Smeal Lifelong Learning Podcast

The market for clinical cell selection will reach $1 billion by 2030. Tune in as Smeal alumnus Ted Liberti '03 M.S., CBO of BioMagnetic Solutions, discusses how his biotech startup's magnetic cell selection technology gives companies the tools to create cures for cancer as cell & gene therapy companies make genetically-engineered CAR-T cells for patients - the future of biotechnology. He discusses how and why he chose to bring his business to State College, and how his company is partnering with Penn State on this important research. #WeAre"If successful, CAR-T cell and gene therapies (CGT) products are a one & done treatment/Tx/therapy that lives, endures, and continues to deliver its benefits long term, providing bona fide cures in some cases – a word oncologists never use lightly.” –Ted Liberti

Alumnus trade expert and avid Smeal volunteer, William (Bill) C. Lane '75 ACCT, '79 M is back! The former Executive Director of Trade For America and Caterpillar's 40-year veteran of global governmental affairs discusses how trade and inflation are linked, along with what happen in the past that we should be aware of when looking at the current situation."When you put tariffs in place, you tend to dampen competition and when you dampen competition it makes it easier for people to raise prices.”–William (Bill) C. Lane

Tune in as aftermarket supply chain senior manager at Pratt & Whitney and co-founder & president of Junity App, Janoye Williams,'14 SC&IS discusses his passion project. Being a first-generation college graduate, Janoye's mission is to provide a platform to help high school students, especially those from low-income communities, find resources to assist them in reaching their educational and professional aspirations. Be inspired!“Having the opportunity to volunteer with youth, woke up a sleeping giant in me and inspired me to think of giving back in a sustainable way.” –Janoye Williams

#40 Ask an Expert: The Trials and Tribulations of Financial AdvisorsTune in as Financial Advisor and Executive Director at Morgan Stanley, Mitchell Stein '01 FIN is interviewed by alumnus Alex Sheinman '18 ADV, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Penn State Sports Business Conference. Mitch shares in depth insights on becoming and excelling as a financial advisor along with how hard times and using your failures can set you up for success.“Part of the day-to-day job is really to listen and understand. The best advisors out there are the best listeners.” –Mitch Stein

Alumnus Roger Osorio '04 FINIB, a reinvention coach and founder of The School of Reinvention, discusses his own path, tips for reinventing your mental wellbeing, why and how companies should include wellbeing into their strategy along with how to reinvent our own selfcare by developing healthy habits.“There are things that we can do to be intentional about designing our days, our routines, our lives for sustainable wellbeing, even when our jobs are not perfect.” –Roger Osorio

Alumnus Jim Le '96 B LOG, the Senior Vice President of Product Management at brightfin, discusses the top qualities needed to be a successful product manager, the importance of customer involvement in product development, and why it's necessary for leaders to inspire and include their team from start to finish.“Product management can be explained in a lot of different ways, to me the most simple way to think about it is prioritizing and making sure your company is working on solving the right problems, collaborating (both internally and externally), and bringing in the best solution for your customers.” -Jim Le

Alumnus Kyle Wang '14 FIN partner at Valhalla Capital weighs in on the cryptocurrency market over the last few years along with current trends, future possibilities, and what changes decentralized finance might have on Wall Street. “If you really enjoy the way that companies, entities interact with each other and how people transfer value or in many cases even communicate value, cryptocurrency is the beating heart of that.” -Kyle Wang

Alumnus innovation expert and entrepreneur, Brian Ardinger '94 MBA, Director of Innovation at Nelnet and founder of InsideOutside.io, discusses how to develop skills to innovate in any culture, handle failure of an idea, boost your productivity and how having a global perspective has contributed to his success.“Innovation is often thought about in the wrong terms..It's taking a new idea, seeing a problem, and executing on that to create valuable outcomes. Anyone can do that!” Brian –Ardinger

Tune in as Mario Tufano '02 FIN, interviews Mark Roach, both are partners and portfolio managers at Foundry Partners, LLC. Mario wanted Mark to share his over two decades of experience managing assets in all types of markets with our audience. Listen in as they discuss inflation – how it's defined and measured, what it has looked like over the past few decades, and what is working and not working for investing in the current market.“Recent concerns of inflation have bubbled to the surface since the start of 2021 as the global economy emerges from the COVID pandemic of 2020.” Mario Tufano '02 FIN“Wages, with the shortage of employees,…are already showing growth and this will continue if the administration passes a unified basic income standard. This could perpetuate a longer inflation cycle.” –Mark Roach, Managing Director, Foundry Partners, LLC

