For Business Alumnus, Education is Key to More Informed, Ethical Society

In 1979, Connecticut native Joseph Bronson ’76 MBA traded snow shovels for sunshine, moving with his family to California to pursue the next phase of his career.

“I had wanted to get out of finance after so many years and so I joined an oil field services company,” says Bronson. “I moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I worked on what was at the time one of the largest acquisitions in history. And that was the end of the east coast for me.”

Bronson’s career with Applied Materials, Inc., would take him from California, to England, to Texas, and back to the Golden State, substituting semiconductor industry for electronics and technology companies. His expertise and leadership—including roles as chief financial officer and chief operating officer—influenced the company’s growth and success, as the company’s revenue rose from approximately $60 million in 1984 to more than $10 billion.

In 2010, Bronson founded The Bronson Group, LLC, a financial and consulting firm and serves as the company’s chief executive officer. He has also served on the boards for several public companies and educational institutions.

Bronson, who earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Fairfield University, says that his UConn MBA prepared him well to take on these leadership and advisory roles.

“UConn’s MBA curriculum covered economics, management, and more,” he says. “It filled in the gaps, so I had more than just accounting knowledge.”

Bronson served on UConn’s SBA International Advisory Board and was inducted into UConn’s Business School Hall of Fame in 2006. He has also been involved with the MBA program’s competition in the Business Ethics course and says that he is passionate about including ethics as part of a well-rounded curriculum.

“I feel that in our country today people are choosing power over ethics,” he explains. “Irrespective of which side you are on politically, it’s the wrong idea.”

Bronson believes that better and more accessible education is necessary for the wellbeing of our country. He and his wife, Linda, recently established the Bronson Family Scholarship Fund, which provides support for undergraduate business students with financial need.

“I’ve been fortunate in my life, and my wife and I feel that we can use our resources to help open up education so that it’s available to more people,” he says. “It’s all about making sure quality education is available for all, so that we can build a more informed, ethical society.”