alumni business

Wesleyan alumnus Abdul Latif '97 served as the choreographer for The Black History Museum According to the United States of America, which opened the weekend of March 24. Done in collaboration with HERE Arts Center’s Culturemart Festival 2017, the show examined “a number of struggles pertinent to the people of color community and the “modern millennial identity in response to incarceration and the #BlackLivesMatter movement.” Latif, along with the rest of the production team, attempts to explore and explain the relationship between black Americans and the criminal justice system drawing from sentiments expressed after the fatal shootings of Black Americans.…

“Wait, turn that up! What is that song?” If you've ever watched a commercial that became more significant the second you heard a song you just had to hear again, chances are Jonathan Hecht ’04—founder of Venn Arts—was behind its discovery. His interest in pairing music with picture was inspired by the Paul Thomas Anderson film Boogie Nights: "I realized how different some of the musical selections were, but how they all fit together to create a sound and musical character for the film.” He began to wonder if he could create a career out of this observation—which became Venn Arts,…

On Feb. 24, three recent Wesleyan alumnae returned to campus for a panel conversation on “Finding a Career Path in Publishing.” The event, held in Downey House, was co-sponsored by the Department of English, Writing Programs and the Shapiro Center for Creative Writing. Caitlin O’Shaughnessy ’08, Anabel Pasarow ’16, and Danielle Springer ’13 traced their career history and offered encouragement and tips to undergraduate audience. O’Shaughnessy, marketing manager at Penguin Press, a division of Penguin Random House, had previously worked as an editor at Viking, and in publicity at InStyle magazine. Currently, she is also part-time student in the MBA…

Patti Cake$, the debut film from writer-director Geremy Jasper ’98, has earned the second-highest deal of Sundance so far this year, with a bid of $9.5 million for distribution rights from Fox Searchlight. Producers are Dan Janvey ’06 and Michael Gottwald ’06; Matthew Greenfield ’90 is senior vice-president of production at Fox Searchlight—all Wesleyan film majors. Jasper's film tells the story of Patricia Dombrowski, (played by Danielle Macdonald)—also known as Killa P and Patti Cake$—an aspiring rapper in New Jersey. In his review, IndieWire’s Eric Kohn called the film the “best hip-hop movie since Hustle & Flow.” The film premiered…

William Bissell ’88, managing director of Fabindia, a retail enterprise begun by Bissell's father, John, in 1960, is featured on the cover of Forbes India on Jan. 20, a special issue on social impact. "A Fab New World: Not Only is Ethnic Goods Retailer Fabinidia Spreading its Wings, It Continues to Shape the Lives of Thousands of Rural Artisans," the cover line reads. The article, by Forbes India staff writer Anshul Dhamija, details the beginnings of the company, as an exporter of hand-loomed fabrics and furnishings with only one initial retail store, which opened in New Delhi in 1976. The second opened in the…

Stephen McCarthy ’75, managing director at KCG Capital Advisors, is also partner/executive producer with Matthew Miele’s Quixotic Endeavors (QE) film production company, featuring corporate/individual biopics, such as Crazy About Tiffany's (starring Jessica Biel and Katie Couric, among others) and Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorfs (starring Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen, among others). Their third film Harry Benson: Shoot First, will be in theaters—including New York City—and video on demand, starting Dec. 9, 2016. Harry Benson: Shoot First is a 90-minute documentary on one of the most accomplished photojournalists of the past five decades. Benson's work has captured cultural icons in…

“Can Serialized Fiction Convert Binge Watchers into Binge Readers?” asked NPR reporter Lynn Neary in All Things Considered. “Serialized books have a long history in publishing—Charles Dickens famously released many his novels in serial form,” she observed. Noting that television “episodic storytelling” is newly popular, Neary reported that Julian Yap and Molly Barton ’01 have entered the publishing industry with this in mind. Their start-up company, “Serial Box… aims to be ‘HBO for readers.’” Neary said, explaining, “Serial Box releases ‘episodes’ (not ‘books’) over a 10 to 16 week season. Each season is written by a team of writers. “'We're not…

