Alumni Class Notes

Michael D. Brown ’92 is President and CEO of Travel + Leisure Co. An Oct. 26, 2023, Clayton County Register article titled “The Dynamic Journey of Travel + Leisure Co.: A Deep Dive into Its Evolution and Achievements” describes how the globally recognized and iconic brand in the leisure travel industry has undergone a “remarkable transformation” under his strategic leadership, noting that he “has not only steered the company towards growth and innovation but also established its position as a socially conscious and inclusive organization.”

Francis Gotianun ’05, the first Senior Vice President for Filinvest Hospitality Corporation (FHC), shares in an intimate conversation with Lifestyle Asia how he aims to redefine Filipino hospitality with top-notch products and services to ensure guests create meaningful memories.

Jimbo Izlar ’16 has joined Kian Capital Partners, a lower-middle-market-focused private investment firm, as a Vice President to support Kian’s expansion after the closing of its oversubscribed third fund, KGP III, earlier this year. Izlar will be based in Atlanta and work closely with Kian partners in the investment sourcing and screening, due diligence, transaction execution, and portfolio management functions of the firm. Before joining Kian, Izlar was with KLH Capital, a private equity firm focused on founder-owned businesses, where he was involved in all phases of the investment process, including transaction structuring, deal execution and portfolio company management. His primary focus at KLH was working extensively with specialty service, value-added distribution, and niche manufacturing businesses across a variety of industrial end markets. Izlar also served on the board of directors for four of KLH’s portfolio companies, working closely with management to identify and execute strategic initiatives.

Nick Baltz ’19 has joined HCI Equity Partners, a leading lower middle-market private equity firm, as an Associate to help evaluate, analyze, and monitor investments made by the firm. Before joining HCI, Mr. Baltz was an Associate at Jefferies, where he focused on executing middle-market mergers and acquisitions and capital-raising transactions for consumer product and services companies.

Rand Garrett ’69 recently celebrated his 75th birthday by riding his bike from Virginia to California.

Harrison Wade Reishman ’07 has published his first tabletop game as a game designer. Story Wars is a party game that’s a battle to build the craziest, wildest story. Pairing hilarious story cards off a prompt card each round, players can create over a million memorable stories to keep the party going with endless laugh-out-loud entertainment. Under his company, Writers Room LLC, the game reached its funding goal on Kickstarter and is now available to purchase in stores, at the UVA Bookstore, and at writersroom.ink.

Adam Bergman CFA ’96, Senior Vice President at Davenport Asset Management, Davenport & Company LLC’s boutique money management arm responsible for overseeing the firm’s lineup of mutual funds and separate accounts, is co-managing Davenport Insider Buying Fund, a new proprietary, no-load mutual fund that utilizes insider buying activity as a key driver for its investment strategy. Bergman discusses the idea behind the fund.

 

Shannon Nash ’92 (Law ’95), CFO at Wing, a drone delivery company and subsidiary of Alphabet Inc., is one of five recipients of Financial Executives International Silicon Valley’s inaugural Women CFO of the Year Award. The five women CFOs were recognized for their incredible contributions in the accounting and finance fields; their achievement in leading, inspiring, and motivating others; as well as their profound influence on both business and the community. Nash is also the Executive Producer and Producer for “OnBoard.” The film, which chronicles the rise of Black women on America’s boards, was recently screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and accepted to the Virginia Film Festival for a screening on Oct. 28.

Sarah Mastrorocco ’04, VP and GM of Instacart Health, has been selected as one of San Francisco Business Times’ Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business for 2023.

Fiona Foxon ’06, Director and CEO of Screen Sanity Australia, recently spoke with Rebecca Levingston, Host of ABC Brisbane’s radio show, “Brisbane Mornings,” about all things teens and screens, and helping Aussie parents and carers find a bit of screen sanity in their homes. In the interview, Fiona shares tips to help “release the pressure of perfect parenting” and build a strong foundation for digital health, as well as discusses resources offered at the nonprofit.

Christina Polenta ’09 and Eric Magenheimer ’09 welcomed their second child, Luke Thomas Magenheimer, in June 2023. The family lives in Oakton, VA.

