Fisher honors alumni at awards ceremony

Published: 2010-09-23

Charles W. Gehring, Stephen G. Mehallis, Marcie N. Beiling Heinrich, David W. Heard and William Austin were honored at the 2010 Dean’s Dinner and Alumni Awards on Friday, Sept. 24  in the Overmyer Ballroom at the Blackwell Inn.

Since 1993, the Alumni Society of Fisher College of Business has recognized outstanding alumni, who have brought distinction to themselves and the college through their outstanding achievements as well as generously contributed time and resources to Fisher. Awards are given in five categories, young professional, international, community service, entrepreneurship and distinguished alumnus.

Young Professional Award
Marcie N. Beiling Heinrich, BSBA 1996, is a regional sales director for the Abbott Nutrition Products Division of Abbott Laboratories.  A resident of Powell, Ohio, she currently manages seven district managers and 68 sales representatives covering 10 states. 

During her 11 years with Abbott Laboratories, Heinrich was a national and regional award-winning sales representative in the Pharmaceutical Products Division.  She has been instrumental in launching new products by creating effective sales training media to meet the needs of the sales force.  She has also assisted with the development of promotional materials on several key products. Her training model has been utilized throughout the nutrition products division and by Abbott Nutrition International for global launches.

Community Service Award
Charles W. Gehring, BSBA 1978, president, CEO LifeCare Alliance, one of Central Ohio’s oldest and largest not-for-profit organizations that provides health and nutrition services to those in need in Central Ohio. 

Before joining LifeCare Alliance, Gehring was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Catholic Social Services.  Prior to entering the not-for-profit world, Gehring spent seven years with Sanese Services, serving as chief financial officer and treasurer and a decade as an executive at Anheuser Busch. Gehring spent many years as an adjunct professor at Franklin University and has chaired and served on boards for numerous not-for-profit organizations. 

International  Award
William B. Austin, MBA 1995, executive director and founder of the Institute for Affordable Transportation, a not-for-profit public charity devoted to improving the lives of the world's poor by providing simple, low-cost vehicles in order to facilitate community transformation.

After earning his MBA, Will studied at the Northern Transportation University in Beijing, China, and then began working for General Motor's Delco Electronics division in Singapore.  He then rotated through several financial positions in Indiana before taking an 18-month assignment in Sao Paulo, Brazil at Delphi Automotive System’s South American headquarters. He lives in Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Distinguished Alumni Award
Stephen G. Mehallis, BSBA 1961, is president of the Harry T. Mangurian Jr. Foundation, a Fort Lauderdale-based private foundation supporting medical, educational and environmental causes both nationally and internationally.

Mehallis joined the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse & Co. after graduating from Ohio State.  In 1972, he became chief financial officer of Drexel Investments, Inc.  He also served as CFO for several other businesses, including the Buffalo Braves and Boston Celtics, the soccer team, Memphis Rogues, and Mockingbird Farm in Ocala, Florida, one of the largest thoroughbred breeding farms in North America.

Active in many charitable and civic organizations, Mehallis has served as president of the Ohio State University Alumni Club of Broward County, Florida. He has also conducted sports management seminars at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, and at Ohio State in connection with the Executive Luncheon Series at Fisher.

Entrepreneurship Award
David W. Heard, BSBA 1990, is a co-founder of Zyvex Performance Materials, a nanotechnology company. Heard is a member of the company’s board of directors. He successfully secured strategic investors from Lockheed Martin and Arkema, along with over $7 million in state funding to successfully launch Zyvex in 2007.  He lives in Marion, Ohio.

Currently, Heard is chief operating officer of BigBand Networks, Inc., a leader in digital video networking.  He previously served as president and chief executive officer of Somera Communications where he successfully turned around the company from its previous four years of losses to profits within 18 months and executed a successful sale and merger with Warburg Pincus. Heard has also held various executive level positions at AT&T and Lucent Technologies.