The Leadership Council provides advice and guidance to the Dean regarding strategic initiatives and academic programs at the Lally School, connections to industry, and connections to sources of financial support for new initiatives.
Ancona spent the last 40 years in financial services primarily in the areas of finance, treasury, and capital markets working in a wide variety of geographies. He has extensive experience dealing with a number of senior regulators in many countries on a wide variety of issues including risk management, capital, liquidity, financial crime compliance, and general banking-related issues. He has run significant global fixed income, hedging and securitization issuance programs, and has been an investment banker helping other issuers with these types of transactions. Ancona has also been directly involved in a number of business acquisitions and divestitures. He is currently a non-executive director and chair of the Audit and Risk Committee for both HSBC Latin America and HSBC’s bank in Mexico. He is also currently an adviser to the CEO and the board of Eligo Energy, an early-stage company based in Chicago.
Ancona was previously a director of several profit and not-for-profit entities including the Hang Seng Bank, WWF (World Wildlife Fund) - Hong Kong, and LifeSource Blood Services in Chicago. In 2012, he retired as senior executive vice president and chief financial officer for HSBC North America. Prior to that, he had been chief financial officer for HSBC’s Asia Pacific operations based in Hong Kong. Before HSBC, Ancona had been treasurer of Household International, where he was also responsible for its merger and acquisition function. Prior to Household, he held positions in treasury and capital markets at Citigroup in London, New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. He was also the head of the Pension Investment Committee at both Household International and for HSBC’s U.S. pension plan.
Ancona graduated from Rensselaer in 1974 with a B.S. in management science. He also has an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a M.Sc. in economics from the London School of Economics.
Nancy E. Carey Cassidy ’89
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Picotte Companies
Nancy is responsible for strategic planning and operational oversight of The Picotte Companies. She has been with the company for nearly 30 years and was formerly director of development, responsible for all aspects of real estate development, land acquisition, site and building design, municipal approvals, construction, and leasing.
Nancy holds a bachelor's degree from the College of New Rochelle and an MBA from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Nancy is a vice chair of the board of directors of Albany Medical Center.
Marc Eigner ’97, ’99
Sr. Partner and Co-Founder, Polaris Solutions
As a co-founder of Polaris Solutions and head of the technology practice, Marc Eigner is considered one of the founding fathers of pharmaceutical commercial-compliance technology and the leading expert this field, particularly in HCP/HCO spend automation and aggregate spend systems. He is a frequent lecturer and author on these topics. Under Marc’s direction, Polaris’ technology practice has grown from a core team to become the largest pharmaceutical compliance-focused technology group in the industry, implementing more than eighty spend management and aggregation systems worldwide. Thanks to his leadership, Polaris continues to innovate, enlarging the scope of its technology practice and introducing a consistent stream of new products while delivering technology strategy expertise in support of Polaris Management Partners’ consulting practice.
Before joining Polaris, Marc worked for Andersen Consulting / Accenture and IBM. Marc holds a B.S. and M.S. in computer and systems engineering and an MBA focused on technology entrepreneurship, all from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Marc has participated in several executive education programs at the Harvard Business School, including, ‘Leading Professional Services Firms.’
Joan M. Gallagher '85
Senior Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, Magnolia Oil & Gas
Joan M. Gallagher is SVP, chief administrative officer at Magnolia Oil & Gas, a publicly traded exploration and production company formed in 2018 with operations in South Texas. Joan is responsible for human resources, information technology, communications & public relations, and facility services.
Prior to joining Magnolia, Joan was senior vice president in human resources and administrative services at EP Energy from 2005 to 2017. Previously Joan served as vice president and chief administrative officer of Torch Energy Advisors. She began her energy industry career with ARCO International where she held roles in long range planning, financial reporting and human resources. Joan also managed IT-related services for Moody’s Investors Service in New York.
Joan has a Bachelor of Science in computer science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. While at Rensselaer, Joan was awarded the Livingston W. Houston Citizenship Award honoring the “first citizen of the college.”
