Former Telecommunications Executive To Be Smeal College MBA Pre-Commencement Speaker
Former Telecommunications Executive To Be Smeal College MBA Pre-Commencement Speaker
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA -- Telecommunications industry retiree John Zrno will be the MBA pre-commencement speaker for Penn State’s Smeal College of Business. The ceremony takes place at 1 p.m. on May 11 in the HUB Alumni Hall, and precedes the May 17 ceremony for all master’s candidates in Penn State’s Graduate School.
Zrno, who earned his M.B.A. from the Smeal College in 1969, began his career as an engineer before shifting to the banking community, where he built a financial relationship with MCI. Eventually, Zrno joined MCI as the company’s first Treasurer.
During his 25 years in the telecommunications industry, Zrno held several executive positions at Cable & Wireless North American, including President and CEO. He also served as President and CEO of ALC (formerly Allnet), helping that firm emerge from its delisting on the NASDAQ to a successful merger with Frontier Corporation, where he was appointed Vice Chairman. In May 1999, Zrno was named President and CEO of IXC Communications, Inc., becoming Director after a merger with Cincinnati Bell later that year.
Along with his Smeal M.B.A., Zrno holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Utah.
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REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
