Opus College of Engineering Award Recipients
Entrepreneurial Award
PAUL D. WEINEWUTH, ENG '86
Naperville, Ill.
For Paul, being out of his comfort zone is part of his formula for success. He co-founded Avionos, a digital consulting firm that specializes in the customer experience, one of four companies he has helped bring to life.
“When you build high-growth businesses, there are a constant supply of new and exciting challenges to overcome,” he says.
Speaking of building, Paul has become masterful at it. Before Avionos, he was co-founder of and a partner at Aktion Partners, a Chicago-based group of seasoned entrepreneurs that provides capital, as well as financial, operational, marketing and sales expertise, to high-growth technology companies. And before that, he was a co-founder and chief financial officer of the Acquity Group, a digital agency headquartered in Chicago for which he developed strategic objectives, including a private equity raise, the successful public listing on the NYSE and its sale to Accenture. Before Acquity, he was co-founder of and a partner at Modern Business Technology, a Chicago-based technology consulting firm that was eventually sold to marchFIRST, formerly USWeb/CKS.
“Professionally or as an organization, as long as you are growing, you are experiencing success,” he says. “The Marquette culture and foundational ideas that I experienced by simply being a student at Marquette prepared me to enter the workplace and continue to support me today.”
In addition to his entrepreneurialism, Paul is chair of Educare, an early education center for at-risk youth in West DuPage County, Ill., and is a board member of All Saints Catholic Academy. For fun, Paul is a general aviation pilot, saying, “The challenge and focus needed to fly are exhilarating to me.”
Fun Facts
Hometown: Naperville, Ill.
Favorite quote: “ ‘If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.’ — Albert Einstein.”
Dream dinner date: “Ronald Regan.”
Favorite Marquette memory: “I don't have a favorite memory, and there are too many great ones to list. I still see my Marquette friends on a regular basis, and we often relive many of them.”
Career he aspired to in grade school: “I didn't know what I wanted to be when I grew up when I was in grade school. I think I'm still trying to figure it out.”
Marquette legacy: “I'm still working on it, and of course I am a big advocate of Marquette whenever the opportunity presents itself. I have four children. I was unsuccessful with my oldest but have three more opportunities.”
Who has been the most influential person in your life, and why? “Karen, my wife of more than 20 years. Without her as a partner, a very big part of my life would be missing.”
