Fordham recently welcomed eight new members to its Board of Trustees, adding an increasingly diverse spectrum of business, community and life experience to the University’s leadership.
The new members join the 30 returning trustees in their role of directing and managing the business and affairs of the University. The trustees’ powers include electing officers of the University, concurring in the appointment of academic deans, approving the University budget, authorizing changes in construction and renovation and promoting major University fundraising activities.
Newly elected to three-year terms are:
Michael J. Cosgrove, GSB ’70, president and chief executive officer of mutual funds and intermediary business at GE Asset Management (GEAM), a global investment management firm owned by General Electric Company
Cosgrove is responsible for GE’s global mutual funds, including distribution, product development and servicing in the variable annuity, qualified plans and advisory markets. He also serves as treasurer of the company’s philanthropic arm, the GE Foundation, and as director of
GE Volunteers. Formerly, Cosgrove was GEAM’s chief financial officer.
Gerald “Jerry” C. Crotty Esq., FCRH ’73,
president of Weichert Enterprise, LLC
Crotty co-founded the Weichert private equity investment firm in 2001. He previously held executive positions with ITT Corporation and its affiliates, where he led the company’s Consumer Financial Corporation and helped to turn around its troubled $3 billion portfolio. Prior to joining ITT, he had an extensive career in public service, including serving as counsel and chief of staff to Mario Cuomo, governor of New York. Crotty is the recipient of the Citizen’s Budget Commission Distinguished Service Medal and the Franciscan Health Care System’s Man of the Year Award.
Honora Ahern Grose, GBA ’84,
retired construction manager, diversified portfolio manager, mother of two and active volunteer in charities
Grose earned her bachelor’s degree in architecture from Catholic University and an M.B.A. from Fordham. She worked in commercial architecture at the Washington, D.C.-based firm of Deupi and Associates, and was a project manager for Halpern Real Estate Development and Olympia and York. She is former board director and honorary committee member of the Greenwich Land Trust in Greenwich, Conn. She and her husband support and volunteer at several school, health and children’s charities.
Patricia McGlynn Nazemetz, TMC ’71, GSAS ’89, PAR ’04,
retired chief human resources and ethics officer at Xerox Corporation
Nazemetz was responsible for all aspects of human resources at the company and oversaw all ethics and compliance initiatives. She joined Xerox in 1979 as a benefits operations manager, having worked prior to that as a benefits analyst at W.R. Grace & Company. Nazemetz earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics and her graduate degree in philosophy from Fordham. She is director of the board at Catholic Health Services of Long Island.
Dennis G. Ruppel Esq., FCRH ’68,
partner, Johnson, Pope, Bokor, Ruppel and Burns, LLP
In addition to being a partner at his firm, Ruppel is the chief executive officer and director of Ark Royal Insurance Company and director of the Sembler Company. He holds a doctor of laws degree with highest honors from the University of Michigan. While a student at Fordham, Ruppel was the first president of the inaugural United Student Government. He lives in Florida.
Luis E. San Miguel, GSB ’81, PAR ’10,
president, First Quality Food Services, LLC
A native of Cuba, San Miguel was the chief financial officer (CFO) for the technology startup CareCloud, a company that develops Web-based medical practice management and billing software. Prior to that, he was executive vice president and CFO of Prestige Cruise Holdings, and CFO of Yupi Internet, an Internet portal company sold to a Microsoft/Telmex joint venture in 2001. Early in his career, San Miguel was CFO for KPMG Strategic Services Consulting. He was raised in Miami and lives there with his wife and two sons.
Edward M. Stroz,
GSB ’79, co-president, Stroz Friedberg, LLC
A former special agent for the FBI, Stroz founded his company in 2000 to assist clients in Internet extortions, hacks, theft-of-trade secrets and electronic discovery matters. He is an industry-respected expert on the threats of computer crime and has been interviewed on CBS Evening News, MSNBC, CNN, and in several newspapers. He is the co-author of CISSP Prep Guide: Mastering the Ten Domains of Computer Security (Wiley, 2001) and Cyber Adversary Characterization: Auditing the Hacker Mind (Syngress, 2004). He is a member of the United States Secret Service’s Electronic Crimes Task Force.
William J. Toppeta,
Esq., FCRH ’70, president, International MetLife, Inc.
Topetta is responsible for the company’s insurance and employee benefits outside of the United States. Under his leadership, MetLife increased its capital holdings from $1.2 billion in 2001 to $7.5 billion in 2010, building its operations in Korea, Chile, Brazil, India and China. MetLife also holds leading market positions in Japan, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East, having created an international network that comprises more than 60 countries and serves approximately 40 million customers outside the U.S.
