Kelley School of Business honors five alumni for their professional achievements

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Five alumni of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business were honored for professional achievement and volunteer leadership during the 2024 Kelley Alumni Awards Ceremony on Nov. 2 at IU Bloomington.

The Kelley Academy of Alumni Fellows recognizes alumni who have earned the stature of exceptional leaders by their demonstrated successes in organizations and their contributions to management philosophies and practices. This year’s class of fellows includes:

• Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul, MBA’77, chairman and CEO of Eastern Sugar Group and president of the Federation of Business and Professional Women of Thailand
• Scott Etzler, BS’75, former president of West Unified Communications Services and former CEO of InterCall.
• Maria M. Quintana, BS’84, former executive vice president and managing director of JPMorgan Chase and a utilities director, board member and advisor in education and not-for-profit sectors

The Distinguished Entrepreneur Award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated the ability to establish a new business or turn around or significantly grow an established business. This year’s award was presented to Matthew J. Rubin, MBA’08, founder and CEO of True Essence Foods, and co-founder and technical lead of Tau Motors.

Andrew M. Allard, BS’90, senior vice president and chief operating officer of the Indiana University Credit Union, received the Volunteer Leadership Award. He is recognized for extraordinary involvement with and investment in the Kelley School and for inspiring and impacting future generations of alumni leaders.

“The success of every Kelley alumnus enriches our school and its reputation, and inspires those who follow in their footsteps,” said Ash Soni, dean of the Kelley School and The Sungkyunkwan Professor. “We celebrate a group of exceptional alumni who truly represent the excellence, professionalism, and innovative thinking that are part of the Kelley School.”

The Kelley School of Business Alumni Association selects and confers members of the Academy of Alumni Fellows, which now includes 261 individuals. Read more about this year’s award recipients.

Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul

Khunying Natthika Wattanavekin Angubolkul believes to live in a good society, you must contribute to building it. With that guiding philosophy and a tireless dedication to constant improvement, she has spent much of her life championing and empowering women and children.

One of 18 children, Angubolkul is chairman and CEO of her family’s sugar business, Eastern Sugar Group, which, in addition to producing sugar, generates electricity through a zero-waste biomass power plant that operates under the Eastern Sugar and Cane Public Company Ltd. Her family’s business interests extend to operating the Tim Hortons coffeehouse franchise in Thailand, the Grand Hyatt Erawan and JW Marriott hotels in Bangkok, and over 150 hotels across Japan, the Philippines, and Thailand.

Angubolkul has a degree in finance and management from the University of Utah and earned her MBA from the Kelley School, where she serves on the Global Dean’s Council.

She emerged as one of Thailand’s leading female entrepreneurs during a pivotal time when women were beginning to step into prominent roles in business and social initiatives. Her commitment to excellence quickly propelled her to success. At 29, she was awarded her first of five royal decorations given for service to the country, people, and society. At the young age of 46, she was bestowed the royal title of Khunying, similar to the title of Lady or Dame in the western world. She has also received three honorary degrees and numerous awards through the years in business, the sugar sector, the energy sector, and in the community.

Angubolkul is the president of the Business and Professional Women of Thailand (under the royal patronage of Her Majesty the Queen). She is also the founder of the Young Thai Entrepreneurs Association, and chairman of the Kiat Ruammitr Foundation, as well as an advisor to the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and the former president and honorary chairman of the Thai Sugar and Bio-Energy Producers Association. She is past president to the National Council of Women of Thailand (under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty the Queen) and former chairman of the ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network.

She is married to Sanan Angubolkul, chairman of Srithai Superware PLC, the Thai Board of Trade, and the Thai Chamber of Commerce. They have four children.

Scott Etzler

For Scott Etzler, it’s all about excellence. The Salem, Indiana, native developed a strong work ethic as a teen who held several jobs and started his own garbage collection business with a friend while he was in high school. His work ethic combined with his competitive nature and high ethical standards proved to be a formula for success that would see him through several leadership roles and into semi-retirement.

A successful president and CEO in the highly competitive communications services space, Etzler grew revenue for West/InterCall from $48 million to over $1.3 billion. He launched international markets that were key differentiators that helped InterCall reach market leadership globally. Additionally, he had responsibility for the fast-growing West IP Communications, which supports complex migrations to cloud-based unified communications.

While he was leading in the business world, Etzler was also leading his IU communities wherever he called home. He was president of the IU Alumni Association chapters in Louisville and Atlanta in the ‘70s and ‘80s. That was just the start of his lifelong commitment to IU and the Kelley School of Business.

Etzler returned frequently to Bloomington to speak to Kelley marketing students and was one of the first sponsors of the Center for Global Sales Leadership. Having firsthand knowledge of the Hoosier work ethic, Etzler hired dozens of Kelley graduates into InterCall sales and marketing programs all over the country. He has also worked with fellow Kelley alumnus Mark Cuban and the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering on entrepreneurial businesses in Bloomington. He continues to serve on corporate boards of several companies.

Etzler has served on Kelley’s Bloomington Dean’s Council through four deans. In addition, he has served on nonprofit boards for The Indianapolis Public Library Foundation, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Big Shoulders Fund, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Becki, have two grown children.

