BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ronald E. Blaylock, Managing Partner, GenNX360 Capital Partners
Prior to launching GenNx360 Capital Partners, Ronald founded and managed Blaylock & Company, one of the top minority-owned investment banking firms in the country. The firm underwrote more than $150 billion in debt/equity securities in 2005 alone. Blaylock & Co. participated in transactions for a diverse, blue-chip roster of clients that included AT&T, Boeing, CIT, GE, Google, Time Warner, UPS, and Verizon, among other Fortune 500 companies. Prior to founding the investment banking firm in 1993, he held executive management positions with Paine Webber and CitiGroup.Ronald serves on the boards of numerous corporate and non-profit organizations including W.R. Berkley, Inc.; Radio One, Inc.; NYU Stern School of Business; and the New York University Board of Trustees. In 1999, Blaylock was voted Capital Raiser of the Year by Corporate Finance Magazine. More recently, in 2005 he was named one of the Most Powerful Blacks on Wall Street by Black Enterprise Magazine and was also named Man of the Year, by the Covenant House for his charity work with that organization.
Ronald earned his M.B.A. in finance from New York University’s Stern School of Business and his B.S. in finance from Georgetown University.
James I. Cash, Jr, Ph.D., James E. Robison Professor & Senior Associate Dean, Emeritus, Harvard Business School
Dr. Cash is an Emeritus James E. Robison Professor and Senior Associate Dean of the Harvard Business School, where he first joined the faculty in 1976 and retired in 2003. He taught in all the major HBS programs, and served as Chairman of Baker Library, Chairman of the MBA program and Chairman of the Harvard Business School Publishing Company at different times during his time at the school.In 1965 he became the first African-American to sign an athletic letter-of-intent in the Southwest Conference at Texas Christian University to play basketball. He received Conference and Academic All-American honors before graduating with a BS in Mathematics. Later he received a Master of Science in Computer Science from Purdue University's Graduate School of Mathematical Sciences; and a Doctor of Philosophy in Management Information Systems (MIS) and Accounting from Purdue University's Krannert Graduate School of Management.
Dr. Cash participates on a number of public, private and not-for-profit boards, including General Electric, Wal-Mart, Chubb, The Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture, the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation, and is an LP in Banner 17 – the LLC that owns the Boston Celtics.
Gary D. Forsee, President, University of Missouri System
Gary D. Forsee began his tenure as president of the four-campus University of Missouri System in February, 2008.Prior to his appointment at the University of Missouri, Forsee served as chairman and CEO of Sprint Nextel. He spent more than 36 years in the telecom industry in various companies and capacities.
He began his telecommunications career at Southwestern Bell in 1972. He served as president and CEO of Global One, a joint venture of Sprint, Deutsche Telekom and France Telecom. He also was chair of the board for Cingular Wireless and was vice chairman for domestic operations at BellSouth Corp.
A native of Kansas City, Mo., Forsee received a bachelor’s degree and honorary doctorate in engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science and Technology). He serves on the boards of Ingersoll Rand Company and Great Plains Energy Company.
Forsee and his wife, Sherry, have long been active supporters of the University. Their most recent gift enabled the construction of state of the art TelePresence rooms on each campus, allowing face-to-face meetings in a virtual conference room environment.
The Forsee have two daughters, Melanie Bell and Kara Forsee, D.V.M., both of whom are graduates of the University of Missouri-Columbia.
John D. Finnegan, Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, The Chubb Corporation
John D. Finnegan joined Chubb on December 1, 2002, as President and Chief Executive Officer and was elected to the additional position of Chairman of the Board in December 2003.Founded in 1882, Chubb is one of the world's leading property and casualty insurers, with 10,400 employees in more than 120 offices on five continents. The company is best known for outstanding claim service and financial strength.
At Chubb, Mr. Finnegan has led employees in delivering bottom-line results for shareholders: $10,000 invested in Chubb shares on December 31, 2002, would have grown to $22,364 by December 31, 2008, compared to $11,521 for the S&P 500 Index and $11,115 for the S&P Property & Casualty Index (including share price appreciation and reinvested dividends).