Alumnus trade expert and avid Smeal volunteer, William (Bill) C. Lane '75 ACCT, '79 M A was recently the Executive Director of the free trade advocacy coalition, Trade For America. Prior, Bill led Caterpillar's global governmental affairs team retiring after a 40-year career which included being a top lobbyist in Washington D.C. In this episode, Bill discusses the changes in trade due to the pandemic and the future of globalization as well as the value of his Penn State education. #WeAre"The lessons learned during this period of time are going to be studied and restudied.”– William (Bill) C. Lane

Smeal alumna entrepreneur Becky Savikas ’99 MKTG is the Vice President, HR Business Partner, Talent Strategy and Enterprise Change at Highmark Health. In this episode, Becky discusses what is going on in the healthcare industry, the pandemic job market, attractive transferable business skills, virtual on boarding best practices, the future of work from home and how this can open your company up to a diverse pool of talent!"You may have the best business plan and the best products, but if you don’t have the best workforce, you’re going to fall short.” –Becky Savikas

Tune in as Vinay Dattu '09 EMBA, Director of Legislative Information Systems for TN General Assembly, interviews his longtime business acquaintance and retired FBI cybercrime agent, Scott Augenbaum about the changes in cybersecurity over the years, ransomware, best practices for remote access, and current cybercrimes as well as providing free resources to help protect your business and family. "Part or most of cybersecurity is attributed to human error." Vinay Dattu"So many organizations are looking at cybersecurity as a cost and not an investment." –Scott Augenbaum, Cybercrime Prevention Trainer, Author & Keynote Speaker

Smeal alumnus, Andy Mowery ’88 QBA is recently retired and rewiring after serving as the Senior Vice President and Chief Product Supply Officer of The Clorox Company. In this episode, Andy discusses the importance and process of developing young talent through internships, co-ops and entry level rotational programs. During his time at The Clorox Company, Andy helped many young professionals, getting his company to buy into the strategic importance of this talent pool. After eight years, the supply chain organization is seeded with more than 70 future leaders from those programs who grew up in the Clorox culture."It’s a long game…Yes you will get short-term benefits, but building an organization is something you have to think about over decades.“ –Andy Mowery

Smeal alumna entrepreneur Renee Fry ’94 OPMGT is the founder of Gentreo, a startup company listed as the best in it’s category by U.S. News and World Report, Kiplinger’s and AARP! In this webinar, Renee discusses how she transitioned into her encore career, the company’s vision, roadblocks/accomplishments, and suggestions for people looking to find their encore career. You are your best salesman! "If you can help other people be excited about you, you can be excited about you too!"–Renee Fry

Smeal alumnus JD Donley '16 MKTG is a Customer Success Specialist III, Supervisor at connectRN Inc. while working on his side gig, The BeantownBoys, with Penn State College of Engineering alumnus, Joe Roberto, '16 BME! In this episode, JD discusses his and Joe’s side gig and how this passion has helped him be successful in his day job, as well as their roadblocks, accomplishments, motivational tactics and why teamwork makes for dream work with the right partner!"How I keep myself busy outside of work helps me bring a positive mindset to my day job.”–JD Donley

Smeal alumna entrepreneur Kathryn Dougherty '09 ECON/FIN is the founder and CEO of Spritz Beverages Co. a company dedicated to bringing healthy beverages to market and building a brand that inspires and empowers women. In this episode, Kathryn discusses why she became an entrepreneur, speed bumps in her journey, lessons from the corporate world that have helped her as an entrepreneur, the challenges she faces as a female entrepreneur along with her advice and how she gives back to others even with her busy schedule. It's all about paying it forward!"Go for it! You'll make mistakes, nothing will go exactly as expected, but every day, you'll take a step closer to that goal. Go build your legacy! –Kathryn Dougherty

Smeal Alum Executive Recruiter: Scott Noga at Lyneer Search GroupSmeal alumnus and executive recruiter, Scott Noga '00 ACCT is the Vice President at Lyneer Search Group which is an employee-owned firm dedicated to providing talent acquisition and talent management solutions tailored to each individual client. In this episode, Scott discusses his firm, the future job market, how his company partners with startups, finding the right executive recruiter, what recruiters look for on LinkedIn and what he enjoys about executive recruiting – using his creativity while leveraging his accounting education!“Treat an online interview like an in person one - dress professionally, create a professional setting, and eliminate distractions, you don’t want anything that will detract the interviewer from what you are saying.” –Scott Noga

