The Drexel 100

Michael Barry
BS, College of Engineering, Chemical Engineering, 1981
Chief Executive Officer, Quaker Chemical Corporation Show details

Mr. Barry is the Chief Executive Officer of Quaker Chemical Corporation, a producer of specialty chemicals for industrial and manufacturing processes, as well as a member of the company’s board of directors. Previously, he was the Senior Vice President and Managing Director and was responsible for the company’s industrial metalworking and coatings businesses, including two of the company subsidiaries, AC Products, Inc. and Epmar Corporation. He also held the position of Vice President and Chief Financial Officer while serving as the company’s treasurer and handled all aspects of Quaker’s financial management, control and reporting, corporate development, as well as treasury management and information systems. Before joining Quaker Chemical, Mr. Barry worked for Lyondell (formerly Arco Chemical) as a Business Director and also as Director of Finance and Material for Arco Chemical’s $300 million worldwide plastics business. Prior to Lyondell, Mr. Barry worked for both Sun Company, Inc. and Mobil Oil Corporation, where he held a variety of positions in both finance and manufacturing. In addition to his Drexel degree, Mr. Barry holds an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Ms. Burns is Vice President of Information & Knowledge Solutions for Lockheed Martin Enterprise Solutions & Services. She provides executive leadership to the Information and Knowledge Solutions line of business where she manages numerous application development and maintenance programs supporting the Defense Department, FBI, Environmental Protection Agency, Social Security Administration, and other government agencies. Ms. Burns is also an adjunct instructor in the Lockheed Martin Corporate Program Management course series. Previously, Ms. Burns was Vice President of Engineering for Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems & Solutions. She was responsible for engineering performance and personnel that included nearly 8,000 engineers both nationally and internationally on over 400 programs. In 2004, Ms. Burns received Lockheed Martin’s highest award, known as NOVA, which recognizes individuals and teams who have made outstanding contributions to the Corporation’s mission and business objectives.

Mr. Chapel is the former Chief Executive Officer and Owner of AVIEL Systems, Inc., a federal IT and management consulting services provider in areas critical to national security, transportation and defense. Prior to AVIEL, Mr. Chapel served as President and Chief Operating Officer of OPTIMUS, leading all operational aspects of the company including strategic planning and administration. Earlier, Mr. Chapel served as Chief Operating Officer of Computer & Hi-Tech Management, a $92 million professional services company specializing in providing IT services and solutions to the Department of Defense and public sector, where he led the company’s successful transformation and acquisition. He played a similar role as President and Chief Operating Officer of Andrulis Corporation, tripling the IT services firm’s revenues in three years to $37 million, with considerable growth resulting in a successful acquisition. Mr. Chapel also served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the ManTech Systems Engineering Corporation of ManTech International, where he successfully managed a $145 million, 1,200-person unit involved in providing personnel and IT services in both the public and private sectors. He also held senior management positions with Strategic Concepts Limited, RJC Industries, Inc., and Dowty Aerospace Corporation. In 2008, Mr. and Mrs. Chapel endowed the Dean’s Chair at the LeBow College of Business.

With more than 40 years of banking experience, Mr. Falese is currently Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking at TD Bank. Prior to the acquisition of Commerce Bancorp by TD Bank, Mr. Falese held senior leadership positions at Commerce including President and Chief Executive Officer, President of Commercial and Investment Banking of Commerce Bank, and Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. During his tenure with Commerce, Mr. Falese built the commercial and investment banking portion of the Commerce growth strategy, and Commerce grew to serve multiple business segments including small- and mid-size businesses, not-for-profit organizations, and large corporate firms. He began his banking career in 1966 at First Pennsylvania Bank, then worked for Fidelity Bank/First Fidelity in Philadelphia where he held various senior lending positions including Executive Vice President and Senior Lending Officer, then served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank before joining Commerce. In 2004, Mr. Falese was honored by the Northwestern Human Services Foundation at its first annual “Leading the Way” awards gala to benefit Northwestern Human Services. He has served as a Board Member for the Science Center and as a Trustee at St. Joseph’s University. In addition to his Drexel MBA, Mr. Falese has a BS from St. Joseph’s University in economics.

