2025 Alumni Awards honorees share stories, appreciation
Recurring themes of gratitude, purpose and opportunity emerged throughout the 2025 Alumni Awards ceremony at the Max M. Fisher College of Business.
In oftentimes emotional speeches, the honorees spoke of their gratitude for family, mentors, colleagues and Fisher. They talked about purpose — as business leaders, board members, entrepreneurs and immigrants. They emphasized the importance of opportunities ― those given to them and those they wish to give in return.
“We all got here because someone believed in us,” said Marna Ricker, recipient of the Global Business Excellence Award. “In my life, that was a professor who challenged me at Fisher, my family and my faith. It’s the roots that give you strength, and your community, your Buckeye community, that gives you purpose.”
Ricker (BSBA ’91) is the global vice chair of tax for EY, overseeing more than 76,000 of the firm’s EY Tax, People Advisory Services (PAS) and Law professionals worldwide. The award honors both her contributions to business and to Fisher as a mentor and collaborator.
Other honorees included Dr. Henry Xiang (EMBA ’21), recipient of the Empowering Excellence Award, and Venkatesh Ganapathy (MBA ’10), honored with the Entrepreneurship Award, who were recognized for their vision, innovation and the example they set for others.
They spoke of their immigrant backgrounds and its influence on their work and purpose.
Dr. Xiang, a renowned physician-scientist, said such an honor seemed unimaginable 30 years ago when his family arrived in the United States from China. Today, he is a professor in The Ohio State University College of Medicine; co-director of the Pilot Translational and Clinical Studies Program at the National Institutes of Health-funded Clinical and Translational Science Institute at Ohio State; and the founding director of the Center for Pediatric Trauma Research at Nationwide Children’s Hospital.
Ganapathy is the co-founder, along with his MBA classmate, of LiveEasy, a full-service concierge platform that helps homeowners and renters with moving and home management services. He said they were “two immigrants chasing an idea,” and now they are helping families find and secure their dream homes.
Accompanied by 10 members of his family, Ganapathy spoke of family sacrifices, sleepless nights and — finally — the joys of starting a business that impacts others’ lives.
Neethi Johnson (MBA ’19) recounted how her father, a psychiatrist serving disadvantaged clients with severe mental health illnesses, inspired her commitment to service. She received the Excellence in Service Award for her leadership and contributions beyond the workplace.
“Fisher taught me that success is not solely measured by titles or profit margins; it is measured by the people you uplift, the communities you strengthen and the values you carry with you long after you graduate,” said Johnson, vice president of digital payments for JPMorganChase. “This award inspires me to keep leading with intention, empowering others and advancing missions that make our world more equitable, inclusive and connected.”
Nicole Balkenbusch (BSBA ’07), recipient of the Professional Achievement Award, also spoke of inspiration born out of a family of successful entrepreneurs and business owners. Her grandparents owned a jewelry store and pharmacy, and her parents ran a healthcare consulting business. Balkenbusch adopted their entrepreneurial spirit as early as grade school and high school, when she sold jewelry and accessories.
Today, she is the chief storyteller and FP&A director for Worldwide Amazon Stores. She also founded COLES LTD, a consulting and executive coaching business.
“I am here today because of the incredible support of so many people who are here in the room, and those who are not but looking down,” she said.
Returning to campus for the first time since earning his MBA in 1992, James J. Kavanaugh referred to the honor of receiving Fisher’s Distinguished Leadership Award as the beginning of a journey.
Kavanaugh is senior vice president and chief financial officer of IBM. In his nearly three decades with the tech giant, he has guided the company’s evolution from the age of personal computing to today’s frontier of artificial intelligence and hybrid cloud innovation.
He commended Ohio State for providing him with a foundation to find his purpose and a platform to pursue that purpose with excellence, while staying true to values instilled in him by his parents.
“Ohio State has enabled me to have a chance in life and to hopefully make a difference in the world, in the industry we operate in, the communities we live in and the people I touch each and every day,” he said. “That’s what defines me, but more importantly, I think what you heard here and how proud we all are as The Ohio State alumni, it’s what defines a Buckeye. Now it’s our time to pay it forward.”
For the second year, Fisher honored one of its corporate partners for their ongoing contributions and collaboration with the college. JPMorganChase received the 2025 Corporate Partner Award for its support of Fisher in the classroom, at career fairs, through membership on the alumni board and in hiring of Fisher interns and graduates.
“Our collaboration brings innovative ideas, diverse perspectives and a pipeline of very talented students. It’s a partnership that benefits us and the academic community,” said Tiffany Stubbs (BSBA ’99), managing director at JPMorganChase.
A member of Fisher’s first Honors Cohort and a current member of the Alumni Board, Stubbs accepted the award on behalf of the company and its 18,000 Central Ohio employees.
The engagement and support of Fisher alumni and corporate partners are the “lifeblood of our mission to shape principled leaders who will make a difference in the world,” said Aravind Chandrasekaran, interim dean and the John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business at Fisher. “To have the opportunity to spend an evening recognizing, honoring and thanking those who have exemplified this support is truly special.”
Hover over photo below to view Alumni Awards photo gallery
