News, Notes, and Nods: Graduates
1978
Jane K. Cleland MBA’78 recently wrote Beat the Bots: A Writer’s Guide to Surviving and Thriving in the Age of AI. The book offers science-based creativity techniques meant to be a guide through the writing process to unlock imaginations and create compelling stories that resonate with emotional truth in ways that artificial intelligence can’t match. Cleland has written 14 novels and several books on the craft of writing, such as Mastering Suspense, Structure, and Plot, and Mastering Plot Twists.
John G. Peters Jr. MBA’78 recently co-wrote an article in Municipal Lawyer magazine, the journal for the International Municipal Lawyers Association. The article is titled “Understanding and Using Artificial Intelligence for Municipal Attorneys.”
1981
Jon F Weber ’80, MBA’81, who opened a boutique firm advising those who have lent money to companies that are restructuring, recently co-wrote “Journey from Creditor to Private Equity Investor.” The article, published in the March issue of the Journal of Corporate Renewal, describes the challenges creditors face when they inherit companies, and offers advice to lenders in similar circumstances.
1985
Enrique Turégano ’83, MBA’85 writes, “When I left California in 2017 after 31 years in the advertising industry, I thought I was retiring. But come to think of it what I have done, and NEEDED to do (thus my early retirement), was change jobs from ad executive to caretaker. I moved to Spain to take care of my 94-year-old mother who suffers from dementia. Not one regret. And she’s doing fine. Regards to my Babson (#2!) friends.”
1993
Ruthie Davis MBA’93 launched a new collection of luxury footwear using innovative, sustainable apple leather. The Bio by Ruthie Davis collection features two exclusive high heel designs, crafted with bio leather, a cutting-edge material made from repurposed apple waste. The collection uses Uppeal™ bio leather by Mabel Industries, a revolutionary material made from discarded apple peels, seeds, and skins—the byproducts of the apple juice and jam industries. Rather than letting the organic material go to waste, Uppeal transforms it into a durable, high-quality leather to create a sleek, high-performance alternative that aligns with the needs of conscious yet style-driven consumers.
2001
Aldo Di Rienzo MSF’01, chief financial officer of Rothschild & Co.’s alternative investing company Five Arrows, met with a group of Babson students studying abroad in London. Di Rienzo and others with Five Arrows detailed the variety of private equity funds the company focuses on and discussed internship opportunities.
2012
Dan Rashba MBA’12: See Undergraduate, 2002.
2016
Rich Palmer MBA’16 recently launched Adaptation Ventures, an angel investor group focused on disability and accessible technology. Palmer, who served as Entrepreneur in Residence at Babson from 2022 to 2024, has personal experience with disability after narrowly surviving a ruptured brain aneurysm, an experience he spoke about during TedxBabson College in 2023. Palmer, who had co-founded an AI-enabled fundraising software company, said he’s looking forward to using his lived experience to help the next generations of founders.
2024
Daniel Danes MBA’24 launched his own olive oil brand, TITIN, in April. Inspired by his great-grandmother Titin’s passion, Danes seeks to deliver high-quality olive oil made from his family’s olive groves in Spain. “We offer real, authentic extra virgin olive oil, single origin, single variety, and, most importantly, full traceability with our tracking code. We control every step of the olive oil process to ensure the best quality,” Danes wrote. TITIN is available online, and Danes plans to open a few stores in Boston and Madrid.
MORE NEWS, NOTES, AND NODS FROM THE SUMMER 2025 ISSUE:
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