Alumni Class Notes

David Meredith (M.S. in MIT ’03) has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and Board Director of Boomi, the intelligent connectivity and automation leader that instantly connects everyone to everything with its cloud-native, unified, open, and intelligent platform that serves more than 18,000 customers globally. Leading technology investors Francisco Partners and TPG spun Boomi out of Dell for $4 billion–one of largest software growth-equity deals ever. Boomi pioneered the intelligent use of data and has been named a Leader in the Gartner® Magic Quadrant for eight consecutive years. Meredith brings nearly 30 years of experience serving in senior executive leadership and board director roles across both multibillion-dollar public companies as well as PE-backed technology-focused firms. Meredith ranked Top 50 in the largest company category by Comparably for Best CEO (2020) and Best CEO for Diversity (2021) and earned a CEO rating of A+, measured across 60,000+ companies. He received a distinguished Globee® Award in the Visionary category as part of The 9th Annual 2021 CEO World Awards. In 2016, The Uptime Institute recognized David’s contributions to the industry by presenting him with their Change Leader Award. Georgia Trend Magazine named him a “Top 40 under 40 – Best and Brightest Leader” in 2008.

Kelly Thomas ’91 will join Alcoa Feb. 14, 2022, as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. She will lead all commercial strategies across Alcoa’s global bauxite, alumina, and aluminum markets, with overall responsibility for sales, procurement, marketing, and supply chain. Thomas brings more than 15 years of experience in the aluminum industry. She joins Alcoa from Vista Metals Corporation, where she is Vice President of Finance and has led strategic planning, corporate development, finance, accounting, and metal risk management. In prior roles, she served as Chief Operating Officer of Electronic Recyclers International (ERI) and in various leadership positions at Aleris North America Rolled Products, Reynolds Metals, and Alcoa Inc. She served at Alcoa Inc. for more than a decade in various management positions, including as Vice President of Alcoa Materials Management, where she led all commercial aspects of Alcoa’s European primary aluminum business, and as the Director of Metal Risk Management and as the Marketing Manager for the primary metals business unit.

Tyler Brown ’05 has joined Markel Corporation as Managing Director, Investments. Brown will report to Tom Gayner, Co-Chief Executive Officer. In his role, he will assist Gayner in the management of the company’s investment portfolio and manage investor relations. Prior to joining Markel, Brown was with Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley, as a Research Analyst, where he led research for a long/short strategy called WPS Direct. Before TSW, he worked at Lawton Park Capital Management, a long/short hedge fund, where he performed deep fundamental analysis on targeted companies for possible investment. His other experience also includes various roles at Bank of America and Merrill Lynch.

Avina Sugiarto ’10 has joined East Ventures, a sector-agnostic venture capital firm that has supported over 200 companies in Southeast Asia, as a Venture Partner. Avina will leverage her extensive experiences to invest in growth-stage technology companies and further drive sustainability and integration of ESG practices in East Ventures’ investments. She has over 12 years of experience in investing across alternative assets, including venture capital, private equity, private credit, and special situations across industries from technology, property, logistics, and natural resources to consumers and financial services. Prior to joining East Ventures, Avina was a Senior Vice President at Indies Capital Partners. She was responsible for deal sourcing, analysis, execution, and fundraising across Indies’ investment products. She was also a key member of the investment partnership with Varde Partners, a $15 billion global alternative asset manager headquartered in the United States.

Marisa Drew ’86, Chief Sustainability Officer at Credit Suisse, was recognized as a 2021 MB100, an award celebrating leaders combining profit and purpose to help achieve the United Nations Global Goals. Learn more.

Yvener J. Petit ’09 joined Live Nation this fall as a Director of Strategic Initiatives and Operations. In his role, he partners with key stakeholders across the Concerts, Ticketmaster, and Media & Sponsorship divisions to outline and implement key company strategies. In addition, Yvener has recently been elected to serve as an Executive Committee and Board Member of Communities in Schools of Los Angeles (CISLA), a nonprofit that focuses on providing one-on-one case management for nearly 1,000 at-risk LAUSD students, helping them stay in school and achieve in life.

Meredith Tierney Shields ’05 is the new Head of the Citi Impact Fund, Citi’s $200 million commitment to support companies creating innovative solutions to help address some of society’s most pressing challenges. She previously was Managing Director of the Sorenson Impact Foundation.

Lindsay Vaught ’01 married Taka Wakino in August 2021 at the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Diego, CA. Jeff Ludden (Engineering ’00) officiated the ceremony, with Laura Wright (A&S ’01) acting as matron of honor. The couple lives in San Diego, CA.

Walter Calvert ’80 was elected a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel. The American College of Tax Counsel is a professional association of tax attorneys with fellows limited to a maximum of 700 across the United States. Fellows must be nominated for membership and must then undergo a rigorous screening process prior to being elected. Walt is a Partner in the transactional Tax practice of the Venable LLP law firm.