Dr. Loretta Finnegan was formerly the Medical Advisor to the Director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Over the past several decades, Dr. Finnegan has authored or co-authored more than 160 scientific publications and has given over 900 conference presentations on the health issues of women and children. She has participated in international symposia and conferences or has been a visiting professor in 18 foreign countries, and her consultant activities have included work with the Food and Drug Administration, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the State of California. In addition to holding three Honorary Degrees from Chestnut Hill College, Ursinus College, and the University of New England, Dr. Finnegan has received over 20 awards including the Medical College of Pennsylvania’s Gimbel Award for distinguished contributions to humanity; the Pacesetter Award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse for outstanding achievements in treatment, research and prevention of drug abuse; the Juliette Lowe Award as one of the outstanding women who have made a difference through their leadership in health care; the Women’s History Award as one of Philadelphia’s Outstanding Women; and the 2007 Hahnemann University Distinguished Alumnus Award. Dr. Finnegan is a Fellow of the College on Problems of Drug Dependence and has served on the editorial boards of Advances in Alcohol and Substance Abuse and Developmental Pharmacology in Therapeutics.

Dr. Kessel is an internationally recognized physician and public servant. A community pediatrician for over 30 years, Dr. Kessel also served as an Assistant Surgeon General of the United States and has been a senior advisor on public health, health policy, and child and family health matters to the White House, Cabinet Secretaries, Surgeon Generals, and Health and Human Services officials spanning eight administrations. As Assistant Surgeon General, Dr. Kessel helped develop the President’s Healthy Start Initiative, the President’s State Children’s Health Insurance Program, the President’s Task Force on Children’s Environmental Health and Safety, the National Children’s Study, and the President’s Safe and Bright Futures Initiative. He has worked with numerous organizations to promote child health including Sesame Workshop; Shaping America’s Youth, and the American Academy of Pediatrics. In recognition of his work for America’s children and families, Dr. Kessel was recently awarded the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Excellence in Public Service Award and the U.S. Surgeon General’s Medallion. He received his MD from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and MPH from the Johns Hopkins University. He is currently Senior Scientific Advisor at Academic Network LLC, a healthcare telecommunications service bureau and consulting firm; a lecturer and Professor of the Practice at the University of Maryland School of Public Health; and Founder and President of e-Maginative Health Systems Solutions, a consulting firm helping children and families become healthier by making healthy and wise choices.

In addition to being a Professor at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Lee is the Director of the University of Chicago’s Electrical Trauma Program, the Founder and Chairman of Maroon Biotech, and the Founder of Acovet Polymer Technologies, Inc. He is an internationally recognized expert in plastic surgery, trauma and bioengineering and a leading authority on laser surgery, gynecologic plastic surgery, management of scar-related problems and electrical shock injury. Dr. Lee has pioneered new reconstructive surgery methods for correction of congenital and acquired gynecologic defects and invented a new category of pharmaceuticals called surfactant chaperones. He has been researching novel uses of surfactants for cellular wound healing for the past 17 years and is currently the preeminent researcher in this field. Named one of “America’s Top Surgeons” by the Consumers’ Research Council of America, Dr. Lee is an editor and co-author of four books, and more than 180 articles and book chapters. Additionally, he has been named an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow and a MacArthur Fellow and received the Searle Scholar Award. Dr. Lee has received more than 25 scientific research awards and honorary degrees.

Mr. Murphy is retired as a Partner at Peat Marwick, an accounting firm that today is known as KPMG. After serving in the Army, Mr. Murphy began his career at Main and Company (which later evolved into Peat Marwick), where he also completed all of his Drexel co-ops. He was then hired by Peat Marwick in the early 1960s where he worked as a Supervisor, a Manager and a Partner. During his time at Peat Marwick, Mr. Murphy served as the President of the Pennsylvania Institute of Accounting. Always valuing his Drexel co-op education, Mr. Murphy was instrumental in persuading management at Peat Marwick to hire Drexel co-op students. Throughout his career, Mr. Murphy volunteered for Drexel, helping with fund raising and his fraternity, Lambda Chi. After retiring in 1981, he taught classes at Drexel in auditing until 1987. In 1997, Mr. Murphy established the Thomas M. Murphy Achievement Award Fund for undergraduate students majoring in accounting. In 2002, Drexel awarded him the Golden Dragon Award.

