Business, Entrepreneurship, and Finance

College of Arts & Science

Zainab Rizvi (CAS ʼ23) recently joined a startup titled Jetzy, a global social network for travelers. (Winter 2024)

Nicholas S. Pagano (CAS ʼ18, GSAS ʼ22) has joined the Fulco Team at Exit Realty Private Client. (Winter 2022)

Juliana Falzoni (CAS ʼ17) and Andrea Garrido-Lecca (STERN ʼ17) launched a Latinx women-owned business, Nudah Basics, that produces absorbent and sustainable underwear to be used during menstruation, postpartum, incontinence, perimenopause, or for day-to-day wear. (Summer 2023)

Steven Lee (CAS ’13) was selected as one of the most influential Asian Americans on the Gold House A100 list. He is a partner at venture capital firm SV Angel, which invested in Google, OpenAI, DoorDash, Facebook, and Airbnb. (Spring 2024)

Genevieve Dreizen (CAS ’09) is the cofounder of Fresh Starts Registry. Fresh Starts is a first-of-its-kind platform built to support those going through brave and bold changes, such as divorce, job changes, coming out, living through grief, and more, by revolutionizing the art of starting again. The company has appeared in the following press outlets: The Associated Press, ABC News, TIME, Fast Company, HuffPost, TODAY, The New York Times, Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, NBC News, and more. (Summer 2024)

Mabel Frias (CAS ’08) and her sister have co-founded a beauty company, Luna Magic, to champion diversity and inclusivity for multicultural customers and will be entering the largest retailer in February 2021. (Summer 2020)

Jovana Rizzo (CAS ’08) is the vice president of communications at Fairstead. (Spring 2022)

Aaron Sherman (CAS ’06) was recently featured in Wine Enthusiast's 40 under 40 Tastemakers of 2021. He is the co-founder and CEO of SevenFifty, a groundbreaking online platform for the beverage trade that helped the US hospitality industry survive the COVID pandemic. (Winter 2022)

Yigal Rechtman (CAS ’95) is among the founders of RSZ Forensic Associates, a forensic accounting firm. (Spring 2022)

Arjun Majumdar (WSUC ’93) is celebrating the 10th anniversary of his fashion brand, AREA STARS, a queer and minority-owned sustainable, ethical, and charitable brand based in NYC but global in distribution. (Winter 2024)

Fritz Francois (WSUC ’93, GSM ’97, ’07) is one of Crains NewYork's 105 honorees for its 2022 list of Notable Black Leaders and Executives. (Spring 2022)

Matthew Fasciano (WSUC ’92, SSSW ’96) was recently named President + CEO of Delivering Good, a national 501(c)(3) organization that supports people affected by poverty and tragedy through the distribution of new merchandise donated by retailers and manufacturers. (Summer 2022)

Tiffani Bell (CAS ʼ92) has been promoted to Director of Marketing for the Georgia region of Kaiser Permanente and has also been named as Secretary on the board of directors for Leadership Perimeter. (Fall 2023)

Morgan Ritz (CAS ’91) has been appointed as the new president of All-volunteer, nonprofit Phinney’s, which is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. (Spring 2022)

John A. Barnes (CAS ’82), has been named Executive Speechwriter at Abu Dhabi National Oil Company in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. (Spring 2023)

Allan Hass (WSC ’79) is entering into semi-retirement, moving into consulting and advisory roles after decades of sales, marketing, and leadership roles in the software industry. (Winter 2022)

Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences

Rhoda Okunev (CIMS ’00) is celebrating writing the books Analytics for Retail: A Step-by-Step Guide to the Statistics Behind a Successful Retail Business and The Psychology of Evolving Technology: How Social Media, Influencer Culture and New Technologies are Altering Society. (Spring 2023)

Gallatin School of Individualized Study

Justin Baer (GAL ’04) was featured on Shark Tank for his innovative apparel company, Collars & Co. Justin secured a deal for $1 Million from Mark Cuban and Peter Jones. (Fall 2022)

Alexis Haselberger (GAL ’03) opened a time management and productivity coaching and consulting business after leading HR and business operations in early-stage start-ups for many years. She has also built and launched a new online course on the topic of Hybrid Leadership and created an online program called Time Well Spent that translates her highly sought-after coaching program into a self-serve model. (Spring 2022)