Rachel Perini ’03 has been appointed Head of Institutional – UK at asset manager Jupiter, where she will be responsible for growing Jupiter’s institutional business in the UK. Prior to joining Jupiter, Rachel spent nearly seven years on the UK Institutional Client Coverage team at UBS Asset Management, managing UK strategic clients, including pension schemes, insurance companies, and fiduciary managers, representing £4.2 billion in assets under management. Before working with UBS, Rachel spent five years at BlackRock and seven with SEI Investments, a leading fiduciary manager with £100bn under management. In 2020, she was a finalist for Fund Salesperson of the Year at the Investment Week Women in Investment Awards.

Andy Schoonover ’01 is CEO and Founder of CrowdHealth, a company that deploys a crowdfunding model to pay its users’ medical bills. Schoonover shared his insights on entrepreneurship in an Oct. 4, 2021, vatornews Q&A.

Ana Badell ’97, Chief Operating Officer of Beautycounter, has been named to HITEC’s 2021/2022 list of 100 most influential Hispanic leaders in technology, the HITEC 100. HITEC is a global executive leadership organization of senior business and technology executives who have built outstanding careers in technology. These global leaders include executives leading Global 1000 corporations; others lead some of the largest Hispanic-owned technology firms across the Americas.

Marc Friedman ’95 and Gina Schaefer are selling their company, A Few Cool Hardware Stores, to their employees. Ownership will transfer to 250+ employees over the next several years through an employee stock ownership plan. The company, a group of 13 Ace Hardware stores in the Washington, D.C., and Baltimore metro areas, was founded in 2003.

Avron Stoloff  ’88, Jim Wolfe ’88, Alan MacKenzie (A&S ’88), and Steve Furr (A&S ’88) completed the August 2021 Triple Bypass bicycle event in Colorado. The grueling event covers 110 miles and over 10,000 vertical feet in one day.

Chris Ericson ’02 has been appointed CFO and Treasurer of Golub Capital BDC Inc. Mr. Ericson first joined Golub Capital in 2009 and served for eight years as a key member of Golub Capital’s BDC Fund Accounting team, rising to the role of Controller for GBDC. He rejoined Golub Capital in 2018 as a Director on the Corporate Development team in the Investor Partners Group.

Robert DiCostanzo ’12 and ​Emily Echols (A&S ’11) were married at King Family Vineyards in Crozet, VA, on July 10, 2021, surrounded by friends and family. The couple lives in New York City.

Lara Russo Young ’10 and Pat Young ’11 welcomed their first child, Clyde Bowen, born June 9, 2021, in Napa, CA.

Frank Macgill ’91 was selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America 2022 in the practice areas of Tax Law and Trust and Estates. Macgill is a Partner at HunterMaclean, a law firm with offices in Savannah and St. Simons Island, GA. 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. Best Lawyers is regarded as a reliable and unbiased source for legal referrals by the media and the public, as well as within the legal profession. Attorneys are not permitted to pay a fee for inclusion or consideration as part of Best Lawyers.

Richard “Shark” Forsten ’85 (Law ’88) began his third five-year term on the Appoquinimink School District School Board earlier this year. He has served as board president for the last six years. Shark is a Partner in the Wilmington, DE, office of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, where he practices in land use, commercial real estate, and litigation. He and his wife live in a 182-year-old historic farmhouse south of Middletown, DE, and his golf handicap remains much too high.

Lily Hakim (M.S. in Accounting ’08) was at the forefront of the finances for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine. Hakim led the financial management of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine research and development program, including clinical trials, for which emergency use authorization was received from the FDA. She worked alongside Pfizer’s senior leadership and scientists to provide for the allocation of funds necessary to meet rapidly changing estimates and needs.

As the COVID-19 vaccine R&D finance lead, Hakim monitored and facilitated rapid expenditure approvals for logistics, materials, and personnel around the world. Hakim believes that finance should be a partner to the business, not be a barrier. This included management of financial resources for the initial clinical trial of approximately 44,000 participants at several international sites and additional clinical trials that followed. She additionally managed the financial needs of Pfizer’s Pearl River R&D facility and related laboratories operating throughout the pandemic.

In December 2020, Hakim was promoted and named Director, Executive Operations, working within Pfizer’s Office of the CEO. In this role, she works side by side Pfizer’s most senior leaders supporting strategic decisions.

Throughout her career, Hakim has deployed accounting implementations and held conversations on complex accounting matters while being commended for explaining these matters in a way that non-financial individuals can understand. She furthers her passion for the subject by teaching accounting, business writing, and public speaking in her spare time.

Hakim received her master’s degree in accountancy from the University of Virginia, graduated magna cum laude from Cornell University with a bachelor’s degree in applied economics and management, and is a CPA licensed in New York.

Kemi Ogidan Tignor ’98 founded Little Likes Kids in 2018. The company designs, creates, and produces toys for kids ages 0-6 that are inspired by—and reflective of—the lives of today’s kids. She writes, “No gifting moment should come and go without an opportunity to share items with your child that reflects who they are. So we create toys and playful images that reflect kids like my son and his wonderfully diverse gaggle of friends.”