Alumni Class Notes

Anna Peck ’13, Founder and CEO of Chia Smash, recently shared the origin story of her company on “The Story of a Brand” podcast.

Yusuf Ozdalga ’97, Partner at QED Investors, discusses one of the hottest trends in fintech—using fintech to provide targeted and better informed solutions at the workplace—in an Aug. 23 “FinTech Futures” video.

Ed Deng ’00 is Co-Founder and CEO of Health2Sync, which was recently selected as one of the 13 NEXT BIG Startups by Startup Island TAIWAN. Deng is also a member of the McIntire Global Advisory Board.

Ben Elron ’13 (Law ’20) has joined X (formerly Twitter) as Senior Counsel on the Litigation Team.

Tara Wheeler Prather ’90 has started a new position as the Alumnae Engagement Manager for Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity Inc. Based in Indianapolis, Alpha Gamma Delta is an international women’s fraternity and is part of the National Panhellenic Conference. Prather works from her home in Valrico, FL, where she lives with her husband and son.

Charles Siu ’92 (M.S. in Accounting ’95) is Director of Tax and Accounting at Dynamic Facility Designs LLC in Alexandria, VA.

Mohamed Vaid ’99 has been appointed Senior Vice President, Business Solutions Profit & Loss, for Dematic Americas. In this role, Vaid will oversee the project execution team for Dematic’s Americas region. Vaid previously served as Dematic Americas’ Senior Vice President, Customer Service. He is also a member of the McIntire Global Advisory Board.

Rob Elliott ’90 and Tom Kloiber ’90 took on the Triple Bypass, a 118-mile bike ride across Colorado, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their 1993 cross-country bicycle trip. During the ride, they proudly wore their Virginia crossed-sabres bike jerseys, drawing plenty of attention and remarks from fellow riders. The jerseys also allowed them to meet several other Wahoos from all over the country who were participating in the ride.

Frank S. Macgill ’91, a Partner at HunterMaclean, a law firm with offices in Savannah and St. Simons Island, GA, was recently selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2024. Founded in 1983, Best Lawyers is an annual publication that recognizes attorneys for outstanding achievements in their areas of practice. Attorneys are selected through peer-review surveys that have been completed by thousands of leading lawyers who confidentially evaluate their peers.

Stephen Rider ’80 has been recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America. Rider works for McGlinchey Stafford and was recognized for his work out of the New Orleans office.

David Young ’02, CFO and President of CENTR Brands Corp., has been elected to serve as a member of the board of directors of IberAmerican Lithium. Mr. Young brings more than 20 years of executive and financial leadership, drawing on roles in both industry and private equity settings. David’s previous roles included Principal at global investment firm The Carlyle Group and other leading investment institutions, including Perella Weinberg Partners, and as a Director of private equity firm Talara Capital Management.

CJ Bowie ’14 and Kathleen Bowie (A&S ’13, Nursing ’20) welcomed a daughter, Chloe Grace, born June 13, 2023.

Sara Hutter Hopkins ’08 (M.S. in Accounting ’09) and Luke Hopkins (Engineering ’08) and lovingly welcomed a second son, Owen Hutter, born April 20, 2023. The family, including big brother Will, lives in Greensboro, NC.

Darren D. Kelly ’04 has been named the new Dean of the UVA Office of African-American Affairs. He will join the University on Oct. 2. He is currently an Associate Vice President at The University of Texas at Austin, where he oversees a 67-member team in the Division of Diversity and Community.

Thomas H. Cook Jr. ’81 has been named the Best Lawyers® 2024 Tax Law “Lawyer of the Year” for Raleigh, NC. Chambers USA, a prominent ranking agency for law firms and lawyers, has also listed him as a leading tax lawyer in its 2023 edition. He works with Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP in Raleigh.

Addy Awofisayo ’07, Head of Music, Sub-Saharan Africa at YouTube, recently discussed Africa’s creative ecosystem, its growing creator landscape, the power of music that’s uniting and spotlighting the continent, and the creative industry as a key area for investment on the “Change Africa” podcast. She highlighted how digitalization has opened up the content creation space by providing traditionally disenfranchised groups an avenue to circumvent gatekeepers, breaking barriers and transforming the African and global music landscape, and spoke about the rise of Afrobeats and her efforts at galvanizing an African creator economy in this fascinating deep dive into the African music industry.

Anant Das ’19, two-time Tony-nominated Producer and Investor in film, Broadway, off-Broadway, cabaret, and theatrical experiences, co-produced the musical “Here Lies Love,” featuring the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway.

Andrew Kern ’18 has joined Carr’s Hill Capital Partners Management’s investment team as a Senior Associate. Mr. Kern’s responsibilities include evaluating new investment opportunities, conducting transaction due diligence, and managing the portfolio. With prior experience as an Associate at Stronghold Investment Management, a private equity firm specializing in real assets, and at OFS Energy Fund, a private equity firm focused on the oilfield services sector, Mr. Kern brings a wealth of knowledge to his new role. Mr. Kern started his career in investment banking in Credit Suisse’s Global Industrials investment banking group, specializing in the diversified industrials and aerospace and defense subsectors.

Jeannette Lichner ’79 (M.S. in Accounting ’80) has been appointed as the new Chair of Square 4 Partners Ltd. She is Chair of Elucidate GmBh, a Berlin-based regulatory technology firm, and in March this year completed a three-year term as a Non-Executive Director of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Matthew Mueller ’01, CEO at Knot Standard, presented at The Lead Innovation Summit July 12-13 in New York City. He discussed how the company has learned and built from 10 years of international custom clothing technology to launch over 100 new brand and department store locations in the last year alone.

Nick Melton ’94 is a new Managing Director within Brown Gibbons Lang & Company’s Infrastructure & Environment vertical, where he will establish BGL’s new Digital Infrastructure investment banking team. Based in New York, he will also contribute to BGL’s growing presence on the East Coast. Nick, who will lead BGL’s investment banking activities in Digital Infrastructure, has nearly 30 years of experience in the telecommunications and digital infrastructure industries, and has advised on landmark M&A, restructuring, and capital markets transactions. He has held Managing Director roles at Lazard, Rothschild, and Greenhill, and was most recently Head of North America at Rubicon Capital Advisors, an infrastructure focused advisory firm.