Since our charter class graduated more than 25 years ago, alumni
from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management have been making
their presence known around the world.
Our graduates are CEOs, vice presidents, chief financial
officers, chief operating officers and entrepreneurs. Around the
globe, they have taken prominent roles as international business
leaders in a wide range of industries and organizations.
Graduate School of Management alumni are actively involved in
their communities, and they make time for mentoring, advising and
assisting current students and networking with fellow graduates.
Jill Abrams ‘03
Graduate School of Management Alumni Association, 2011 Outstanding Service Alumni Award
A graduate of the Daytime class of 2003, Jill Abrams is a marketing program manager at Agilent Technologies in Santa Clara, Calif.
In addition to her job responsibilities, Jill has devoted much time working for the GSM community. She has been one of Agilent’s campus managers for the School for the last eight years. She represented Agilent at nine GSM career fairs and has hosted two “Shadow Days” for GSM students, along with spearheading the effort to arrange for Agilent sponsorship as a premier sponsor at the 2010 ASM golf tournament.
David Quigg ‘94
Banking on the Future at Wells Fargo
David Quigg ’94 is enjoying a long, successful career at Wells Fargo, North America’s most extensive financial services network. After rising through the ranks in California, six years ago he moved to St. Paul, where he today serves as a senior vice president, managing 800 employees, $5 billion in assets and more than 40 bank stores. And he still finds time to squeeze in some golf—Minnesota weather permitting.
Phoebe Cameron ’98
A Consultant Gives Back
Phoebe Cameron joined The Warner Group (TWG) as a consultant after earning her UC Davis MBA in 1998. When Gartner Consulting acquired TWG a year later, she remained with the firm and today is a director in Gartner’s Sacramento, Calif., offices.
Christopher Zobrist ‘06
An Entrepreneur Invests in Vietnam
Shortly after receiving his MBA in 2006, Christopher Zobrist moved to Ho Chi Minh City. He subsequently founded and managed an IT outsourcing company, cofounded a lead-recycling company and has advised numerous start-ups. He also co-authored a grant proposal to raise $1 million U.S. for empowering people with disabilities in Vietnam.
Skip Wise ‘89
When he was 15, Charles V. “Skip” Wise and his family lived in Iran, where his father worked for an AT&T subsidiary—and unrest against the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi grew daily. While on a family trip to Thailand, their resident visas were voided and Iran closed its airports. “They didn’t want us back, and we didn’t try,” Wise said. From temporary quarters in Greece they watched the situation deteriorate. They returned to the United States just months before radical students took hostages at the U.S. embassy in Tehran in November 1979.
Chris Welsh ‘05
Disciplined Leader at Big Blue
For alumnus Chris Welsh ‘05, setting a standard of excellence is paramount in striving for personal and professional success.
The week before starting the UC Davis MBA program, he completed a tour as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps rated among the top 10 percent of his peers. Within days of earning his MBA, Welsh joined IBM in San Francisco, where he graduated with distinction—near the top of his class—from the company’s six-month Global Sales School.
Cathinka Wahlstrom ‘91
Graduate School of Management Alumni Association 2011 Distinguished Achievement Alumni Award
Swedish native Cathinka Wahlstrom, has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and journalism. She began her affiliation with the GSM in 1989 when she began the Daytime MBA program.
Her earlier work experience includes positions with the International Monetary Fund, Hay Management Consultants and Citibank.
David Sunstrom ‘85
Recognizing his “distinguished career in public sector finance and auditing” and his “strong commitment to serving citizens through transparency in financial reporting,” the Financial Accounting Foundation has named alumnus David E. Sundstrom ’85 to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).
Cleveland Justis ‘04
Cleveland Justis ‘04 came to the Graduate School of Management from the nonprofit world looking to learn hard business skills, make business connections and take on leadership opportunities. He got much more than he expected.
Christine Gulbranson ‘96
Takes Innovation to the Fifth Degree
Equally at home with scientists, executives, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, alumna Christine Gulbranson ‘96 is an innovator to watch. At 34, she has an academic, professional and leadership record few her age can match.
Sue Miller-Sylvia ‘98
IBM Exec Blends Business with Technology
Since graduating from the Working Professional MBA program in 1998, Sue Miller-Sylvia’s career has expanded to draw on her diverse skill set. Her two senior roles at IBM both challenge and nourish her, drawing on her strong leadership talents—and blending her dual backgrounds in business and technology.
Jennifer Vogt ’03
Adding Value by Leveraging Both Sides of the Brain
As the internal audit director at DreamWorks Animation, Jennifer Vogt combined the creative credentials she’d earned at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and her MBA to understand and advance both production and financial perspectives. Now she’s bringing that right brain-left brain duality to her new position as director of Contract Compliance Services at KPMG.
Osman Mohammed ’03
Redefining Our Relationship with Technology
As a technical program manager at Intel Corporation, Osman Mohammed ’03 enjoys the challenges and rewards of inspiring and leading teams to deliver key strategic products that help Intel gain a competitive edge. “My work is challenging, exhilarating—and never boring,” he explains.