Students win scholarships at ISM Conference

February 17, 2010

Kalamazoo -- Congratulations to two students majoring in integrated supply management for being named 2009 ISM Services Group Scholarship winners. Matthew Smith and Michael Hankamp and were among 11 students from 5 universities to receive awards.

Each winner received $1,000 plus sponsored registration and travel allowance to attend the ISM Services Conference in early December in Phoenix. In addition to attending the conference, scholarship winners participated in a supply chain case competition with students from the other four universities. Smith and Hankamp along with students from Rutgers University and Michigan State University teamed up to win the competition.



“The conference was an eye-opening experience,” says Smith. “We saw how service concepts are applied to industry and how industry responded to issues such as the downturn in the economy. The conference sessions also paralleled the case competition in which we were required to create a scorecard to evaluate supplier performance and quality. It was a fun experience and we were able to use knowledge from the classroom and apply it to real issues.”

"The scholarship program provides financial support to ISM students, and offers them the opportunity to attend the services conference," says Dr. Bret Wagner, associate professor of management and director of the ISM program in the WMU Haworth College of Business. "Our scholarship winners demonstrate the very best in educational achievement and are the future of the supply management profession. Their knowledge and experience made the conference especially valuable to them.”

The ISM Services Group is one of several groups comprised of ISM members with common interests in education and networking in various topics. Members are either in service industries or are supply management professionals who buy services. ISM Services Group's University Relations efforts focus on four main areas: mentoring, internships, scholarships and on-site activities.

In addition to student recognition, the ISM Services Group recognizes university programs in supply management that will take a leading role to integrate the latest thinking on services procurement into the curriculum. The WMU ISM program is one of five programs recognized.

Photo Caption: Pictured at the ISM Services Conference are Matthew Smith, Dr. Bret Wagner, director of the ISM Program, and Michael Hankamp.

Nationally known author and speaker to discuss corporate restructuring

Feb. 8, 2010

KALAMAZOO— Sheldon L. Stone, BS ’78, MA ’79, a nationally known author and speaker on the economy, automotive industry and corporate restructuring will speak on Friday, Feb. 26, at Western Michigan University as part of the Keystone Breakfast Speaker Series.

Stone, a partner at Amherst Partners, will discuss "Strategic Corporate Restructuring: 2010 and Beyond" in the Dean's Conference Room of Schneider Hall, home of the Haworth College of Business. The event is free and open to the public and begins with breakfast at 7:30 a.m. and the presentation following at 8 a.m.

Reservations are required and may be made by calling (269) 387-5050. Parking is available in the nearby Fetzer Center parking lot.

Stone, a partner and head of the Restructuring and Turnaround Practice for Amherst Partners, specializes in advising companies on strategic and restructuring planning and implementation.  Additionally, he has held executive positions in the retail, technology and automotive supplier industries.  His industry experience includes automotive original equipment manufacturers, automotive suppliers, construction and engineering, building materials, retail, real estate and technology.

Stone’s experience includes a position of interim president and COO for a $45 million automotive supplier.  While in this position, he directed the company to an 8.7 percent pre-tax profit in a year, overcoming the previous two years’ losses totaling $3.1 million.  Additionally, Stone was the division general manager for DFS Galleria in Honolulu, Hawaii.  There he grew this flagship from $260 million to $420 million in two and a half years, while significantly increasing margin. Prior to this position, Stone was corporate group director of planning at DFS. He was also with Booz Allen Hamilton and Plante & Moran.

Stone has been featured regularly on NBC, The News Hour with Jim Lehrer, The Fox Business Network, Fox News, NPR Morning Edition and is frequently quoted in Bloomberg News and The Financial Times. He received his BS and MA in Organizational Behavior from Western Michigan University, and an MBA from Georgetown University.  He is fluent in Japanese.

The Keystone Community Bank Breakfast Series is underwritten through the generosity of Keystone Community Bank. The series provides an opportunity for the local community to hear prominent business leaders, WMU faculty, alumni and friends of the Haworth College of Business discuss current business issues and corporate strategies as well as key information regarding the continuing progress of the college.