Upon completion of my active military service with the US Army in 1964, I enrolled at Wharton. The two-year hiatus from my studies at Rutgers College was somewhat daunting at first, but the combination of outstanding professors and bright classmates eased the transition. Special kudos to Bernie Cataldo.
After my graduation in 1966, Philadelphia gave way to New York City and financial management positions with The New York Telephone Company. During this time, I was a key volunteer in the early stages of the Wharton Club of New York. This was followed by employment with The Coca-Cola Bottling Company of New York, a Fortune 500 company, as their Chief internal Auditor and a subsequent position in Investor Relations.
In the mid 70’s, I returned to my native New Jersey and continued my diversity of industries by joining Horizon Bancorp and expanded my range of financial experiences. Included in this were roles in acquiring other banks and ultimately preparing Horizon to be acquired by Chemical Bank, now Chase.
After 25 years of working in the corporate area, I joined Allegro School, a not for profit school for children with autism, as their Business Administrator. I was able to incorporate my educational and corporate skills in this brand new enterprise. and have been with Allegro for the last 25 years.
Over the years, I have been active in numerous volunteer organizations and have strangely risen to president in most of them. My most notable role was serving as the president of the Rutgers Alumni Association and then elected to two six-year terms on the Board of Trustees of Rutgers University.
I met my wife in Philadelphia five years after leaving Wharton and have been blessed with three children and three grandchildren. My brother Charles received his MBA from Wharton in 1967. In addition I value strongly my Wharton classmates from the past, especially a core group that is still close today.