Graduate School of Arts & Science

Shea Keats (GSAS ’13) is a founder and advisor of Breakaway Bookkeeping and Advising, a virtual network of bookkeeping and advisors on the mission to bring joy to accounting. (Winter 2021)

Dr. Gulseren Mutlu (GSAS ’10), also known as "Dr. G", is a former Economics Professor who founded Monies Wealth, providing independent, fiduciary and tailor-made investment advisory and financial planning services for individuals and families. (Summer 2023)

Sloane Lucas (GSAS ’95) currently leads strategic development and execution of national, regional and local philanthropy-related programs and initiatives, including ESG/CSR and Sustainability communications. She serves as Executive Director of both The Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Foundation and Cracker Barrel Cares, an employee crisis relief fund. (Spring 2020)

Ken Phillips (GSAS ’72) celebrates the publication of book four in his Civil Society Series and the expansion of his website at NGOFutures.com. He is working on book five on Governance, Management, and Teams for both nonprofits and corporations. (Spring 2023)

School of Law

Jennifer Njuguna (LAW ’09) became Co-CEO of Common Future, a 501(c)3 focused on advancing racial and economic equity to create an economy that works for all. (Fall 2023)

Jon Lamphier (LAW ’09) has become the Vice President, Tax and Tax Counsel at Steel Partners, the publicly traded global holding company. (Fall 2023)

Winston Ma (LAW ’98) is Chair of the Nasdaq-listed MCAA (a SPAC company). Football club FC Barcelona announced in August 2023 that it has entered into a definitive agreement with MCAA to bring its content creation platform, Barça Media, to the United States and other global financial markets. (Winter 2023)

Liberal Studies

Waania Mirza (LS, CAS ʼ19) is celebrating the achievement of her dream—a true top-in-class custom Italian menswear brand: Sasa Milano, with the first atelier opening in Brooklyn, 717 Avenue U, in June 2024. (Spring 2024)

NYU Shanghai

Kenton Blacutt (SHANGHAI ʼ21) co-founded an NYC based company called Kikt. Kikt is an alternative method of payment (mobile application) which uses QR codes to process transactions in order to provide a fast, contact-free experience for both merchants and users. The goal of the company is to help businesses avoid predatory payment processing fees while also allowing a contactless ordering experience and rewarding customer loyalty with free items. (Summer 2020)

School of Professional Studies

Emine Kasapoglu (SPS ’13) started a new role as Manager, Procurement Content Creation with Johnson & Johnson at the company's New Brunswick, NJ headquarters. (Spring 2022)

Betsy Riley (STEINHARDT ’09) and Elizabeth Myer (GAL ’09) launched Swehl: the first modern platform for breastfeeding. With open-access education, real community and innovative products, they are overhauling a dated, fragmented and inequitable category. (Spring 2023)

Shayna (Priluck) Bergman (SPS, ’08) is excited to announce the one-year anniversary of her Executive & Leadership Coaching practice: Shayna Bergman Coaching where she specializes in partnering with parents who want to achieve more success with less stress. (Winter 2023)

Jason Gluskin (SPS ’08) has been named Space Auto's, the new integrated software and marketing solution for auto dealerships, new Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). (Winter 2023)

Neptali Martinez (SPS ’08) is publishing his first book titled, CoachAbility: Are you in the state or condition to be coached? It presents real case scenarios on executive and career coaching. (Winter 2023)

Arelis Baird (SPS ’98) has founded Arelis-HR, a virtual Human Resources Consulting firm that provides services to startups and small and medium-sized businesses that do not have an HR professional on-site or need assistance with HR projects. (Winter 2022)

Silver School of Social Work

Eric Alimoh (SSSW ’18) has established Ampoh Foundation, a nonprofit organization helping people with disabilities in Ghana and the communities in New Jersey. (Fall 2022)

Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development

Hillary Spiritos (STEINHARDT ʼ20) founded a personal development and pathfinding coaching consultancy, Bat Outta Hell. She helps young adults look inward to figure out who they are, what they want, and what they're capable of, and develop the skills needed to execute the steps to move forward in their lives and embrace their fullest, most authentic selves! (Spring 2024)

