Purdue Old Masters

This is Old Masters. We are officially into the second day of the 2023 Old Masters Program. Take a look at the story behind our beloved 73-year tradition. 🚂 #PurdueOldMasters #OldMasters

Welcome back to campus and happy first day of class Boilermakers! We have a super exciting announcement to share with you all. We will be starting our 2024 Old Masters Podcast Series hosted by our amazing Evening Co-Chairs, Isha and Isaac! Each episode will feature a different Old Master for this year's program. Search "Purdue Old Masters" on Spotify to listen. Stay tuned for announcements on when the first episode will be released! #PurdueOldMasters #HailPurdue #OMFamily

Hey Boilermakers! Today is such an exciting day for us as we are announcing our final Old Master for the 2024 program! Please welcome, René Lewin! René is President of RRLCapital, LLC which invests in innovative new startup companies whose technology provides a product or service which offers a unique competitive advantage. Areas of investment interest are SaaS, IOT, medical and health care technology and devices, data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning technology, Edtech and Fintech . RRLCapital, LLC currently has invested in 37 businesses. Previously, René for 39 years with pharmaceutical and devices at Wyeth and Eli Lilly and Company. Rene was Senior VP Human Resources, Wyeth where he was responsible for the worldwide human resource policies and programs for Wyeth's 56,000 employees. Rene spent 24 years at Eli Lilly and had various positions including President Eli Lilly Canada, Executive Director of Corporate Affairs for Eli Lilly and Executive Director, Eli Lilly International. René is on the Dean's Advisory Board for Purdue Universities Daniels School of Business and serves on the council for the Business Opportunities Program at the Daniels School of Business. Rene was an executive in residence at the Daniels School of Business and taught in the MBA program for four years. René is also Chairman of the board of directors at SafeKeeping, Inc and is a board observer on Wellbox. As well as the President of the Sancerre Condominium Association and on the Board of Directors for the Gulf Shore Property Owners Association. René and his wife, Karen Lewin, manage the Rene and Karen Charitable Fund which supports a variety of charitable organizations. A majority of the philanthropy of the Fund is devoted to education and hunger relief. They also have established an endowed scholarship at Purdue's Daniels School of Business and provides 5 scholarships annually for students at the Daniels School of business. During his time at Purdue, René graduated in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in Industrial Management. He was recently honored in 2016 by being names Alumni of the year by the Daniels School of Business! #PurdueOldMasters #OMFamily

Happy Monday Boilers! We are so excited to see everyone back on campus, only a few more days until the start of a great school year! Before the school year starts, we wanted to highlight where some of our wonderful Central Committee members and OMPO's have been interning this summer. This map reflects some of the locations across the country where our members have been able to practice their leadership skills outside the classroom. We are so proud of you! See you all SOOOO soon! #OMFamily #PurdueOldMasters #UniteGenerations

Down to our last two Old Master Introductions and this one is so special!! This week, we are very excited to name Sirisha Bandla as a 2024 Old Master! Sirisha Bandla currently works as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic. In this role, Sirisha oversees legislative, regulatory, and government business priorities for the company, as well as work with research customers to fly science and technology experiments on VG’s SpaceShip class of vehicles. In July 2022, Sirisha launched to space as a part of the Unity22 mission, Virgin Galacticʼs first fully crewed spaceflight. Previously, Sirisha served as the Associate Director for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies. At CSF, Sirisha worked on various policies with the aim to promote and enable the then emerging commercial space industry. Before CSF, she worked as an aerospace engineer designing components for advanced aircraft at L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas. During her time at Purdue, Sirisha received a Bachelors of Science degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering. She then went on to ger her Masters of Business Administration from the George Washington University. Sirisha serves on the Board of the Brooke Owens Fellowship Program and the Future Space Leaders Foundation. She serves on the Engineering Advisory Council for Purdue University, and serves as Chair of the Board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. You may have been able to see Sirisha on the banner outside of Armstrong Hall! Sirisha also has a plethora of awards in her same such as: International Women’s Day TANA Youth Star Award (2014); Young Space Leaders scholarship (2015); Future Space Leader Grant winner (2017); Purdue Engineering Young Alumni award (2021), Purdue Outstanding Aerospace Engineer award (2022); and the IAF Young Space Leaders award (2022) We cannot wait to meet you and we are so excited to hear your incredible story, Sirisha! #PurdueOldMasters #OMFamily #HailPurdue

