In Memoriam: Former Dean Willis J. Winn

Willis J. Winn, Wharton’s Dean from 1958 to 1971, passed away on April 11. He was 84.

Dean Winn earned both master’s and doctoral degrees from Wharton and also served as the deputy dean under his predecessor, C. Arthur Culp, from 1955 to 1957, and acting dean during the 1957-58 academic year. As dean, he is credited with leading curricular reform and upgrading the quality of Wharton’s academic programs, the PhD and entrepreneurial programs in particular. Winn further strengthened Wharton’s reputation for research through his active recruitment of senior scholars.

In addition to his administrative leadership and considerable scholarship, Winn was a director of the Federal Reserve Bank in Philadelphia from 1961 until 1970 and its board chairman from 1966 until 1970. From 1971 until his retirement in 1982, he served as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Lois Gengelbach Winn; a son, Steven; a daughter, Judith; and a granddaughter.

Bone Biopsy Innovators of Envisia, Inc. Win Wharton Business Plan Competition

In a sign that student business plans are reaching new heights of sophistication, the Wharton Business Plan Competition awarded its $25,000 grand prize to bone biopsy innovators, Envisia, Inc., at the annual Wharton Venture Fair on Monday, April 22. The winning team included Onne Ganel, Matthew Pickens, Eileen Stephens, and Bryon Gombert. In all, the Competition distributed more than $80,000 in cash prizes this year.

Both of the top two winners had already received outside recognition: Envisia is a finalist in the MBA Jungle Business Plan Challenge, and first-runner- up Q Systems received the $7,000 Glockner Award for undergraduates.

One trend emerging throughout this year’s competition – which is open to any Penn student and is managed by the Wharton School’s Entrepreneurial Management Program – is the “back to basics” nature of products and services represented.

“We are delighted that this year’s students seem to have taken advantage of the educational process we provide,” says Anne Stamer, associate director for Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs. “This year we’ve seen the students drive each other to create substantive business plans that go beyond gimmicks. That’s why we think many are already well on their way to becoming successful business owners and innovators.”

Reflective of the trend, some of the plans reviewed by the judges contained extensive research and others modest revenue projections. Students targeted niche markets in their plans for such businesses as wound care resins, online auction security, and a new jet-powered industrial hammer for the construction industry.

For complete information on the competition, visit the Wharton Business Plan Competition site at www.whartonbpc.com.

The Heart of Texas: Wharton [Connect]

Alumni throughout Texas rolled out the red carpet at two Wharton [Connect] events in April. Tornadoes that touched down in the Dallas area on April 16 did not deter nearly 100 alumni from gathering at the Mansion on Turtle Creek and receiving an update on activity at the School. Alumni also gathered the next evening in Houston at the River Oaks Country Club to meet Dean Harker and network with fellow alums. The Houston event was enhanced by the presence of Jon Huntsman, W’59, who spoke to his fellow grads about his ongoing commitment to the School.

Executive Education Special Offer for Alums

As the business climate changes rapidly and fundamentally, are you changing your thinking to keep up? Take advantage of the special 25% tuition benefit to alumni for any of Wharton Executive Education’s three-to five-day programs that have space available. This also applies to programs held at Wharton West.

Executive Education offers focused programs with applied knowledge in leadership, management, finance, and marketing. These programs are taught by Wharton faculty, provide high-level peer access, and win accolades for value delivered. Registration is available online; be sure to note “ALUM” in the special needs field.

News Briefs

David S. Pottruck, WG’72, president, co-chief executive officer, and a member of the board of directors of The Charles Schwab Corporation, was the featured speaker at the School’s MBA Commencement on May 12 in Philadelphia. A University Trustee, Pottruck recently co-authored the best-selling business book, Clicks and Mortar: Passion Driven Growth in an Internet Driven World. He also recently completed his appointment as a commissioner on the Advisory Commission on Internet Commerce appointed by the U.S. Congress and the president.

Robert Boruch, a professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of Pennsylvania and a statistics professor at Wharton, has been named a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Class of 2002. The author of more than 150 articles in refereed research journals and the author or editor of 15 books, Boruch has contributed to numerous committees of the National Academy of Sciences during the past 30 years and is a fellow of the American Statistical Association.

Siegel

Finance Professor Jeremy Siegel has been named a recipient of the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching at the University of Pennsylvania. Award winners are determined by nominations and recommendations made by faculty and students, and there are eight recipients each year across the University. Siegel has taught at Wharton since 1976, and has been cited by BusinessWeek as one of the country’s “Top Dozen Educators.”

