Alumni and friends receive prestigious Citations of Merit from the Trulaske College of Business

On May 2, nine alumni and friends of the Trulaske College of Business were recognized at the annual Honors Luncheon for their service and commitment to Mizzou and the college. Dean Joan Gabel and Chancellor R. Bowen Loftin presented the awards.

Annually, up to ten Trulaske College of Business Citations of Merit are awarded. The recipients are selected by a vote of the entire faculty of the college. In deciding upon those individuals to be placed before the faculty, the Faculty Policy Committee reviews each candidate in relation to accomplishments in his/her career; involvement with the college through board activities, recruitment or other collaborative programs; and financial support of the college.

Citations of Merit

John P. Abshear
BS BA ’94, University of Missouri
MBA ’02, Washington University

Director, Global Trade Investment Planning,
Energizer Holdings, Inc.

John Abshear has just reached the 20-year mark in his consumer packaged goods career, where he has served in diverse and progressive roles among industry leading manufacturers. After graduating from Mizzou in 1994, he went to work learning industry best practices with General Mills, progressing through a variety of functional roles, in both field and headquarter assignments. He then spent several years with Pepsi-Cola, Campbell’s Soup, Catalina Marketing, and glacéau (makers of vitaminwater and smartwater), while concurrently earning his MBA from Washington University in St. Louis.

In 2007, glacéau was purchased by The Coca-Cola Company, where John assumed additional responsibilities and went on to lead various sales, trade and commercial initiatives until 2014. He has recently returned home to St. Louis and began the next phase of his career with Energizer Holdings, Inc., where he serves as the director of global trade investment planning, including worldwide responsibility for both of Energizer’s household products and personal care divisions.

During the last 15 years, John has proudly served the Trulaske College of Business on the marketing advisory board, as a panelist for Making Me Marketable, and as Professor-for-a-Day. Additionally, John is an active member of the Mizzou Alumni Association, recently serving as president of the Northwest Arkansas Chapter in 2012-2013.

John and Laurie have just relocated back to the St. Louis area with their two children, Mallory, 9, and Jake, 7, and are looking forward to serving Mizzou for many years to come.

Allan L. Bridgford Jr.
BS BA ’82, University of Missouri
Food Industry Consultant

Allan Bridgford has worked in the food industry for more than 30 years. He served as president of Bridgford Foods of Illinois from 1985 until his retirement in 2002. Allan was also a member of Bridgford’s board of directors, to which he contributed extensive sales, marketing and distribution knowledge about the food industry. He currently works as a food industry consultant for various companies.

Allan graduated summa cum laude when he earned a bachelor’s in business administration from Mizzou with an emphasis in economics. He credits the Trulaske College of Business for teaching him the management, organizational and leadership skills necessary to run a successful business. He has expressed gratitude for the outstanding faculty and students at MU who made such a positive impact on his life by establishing the Allan L. Bridgford Jr. Scholarship Endowment and hosting Cornell Leadership Program students at his business. In an incredible show of support, more than 150 Bridgford delivery vehicles proudly display the new Trulaske College of Business MIZ BIZ brand mark.

Allan and Tracy are members of the Davenport Society at the Dean’s Distinguished Patron level and Jefferson Club. They live in Southern California and Chicago with their cat, Mickey.

José M. Gutiérrez
BS ACC ’84, University of Missouri
M ACC, ’85, University of Missouri
MBA ’90, Northwestern University

President,
Wholesale Solutions and Access Management
AT&T Business Solutions

José Gutiérrez leads a domestic and international organization of professionals responsible for delivering a full portfolio of end-to-end voice, data, mobility, IP, outsourcing and professional services solutions to wholesale customers globally. He also leads the Access Management organization, which is responsible for local, switched and special access acquisition for AT&T’s mobility, domestic and global (non-USA) multinational customer base. With employees serving 115 countries, Access Management leads the acquisition process with carriers, negotiates and optimizes AT&T unit cost associated with access, and manages the performance of the suppliers in line with AT&T and customer expectations.

With over 22 years of experience in the industry, José served as president and CEO of AT&T Advertising Solutions from 2010 - 2012. Prior to this, he led AT&T’s Global Enterprise Solutions organization, serving the top 30,000 AT&T business retail customers around the world. He was also President and CEO of AT&T Southwest (formerly Southwestern Bell).

Before joining AT&T, José, as a licensed CPA, held positions in strategy, consulting and auditing at KPMG Peat Marwick.

José is a dedicated member of the Trulaske College of Business Strategic Development Board and a past member of the MBA Advisory Board. As part of the college’s Centennial Celebration, José will be featured in the Centennial Speaker Series, available at business.missouri.edu.

He also serves on the Missouri 100 Advisory Board and as co-chairman for the National Campaign at the University of Missouri. He is Vice-Chairman of the Thompson Foundation for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders and is a board member of the World Affairs Council and Denny’s Corporation.

José and Diane are generous members of the Davenport Society. They have two children, Elena and Charles.

Randy D. Oberdiek
BS ACC ’84, University of Missouri

North Region Accounting and Auditing Director,
BKD, LLP

Randy Oberdiek oversees the BKD accounting and auditing practice throughout Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. He assists engagement teams in resolving complex accounting and auditing technical matters and performs technical reviews on large engagements including filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Randy is a member of the firm’s accounting and auditing committee and previously served on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants depository institution expert panel.

Randy received the Silver Medal award on the Missouri CPA exam in 1984 and obtained accreditation in business valuation in 2000. In 2012, he received the BKD PRIDE Award. This award is given each year to one partner and one employee who exemplify the firm’s PRIDE values: passion, respect, integrity, discipline and excellence. BKD partners and employees nominate their peers for the award and the firm’s governing board chooses the winners.  

