Three Michigan Ross Alumni Recognized For Their Outstanding Contributions to Michigan Ross

Alumni awards recognize the service and impact of extraordinary Ross alumni, and are chosen based on a vote by their peers each fall.

This year, the Alumni award winners are: 

• Chris Adelsbach, BBA ’95, recipient of the Bert F. Wertman Service Award, which recognizes an alumnus or alumna of the business school for outstanding service to the school and/or to the university. 
• Jennifer Sherman, BBA ’86, recipient of the David D. Alger Achievement  Award,  which recognizes an alumnus or alumna whose attainments in their professional field have brought distinction to themselves, credit to the school, and benefit to their fellow citizens. 
• Junqing (Joe) Wang, MBA ’13, recipient of the Young Alumni Award, which is a new award created in 2020 to recognize exceptional young alumni who have enhanced the reputation of Ross by their outstanding professional achievements and/or continued engagement and service to the school/university or community.

Chris Adelsbach

Adelsbach is a London-based entrepreneur, fintech investor, and mentor. He is the founder and managing partner of Outrun Ventures, a leading investor of early-stage fintech companies. He is also a venture partner at Techstars. Adelsbach says he enjoys mentoring unique, mission-driven founders who want to create businesses that do well and do good.

Adelsbach remains incredibly active at the University of Michigan and Michigan Ross in many ways, including serving on multiple boards, such as the Ross Alumni Board of Governors, the Michigan Fintech Club Advisory Board, and the University of Michigan International Alumni Board, serving as president of the U-M Alumni Association (U.K.), organizing the inaugural E.U. Ross President’s Summit in Barcelona, and sponsoring U-M students in London as part of the Michigan Ross Fintech Initiative. His participation in the Global Fintech Projects in London course adds tremendous impact to the experience for students due to his wealth of knowledge and connections to start-up firms and fintech experts. 

Jennifer Sherman 

Sherman is president and CEO of Federal Signal Corporation, a world-leading company in public safety products and systems. Prior to assuming leadership of the company in 2016, Sherman served as chief operating officer, chief administrative officer, senior vice president, general counsel, and secretary. Federal Signal has thrived under Sherman’s visionary leadership, with revenues growing by more than half a billion dollars under her tenure as CEO, from $707 million to $1.2 billion. The company’s share price has more than doubled, jumping from $14.79 in 2016 to a record high of $34.82 in 2020. 

Further, Sherman is an exemplary model of community service, dedicating countless hours to improving her Chicago-area community through her time on various boards and committees. She serves on the boards of non-profit organizations dedicated to promoting social services and helping disadvantaged citizens obtain legal assistance. Sherman is also dedicated to the arts, serving on the Board of Trustees for the Field Museum of Chicago and the local PBS television station and classical/fine arts radio station. 

Joe Wang

Upon graduation, Wang immediately set his sights on making an impact in both his healthcare career and in his commitment to Michigan Ross and its students. 

After leaving Ross, Wang moved to Shanghai and began working at Eli Lilly as senior marketing manager. He launched the company’s first lung cancer patient assistance program, reducing treatment costs for more than 10,000 patients. He went on to co-found LiangYiHui Healthcare, a company that serves more than 60 percent of Chinese physicians working on cancer diagnosis and treatment, and more than one million cancer patients. Today, he is the general manager of Mobile Health Business Unit at LIANREN Digital Health, a newly established China state-owned enterprise that has helped physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic safely advise the public on healthcare issues without having to visit hospitals in person.

His dedication to Michigan Ross has been equally impressive, as he has served as the school’s MBA interviewer and ambassador for the past eight years. In this role, Wang enjoys sharing his knowledge and experience from his career with new students and recent Ross graduates. He also established the Ross healthcare club in Shanghai, which supports communication for alumni sharing a passion for healthcare.  

For more information about the awards and this year’s recipients, please visit the Michigan Ross Alumni Awards webpage.