University Announces Honorees For PBC 21st Annual Award Dinner
The President’s Business Council (PBC) will present President’s Medals to Patricia A. Byrnes Clarke ’86, P17,’19 and Thomas P. O’Brien ’86, P’19 at its 21st Annual Award Dinner on Thursday, Sept. 29, at Gotham Hall in New York City.
“We are very hopeful that this year will continue to progress in a way that will allow us to safely celebrate our honorees, the University, and our students in person in late September,” said Timothy J. Pryle ’89, executive director of the PBC. “We have two wonderful honorees whose resumés include assisting countless Scranton alumni with charting their own career success.”
Patricia A. Byrnes Clarke ’86, P’17,’19 is the global chief talent officer for the Havas Group, one of the world's largest global communications groups founded in 1835 in Paris and part of the Vivendi Group. Ms. Clarke is responsible for leading the talent and cultural strategy for the group’s 20,000+ employees in over 100 countries. During her time at Havas, she has built a talent management approach that includes initiatives on network mobility, high-potential leadership development, women’s leadership advancement, global employee engagement, employer branding, global diversity, equity and inclusion and wellness.
Prior to joining Havas, Ms. Clarke ran her own consulting business with a focus on helping private equity-backed companies develop their talent management capabilities. She also had a 20-year stint at Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), where she was chief human resources officer for 9 years and also ran global internal communications. She led D&B to industry honors as one of Fortune Magazine’s “Most Admired Companies.”
Ms. Clarke earned a bachelor’s degree in management from the University in 1986. She is a former member of the University’s Board of Trustees and a former member of the Kania School of Management Advisory Board and the Parents’ Executive Council (PEC). She is also a former chair of the PBC and created the PBC/Kania School of Management Career Coaches Program, in which she remains a mentor to current University students. She and her husband, David, reside in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., and have five children.
Thomas P. O’Brien ’86, P’19 is a co-founder and the current chief executive officer and president of SumRidge Partners, LLC, based in Jersey City, N.J. Formed in 2010, SumRidge Partners is a top-ranked electronic fixed income market maker specializing in high-yield, investment-grade corporate bonds, municipal bonds, institutional preferred securities, and emerging market bonds.
Prior to launching SumRidge Partners, Mr. O’Brien was co-head of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Capital Markets division and was also a member of the firm’s management and risk committees; during his time in those roles, he was instrumental in building and developing the retail capital markets division into an industry leader. Previously, he was head of Morgan Stanley’s retail fixed income trading, which included U.S. credit, rates and municipal bond trading. He began his career with Dean Witter as an institutional MBS trader and subsequently traded various fixed income products; later, he took responsibility for risk management oversight of several product lines.
Mr. O’Brien earned a bachelor’s degree of economics/finance from the University in 1986 and a master of business administration from Fordham University. He is a former member of the University’s Board of Trustees, where he served as vice chairman, and a former chair of the PBC. Today, he acts as a mentor to current University students and frequently teaches in the fixed income securities and markets course, which he co-developed with the late Frank Corcione, Ph.D., and Murli Rajan, Ph.D., G’84. Mr. O’Brien resides in Basking Ridge, N.J., with his wife, Denise, and their three sons.
In presenting the President’s Medal, the University and the PBC recognize individuals who have achieved excellence in their fields, who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion for others, and who personify the University’s mission of Catholic and Jesuit excellence and service. Since its inaugural dinner in 2002, the PBC has generated nearly $20 million for the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund.
Planning for this year's dinner, including an in-person Dinner Kickoff Reception in New York City, is ongoing. For more information on this year's events or the PBC, please contact Tim Pryle at (570) 941-5837 or pbc@scranton.edu.