Chubb was included in Forbes magazine's 2004 through 2008 lists of "America's 400 Best Big Companies; Fortune's 2005 through 2008 lists of "America's Most Admired Companies" and 2005 through 2009 lists of "40 Stocks to Retire On"; and Barron's lists of "Best Companies for Investors" for 2004 to 2007. In 2006, Chubb won the Catalyst Award for empowering and developing women.
Before joining Chubb, Mr. Finnegan was with General Motors Corporation (GM) from 1976 through 2002, most recently as president of General Motors Acceptance Corporation (GMAC), chairman of the GMAC board of directors and executive vice president of GM.
Mr. Finnegan earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Princeton University, a law degree from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University. He is a member of The Business Roundtable and The Business Council and is former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Insurance Association.
Thomas J. Folliard, Chief Executive Officer, President, Director and Member of Executive Committee, CarMax Inc.
Tom has been President and Chief Executive Officer of CarMax Inc., since June 21, 2006. Mr. Folliard served as an Executive Vice President of Store Operations of CarMax Inc., from April 2001 to June 20, 2006. He joined CarMax in 1993 as Senior Buyer and became Director of purchasing in 1994. Mr. Folliard served as Vice President of Merchandising of CarMax Inc. since 1996 and Senior Vice President of Store Operations since July 2000. He was responsible for the design and development of the unique CarMax purchasing process, the buyer in training program and in-store wholesale auction system and has overseen sales, service, store operations, inventory management, and merchandising for CarMax Inc.'s retail superstores.Robert K. Green, Partner, Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP
As a former Fortune 100 CEO in the energy, telecom and utility industry, Bob has extensive experience in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, as well as energy regulatory and legislative strategies. He is a Partner in the firm’s Commercial Transactions, Mergers & Acquisitions, Energy, Securities/Capital Markets, and International Departments.Bob has broad experience in general corporate representation, capital markets, mergers and acquisitions; as well as; regulatory and legislative strategies. He has served on the Boards of Directors of seven publicly traded companies, was elected Chairman of the Board of two NYSE companies and three other publicly listed companies with combined valuation of over $4 billion. Bob guided these companies in capital markets strategies involving initial public offerings and more than 30 merger, acquisition and divestiture transactions from over $1 billion to smaller middle market transactions. Bob is a past Board member of the Edison Electric Institute, American Gas Association, and Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.
Bill Hall, President - Hall Family Foundation
Bill Hall, assistant to the chairman and a corporate officer at Hallmark Cards, Inc., is also president of the Hall Family Foundation. Assets of the foundation derive primarily from the estate of the late Joyce C. Hall, Hallmark’s founder. (Bill Hall and Joyce Hall are not related.)Hall joined Hallmark in 1968 and performed various financial duties before being named manager of investment properties in 1973. In 1976, he was named assistant to the president, as well as treasurer of The Hallmark Educational Foundations, the forerunner of today’s Hall Family Foundation. He became president of the Hall Family Foundation in 1982.
Hall serves on the boards of the Toy and Miniature Museum of Kansas City, Citizens for Higher Education, University of Kansas Cancer Advisory Board, National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation, and Midwest Research Institute.
John W. Harris, President, Lincoln Harris LLC
John Harris is the president of Lincoln Harris LLC, a full service corporate real estate services firm based Charlotte, North Carolina. He formed The Harris Group in January 1992, and formed Lincoln Harris, an affiliate company of Lincoln Property Company, in 1999.A lifetime resident of Charlotte, Harris was formerly President of The Bissell Companies, Inc., a major commercial real estate and investment management company.
He was responsible for development and management of over 20 million square feet of property throughout the Southeast; received the Charlotte Region Commercial Board of Realtors Cornerstone Award in 1994; and was the Charlotte News Man of the Year in 1984.
Harris, who earned a B.A. in Fine Arts from UNC – Chapel Hill, is a director of Dominion Resources, Inc.; Piedmont Natural Gas Company; The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Hospital Authority; and the NCAA Foundation.
Denny R. Holman, Chairman of the Board, Folsom Properties, Inc.
