Alumni, Faculty and Staff Honored at the Whitman School Annual Awards Ceremony

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management at Syracuse University honored Deborah Leone ’86, ’87 MBA with the Jonathan J. Holtz Alumna of the Year Award, the highest honor given to graduates of the Whitman School, during a ceremony Sept. 15. Established in 1986 by Jonathan J. Holtz ’78, the award recognizes an outstanding alumnus each year for his or her professional accomplishments and service to Syracuse University.

Leone is the director of internal audit at Goldman Sachs. She serves as an observer on a variety of Goldman Sachs committees and co-chairs the firm-wide Women’s Network. Leone joined Goldman Sachs as an analyst in the controllers department in 1989. She was named managing director in 2003 and partner in 2008. She spent four years as controller for the Investment Management division before assuming her present role. Prior to joining the firm, Leone started her career at Price Waterhouse in the financial industry service group. She is a CPA and a member of the UJA Federation of New York Professional Women’s Philanthropy. Leone holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting and an MBA with a concentration in finance and accounting, both from the Whitman School, and she sits on the Whitman Advisory Council.

Martin L. Berman ’62 (A&S), who received the inaugural Orange Entrepreneur of the Year award, was also recognized at the ceremony. Will Cass ’08 (WHIT/NEW) was honored as the Whitman Young Alumnus of the Year, and the Dean’s Citation for Exceptional Service was presented to Chad Bender ’05. Members of Whitman’s faculty and staff, as well as students, also received honors, including:

Whitman Faculty Teaching Award

David Weinbaum
Associate Professor of Finance and Harris Fellow

Kenneth Walsleben
Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice

Oberwager Award

John Petosa
Professor of Practice

Donald Cardarelli
Professor of Management

Guttag Faculty Award

Natarajan Balasubramanian
Associate Professor of Management

Guttag Junior Faculty Award

Trent Williams
Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship 

Whitman Research Fellow Award

Burak Kazaz
The Steven R. Becker Professor of Supply Chain Management and the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence

Whitman Staff Awards

Rising Star Award

Michael LaMarche
Assistant Director of Career Services

Staff Member of the Year Award

Shannon Nanda
Assistant Director, Graduate Admissions

Lifetime Achievement Award

Carol Heil
Director of Undergraduate Recruiting

Russell J. Hamilton Whitman Alumni Club of CNY Scholarship Award

Alexa Cloud
Diana Correia
Xinye Zou

Whitman Alumni Club of CNY Student CNY Business Award

Richard Lewis, StudentTicket