Mark Grace, ’82, ’83
Senior Vice President of Devices, Western Digital
Mark Grace is senior vice president of devices for Western Digital. In this capacity, he oversees all aspects of Western Digital’s commercial devices businesses in markets that include enterprise computing, client computing, mobile applications, and embedded applications (automotive storage, connected home, and industrial/“internet of things”). He is based at the company’s offices in San Jose and reports to Mike Cordano, president.
Mark has been dedicated to the advancement of the electronic data storage industry throughout his 34-year career. He joined Hitachi in 2009 as vice president of sales operations, and was later named HGST’s senior vice president of marketing. Mark assumed his current role following Western Digital’s acquisition of HGST in 2012.
Mark has held executive-level positions with Seagate, leading customer quality, supply chain management, and worldwide sales operations before being named senior vice president of worldwide sales operations. Prior to Seagate, he held various management positions at IBM Corporation.
Mark holds Master of Engineering and Bachelor of Science degrees in industrial systems engineering, with concentrations in computer science and industrial psychology, from Rensselaer Polytechnic University in Troy, New York.
Sadia Halim
Head of Innovation CIB Americas, Managing Director, BNP Paribas
Sadia Halim joined BNP Paribas in June 2011 as a senior banker in the financial institutions client coverage group based in New York with responsibility for a portfolio of banks and finance companies. She has 17 years of experience in the industry across research, asset management, and banking.
She started her Wall Street career in equity research at Bank of America. Then in 2004, she joined ABN AMRO's financial institutions coverage team with a particular focus on banks and specialty finance. In 2009, she moved to the FIG coverage group at BlackRock where she was responsible for originating investment management mandates from banks and insurers.
At BNP Paribas she focuses on relationship management, client strategies, industry issues, and product development for financial institution clients. In her client coverage role she has oversight across regions and across product types, delivering the full BNP Paribas platform to U.S. financial institutions. She is also a member of the BNP Paribas Americas Innovation Board and the sponsor of the Blockchain workgroup.
She is a CFA charterholder and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA), as well as a member of the New York Academy of Sciences. Additionally, she is an executive committee member of the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way of New York City. Sadia is a board member of Biobus, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and is an avid supporter of the Harlem Academy, an independent school serving grades one through eight.
Sadia received her undergraduate degree from Oberlin and her doctorate from SUNY Albany's School of Public Health, a collaboration between the New York Department of Health, SUNY Albany, and Albany Medical College.
Bill Hart ’62
Founder and Managing Partner (retired), Technology Partners
Bryant Isaacs ’81
General Manager, ARRIS’ Assurance Solutions Business Unit
Bryant K. Isaacs is general manager of ARRIS’ assurance solutions business unit, charged with delivering world-class SaaS products for field service management and network monitoring. He also served as president of the media and communications systems business unit, new business ventures business unit, network technologies business unit, and as an executive officer during his tenure at ARRIS.
Prior to joining ARRIS, Mr. Isaacs was founder and general manager of Lucent Technologies’ wireless communications networking division in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was responsible for the definition, development, and market introduction of wireless internet access products. During his time with Lucent, he led the definition and development of next generation network interface units for fixed wireless access, the establishment of Lucent's Product Realization Centers, and the planning and development of equipment for hybrid fiber-coax and switched digital video access systems.
Mr. Isaacs also held the position at General Instrument of vice president of digital network systems, where he was responsible for developing international business strategies and products for digital video broadcasting systems.
Mr. Isaacs was selected as one of CableFAX magazine’s “Most Influential Minorities in Cable” for 2011-2016, and currently serves as board member for Acivilate, a social services startup SW company, and also for Haimachek, a medical device technology startup company.
Mr. Isaacs holds masters and bachelor’s degrees in electrical engineering from Cornell University and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute respectively. He also holds a Master in Business Administration from Emory University and was inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma international honor society in recognition of his academic achievements in the study of business.
Jayant Kadambi ’85, ’86
Co-founder and former CEO of YuMe
Jayant Kadambi is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, business leader, board member, and avid tennis player. Most recently, he co-founded and was the CEO of YuMe (NYSE:YUME) for 12 years. YuMe is a digital video advertising media and software technology company, and Jayant helped lead it from inception to its current position as a leading global, publically held company. Jayant has a proven record of successes that have influenced businesses, driven profitability, inspired talent, and steered client relations.
