News, Notes, and Nods: Undergraduates
1959
Larry Fitzmaurice ’59, who has moved to South Carolina, said he misses his volunteer association with Babson and urges members of his class and other alumni to reach out to him at dorsets4@comcast.net. Fitzmaurice also issued a challenge to his classmates: “Let’s have the Class of 1959 be 100% donors in 2024.”
1997
Joshua Lee Smith ’97, a partner at Bowditch & Dewey, was named a Go To Lawyer for Commercial Real Estate by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Involved in many of the most high-profile economic development projects in Central Massachusetts of the past decade, Smith focuses his practice on complex commercial real estate and land-use matters. These include permitting, acquisitions, leasing, financing, and environmental compliance.
2004
Justin Drysdale ’04, CEO of Brookfield Properties, won the 2023 NAIOP Deal of the Year award for developing one of the largest e-commerce facilities in New Jersey at almost 1.3 million square feet leased to The Home Depot. The NAIOP is a commercial real estate networking and advocacy organization based in Herndon, Virginia. Drysdale (right) is pictured with colleague Tyler Mordas (left) and former New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno.
2005
Megan McGovern ’05 recently started SORT by Megan, LLC, a Wrentham, Massachusetts-based professional organizing business helping people clear clutter at home or in the workplace. McGovern was inspired by the organizational challenges that arose during the pandemic, and she began creating SORT, which stands for Simple, Organized, Repeatable, and Tidy.
2006
Vanessa E. Burrill ’06, vice president of WGB Construction Co., was named to Pro Builder’s list of 40 under 40 innovative leaders representing the future of the housing industry. When it comes to building projects, Burrill “has a full understanding of every aspect of this business and can step up in whatever capacity is needed,” wrote Greg Burrill P’04 ’04 ’06 ’11 ’11, founder and president of WGB Construction Co., who nominated his daughter to the list.
Abraham Dugal ’06 was named director of investment management at Allen Insurance and Financial of Camden, Maine, where he has been a financial advisor since 2015. He holds FINRA Series 66 and 7 securities licenses and maintains the certified financial planner designation. Dugal lives in Camden with his wife and son.
Richard Soo Hoo ’06 was named to the Insurance Business America Hot 100 list for 2024, an annual list that honors insurance professionals who have demonstrated excellence, innovation, and significant impact in the industry. Soo Hoo, a founding member of the Sterling Insurance Group of Martha’s Vineyard, was recognized for his exemplary leadership and outstanding contributions to the insurance sector.
2010
Justin Stoll ’10 married Elisabeth Christino on Sept. 30 in Manchester, Vermont, surrounded by family, friends, and plenty of Babson alumni, including Joseph DiMuccio ’11, Allen Austin ’12, Alex Friedberg ’12, Stephanie Bruso (formerly Burns) ’10, Kyle Natichioni ’07, and Patrick Burns ’12.
2011
Mario Hernandez ’11 and his brother, Maurizio, created a startup called Knobl, an app that makes it easy to raise money for charities while doing common activities such as playing Fortnite or getting in your daily steps. By integrating with companies such as Fortnite, Apple Health, Tesla, and Spotify, the app allows people to crowdfund while doing daily activities. Thanks to a collaboration with Benevity, fundraisers can donate to their choice of more than 2 million nonprofit organizations. The app was created to empower individuals to turn their everyday actions into opportunities for social impact.
2012
Jared Shulman ’12, who founded the AI-based lending company Lendica, recently announced the company’s partnership with CSG to create a new product called iBranch. The new product is an embedded financing service that enables small businesses to borrow money from their software vendors rather than traditional financial institutions.
2015
Arjun Murthy ’15 (left) and Michael Brady ’16 co-founded RightPage, which makes AI-powered software for customer support teams, and recently completed Y Combinator’s summer 2023 program, which was the most competitive batch in its history. Murthy and Brady spent the summer in San Francisco hosted by the American technology startup accelerator, and were mentored by Garry Tan, Y Combinator’s CEO.
2016
Sam Barber ’16 and Leanne Tremblay ’16 got married Sept. 3, surrounded by more than 40 fellow Babson alumni, family, friends, and loved ones. The wedding took place on a private island in Casco Bay outside of Portland, Maine. The couple met on their first day at Babson as students gathered to take their official first-year picture in front of Knight Auditorium. They were photographed together in the class picture and have been inseparable ever since, according to their wedding announcement.
Michael Brady ’16: See Undergraduates, 2015
2017
Arushi Chawla ’17 and Revant Khullar ’17 welcomed a son, Ahaan, on June 8, 2023. The couple referred to the newborn as their “beaver pup,” when announcing his arrival.
2022
Teddy Sourlis ’22 recently committed full time to running Men’s X Mental, a nonprofit focused on the mental health of male athletes. Sourlis has cultivated a team of pro-bono workers at the nonprofit, and it recently received a generous grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation on Nov. 1.
Jose Tcherassi ’22 announced plans to open an exclusive members-only sushi restaurant in Miami that will require a fee of $10,000 to get a seat. Sushi Namba will be the first restaurant in America headed by renowned sushi chef Hidefumi Namba, who runs Tokyo’s eight-seat, referral-only Sushi Namba. Membership includes access to an American branch of Bar Cocktailante Oboro, another members-only Tokyo hot spot. The restaurant is expected to open later this year.
2023
Nolan Hildebrand ’23 married Hilary Kopp on Sept. 9 in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. Hildebrand starred as goalie on the Babson men’s hockey team and was named the American Hockey Coaches Association (AHCA) Krampade All-American Scholar in 2021. He also earned New England Hockey Conference Academic All-Conference honors in 2021, 2022, and 2023. He finished his career with a 1.88 goals-against average in 34 games (29 starts) with a .931 save percentage, which ranks second and third respectively on Babson’s all-time rankings.
MORE NEWS, NOTES, AND NODS FROM THE SPRING 2024 ISSUE:
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