Donald P. Laden is the owner of Upnorth Investments LLC, a private equity company. Upnorth focuses on investing in small businesses in the pet industry, where Laden has had a varied and successful career. Laden's career began at age 19 when he joined the first sales team at Iams Pet Foods. He eventually became regional manager, then marketing manager in charge of national sales promotions, and was later promoted to marketing manager, New Product Marketing. After graduating from Wright State, Laden became president of Complete Petmart, a chain of local pet supply superstores. After the company was sold, Laden started Petovations, which aimed at creating new and different products for the pet industry. Laden later acquired Pet Warehouse, a small catalog and Internet marketer of pet supplies.

Favorite Wright State University memory:
"... graduation...having remembered standing in the courtyard area in 1987 when I first reentered college and thinking 'this is going to be a long haul' and then walking up to receive my diploma! It's a powerful memory!"

Future plans or goals:
"I am continuing down an entrepreneurial path and looking to invest in or acquire small businesses. I hope to some day get my master's in Business Administration and maybe become a teacher!"

Best advice I ever received:
"...[from] my Dad... work hard, treat people with respect and good things will happen!"

How I relax:
"... ride motorcycles and play golf (not at the same time though!)."

Favorite quote:
"I'm a great believer in luck. The harder I work, the more I have of it."--Thomas Jefferson

Ron Marshall is CEO of Nash Finch Company, a Fortune 500 company and one of the largest wholesalers in the country, serving more than 2,200 independent supermarkets, military commissaries, and other institutional accounts in 30 states. Nash Finch also owns more than 90 stores under the Econofoods, Sun Mart, and Family Thrift Center trade names. As CEO, Marshall oversees the company's more than 12,000 employees and more than $4 billion in annual sales.

Before joining Nash Finch, he served as executive vice president and CFO of Pathmark Stores, Inc., a leading grocery retailer with annual sales of $3.7 billion serving the Mid-Atlantic states. Marshall also served as senior vice president and CFO of Dart Group Corporation, a retailer of groceries, auto parts, and books. Before that, he was vice president and CFO of Barnes & Noble Bookstores, Inc.

Marshall currently sits on the board of directors for the Food Marketing Institute and the Wright State University Foundation. He serves on WSU's National Alumni Advisory Council and is also a commissioner on the President's Commission for Special Olympics Minnesota.

In his spare time, Marshall is a skilled pilot and a certified scuba diver. He has completed several marathons and carried the Winter Olympics torch.

Favorite WSU Memory:
"The faculty members who were role models and prepared me for the internship program. I did so well that I was hired right after graduation."

Best Advice:
"Always treat people with integrity, honesty, and sincerity. Across the long term, building credibility with people is the way to be successful."

Last Book Read:
John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Freedom, 1937-1946, by Robert Skidelsky

Richard M. Wegmann is chairman and CEO of BusinessLabs, a provider of leading-edge e-Commerce and enterprise business management solutions to mid-sized companies in the manufacturing, distribution, and service industries.

As a division of Digital Concepts, Inc., BusinessLabs has implemented numerous design and development projects for commercial enterprises. The company provides expertise in the implementation of workgroup technologies, particularly solutions based on Lotus, Microsoft, and IBM products and systems.

Wegmann continues to serve Wright State as a member of the Wright State University Foundation Board of Trustees. He is a lifetime member of the Wright State University Alumni Association and has assisted with the Corporate Appeal in various capacities. Wegmann has also provided guidance and input on the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Raj Soin College of Business.

Wegmann serves on the boards of several community organizations, including the Dayton Ballet, the Engineering and Science Foundation, the Rotary Club of Dayton, and the Electronics Equipment Manufacturer's Group. He is also a member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, where he received a meritorious Service Award in 1994.

Favorite Wright State Memory:
"Receiving the 1999 WSU Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award."

Favorite Quote:
"The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries." Winston Churchill

Future Plans:
"To continue to balance family, work, social, and volunteer activities."'

Brian G. Cooper is chief operating officer of Cox Ohio Publishing, Inc., and general manager of the Dayton Daily News. Cox Ohio Publishing publishes the Dayton Daily News, the Springfield News-Sun, The Middletown Journal, the Journal News (Hamilton), five weekly newspapers, and various Web sites in the Dayton/Miami Valley and Southwest Ohio Previously, Cooper served as senior vice president of Cox Newspapers, Inc., a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., in Atlanta. Cooper was responsible for overseeing Cox's nine community newspapers, the newspapers' financial operations, as well as the company's interest in Cox CustomMedia and PAGAS Mailing Services. Cooper also served as a representative on the boards of Trader Publishing Company and Agora Holdings, corporate parent of Poland's largest daily newspaper.

Active in civic organizations, Cooper has been a board member for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta and the Center for the Visually Impaired Foundation. He is currently treasurer of Inspired Practices in Early Education, Inc., a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of early care and education in Georgia.

Favorite WSU Memory:
My undergraduate time spent working off-campus and going to school. I enjoyed taking some time off in the afternoons and working in a game or two of racquetball in the Physical Education complex.

What I Do for R&R:
I'm not very good at rest and relaxation. I always seem to be in motion.

Favorite Quote:
Having just returned to Dayton, I've been thinking about one of Yogi Berra's statements: "It's deja vu all over again."