Please welcome the wonderful Kathleen Sarpy for this Wednesday's OM introductions... For more than 30 years, Kathleen Sarpy has enjoyed a diverse career in public relations and marketing, working with the world’s most recognizable brands and corporations, and also serving as the driving force behind emerging start-ups and charities. A former senior executive at the leading global PR firm, Kathleen left her “big agency” life behind in January 2001 after the birth of her first child to bootstrap her own firm without a solid backup plan. Alone in her suburban basement (next to her sump pump!), 7-months pregnant with her second child and only armed with a laptop, tons of tenacity and goodwill, Kathleen’s goal was simple: offer world-class strategy and unbridled creativity to the world’s most respected companies by eliminating bureaucracy without ever sacrificing kindness or focusing on motherhood. Now more than 23 years later, Kathleen manages an incredibly talented team of professionals that supports dozens of global, national and Chicago-based clients in the consumer packaged goods, hospitality, finance, real estate and non-profit spaces. Kathleen has never lost sight of the “5” in her value-driven company’s name that remains the cornerstone of her business: kindness, creativity, passion, hustle and integrity. Throughout its evolution, Agency H5 has been recognized alongside the best PR firms in the world having won numerous awards and recognition over the years. Beyond her professional commitments, Kathleen finds deep value in giving back through mentorship and empowering future generations of female leaders. A proud Distinguished Alumni and Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Purdue University (class of 1992), she founded the International Council of Purdue Women in 2017 (now the Purdue Women’s Network) to unite, motivate, engage and inspire 200,000 alumnae worldwide. However, her biggest and proudest achievement to date is being a mother of six incredible children ages 24-15. She resides in Wheaton, Illinois with her husband Chris and a lively household of kids and one uncooperative English Bulldog named Hope. Your story is inspiring! We cannot wait to hear more!

Happy Wednesday everyone!! We hope you all have had an amazing week so far and are ready for another Old Master Introduction! We are beyond honored and excited to name Jeff Grogg as an Old Master for the 2024 program! Jeff is recognized as a pioneer in food innovation, leveraging 32 years of experience in launching new products into transforming not just what appears on shelves, but also the process by which they arrive. He has served in various R&D capacities at Kellogg's before moving to Kashi when it was generating $25 million in sales, and played a pivotal role in increasing its revenue to $750 million within eight years. His tenure at Kashi also facilitated a shift from a specialized role in Product Development to a wider spectrum of business leadership. This breadth of experience propelled Jeff onto an entrepreneurial path, leading to the establishment of a dozen entities within the food sector, including a consultancy, two production facilities, a pair of brands, a networking technology firm, and an investment fund. His consultancy, JPG Resources, stands out as a frontrunner in the field, renowned for actualizing innovative concepts. Known as the ultimate facilitator in food innovation, JPG assists a diverse range of companies, from nascent startups to global giants, in crafting innovations that infuse joy and health into daily life. JPG's extensive network within the industry affords them insights that are instrumental in developing distinctive products. Beyond founding influential enterprises, Jeff is a highly-regarded advisor, speaker, and board member. He serves on the board of King Arthur Flour, one of America's oldest companies, and advises many startups and professional networks. During his time at Purdue, Jeff earned a BS in Food Science in 1992. He also gained significant leadership experience as the Race Chairman of the Grand Prix, as well as a part of Farmhouse Fraternity. He was also named an Outstanding Alumnus for Food Science from Purdue, and a Purdue Distinguished Alumnus from the School of Agriculture at Purdue! We cannot wait to learn from Jeff and hear all about his amazing career! #PurdueOldMasters #OMFamily #HailPurdue

