A Rhode Island native, Verrecchia joined Hasbro in 1965 as a junior accountant, two years before earning his accounting degree from URI. As the company grew into an international leader in designing, manufacturing and marketing games and toys, Verrecchia climbed the ranks by holding increasingly senior executive positions. He earned his master of business administration from URI in 1972 and was awarded an honorary degree from the University in 2004.
Throughout his career, the executive has always found time for his alma mater, serving on URI’s College of Business Administration Advisory Council and, with his employer’s generosity, by establishing the Alfred J. Verrecchia-Hasbro Inc. Leadership Chair in Business.
Hasbro is a worldwide leader in children’s and family leisure time entertainment products and services. Its most recognizable brands include Playskool, Tonka, Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Tiger and Wizards of the Coast.
A service of the URI Division of University Advancement’s electronic communications program, online chats are free and open to the public and are accessible through the URI website.
To enter the chat, go to http://advance.uri.edu/chats for instructions. Participants may submit questions in advance, but the chat will not begin until the scheduled date and time. Thirty minutes is the total time allotted for the chat. A full transcript will be posted to the University’s website once the chat has been completed. Questions about web chats should be directed to the URI Publications Office at 401-874-2075.
URI’s online chats, which began in September 2004, have featured question-and-answer sessions with such alumni as CNN correspondent Christiane Amanpour discussing international news, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ross Kaufman talking about the making of Born into Brothels, and marine explorer Robert Ballard discussing his search for shipwrecks, as well as with URI administrators, faculty and coaches.
The chats are made possible through the cooperation of the URI Athletics Department and College Sports Online, hosts of the GoRhody.com website.