growth-focused advisory firm, Cherry Bekaert LLP, to the firm’s Industrial industry practice and will be heading the firm’s FDI practice streamlining service offerings for clients with international activities. With an extensive background in international operations, he brings to the firm expertise in developing and executing multi-national operational strategies, implementing complex reporting structures and assessing opportunities for FDIs. Prior to joining Cherry Bekaert, Joe served in a corporate leadership role as the CFO. In addition, he spent 16 years working for a national accounting and advisory firm and a Big Four firm. Congratulations! [EST 08.2020]

Pilar Cruz MBA 2022;  was selected as one of TIME’s 100 most influential climate leaders in business 2024. Access the full article here: time.com/7172435/pilar-cruz/

Joseph Kemp, JD/MBA '22; 

Awards & Honors: Joseph has been named to this year’s Forbes 30 Under 30 list for his company, Games That Matter! Their mission is to empower the public and support students in need -- using the power of play to make a difference. Their first title, Disbarred: The Card Game, the first legal-themed party game where serious learning meets serious fun (think Cards Against Humanity with a legal twist and rated G). The Forbes 30 Under 30 Article can be viewed here: https://www.forbes.com/30-under-30/2025/games?profile=joseph-kemp [Est. 12.2024]

Creative Venture: As the founder of Games that Matter LLC, a game publishing company dedicated to creating games that matter -- leveraging his legal background, his debut title, DISBARRED: The Card Game™, is an innovative game designed to empower and educate everyday individuals about essential legal concepts and rights that everyone should understand in a fun way! For each box sold, a portion of the proceeds will go to organizations working to reduce barriers to the legal profession for students in need. [Est. 11.2024]

Steve Mariotti (MBA '77, BBA '75), visionary founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), passed away peacefully on October 20, 2024, at the age of 71. 

Born in Flint, Michigan, Steve was the eldest son of educators whose love for the field helped inspire Steve's creation of NFTE. Steve received his BA and MBA from the University of Michigan and studied at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Brooklyn College. His professional career began as a Treasury Analyst for Ford Motor Co, he then founded Mason Import/Export Services in NY, leading to a significant career change and became a Special Education/Business Teacher in the NY school system teaching in Brooklyn and South Bronx. It was here that he developed the insight and inspiration to bring entrepreneurial education to youth from low income communities. This led to founding the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship, now called NFTE. Steve devoted his life to empowering youth, believing in every individual's potential to shape their own future. 

Throughout his career, Steve was celebrated for his leadership and deep commitment to helping young people. Steve's legacy lives on through NFTE and the many young entrepreneurs whose lives were and will be transformed by his enduring vision, along with a community of friends and supporters who helped him pursue his vision, and to whom he demonstrated deep loyalty. His work continues to inspire students and educators worldwide to embrace entrepreneurship as a pathway to opportunity and self-determination. 

To share Memories and Condolences for Steve Mariotti, and to read more of his legacy we are including a link to his obituary: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/steve-mariotti-obituary?id=56614750

The Michigan Ross community keeps Steve, his family and friends in our thoughts. 

Colleen Newvine (MBA '05); wrote the new book, "Your Mini Sabbatical," drawing on more than a decade of packing up with her husband, and sometimes their two cats, to live in places ranging from New Orleans and San Francisco to a cottage near the Atlantic Ocean on Long Island and three Costa Rican beach towns, then happily returning to her life in Brooklyn, New York. "Your Mini Sabbatical" also includes a diverse mix of fellow sabbatical travelers who share their own experiences and insights, explaining not just how to get away but why taking a break from your routine can be transformational. Bonus: You'll find interviews with Elizabeth Sikkenga, MBA '08, and Amy Lehman, JD 2006. [Est. 10.2024] 

Jay Juergensen, MBA '88: Public Management Magazine, the monthly publication of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), asked Jay C. Juergensen of Juergensen+Associates, LLC to offer his perspective and expertise on emergency and disaster management. See the link: https://icma.org/articles/pm-magazine/integration-key-effective-emergency-and-disaster-management.

Wade Lnenicka, MBA '78: During The American Legion 105th Annual Convention for the Department of Georgia Wade Lnenicka was elected to serve as a Department of Georgia Vice Commander. He was installed in office on June 30, 2024. He is shown here following the Installation Ceremony. Wade continues to also serve as the Commander of Smyrna Post 160 where he is entering his 8th year in that role. He also just finished serving one year as the Commander for the 5th District of the American Legion Department of Georgia. [EST. 09.2024]

Ron Heller, MBA '79, JD '80; has been named by The Best Lawyers in America®, 2025 Lawyer of the Year for Honolulu, Hawaii, in two categories: Tax Law and Litigation & Controversy – Tax. Ron continues to practice law, although he recently went back to school and earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in theatre from the University of Hawaii. Congratulations! [EST. 8.2024] 

Ron also received the 2020 Po’okela Award from the Hawaii State Theatre Council, as Director of a Play, for The Mountaintop at TAG (The Actor’s Group). The show was presented in February/March of 2020, and is an imagined version of the last night in the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dealing with some of the themes that are now part of the Black Lives Matter movement. After 40 years practicing law, Ron enrolled as a grad student at the University of Hawaii, working on an MFA in Theatre (directing). He is keeping his day job at the Torkildson Katz law firm in Honolulu, handling contested tax cases and business/commercial litigation.  [EST. 9.2020] 

Andy Arizala (MBA '69) 

"Although I think I have had a very interesting post-graduation professional career, I quickly found after my retirement in 2005, that giving back gives me life's purpose and true JOY." 

Bio Summary: In 2005, Mr. Arizala retired as the President of FundBalance, Inc., a software systems development company based in Ann Arbor, MI. A former Aeronautical Engineer with McDonnell Space Center and NASA, VP of OASIS Corp, President of The Arizala Corp, President of Micro Arizala Systems and President of FundBalance, Inc. Mr. Arizala has lectured at the University of Michigan in several departments including: Division of Continuing Management Education, Ross Graduate School of Business Administration, and the Rackham School of Graduate Public Studies, and the School of Information. He was invited lecturer in the Ohio Public Finance Officers Training Program, Kent State University, and the University of Maryland School of Public Studies. He also is co-author of the following published works: "Team Management in Local Government", "Computers", "Do You Know Enough About Computers to Buy One", "Local Area Networks" and "Cemetery Management on PC's".

Mr. Arizala holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering (BSE '64), and a MBA in Operational Research and Management Sciences (MBA '69), both from the University of Michigan. Post retirement, Andy is living his three passions and continues to enjoy them today. [Est. 9.2024]

Aisha Taylor is a mom of twins and the author of “Navigating the “Impossible”: A Survival Guide for Single Moms From Pregnancy Through the First Year of Motherhood.”

Having become a single mom after experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, Aisha equips single moms to navigate life, motherhood, and finances phenomenally. Aisha Taylor holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and a Masters of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

Dikran “Deekron” Krikorian is the bestselling author of the book, The Nine Shifts: The Mind-First Method To Transform Your Body and Your Life. 

Deekron is zealous about personal growth and living true to one’s passions. Always believing in “walking the talk,” he left behind a prestigious corporate career as a strategy consultant to fulfill his mission of empowering people to achieve their best self. Deekron earned an MBA from the Ross School of Business at The University of Michigan. He holds certifications in functional nutrition and metabolism from The Metabolism School (by Sam Miller Science) and Pain-Free Performance (PPSC by Dr. John Ruskin).