Leadership

Professional Staff

IBC’s directors come from outside of academia. Their industry experience adds practical and relevant perspective to the student teams. In any given week, hundreds of consultants come in and out of IBC’s doors to hold more than 50 meetings. IBC’s professional staff provide support for the program and make it possible for the organization to run efficiently.

Andrew Allen

Professional Staff

Andrew has worked in the learning-by-doing space for the past ten years, first in his own edtech startup and for the past eight years at the University of Illinois. Andrew previously led Illinois Business Consulting and now leads experiential learning at the Gies College of Business. He and his team are working to make education more real, more relevant and more hands-on in order to help students apply learning in a real-world context and gain the skills they need to succeed in the workplace. Prior to the UofI Andrew worked at KPMG and at Opportunity Fund in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Oulay Harvey

Professional Staff

Oulay Harvey serves as an administrative support to the professional staff and Senior Leadership Team at Illinois Business Consulting (IBC). Her work in IBC is critical to ensuring that day-to-day tasks within IBC run efficiently and smoothly for all parties involved. Oulay has been with the University of Illinois for 12.5 years and has been with Illinois Business Consulting for the past 5 years. She enjoys meeting and getting to know IBC consultants each semester. When she is away from the office, she loves spending time with her husband and having wine nights with her girlfriends. She is a “Glamma” to 7 grandchildren whom she loves very much.

Jake Kinsey

Professional Staff

Jake Kinsey joined IBC in November as Senior Associate Director. Kinsey spent 11 years in the Media & Entertainment industry, most recently serving as Chief Development Officer for a technology firm Cobalt Digital. He has an MBA from the University of Illinois where he graduated with the highest GPA in his class and participated in IBC for 2 semesters as a project manager. In addition to his work with IBC, Kinsey is CEO of a technology start-up and serves as a board member for the RIST Forum.

 

Kristie Paskvan

Professional Staff

Kristie Paskvan is an experienced board member and CFO/COO executive with over 25 years of experience assisting financial services, real estate, insurance and professional services companies grow their businesses worldwide. Kristie’s career reflects a demonstrated track record in leading enterprise-wide transformation and strategic financial initiatives, including business intelligence, M&A due diligence and implementation initiatives, enterprise risk management, regulatory and capital allocation oversight and cost efficiency. She brings deep corporate governance and risk experience and is qualified to serve on audit committees as a financial expert. 

Kristie is a part-time Associate Director in the Magelli Office of Experiential Learning at the University of Illinois Gies College of Business. She is also President of BetaBlue Consulting, LLC., a consulting business focused on financial and operational initiatives. Previously she was the CFO and COO at Mesirow Financial, a global financial services company concentrated in investment management and capital markets. She was responsible for audit, tax, key metrics, budgeting and planning, financial reporting, risk management, board and shareholder presentations, as well as shared service functions. At Mesirow Financial Kristie also spent four years as president of the Retirement Planning & Advisory business, advising corporate qualified and non-qualified plans. She led several strategic initiatives enabling the company’s business model to adapt to changing market conditions and disruptive market forces. 

Kristie was a member of the Mesirow Financial board of directors for 6 years, participating in or leading numerous committees including strategy, audit, information technology, HR & compensation, operations, and enterprise risk management. She worked closely with merger and acquisition teams during due diligence, as well as during subsequent integration efforts. 

Kristie is a board director at First Women’s Bank, a de novo bank in formation, where she serves as audit committee chair. She also is a board director at SmithBucklin. She is a member of the United Way of Metropolitan Chicago board of directors where she chairs the HR and compensation committee, as well as the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce board. Additionally, she is a member of the University of Illinois Dean’s Business Council for the Gies College of Business. Kristie is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), attaining leadership fellow status. 

Kristie started her career in public accounting at Goldberg Geiser where she spent 7 years with increasing responsibility. Subsequently, she worked at JMB Realty and Stein and Company, both in the real estate industry. Kristie was named CFO of the year in 2012 in the large private company category by the Chicago chapter of FEI. In 2017, she was named corporate citizen of the year by the Executive’s Club of Chicago. Kristie received her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the University of Illinois. She has an executive MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management. She is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and is affiliated with numerous professional and industry associations. 

Carissa Phillips

Professional Staff

Carissa Phillips is the Data Discovery and Business Librarian in the UIUC Library. She has a BS in Physics and Astronomy and an MBA in Finance and Statistics from the University of Iowa. After 2.5 years as an internal auditor with the Office of the Auditor of State in Iowa, she joined Ernst & Young LLP in Chicago, first working as an internal audit consultant for 1.5 years and later for 3.5 years as an analyst with the then-named Transaction Support Services group. In this latter role she was most often assigned to sell-side due diligence teams conducting on-site work. In Fall 2002, Carissa returned to school to pursue her Masters in Library and Information Science (MSLIS) from the #1 ranked program at UIUC. She graduated with her MSLIS in 2004, and began working as a faculty librarian in the UIUC Library in 2005, achieving tenure in 2012. Every year since 2002, when she was a student consultant on two OSBI Consulting teams, Carissa has worked with IBC and other student consulting groups on campus to advise them in their research efforts.

Gail Wheeler

Professional Staff

Gail Wheeler brings a tremendous amount of passion and energy to the IBC team. Fostering personal and professional growth is ‘her thing’. As such, after over 20 years of corporate success as a B2B & B2C marketing leader (Kraft-Heinz, Sara Lee, Wheels Inc), she now serves as one of our IBC Executive Mentors. Gail views her role as coach, teacher and cheerleader. She specializes in strategy, planning, business writing, and helping you ‘put yourself in your client’s shoes’. No question is too small…or too big…she welcome’s them all!