Dr. Oaks held the Thomas J. Vischer Chair of Medicine at Hahnemann University, now Drexel University School of Medicine, and has been teaching medical students and residents for over fifty years. Dr. Oaks has directed thirteen medical symposiums, each of which was followed by a symposium textbook, and has contributed 90 scientific publications to various medical journals. He was also instrumental in establishing the Physician Assistant Program at Hahnemann. A three time winner of the Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, Dr. Oaks is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the “1000 Points of Light” award from President George H. W. Bush for his work with the Homeless Clinic; the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Clinical Teaching; Hahnemann University Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service; the Alumnus of the Year Award; the Exemplar of Humanism in Medicine Award; Philadelphia County Medical Society’s Practitioner of the Year Award and the Drexel College of Medicine Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1986, Dr. Singh, a native of India, founded Karta Technologies, a San Antonio, Texas-based technology and professional services firm, in his garage as a government contractor. Dr. Singh expanded Karta from a one-man operation to a highly successful firm that employed close to 400 employees at the time of its purchase by NCI Information Systems, Inc. in 2007. After the acquisition, Dr. Singh was elected to NCI’s Board of Directors. Before founding Karta, Dr. Singh was an engineering faculty member at the University of Texas, San Antonio. He has published over 50 technical papers and numerous reports related to power plant maintenance and operations, and he holds, or co-holds, six patents. From 1996 to 2003, Karta Technologies received the “Fast Track Award” by the San Antonio Business Journal as one of the “50 Fastest Growing Companies in San Antonio,” and in 2002, Karta received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s “Tibbets Award” for being a “model of excellence.” In 2008, he was inducted into the San Antonio Technology Accelerator Initiative Technology Hall of Fame. Dr. Singh currently spends his time investing in startup companies and nonprofit organizations in the San Antonio area.

Mr. Speitel enjoyed a long and successful career in both environmental and civil engineering. Before retiring, he was President of his own environmental engineering firm, Speitel Associates, from 1972 to 1988 and later Vice President and National Director of Business Development for BCM Engineers, the firm that acquired Speitel Associates. A fellow with the American Society of Civil Engineers, Mr. Speitel has received numerous awards for his work, including the 1989 Delaware Valley Engineer of the Year Award and the 1993 Distinguished Service Award from the New Jersey Society of Professional Engineers. In appreciation for his long-standing commitment to the University, Mr. Speitel has previously received several alumni awards including the Mary S. Irick Award, the Key “D” Award, and the Twenty-Year Attainment Award from the Goodwin College of Professional Studies.

Dr. Stineman was born with scoliosis and other infirmities that caused her to be severely disabled, but family support and her personal determination enabled her to achieve great professional success. She is a practicing clinician and research scientist as well as a singer songwriter and painter. Dr. Stineman, a former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholar, is currently Associate Professor, Vice Chair for Research and a practicing physician in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Pennsylvania. She is also an Associate Scholar in the Clinical Epidemiology Unit of the Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, a Senior Fellow with the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, and a Senior Fellow of the Institute on Aging. She has served as Principal Investigator on numerous NIH funded grants on a broad range of topics applying quantitative and qualitative methods. Dr. Stineman and her coworkers developed a patient classification approach that formed the basis for Medicare’s payment system for inpatient rehabilitation, established staging systems for addressing patients’ mobility and abilities to care for themselves, established procedures for addressing the effects of medical conditions on quality of life, and addressed the effect of environmental barriers on activities of daily living limitations. She was invited to write one of the first chapters on the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health.

Dr. Thompson was named President of Lankenau Hospital in August 2006. She was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. During her tenure at St. Luke’s, Dr. Thompson oversaw an ambitious renovation and expansion of the hospital’s facilities. She also provided administrative leadership to the St. Luke’s Regional Heart Center. As President of the St. Luke’s Hospital, Allentown Campus, she helped take the hospital from the brink of bankruptcy to a financially viable establishment. She also assisted in the development of more than $125 million in capital improvements; completing the hospital’s first fundraising campaign, resulting in $3.8 million in funds raised; improving financial performance from an operating loss to a favorable operating margin within 13 months of arrival; and growing the hospital’s year-to-year revenue. A recipient of Cedar Crest College’s sixth annual Women in Business Award, Dr. Thompson has held faculty appointments at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School Department of Orthopedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine and at Thomas Jefferson University in the Department of Physical Therapy.