Alumni in Action

Business Casual: November 2024

An informal but informative newsletter for WSB alumni and friends

By Wisconsin School of Business

November 18, 2024

Fall illustration of Grainger Hall
While people gather with loved ones during this season of gratitude, we’re thinking about everything there is to love about the Wisconsin School of Business. As the Business Badger community prepares for our school’s upcoming 125th anniversary in 2025, we want to know what you love most about WSB. Visit go.wisc.edu/love-wsb to share your favorite things about WSB, which might be featured in a future publication or other WSB communication channel. Illustration by Shaysa Sidebottom Cook

The Briefing

Meet the 2024-25 Wisconsin Business Alumni Board
With a redefined set of priorities, the Wisconsin Business Alumni Board is poised to grow the impact and connectivity of the Business Badger alumni community. The reimagined board focuses on activating regional alumni networks, opening new doors to industry, and engaging young alumni. Additionally, the new structure assigns members to cohorts that are tasked with achieving specific, strategic outcomes.

Brand management project at WSB encourages young people to get out the vote
The presidential election may be over, but thanks to a nonpartisan social media campaign organized by WSB students, even more young people might be willing to participate in future elections. In collaboration with Milwaukee high school students and the League of Women Voters, members of Assistant Professor Aziza Jones’ (BBA ’13) class created short, engaging videos for social media as part of a campaign to motivate high school students to vote.

Alums discuss the CFO/CMO relationship at WSB’s 2024 Marketing Summit
Cynthia Chu (BBA ’99), CFO and growth officer at Audible, and Lynn Girotto (BBA ’90), CMO of Qualtrics, engaged in a lively conversation in September about their executive-level roles—and how finance and marketing can work together to achieve organizational goals. The two shared useful career insights and discussed the need to be “customer obsessed,” the importance of influencing key stakeholders, and the positive impacts of experimentation.

The Ticker

  • Visionaries and luminaries: Meet four members of the Business Badger community who received prestigious awards from the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
  • Entrepreneurship in action: As part of Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin’s strategic priorities, UW–Madison unveiled a strategic vision to further empower the entrepreneurial community across campus. You can read the full report, which features WSB alum Shasparay Irvin (BS ’20, MA ’23).
  • Faculty feature: Recently published in Harvard Business Review, new research from WSB’s Stav Atir explores the connections between expertise and overestimation of one’s own competence.
  • Defining your legacy: Alum Richard Lane (BBA ’77) sat down with Vallabh “Samba” Sambamurthy, WSB’s Albert O. Nicholas Dean, to discuss the key to a successful business career. This event was part of the M. Keith Weikel MBA Leadership Speaker Series.
  • Hot certificates: UW–Madison released the fastest growing undergraduate certificates from Fall 2019 to Fall 2023. Can you guess which two WSB certificates made the list?
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Back to School

Fall Updates from Grainger Hall

It’s been a busy Fall 2024 semester here at WSB, filled with spirited celebrations, impactful events, and big wins for the school! Check out some of our latest and greatest updates from Grainger Hall:

Kicking off the school year in September, U.S. News & World Report ranked WSB #9 among public institutions and #18 overall in the 2024-25 annual rankings for best undergraduate business programs. There was also much to celebrate in October, as the school recognized six alumni award recipients for their talent, service, and ongoing commitment to the Badger community.

During Homecoming week, WSB alumni, friends, and community members had a bashing good time at WSB’s annual Homecoming celebration (view photos from the event!) and worked together to raise over $31,000 for experiential learning during UW–Madison’s annual giving day: Fill the Hill.

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Tip Sheet

Find Community, Get Connected

The Wisconsin School of Business recently launched a brand-new webpage that highlights all the ways you can maintain and strengthen your relationship with fellow alumni and your alma mater. Here are three ways you can leverage this new resource to get connected and show your Business Badger pride:

  1. Update your contact information: Stay in the know on school news, networking opportunities, fun events, and more by ensuring your contact information is up to date. Tip: Provide your non-UW–Madison email address.
  2. Find a volunteer opportunity: Donate your time, talent, and insights through a variety of virtual and in-person opportunities. Tip: Ask about joining the WSB Alumni Voice Panel!
  3. Join the Wisconsin Business Alumni LinkedIn group: Keep in touch with over 10,000 WSB alumni and gain access to networking opportunities, professional development resources, and more. Tip: Introduce yourself with a post in the group to start making connections.

Alumni Opportunities

Watch your inboxes: The next issue of Update magazine will be available in mid-December!

Subscribe today: Stay current on the groundbreaking research and teaching excellence of WSB faculty through the new Leading the Way newsletter on LinkedIn.

Job search resources: Use online tools and videos to help plan a career move now or in the future.

About Business Casual

Every other month, alumni and friends of the Wisconsin School of Business will receive insider updates with news about our alumni, faculty, students, and programs. If you want to share Business Casual with friends, they can sign up at go.wisc.edu/wsb-biz-cas.

Questions or comments? Email businesscasual@wsb.wisc.edu

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