2023 Alumni Awards Recipients

Alumni Awards recognize excellence in our alumni community

TEPPER ALUMNI ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

TED DECKER (MSIA 1993)

For his exceptional career as an international leader in the retail industry as well as for his volunteer service to the Tepper School and Carnegie Mellon University, Ted received the 2023 Tepper Alumni Achievement Award.

He currently serves as Chair, President, and CEO of The Home Depot, the world’s largest home improvement retailer, with more than 2,300 stores and 500,000 associates. He joined The Home Depot in 2000, after holding senior leadership roles in strategy, business development, and finance with Kimberly-Clark Corp., Scott Paper Co., and PNC, including overseas roles in England and Australia. A passionate alumnus, he has been active as a speaker and recruiter at the Tepper School as well as hosting several summer welcome receptions for alumni and interns at his home in Atlanta.

TEPPER ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD

OZGUR (MBA 2005)
MUGÉ ERDIRIK DOGAN (Ph.D./ENG 2007)

For their outstanding volunteer leadership and service to the Tepper School alumni community, Ozgur and Mugé were awarded the 2023 Tepper Alumni Service Award.

With their high-level careers at Amazon— Ozgur is currently Vice President for World Wide People Engagement and Mugé is President of Amazon Fashion — they have been incredible role models for our students and alumni, and strong supporters of the university. Originally from Turkey, this CMU couple has established an endowed fellowship for international MBA students and has generously held receptions for alumni and students at their beautiful home. Ozgur has also served the Tepper School as a long-time leader in the Seattle Alumni Chapter, a class reunion volunteer, an active recruiter, speaker, and mentor, and member of the Tepper School Alumni Board from 2014 to 2020, chairing the Alumni Awards Committee.

TEPPER RECENT MASTERS ALUMNI AWARD

CRAIG SALDANHA (MBA 2013)

For his impressive career accomplishments in the tech industry, Craig was honored with the Tepper Recent Masters Alumni Award.

After earning his engineering degree in Mumbai, he went on to receive a master’s in computer engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He joined Intel for nine years, leading a team that developed strategies around new features on Intel’s next generation of microprocessors. After his MBA at the Tepper School, Craig spent almost nine years at Amazon in Seattle, eventually becoming Director of Product and Engineering for Prime Video. In 2022, he joined Yelp as the company’s Chief Product Officer. Craig and his wife Sasha (MBA 2014) have been engaged with the Tepper School as corporate recruiters, chapter volunteers, and mentors in the Seattle alumni community.

TEPPER RECENT MASTERS ALUMNI AWARD

HEATHER RAE MARTIN (MBA 2013)

For her active involvement and dedicated support of creating an inclusive community at the school, Heather Rae was awarded the Tepper Recent Masters Alumni Award for Service.

A chemistry degree graduate of Princeton, Heather earned an MBA from the Tepper School and a Master of Science in Health Care Policy and Management from the Heinz College. Heather has always been active, serving as an admissions ambassador, career advisor, college mentor, recruiting volunteer, member of the Tepper Reunion Committee, and member of the Carnegie Mellon Black Alumni Association. Heather is passionate about increasing diversity and inclusion in higher education and society and is a noted speaker and advocate. With more than a decade of experience in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare strategy, Heather currently serves as Sr. Associate Principal at EVERSANA CONSULTING in New York City.

TEPPER RECENT UNDERGRADUATE ALUMNI AWARD

OWEN PARKER (BS 2013)

For his rapid career success in the financial services industry and his ongoing support of his alma mater, Owen received the Tepper Recent Undergraduate Alumni Award.

An honors student and a member of the football team at Carnegie Mellon, Owen has stayed connected with the athletics program supporting the Carnegie Mellon Athletics DEI Endowed Fund. He joined Deutsche Bank after graduating from the Tepper School in 2013 in sales and trading in commercial mortgage-backed securities. In 2017, he joined Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, and was promoted to Managing Director in Real Estate Securities in Blackstone’s Structure Finance Group where he is involved in investments in liquid real estate securities. Grateful for the opportunities Carnegie Mellon and the Tepper School have afforded him, Owen has returned to campus to attend alumni events, football games, and to speak to students in the Tepper Real Estate Club.