Olin Business School honors seven distinguished alumni

Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis honored seven outstanding alumni for their service to the school, thought leadership, business acumen and impact at two awards ceremonies April 20 and 21.

Anjan Thakor, dean of Olin Business School, bestowed the 2023 Dean’s Medal upon Joe Blomker (EMBA ’90), founder and CEO of Maryville Consulting Group. The Dean’s Medal honors people who have contributed time, service and dedication to the school. Blomker was recognized for his dedication to advancing not only WashU and Olin, but also the St. Louis community.

Blomker has served as the CEO and president since founding Maryville Consulting Group, which helps companies transform into technology-enabled businesses, in 1994. At WashU, Blomker has served on the Technology Advisory Committee and on Olin’s National Council and remained engaged with Olin students, faculty and staff.  

Additionally, Blomker has been a member of the Regional Business Council of St. Louis since 2000 and was a founding chair of St. Louis Social Venture Partners. Blomker also served on the board of Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School, where he led the Education Policy Committee.

Megan Berry (MBA ‘15), Zoe Hillenmeyer (MBA ‘13) and Alixandra Henick Iger (BSBA ‘10) each received the Emerging Leader Award, which celebrates recent alumni who exemplify leadership, innovative thinking and vision.

Andrew Knight, vice dean for education and globalization, is joined by Megan Berry (center) and Alixandra Henick Iger at the 2023 Olin Emerging Leaders event. (Photo: Jerry Naunheim/Washington University)
  • Berry founded by REVEAL, a retail services platform providing turnkey pop-up stores with on-demand data, while completing dual master’s degrees in business and architecture at WashU. Today, Berry is a product director for clean beauty conglomerate Amyris and a partner at Mentors Fund, where she advises and invests in disruptive technologies.
  • Hillenmeyer is the chief commercial officer for the artificial intelligence (AI) company Peak, which provides the platform, applications and services to help businesses harness the potential of AI to increase revenues, profits and efficiency.
  • Henick Iger is the North America and United Kingdom music marketing lead for artist services at TikTok, responsible for marketing strategy and plans for various music products and services.

The other Distinguished Alumni honored are:

  • Chris Bloise (BSBA ‘97), president and managing partner at Court Square Capital in New York City, a firm focused on technology and communications investments.
  • Lal Karsanbhai (MBA ‘95), president and chief executive officer of Emerson, an $18.2 billion global technology and industrial software leader based in St. Louis.
  • Ari Lewine (BSBA ‘09), co-founder of TripleLift, one of the world’s largest advertising technology firms and a pioneer in native programmatic advertising.
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