A new generation is poised to rise within the executive ranks of the Eli Broad College of Business with the recent announcement of several leadership appointments for the college.
Those appointments include:
Cheri Speier-Pero
- Cheri Speier-Pero, who will be the new associate dean for undergraduate programs. She replaces Kathy Petroni. Speier-Pero previously served as the associate dean for MBA and professional master’s programs for the college and is currently serving as the interim chair of the Department of Supply Chain Management. The college has undertaken several important and substantive changes in the undergraduate program under Petroni’s leadership, including a major revision of the admission requirements for the Broad College, important changes in the core courses to build a foundation around the digital economy, curriculum changes to incorporate international business content for all Broad students, and expanding the availability of the business minor courses to all non-business students, among other things
Shannon Brecheisen
- Shannon Brecheisen, who was appointed as assistant dean for undergraduate academic services. In her new role, she will continue with all of the responsibilities she had as director of undergraduate academic services and will be the Broad College lead in some of the important university-wide changes being implemented to the scholarship system and the Student Information System (SIS).
David Frayer
- David Frayer, who has a new title as the assistant dean for outreach & engagement. This appointment expands his previous role as the assistant dean for executive development programs. Frayer’s new title signifies the importance the college places on the entire gamut of activities that fall within the purview of outreach into the community and engagement with stakeholders. In this role, he will lead the college’s efforts for expanding outreach and engagement and also chair the college’s Corporate Relations Team.
Sarah Singer
- Sarah Singer, who is the new full-time director of education abroad in the Broad College. She is overseeing the college’s entire portfolio of education abroad initiatives, with a primary focus on undergraduate students. Her responsibilities will include developing and coordinating Broad education abroad programs/options by working with faculty, international universities and third-party providers. While Kirt Butler has long served as a part-time director of study abroad in the college, this is the first time the Broad College will have a full-time coordinator, consistent with a global mindset being a key strategic theme for the college.
- David Hawthorne, who is joining the college later this semester as the new director of the Financial Markets Institute (FMI). Hawthorne graduated from the Broad College in 1984 with a BA in marketing. For more than two decades, he was a McDonald’s restaurant franchisee, owning and operating multiple stores in New York. Helen Dashney has served in the director’s role from the inception of the FMI more than 10 years ago. She has been a remarkable champion in making this program a great success in placing students in Wall Street careers at the premier investment banks, private equity and VC firms.
These appointments are in addition to the two new department chairs, Andrei Simonov for the Department of Finance and Vedat Verter for the Department of Supply Chain Management.
“While we will see the departure of many dedicated colleagues from their roles, we also welcome the above individuals to provide the important leadership for programs and initiatives towards our continuing march for making the Broad College recognized as a top-of-mind business school by focusing on the recognition of our brand, the reputation of our people and the rankings of our programs,” Sanjay Gupta, dean of the Broad College, said in revealing the new appointments.
“I urge you to join me in supporting all of these individuals in their efforts to continue to aim higher and do better for all of our students and stakeholders, present and past,” Gupta said.
