News, achievements and milestones from the Simon alumni community.
- John Finley ’72S (MBA)
John Finley ’72S (MBA) has been coaching and investing in startups in Colorado and Ohio, helping entrepreneurs pitch to their own angel networks using Regulation D. For the last two years he has been focusing more on Reg A and CF raises, especially in hardtech and energytech. One of his investments, MemPro (a company he personally founded) has just been invited to participate in Techstars, a three-month program that helps propel less than 0.1% of all startups in the US.
John married Maura O'Hara in 2017, the couple split their time with children and grandchildren in Ohio, Colorado, and New Mexico. They enjoy skiing at Arrowhead and Copper Mountain in Colorado and riding bikes along Lake Erie in Ohio.
- Rev. Jen (Ryan) Lessard ’03S (MBA)
Rev. Jen (Ryan) Lessard ’03S (MBA) is now a part-time pastor of York Baptist Church in Up State New York and also part-time special assistant to Ecuador with American Baptist International Ministries working with indigenous peoples in the Amazon rainforest and the Andes.
- Andrea (Nikulich) Mravlja ’00, ’05S (MBA)
The oldest son of Andrea (Nikulich) Mravlja ’00, ’05S (MBA) has graduated from Virginia Tech this spring and has committed to Teach for America for the next two years! He'll be teaching middle school science in rural South Carolina and is excited to make a difference!- Sarah (Heximer) Klompstra '05, ’06S (MBA)
Sarah (Heximer) Klompstra '05, ’06S (MBA) has moved with her family to Ohio, just southwest of Cleveland. She has written and self-published a book titled, “Finding Your True Colors and Manifesting Your Dreams: One Journey to Self-Actualization.”
This year she celebrated five years as a business owner of True Colors Strategy — a fractional marketing company that provides short and long-term contract work, inserting herself as the strategic marketing SME to increase bench strength and help execute on marketing plans, acting as a "white labeled marketing executive and/or business alchemist for my clients.”
- Roger Cordero Mueses ’10S (MBA)
Roger Cordero Mueses ’10S (MBA) was promoted to Vice President, Global Compensation at Constellation Brands (Rochester NY).
- Sean Allen ’11S (MBA)
After over a decade of experience in Corporate America and non-profit board management, Sean Allen ’11S (MBA) transitioned in March 2024 to focus on expanding his impact in project management. Since then, he has signed contracts with NSBE-Los Angeles Chapter, PMI Great Lakes Chapter, and NAACP Portland, furthering his reach in the field as Partner of DAS Estates LLC.
As a certified Environmental Social Governance consultant, certified professional career coach, and PMP® project management professional, Sean trains leaders and executives on project and program management principles, equipping them with the skills needed to drive projects to successful completion through effective collaboration with business partners.
In July 2024, Sean celebrated one year as the Global Co-Chair of the Black Alumni Network at the University of Rochester, cherishing the opportunity to learn how to empower volunteer leaders.
- Neha Kher ’13S (MBA)
Neha Kher ’13S (MBA) got married this year! She has known her husband, Puneet, for about nine years, and the wedding was in Bahrain where Neha grew up. She says that it was a dream wedding with loved ones who flew in from all over the world, and that she is “happy to share this news with my Simon family and excited to start married life.”
- Aileen (Maria-Ritchie) Hayman ’17S (MBA)
Aileen (Maria-Ritchie) Hayman ’17S (MBA) and family welcomed a baby girl, Orion, in April 2024. (Pictured in photo: Aileen and her family at their home in Columbus, OH. Left to right: Son, Ilyas, age 5; daughter, Orion, age one month; Aileen; and husband Bernard).- Emanuelle Medovoy ’22S (MBA)
Emanuelle Medovoy ’22S (MBA) got married June 2, 2024, to Rebecca Leyzerenok, and started a new job at Deloitte in July 2024.- Molly (Hildebrandt) Martin ’09S (MS)
In April, Molly (Hildebrandt) Martin ’09S (MS) joined Layr, a series-A insurtech startup, as the VP of product and first product hire. In this role she builds and leads the software product management team, culture and strategy. Layr is modernizing business insurance through technology, growing small commercial book profitability for brokers and providing an easy, intuitive, and self-service way for small business owners to self-service manage their business insurance coverage.- Vidhi Gadhiya ’23S (MS)
Vidhi Gadhiya ’23S (MS) started a new role at OMD USA as a Senior Associate: Marketing Science.
- Herbert Marshall ’20S (MBA)
Three years ago, Herbert Marshall ’20S (MBA) created an educational card game to promote more civil discourse in celebration of the great American experiment. The card game is currently patent-pending and is scheduled to be released on Apple and Android platforms (at the time of this writing). Go to the Statehood Cards website for more information.
He has also written and subsequently published a project management textbook titled The Project Oversight Guide.
- Aditya Naik ’22S (MS)
Aditya Naik ’22S (MS) completed his summer internship on August 12, 2022, and commenced full-time employment the following Monday, August 15. After graduating in December of 2022, Aditya says things were looking good until April 2024 when he was laid off.
“Being unemployed is a difficult situation, especially for internationals, with the unemployment period clock constantly occupying a large chunk of memory. After riding this roller-coaster for a few weeks, I am finally beginning a new chapter in my professional journey as a Senior Business Analyst. I'm sharing this with the Simon Community to emphasize the importance of resilience and maintaining a positive outlook, as well as to normalize speaking up about the tough times. I hope the Simon experience prepares you for great endeavors ahead.”