Four alumni of the John M. Olin School of Business received Distinguished Alumni Awards April 19 at the school’s annual dinner at The Ritz-Carlton, St. Louis. Mahendra R. Gupta, Ph.D., dean of the business school, presented the Dean’s Medal at the same dinner.
Alumni awards are bestowed annually to recognize those who have achieved distinction in their fields and for embodying the qualities of leadership, integrity and commitment that the Olin School seeks to instill in its students. This year’s recipients are David Becker (MBA ’89), Carl Casale (EMBA ’92), Barbara Ann Feiner (MBA ’83) and Steven Stull (BSBA ’81, MBA ’85).
The Dean’s Medal, which is awarded to those whose dedication and service to the business school have been exceptional, was presented to W. Patrick McGinnis (MBA ’72).
Becker is president and COO of Cottingham & Butler, a leading risk management and employee benefits insurance broker. In 1989, Becker earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science and an MBA, magna cum laude. After graduation, he worked for IBM in St. Louis for four years before attending Harvard Law School, where he earned a doctorate of law, magna cum laude.
Becker then worked at McKinsey & Company, where he became a partner specializing in marketing and distribution. Becker serves on the Olin National Council and as president of the Greater Dubuque Development Corp. board of directors. He is active in the United Way and is developing a college scholarship program.
As Monsanto Co.’s executive vice president, Casale holds commercial responsibility for all of the global agricultural and biotechnology company’s businesses in North America and Latin America North. Casale went to work for Monsanto in 1984 as a Walla Walla, Wash., sales representative after earning a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Oregon State University.
Casale moved up through the company, came to its St. Louis headquarters and worked on a team developing new business concepts while enrolled in Olin’s Executive MBA program, from which he graduate in 1992. Casale serves on the Oregon State University Foundation board of trustees and is treasurer and immediate past chairman of CropLife America, a board member of the Wyman Center and chairman of the Monsanto Fund and Monsanto Citizen Fund.
Feiner, vice chancellor for finance and CFO at WUSTL, earned an MBA from Olin in 1983. She spent 13 years working for Edison Brothers Stores Inc. She joined the University’s administrative team in 1996 as director of investment management, rising to CFO in 1998 and in 1999, to her current position. Feiner has served as Olin’s Alumni Association president, chair of the Alumni Board of Governors and board member and treasurer of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research. She is a member of the investment committee of a St. Louis prep school and a member of her parish’s finance committee.
Stull, CEO and president of Advantage Capital Partners, earned a BSBA degree in 1981 and an MBA in 1985 from the Olin School. Advantage Capital is a private-equity firm with more than $800 million dollars in capital and is nationally recognized for its efforts in small-business capital formation, particularly for businesses located in distressed communities or geographically underserved areas where little or no venture capital infrastructure exists.
Examples of companies in which Advantage has invested, and which subsequently have gone public, include Stereotaxis, Birch Telecom, Savvis Communications, Omni Energy and Hoku Scientific. Before founding Advantage Capital, Stull headed General American Life Insurance Co.’s securities division, managing portfolios of both public and privately traded investments.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of Denver, McGinnis came to Olin with no business training. He joined Ralston Purina Co.’s marketing organization in 1972 — the same year he earned an MBA — and rose through the ranks. When Nestlé acquired Purina in 2001, he became president and CEO of Nestlé Purina PetCare Co. McGinnis has provided opportunities for Olin students through executive education support, internships and career opportunities. Under his influence, Nestlé Purina PetCare has partnered with Olin to create a corporate development program to help strengthen and evolve the company’s category leadership. McGinnis serves on Olin’s National Council and the University’s Board of Trustees. During the Campaign for Washington University, he established the W. Patrick McGinnis Professorship in Business. He is a Danforth Circle member of the William Greenleaf Eliot Society.
McGinnis has many family ties to the University: His older son earned an MBA from Olin, his brother holds a BSBA from Olin and his father is a graduate of the School of Medicine.