Jayant is the co-author of a book on Gigabit Ethernet and holds several domestic and international patents in the fields of video, semiconductors, and advertising technology.
Jayant has more than 20 years of experience in digital media technology, networking, hardware, architecture, and semiconductors. Previously, Jayant worked as a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs and vice president of engineering at Netopia. He earned a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the department of electrical, computer, and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Jayant lives in Palo Alto, California.
Audrey H. Kaplan ’89
Head of Global Equity Strategy, Senior Vice President at Wells Fargo Investment Institute
Audrey Kaplan is the head of global equity strategy for Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII), a subsidiary of Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. In this role, Kaplan leads WFII’s global equity strategy team, which sets investment strategy used by the investment professionals working on behalf of individual and institutional clients through Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment Management business units: Abbot Downing, Wells Fargo Institutional Retirement & Trust, Wells Fargo Advisors, Wells Fargo Asset Management, Wells Fargo Wealth Management and WFII. She also establishes the equity strategy methodology, drives investment thought leadership and communicates equity strategy to internal leaders, investment professionals, and clients, as well as the media.
Kaplan has more than 25 years of global investment industry experience focused on equity research, quantitative analysis and portfolio strategy in global and domestic markets. Prior to joining Wells Fargo, she led the international equities portfolio management and research team at Federated Investors, Inc. Previously, Kaplan led Rochdale Investment Management’s quantitative research group. She also performed hedge fund strategy consulting with BlueCrest Capital Management in London, European quantitative strategy for Merrill Lynch in London, global emerging markets research with Robert Fleming in London, and equity, fixed income and derivatives analysis with Salomon Brothers in Tokyo and New York.
Kaplan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in computer and systems engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree in finance from London Business School. She is based in New York.
Jim Mazarakis ’79
Executive Vice President and CIO, WSFS Bank
Mr. Jim Mazarakis is an executive vice president and c8hief information officer with WSFS Bank headquartered in Wilmington Delaware. Mr. Mazarakis has more than 30 years of experience in banking, investment management, and brokerage services. He served on senior leadership teams, both as chief information officer for T. Rowe Price, and managing director and divisional chief information officer at J.P. Morgan Asset Management. He also worked on large scale international projects and merger and acquisition teams at Capital One Financial and Goldman Sachs.
Mr. Mazarakis graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Science degree in management of technology from Polytechnic Institute of New York University. He is frequently quoted in technology publications and was recognized in 2007 by Information Week as a Top 10 Innovator for his work at T. Rowe Price. In 2015 he was interviewed by Phil Weinzimer for the book published by CRC Press, “The Strategic CIO.” Mr. Mazarakis serves on the board of directors of the Delaware Community Foundation and on the board of directors for the Delaware Business Roundtable Education Council. Mr. Mazarakis is married with two children and lives in Newark Delaware.
Charles B. McDevitt ’86
Executive Vice President, Great-West Lifeco U.S. Inc.
Chuck McDevitt was appointed executive vice president of Great-West Lifeco U.S. Inc., indirect parent company of Great-West Financial®, in 2014. He leads the Office of Integration Project Management, which supports the integration of the Great-West Financial retirement business with those of sibling company Putnam Investments and the former J.P. Morgan Retirement Plan Services, acquired by Great-West Financial in 2014.
Previously, McDevitt held senior management roles at Fidelity Investments, most recently as chief operating officer of Global Foreign Exchange for Fidelity Asset Management. He also served as chief financial officer for Fidelity Asset Management, head of international operations for Pyramis Global Advisors (Fidelity’s institutional business), and head of investment operations for Fidelity’s Equity Division.
He also held operations, finance, and project management roles at Geode Capital Management, Sapient Corporation, and KPMG Peat Marwick Consulting. Before his corporate career, McDevitt served as an officer in the U.S. Army.
McDevitt earned a Bachelor of Science degree in management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Brendan L. McKernan ’00
President and Co-Founder, Courtagen Life Sciences, Inc.