Bozoma Saint John ’99 took the stage at Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), held this year in San Francisco, and stole the show. "It’s not just that Saint John, head of marketing for Apple Music, was a black female executive appearing onstage at WWDC. It was the way she commanded the room—and the show—that blew everyone away," wrote Davey Albey for Wired. Saint John, who spoke about Apple's streaming music service, which now has 15 million users, had led Apple Music’s marketing division since April 2014, when Apple acquired Beats, the company she had joined three months previously. Prior to that, she led…

"Is gentrification next?" asks the New York Times in a May 31, 2016 article by Jeff Gordinier. Majora Carter ’88, who is from the South Bronx, and her husband and business partner, James Chase, teamed up with Jeremy Lyman and Paul Schlader, entrepreneurs who created Birch Coffee. The result: they have brought "exposed brick, reclaimed wood and $2.75 macchiatos" to "a stretch of Hunts Point Avenue dominated by dime stores, bodegas and auto shops." To those who say they feel as though they are in Manhattan by the vibe in the shop, Carter responds, “'You know what? You are in the Bronx,…

In a video interview with central Florida's WESH to celebrate the opening of the newest location of Sprinkles Cupcakes at Disney Springs, the store's founder Candace Nelson ’96 offered a brief frosting tutorial. "All of our cupcakes at Sprinkles are hand-frosted," she noted. "You can actually come to our store at Disney Springs and see those cupcakes being frosted in our frosting theater. All of our frosters are in a cute little window so you can see them do their magic at Sprinkles." Additionally, she said that cupcakes ATMs are open until 2 a.m. for those on the late-night prowl: "It's technology and pleasure coming…

Aetna has tapped two Wesleyan alumni for recent high-level hires. Thomas Sabatino Jr. ’80 is joining the insurance giant as executive vice president and general counsel. Sabatino worked most recently at Hertz Global Holdings as its chief lawyer, and previously in pharmaceuticals and medical products. He joins Gary Loveman ’82, who in September became Aetna’s corporate executive vice president and president of Healthagen, the company’s consumer business. Loveman, a former management professor at Harvard Business School, had been chairman and CEO of Caesars Entertainment Corp. Dan Haar ’81, business editor of the Hartford Courant, wrote that both Hertz and Caesar’s…

Bozoma “Boz” Saint John ’99, head of global consumer marketing for Apple Music and iTunes, wowed attendees at WesFest—admitted students and their parents— as keynote speaker. The eldest daughter of Wesleyan ethnomusicology graduate Dr. Appianda Arthur PhD ’77, Saint John spoke on Wesleyan's powerful influence on her life today. Her father, recalling his formative years at Wesleyan and the lively intellectual community, had encouraged her to attend Wesleyan. Although her desire to rebel figured in early in the decision process, she ultimately chose Wesleyan. “My father was so excited when I decided Wesleyan was the school for me, but he…

Latif ’97 Showcases Work in 2017 Culturemart Festival

Hecht ’04 Finds the Irresistible Music for Commercial Clients

O’Shaughnessy ’08, Springer ’13, Pasarow ’13 Offer Career Advice in Publishing

Jasper ’98 Writes/Directs Sundance Hit Patti Cake$

Bissell ’88 Balances Social Impact, Scale in Ethnic Goods Retailer Fabindia

McCarthy ’75 Produces ‘Star-Studded’ Documentary Harry Benson: Shoot First

Barton ’01 Offers Serialized Fiction for Binge Readers

Saint John ’99 Wows Crowd at Apple’s Developers Conference

NYT: Carter ’88 Opens High-End Coffee Shop in South Bronx

Sprinkles Founder Nelson ’96 Highlights Frosting Demos at New Store

Aetna Taps Sabatino ’80 and Loveman ’82 as High-Level Hires

Apple Music’s Saint John ’99 Recalls Formative Wes Moments in WesFest Keynote