Matthew O’Neill ’99, COO and Head of Business Development, Banking Asia Pacific at Citi and member of McIntire’s Global Advisory Board, co-authored a recent white paper, titled “Asia as a Time Machine to the Future.” In this report, he and his co-authors explore seven areas where technological adoption in Asia is 8-12 years ahead of that in the West. Asia’s blueprint for a time machine can serve as an investment thesis, and also illustrates the incredible dynamics in the region that O’Neill has called home for the past 15 years.

Don Vu ’98 has joined New York Life as Senior Vice President and Chief Data and Analytics Officer. Mr. Vu will lead a newly formed artificial intelligence (AI) and data team with responsibility for AI, data, and insights capabilities and aligning data architecture with business architecture in support of the company’s business strategy and objectives. Mr. Vu joins New York Life from Northwestern Mutual, where he served as Chief Data Officer since early 2020. In leading the company’s data and analytics function, he drove organizational transformation and enterprise data and AI strategy across the company. He led a consolidated team across various disciplines, including data product and strategy; data science, AI, and analytics; data engineering; and data governance. He also served on the executive steering committee of the company’s Data Science Institute. Previously, Mr. Vu served as Vice President of Data and Analytics at WeWork, where he led its central data and analytics organization. He also spent 13 years at Major League Baseball (MLB), where he led its consolidated analytics organization as Vice President of Data and Analytics. While at MLB, Mr. Vu led data and advanced analytics efforts at BAMTech, a streaming media technology spinoff of MLB Advanced Media. He currently serves on the advisory board for McIntire’s Business Analytics Program.

Samapti Barua ’23 has joined HKA as an Associate Consultant in the global consultancy’s Washington, DC, office, after interning there in summer 2022.

Clark Worthy ’86, Partner at Gentry Locke Attorneys in Roanoke, VA, has been named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly’s “Virginia’s Go To Lawyers” for commercial real estate law. With a background in finance, Worthy has devoted more than 20 years of his practice to commercial real estate matters, including purchases, sales, leases, tax-free exchanges and financing. He was named “Roanoke Lawyer of the Year for Real Estate Law” in 2022 and contributes to the Roanoke community through board service and leadership with several organizations, including Child Health Investment Partnership of Roanoke Valley, the Apple Ridge Farm, and the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Will Sexauer ’19 has been recognized with a 2023 CoVaBIZ Next Gen Award. The awards recognize successful young professionals making a difference in their industries in Coastal Virginia. Sexauer is Acquisitions Manager for The Lawson Companies, a vertically integrated real estate firm based in Norfolk, VA, specializing in the development, construction, and management of multifamily housing communities in Virginia. He is accountable for sourcing Lawson’s new development projects, evaluating financial feasibility, conceptual project design, the entitlement process, broker and seller relationships, and contract management.

Kristin Kisska Mehigan ’90 published her debut novel, The Hint of Light (Lake Union Publishing), under her pen name, Kristin Kisska. The book follows a grieving mother who, after learning that her late son may have fathered a child, desperately searches for the granddaughter she never knew existed. The novel is in the UVA Authors Collection in the Rotunda Dome Room. Mehigan, who lives in Richmond, VA, has also published a dozen short stories of mystery and suspense under her pen name.

Shannon Nash ’92 (Law ’95), CFO of Wing, shared her experiences in the world of finance as well as her passion project as a filmmaker in a recent episode of the StrategicCFO360 podcast, “Rewriting the CFO Playbook: A Tale of Financial Leadership and Cinematic Creativity with Shannon Nash.”

Lauren Greenwood ’04 is Co-Founder and President of YouCopia, which has been included in the Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Companies in America for the third year in a row.

Alex Russell ’16, Founder of Nothing Special, a kava beverage brand focused on meeting the growing global demand for alternatives to alcohol, was a recent guest on the “Learning Out Loud” podcast, hosted by UVA undergrads Justin Guerra, Marlee Reiter, and Chapin Zerner.

 

Kyle Shaw ’83, Founder and Managing Partner of ShawKwei & Partners and McIntire Global Advisory Board member, was a featured speaker at the DealStreetAsia Asia PE-VC Summit Sept. 5 in Singapore. He spoke alongside several well-respected partners who shared their insights on a panel discussion, “How to Play Asia’s Infrastructure Supercycle: Digitalisation, Decarbonisation & Deglobalisation.”