Paul J. Holloway Championship Round Judges

Paul J. Holloway Innovation-to-Market Prize Competition

Judges for the Paul J. Holloway Championship Round

May 14^th,  2:00–5:30 pm

Squamscott Room, Holloway Commons

Harold C. “Bud” Albin ’55, Founder, Albin Industries

After working full-time and attending the University of Maryland part time, Bud Albin enrolled at the University of New Hampshire. Following graduation, Albin entered the U.S. Navy Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., and become a Naval Aviator. He was attached to squadrons in Georgia, Rhode Island and Virginia, piloting all weather fighter/interceptors.

In 1961, Albin joined a small company that manufactured steel parts. He continued his active participation in the Naval Reserve in flying status and was promoted to Officer-in-Charge. Albin retired from the Naval Reserve in 1978 at the rank of Captain. While serving in the Reserve, he founded Albin Industries, which sold copying supplies. Shortly after its start-up, Albin expanded the company to include the sale and servicing of copier and fax machines. When sold to Konica Business Machines in 1995, Albin Industries had grown to a business employing 185 people. Albin earned his MBA degree from Wayne State and completed Harvard University’s Owner/President Management program.

Jude Blake ’77

Jude Blake is the former chief marketing officer and executive vice president, consumer markets, for Cablecom, GmbH, headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. There, Blake was responsible for developing and driving growth behind all products and services targeted to Switzerland’s residential consumers, including cable television, digital TV, broadband Internet, digital telephony, and wireless services. Prior to her post at Cablecom, Blake was vice president of marketing, programming, sales and service for Ameritech New Media, the cable television subsidiary of SBC Communications, Inc. Blake joined Ameritech in 1994 and held executive marketing positions in product management, consumer services and corporate communications. Having graduated with a BS from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics in 1977, Blake also earned an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Blake is currently pursuing several interests in the wine industry and resides in Larkspur, California and Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Cotton Cleveland ’74, President, Mather Associates

Cotton Cleveland is president of Mather Associates, a New England-based consulting firm specializing in leadership and organizational development for corporate, nonprofit and municipal organizations. Cleveland was the founding executive director of Leadership New Hampshire and human resources manager of the New London Trust Company. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics and has worked in a variety of management and volunteer positions. Cleveland is the moderator for the Town of New London and moderator for the New London / Springfield Water Precinct. Over the years, Cleveland has served on a variety of business and nonprofit boards representing insurance, banking, utilities, education, government and charitable organizations. She lives in New London, NH with her husband John Garvey, professor of law at the Franklin Pierce Law Center in Concord.

Joseph Faro ’03, President and Founder, Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta and Sauces

Joseph Faro is a graduate of the Whittemore School of Business and Economics where he majored in finance and business administration. Faro launched Joseph’s Gourmet Pasta & Sauces in 1991, after developing its business plan that same year for the Paul J. Holloway Prize competition. Starting his business at the age of 21, Faro has done everything from formulating product lines, selling major restaurant chains and distributors, and engineering the automation of the entire facility to managing several construction projects and equipment installations. Today the Haverhill, MA, company, which sells gourmet pasta and sauces to restaurants, hotels, country clubs, wholesale clubs and supermarkets across the country, operates as a division of Nestle and employs nearly 200 people.

Craig Rydin ’71, Chief Executive Officer, Yankee Candle Company

Craig Rydin is chief executive officer of the Yankee Candle Co., Inc., a designer and manufacturer of scented candles, based in Whately, MA. Rydin served as president of the Away From Home food services and Godiva Chocolatier divisions of Campbell Soup Co. where he had worked since 1978. Prior to his time at Godiva, Rydin held a number of senior management positions at Pepperidge Farm Inc., including vice president. Rydin holds a BA in political science from the University of New Hampshire and an MBA from Sacred Heart University.

Thomas A. Steele ‘05P, ‘08P, Chairman of the Board, A.D. Makepeace

Thomas Steele currently serves as chairman of A.D. Makepeace, a land development, agricultural, and construction materials firm based in Massachusetts. He is also president of DCS, a real estate investment, development, and consulting firm based in Nevada. From 1997–2000, Steele was general partner, co-president, and director of Boston Financial, at that time the largest privately held real estate partnership in the U.S. From 1991–1995, he served as chairman of the MIT Center for Real Estate (a graduate real estate program) and as director of the China Collaborative. Steele was also a senior lecturer in real estate finance for the Center during the period from 1985–1990. From 1972–1991, Steele was with Perini Corp., a publicly owned Massachusetts-based construction and real estate firm from where he held several executive positions including CFO, chairman and CEO of Perini Land & Development, senior vice president and corporate director. A separate publicly traded company (Perini Investment Properties) was formed in 1984 and he served as its president, CEO, and director until 1991. Steele is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Business School.