{"id":2269,"date":"2026-05-20T17:25:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T17:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/?page_id=2269"},"modified":"2026-07-30T13:52:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T17:52:32","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/sge\/about\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"SGE history"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><\/head><body><div class=\"intro-text global-spacing--3x dotted-line-start\">\n  <div class=\"acf-innerblocks-container\">\n\n<p>In 2002, motivated by his desire to see the Johnson Graduate School of Management continue as a leading provider of solutions to the most difficult challenges of our day, the late Samuel C. Johnson endowed the SC Johnson Professorship in Sustainable Global Enterprise. Sam set a visionary tone by stipulating that the role was to enhance students&rsquo; understanding of global sustainability and prepare them to be leaders of equitable, as well as economically and environmentally sustainable enterprises.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&ldquo;Sam Johnson&rsquo;s commitment will bring energy and resources that will allow us to build significantly on what we&rsquo;ve begun doing and create a program that&rsquo;s world class.&rdquo;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&ndash; Stuart L. Hart, SC Johnson Chair Emeritus in Sustainable Global Enterprise<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>A second generous gift provided an initial endowment and operating funds to establish the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise in 2004 with&nbsp;Stuart Hart&nbsp;as its Founding Director.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/profiles\/mm462\/\">Mark Milstein<\/a>&nbsp;became the full-time Director of the Center in 2006, with Dr. Hart continuing as the Samuel C. Johnson Professor in Sustainable Global Enterprise until his retirement in 2013.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-20-for-20-alumni-highlights\">20 for 20 alumni highlights<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As part of the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise&rsquo;s 20th anniversary in 2024, we are highlighting 20 influential or notable alumni in the field of sustainability. We received nearly 110 submissions nominating 59 Cornell alumni from across the years and programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A small committee of alumni helped read the submissions and choose the 20 individuals to highlight, based on their engagement and demonstrated notable leadership, impact, and\/or achievements in the domain of sustainability (environmental and\/or social impact) in their careers and\/or personal pursuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As our anniversary year was so busy, we are continuing to publish our highlights into 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Congratulations to all of our nominees! Those in&nbsp;<strong>bold<\/strong>&nbsp;were selected to be highlighted.<\/p>\n\n\n<section class=\"section-heading--wrap max-across--three span--red background--white bg--clear\">\n  \n  \n  <div class=\"section-heading__content\">\n    <section class=\"list-column-component column-set text-margin-reset stats-section\">\n      <div class=\"grid-container\">\n        <div class=\"grid-x grid-margin-x\">\n                                                <div class=\"cell small-auto\">\n                <article>\n                  \n                  \n                                      <div class=\"global-spacing--0_5x wysiwyg\">\n                      \n<ul>\n<li>Amanda Archila<\/li>\n<li>Anshul Bakhda<\/li>\n<li><strong>Kehkashan Basu<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Pinaki Bhattacharyya<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lydiah Bosire<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Kaitlyn Briggs<\/li>\n<li>Michael (Ted) Briggs<\/li>\n<li>Nelly Cady-Kruse<\/li>\n<li>Michael Callender<\/li>\n<li>Christina Chan<\/li>\n<li>Gilda Charles<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/10\/leading-the-clean-energy-transition\/\">Rob Collier<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Justin DeKoszmovszky<\/li>\n<li>Pierre-Henri D&rsquo;haene<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n                    <\/div>\n                  \n                                  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                                                            <div class=\"cell small-auto\">\n                <article>\n                  \n                  \n                                      <div class=\"global-spacing--0_5x wysiwyg\">\n                      <ul>\n<li><strong>Raghu Dharmaraju&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Lauren Dowler<\/li>\n<li>John Fay<\/li>\n<li><strong>CJ Fonzi<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Jeff Fuchs<\/li>\n<li><strong>Linda Giuliano<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Dan Goldman<\/li>\n<li>Taryn Goodman Gallery<\/li>\n<li><strong>Dhanur Grandhi<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Rachel Greenberg<\/li>\n<li>Jonathan Greene<\/li>\n<li><strong>Natalie Grillon<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Christy Harrington Guthman<\/li>\n<li>Sarah Howe<\/li>\n<li>Geoff Johnson<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                  \n                                  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                                                            <div class=\"cell small-auto\">\n                <article>\n                  \n                  \n                                      <div class=\"global-spacing--0_5x wysiwyg\">\n                      <ul>\n<li><strong>Kevin Johnson<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Fred Keller<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Ian Kline<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Kamillah Knight<\/li>\n<li><strong>Agata Kosctecka Smeets<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Ray Lansigan<\/li>\n<li>Eric Lee<\/li>\n<li>Michele Malejki<\/li>\n<li>Georgia Maloney<\/li>\n<li>Emily Nyrop<\/li>\n<li><strong>Esohe Denise Odaro<\/strong><\/li>\n<li>Rishad Olpadwala<\/li>\n<li>Kristin O&rsquo;Planick<\/li>\n<li>German Peralta<\/li>\n<li>Alejandra Plaza Limon<\/li>\n<li>Thomas Rabon<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n                    <\/div>\n                  \n                                  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                              <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/section>\n\n\n  <section class=\"section-heading--wrap featured-articles--wrap max-across--three images--show intro-text--show bg--clear\">\n          <div class=\"section-heading__title\">\n                          <h2>Read 20 for 20 alumni highlights<\/h2>\n              <\/div>\n    \n    \n    <div class=\"section-heading__content\">\n      <div class=\"text-margin-reset\">\n        \n        <div class=\"featured-articles featured-article__smaller grid-container\">\n          <div class=\"grid-x grid-padding-x\">\n                          <div class=\"cell medium-auto\">\n                <article class=\"article article--side-by-side text-margin-reset\">\n      <figure class=\"aspect-ratio-frame\">\n      \n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20-for-20-graphic-white.png\" width=\"1689\" height=\"1256\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto\">\n\n            <\/figure>\n  \n  <time>November 10, 2025<\/time>\n  <h3 class=\"h4\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/10\/leading-the-clean-energy-transition\/\">\n                  Leading the clean energy transition: Rob Collier&rsquo;s path toward a sustainable future\n              <\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n      <div class=\"global-spacing--1x\">\n      <p>The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise celebrates 20 for 20 honoree Rob Collier MBA &rsquo;14, senior vice president of marketplaces at LevelTen Energy.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n  \n      <div class=\"tags\">\n      <ul>\n                              <li class=\"term-list-item term-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/all\/?category=sustainability\">Energy &amp; Sustainability<\/a><\/li>\n                        <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                          <div class=\"cell medium-auto\">\n                <article class=\"article article--side-by-side text-margin-reset\">\n      <figure class=\"aspect-ratio-frame\">\n      \n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20-20-britta-von-oesen-600x400-1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Britta von Oesen standing in front of a dark gray backdrop\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto\">\n\n            <\/figure>\n  \n  <time>August 11, 2025<\/time>\n  <h3 class=\"h4\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/11\/driving-energy-transition\/\">\n                  Driving Energy Transition: A 20 for 20 Changemaker\n              <\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n      <div class=\"global-spacing--1x\">\n      <p>The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise celebrates 20 for 20 honoree Britta von Oesen MBA &rsquo;09, partner and managing director at CRC-IB.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n  \n      <div class=\"tags\">\n      <ul>\n                              <li class=\"term-list-item term-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/all\/?category=sustainability\">Energy &amp; Sustainability<\/a><\/li>\n                        <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                          <div class=\"cell medium-auto\">\n                <article class=\"article article--side-by-side text-margin-reset\">\n      <figure class=\"aspect-ratio-frame\">\n      \n        <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/20-20-denise-odaro-600x400-1.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"400\" alt=\"Esohe Denise Odaro\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto\">\n\n            <\/figure>\n  \n  <time>July 21, 2025<\/time>\n  <h3 class=\"h4\">\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/21\/journey-in-sustainable-finance\/\">\n                  Leading with Purpose: Esohe Denise Odaro&rsquo;s Journey in Sustainable Finance\n              <\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n      <div class=\"global-spacing--1x\">\n      <p>The Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise celebrates 20 for 20 honoree Esohe Denise Odaro MBA &rsquo;09, head of sustainability at PAI Partners.<\/p>\n    <\/div>\n\n  \n      <div class=\"tags\">\n      <ul>\n                              <li class=\"term-list-item term-link\"><a href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/news\/all\/?category=sustainability\">Energy &amp; Sustainability<\/a><\/li>\n                        <\/ul>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/article>\n              <\/div>\n                      <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n\n      <\/section>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-20th-anniversary-celebration\">20th anniversary celebration<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Over 100 Center alumni, students, partners, and connections came together at Glasshouse Chelsea, NYC on October 10, 2024 to reflect on the past, present, and future of the Center and sustainability&rsquo;s role in business education.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&ldquo;Sam Johnson&rsquo;s commitment will bring energy and resources that will allow us to build significantly on what we&rsquo;ve begun doing and create a program that&rsquo;s world class.&rdquo; &ndash; Stuart L.&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"parent":2266,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"leadership":[],"class_list":["post-2269","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.2 (Yoast SEO v28.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>SGE history - Cornell College of Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2002, motivated by his desire to see the Johnson Graduate School of Management continue as a leading provider of solutions to the most difficult\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/sge\/about\/history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"SGE history\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2002, motivated by his desire to see the Johnson Graduate School of Management continue as a leading provider of solutions to the most difficult\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/business.cornell.edu\/centers\/sge\/about\/history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Centers &amp; 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