David S. Gutridge is CEO of MTC Technologies, Inc. (MTCT), a $200 million provider of engineering and information technology services to the Department of Defense and various intelligence agencies.

Before joining MTCT, Gutridge spent 10 years at Dayco Corporation (later renamed Day International) that culminated in his serving as president and chief operating officer. After the company was sold to M.A. Hanna in 1987, he served as president and COO for the bulk of the combined company. After joining MTCT, Gutridge assumed responsibility for all manufacturing operations including directing the start-up of a new technology plastics business, and the financing, acquisition, and disposition activities for the seven businesses affiliated with the company. In June 2002, MTCT became a public company after only 79 days, a virtually unheard of feat. Barron's listed the initial public offering as one of the top 10 IPOs of 2002.

Gutridge was founding chair of the Premier Health Partners Board of Trustees and has chaired the boards of Good Samaritan Hospital, the Wright State University Foundation, and the advisory board for the Raj Soin College of Business.

Favorite WSU Memory:
Helping to establish the first student government.

Future Plans and Goals:
My immediate plans and goals are centered around making MTC Technologies a great investment for our shareholders. Longer-term goals are centered around retirement and enjoying our grandchildren.

Best Advice:
Always have a back-up plan.

Gregory G. Lockhart is the United States attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Appointed by President Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001, Lockhart primarily works with the prevention and prosecution of terrorist activities, violent crime, drug trafficking, public corruption, and white collar fraud. Prior to his United States attorney appointment, Lockhart was an assistant U.S. attorney and was responsible for the civil defense of lawsuits brought against the United States and its employees. His professional awards include Outstanding Contribution in the Field of Drug Law Enforcement from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Recognition for Trial Success from U.S. Customs. Lockhart has served as president of the Federal Bar Association of Dayton and the Greene County Young Republicans Club. Lockhart is currently a member of the Raj Soin College of Business Curriculum Review Advisory Committee.

Favorite WSU memory:
Participating in Model UN and playing cards in the Student Union.

Guiding motto:
Do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason.

Favorite book:
Brave New World.

Donna J. Back is the recently retired director of financial management and comptroller, Aeronautical Systems Center, at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Back was responsible for the multibillion-dollar financial management of weapon systems acquisition and sustainment programs, including B-1, B-2, C-17, F-22, F-15, F-16, and numerous subsystems. She supervised over 700 people at Wright-Patterson and Brooks Air Force Bases. Back's awards include the Air Force Exceptional Civilian Service Award and being named the Outstanding Financial Director in the Aeronautical Systems Center.

In her community, Back has served on the Beavercreek School District Advisory Council and Strategic Planning Committee. In addition, she has served in leadership positions for the American Society of Military Comptrollers, the Air Force Executive Enhancement Advisory Group, the Wright-Patterson Heritage Benefit Board, and Culture Works. Back also serves on the Raj Soin College of Business Corporate Advisory Board at Wright State University.

Future plans:
After a 33-year Air Force career, concentrate on work-life balance.

Favorite quote:
"Count success by not how high you climb, but by how many you take along." Will Rose

Best advice:
Find a coach or mentor.

Jamie King is CEO of Crowe Manufacturing Services. In 1988, King tapped into her life savings, took out a second mortgage, and borrowed $1 million to buy Crowe Manufacturing Services, a contract manufacturer that also makes valves and linkage assemblies. Under King’s leadership, the company expanded its service, tripled the number of employees, and earned numerous quality awards.

King and her company have been recognized with the Entrepreneur of the Year award; Dayton Small Business of the Year; the Ohio Governor’s Award for Women’s Excellence in Enterprise; and the Toastmaster’s Club Award for Communications Excellence. She has been on the boards of the Dayton Development Coalition, the Ohio Manufacturer’s Association, Key Bank for the Southern Ohio District, and the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce.

Named one of Dayton’s Ten Top Women in 2002, King is currently a member of the Wright State University Board of Trustees. She has mentored students through the Student-Alumni Connections program in the Raj Soin College of Business for several years. She is on the executive committee and finance committee for the Dayton Foundation, and is a director and chair of the audit committee for Friedman’s Jewelry in Savannah, Georgia.

“We get to be who we are because of the people around us. At Wright State, many contributed to my success. The strong accounting program and faculty at Wright State provided a foundation from which I’ve been able to grow.”

Christina S. Howard, B.A. ’74, M.S. ’80, vice president of entrepreneurial development for the Dayton Development Coalition, is the Outstanding Alumni Award winner from the Raj Soin College of Business. She is currently focused on the implementation of the Dayton region’s newest entrepreneurial effort, the $22.5 million Entrepreneurial Signature Program, which supports emerging technology companies through grants, equity investments, and entrepreneurial assistance programs. Howard also manages the Miami Valley Venture Funds and the Dayton Investment Network.

Howard has served as a staff economist in the Office of Management and Budget in Dayton, and as assistant director of the City-Wide Development Corporation. She served as vice president of Society Bank from 1982 to 1991, and president and chief executive officer of Concord-Renn Company, a tool and machining company located in Cincinnati, Ohio, from 1991 to 2001.

In addition to her work for the Dayton Development Coalition, Howard serves on the Business Advisory Board of the Wright State Raj Soin College of Business.