Brendan is president and co-founder of Courtagen Life Sciences Inc. Previously, Brendan was a co-founder of Agencourt Bioscience Corporation and Agencourt Personal Genomics. Until both firms were acquired, he was a board member and the vice president of operations. In this capacity, he oversaw the implementation and execution of the company's operational strategy.
Massachusetts-based Agencourt Biosciences Corporation was a leading provider of nucleic acid purification products and genomic services for life science research. Agencourt Bioscience was acquired by Beckman Coulter in 2005. Massachusetts-based Agencourt Personal Genomics developed the SOLiD sequencing platform that was acquired by Life Technology in 2006.
Brendan holds a B.S. in management science from Muhlenberg College and an MBA from the Rensselaer Lally School of Management. While at Rensselaer, McKernan received the Delmar W. Karger Award in Management for outstanding academic and leadership achievements. In 2006, Brendan was named the William F. Glaser '53 Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year.
Brendan is also the co-vice chairman of the board and treasurer at the Avon Old Farms School where he serves as chairman of the finance, audit, and benefits committees. He is also a member of the advisory council for the Rensselaer Lally School of Management and a judge for the Lemelson Program, which celebrates and supports inventors and entrepreneurs in order to strengthen social and economic life. In addition, Brendan is a member of Boston Harbor Angels where he serves on the life science screening committee.
Mr. Tom McLaughlin, ’86, ’87
Managing Director (Retired), Goldman Sachs
Tom McLaughlin retired as a managing director at Goldman Sachs after 20 years working on the equity trading floor. Tom started at Goldman in Equity Derivatives Sales and for the last 10 years ran a team of 10 people that covered Canada for all equity and equity derivative products. He also ran the firm’s Latin American equity business from 2004 to 2007.
Before joining Goldman Sachs, Tom sold engineering software for Auto-Trol Technology. He graduated from Rensselaer in 1986 with a B.S. in industrial engineering and also received his MBA from the Rensselaer Lally School in 1987.
Roger B. Orloff ’60
President, The Acquisition Search Corporation
Roger B. Orloff is a veteran of more than 30 years of merger and acquisition experience. In the course of negotiating with numerous owner-managed middle market companies, he recognized their difficulty in securing knowledgeable investment banking advice and developed a commitment to help fill this gap. Before founding The Acquisition Search Corporation, Mr. Orloff managed the Corporate Finance Group of one of the nation's largest banks. His responsibilities included advising and assisting middle market corporations in mergers and acquisitions, business and securities valuation, fairness opinions and expert witness testimony. Prior to that, he led the acquisition services department of the largest investment banking firm in Canada.
Before entering investment banking, Mr. Orloff managed corporate acquisition programs, strategic planning, and marketing research. On behalf of a major European corporation, he developed the strategic plan and then implemented the acquisition program that created a $500 million United States and Canadian forest products and home furnishings subsidiary. Mr. Orloff later served as its vice president of administration, supervising much of the corporate staff. Previously, he organized and directed the successful acquisition program of a leading New York City based Fortune 500 conglomerate. He has lectured and written extensively on corporate acquisitions and strategic planning. Mr. Orloff received a Master in Business Administration with Distinction from the Harvard Business School and a Bachelor of Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Leela Petrakis ‘90
President of North America for FF Group
Leela Petrakis is the President of North America for FF Group, a global jewelry and fashion company that produces and markets its own brands – Folli Follie and Links of London - and manages distribution and licensing agreements for several globally-known fashion and lifestyle brands.
Leela has more than 25 years of marketing and management experience in the beauty, retail and luxury marketing in the US and internationally. Previously Leela was the Managing Director of L’ Occitane USA where she fully rebuilt the operations and the image of this $150million luxury French beauty brand, delivering the highest sales growth in more than 7 years. She also served as the General Manager of Neutrogena Cosmetics and held marketing and management positions at Clairol, Avon, Revlon and L’Oréal.
Leela is a long-standing member of the Board of Governors and serves on several committees of Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW).
