Executive-in-Residence

Sondra L. Barbour, Executive Vice President, Information Systems & Global Solutions, Lockheed Martin recently spent a day with students in the Fox School’s Management Information Systems program.

Barbour is Executive-in-Residence at the Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) and was at Temple all day on March 9, 2015 as part of her responsibilities. She is an officer of the Lockheed Martin Corporation. Under her leadership, IS&GS employs 26,000 professionals and generated $8.4 billion in sales in 2013.

Barbour is also the inaugural recipient of the Fox Information Technology award for Distinguished Alumni in 2005 and helped start the Executive-in-Residence program. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for 3M and was selected by Fortune magazine as one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” in 2014.

During the day, she participated as a guest expert in Professor Martin Doyle’s Enterprise Architecture class, had lunch with Fox BBA in MIS students, discussed cyber-security careers and other topics with the students in the Fox School’s Master of Science in IT auditing and cyber-security, and met with the representatives of the Temple University student chapter of the Association for Information Systems. Barbour also met with Neil Theobald, President, Temple University.

Temple University’s Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) has appointed NBCUniversal executive and Temple alumnus Atish Banerjea as its newest Executive in Residence.

Banerjea serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer for NBCUniversal, where he is responsible for global technology strategy, applications, infrastructure and operations for the company’s worldwide media portfolio, and is part of the company’s Operations and Technical Services organization.

An alumnus of Temple University’s Fox School of Business, Banerjea attained a Master of Science degree in Management Information Systems (MIS) in 1991.

I am honored to give back to my alma mater, Banerjea said. After I first arrived in the U.S., it was my Temple education that provided the basis for starting a successful career focused on transformative technologies that help drive innovation and revenue across the enterprise.

Banerjea’s commitment to his alma mater includes his recent appointment to the Fox IT Advisory Board, through which he works with the MIS department toward designing curriculum updates, tailoring it to the industry’s current employment climate. Banerjea, widely considered a top innovator and technology strategist, recently was selected as one of Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Leaders for 2015. The distinction recognizes the best technology and business leaders from a variety of organizations.

Prior to joining NBCUniversal, Banerjea had most recently served as Chief Technology Officer for Dex One Corporation. He led a redesign of the company’s IT functions and helped transform Dex One from a print-centric business into a digital media marketing company. He also served as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for international media group Pearson, and held top roles at Maurices, Inc., and Simon & Schuster.

The IBIT Executive in Residence program facilitates interaction among Fox School faculty, students and industry leaders. In his role as IBIT’s Executive in Residence, Banerjea will engage with faculty and students on topics and projects of mutual interest, promote the activities of IBIT, the MIS department and the Fox School of Business.

Atish is a visionary and innovator who is a perfect role model for Fox MIS students, said IBIT Director Laurel Miller. As part of his executive-in-residence responsibilities, Atish will also help update the MIS curriculum.

Banerjea began his residency February 9, 2015.

Temple University’s Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) has appointed Walmart executive and Temple alumnus Ben Hasan as its newest Executive-in-Residence. Hasan is Walmart’s Senior Vice President, Information Services Division. In his position, Hasan is responsible for ISD strategy, communication, innovation, architecture and vendor management.

“As a Temple alum, and somebody who grew up in the neighborhood around Temple, it is incredibly exciting for me to see the tremendous success of the Fox School and, particularly, the Management Information Systems department,” Hasan said.

Prior to joining Walmart, Hasan worked for 11 years at Dell, Inc., progressing through several leadership positions before serving as Vice President of Corporate and Product Group IT, directing teams in Texas, Shanghai, Taipei and Singapore. Hasan received the Fox School of Business IT Award for Distinguished Alumni in 2006. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Computer Science, from Temple University in 1983. He later earned his Master’s of Business Administration degree from Dallas-based Amber University in 1994.

The IBIT Executive-in-Residence program is intended to facilitate interaction among Fox faculty, students and industry leaders. In his role as IBIT’s Executive-in-Residence, Hasan will engage with faculty and students on topics and projects of mutual interest, promote the activities of IBIT, the Management Information Systems department and the Fox School of Business.

