#SmealWeeklyRecap featuring Paul E. Ferrante '05 MBA

It's Friday! Make sure and continue to #lifelonglearn with us and follow along as we showcase featured alumni in 2022!

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Alumni Feature – Paul E. Ferrante '05 MBA, Portfolio Manager at BlackRock

Paul E Ferrante, CFA, CFP , is an SMA Portfolio Manager at BlackRock. In his role he is responsible for the implementation of equity, fixed income, and multi-asset solutions for the Trust Team’s ETF, Managed Fund, and SMA Strategies and for the Equity Dividend, Global Dividend, Mid-Cap Value, International Equity, and International Dividend SMA strategies. Responsibilities include trading, customization of client accounts, and frequent risk reviews to ensure client accounts align with their mandates. Paul’s service with BlackRock dates back to 2007 when he was hired as an Analyst on the Trust Management Team. From December 2016 to May 2017, he temporarily functioned as an investment strategist for the Global Tactical Asset Allocation team where he learned valuable technical and data analysis skills that he uses to this day. “One of the things I appreciate about working for BlackRock is that opportunities present themselves that enable employees to grow. All one has to do is grab them.” Paul’s industry experience dates back to 2001 when he was hired as an Investment Service Advisor at Merrill Lynch.

?Paul’s Career Tip – “I have learned over my 20 years of experience to be flexible and have a can-do attitude. Your leaders will appreciate both. This industry in particular is undergoing many changes and the future is never certain. Success will require the ability and willingness to adapt in addition to a positive attitude about making it happen. Finally, my advice: always be learning. When I started at BlackRock, I knew very little about coding. I now use coding daily.”?

News and Resources

• Smeal Alumni Career Services Career Coaching Program - Don't forget if you are a Smeal alumnus, you receive five free value-packed coaching sessions which also give you access to job search tools and resources. Check it out!
• Smeal Lifelong Learning Podcast episode releases at Noon ET!

???#41 Impact Career: The Junity App - A Meaningful Journey

Tune in as aftermarket supply chain senior manager at Pratt & Whitney and co-founder & president of Junity App, Janoye Williams ,’14 SC&IS discusses his passion project. Being a first-generation college graduate, Janoye’s mission is to provide a platform to help high school students, especially those from low-income communities, find resources to assist them in reaching their educational and professional aspirations. Be inspired!

“Having the opportunity to volunteer with youth, woke up a sleeping giant in me and inspired me to think of giving back in a sustainable way.” Janoye Williams

Congratulations to our recent Smeal lifelong learners!

#lilfelonglearner - Anyone who continues to learn and/or fosters learning in others by sharing their knowledge and experience!

1. ?Tatum Bair '20 FIN passed the DataStax Developer Associate Certification covering Cassandra architecture, storing and retrieving data, and data modeling.
2. Dan Drucker '88 MKTG earned a Mastering Digital Transformation Digital Badge issued by Skillsoft?.
3. Richard Fisher '75 ACCT read and recommended a bog based on a Forbes article, Five HR Trends in 2022 and What They Mean for Your Company.
4. Justin D Henson '20 FIN passed the Level I CFA exam.
5. Andrew Hill '17 MKTG just finished the courses Financial Accounting Foundations , Strategic Planning Foundations , and Corporate Financial Statement Analysis all through LinkedIn Learning.
6. David Kobbe '14 SC&IS is an official Salesforce Certified Administrator.
7. Rosalie Minovich '15 ACCT finished and recommended Jen Fisher’s new book, "Work Better Together."
8. Doug Moglia '16 FIN earned his CFA? Charterholder Badge issued by the CFA Institute.
9. Anthony G. Nastasi? '20 SC&IS earned certification in Consumer Products Industry Jumpstart issued by IBM.
10. Nicole Uzo '18 CIENT earned skill badges for Microsoft Power BI , Visio , Microsoft Project , SharePoint , Agile Methodologies , and Microsoft Azure all issued by LinkedIn Learning.

Smeal ACS Webinar - Secure your spot today! ???

Come lifelong learn with us in 2022! Most webinars are LIVE on Wednesdays at Noon ET. (except our April 6th webinar) They're free and everyone is welcome! #masterclasses

Virtual Competition and Cost of Capital: Evidence from Telehealth ?featuring Dr. Kimberly Cornaggia, Louis R. & Virginia A. Benzak Professor of Finance, Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University - March 2 #masterclass

Influencing at the Executive Level ?featuring Rebecca (Becky) Savikas ’99 MKTG, Sr. Vice President, HR Business Partner Organization, Enterprise Change & Labor at Highmark Health - March 23 #backbypopulardemand

Promoting an Ethical Culture in a Remote Workplace featuring Dr. Jennifer Eury, Clinical Assistant Professor of Management and Organization at the Smeal College of Business, and affiliate faculty member in the Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State facilitating an expert panelists in the filed of ethics! - April 6th at 1:00 PM #masterclass

• Ginnette Ciesla, Senior Manager, Ethics and Business Conduct, Lockheed Martin Enterprise Operations
• Susan Divers, Director of Thought Leadership and Best Practices, LRN
• Alicia Olmstead, Global Ethics & Compliance Consultant, Dell Technologies

Have a great weekend!????? #WeAre???