SYSPRO USA President's Student Mentee, Brian Briskey, Named "2017-18 Protégé of the Year" by the University of California, Irvine Paul Merage School of Business Executive Mentoring Program

COSTA MESA, Calif., July 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- SYSPRO, a global provider of industry-built ERP software, has announced today that Brian Briskey, UCI MBA student and Executive Mentoring Program mentee of SYSPRO USA President Joey Benadretti, was honored to be named "2017-18 Protégé of the Year" from the Executive Mentoring Program.

Briskey was nominated for this prestigious honor based on his proactive abilities, professionalism, receptiveness to advice, and overall performance. The Executive Mentoring Program "Protégé of the Year" judging panel evaluated each mentor's submission, and ultimately selected Briskey. 

"I owe my success in receiving the '2017-18 Protégé of the Year' award to Joey's leadership style and commitment to us reaching key mentoring goals together," said Briskey. "Those goals focused on actions in professional network development, courtship of risks with reward, and gathering buy-in from the boardroom," Briskey said.

Forbes currently ranks UCI #14 for full-time MBA programs among USA public institutions, and recipient of the distinguished AACSB accreditation for excellence areas relating to strategic management and innovation. UCI's MBA Executive Mentoring Program, an extension of the UCI Paul Merage School of Business, provides a powerful means for seasoned managers to influence their community and help future business leaders. Monthly Executive Mentoring Program gatherings range from one-on-one meetings, professional association meetings, company site visits, shadowing and social functions.

"The program creates a relationship that is personalized for each participant. The mentors wind up having a great impact on the students' personal and professional growth, and many mentors comment about how much they wind up learning from our students in the process," said Barbra Marangell, Director of Alumni Relations at the Merage School, who oversees the program. "It's incredibly fulfilling and a testament to the success of this program," said Marangell.

"I was able to confide in Joey my professional fears as an aspiring leader; to which he could relate decades of experience and candid tales of the struggle faced by the most senior of leadership," said Briskey.

The Executive Mentoring Program has been equally influential for Benadretti over the course of this school year. Briskey and Benadretti share a drive and passion for the latest innovations in data science, predictive analytics, and marketing capabilities. Briskey, a business developer and self-proclaimed "Marco Polo of Data Science," has a focused millennial's perspective on technology innovation as it applies to today's digital market.

Building Beneficial Relationships in the Community
Benadretti and SYSPRO USA CEO Brian Stein, have both been recognized for their efforts on various committees, and for being staunch supporters of continued education. Benadretti has served on several technology, educational, and association boards and committees feeding the ecosystem that surrounds SYSPRO USA.

"Getting involved in the community, giving back, and working with local educational establishments is critical to SYSPRO's mission to constantly innovate and build beneficial relationships," said Benadretti. "This is something near and dear to myself and to our staff. Social responsibility and community involvement is an important focus for SYSPRO," Benadretti said.

Benadretti is no stranger to the UCI Executive Mentoring Program. During the 2012-2013 school year, Benadretti mentored MBA student and "Protégé of the Year" award winner, Karl Riesen; that same year, Benadretti himself had the honor of being "UCI Mentor of the Year."

"Working with Joey in the Executive Mentoring Program was the perfect complement to my MBA and professional experience," said Riesen. "As I was finishing my business education and planning my next career move, Joey continually pushed me to define my career path, where I wanted to go, and how I could get there. His guidance, most often in the form of well-timed questions, was critical in my framing of past experiences and future goals."

SYSPRO's involvement in the community provides an opportunity to build connections with forward-thinking professionals, share ideas, provide support and guidance; and through greater visibility enable valuable career opportunities. SYSPRO focuses significant attention on building business partnerships aimed at growing its own ecosystem through its Channel Partner reseller program, PartnerUP.

Learning from Innovators, Millennials, and Next-Generation Users
As one of the longest-standing, independent ERP providers in the world, procuring talent that consists of educated, influential, and forward thinking is vital to SYSPRO's mission to stay ahead of the curve, and deliver effective solutions to its current and future customer base. 

"In order to innovate, we must always be open to learning," said Benadretti. "Whether our staff is advancing through MBA or credential programs, our very own product-based SYSPRO Learning Channel, customer feedback and surveys, or through interactions with our Partners and members of the community, we are gaining insight. Education is critical to SYSPRO's success?just as it is to the bright and influential students we meet and mentor."

The company continually strives to be a leader in innovation by learning from the community of technology thought-leaders and SYSPRO customers. SYSPRO recently announced that with its latest software release it will deliver the ERP market's first available business solutions infusing two of the technology market's hottest topics: Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT). The capabilities are part of the company's new latest release, which has just launched.

About SYSPRO 
SYSPRO is a global, independent provider of industry-built ERP software designed to simplify business complexity for manufacturers and distributors. Focused on delivering optimized performance and complete business visibility, the SYSPRO solution is highly scalable, and can be deployed on-premise, in the cloud, or accessed via a mobile device. SYSPRO's strengths lie in a simplified approach to technology, expertise in a range of industries, and a commitment to future-proofing customer and partner success.

SYSPRO has more than 15,000 licensed companies in over 60 countries across six continents. For more information, visit www.syspro.com.

Press Contacts:
Erin Schlee
Marketing Communications Manager
SYSPRO ? United States
+1(714) 437-1000
[email protected]

Stanley Goodrich
Public Relations Manager
SYSPRO ? United States
+1(714) 437-1000
[email protected]

SOURCE SYSPRO