Center for Entrepreneurial Studies Announces Appointment of Advisory Board Members
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
The Advisory Board is composed of seasoned and accomplished professionals and entrepreneurs representing a variety of business disciplines. The Advisory Board provides guidance and support to the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies in order to maximize strategic development, growth and success of student entrepreneurs at Seton Hall University.
"In order to build and maintain a world-class entrepreneurship center, we need the counsel and support of experienced and committed Advisory Board Members," said Stillman School Dean Joyce Strawser. "Our Advisory Board members have been loyal friends of Stillman and Seton Hall University for a number of years, and we are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber on our team," she added.
"Students at Seton Hall University have a unique opportunity to build on a solid academic foundation while allowing their entrepreneurial spirit to soar, " said Abe Kasbo, Board Chair and CEO, Verasoni Worldwide. "My colleagues and fellow board members are committed to our students' entrepreneurial successes to help them turn good ideas into great businesses."
Advisory Board members mentor Seton Hall University entrepreneurship students.
"A distinguishing quality of the Seton Hall University entrepreneurship program is the one-on-one mentoring and coaching relationships that our entrepreneurship students develop with our successful alumni entrepreneurs," said Susan Scherreik, founding director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. "Our dynamic Board of Advisors is at the heart of those relationships," she added.
The Advisory Board's 14 members will begin a three-year term and immediately begin to support the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies:
- Sunny Bathla '00, M.B.A '15 - Vice President, Virtusa
- Frank Cannone, JD '91 - Chair, Corporate Dept., Gibbons
- Bill Catalano '86 - Growth Advisor & Investor, WDC Angel Holdings
- Brian Fitzpatrick '75 - CEO, Bentley Laboratories, LLC
- Luciana Contuzzi Gencarelli '13 - Founder, zest
- David Gerstein (Emeritus) '63- President and CEO, Thermwell Products Company
- Joseph Hughes (Vice Chair) '71 - President and CEO, Country Club Services
- Bryan Jakovcic '09 - President and Owner, Fusion Health
- Abe Kasbo (Chair) '94, MPA '99 - CEO, Verasoni Worldwide
- Taseen Peterson '14 - Founder and CEO, Gamefuly, Inc.
- Pravina Raghavan, MBA '01 - Executive Vice President, Small Business Services & Economic Development, Empire State Development
- Victor Ricci '17 - Director of Growth, X-Mode Social
- Gabino Roche '98 - CEO & Founder, Saphyre
- Peter Tu, MBA '87, JD '94 - Managing Partner, Law Offices of Peter Tu
The Center fosters the collaboration of faculty, students, alumni and entrepreneurs to engage in activities and projects that advance hands-on entrepreneurial learning at the Stillman School. The Center serves as a catalyst to all Seton Hall students who are thinking of starting a business or have launched a business and need assistance to expand their venture. Additionally, the Center hosts an Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Induction Dinner to bring together alumni and students to celebrate the achievements of the university's most successful alumni entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs.
The Center's wide variety of programs and entrepreneurial resources, including startup competitions, boot camps, entrepreneurship lectures and a summer accelerator, provide experiential learning opportunities that supplement students' academic experience. The Center's mission, notes Scherreik, is to help students to develop an entrepreneurial mindset that will enable them to be innovative self-starters and creative problem-solvers, which are key skills required to excel in our fast-paced global economy.
Categories: Business
