Congratulations to alumni honored in the annual Providence Business News 40 Under Forty!
Three JWU alumni were selected for the Providence Business News (PBN) 17th annual “40 Under Forty” program, which honors 40 Rhode Islanders under the age of 40 who have achieved career success and continue to stay involved in their communities. We are so proud of our alumni!
John Rainone ’10 MBA, CPA, CCIFP
Principal, DiSanto Priest & Co.
This year marks one decade that John Rainone has been putting his accounting skills to work at DiSanto Priest & Co. On a daily basis, Rainone works on audits and financial statements for the construction and real estate fields. But before he became a CPA, the Warwick, Rhode Island, native got his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Assumption University in Worcester, Massachusetts. From there, it was the graduate program at Johnson & Wales University that caught his attention.
“A big piece of it was taking the [CPA] exam as you were going through the MBA because the curriculum included that program, and the reputation is very strong as well,” Rainone says of JWU’s MBA — Accounting Concentration. “It gave me the credentials necessary to take the CPA exam, it gave me more of a network in terms of my business and looking for clients, and it was right around the corner from where I was working in Providence at the time; it helped me move along in the natural progression of being a CPA.”
Rainone is one Wildcat being honored this year as a successful young professional in the PBN “40 Under Forty” awards.
“It’s pretty humbling,” he said of the honor. “One of my clients nominated me along with another member of the firm, and I’m looking forward to the night.”
He credits much of his success to his time spent studying at JWU, and it’s something he recommends to others seeking the same professional path.
“JWU helped me get where I am,” Rainone said. “To get into that program is not easy by any means; it takes a strong work ethic but, coming out of it, it was perfect for me and very valuable.”
Claudia Scotti ’08 MBA
Supply Chain Procurement Manager, Amgen
From Paris to Providence, Claudia Scotti has been breaking down barriers and dipping her feet in several different fields for more than 10 years, and this year she’s being recognized for it. Scotti is being honored by PBN for her work in supply chain management, most recently in her position with the biopharmaceutical company Amgen, where she’s responsible for purchasing the raw materials the company needs to produce medicine.
Scotti started her JWU journey in 2006 as an international student from France, where she grew up. “It was fate,” Scotti says of the path that landed her at the Harborside Campus. “In 2005, I came for my cousin’s wedding and I met my now-husband and father of our two kids; his mom used to work at JWU, so I got to learn about the school and I said, ‘I want to stick around.’”
Scotti got her Bachelor of Science degree in International Business in Paris before enrolling in JWU’s MBA program for Global Business Leadership (now called Organizational Leadership).
“I started in March 2006,” Scotti said. “I was a nanny, and two to three times a week I was doing classes from 6 to 10 at night in the graduate program — it was written in the stars.”
Scotti’s experience includes several well-known organizations including Tiffany & Co., where she worked in the purchasing department at the manufacturing facility in Cumberland, Rhode Island. She has spent the last six years with Amgen.
“It’s hard for foreign students to get their feet on the ground here, but that’s what Johnson & Wales did for me,” Scotti said. “It got me anchored in the culture, it got me accustomed with companies; it wouldn’t have ignited without JWU, that’s where it all started for me and it’s amazing to think that it’s been this long.”
Gregory Scorpio ’09 MBA
Chief Financial Officer, G-Form
A lifelong Rhode Islander, Gregory Scorpio has been with G-Form for the last five years, serving as chief financial officer responsible for accounting. The global company creates sporting goods and athletic gear. It’s been a fit for Scorpio, who called JWU’s Harborside Campus home for a brief stint while getting his MBA in Accounting alongside his now-wife.
“I loved it, the professors we had were working in the professional world and that experience was much more relatable to real-world experience than what I received as an undergraduate,” Scorpio says of his time as a Wildcat. “It was a lot of group and team activities like preparing presentations and projects, and I saw an opportunity to take that leadership role in those groups which correlated into a role into my real-world experience.”
Scorpio’s experience includes positions with Alex and Ani and Provant before finding his fit at G-Form, all of which have made him a recipient of recognition in this year’s “40 Under Forty” program – something he calls “a big honor”.
“When you see how the application process works, you take a step back and write down your own accomplishments that qualify you and put that into context,” Scorpio says. “You look alongside those who you won with, and to be in the same category, it’s an honor to be recognized with all those other accomplished people.”