Randy is a dedicated member of the School of Accountancy advisory board and previously served on the governing board of the Mizzou Alumni Association (MAA) where he chaired the finance committee. Randy also serves as the treasurer for the Kansas City chapter of MAA.

Randy and Pam are members of the Davenport Society and Jefferson Club and generously support scholarships in the Trulaske College of Business, including the School of Accountancy.

Roy J. Sundermeyer
BS Acc ’01, University of Missouri
M Acc ’01, University of Missouri

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer,
Central Bancompany Inc.

Roy Sundermeyer is the Chief Financial Officer for Central Bancompany Inc., a bank holding company based in Jefferson City, Mo., with 13 subsidiary banks and roughly $10.5 billion in assets. He leads the company’s finance, accounting and tax functions, and he is a member of the executive committee responsible for setting the organization’s long-term, strategic direction. Before joining Central Bancompany in October 2013, Roy worked as a financial statement auditor at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for more than 12 years in the firm’s St. Louis, Kansas City, and Florham Park, NJ offices.

Roy is a member of Trulaske’s department of management advisory board and previously served two terms on the recent alumni advisory board. He is a sponsor-level member of the Davenport Society, a distinguished fellow-level member of the Jefferson Club, and a Tiger scholar-level donor in the department of athletics’ Tiger Scholarship Fund. He has participated in many Trulaske College of Business initiatives, including the St. Louis chapter of the Mizzou Alumni Association, Alumni Mentor Program, job shadowing program, and various résumé review functions for students. Roy is a certified public accountant (CPA) and a member of the Missouri Society of CPAs and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Roy enjoys attending and watching Mizzou sporting events, terrorizing mid-Missouri golf courses with triple-digit scores, and accumulating useless knowledge to keep his trivia skills honed.

Tricia L. Zimmer Ferguson
BS BA ’03, University of Missouri

Owner and President,
Kaldi's Coffee Roasting Company

After graduating from the Trulaske College of Business in 2003 with a business administration degree and an emphasis in management, Tricia Zimmer Ferguson was selected to the Rotational Development Program at Edward Jones.  She worked in mutual funds marketing until she crossed paths with Kaldi’s Coffee Roasting Co. in late 2005.

That same year, she and her family purchased the St. Louis-based coffee roaster. Since then, they have opened multiple retail locations beyond the original café and have expanded the wholesale operation, located in mid-town St. Louis, where they roast beans to sell to restaurants, cafés, offices and grocers across the Midwest.

In 2008, Tricia and her family invested in another coffee venture in Honolulu where they own and operate multiple Honolulu Coffee Co. locations. They also have licensed stores in Guam, Taiwan and Japan. Honolulu Coffee Co. specializes in 100 percent Hawaiian-grown coffees. Just last year, they purchased a 75-acre coffee farm in Kona.

Tricia currently serves on the development committee of the JDRF (Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation) and the Midwest Bank Centre advisory board. She is also a member of EO (Entrepreneur’s Organization), YPO (Young President’s Organization) and the St. Louis Forum Organization. For Mizzou, Tricia is a past member of the recent alumni advisory board and current member of the Entrepreneurship Alliance advisory board and management advisory board. She is actively involved with Mizzou students as a guest speaker and mentor.

Tricia and Josh are members of the Davenport Society. They have two sons, Hunter and Walter.

Special Citations of Merit

Cathy M. Atkins
BJ ’92, University of Missouri

Resource Development Director,
Heart of Missouri United Way Inc.

Cathy Atkins earned a bachelor’s from the Missouri School of Journalism with an emphasis in broadcast. Today, she remains a die-hard Mizzou Tigers sports fan.

Following graduation, Cathy began a career in radio sales before evolving into sales management. She worked as an associate for the Sandler Sales Institute, an international sales and management training company. Armed with the skills she fine-tuned in the journalism school — writing and speaking — she traveled across the country, wrote articles and blogs, and was a featured presenter for groups and associations. 

With Sandler, she consulted for and trained businesses of all sizes, from companies such as Hill-Rom and Johnson Controls, to many local and regional companies. She later bought the franchise and ran it as Savant Business Development Systems for nearly five years.

In 2012, she stepped into a part-time, interim role with the Heart of Missouri United Way and quickly found that nonprofit work captured her heart. She closed her consulting business in 2013 and started full time as the director of resource development at United Way.

Cathy has been an active member of the Trulaske College of Business marketing advisory board since 2006. She has worked with students as a panelist in the annual Making Me Marketable conference, as a presenter to Trulaske Business Academy high school students, and as a speaker in sales management and personal selling classes.

While at Mizzou, she met her husband, Aaron (BS ’92). They have two daughters: Kaitlyn, 15; and Megan, 13.

John D. Conrad
BA ’87, University of Missouri

Former President and Owner,
CDNI

John Conrad served honorably in the US Army for eight years before attending Mizzou. After graduation, he began a career in information technology that has spanned more than 25 years. He was chief technology officer at Momentum Worldwide when he left his corporate career to become an entrepreneur. Until late last year, he was president and owner of J.D. Conrad and Associates, a company that offered managed print services and remanufactured laser printers. John was a long-time member of the Society for Information Management.

John has been a committed member of the management department advisory board in the Trulaske College of Business for more than 14 years. He has been a guest speaker on business technology and continues to champion the integration of technology and information systems management into business curriculum. He helped establish the Professional Development Program and the certificates in human resource management and in operations management. John is a member of the Davenport Society.

Two of John’s three children are proud Mizzou Tigers. His daughter, Caitlin, is a senior studying business administration with an emphasis in management. His son, John, is a freshman with plans to major in accounting. His younger daughter, Megan, is a sophomore at St. Joseph’s Academy in St. Louis.