Denny Holman is the Chairman of the Board and a Partner of Folsom Properties, Inc., a commercial real estate firm located in Dallas, Texas. Mr. Holman has been involved with the company for 42 years. Folsom Properties, Inc. owns and manages shopping centers, office buildings and apartment communities throughout the Metroplex. The company also developed Bent Tree Country Club and Gleneagles Country Club. Mr. Holman attended Hillcrest High School in Dallas and graduated from Southern Methodist University. While at S.M.U. he played on three Southwest Conference championship teams and was named All Conference two years and Most Valuable Player in the Conference his senior year. After college, he played one year of professional basketball with the Dallas Chaparrals. Recent awards have been 2006 SMU Silver Mustang Award, 2008 Texas Commercial Association of Realtors Hall of Fame and 2009 Distinguished Alumnus Cox School of Business Award Winner. He and his wife, B.R., have two married daughters, Bren and her husband, Greg Jone, and Brooke and her husband, John West. The Holmans also have four grandchildren, Jordan Jones and Luke, Thomas and Andrew West.
Tom Jernstedt, Executive Vice President, National Collegiate Athletic Association
Tom was born and raised in the state of Oregon and attended the University of Oregon. He received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the University in 1967 and 1973, respectively. Following graduation, Tom spent two years in private business and then joined the department of athletics at his alma mater.The NCAA hired Tom in 1972 as Director of Events and he has held a number of positions within the Association in the ensuing years including Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice-President. In 2003, Tom was appointed Executive Vice President of the NCAA. During his tenure, Tom’s supervisory responsibilities have included various functional groups: administration and finance, championships and event management, communications, membership services, public affairs and branding, promotions, broadcasting and corporate alliances and liaison to the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee.
In addition to his NCAA responsibilities, Tom is Vice President and a member of the Board of Directors, United States-International University Sports Federation; First Vice Chair and member of the Board of Trustees, Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame; Past Chairman of the Board of Managers of the College Football Officiating, LLC; member of the Board of Directors and Second Vice Chair of the Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association and past President of USA Basketball.
Michael D. Jackson, General Manager of China Basketball and Global Business Development Nike
Michael Jackson is General Manager of China Basketball and Global Business Development. He is primarily responsible for driving market leadership and growth for all aspects of NIKE Basketball in the Greater China market, as well as increasing business opportunities globally.Prior to his current role, Jackson served as General Manager of US Basketball where he led the category's resurgence through the launch of the “Hyperdunk” shoe and instrumental work with the gold-medal winning USA Basketball team. He was named the 2007 Bill Bowerman Man of the Year for his exemplary work and accomplishments. Prior to that, he was the Associate Director of NIKE’s US Sports Marketing where his responsibilities included areas of Basketball and Olympics, among others.
Before joining NIKE, Jackson acquired vast experience in the worlds of sports and entertainment working in key leadership roles for YankeeNets Media where he helped develop the multi-regional sports network, now known as Yankees Entertainment and Sports (YES) Network. He also worked with Turner Broadcasting and assembled its award-winning broadcast team – Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. Jackson also worked with the US Olympic Committee for several years managing in areas of sponsorships, international relations and government affairs. From 1987 to 1990, Jackson played in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. A Washington, D.C. native, Jackson spent his NBA off-seasons working for D.C.-based Alexander & Associates, Inc., a corporate consulting firm focusing on affirmative action plans for various organizations, such as Major League Baseball, the United States Tennis Association and IBM.
Jackson honed his professional and athletic skills at Georgetown University where he was on the Dean’s List in both 1985 and 1986. Upon graduation, he was awarded the Patrick A. Duffy Memorial Award, recognizing his achievements as the top scholar-athlete at the institution. He earned All-American honors twice at Georgetown, and helped lead the Hoyas to a national basketball championship in 1984.
Among his many honors, Jackson was inducted into the National Association of Minorities in Communications Hall of Fame in March 1997. In 2002, The SportsBusiness Journal named him one of the top “Forty Under 40” sports executives. Also, he has been named as a NAACP Young Adult Male of the Year Award of Greater Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area in 1987 and was accepted into Harvard University's Kennedy Institute for Post-Graduate Studies in Government in 1986.
