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WIU College of Business and Technology Distinguished Alumnus John Distefano, managing partner for Ernst and Young's Advisory Services.
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John Distefano Named WIU College of Business and Technology Distinguished Alumnus

February 26, 2015

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MACOMB, IL - - John Distefano, managing partner for Ernst and Young's (EY) Advisory Services, has been named the Western Illinois University College of Business and Technology's Distinguished Alumnus for 2015. Distefano graduated from Western with a bachelor of business administration degree in quantitative and information science in 1980; he earned his master of information management degree from Washington University in 1990.

While on campus Wednesday-Thursday, March 4-5, Distefano will speak to students and faculty. He will give a keynote speech, which is open free to the public, at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday in Stipes Hall, room 121. CBT students are encouraged to attend.

Distefano joined EY in 1990 and was admitted to the partnership in 1996. He also held leadership positions for EY as a national practice leader for business consulting services and Americas sector leader for health care consulting, and he was previously a national partner with Accenture and Deloitte.

In his position, he assists C-suite executives and Boards of Directors of EY's major clients to help direct strategies on capital investments, talent and leadership transition, business model risk and innovation, corporate governance and industry regulatory issues.

Distefano, who was selected as one of the nation's Top 25 consultants for achievements in the health care industry in 2012, has more than 34 years of experience in multiple industries, working closely with senior executives to design and implement transformational programs to reduce cost, manage profitability and identify new market opportunities. His areas of expertise include business performance innovation, enterprise analytics and the application of enabling technologies for business operations involvement.

While his professional career began as a systems analyst for a global manufacturing company, where he assisted with designing, building and launching the company's first green-field manufacturing and technology center in more than 30 years, he continued his professional advancement at the nation's largest health information systems company.

Distefano is a regular speaker at industry events, has served as a contributing editor for industry journals and co-authored the book "Wireless Enterprise Architecture."

Distefano and his wife of 34 years, Kim, live in Chesterfield, MO. Their children, Logan and Tom, both live and work in the Chicago area.

In 1987, retired CBT Dean Robert Jefferson introduced an award of excellence intended to recognize the commendable efforts of WIU business alumni. Since that time, the CBT has honored numerous business alumni who have demonstrated exemplary leadership and outstanding career success.

For more information about the CBT Distinguished Alumni program, contact CBT Director of Development Becky Paulsen at (309) 298-2442 or B-Paulsen@wiu.edu.

Posted By: Alisha Looney (AA-Looney@wiu.edu)
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