Alumni & Friends News

Alumni and friends of the Max M. Fisher College of Business gathered to celebrate the 2018 recipients of the college’s Alumni Awards.

Nate DeMars (MBA ’11) is founder and CEO of PurSuit — a business that bloomed out of an entrepreneurship class he took at Fisher during his final year as an MBA student.

As a student at Fisher, Krizzia Yanga (BSBA ’13) discovered her passion for entrepreneurship and realized she’d one day own her own business. Today, she’s a successful restauranteur dedicated to sharing more than delicious food; she also shares her Filipino cultural heritage on Columbus’ vibrant restaurant scene.

As Kate Garrett (BSBA '18, MAcc '18) prepares to embark on a career in accounting, she reflects on her Fisher experience and how donor support made it possible. 

As the 2018 recipient of Fisher’s Alumni Award for Professional Achievement, Eric L. Lenard, CMA, CFM (BSBA '97, MBA '97) has demonstrated outstanding achievement in business, civic involvement and service to the college. He shares a little bit about his time at Fisher and why it is so special.

Ida Abdalkhani (BSBA '03, MBA '05) shares how she turned her personal passion for understanding and connecting with people into a successful company, Ability to Engage.

Dadrien Barnes (MBA ’17) began his career working in financial accounting. Although he was good at his job and could have easily continued working at a U.S. Department of Energy nuclear power facility near his native city of Knoxville, Tennessee, he realized he was ready for a change.

For as long as he can remember, Brendan St. John (BSBA ’90) has had a deep connection with The Ohio State University. Growing up in the Columbus suburb of Westerville, his earliest memories include his Buckeyes football jerseys and selling soft drinks at Ohio State football games during his elementary school years. In fact, his connection to the university is so strong, it’s part of his identity — starting with his surname: St. John. 

Roy Hall, a former Ohio State wide receiver, who earned a Fisher College of Business degree in marketing and even had a few years of NFL experience to his credit, could have availed himself of the many opportunities that await a former Buckeye, but that kind of success didn’t interest him.

Turnkey DOT, a leading nationwide event management and transportation company, is proud to announce and welcome Paul Barash (BSBA '08) as the company’s VP, operations & account services.

Craig Bahner (BSBA '86), who earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing and operations management at Ohio State, has been hired as CEO of Sara Lee Frozen Bakery. Bahner is the 2017 recipient of Fisher's alumni award for global business excellence.

The Max M. Fisher College of Business community lost a beloved supporter and friend with the passing of Betty Schoenbaum on July 31, 2018.

The Keenan Family Foundation made a $17 million commitment to the Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business to strengthen the university’s expertise in the field of entrepreneurship.

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Thanks to support from Chris (BA ’78) and Sara Connor and the Connor Family Scholars Fund, 33 Fisher students spent two weeks in Africa, Asia and Europe as part of Fisher’s Global Projects Program: Nonprofit working on challenges ranging from improving outreach for people with physical and mental disabilities in India, to growing a local music incubator in South Africa.

At Home Group Inc., the home décor superstore, has appointed Paula Bennett (BSBA '71), former president and CEO of J.Jill, to its board of directors.

While serving her country, Kimberly Tapia also started the Polanko Group, which has several business lines, and has managed to find the time to earn a Master of Business Operational Excellence degree from Fisher College of Business.

A generous commitment of $17 million by the Keenan Family Foundation has enabled The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business to strengthen its commitment to entrepreneurship. The Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship will focus on cultivating students’ entrepreneurial skill sets and create an enriched extracurricular experience around entrepreneurship.

Laith Khalaf (BSBA ’98) is using his professional clothing and professional contacts to help students put their best foot forward: "I know how it feels to want to give a good first impression but not have the means to do it."

Three Ohio State graduates — including one Fisher alum and another who was a Wolstein Scholar — have launched their newest entrepreneurial endeavor: a trolley bus service.

For most of his adult life, Phil Cobb (BSBA ’65) has been an entrepreneur. He built a highly successful restaurant chain and then launched a nonprofit historic streetcar system. But his journey in life didn’t start out with the clear goal of being a business owner. Rather, a combination of his family’s entrepreneurial spirit and his undergraduate education at The Ohio State University helped mold Cobb into the success he is today.

Fisher College of Business joined with The Ohio State University community in celebrating the many accomplishments of the Class of 2018 as part of spring commencement activities.