Skip to main content

Business Leader of the Year: Benjamin Mulling ('03) 

An individual who has distinguished themselves in their chosen field and is an exemplary ambassador for the university.
Lance Vaught headshot

Ben Mulling is currently the CEO of TENTE Casters, Inc., a multinational manufacturer of mobility solutions for the institutional, industrial, and medical markets. In 2008, he was promoted from the company’s Controller to CFO at age 28. As CEO, Mulling leads the company in all strategic and operational aspects in North America, including leading the strategic acquisition and integration of multiple new business units, driving localized production strategies with building and equipment capital expansions, product innovation and R&D planning, the development of strategic sales and marketing plans, among many other things. He is fully responsible for the strategic planning process for his organization, including the development, communication, and implementation of such plans across their North American operations. Mulling also serves on various international project teams for TENTE globally and currently serves on the IMA Global Board and is a former Chair. 

Mulling received his undergraduate degree in accounting from Northern Kentucky University, and he has graduate degrees from Liberty University and Harvard University.


Humanitarian of the Year: Crystal Kendrick ('97)

An individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership and service to NKU and the community through their time, talent, and treasure. 
dfgsdfg

Crystal L. Kendrick, President of The Voice of Your Customer, has more than 25 years of global and domestic marketing experience specifically targeting hard-to-reach, underserved, international and niche populations. She holds a BBA in Marketing from Temple University and an MBA in Business Administration from Northern Kentucky University.

The Voice of Your Customer is a marketing firm that assists clients to penetrate niche markets using assessments, focus groups, media campaigns, mystery observations, and survey research. Under her leadership, The Voice of Your Customer was named the NMSDC National Supplier of the Year and the Cincinnati PRSA Small Agency of the Year. For her professional and philanthropic achievements, she has been named Cincinnati Business Courier Forty Under 40, Cincinnati Enquirer Woman of the Year, Girl Scouts of Western Ohio Woman of Distinction and the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati Career Woman of Achievement.

Kendrick received her undergraduate degree in marketing from Temple University, and her Master of Business Administration from Northern Kentucky University. 


Young Professional of the Year: Yasmine Xantos ('17)

An individual who has graduated within the past 10 years, enhanced NKU or the community and distinguished themselves through professional accomplishments. 
dfgsdfg
Yasmine Xantos works for the Cincinnati Bengals as the Corporate Tax Manager. The role is primarily responsible for managing and facilitating the accurate preparation and filing of the Bengals local, state and federal tax returns, while serving as a liaison between the team’s external accounting firm and ownership’s individual family tax needs. She focuses on improving the team’s tax function by facilitating better decision making, focusing on tax strategy, ensuring tax compliance, and providing application support to achieve the best corporate tax practice. Prior to her role at the Bengals, Yasmine started her career in public accounting at Deloitte, where she spent over 5 years providing international tax compliance and consulting services to a variety of Fortune 500 multinational clients. Her role included consulting with clients on advantageous strategies regarding their global operations and business structure while also gaining experience in corporate restructuring, tax reform planning and international tax planning. She is originally from the Gold Coast, Australia and moved over to the United States to compete as a Division I tennis player at Northern Kentucky University, where she double majored in Accounting and Sports Business.

About the HAILE College of Business

The HAILE College of Business is committed to providing a top-quality, well-rounded business education that equips students with the skills and tools necessary to be successful in today’s challenging world. We do this through the promotion of academic excellence; a focus on building a strong community of faculty, staff, students and alumni; and partnerships both locally and globally that all contribute to excellence and engagement in business education. The principles that define, differentiate and drive our culture include engagement, innovation, and impact. We help businesses create a better world through developing skilled, passionate future business leaders through our global programs, entrepreneurship opportunities and real-life experiential learning opportunities.  

Letter from the Dean

Thank you for joining us at our annual HAILE College of Business Alumni Award Reception! It is only fitting that honoring our outstanding alumni is the signature opening event for our annual Business Week. Over the next few days, our students will have the opportunity to interact with and learn from over 200 successful business leaders, many of whom are also alumni of NKU. 

Tonight, we will honor three special alumni who have made a notable difference in their companies, their communities and in the lives of others. We are very proud to introduce you to Benjamin, Crystal, and Yasmine and tell you their stories. 

Go Norse!
Hassan R. HassabElnaby, Dean