Alexa Loken (STEINHARDT ʼ12) is thrilled her business Loken Careers is turning 10 years old! She's a triple entrepreneur who started career coaching because it was so fun, and now focuses on social impact professionals. (Fall 2023)

Lauren Pepin (STEINHARDT ʼ07) is celebrating her completion of the Real Estate Board of New York's Fellow Leadership Program Class of 2023 as well as being ranked in RealTrends The Thousand rankings for brokerage as part of the top 1.5% of real estate professionals in the country. (Summer 2023)

Velma Jones (STEINHARDT ʼ07) is Director of Internet Brands's automotive vertical, the first BIPOC woman to hold the position, and a 2021-2022 AmeriCorps Civic Action Fellow. (Winter 2022)

Frances Kweller (STEINHARDT ʼ04) was named Forest Hills Businesswoman of 2023. (Winter 2023)

Monica Alessandra Tierney (STEINHARDT ʼ03) founded educational company Mio Reggio, which recently launched a new green city block set to teach children about green building concepts. This past October it received the Good Housekeeping Sustainable Innovation award and featured in their November print issue. Her startup was also listed as one of 35 Sustainable Companies to Know About by Good Housekeeping Institute. (Winter 2022)

Jennifer Ravalli (STEINHARDT ʼ02) was appointed Chief Marketing Officer for Harri, an HR Technology SaaS Company that offers employee experience technology for the frontline workforce. (Fall 2022)

Stern School of Business

Charlotte Kassimir (STERN ʼ22) recently became the co-founder of Whatcha, a venture-backed, mobile-first social network for entertainment insiders & lovers to discover and discuss movies, tv, books, and podcasts. (Winter 2023)

Pankaj Jain (STERN ʼ19) is pleased to join the Board of TiE New York and co-chair the angel investment committee. Jain also recently launched an early-stage venture capital fund based in New York. (Winter 2023)

Peter Czepiga (STERN ’17) and Raylen Margono (CAS ’17) are celebrating the launch of their new company, Ando—the world’s first gummy supplement designed to reduce the effects of Alcohol Flush. (Winter 2024)

Samir Goel (STERN, CAS ’16) and Abbey Wemimo (WAG ’15) are the cofounders of Esusu, which has become a unicorn enterprise with a $1B valuation in their latest financing. (Winter 2022)

Joseph Legasto (STERN ’15) is the incoming Chief Financial Officer of DMCI Holdings, Inc. He conducts analysis on business strategies through active portfolio management in order to drive corporate growth and maximize long-term value. This includes providing financial advice on a full range of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, raid defenses, spin-offs, divestitures and other restructurings. (Fall 2022)

Sandeep Satish (STERN  ’15) was selected as a recipient of the Sports Business Journal Forty Under 40 Award for the Class of 2023. (Summer 2023)

Daniel Noboa (STERN ʼ10) advanced to the second round of the Ecuadorian presidential elections. (Summer 2023)

Lorenzo Garza (STERN ’09) was promoted to Vice President at the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. In this executive role, he leads a group that monitors financial institutions and produces information used in monetary policy decisions. (Spring 2023)

Sylvia Louie (STERN ’09) was selected for the 2022 C3E Government Award- The Clean Energy Education & Empowerment (C3E). C3E is public-private sector collaboration focused on advancing women in the energy sector, led by the U.S. Department of Energy in collaboration with MIT Energy Initiative, Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy, and the Texas A&M Energy Institute. (Fall 2022)

Kara Howard (STERN ’08) is launching SI HER to onboard more women and non-binary individuals into web3. (Fall 2022)

Charles Breeden (STERN ’07) was promoted to Managing Director at Accenture. (Winter 2022)

Niladri "Neel" Mukherjee (STERN ’03) was named Chief Investment Officer for TIAA Wealth Management, joining the company from Bank of America where he served as the Head of Portfolio Strategy for more than five years. (Winter 2023)

Thomas Bertels (STERN ʼ02) published Fixing Work: A Tale about Designing Jobs Employees Love (Greenleaf Book Group), which explores what leaders can do to create intrinsically motivating jobs. (Summer 2023)

