Category Archives: Awards

SOM Alumna Michelle Goff Named CFO of the Year

The School of Management congratulates alumna Michelle Goff, BBA ’83, the CFO and senior vice president of R.L. Polk & Co., for being awarded CFO of the Year – large private company by Crain’s Detroit Business.

Goff received her BBA from UM-Flint in 1983 before continuing her education on the Ann Arbor campus. Since receiving her MBA in 1986, she has held a number of senior finance positions for large companies.

In her role as CFO and senior vice president of R.L. Polk & Co., Michelle Goff oversees more than 70 employees and a $19 million dollar budget. Her team is responsible for mapping out the future of the company’s financial operations, including risk-management, securities, real estate, insurance, taxes, accounting, assets, banking, credit, and treasury activities.

The Crain’s Detroit Business decision to award Goff the CFO of the Year recognition stems largely from insights she provided Polk in 2009, and the leadership role she flourished in when actions were taken based on those same insights.

In 2007, R.L. Polk & Co. invested an undisclosed sum to acquire a substantial stake in RoadToData, a Swiss automotive price and specifications data supplier with operations in 10 countries. Soon after the acquisition, Polk found itself dumping cash into RoadToData when the auto industry nearly collapsed during the economic recession. With profitability projections sliding into the distant future, Goff and other senior executives called for divestiture and a refocus on Polk’s core operations.

Although there were a variety of viewpoints amongst Polk leadership team on which direction was the best option for the future, the difficult decision was made, and Goff was called on to conduct the financial and legal aspects of the RoadToData closure in 2009. “It was a great decision in hindsight,” said Goff, as Polk’s profitability from core operations increased 31 percent between 2009 and 2013, and projects to perform even higher in 2014.

R.L. Polk & Co. assembles comprehensive automotive sales and forecasting data. The company also provides vehicle recall services for auto manufacturers, presents annual awards and has a diversity marketing services arm. In 2012, Polk generated $401 million in revenue.

SOM Students Win Oakland University International Case Competition

Congratulations to UM-Flint School of Management students, Todd Ackerman, Alex Benda, George Joubran, and Logan McGrady, for winning the first ever Oakland University International Case Competition!

In February, the Oakland University School of Business invited teams of top undergraduate students from more than 200 highly respected international academic institutions to take part in their International Case Competition (OUICC). Aimed at building and practicing teamwork and leadership skills, the competition consisted of three elimination rounds of judged case presentations, with prizes and awards going to the three finalists.

In the initial round, all participating teams were required to submit a video presentation and case summary to the OUICC judging panel by email. From all the first round submissions, only 12 teams were selected to advance to the next stage of competition. In round two, the teams delivered their presentations via interactive live feeds, and were required to defend their strategies and arguments during Q&A sessions with the OUICC panel of judges.

Then with only twelve hours between rounds two and three to make improvements based on Q&A feedback, the top three teams made their best case in the third round. In the end, the School of Management student team’s presentation won the day and took home the first place award.

Congratulations again to our outstanding students – Todd Ackerman, Alex Benda, George Joubran, and Logan McGrady!

UM-Flint Featured in the Princeton Review

The University of Michigan-Flint School of Management (SOM) is an outstanding business school according to the education services company The Princeton Review.

The School of Management is in the new 2013 edition of its annual guidebook, “The Best 296 Business Schools.”This latest recognition comes less than a month after SOM was named one of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs in the Midwest by U.S. News’ “Best Colleges 2013.”

“We consider UM-Flint’s School of Management one of the best institutions a student could attend to earn an MBA,” according to Robert Franek, Princeton Review Senior VP-Publisher. “We selected the schools we profile in this book, 280 of which are in the U.S.A. and 16 are international, based on our high regard for their academic programs and our reviews of institutional data we collect from the schools. We also solicit and greatly respect the opinions of students attending these schools who rate and report on their experiences at them on our 80-question survey for the book.”

The Princeton Review’s survey asked 19,000 students at the 296 schools their opinions of their school’s academics, student body and campus life as well as about themselves and their career plans. The student surveys analyzed for this edition were conducted during the 2009-2012 academic years.

“We are very pleased to have been recognized by Princeton Review in their 2013 annual guide book of Best Business Schools. This recognition succinctly reflects the quality of our academic programs. It could not have been achieved without the dedication and hard work of our faculty and staff,” noted Vahid Lotfi, senior vice provost and acting dean of SOM. The recognition is also partly based upon feedback from our students, many of whom face complex lives. We are truly proud of them.”

Some of the comments from students attending SOM in the profile include: “If you are looking for a ‘prestigious top school for management’ that offers a great deal of ‘flexibility,’ then consider the University of Michigan-Flint School of Management. The MBA program is ‘very structured and organized.'”

UM-Flint Entrepreneurs Society Wins National Awards

(Chicago, Ill) The Entrepreneurs Society of the University of Michigan-Flint received special recognition and honors in two categories last week at the National CEO Conference. This premier event, in Chicago, featured three days of meetings, workshops and competitions (www.c-e-o.org) where the best universities compete in a number of categories. Out of 130 universities and more than 1400 students, representatives from University of Michigan-Flint placed 2nd in two categories: Best Fundraising Event, and Best Chapter Leadership.

Gannon O’Reilly, Chapter President, was honored as one of the best CEO leaders in America. His efforts at leading the Entrepreneur’s Society for the 2011-2012 year featured such innovations as the Work/Live Space launch in June, in partnership with the Flint Habitat for Humanity. This new business initiative was the first of its kind and is leading the way in urban re-development initiatives.

Another Entrepreneurs Society Member, Brooke Dziurman, led UM-Flint to the second place prize for the best fundraiser. This monumental effort resulted in $32,000 being raised and donated to a severely ill person battling brain cancer, all done in a 5 week period.

The Entrepreneurs Society was formed in 2007 as an academic club at the School of Management, University of Michigan-Flint. It presently has 109 members and a number of involved alumni and supporters in the greater Flint community.

Dr. Brian Blume Receives UM-Flint Award

Brian Blume, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management was presented with the Scholarly and Creative Achievement Award. This award recognizes outstanding faculty performance at the University of Michigan-Flint. Dr. Blume was nominated for the award by other faculty members of SOM. He has served as faculty at SOM since 2006. Brian is an active member of the Academy of Management organization and serves on multiple committees for the School of Management.

Michelle Tolin, BBA Alumn, Receives Scholarship Award

Michelle Tolin, a BBA alumn was presented with the Detroit Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors Scholarship Award. Qualified candidates submitted a three-page essay on the following topic: Discuss the benefits of using social media in the internal audit process and provide specific examples.

Michelle is the first student from U-M Flint to submit an essay. Michelle received a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in Accounting and a GPA of 3.81. She is the national reporter for Beta Alpha Psi and will be the incoming Treasurer. She is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. She also volunteered with VITA and various food banks.