President's Business Council Announces New Chair
University President Rev. Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., has announced that Francis J. Pearn ’83, P’16, managing director and global chief compliance officer at JPMorgan Chase & Co., will serve as the new chair of the President’s Business Council (PBC). A former vice chair of the University’s Board of Trustees and the recipient of the University’s President’s Medal at the PBC’s 2015 Annual Award Dinner, Pearn is a founding member of the PBC Executive Committee. He succeeds Patricia Byrnes Clarke ’86, P’17,’19, chief talent officer at Havas, who served as PBC chair since 2016.
“As we transition in a new PBC chair, I first want to thank Patti Clarke for her dedication to and leadership of the PBC over the past six years, serving three as vice chair and three as chair. I look forward to continuing to work with Patti in her role as a member of the Board of Trustees,” Pilarz said. “I am delighted that Frank has agreed to serve as PBC chair. Frank has been actively engaged with the University in a variety of leadership roles for the past several years. I am grateful that he will continue to serve the University and move us forward as PBC chair.”
The President’s Business Council was launched in January 2001 to provide networking opportunities for alumni and friends, to promote engagement with University students and to inspire philanthropy in support of the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund. These objectives remain at the core of the PBC and are relevant ways for alumni, parents
“The PBC provided a wonderful opportunity for me to re-engage with the University as well as to connect with students and more alumni. I never expected to be so involved, but I have been very fortunate and enriched by those experiences,” said Pearn. “I look forward to adding to the PBC legacy as we meaningfully engage more alumni with the University.”
During the academic year, the PBC conducts student networking trips to Boston, New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. These trips provide a unique opportunity for current students to travel to one of these cities to discover more about the industries represented as well as to meet and network with PBC members and other regional alumni and friends. In conjunction with the University’s Kania School of Management (SOM), the PBC coordinates the Career Coaches program which matches a student with a business executive in a player/coach relationship to further strengthen the student’s soft skills in preparation for internship and career opportunities. Since October 2002, the PBC has held its Annual Award Dinner at The Pierre in New York City. The black-tie gala has established itself as one of the marquee events of the year and has generated over $15 million for the University’s Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund. This year’s 18th Annual Award Dinner will be held on Thursday, Oct. 10.
For more information on the PBC and the ways to become more involved, please contact Tim Pryle ’89 at (570) 941-5837 or pbc@scranton.edu, and visit our website at www.scranton.edu/pbc.