In this episode, alumnus Josh Dolan ’13 MBA, Vice President of Global Logistics at Cardinal Health, discusses what makes supply chain an interesting career path, the many supply chain career opportunities, skills needed to be successful and grow, the importance in working with diverse teams, how to pivot into a supply chain career, and tips on how to continue to advance professionally. Make sure to tune in and find out Josh’s favorite professor and his JoPa story!“Never stop learning, and never lower the bar. Stasis, or complacency is the great killer of personal and professional growth.” –Josh Dolan

Smeal alumna and executive coach, Makeda Brown ’95 MGMT is the founder of PVR Coaching & Consulting, a company focused on helping organizations align people strategy to business strategy to maximize business results. In this episode, Makeda discusses best practices for aligning people and business strategy, the 5 generations in the workforce and what makes them unique and similar, leadership and motivational tips for this type of workforce, and finally, ideas on how to navigate, innovate, mentor and work together in a multigenerational workforce.“From a diversity standpoint, we all want to be seen and heard for who we are.”–Makeda Brown

In this episode, popular communications professor, Dr. Andy Gustafson shares information on why it’s hard to motivate people to vote, TV ads and the election, campaign strategies and mottos, the importance of staying in touch with elected officials and WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE!“I’ve seen firsthand some countries who do not have this privilege, honor, duty; and I couldn’t image living in a world where I didn’t have the ability to vote…Get out and vote everyone!"–Dr. Andre “Andy” Gustafson

In this episode, alumnus Joe Apgar '08 FIN ECON the COO at Pelotonia, shares his family’s cancer story, Pelotonia’s mission and how it has pivoted due to the pandemic, his career switch from for-profit to nonprofit, and best tips for succeeding in the nonprofit community. Tune in to find out what Smeal professor made a huge impact on his cancer journey!"People treat a job search in a non-profit differently than a for-profit and they should be the same. You want to work someplace where you can learn, grow, build your network and make an impact.” –Joe Apgar

Smeal alumnus and executive recruiter, Tyler Hine ('12 Marketing) is a Senior Manager at Michael Page, which operates in 35 countries around the world. In this episode, Tyler discusses the company along with job market changes from COVID-19, how to find the executive recruiter that is right for you, what recruiters are looking for on LinkedIn and what he enjoys about executive recruiting - It's all about relationship building!"The first interaction with a recruitment firm/recruiter should be viewed as an interview on both sides." —Tyler Hine

In this lifelong learning episode, Shari Handali (’81 ACCT) discusses job search tips in the current market, job hopping, how to find the best recruiter for you, the benefits of having a career coach, relationship building through trust, transitioning careers as well as her experience being a working mom.“The ability to build relationships is critical for success in all areas of life and requires trust and self-awareness. Once that is mastered, professional achievement will surely follow.” —Shari Handali

Smeal alumnus and executive recruiter, Kenny Dubin (’86 Accounting) is the Founder/CEO and Lead Recruiter at The Dubin Group,  a successful executive search firm he has been running for over 21 years. In this episode, Kenny discusses the latest hiring trends, his thoughts on job hopping, how to choose the right recruiter for your job search, the importance of LinkedIn, and provides advice on people looking to enter the field of recruitment."Companies want employees to stay for training, efficiency, culture and knowledge transfer.  If you change jobs every few years, studies suggest that can’t be accomplished. It costs the company up to 6 months of a person’s salary to train them.”—Kenny Dubin

Dr. Tim Simin, Associate Professor and Research Fellow in Finance at Penn State Smeal College of Business, provides information on best investment practices during uncertain times. In this episode, Tim discusses methodology that worked prior to the pandemic that may not be successful now, types of risk factors to consider, the CARES Act impact, and the difference in managing portfolios depending on where you are at in your career journey - close to retirement or decades away.“The hardest thing for most investors to manage when the market tanks or becomes volatile is fear.” –Dr. Tim Simin

