Robert P. Badavas ’74 stepped into the role of trustee chair on July 1. The longtime vice chair of Bentley’s board has built an accomplished career in corporate management and venture capital.

Four decades of professional experience and seven C-suite roles developed his expertise in succeeding in dynamic environments and applying innovation to capture new opportunities. Badavas’s most recent CEO assignments — working with Fortune 100 companies at both TAC Worldwide, a global workforce management company, and PlumChoice, a technology-enabled services company — reinforced the need to adapt as conventional wisdom about “how business is done” was constantly challenged.

In many ways, Badavas personifies the preparedness for which Bentley has become nationally known. As an Accountancy major, he worked for a semester at what was then Price Waterhouse. He recalls how confident he was on day one thanks to his Bentley education. After graduation, the internship turned into a job as an auditor at the professional services firm — and his career was launched.

Most recently, Badavas led the search committee that selected President Alison Davis-Blake (pictured above center). “The pace of change in business and higher education makes the next 10 years as important to Bentley as our first 100,” says the alumnus, who succeeds Steven P. Manfredi ’73, P ’10 (above left) as board chair. “Bentley’s next leader must be ready for that historic challenge. Dr. Davis-Blake is the right leader at the right time for Bentley. She is focused on the future of work and understands the operation of positive, successful organizations in a changing world.”