Pamplin alumni to discuss career successes in manufacturing, healthcare in Wachovia Lectures

16 Feb 2011

Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business will host two Wachovia Distinguished Lectures by its alumni this spring.

Robert F. Hogan Jr., president and chief executive officer of AmerCable Inc., will discuss how his Pamplin years have aided his career advancement in his talk, “Hokie Education — Foundation for Growth,” on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 3:30 p.m. at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall.

Deborah Martin Petrine, president of Commonwealth Care, will discuss her career in health care in her talk, “Secretary to Owner: The Road to Ownership with a Few Bumps in Between,” on Thursday, Feb. 24, at 3:30 p.m. at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall.

Both events are free and open to the public, no tickets needed. Free parking is available at the Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. Find more parking information online, or call (540) 231-3200.

Hogan, who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1978 and a master of accounting in 1980, has led AmerCable Inc. since June 2002, after a management-led buyout of the company in partnership with private equity firm Wingate Partners. He and his management team were featured in author Keith McFarland’s 2008 New York Times business bestseller, The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results.

AmerCable develops, manufactures, and sells electrical cable and cable assembly solutions and services primarily to the energy infrastructure and natural resource industries. The company has facilities in Arkansas, Texas, Singapore, and China.

Hogan served as vice president, treasurer, and secretary for AmerCable’s former parent company, Associated Materials Inc., from 1984 to 1993 before being named president and CEO of AmerCable Division of AMI in 1993. Before joining AMI, he was a manager in the audit division of Ernst & Young. He serves on the boards of the National Mining Association and the National Ocean Industries Association. At Virginia Tech, he has served on the accounting and information systems advisory board since 2007.

Petrine, who earned a bachelor’s degree in management in 1980, has extensive management knowledge and experience in the long-term health-care industry, including nursing and assisted living facilities and home health care.

She began her career in a nursing facility and worked her way up during her 20 years there to chief operating officer before leaving to found two successful nursing facilities in Virginia. Commonwealth Care, her current company, has grown to 11 skilled nursing facilities across Virginia, with more than 1,300 employees in and annual revenues of more than $90 million.

Petrine has served as chair of the Virginia Health Care Association and has been appointed her to serve on the Governor’s advisory board on revenue estimates. She received the Virginia Health Care Association’s James G. Dunton Distinguished Service Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2005.

Active in university activities, Petrine is a member of Virginia Tech’s regional capital campaign committee, chairs the advisory board of the management department, and serves on the futures board for the Center for Gerontology.

Recent Wachovia Distinguished Speakers have included the following alumni: Nielsen chairman and CEO David L. Calhoun, former Dial president and CEO Brad Casper, and Wells Fargo Securities vice president Nick D’Angelo. The lecture series has also featured senior executives, including alumni, from Wachovia, GE, IBM, Ralph Lauren, KPMG, Siemens Corporation, and PricewaterhouseCoopers, among others.