Annual PBC Celebration Returns to NYC Sept. 29

The University of Scranton’s President’s Business Council will honor former Trustees Patti Byrnes Clarke and Tom O’Brien on Sept. 29.
The University of Scranton will honor former Trustees Patti Byrnes Clarke ’86, P’17,’19, and Tom O’Brien ’86, P’19, the President’s Business Council (PBC) 21st Annual Award Dinner at Gotham Hall in New York City on Thursday, Sept. 29. Proceeds from the event go directly to the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund.
The University of Scranton will honor former Trustees Patti Byrnes Clarke ’86, P’17,’19, and Tom O’Brien ’86, P’19, the President’s Business Council (PBC) 21st Annual Award Dinner at Gotham Hall in New York City on Thursday, Sept. 29. Proceeds from the event go directly to the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund.

The University of Scranton President’s Business Council (PBC) will host its first in-person President’s Business Council (PBC) Award Dinner since 2019. The PBC 21st Annual Award Dinner will take place at Gotham Hall in New York City on Thursday, Sept. 29, and will honor this year’s recipients of the President’s Medal: Patti Byrnes Clarke ’86, P’17,’19, global chief talent officer, Havas Group; and Tom O’Brien ’86, P’19, senior managing director, SumRidge Partners, a Raymond James company. Proceeds from the dinner go directly to the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund.

During her time at the Havas Group, which is one of the world’s largest global communications groups and part of the Vivendi Group, Byrnes Clarke 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. As the global chief talent officer, she is responsible for leading the talent and cultural strategy for the group’s 20,000 plus employees in more than 100 countries.

Byrnes Clarke earned her 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 University’s 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, New Jersey, and have five children.

Prior to the acquisition of SumRidge Partners, LLC, by Raymond James in July 2022, O’Brien was a co-founder, chief executive officer and president of SumRidge Partners, L.LC., which 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, 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.

O’Brien earned his 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 chair, and was 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. He resides in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, with his wife, Denise, and their three sons.

Byrnes Clarke and O’Brien will be honored with the President’s Medal not only for their career successes, but also for their commitment to the University’s mission and its students.

The PBC was formed in 2001 by the University and a prominent group of alumni and friends with the purpose of advancing the mission of the University. The PBC is committed to strengthening the Scranton network in the business sectors and to providing mentoring, internships and career support for current students and meaningful engagement opportunities for alumni, parents and friends. At the PBC’s Annual Award Dinner, an honoree is presented with the University’s President’s Medal, which recognizes individuals who have achieved excellence in their fields and who have demonstrated extraordinary compassion for others. Proceeds from the dinner go directly to the Presidential Scholarship Endowment Fund. Presidential Scholarships are four-year, full-tuition scholarships awarded to the University’s incoming first-year students with outstanding records in high school and notable community involvement.

Additional details regarding this year’s dinner, including the live stream link, are available on the PBC Award Dinner webpage or by contacting Tim Pryle ’89, executive director of the PBC, at 570-941-5837 or pbc@scranton.edu.

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