Inside: - UW-Milwaukee

In Memoriam
Roger L. Fitzsimonds (’60, ’71, ’89)
Roger L. Fitzsimonds
UWM business school graduate and
distinguished business leader Roger L.
Fitzsimonds (BBA ’60, MBA ’71, Honorary
Doctorate ’89) left a legacy of commitment
to family, community, and UWM when he
passed away this March at age 68.
Fitzsimonds was the retired Chairman and
CEO of Firstar Corporation, capping a 35year
career that he began in 1964 as a management
trainee with what was then First
Wisconsin National Bank of Milwaukee.
Managing Intellectual Property
(continued from previous page)
This is especially important in the
biopharmaceutical industry since, in
some cases, the technology simply does
not work in practice as it did in testing.
A clear example is the demonstration of
the effi cacy of pharmaceutical candidates
in animal models that is not replicated in
human subjects.
In other cases, competing products
preempt the profi table commercial
introduction of a technology. A defi ciency
18 OUTLOOK
“He was a visionary in the world of
banking,” said Sheldon B. Lubar, a friend
of Fitzsimonds as well as a former Firstar
board member.
Applying his organizational and human
relations skills to a host of community
initiatives, Fitzsimonds was also a dominant
fi gure on the Greater Milwaukee Com -
mittee, the Metropolitan Milwaukee
Association of Commerce, the Boys &
Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, and at
the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Edward J. Zore, President & CEO of North -
western Mutual, has called Fitzsimonds’
footprint on our community “huge.”
Fitzsimonds credited UWM and its
business school for much of his success.
He earned his BBA while working full
time, and later pursued his MBA, “not for
the piece of paper but the tools to be
successful,” he said.
He continued his involvement with the
university as a member and past president
of the Lubar School’s Business Advisory
in complimentary assets such as trained
sales force, manufacturing capacities or
even a legal team needed to defend the
legitimacy of the patented technology
may also reduce the commercial viability
of a technology.
Levitas concludes that greater fl exibility in
terms of decisions with which to confront
contingencies is critical to vitality in
technological dynamic environments.
Council and the UWM Foundation Board
of Directors.
In 2003, he established the Roger L.
Fitzsimonds Scholarly Achievement Fund
within the Lubar School to promote
scholarly excellence among faculty and
doctoral students. “We have to have
excellence in the School, because that’s
where we send people to get their degrees,
and, just as importantly, that’s where we
send them to continue their education in
this competitive world,” he said.
“Roger was one of those people who was
larger than life, and whose energy and
spirit were inspiring,” shared Dean V.
Kanti Prasad. “Throughout his life, he
was a committed and involved supporter
of our business school and UWM. We will
dearly miss Roger as a business leader and
as a friend.”
Roger Fitzsimonds is survived by his wife
of 49 years, Lee, their children and
grandchildren, and many other family
members and friends.
Dr. Edward Levitas specializes in strategic
management. In addition to his research
into technology and new product development
in biotechnology and pharmaceutical fi rms,
he has examined how strategic alliances,
fi nancial asset availability, technology
transfers, and managerial incentives affect
fi rm innovation and survival. He earned
his PhD from Texas A&M University.