Eric Skoglund, CPA (STERN ʼ01) founded HMBLM Accounting, which offers accounting services to high-net-worth individuals and small businesses. (Summer 2023)

Eugene Dimitriou (STERN ’00) has created a private debt investment company Farsight Partners, focused on insurance risk. (Summer 2023)

Eric Bass (STERN ’96) is excited to announce the launch of Neurability Technologies, the first dedicated neurodivergent workforce-as-a-Service technology firm, as well as his engagement to Lisa Thomas of Detroit, Michigan. (Spring 2023)

Gene Boxer (STERN ’96) was appointed General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), a leading provider of online real estate marketplaces, information and analytics in the commercial and residential property markets. (Fall 2022)

Manny Martinez (STERN ’95) is celebrating his 38th year in financial services. He recently launched a boutique financial planning firm, Copa Wealth Strategies, helping professionals and business owners reduce their tax liabilities, protect their assets, and manage their wealth in order to maximize retirement. (Winter 2023)

Charlie Carway (STERN ʼ93, TANDON ʼ24) has unretired to become a NYS-licensed life insurance agent, selling annuities and insurance in the Bronx and Manhattan with the Knights of Columbus. (Spring 2024)

Loraine Kasprzak (STERN ʼ92) is celebrating 27 years as managing director of Advantage Marketing Consulting Services. She loves serving her small and midsize business and tech clients as a fractional CMO and marketing strategist. (Spring 2024)

Marcia Namowitz (STERN ʼ85) retired after 45 years in the financial services industry. The last 28 years of her professional life were spent as a private wealth advisor specializing in investments and retirement planning predominantly for LGBTQ+ clients. Since 2016, she has been a volunteer with the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and has recently been appointed to its National Board of Directors. (Fall 2023)

Caroline Vanderlip (STERN ’84) is the CEO and founder of Brooklyn-based Re:Dish, a company that offers a reusable container program that helps large organizations like Fortune 500 companies and school systems implement circular solutions that eliminate single-use waste. (Winter 2023)

Andrew J. Barile (STERN ’72) was elected to the Board of Directors of Accident Insurance Company (AIC) of New Mexico. (Fall 2023)

Thomas Itin (STERN ’59) was presented the the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles. (Fall 2023)

Tandon School of Engineering

Rodolfo Delgado (TANDON ’17) created Replay Listings, the first real estate listing platform in the U.S. focused on unedited video content. After seven years of successfully running his startup, he is now a recurrent contributor for Forbes and Entrepreneur.com. (Winter 2023)

Reno Rafly (TANDON ’11) is the CEO & Founder of Catalyst Global Consulting, which has been selected as the top 10 Emerging Organizational Development company in APAC 2022 by the Manage HR Magazine. (Spring 2022)

Michael Mascioni (TANDON ʼ83) released his book, New Startup and Innovation Models in Government and Politics, in November 2023. He recently served as conference producer for the Metaverse Spectrum conference. (Fall 2023)

Robert Bauman (TANDON ʼ66) donated his collection of Currency of the Chemical and Petroleum Industry which consisted of 550 coins, currency, medals and related material chronicling the history of companies through numismatics. (Summer 2023)

Tisch School of the Arts

Jenine Lurie (TSOA ʼ96) is excited to relocate to France after a 20-year digital consulting career in NYC and launch Visit Southwest France, a culinary tour business in Gascony. Please enjoy this traditional culture and immerse yourself in a gastronomic adventure! (Winter 2024)

Jim Willard (TSOA ’85) was hired this year as an executive for NTT Data, overseeing the information technology infrastructure of the National Life Group. (Summer 2022)

Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service

Charla Duncan (WAG ’13) was named a 2022 Trailblazer by Business North Carolina for her work with Warren County, which recognizes thriving business owners and professionals under age 40 who work in North Carolina towns and cities with fewer than 100,000 residents. (Spring 2023)

Miriam Altman (WAG ’13) and Alexandra Meis (WAG ’13) are the cofounders of Kinvolved, which was just acquired by PowerSchool. (Winter 2022)

Martin Baicker (WAG ’83) will serve as chief operating officer of Children's Aid, one of the oldest nonprofit organizations in New York City. (Spring 2023)