Saunders College hosts EMBA alumni event

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The 14^th annual Sharpen the Saw day hosted by Saunders College of Business will continue to offer some razor-edged advice for RIT Executive MBA alumni. More than 70 participants are expected to attend the daylong campus event on Friday, March 17.

“Sharpen the Saw Day is a very special annual gathering of Saunders College Executive MBA alumni,” said Daniel Tessoni, Saunders College accounting professor. “It provides a wonderful opportunity for classmates to re-engage with one another and to listen to excellent speakers talk about their careers. Peter Parts ’88 (Executive MBA), president and CEO of Peter Parts Electronics, deserves all the credit for putting this annual event together.”

Included in this year’s roster of speakers are:

• Bill Murtha, CEO of Roberts Communications, on what has changed in 40 years of advertising? Everything and nothing. A personal perspective.
• Jim Salzano, consultant and former CEO of Easy Spirit and Clarks Shoes, will talk about management and transition.
• Dr. Rick Eigenbrod, author of What happens when you get everything you want? He will discuss (virtually) what EMBA alumni are currently facing or will face.
• Larry Neil, former Top Gun pilot and currently a chemistry teacher in the Rochester City School District, will discuss stress and overcoming conflicting management styles.
• Bill Destler, RIT president, who will deliver his last Sharpen the Saw address before retirement.
• Julio Ahumada, Executive MBA alumnus and president of ZaZa Digital Media, will discuss “How well do you really know your customers?”
• Nader Anaizi, Executive MBA alumnus and program manager at JP Morgan Chase & Co. He will discuss the subject of immigration and the life of one immigrant couple who came to the U.S. seeking freedom, education and a better life for their children—and the challenges they have encountered.
• Dinah Gueldephinig-Weisburg, Executive MBA alumna and president of Redcom Laboratories Inc. In addition to taking over the company founded by her parents in 1978, she is a competitive racecar driver and will discuss how leading a company and the challenges of racing offer tools to deal with the pressures of the corporate world.
• Melissa Owens-Stewart became the youngest female ever to finish the Iditarod in 2008. She is once again competing in the Alaskan Iditarod race this month, covering over 1,000 miles in nine days. She will be talking (virtually) three days after she finishes the 2017 race—on topics of goal setting, planning and dedication.

For more information about Sharpen the Saw, contact Kristi Mitchell, Saunders College associate director of marketing and operations for executive education, at 585-475-4029 or kmitchell@saunders.rit.edu.