Professional Advisory
May 26, 2003
Dear Prospective IPFW PAB member,
I served as Motorola’s representative to the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Computer & Information Science Professional Advisory Board from its inception in 1995 until 2001. As CTO and VP of Engineering and Technology for Motorola’s automotive electronics business, I had a natural interest in cultivating university relationships in the Detroit area near many of our customers. The CIS PAB was the perfect opportunity to build such a relationship. Under Ken’s leadership, I found the Board to very worthwhile for several reasons. First, there was the satisfaction of seeing tangible results appear as a consequence of our activities. Ken’s desire for input-directed change is genuine and our consensus input was quickly integrated into UM-D’s operations. The scope of these changes was unlimited and included courseware, degree programs, certificate programs, and special student programs.
Second, the PAB offered benefits in return, both for me personally as well as for Motorola. One clear advantage was that, as a PAB member, Motorola had a more substantive presence at the university that not only put our name in front of students but also gave us more visibility into the best graduates. This provided a recruiting advantage that we leveraged by hiring several UM-D students that all turned out to be excellent performers. I also benefited personally from being able to network and exchange ideas on a wide range of topics with other Board Members – many of whom were senior leaders in excellent, innovative companies. The informal conversations that resulted from PAB meetings led to several interesting interactions and opportunities (some university-related and some not) to which I would not otherwise have been exposed. One profound example is a PAB meeting where I learned of Ken’s desire to create a graduate class in software engineering management that I ultimately ended up designing and teaching for two years – remotely from Chicago!
Last year, I decided to leave Motorola and return to my own consulting practice focused on technology due diligence, technology and engineering management, and technology business development. Although I live in the Chicago area, I’m excited to hear that Ken is creating a Computer Science PAB for IPFW and I still plan to participate. I am confident it will be satisfying and I look forward to again participating in an environment where I can meet new people and help drive meaningful change.
Best regards,
Vince Guarna
Guarna & Associates
260-481-IPFW
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