Alumni Notes
and the confidence to interact with elected politicians and business executives.” James Jason Sewell (’01, econom- ics) is the director of pricing at Trideum Corporation, a government contrac- tor supporting the US Department of Defense. He has been working in the government contracting environment for over 20 years. He is excited to share that his youngest daughter joined her brothers at Auburn this fall, meaning all three of his children are attending Auburn University together. Anand Soochak (’02, finance) is a proud Auburn alum based in Mumbai, India who has worked with the Development Bank of Singapore for the past nine years and recently moved to the credit risk department in charge of large corporate accounts. After more than 20 years away, Anand visited Auburn again in October 2023 and had a great time being back on campus. Rachel Tidmore (’01, business adminis- tration – human resources management) has been promoted to director of claims litigation at Kemper Insurance. She is married to James Keith Tidmore (‘01) who is now using his 20 years of manufacturing management experience to teach modern manufacturing at Hewitt Trussville High School. They have two sons, Clark and Reid, and Clark is enrolled in the Auburn First program. “As the Director of the Claim Litigation team, I am so thank- ful for the education and experience I obtained while at the Harbert College. Rational decision making and the ability to prioritize tasks have benefited myself and my team.” Company Gas and has been with the company for over 12 years. She and her husband Brandt celebrated their tenth wedding anniversary in 2022, having met at Auburn when they were both account- ing majors and then CPAs. They live in Ashley Vette (’09, accounting, ’10, MAcc) works in rates & regulatory for Southern
Atlanta with their three boys. She initially started as an internal auditor, using the strong foundational knowledge she obtained through her accounting and MAcc degrees thanks to some awesome professors, and she still keeps the Auburn Creed on her desk. Buz Walsh (’06, executive MBA) is work- ing with a group of wonderful profes- sionals at Gabriella White, the parent company of Summer Classics and Gabby, as director of global quality assurance. He counts himself fortunate to have both sons living close by in the metro Birmingham, Alabama area and has a 3-year-old grand- son and a 1-year-old granddaughter. 2010s Robert Cheeley (’10, entrepreneurship and family business) is building a package store in Buford, Georgia, after securing a loan and expects to have his new building open next year! Christa Cotton (’10, business administra- tion) is the founder and owner of El Guapo, which is Inc. 5000’s 166th fastest growing company in the Southeast. Jordan Curtis (’17, accounting) earned a MAcc from Auburn University at Montgomery and spent the next few years working in both industry and public accounting. In 2021, he joined a forensic accounting firm as a fraud analyst and is currently a senior fraud analyst at Forensic Strategic Solutions, a national investiga- tion firm based in Birmingham, Alabama that combines fraud examination with investigative financial consulting services to illustrate and present financial data in courts of law. He is grateful for the foun- dational understanding of accounting he learned at Lowder Hall (and the occa- sional pit stop at Mama Goldberg’s).
Brandon Kennemur (’02, informa- tion systems management) has been promoted to vice president of business development at Environmental 360, Inc. “What I learned in my business classes set the foundation for the decisions I make daily.” Jessica Lovell (’07, marketing) was recently promoted to vice president of client marketing for health and wellness at Synchrony. She leads client marketing for the hearing industry at Synchrony/ CareCredit and is passionate about help- ing providers and patients get the hear- ing care they need. “I have been in several marketing roles but I remember one of my marketing professors who said if you get to be excited when you get up to go to work every day, you’ve found your passion. I feel I have found my calling and passion.” Catharine Montgomery (’08, public rela- tions and marketing) launched her communications agency Better Together. Their mission to drive positive social change through strategic communications has resonated with many organizations, leading to successful collaborations and impactful projects. They have conducted a comprehensive study to uncover biases in generative AI and are actively working with tech companies to implement more inclusive AI systems. This work has posi- tioned Better Together as a thought-leader in the industry. Amy Riley (’01, international busi- ness) was elected corporate secretary of Alabama Power Company after ten years with the company in 2023. This role engages both her business degree from Auburn and her law degree. After law school, she spent five years in Washington working on Capitol Hill and the Federal Communications Commission. “My Harbert experience gave me not only the education to pursue these opportunities but the interviewing, networking, and relationship-building skills to succeed. In particular, the COB Executive Society offered me professional development skills
54 Harbert Magazine, Spring 2025
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