The Journey After Duke: Reflections and Connections with Graduate Alumni

Join a panel of graduate alumni reflecting on their professional lives since departing Duke. An opportunity for networking with the speakers and other Duke alumni who are leaders in their fields (login to Box for the list) will follow the conversation. Not sure what to expect from this event? Read a reflection by Judith Mwobobia (Global Health master's student) about her experience at a past offering.

Speakers:

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Edwin Cooper A.M.’05, M.B.A.’07 is the vice president of finance and business unit CFO of software and analytics at Change Healthcare (CHNG), a healthcare technology company, headquartered in Nashville, TN. Prior to CHNG, Mr. Cooper worked at UCB, a Belgian based global biopharmaceutical company focused on treating immunological and neurological disorders. He maintained divisional CFO responsibilities for the U.S. immunology patient value business unit’s $1.4 billion P&L. Prior to UCB, Mr. Cooper worked at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, GA for seven years in various leadership roles of increasing responsibility in finance and strategy. He relocated to the Atlanta area from New Jersey after spending five years in various management and leadership positions at Johnson & Johnson in their Consumer and Pharmaceutical divisions. Mr. Cooper received a B.A. in economics from Rutgers University, and an A.M. in economics from Duke University along with an M.B.A. in finance from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy at Rutgers University.

Anthony Geonnotti B.S.E.’03, Ph.D.’08 is the senior director and head of the Future of Self Care R&D at Kenvue. Previously, he was the head of future of self-care R&D at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, where he led global product development for innovative consumer health products across early-stage ideation, technology scouting, prototype development, and commercialization. Dr. Geonnotti received his B.S.E. and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from Duke University, where he specialized in HIV prevention under Dr. David Katz. He went on to a research scientist position at Duke Human Vaccine Institute before joining J&J as a postdoctoral scientist.

Rebecca Stafford A.M.’01 is the founder and managing partner of Hestia Venture Partners, a venture firm investing at the intersection of prop tech and climate tech, as well as in targeted real estate assets.  In her investments, she aims to employ wisdom gleaned from earlier career experiences: as a real estate economist wrangling large data sets, modeling forecasts, and advising stakeholders; as a portfolio manager investing the assets of a large university endowment; at a startup aiming to harness technology to repair broken property loans and keep residents in their homes; and as a developer building and investing in west coast real estate. Ms. Stafford holds an A.M. in economics from Duke University, a B.S. in accounting from the State University of New York at Albany and is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York. She is a current Advisory Board member at the U.S. Green Building Council, a mentor at Berkeley Skydeck, a mentor at Formwork Labs, and a board member and voting member of the Investment Committee at the University at Albany Foundation.

Moderator: Ronald Temple ’90 is a managing director and co-head of multi asset and head of U.S. equity at Lazard Asset Management LLC in New York. He is responsible for oversight of the firm’s multi asset and U.S. equity strategies as well as several global equity strategies. Mr. Temple is also a portfolio manager/analyst on various U.S. and global equity teams. He joined Lazard in 2001 with 10 years of global experience including fixed-income derivative trading, risk management, corporate finance, and corporate strategy in roles at Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of America NT & SA, and Fleet Financial Group in London, New York, Singapore, San Francisco, and Boston. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of New York, and the New York Society of Security Analysts. Mr. Temple has an M.P.P. from Harvard University, and he graduated magna cum laude with an A.B. in economics and public policy from Duke University.