Description:Dr. Jess Cornaggia, Alumni Professor of Finance in Penn State Smeal College of Business provides information on credit ratings which he has been researching for the last ten years. Dr. Cornaggia explains how company credit ratings can work for both large and small companies, the impact of COVID-19 on credit ratings, and how they can be used to help you in a job search.“Employees at any level that are involved in the company’s financial decision making, be it a CFO or entry level analyst, will have a part to play in managing the firm’s credit rating.” –Dr. Jess Cornaggia

Alumni Career Services Career Coach and Director, Keleigh Asbury, discusses the need to be open to change in order to advance in your career. Learn about the difference between change management and change leadership and the behavioral attributes of those who are good with and can act on change. Be an Oprah, not a BlockBuster!"Change is inevitable so the more you can embrace and prepare for it, the better it will be for both the short and long term aspects of your career."—Keleigh Asbury

Alumni Career Services Career Coach, Doreen Glenning uses her 25 years of corporate recruiting experience with Fortune 500 companies to help you virtually network into your next position. Learn about the use of social media tools, best practices for network engagement, handling rejection and the many resources available through the Penn State and Smeal alumni network. Listen in and learn to love networking!"Managing your career, much like managing a business, depends on building relationships.”—Doreen Glenning

As a career coach and assistant director in Alumni Career Services, Jennifer Nicholas ('17 PhD Workforce Education and Development) brings her passion for positivity to today's job search. Learn ways to “Zen” your workspace and how to maintain a positive mindset through self-reflection, focus, routines, and goal-setting. One tip: nobody can go it alone!“As your job search begins, surround yourself with sources of positive energy... identify the people and activities that bring you joy and... stay connected to these sources of joyful energy throughout your search.” —Dr. Jennifer Nicholas

Smeal alumna and entrepreneur, Elyse Lupin ('02 Marketing) started her company, Elysium Marketing Group LLC in 2015 after spending years working at large brands such as Disney, Comcast, and New Balance Athletic Shoe, and obtaining an MBA from Boston University. Her startup just recently turned 5 years old! In this episode, Elyse will discuss her reasons for starting the company and what makes it unique along with sharing some of the lessons learned along the way. She also talks about the challenges she has faced as a female entrepreneur and offers advice to those who want to follow in her footsteps. “Why shouldn’t it be you! I think sometimes women second guess themselves or come up with lots of reasons “why not.”—Elyse Lupin

Dr. Brian Cameron, Associate Dean of Professional Graduate Programs, discusses how Penn State Smeal College of Business leads the way in the creation of "stackable" online and residential programs with a wide variety of concentrations, choice, and flexibility. In the online space, Smeal offers one of the most robust and flexible portfolio of specialty master's programs and graduate certificates in the country. This portfolio is designed to enhance skill development and support an individual's 'portfolio career'. Brian shares the latest trends in business higher education, for example "stackable" programs allowing professionals to acquire a certificate and then continue on to receive a Master's degree in a way that complements a busy working lifestyle."There is a number of things that we have seen students are looking for in a program today. Obviously they are looking at the reputation institution and the quality. But, more and more, Gen Zers want the ability to customize the program around their individual needs, they want a lot of flexibility and a lot of control over how they get the degree and what it looks like. This is one of the driving forces behind our portfolio."—Dr. Brian Cameron

Smeal alumnus and entrepreneur Nick Savino ('18 Marketing) started his company NGS Productions right out of Penn State. Nick will discuss what led him to find his passion, how his parents have influenced his career decision, how supportive the Penn State network has been, and his future plans for NGS Productions. Nick will also talk about two of his videos that went viral - one of them being all things Penn State…We are!"Creative storytelling is the most powerful marketing tool when it comes to communicating your business and brand. These stories really allow people to resonate and connect with a video's message, opening up a door of possibilities. I have seen firsthand the impact it makes on the lives of other people."—Nick Savino

Featuring Smeal alumna, Dara Klein ('87 Marketing) who is a national speaker on board and CEO succession. Dara is currently the Managing Director at Kaplan Partners, a retained executive search and board advisory firm. For the last 15 years at Kaplan Partners, she has leveraged her 25 plus years of leadership in talent advisory helping CEOs and Boards of Directors operate more effectively. Join Dara as she walks us through the succession planning processes covering benefits for both the employer and the employee and important factors to consider. Dara will also touch base on succession planning for family owned businesses."The succession planning process goes hand in hand with strategic planning. Both processes of strategic planning and succession planning are enterprise wide efforts, and should therefore be a trickle-down effect."—Dara J. Klein