It's Wednesday - and you know what that means... Old Masters Introductions!! We are honored to introduce Orlena Nwokah Blanchard. Orlena is an award-winning entrepreneur and innovative leader behind game-changing social impact movements and marketing programs for some of the world’s biggest brands. She is a cultural marketing strategist and one of the chief architects of the CROWN Act movement to end race-based hair discrimination in the U.S. Recognized on the Root 100 2022 list of most influential Black Americans, Orlena has been building value for corporations and communities for 3 decades. She is the Managing Partner of Seven Elements Group, a boutique strategy and marketing firm and the Founder & CEO of WonderTree Skin, a beauty and wellness brand with a mission to drive equity in the beauty and healthcare industries. Prior to her current ventures, Orlena was co-owner and president of JOY Collective, an award-winning cultural insights marketing and creative agency. During a decade of building a nationally recognized agency, she oversaw cultural marketing strategy and execution for a diverse portfolio of companies ranging from the US. Naval Academy to ESPN. Orlena is a multinational citizen raised in the UK, Nigeria and the U.S. Her formative years in Nigeria cemented her sense of cultural identity, which inspires her life’s work to positively impact the African diaspora. She has an Industrial Engineering degree from Purdue University and an MBA from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She is a fiercely proud wife and mother of three sons, and a foodie with a passion for cooking and travel. We are beyond excited to hear more from you, Orlena!

We are halfway into our Old Masters Introductions for the 2024 program! This week, we are incredibly grateful to name Seth Morales as one of the 2024 Old Masters! Seth Morales is CEO of the Morales Group, an Indianapolis-based recruiting and staffing agency. Morales, an active business and community leader, also serves on the boards for Central Indiana Community Foundation, Indiana Latino Institute, St. Vincent Health System, and Young Presidents’ Organization. He has been recognized by the Indianapolis Business Journal as a Forty Under 40 award recipient. Seth earned his undergraduate degree in Education at Purdue University in 2003, where he was a three-year starter of the Big Ten Championship Football team! He then received his MBA at the University of Notre Dame in 2014. During his time on campus, Seth was involved in many activities such as, football, Mortar Board, and Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. When he’s not blazing the trail in business, Seth is spending time with his wife, Jackie, and their three children, Sebastián (Sebby), Mateo and Nina. We are so beyond excited to hear more from you, Seth! #PurdueOldMasters #HailPurdue #OMFamily

Welcome back to week 4 of Old Master Introductions! Today, we are more than happy to introduce Katie Rippel as a 2024 Old Master! Quality is not just in her job title for Katie...along with hard work, it's been what she's put into every role she's had at Anheuser-Busch InBev. Now responsible for Internal Quality globally at the world's largest brewer, Katie supports over 250 breweries in 35 countries to produce some of the world's most iconic beers, including Budweiser, Stella Artois, Corona and Michelob Ultra. Katie developed a passion for brewing while interning for Anheuser-Busch her last undergrad summer and grew it during her first full-time position at A-B’s Houston brewery. She held multiple Brewing positions in Houston and St. Louis before becoming the youngest, and only the third female, Senior Brewmaster in A-B’s history at the Fort Collins brewery in 2011. She led her team there to three Global Budweiser Cups, four North American Zone Brewmaster Cups and successfully launched 12 new beers. Katie took her passion global in 2017, becoming known as “SuperCoach” while leading implementation of ABI’s management system across 74 SABMiller facilities. She is currently leading an initiative that has unlocked over $100 million in capacity savings while improving quality and reducing water usage globally. She is also a mentor for four ABI leaders, as well as for a Colombian emigrant as part of the International Mentoring Program in St. Louis. Katie graduated Purdue with a B.S. with Distinction and Honors in Food Science in 2002; and a M.S. of Food Science from Purdue in 2003. She also minored in Chemistry and a specialization in food chemistry during her Masters. During her time at Purdue, she also was involved with a plethora of activities such as: Sigma Kappa Sorority (1999 initiate, Treasurer, Executive Vice President) Food Science Club (1998-2003) Food Science Envoy (2000-2002) Purdue Exponent Staff Writer (1998-2001) and even an Old Masters Host in 2001!! We cannot wait to hear more from you, Katie! #PurdueOldMasters #HailPurdue #OMFamily