Maria Quintana

Maria Quintana is a lifelong community advocate in Indianapolis, where her parents raised her alongside seven brothers. Growing up in a home full of boys taught her not to be afraid of anything. Her fearless spirit led her to a commitment to community and advocacy in her home city, where she earned a bachelor’s degree at the Kelley School of Business and an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Quintana worked as executive vice president and managing director with JPMorgan Chase for 35 years. She has extensive commercial and public finance experience and directed many of the state of Indiana’s most significant financial transactions. As a trusted advisor to the highest levels of business, government, nonprofits, and healthcare organizations, she is a former senior policy advisor with Bose Public Affairs Group.

Not one to rest on past accomplishments, Quintana combined her experience and expertise to identify the need for demonstrable support. In 2017, she founded and served as president for Q2u Strategic Advisory Group, which leveraged the talents of seasoned executives and focused their partnership on the community’s greatest needs.

Over the years, Quintana has dedicated her efforts to advising and assisting numerous organizations, using her experience and success to support local communities. She has served on the Board of Visitors for Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and assisted Indianapolis Public Schools with the sale of the Coke plant property to Hendricks Properties, which resulted in the celebrated Bottleworks District.

She also served on Christel House International’s marketing committee and was appointed commissioner for Thriving Cities Thriving State. In addition, she has served on the boards of La Plaza, Jefferson Awards, Indiana Latino Institute, United Way of Central Indiana, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (for which she co-chaired Great Places 2020), Women’s Fund of Central Indiana, Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Independent Colleges of Indiana, Ivy Tech Foundation, Indianapolis Marion County Building Authority, Eskenazi Foundation, John Boner Community Center, and Indiana CPA Society.

She currently serves as board chair of Purdue Polytechnic High School and is a director of Citizens Energy Group, where she will be the incoming board chair in 2025.

Being inducted into the Kelley School of Business Academy of Alumni Fellows is the latest in a long string of accolades for Quintana, including one of Indiana’s highest honors, the Sagamore of the Wabash bestowed by former Governor Mike Pence. She has also been recognized with the Indiana Lieutenant Governor’s Leadership Award, Lifetime Pass the Torch Achievement Award, NFL Hispanic Heritage Leadership Award, Lis Dailey Award from the United Way of Central Indiana, and Center for Leadership Development Minority Business & Professional Achievers Award for Achievement in Financial Services. She is in the Indianapolis Public Schools Alumni Hall of Fame, was a Girls Inc. Touchstone Honoree, and is one of Indianapolis Business Journal’s “Women of Influence.”

Matthew J. Rubin

Matthew Rubin developed a deep love for food and fragrance from an early age, which was ignited by a simple elementary school science fair project. His fascination with science led him to work in medical and molecular genetics at the Indiana University School of Medicine during high school. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry and later earned an MBA from the Kelley School of Business.

His expertise and entrepreneurial drive led him to facilitate the commercialization of more than 600 technologies at the Indiana University Research and Technology Corp., resulting in the creation of numerous licenses and startup companies.

Rubin serves as the founder and CEO of True Essence Foods, an innovative equipment manufacturer established in 2013. The company is dedicated to enhancing and preserving the natural aromas in a wide range of food and beverage products. Operating from a cutting-edge, 25,000-square-foot facility just north of downtown Indianapolis, True Essence Foods partners with more than 40 companies across 10 countries.

In addition to his responsibilities at True Essence, Rubin has shared his knowledge and passion for innovation and entrepreneurship through teaching positions at Butler University and the Kelley School, where he was a lecturer in entrepreneurship and associate director of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. He serves on Kelley’s Indianapolis Dean’s Council.

He also is the co-founder of Tau Motors, a rapidly expanding company based in Redwood City, California, specializing in the development of advanced technologies for electric systems.

Rubin recently was recognized as one of Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 rising stars. He has two children, Renn and Magnus.

Andrew M. Allard

Andrew “Andy” Allard knows the importance of investing in the community. Whether it’s building relationships in Bloomington or connecting with the Kelley School of Business community, Andy has been purposeful about sharing his time, being of service, and giving back whenever possible.

At IU, he has served in many capacities on the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association Board, including as president. There are few people around Bloomington, especially in the nonprofit community, who don’t know Allard. He served on the board of directors of New Hope for Families, a nonprofit providing emergency housing for families, and supports Wheeler Mission Bloomington as a member of their capital campaign steering committee.

From 2010 to 2016, Allard served on the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity of Monroe County and was named Volunteer of the Year in 2015. He previously served on the board of directors for Monroe County CASA and currently volunteers with the Real Men Read program for the Foundation of Monroe County Schools. Additionally, he was a trustee for the Indiana Credit Union Political Action Committee, advocating for the credit union industry.

When he is not volunteering, Allard is senior vice president and chief operating officer of Indiana University Credit Union. He oversees all retail delivery platforms, including branch operations, consumer and mortgage lending, contact center operations, payment services, investment services, risk management, and compliance. He credits an emphasis on teamwork at the Kelley School with helping him create a collaborative environment at work.

As a seasoned leader known for driving change and delivering results, Allard provides key insights into financial markets and trends, aiding in the development of strategic and tactical business plans for the credit union. Before his current role, he served as senior vice president of Consumer Lending at Union Federal Bank in Indianapolis for 16 years. Active in his church as an elder, Allard and his wife, Kim, have two daughters, Madeleine and Lydia, both recent graduates of Indiana University.