Featuring Smeal alumnus, Gregory A. Newman ('09 Marketing, ’10 English and, '10 History) who started out in the for-profit business sector in the Greater Philadelphia area and eventually found his way to non-profit; making a bold move to Southeast Asia before finding his niche somewhere in between. Gregory checks in from Yangon, Myanmar, where he works in a country and with a people that he has come to love. Learn about his life-changing decisions and how he is helping people in lower GDP nations by giving them a chance to improve their economic and social situations. Gregory was featured in Smeal’s 2019 Business Magazine and most recently, won the Smeal Diversity Leadership Award for 2020.“All people have some level of struggle in their lives and showing compassion and sympathy can traverse all borders and cultures.”—Gregory A. Newman

Join Smeal alumnus, Anirudh Kankatala, '14 Finance, as he shares experiences as a PwC consultant in the U.S. as well as his return to India to be an entrepreneur as the Director of Kankatala Textiles Pvt. Ltd, a family owned business . Anirudh shares insights on cultural differences as well as why he chose to return to India and where he thinks the country is headed in the future."Indians define multi-cultural a little differently as each state is quite unique with its own language and traditions."—Anirudh

Join Smeal alumnus, Terry Fry, ’72 Accounting, as he shares experiences along his 42-year career journey at PPG which took him and his family to Tokyo, Japan and finally for the last 10 years, to Shanghai, China. Terry shares insights on cultural differences and current events and talks about how his family’s support was a major factor in his success abroad.“Our global economy becomes more interdependent every day and having work experience outside the U.S. brings a different and hopefully valued perspective.”—Terry

Join Smeal alumnus, CemTuran, '06 Economics, as he shares experiences along the journey from his hometown of Istanbul, Turkey to his current position with Oliver Wyman in London, United Kingdom. Cem shares insights on the cultural differences and emerging business trends and talks about why he chose to come to the United States for his education."My understanding of economic concepts owing to my education [at Smeal] has always allowed me to get my head around new and complex subjects, where I may not have prior subject matter expertise."—Cem

As career coach and assistant director in Alumni Career Services, Jennifer Nicholas ('17 PhD Workforce Education and Development) brings her training in adult education, extensive research in workforce education and development, and her passion for helping people with career development into this podcast, discussing how effective branding can be when looking to advance or switch your career.“It is important to live your brand on a daily basis.”—Jennifer Nicholas

Learn how Alumni Career Services Career Coach and Director, Keleigh Asbury uses her strategic planning, entrepreneurial expertise, and career services background to help bring new tools like Jobscan and executive level coaching from Experiential Insight to help alumni advance their careers."Although analytical positions may have a strong potential to be automated, soft skills like critical thinking and verbal communication will be more important than ever."—Keleigh Asbury

Alumni Career Services Career Coach, Doreen Glenning uses her 25 years of corporate recruiting experience with Fortune 500 companies to provide knowledge on useful, free tools for profiling a company once you get that all important interview! The process will help you to formulate interesting well thought out questions, provide you with ones to be avoided, and information that will help you to decide if the culture of the company fits with your professional and personal values."Creating a company profile is the most organized way to look at and learn about a company's competencies, history, financials and culture."—Doreen Glenning

Dr. Shawn Clark, Clinical Professor of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Director of Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, gives us his take on the future of work and key trends related to innovation and entrepreneurship. His lively commentary gives listeners a glimpse into what his courses are like, including the new online Graduate Certificate in Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship offered by Smeal and delivered by Penn State's World Campus.“My advice is to follow technology advances and trends. Scan the environment and business periodicals so you know what is going on and if your organization or career stands to benefit or lose as a result of the evolution of these trends.”—Dr. Shawn Clark

Dr. Andrew Petersen, Associate Professor of Marketing, shares his thoughts on the future of the marketing field and best practices in business and industry driven by data analytics. This podcast includes discussion of Smeal's new online Marketing Analytics Graduate Certificate.“Most firms say in marketing that the translator function of analytics between data science and marketing implementation is one of the biggest gaps in careers in terms of being able to find people to fill those positions in organizations.” —Dr. Andrew Petersen

Dr. Forrest Briscoe, Associate Professor of Management, and Frank and Mary Jean Smeal Research Fellow, offers a wide range of insights on current practices related to corporate social responsibility and leading change in uncertain times. His perspective boosts the strategizing of values-driven employees striving for high individual performance, organizational growth, and societal impact.