Vice Chancellor and Whitman School of Management Executive Dean Mike Haynie and Interim Dean Alex McKelvie, along with other staff and faculty members of the Whitman School, gathered in New York City on May 15 to recognize a select group of alumni and supporters who have demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to the Whitman School. The Jonathan J. Holtz Alumnus of the year Award, the Orange Ovation Award, the Dean’s Citation Award for Exceptional Service and The Whitman Impact Award were given to the 2025 recipients at the event.
Award recipients, from left, were Matty Simon, Blake Brossman ’98 (NEW), Warren Johnson ’20, Gisele Marcus-Thomas ’89, Doug Present ’86 and Tyler Newman ’20.
“We are honored to recognize six outstanding alumni, corporate supporters and friends who have demonstrated an outstanding level of commitment to the Whitman School, ϲ and its students. But this is also an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of all of our alumni and other supporters, many of whom are here to share this celebration with us. So many have made, and are continuing to make, valued and impactful contributions to Whitman, ϲ and our students,” said McKelvie at the event. “The success of our students and the trajectory of the Whitman School is highly correlated to how well we can leverage the Orange family and help expose students to career prospects, share career success, answer questions, connect students with internships or full-time opportunities and support Whitman through philanthropy. We are deeply appreciative of the many ways that our dedicated alumni, corporate partners and friends contribute to helping our students and the mission of the Whitman School.”
Established in 1986, the award is the highest honor given to a Whitman alumnus. The award recognizes a distinguished Whitman graduate who has achieved professional distinction while remaining actively engaged in efforts that support the progress of the Whitman School’s mission. This year, the award was presented to Douglas Present ’86, who earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing management at Whitman. He is the founder of Douglas Present Associates and has an extensive background in experience and leading acquisitions in the health-care space.
Present is a member of the ϲ Board of Trustees and chairs the Board’s Finance Committee. He sits on the Whitman philanthropy and engaged volunteer leadership committees. He also serves on the Whitman Advisory Council (WAC). Present has shared his vast expertise with students, including at a master’s program residencies held in New York City. He and his wife, Susan, are generous financial supporters of various initiatives at the Whitman School and Hendricks Chapel, including a significant seed gift to the Whitman Student Opportunity Fund, which enables students to fully participate in various Whitman experiences by contributing to expenses not covered by financial aid.
Two alumni, Blake Brossman ’98 (NEW) and Gisele Marcus-Thomas ’89, were presented with the Whitman Dean’s Citation for Exceptional Service. This award recognizes University alumni, corporate partners or friends who exemplify a significant commitment to helping Whitman prepare and place future business leaders.
Brossman is an entrepreneur and founder of PetCareRx. Most recently, he founded Click Action Ventures, an investment and innovation platform managing over $100 million in family office capital. Brossman was presented with this award for his engagement with Whitman’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises as a judge of numerous student competitions, class speaker, and mentor and advisor to student-founded startups. He was also praised for taking on Whitman students enrolled in the NYC Semester when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
Marcus-Thomas is the vice dean of the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Washington University in St. Louis. She previously worked for Accenture, AT&T and Thermo Fisher Scientific, improving financial performances and enhancing operational efficiencies. Marcus-Thomas was selected for this award for her service as a ϲ Trustee and her significant involvement with the Lender Center for Social Justice as a contributor to the center’s annual consortium and academic conference presentations. She has also been philanthropically engaged with the Whitman School, including establishment of the Gisele A. Marcus Endowed Scholarship Fund and support of the Delta Sigma Theta Endowed Scholarship Fund. And she was recognized for her regular interaction with Whitman students through specialty programming and the Whitman Women in Business organization.
Warren Johnson ’20 and Tyler Newman ’20 were each presented with the Orange Ovation Award for setting a positive example to Whitman students through their professional successes and service to the Whitman/ϲ community. Recipients of this award must have graduated from the University within the past 15 years.
Johnson earned dual bachelor’s degrees in supply chain management from the Whitman School and information management and technology from the School of Information Studies. He is a procurement analyst with BAE Systems in New Jersey and has supported Whitman students and alumni networking events in the New York City area. Johnson is currently a member of the Young Whitman Advisory Council (YWAC) for which he chairs the Student Engagement and Mentorship Committee. He has also led efforts to establish the Goodman Leaders Academy/YWAC Mentorship Program.
Newman graduated from the Whitman School with a double major in finance and marketing management and was a member of the Forever Orange Student Alumni Council and Delta Sigma Pi. He is the assistant vice president of client development and strategic initiatives at Synchrony, where he has driven strategic growth and fostered key partnerships in the Synchrony Outdoors market. Newman has been a strong advocate for Whitman and instrumental in a successful partnership/hiring relationship, which has resulted in more than 50 ϲ students and graduates invited into Synchrony’s Business Leadership Program. In addition, he has helped engage Synchrony’s company leadership into a greater relationship with the Whitman School, as well as attended numerous student and alumni events.
The Whitman Impact Award was given to Matty Simon, who for the past several years has been Bloomberg L.P.’s lead recruiter for analytics and sales roles in the Americas, primarily for the New York and San Francisco offices. Simon was selected for the award for being “one of the most impactful recruiters we’ve had the pleasure of working with,” according to McKelvie, noting that Simon has been a true champion for the Whitman/Bloomberg relationship, helping to fill Bloomberg’s offices with “a remarkable amount of Orange.”
Simon was recognized for his enthusiastic presence at student experiential events, the ability to foster connections between both institutions, and his ability to collaborate on alumni events on campus and globally to forge intentional connections to the Whitman School. Simon just recently joined Bloomberg’s London office to continue working in talent acquisition and develop a greater focus on international recruitment.
This story was written by Caroline Reff
