ENTREPRENEURIAL AWARD
Perry J. Vieth, Bus Ad ’79
Hingham, Mass.
You could say Perry Vieth’s entrepreneurial success is “rooted” in agriculture and Jesuit principles. From revolutionizing fully automated greenhouses to building agricultural equity fund Ceres Partners from scratch, Perry’s creativity and vision for innovative agricultural ventures remains paired with his strong business values. He is invigorated by the challenge of identifying macro trends and exploring investment opportunities related to those trends.
Perry’s career path has taken many twists and turns. He began his career by practicing law in Chicago, moved to trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, then his career in portfolio and asset management took him to the East Coast, where he eventually founded Ceres Partners — navigating the inherent strategies and risks of an equity start-up to form a company with assets of more than $1 billion.
Perry grew up in northeastern Wisconsin and chose Marquette because of its Catholic identity and strong academic curriculum. He didn’t want to get lost at a large state school, but he did want to experience life in a city and expand his horizons. Marquette offered all those qualities as part of its transformative educational experience.
First introduced to the Jesuit concept of cura personalis — men and women for others — at Marquette, Perry now exemplifies this concept, sharing his knowledge and blessings to help others. Perry strongly advocates for education, having served on the finance committee of his parish primary school for more than 16 years. Through this work, he saw the need for tuition assistance to help lower-income families afford the school. Perry addressed this need by helping to establish an endowment as a long-term external funding source, thus providing access and educational opportunities to more families. With his family and wife, Sheila — also a Marquette graduate — Perry continues to exemplify the Ignatian Innovation of his alma mater.
Name a Marquette faculty or staff member who had an impact on you, and how.
I had many great professors at Marquette, but one economics professor stands out in my memory. After I questioned his evaluation and scoring of one of my papers he responded, “C’est la vie, Vieth … that’s life!” I learned not to take myself so seriously after that, and it still
resonates.
What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
Winning the National Championship with Al McGuire, and everyone pouring out of their dorms to march down Wisconsin Avenue.
Leave a congratulatory message for Perry!