2024 Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards celebrate Cincinnati business community, extolls co-op
Lindner alumni, students and supporters recognized
The Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards celebrated its 39th iteration on March 7 with honors for students, alumni and Cincinnati business leaders.
More than 300 attendees gathered in the Cincinnati Music Hall ballroom to recognize this year’s awardees and applaud the Carl H. Lindner College of Business' most recent accomplishments.
Dean Marianne Lewis, PhD, kicked off the night’s festivities, acknowledging the titans of industry gathered in the room for the evening.
Throughout the night, Lewis touted the college’s growth made possible through the generosity of Lindner’s trusted partners. Recent achievements she highlighted included:
- Welcoming the largest, most diverse and academically accomplished first-year class in fall 2023.
- Conferring more than 2,600 undergraduate and graduate degrees over the course of the 2022-23 academic year.
- Raising the profile of the college with top-tier rankings for the full- and part-time MBA programs, climbing 58 spots nationally with Lindner’s online MBA program and becoming the No. 1-ranked online, public MBA program in Ohio.
The uncontested theme of the night was co-op, beginning with Lewis’ opening remarks and continuing throughout the awards presentation.
“Co-op is a powerful tool. For our students, it builds their confidence, their resilience and their resumes,” said Lewis. “And, for our valued employer partners, it builds a pipeline of talented, prepared and skilled future employees.”
Cory Sims, Bus ’11, past president of the Lindner Alumni Council, joined Lewis for the awards presentation portion of the evening.
Sims thanked the many supporters for helping to make the event possible and growing Lindner, including the night’s sponsors, alumni and current students who “...continue to shine, making us alumni look even better.”
With the help of the Cincinnati business community, the event raised more than $130,000 in sponsorships with proceeds benefiting student scholarships.
Premier
- Great American Insurance Group
- Western & Southern Financial Group
Silver
- Cintas Corporation
1906
- AMEND Consulting
- Ameritas
- Bahl & Gaynor
- HBH Holdings, Inc.
- Johnson Investment Counsel, Inc.
- Morgan Stanley/Troy Neat
- PNC
- TQL Foundation
- Urban Sites
Red & Black
- altafiber
- The Cincinnati Insurance Company
- Deloitte, LLP
- Elliott Management Group
- KMK Law
- Sims Investment Management, LLC
- UC Lindner Graduate Programs
- UC Kautz-Uible Economics Institute
- UC Real Estate Center
Student awardees
The awards presentation began with the student winners of the Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship Award and the Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Award.
Matt Santiago, Bus ’25, was bestowed with the Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship, the longest standing scholarship that bears the Lindner name. Santiago achieves academic excellence while remaining involved in the Lindner, UC and Cincinnati communities, embodying the spirit of the award. He is president of the Student Alumni Council, a proud member of the Sigma Sigma Men’s Honorary and exemplifies the potential of co-op, having completed five co-op opportunities, with a sixth experience lined up at AllianceBernstein in Chicago as a private wealth management intern this summer.
Richy Richardson, Bus ’25, received recognition for his dedication to community involvement with the Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Award. Richardson epitomizes service learning and leadership — the central attributes of the Keating award — through his numerous commitments, including Campus YMCA, the Ohio Innocence Project and the Urbana Youth Center. Richardson continuously strives to learn from a diverse array of voices, earning him this year’s honor.
Celebrating alumni and community awardees
The Outstanding Young Alumni Award, which honors a Lindner alumnus who demonstrates innovation, creativity and success in their careers and a commitment to involvement with Lindner and UC, was bestowed upon Nicholas Puncer, Bus ’10, managing director Bahl & Gaynor, Inc. Puncer called out the many Lindner experiences — from co-op to study abroad — that shaped him into the well-rounded business problem solver he is today.
Cintas Corporation received their second Business Partnership Award — the only company to ever be recognized twice with the honor — for its commitment to sustaining the college’s exceptional programs and provide growth opportunities for business students and graduates. Greg Eling, group vice president, accepted the award on behalf of the Cintas team.
Eling commended Lindner’s devotion to experiential learning and students’ ability to foster relationships in the Cincinnati business community.
I will leave you with this, great cities need great business schools and vice versa. Together, we will continue to raise the caliber of this city, this college and the University of Cincinnati.
Dean Marianne Lewis
“Between the experience-based learning that students receive and their connections to top business leaders, Lindner graduates are extremely well-prepared to contribute to our business community,” said Eling. “And that is what partnering with the university is all about.”
The night featured two Distinguished Service Awardees who have shown a profound dedication to the Lindner, UC and Cincinnati business communities: Mario San Marco, senior vice president, economic development for Western & Southern Financial Group, and Jerry Fritz, Bus ’73, former president, Kent Precision Foods Group.
Fritz stressed the importance of getting and remaining involved with Lindner and the university, and the many joys he has found in interacting with students and alumni. And San Marco acknowledged that although he is not an alumnus, he has still felt the power of Lindner, its students and its community through the UC Real Estate Center, where he serves as chair of the Board of Executive Advisors in Real Estate.
All eyes then turned to the recipient of the night’s highest honor, the Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement: Lynne Laube, Bus ’92, operating partner, Valor Venture Capital. As the highest honor a Lindner alumnus can achieve, the recipient of the Lindner medal exemplifies entrepreneurship, commitment to community and professional success, something Laube displays in her storied career as an entrepreneur, business executive and investor.
In her speech, Laube called attention to the few women in leadership positions in the business community, including as CEOs and founders. She encouraged all attendees to advocate for greater opportunities for women in leadership in all industries. Laube is the second woman to be honored with the award.
Laube also credited Lindner and UC’s co-op program for contributing to her success, highlighting the five quarters of co-op she experienced during her time as a student. These opportunities not only supplied her with the professional development she needed to advance in her career but also the confidence to lead.
Lewis ended the night with a powerful call-to-action.
“I will leave you with this, great cities need great business schools and vice versa. Together, we will continue to raise the caliber of this city, this college and the University of Cincinnati.”
Featured image at top: Left to right: Cory Sims, Bus '11, past president Lindner Alumni Council; Greg Eling, group vice president, Cintas Corporation; Distinguished Service Awardee Mario San Marco, senior vice president, economic development for Western & Southern Financial Group; Outstanding Young Alumni Awardee Nicholas Puncer, Bus '10, managing director, Bahl & Gaynor, Inc.; Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis; Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement recipient Lynne Laube, Bus '92, operating partner, Valor Venture Capital; Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship Awardee Matt Santiago, Bus '25; Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Awardee Richy Richardson, Bus '25; and Distinguished Service Awardee Jerry Fritz, Bus ‘73, former president for Kent Precision Foods Group. Photos by Lauren Meisberger.
Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement
Lynne Laube, Bus ’92
Distinguished Service Awards
Jerry L. Fritz, Bus ’73
Mario San Marco
Business Partnership Award
Cintas Corporation
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Nicholas W. Puncer, Bus ’10
The Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Awardee
Richy Richardson, Bus ’25
Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship Awardee
Matt Santiago, Bus ’25
The CBAAs Legacy of Giving
The Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards is the region’s longest-standing event that recognizes achievement in business as well as service to the community. This flagship event for the college makes a direct impact on the student experience by raising funds for scholarships and financial aid.
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