E&Y Partner Michael Constantino is Poole College’s 2012 Person of the Year

Michael T. Constantino, assurance partner and managing partner for the Raleigh and Greensboro offices of Ernst & Young, has been named the Person of the Year by the Poole College of Management at North Carolina State University.

“This award is presented annually by Poole College to a distinguished individual who has made outstanding contributions to the college, to his or her profession and to the NC State community,” said Ira R. Weiss, Poole College dean. Weiss will formally present the award to Constantino during the college’s Fourth Annual Leadership and Innovation Showcase, to be held on April 24, 2012.

“Throughout his career, Mike has demonstrated the professionalism and commitment to service that is so important in today’s professional environment,” Weiss said. “He also has been a tremendous friend and supporter of the college and the university as a whole.”

Constantino received two degrees from NC State: his bachelor’s degree in business management in 1984, and his bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1985. Both preceded the founding of the college in 1992, but he has been an avid supporter of the college throughout its history, as well as NC State.

He and his wife Lori established the Michael and Lori Constantino Endowment Fund that provides fellowship awards to the Poole College’s Jenkins Master of Accounting students. The Constantinos also are strong supports of NC State athletics and the Wolfpack Club.

Constantino has served on the college’s Board of Advisors since 2003, including a term as chairman of the board from 2004 to 2006. In addition, he has been instrumental in developing and maintaining a strong relationship between his firm, Ernst & Young, and Poole College, including establishing NC State as a target recruiting school with the firm’s national recruiters. Currently, Ernst & Young is the number one employer of the college’s Jenkins Master of Accounting graduates.

He also is a mentor for current Jenkins MAC students and alumni employed throughout the E&Y organization, and has helped to secure financial support for Poole College’s Department of Accounting from the Ernst & Young Foundation’s University Fund Grant program.

In 2004, Constantino was awarded the Distinguished Alumni Award by the NC State Alumni Association and Poole College.

Constantino has over 25 years’ experience working with public and private companies including life sciences (biotechnology, medical device and pharmaceuticals), contract research organizations, manufacturing, and mining (construction aggregates). He has extensive transactional experience assisting clients with initial public offerings, debt offerings, mergers and acquisition transactions, and private equity offerings.

Additionally, Constantino serves many clients with significant international operations, as well as subsidiary companies of global entities. He is a member of the AICPA and has a CPA license in North Carolina and Georgia.

He also is very active in the regional business community. Currently, he is a member of the executive committee and the board of directors for the North Carolina Biotechnology Center; treasurer and member of the board of directors for Stop Hunger Now; member of the Fifty Group and the National Association of CEOs, as well as numerous civic and charitable endeavors in the community. Previously, he served as treasurer and member of the board of directors of the Council for Entrepreneurial Development in the Research Triangle Park, N.C., and is a past chairman and treasurer for Southeastern Bio.

The Constantinos live in Cary, N.C.

Poole College’s Person of the Year Honorees

• 2012: Michael Constantino, assurance partner and managing partner for the Raleigh and Greensboro offices of Ernst & Young
• 2011: Lonnie C. Poole, Jr., founder, Waste Industries, and benefactor, NC State Poole College of Management
• 2010: Steve Zelnak, chairman and chief executive officer (retired) of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
• 2009: James Owens, chairman and chief executive officer (retired) of Caterpillar

• 2008: Benjamin Jenkins, managing director and vice chairman for retail banking (retired), Morgan Stanley and formerly vice chairman and president of the General Bank at Wachovia Corporation.