Gail earned a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina where she and Michael Jordan were in the same class! She remembers Michael…but is certain that he does not remember her. Though very unpopular with her college friends, she later earned an MBA at UNC’s archrival, Duke University. She says that the first time she spelled Duke (Dook) properly, was on her resume.

When not working, Gail loves to read, sew, volunteer, travel and spend time with her husband, John and daughters, Sarah and Rachel. Feel free to check out her LinkedIn profile. www.linkedin.com/in/gailcongerwheeler

Senior Leadership Team

Illinois Business Consulting is student-led and student-driven. Students apply for leadership positions and are selected based on their prior IBC experience, work experience, project management skills, leadership capabilities, and interpersonal communication skills. The Senior Leadership Team is responsible for running the consulting operation, staffing the projects, and performing key marketing, operational, and training activities. Senior managers are responsible for ensuring the successful execution of client projects.
 

Ronan Kenkare

Student Director

Lauren Schenk

Projects Director

Lauren is a Junior in the Gies College of Business studying Finance and Information Systems. She joined IBC in Spring 2021 and became a member of the Senior Leadership Team in Fall 2022. Lauren has worked on projects that focus on market entry, digital asset integration and financial services automation. She has also been very involved on campus through various organizations and leadership roles. This summer, Lauren will be in Chicago interning at PwC as a Financial Risk and Regulatory Consulting Intern.
 

Acchindra Thev

Operations Director

Acchindra is a Junior studying Computer Science. He joined the organization in Spring 2022 and has been with Strategic Operations his entire IBC career. He has experience in software engineering, business, operations, and product management. In the past, Acchindra has interned with Intel as a Full Stack Developer and at PriceSpider as a Deep Learning Researcher. This past summer, Acchindra interned with Samsung as a Software Engineer.

Alex Fogel

Senior Manager

Alex is a Senior studying Accountancy and Information Systems. He has been in IBC since the Spring of 2021 and has participated in 12 projects ranging from technological feasibility, market entry, and strategic partnerships. He is also the treasurer for Traveling Illini, a TA, and involved in Organizational Behavior research. In the past, Alex has interned at August Brown, Abbott Laboratories, and PwC. Following graduation, Alex will be full-time at PwC as a part of their Financial Due Diligence Practice under Deals Consulting. In his free time, Alex is an avid chess player and geography enthusiast.
 

Aviv Eda

Senior Manager

Aviv is a Junior studying Finance at the Gies College of Business. He joined IBC in Fall 2021 and has worked on various projects ranging from economic impact analysis, marketing strategy, and website redesign. In addition to IBC, Aviv is also involved in other campus organizations such as the Indian Student Association and MannMukti. This past summer, Aviv worked as a Private Equity Intern at Simple Search, a Houston-based Search Fund.
 

Christina Wang

Senior Manager

Christina is a Senior studying Accounting and Information Systems. She joined IBC in Spring 2022 and has worked on projects involving technology implementation, climate and community resilience, and growth strategy development. Along with her involvement in IBC, Christina is a peer tutor coordinator, peer advisor, and TA for BADM 352. This past summer, Christina worked as a Risk and Financial Advisory intern at Deloitte.
 

Elizabeth Sheluga

Senior Manager

Elizabeth is a senior pursuing a dual degree in Strategic Business Development & Entrepreneurship as well as Creative Writing. She joined IBC in Spring of 2022 and has worked on projects focused on business plan development, marketing, and growth hacking. She previously interned at OXO and G2.
Elizabeth is a senior pursuing a dual degree in Strategic Business Development & Entrepreneurship as well as Creative Writing. She joined IBC in Spring of 2022 and has worked on projects focused on business plan development, marketing, and growth hacking. She previously interned at OXO and G2.
 

Hanni Wang

Senior Manager

Hanni is a Sophomore studying Accounting and Information Systems with a minor in German. She has been in IBC since Fall 2021 and has participated projects ranging from market research, growth strategy development, and marketing. On campus Hanni is involved with Ascend and was previously an Orientation Leader for incoming freshmen. This past summer she worked as an Audit Discovery intern at Deloitte.

John Stewart

Senior Manager

John is a Junior studying Finance. He has been in IBC since Fall 2021 and has experience in IBC covering sustainability and marketing topics. Outside of IBC John serves as the President of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign Water Polo team. This past summer he completed a wealth management internship at Morgan Stanley and will be at Navistar as a Finance Intern for the upcoming summer.
 

Katherine Tan

Senior Manager

Katherine is a PhD candidate in the Bioengineering department. She joined IBC in Spring 2022 and has led projects involving market entry, economic feasibility, and data modeling across various project areas. Katherine has previously interned at Pfizer Inc, has a Masters in Biotechnology from Northwestern, and an undergraduate degree in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Austin. Throughout her academic career, Katherine has been involved with leadership at institutions ranging from academic honor societies to nonprofits benefiting orphans.
 

Kyle Yu

Senior Manager

Kyle is a junior studying Finance with a minor in the Hoeft Technology and Management Program. He joined IBC in Spring 2021 and has worked on projects related to market entry, funding models, and fintech strategy. Outside of IBC, Kyle serves as the President of Beta Alpha Psi, and has had past internship experiences in HR recruitment, technology consulting, and wealth management. This summer, Kyle will be joining Capital One as a Business Analyst Intern.

Vijay Krishnan

Senior Manager

Vijay is a Junior studying Strategic Business Development and Entrepreneurship. He joined IBC in Fall 2020 and has participated in market entry/feasibility, organizational change, and data optimization. In the past, Vijay has worked with the University of Chicago, Sandia National Laboratories, and Teach for America. On campus, Vijay is currently a Program Assistant and was previously part of Founders, the Illinois Consulting Academy, and Alpha Phi Omega. This summer, Vijay will join West Monroe as a Mergers and Acquisitions Consulting Intern.