2022 Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards Recap
Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement awardee Eric C. Broyles, Blue Ash ’90, Bus ’92. All photos by Lauren Meisberger.
The 2022 Cincinnati Business Achievement Awards (CBAAs) were marked by recognition of current students, distinguished alumni and generous givers to the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
Presented by Lindner’s Alumni Council, the 37th annual CBAAs were held in March at the Duke Energy Convention Center in downtown Cincinnati, a welcome return to an in-person celebration after the COVID-19 pandemic forced the 2021 CBAAs to transition to a virtual fundraising event.
The region’s longest-standing event that recognizes achievement in business and service to communities (both locally and globally), the CBAAs also raise funds for scholarships and financial assistance at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. This year’s event raised nearly $50,000 in scholarship support.
Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis, PhD, emceed the event. Other speakers/presenters included UC President Neville G. Pinto, PhD, and Cory Sims, Bus ’11, chair of the Lindner Alumni Council. A 90-minute networking and reconnection reception preceded the awards program and dinner for the 350 attendees.
Lindner Dean Marianne Lewis, PhD.
Lewis opened the awards program by touching on Lindner’s five points of distinction: problem-solving mindset, experiential learning, flexible pathways, inclusive community, and the city of Cincinnati being a great space for businesses of all sizes.
Eric C. Broyles, Blue Ash ’90, Bus ’92, received the night’s top award: the Carl H. Lindner Award for Outstanding Business Achievement. Broyles, CEO and founder, Nanocan Therapeutics Corporation, was Lindner’s Most Outstanding Student in 1992 and chairs the UC Foundation’s development committee.
Broyles' acceptance speech touched on his upbringing in a “poor, working-class neighborhood” in Hamilton, a city roughly 25 miles north of UC’s Clifton campus. He noted the first place where he felt like “anybody could be somebody was when I stepped on the campus of the University of Cincinnati.”
“It’s at the University of Cincinnati where I finally found the affirmation that my parents had been giving me my whole life,” Broyles said. “I got it because we had great professors who cared about the students, who went the extra mile.”
Annette Echikunwoke, A&S '18, Bus '19, received a PACEsetter Award.
The Distinguished Service Award was bestowed upon Arnold C. Hanish, Bus '70, retired vice president and chief accounting officer for Eli Lilly & Company. Hanish’s accounting scholarship was the first of its kind for Lindner’s Business Fellows program, which fosters community and connections for Black, Latinx and Native American students.
“For the past 52 years, I've tried to live my life by paying it forward,” he said. “I was grateful to have many mentors, professors, guidance counselors and others over the years who took time to assist me and provide me with a foundation on which I was able to build upon.”
AMEND, a Cincinnati-based, independently owned management consulting firm, garnered the Business Partnership Award. AMEND CEO and co-founder Craig Todd, Bus ’89, called on businesses to utilize Lindner’s top-five ranked co-op program. AMEND has employed over 100 analysts from UC.
Brandon D. Trame, Bus '15, and Annette Echikunwoke, A&S '18, Bus '19, were each honored with the PACEsetter Award.
Two awards went to current students. William Kegg, Bus ’23 was the recipient of the Carl H. Lindner Outstanding Junior Scholarship. Xander Wells, Bus ’23, received The Heart of William J. Keating Jr. Leadership Award, which was presented by Liz Keating, daughter of William J. Keating Jr.
Bringing the festivities to a close, Lewis encouraged audience members to continue collaborating with Lindner as the college pursues its mission to empower business problem solvers.
“Let’s take away insights from these remarkable role models," said Lewis. "I call on all of you and our community: keep pushing us, keep working with us.”
It’s at the University of Cincinnati where I finally found the affirmation that my parents had been giving me my whole life.
Eric C. Broyles, Blue Ash ’90, Bus ’92
A full recap of the 2022 CBAAs, with additional photos, is available on UC News.