Leela earned a B.Sc. in Management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where she was inducted in the Epsilon Delta Sigma Management Honorary Society. She also holds a MBA in Marketing/International Business from New York University, Stern School of Business. She lives in New York City with her husband, (also a RPI alum) and their daughter.
Dennis Scurletis ’79
Managing Member, Scurly Dog Capital, LLC
Dennis Scurletis has spent the last 30 plus years working in investment banking and investment management since graduate school.
Since 2007, Dennis has been primarily focused on investing in community banks and on managing portfolios of municipal bonds as managing member of ScurlyDog Capital, LLC, and SD Capital Partners, LLC.
Prior to this, Dennis worked at Goldman Sachs helping to build their mortgage business from 1985 to 1995, where he was one of the top sales people maintaining consultative relationships with some of Goldman’s largest clients. Dennis joined Morgan Stanley in 1995, became a managing director in 1996, and held several senior positions at the firm from 1998 to 2007, including head of securitized products capital markets, head of interest rate products and derivatives sales, and global head of equity and fixed income listed derivatives.
Dennis received a Master of Business Administration with Distinction from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania in 1985, where he was awarded the Beta Gamma Sigma award for having the highest academic average in his graduating class. Dennis did his undergraduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute where he earned a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering in 1979. Additionally, he was employed at Westinghouse Electric Corporation from 1979 to 1984.
Dennis currently serves on the board of directors of National Capital Bank, “Washington’s Oldest Bank,” and on the alumni board of the New York Delta Chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity at RPI.
Fun Facts: John Neff (legendary investor of Vanguard/Windsor Fund) once said that he looked to hire people that had been either caddies, or paperboys, or pin-setters. Dennis has still yet to meet anyone else that had done all three.
Steven Silberstein '76
CEO Sheltered Harbor LLC
Randy Snook ’82, ’83
Chief Executive Officer, Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance
Randy Snook began his tenure as chief executive officer at the Federal Home Loan Banks Office of Finance on January 1, 2019, with more than three decades of experience in the securities industry. From August 2005 to December 2018, Snook served as the executive vice president of business policies and practices for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA), where he was responsible for overseeing SIFMA’s three U.S. business groups—Capital Markets, Private Client, and Asset Management—as well as technology and operations, research, and member engagement. Additionally, Snook represented SIFMA on the Federal Reserve’s Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC).
Prior to joining SIFMA, he held senior positions at Goldman Sachs, including co-head of the Credit Capital Markets New Issue Desk and co-head of the Corporate Bond Business Unit. Snook holds a B.S. in civil engineering and an MBA from Rensselaer.
Timothy Spadafore ’95
President and COO, TeraThink
Tim Spadafore is president and chief operating officer at TeraThink Corporation. TeraThink has celebrated over 15 years of successful delivery of innovative and transformative consulting services to the federal government. The company specializes in information technology and management consulting that has a purpose and makes a difference. TeraThink leads with an agile approach that focuses on collaboration, reducing complexity, and delivering early successes. This allows its clients to feel secure and focus on their future. TeraThink’s solutions work together to provide clients with everything they need to transform into an effective, digital organization. For more information, click here.
Spadafore brings over 24 years of experience in the federal civilian and defense marketplace to his current role where he is leading the enterprise IT modernization of federal clients transitioning from legacy products to emerging software platforms. He is responsible for leading key partnerships within the organization focused on lowering total cost of ownership across the customer base and for the delivery of all the efforts to drive the company’s agile development capabilities, information management, management consulting, and enterprise applications. Additionally, he leads strategic partnership engagements across the organization with a focus on emerging technologies.
Spadafore is a 1995 graduate of the Lally School of Management and has worked for CGI Federal (formerly American Management Systems), Delta Solutions and Technologies Inc. (now CACI), and Dominion Consulting Inc. In 2017, he was a key driver of a merger between Dominion Consulting and TeraThink, with the merger closing in November of 2017. While at Rensselaer, Spadafore was a member of the varsity hockey team, vice president of Phi Kappa Tau, and a member of the Fraternal Judicial Counsel. He currently resides in Leesburg, Virginia, with his wife, Martha, and his daughter, Henley.
