Ichabod Washburn Young Alumni Award for Professional Achievement: 2001 Recipients
Robert C. Fuller '81
Bob Fuller, you began your career with GM Industries while a high school student, working in the stock room; upon graduation from WPI you joined the company full time. GM Industries was founded in 1969 by your father, Robert T. Fuller. With $3.5 million in sales, the company, a producer of custom-designed machine tools specializing in drilling machines and rebuilding machines, had prospered.
However, hurt by a recession, the company faltered in the 1980s. In 1989, along with your brother, Steven, you moved swiftly and purposefully to rescue this machine tool business. At a time when loyalty to companies had begun to wane, you had the drive and energy to guide a successful transition. Aptly renaming it Phoenix Inc., you aggressively took charge and rebuilt a company that today boasts annual sales of $7 million.
Now, as president, you oversee a company with a product that includes the largest vertical turning and milling machines manufactured in the United States. The strength of the company is its customer-driven, hands-on approach and its commitment to performance-driven design. It provides customers with innovative cost-effective machine tool solutions.
Bob Fuller, your record of achievement and determination has distinguished you among your peers. It is an honor to present you with the Ichabod Washburn Young Alumni Award for Professional Achievement.
Mati Weiderpass '81
Mati Weiderpass, you have used your inqenuity and business acumen to build one of the strongest watch retail conglomerates in the United States. During your 15-year career in retailing, you have helped change the face of watch retailing.
Following the completion of your undergraduate degree in management engineering, you were commissioned in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant. Your Army career took you to Germany, where you finished a four-year tour as captain. You then enrolled at one of Europe's most outstanding business graduate schools, IMEDE, in Lausanne, Switzerland, where you worked on a marketing plan for Swiss watchmaker Swatch. So impressed by your analysis and strategic approach, Swatch hired you following your graduation and you spent the next eight years in positions of increasing responsibility at the company.
In 1996, unable to persuade Swatch to open its own retail sites, you moved to Manhattan to launch Watch World, one of the largest fashion and sports watch retailers in the United States. In five short years, your innovative watch stores, which number over 100 throughout the nation, have become one of the top three retailers for most of the brands carried. In 1999, your leadership and business acumen was rewarded when you were selected by Ernst & Young as one of twelve Entrepreneurs of the Year, the premier award for American entrepreneurs in New York City. In 2000, you sold your retail empire to Sunglass Hut International and joined that enterprise as vice president of watch manufacturing.
Mati Weiderpass, for your visionary leadership and entrepreneurial spirit, we are very pleased to present to you the Ichabod Washburn Young Alumni Award for Professional Achievement.
Susan Loconto Penta '86
Susan Penta, a new millennium signals change, and you have been at the forefront of management consulting with a unique focus on innovation and change. As co-founder of Midior Consulting, you have taken your background in product and information management, along with your entrepreneurial spirit, and focused on in-depth analysis and service to companies that are developing new products, addressing new markets, or looking to improve their innovation track record. Known for your ability to conceptualize and create, you rarely pass up a challenge presented to you.
Having followed your electrical engineering degree from WPI with an MBA from The City University Business School, you began your career with Sprague Electric Company in Gatwick, England. During the last 15 years, you've held such corporate positions as design engineer, product manager and high-tech CEO. As an engineer and entrepreneur, you have founded several ventures in the data communications, Internet and mobile data markets.
In addition, you have given back to the community by presenting at industry conferences your expertise on innovation and e-business transformation and mentoring aspiring entrepreneurs. You serve on WPI's Entrepreneur's Collaborative Advisory Board and the WPI Alumni Cabinet. You are also advisor and trustee for two Boston-based non-profit organizations.
Susan Penta, it is an honor to present you with the Ichabod Washburn Young Alumni Award for Professional Achievement.
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