The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business is proud to announce Janice Ellig (BBA68) and Rachel Langholz (BBA17) as the 2022 Alum and Young Alum of the Year. They will be recognized at a reception in downtown Chicago on May 19, 2022. These awards are designed to recognize and honor alumni who are actively engaged in the life of the college.
Marketing alumnus Janice Ellig will receive the 2022 Tippie Alum of the Year award in recognition of her service to the college. She has served as a panelist at the Tippie Women Summit and provides insight and encouragement as an advisor to the dean. She has taken time out of her busy career to be a frequent speaker in classes, Phil Day, and has hosted events for the college in her New York City home. Ellig is the board chair of the University of Iowa Center for Advancement, along with serving on advisory boards including the National YMCA, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and The Economic Club of New York.
“Janice Ellig has been a strong advocate for Tippie students and alumni, whether it’s by hosting events in NYC or serving as a guest speaker in classes. In the last two years she has gone out of her way to support alumni as well, through participating in Tippie Women’s Summit events and mentoring executive women as they consider roles on corporate boards,” explained Tippie Dean Amy Kristof-Brown. “Our students and alumni have benefited greatly from her wisdom and expertise. She also sponsors a master level scholarship in her sister’s name, beginning in 1999, in the School of Public Health. She is a true advocate for our university and the Tippie College of Business.”
Ellig has held executive leadership roles at major companies such as Pfizer, Citibank, and Ambac Financial Group. She is currently CEO of the Ellig Group, a premier global executive search firm in New York City. In her company, she has demonstrated a deep commitment to diversity with a C-suite and board placement rate of over 80%. Business Week named her one of “The World’s Most Influential Headhunters” and she has co-authored two business books, Driving the Career Highway and What Every Successful Woman Knows. Ellig is a frequent speaker and has been published in the pages of Directors & Boards, The Huffington Post, and Forbes.
Years after receiving her degree from Iowa, Janice Ellig remains one of the college’s most steadfast and committed alumni, modeling the important role that graduates can continue to play as supporters and student mentors.
Finance and economics alumnus Rachel Langholz is the 2022 Tippie Young Alum of the Year.
Langholz shows her commitment to the college by serving on the Young Alumni Board and Finance Advisory Council, along with speaking in classes and supporting the newly formed Tippie Consulting Club, where she spearheaded the creation of the club’s first alumni mentorship program. As a student, she was a Business Student Ambassador, held numerous leadership positions in Alpha Kappa Psi, one of the college's honorary business fraternities, and participated in the CFA Equity Research Challenge competition where her team won the state competition.
Following graduation, Rachel joined BMO Capital Markets' Global Leveraged Finance group in Chicago where she spent two years as an investment banking analyst before being promoted to associate. While in Chicago, she was very active in the community where she served on the board of UN Women Chicago, an organization dedicated to advancing social, political, and economic equality for women and girls both in the U.S. and abroad.
After leaving BMO, Rachel made the decision to move back to Iowa City to pursue her passion for higher education strategy and spent one year as a Strategy Associate at the University of Iowa College of Engineering Technology Institute. During this time, she was able to develop a deeper understanding of the broader higher education landscape, which ultimately aided her transition to the public sector space in January of 2021, when she joined Deloitte’s public sector management consulting practice in Washington D.C. Since joining Deloitte, she has transititioned to a consultant role in the firm's government and private sector management practice in Denver, Colo. Rachel is pursuing her MBA at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management as a member of the Winter 2021 Cohort with a focus on strategy and public policy and is on the board of Kellogg’s Women’s Business Association.
One of her nominators, Professor of Practice Cathy Zaharis, said, “Rachel exemplifies the ideals for this award. She has dedicated the time, energy, and resources post-graduation to assist Tippie in a variety of ways. We are fortunate to have her dedicated service at Tippie.” As Finance Department Executive Officer Tom Rietz explains, "Rachel shares her time and talent to help the next generation of students. As a Finance Advisory Council member, she is helping us understand the needs of industry. This helps us shape our student experiences, thus leading future generations of students to success."
The awards reception will took place May 19th at the University Club of Chicago at 76 E. Monroe St., Chicago, Ill. The cocktail reception starts at 4:30 p.m. with the awards ceremony following. Attendees will have the opportunity to network, mingle, connect with other University of Iowa alumni and administrators, and celebrate our award winners, all in a spectacular setting in downtown Chicago. Tickets for this event are $35 per person/$25 for recent graduates.
The college’s Alum of the Year and Young Alum of the Year awards were established in 2014 to recognize alumni that are heavily involved in the life of the college. View a list of previous award recipients.