Four other board positions appointed
Released: Sept. 21, 2006
MILWAUKEE – Mary Ellen Stanek, a 1978 graduate of the Marquette University College of Arts and Sciences, has been elected chair of the Marquette University Board of Trustees. She succeeds John Bergstrom who served as chair for three years. Stanek joined the board in 1999 and was elected vice chair in 2003. She is the first woman to serve as chair of the board.
“Mary Ellen Stanek’s significant professional achievements at Robert W. Baird & Co. and her dedicated philanthropic service throughout the Milwaukee area make her an exceptional person to lead Marquette into the future,” said Marquette President Robert A. Wild, S.J. “She is an outstanding ambassador for Marquette, living our mission in every aspect of her life, and her past commitment to the board has been invaluable.”
Stanek has more than 27 years of investment management experience, currently serving as managing director and director of asset management for Robert W. Baird & Co., where she also serves as president of Baird Funds. She previously held the positions of president and chief executive officer of Firstar Investment Research & Management Co.
Stanek holds numerous leadership and service positions. She is a member of the CFA Institute, the Milwaukee Investment Analysts Society, TEMPO (past president), Professional Dimensions and the Greater Milwaukee Committee. She serves on the boards of Robert W. Baird & Co., Journal Communications and West Bend Mutual Insurance Company. She also serves on the boards of Aurora Health Care, Boys and Girls Clubs (past board chair), Children’s Hospital Foundation, Marquette University High School, Medical College of Wisconsin, Junior Achievement, Betty Brinn Children’s Museum (past president), United Performing Arts Fund and the University Club (president).
Stanek’s professional and personal accomplishments have been recognized by several awards, including: the College of Arts and Sciences Person for Others Award, the St. Francis Children’s Service Award, the Tempo Mentor Award, the Business Journal Women of Influence Award, the Point of Light Award, Professional Dimensions Sacagawea Award and Baird’s Brenton H. Rupple Citizenship Award.
Two vice chairs elected
Darren R. Jackson and John J. Stollenwerk were elected vice chairs. Jackson, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Best Buy, has been a trustee since 2004. Stollenwerk, chairman of Allen-Edmonds Shoe Corp. and Agricol Empreedimentos Mineiro, Ltd. (Brazil), was elected to the board of trustees in 1991.
Two new trustees elected
John F. Ferraro, a 1977 graduate of the College of Business Administration, and Edward F. Kosnik, a 1966 graduate of the College of Engineering, were elected to the Marquette Board of Trustees.
Based in New York, Ferraro is the senior vice chairman of Ernst & Young, responsible for client service. He began his career with Ernst & Young in 1977 in Milwaukee and served a variety of global companies during the past 26 years. Currently, he serves as the senior advisory partner for several clients, including Wal-Mart, Walt Disney Company, Newell Rubbermaid, Harley Davidson, Brunswick and the S.C. Johnson & Son Family companies. Ferraro also chairs both the firm’s gender equity task force and the ethnicity diversity task force.
Kosnik is a private investor and a director of Buckeye Partners, L.P., one of the largest independent refined petroleum products pipeline systems in the United States with approximately 5,350 miles of pipeline and 44 refined petroleum products terminals with an aggregate storage capacity of approximately 17.2 million barrels. Prior to joining Buckeye Partners, L.P., he held high-ranking positions with Berwind Group, Inc., a private, diversified operating and investment company; Alexander and Alexander, Inc., a global insurance broker and risk management company; JWP, Inc., a global mechanical and electrical contractor and facility manager; Sprague Technologies; Penn Central; and Arvida Corporation.
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