To see photos from the event, click here.
Siena College's David ’73 and Christine Spicer ’75 Stack Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship named Judy Capano-Michaelson, a 1987 Siena graduate, as its 2016 Entrepreneur of the Year.
Recognized at an awards ceremony on campus, Ms. Capano-Michaelson in 2011 helped create the college’s iconic tagline, “Siena College: The education of a lifetime.”
After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management, Ms. Capano-Michaelson began her career in pharmaceutical and hospital sales for Marion Merrell Dow. After success on the corporate side, she shifted to the agency side, rising through the ranks by developing advertising and marketing strategies for health care firms as executive vice president of Harrison Star and then chief operating officer of McCann Torre Lazur Worldwide. The culmination of her education and these experiences enabled Ms. Capano-Michaelson to start her own firms.
In Ms. Capano-Michaelson’s first firm, Wishbone, she was a partner and chief strategy officer for a full-service pharmaceutical advertising agency. Today, Ms. Capano-Michaelson co-owns another agency, Calcium, a rapidly growing full-service pharmaceutical advertising agency and medical device marketing firm in Philadelphia, with her husband, Steven Michaelson.
“Judy has tremendous talent, energy and wisdom. She couples this with a commitment to her team and generosity consistent with Franciscan values we learned at Siena. Judy shares her time and talent with organizations near and dear to her heart, such as Siena,” said Matthew Cusack ’89, executive director of The Stack Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Ms. Capano-Michaelson, a Siena College trustee since 2010, credited Siena with providing her an important foundation for her future success. “"Siena College provides students the best combination of academic excellence and student life experience within the supportive environment of the Franciscan tradition. Students develop a wealth of skills for future success that helps prepare you for life’s challenges,” she said. “With a Siena degree and hard work, there is no limit to the success you can achieve.”
This is the third year Siena has named an “Entrepreneur of the Year” through the Stack Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
In 2015, Michael Barranca ’87, co-owner of the insurance agency Rowlands & Barranca Agency, Inc., was honored with the award, and in 2014, the recipient was Antonio (Tony) Civitella, founder of the global logistics software company Transfinder.
The David ’73 and Christine Spicer ’75 Stack Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary program focused on business creation from idea development through commercialization. The Center’s primary focus is on student innovation and entrepreneurship coupled with business ideas that can engage student interest and learning.
Media Coverage of the Event:
Albany Business Review- Siena College Chooses Philadelphia Ad Exec as Entrepreneur of the Year
Three Questions with Siena College's Entrepreneur of the Year
Times Union- Siena's Stack Center Honors 1987 Grad
