Stephanie Plaines (BSBA ’90) was named the new Chief Financial Officer at JcPenney. Plaines will lead all financial activities across the enterprise. She will drive best-in-class execution across functions including financial strategy, real estate, capital deployment, credit services, sourcing and
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In Memoriam | July 2022
Charles Kerekes | BSBA ’50 | 1925-2022 | Kerekes, of Clearwater, Florida, passed on May 30. Born in Ft. Pierce, Florida, he served in the Navy during WWII as an EOD technician and later graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in
Troy Atlas (BSAc ’88, MAcc ’90) | January 2022
Atlas (BSAc 1988, MAcc 1990) has been named President and CEO of Home Safety Solutions. The Tampa native specializes in business development and process optimization. His career includes successful roles at Raymond James, AIG SunAmerica and Deloitte. With Atlas’ arrival,
Cynthia Crofoot Rignanese (BSBA ’87, JD ’90) | June 2021
Rignanese (BSBA 1987, JD 1990) is the founder and senior managing law partner at Rignanese & Associates. This year, she is celebrating 30 years of practicing law in Polk County. Rignanese has received numerous awards for her outstanding professional accomplishments
Murat Mercan (Ph.D. ’90) | April 2021
Mercan (Ph.D. ISOM 1990) has been appointed Turkey’s ambassador to Washington, D.C. the United States. Previously, he was ambassador to Tokyo, Japan. Before being appointed to Tokyo in 2017, Mercan served as deputy minister of energy and natural resources. He
Carolyn J. Messinger (BSBA ’90) | December 2020
Messinger (BSBA 1990), CEO of UNIVERSALPREQUAL.COM, is proud to announce the launch of their standard, nationwide system for construction prequalification. The system serves the construction industry as the resource for firms to manage their prequalification process in one reliable, easy,
Beth Kigel (BSBA ’90) | December 2020
Kigel (BSBA 1990) has been appointed to the Florida Polytechnic University Board of Trustees. Her term on the board will run from 2020 to 2025. Kigel serves as national practice leader, intelligent transportation systems and vice president at HNTB Corporation.
Mike Silva (BSAc ’90, MAcc ’94, JD ’94) | April 2020
Silva (BSAc 1990, MAcc 1994, JD 1994) is partner at McDermott Will & Emery. The office recently expanded its Miami Tax and Private Client presence with a six-member team including Silva. Silva advises on international tax law, focusing on US
Sal Melilli (BSBA ’90) | July 2019
Melilli (BSBA 1990) is EVP and Chief Strategy Officer at Hooters Management Corp. Melilli has been in senior management with Hooters Management Corp. for 15 years, most recently as vice president for the 11 Chicago restaurants. He started at Hooters
Renee Elsner (BSBA ’90) | July 2019
After being a stay at home mom for almost 15 years, Elsner (BSBA 1990) is jumping back into the sales industry at Peach, a women’s athleisure brand, as executive director. “I am also thrilled to be working in Direct Sales,