“Ben is a superb role model for students,” said IBIT Director Laurel Miller. “He has been very successful in his career as a senior IT executive, but he has never forgotten his roots and is always ready to give back to the community.”

Hasan will begin his residency Oct. 2.

Niraj Patel, BBA ’90,  President, ISGN, Partner, Witmer LLC, and Managing Director, Musser Consulting Group has been appointed “Executive in Residence” at the Fox School’s Management Information Systems (MIS) department and the Institute for Business and Information Technology for the 2011 year.

Mr. Patel was selected as Executive in Residence because of his stature in the field and his continued support for the Fox School. As part of the appointment, Mr. Patel will be spending several days through the year interacting with Fox School MIS students and faculty. Patel will be visiting Fox in March 2011 to start the program. “We are fortunate to have Niraj Patel, one of our most successful, entrepreneurial, and innovative alums as our Executive in Residence” said Munir Mandviwalla, associate professor and chair of the management information systems department at the Fox School of Business.

“As a proud Temple alum, I am very much looking forward to engaging with Fox School MIS faculty and students” Patel said. “The MIS faculty and students at Temple have an entrepreneurial spirit and focus on innovation that is closely aligned with my interests.”

Biography

Niraj Patel
President, ISGN
Partner, Witmer LLC and Managing Director, Musser Consulting Group

Niraj Patel is a senior business executive with a successful track record of uncovering a corporation’s hidden value and opportunities to create long-term strategic and innovative solutions to increase profitability and performance.  His plans have included strategies to address organic growth, in-organic growth through acquisitions, investments, technology solutions and exit strategies. Patel has a passion for distinguishing where possibility does or does not exist in a business endeavor. His business expertise represents the culmination of 15 years focusing on growth strategies through innovation. His business acumen coupled with utilizing some of the most forward thinking business minds, enables him to assist international organizations with value innovation, calculated risk and exponential growth.

Patel currently serves as President of ISGN, a Partner of Witmer LLC and Managing Director for the Musser Consulting Group.  As a multi-national/cross border expert, he has a strong client base in India and has completed large scale projects bridging nations. Patel works closely with his diverse clients including single product firms, medium size firms targeting rapid growth and international conglomerates. It’s their potential that drives Patel to engage their leaders to conceptualize and generate innovative ideas, analyze business strategies, and develop effective solutions, processes and procedures to produce streamlined profitable operations. His approach assists organizations accelerate growth and realize their fullest potential.

Patel is one of the founders of ISGN.  ISGN has grown from 100 employees to 1,800 worldwide and customer base has increased to over 1,100.  Previously Patel served as a founding member and Executive Vice President/CIO for GMAC Commercial Mortgage.  As a member of the Executive Committee, he was a key contributor to the organization’s international growth by consistently delivering double-digit net income growth reaching as high as $341.6 million annually, increasing loan originations from $2 to $29.9 billion, building loan servicing from $5 to $276 billion.

Recognized as an award winning innovator and viewed as one of the leading technologists of his generation, Patel serves on numerous boards and panels, speaks at industry conferences and has been quoted by The Wall Street Journal and numerous commercial real estate, finance and technology publications.  Patel’s community and professional memberships have included the Microsoft Executive Circle; Eastern Technology Council; the Board of Advisors of the Management Information Systems department at the Temple University Fox School of Business; the NPower CIO Advisory Council. and His executive board experience includes: the Mortgage Industry Standards Maintenance Organization (MISMO) Board of Directors,  EnableUS and  MortgageRamp.

He has a BBA in Finance and MIS from Temple University and resides in suburban Philadelphia with his family.

About the Fox School’s Management Information Systems (MIS) department and Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT)

The Fox School’s MIS department offers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs in information systems and includes more than 600 majors and minors and 12 faculty members. Ranked number 1 in the world for research in 2010 by the Association for Information Systems, and in the top 10 by The Chronicle of Higher Education and TechRepublic in 2008/2009, the MIS department is one of the youngest and most successful IT oriented departments in the U.S. The associated Institute for Business and Information Technology (IBIT) connects students and faculty with industry leaders through a membership structure, and provides project and professional development opportunities. For more information, visit community.mis.temple.edu or ibit.temple.edu