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School honors Bieler and alumni executives
Scott Bieler, president and CEO of West Herr Automotive Group, was honored as the 2025 Buffalo Niagara Executive of the Year by the School of Management. The award was presented in April at the School of Management Alumni Association’s 74th Annual Awards Ceremony. Established in 1949, the award is presented annually to an individual who resides in or has a major impact on the region, and whose career has been distinguished by executive success and civic leadership. Bieler was selected by a vote of past honorees and the alumni association’s board of directors.
In addition, the school recognized the following alumni for their considerable impact on the school, the community and their industry:
Service to the School Achievement Award
Kathleen Chiavetta, CEL ’20
Chief Operating Officer, Chiavetta’s Catering
Faculty Award for Alumni Engagement
Michael Krupski, BS ’11, PMBA ’21
Clinical Assistant Professor of Strategy, School of Management
Emerging Leader Achievement Award
Alexandra McLeod, MBA ’17
Founder and CEO, Parlay Finance
Entrepreneurship Achievement Award
Dorian Mullens, MBA ’99
CEO, serial entrepreneur
Community Service Achievement Award
Sammy Violante, BS ’75
Life Coach, Mentor and Inspirational Speaker
Piscitelli tapped for Chancellor's award
Jeff Piscitelli, senior executive director of advancement, will be recognized with a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service for his leadership of the school’s advancement team. Piscitelli leads the school’s development initiatives, including direct supervision of major and principal gift fundraising, and collaborative oversight of annual giving efforts. He and his team work in concert to strengthen the culture of philanthropy by engaging internal and external constituents. As liaison to the university’s central advancement division, Piscitelli advocates for the school on behalf of its students, faculty and staff. As part of the university’s Boldly Buffalo campaign that concluded in 2024, Piscitelli successfully led his team to achieve the $57.5 million target for the School of Management, exceeding this sizable goal with an impressive $58.2 million campaign outcome.
“In my time at UB, I have had the privilege of collaborating with many talented individuals, but few have impressed me as much as Jeff,” says Gwen Appelbaum, chief of staff. “Jeff has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to our mission. His intelligence, passion and compassion shine through in every interaction.”
The award is the highest staff honor in the SUNY system and will be presented this fall at the UB Celebration of Academic Excellence.
Suresh named SUNY Distinguished Professor
Nallan Suresh has been named a SUNY Distinguished Professor, the highest faculty rank in the SUNY system. In the course of nearly 40 years with UB, Suresh has held multiple roles, including UB Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Operations Management and Strategy. In his current role as associate dean for faculty, research and centers, he has contributed significantly to building the school’s faculty strengths in research and teaching.
Suresh is an accomplished teacher, earning praise from both graduate and undergraduate students. He has chaired 24 PhD dissertation committees and developed master’s programs in manufacturing and supply chain management at UB and at partner institutions like the Singapore Institute of Management. He is co-director of UB’s Stephen Still Institute for Sustainable Transportation and Logistics and has been a visiting professor in universities in the Netherlands and China.
As a researcher, Suresh is known for his seminal works in cellular manufacturing and flexible manufacturing systems. More recently, his research has focused on supply chain agility, logistics and sustainable operations. He has authored numerous papers in leading publications and has held senior editorial positions in operations management journals, guest-edited key volumes and refereed articles for top-tier journals.
“Suresh has always combined a scholar’s curiosity with a leader’s instinct for impact,” says Ananth Iyer, dean, and fellow pioneer in operations and supply chain management. “Through both his teaching and his research, he has inspired generations of students and colleagues along the way.”
Among Suresh’s numerous awards are the Alfred V. Bodine Award for studies in machine tool economics, Outstanding Senior Editor Award from Decision Sciences Journal and the UB Exceptional Scholars: Sustained Achievement Award.
CLOE and Global Programs merge
After more than two years of operating under one umbrella, the School of Management’s Center for Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness and the school’s Global Programs Office have formally merged and will be called the Center for Leadership and Global Impact. Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah, clinical professor of organization and human resources, has successfully led both CLOE and Global Programs throughout this period, and will continue in her role as faculty director. Watch for an article in the next issue of Buffalo Business to learn more about the mission and vision of this new strategic alliance.
Career partners honored
The 2025 UB School of Management Career Resource Center Award winners.
The Career Resource Center, an exclusive resource for nearly 4,000 students in the School of Management, honored several recruiting and internship partners for their considerable impact on student success and career development.
CRC Alumnus of the Year
Todd Maciejewski, MBA ’16
Unilever
Recruiting Partner of the Year
Student and Early Career Team
Moog
Partner Organization of the Year
Citi
Outstanding Internship Organization
CTBK
Interns and Supervisors of the Year
Elizabeth Bock, MBA ’25
Alexandria Buckley and Brian Quinn
Excellus BlueCross BlueShield
Arpitha Ganesh, MBA ’25
John Landi
CTBK
Quinn Hargrave, BS ’24
Lt. Robert Mercurio
Buffalo Police Department
Pillars of service
The Office of the Dean introduced a new award in May to recognize faculty and staff annually who go above and beyond in their service, advancing the school’s strategic pillars of transformative education, thought leadership, engaging with impact and competing as a business school. The inaugural winners of the Dean’s Pillar Awards are (from left) Maria Kraimer, Cassie Nguyen, Amy Johnson and Jessica Farley.
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