“Get It Started,” a new e-newsletter from Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs, offers the latest research, activities, and commentary related to all matters entrepreneurial. One special alumni feature is called “Faces of Wharton Entrepreneurship,” a series of profiles of Wharton’s alumni entrepreneurs. Check out the premiere issue by visiting Wharton Entrepreneurial Programs at www.wep.wharton.upenn.edu/wep/wepnewsletter.html. Subscribing to the newsletter is free.

Alumni in the News

Daniel J. Finnigan, WG’93, has been appointed Yahoo’s executive vice president and general manager of HotJobs. Finnigan will be responsible for all HotJobs operations, including ongoing integration with Yahoo and the expansion in online recruitment (Business Wire, 4/8/02).

Anne Marie Corner, WG’89, CEO of Biosyn, Inc., was featured for her work over the past decade developing a supercontraceptive called Savvy. Savvy is designed to prevent pregnancy, kill off HIV, and protect against sexually transmitted diseases (Vogue, April 2002).

John W. Palmer, WG’79, was appointed executive vice president of Biogen, Inc. Biogen is the winner of the U.S. National Medal of Technology and is principally engaged in discovering and developing drugs for human health care through genetic engineering. Palmer joined Biogen in 1989 as director of marketing and business development (Associated Press Newswires, 4/3/02).

Boediono, PhD’79, finance minister of Indonesia, was mentioned in an article on Indonesia’s economic policy (Australian Financial Review, 4/3/02).

Passera

Corrado Passera, WG’80, has been tapped to head the turnaround at IntesaBci, the biggest bank by assets in Italy. Passera made a name for himself after leading the turnaround of Italy’s famously inefficient postal service (Reuters English News Service, 3/28/02).

Jay Fishman, W’74, WG’74, was profiled in an article on his position as CEO of the St. Paul Companies. Fishman was once considered a leading candidate to eventually replace Sanford Weill as the CEO of Citigroup but jumped at the chance to strike out on his own with the St. Paul Companies. Fishman is attempting to build the St. Paul Companies into a financial giant similar to Citigroup (New York Times, 3/27/02).

Brian D. Finn, W’82, is rejoining Credit Suisse First Boston as the third member of its new office of the chairman, which already included CEO John Mack and chairman Stephen Volk. In his new position, Finn will focus on investment banking and private equity (The Daily Deal, 3/27/02).

Levy

Alain Levy, WG’72, was profiled in an article on his recent appointment as the man to turn around troubled music company EMI. Levy has spent his entire career in the music business, including a stint as president of PolyGram, which he grew into the largest and most profitable music company prior to its takeover by Seagram in 1998 (Independent-London, 3/21/02).

George Weiss, W’65, was recently interviewed on the Oprah Winfrey Show about his foundation, “Say Yes to Education,” which provides college tuition to disadvantaged children (3/14/02).

F. Gary Garczynski, W’68, was elected president of the 205,000-member National Association of Home Builders. Garczynski is president of National Capital Land and Development Co., which develops about 300 unfinished lots each year for some of the Northern Virginia area’s largest builders (Washington Times, 3/8/02).

G. Michael Sievert, W’91, has been named executive vice president and chief marketing officer at AT&T Wireless. Prior to joining AT&T, Sievert served as chief marketing and sales officer at E*Trade Group, Inc. (Business Wire, 3/7/02).

Michael D. DiCandilo, W’82, has been named senior vice president and CFO of Amerisource- Bergen Corporation, the largest pharmaceuticals services company in the U.S. dedicated solely to the pharmaceuticals supply chain (Business Wire, 3/4/02).

Roland Wolfram, WG’86, has been promoted to corporate vice president of global operations and technology at Nike. In his new position, Wolfram will manage Nike’s global operations at the point of product development through to customer delivery and will ensure coordination of the supply chain’s influence in footwear, apparel, and equipment (PR Newswire, 2/20/02).

William T. Tolley, WG’84, has been appointed as senior vice president and CFO of Hubbell Incorporated, an international manufacturer of quality electrical and electronic products for commercial, industrial, utility, and telecommunications markets. Prior to joining Hubbell, Tolley served as senior vice president and CFO of Chesapeake Corporation (Business Wire, 2/19/02).

Jack Stahl, WG’77, has joined cosmetics maker Revlon, Inc., as CEO. Stahl has spent his entire career at Coca-Cola Co., having resigned last March as the firm’s No. 2 executive seeking to explore other career interests and opportunities (Reuters English News Service, 2/19/02).