Martin J. Mannion, Summit Partners
Martin J. Mannion joined Summit Partners in 1985. Prior to Summit, he worked as a Systems Engineer at IBM Corporation. Marty works in the firm’s Boston office and is active in Summit’s investment activities in North America, Europe and Asia.During his 24 years with Summit Partners, Marty has served as a director of many companies including eight public companies. He is currently a director of Bartlett Holdings, Champion Windows, Liquidnet Holdings, NameMedia and Sparta Systems. His prior directorships include AdvaCare (NASDAQ: AVCR, acquired by Medaphis), American Dental Partners (NASDAQ: ADPI), Clinical Pathology Laboratories (acquired by Sonic Healthcare), Employee Benefit Plans (NASDAQ: EBPI), ImageAmerica (became MedAlliance, NASDAQ: MDAL), Lincare Holdings (NASDAQ: LNCR), Litchfield Financial Corporation (NASDAQ: LTCH) and Pharmaco Dynamics Research (merged with Applied Bioscience International Inc., NASDAQ: APBI).
He holds an AB in economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Marty serves on the boards of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay and National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation. He also sits on Harvard Business School Dean’s Board of Advisors and is a trustee of the Park School in Brookline, Massachusetts. Additionally, he serves on the Board of Advisors of Year Up, an intensive training program that provides urban young adults with a unique combination of technical and professional skills, college credits, an educational stipend and corporate internship. Marty’s past directorships include Children’s Hospital Trust of Boston and Regis High School in New York City.
James F. McDonald, Executive Advisor, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Jim served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Scientific-Atlanta Inc., which was acquired by Cisco Systems, Inc., from July 1993 to November 2000. Mr. McDonald served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Barconet NV. He served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Prime Computer Distributors Inc. He served as General Partner of J. H. Whitney & Co.'s venture capital firm from 1991 to 1993. From 1989 to 1991, he led the restructuring of Prime Computer as the President and Chief Executive Officer. From 1984 to 1989, Mr. McDonald also served as the President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Gould, Inc. where he led successful restructuring of both organizations.During his 21 years with IBM, he was instrumental in the development of copiers, laser printers, and other office systems and computer systems. At IBM, he was responsible for research laboratories in Colorado and Florida, and at the time he left IBM in 1984, he served as General Manager of the Manufacturing Systems Products Business.
Mr. McDonald served as Chairman of Scientific-Atlanta Inc. since November 2000 (for 12 years). He has been Director of Burlington Resources Inc., since October 1988. He has been a Director of Global Crossing North America Inc. (formerly Frontier Corp.) since 1998. He has been a Director of Churchill Downs Inc. since August 2008. He has been Director of Scientific-Atlanta Inc. since 1993. He serves as Director/Trustee of National Data Corporation, and Robert W. Woodruff Arts Center Inc. He served as Director of Mirant Corp. since 2001. He serves as a Director and Member of Advisory Board of Prime Computer. He serves as Member of the Advisory Board for Emory University-Goizueta Business School, Development Council of the University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky's Business School Advisory Council, University of Kentucky's College of Engineering Dean's Council and Board of Councilors of the Carter Center. He served as Director of American Business Product (Formerly American Business Products Inc.) since December 11, 1997, BarcoNet NV, WCI Communities Inc. since February 14, 2007 and NDCHealth Corp. since June 2000. In 1999,
Mr. McDonald received the National Cable Television Association’s Vanguard Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements by leaders of the cable industry. He holds patents in image processing and communications. He is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, where he received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in electrical engineering.
John W. Rogers, Jr., Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Ariel Investments
John W. Rogers, Jr. is founder, chairman and chief investment officer of Ariel Investments, a Chicago-based money management firm that serves institutional clients through separately managed accounts as well as individual investors and 401(k) plans through its no-load, publicly-traded mutual funds.After working for 2½ years as a stockbroker at William Blair and Company, LLC—a regional investment banking firm—John founded Ariel Investments in 1983 to focus on undervalued small and medium-sized companies showing strong growth potential. Patience served as the cornerstone of a disciplined approach that still drives the firm today.
John’s passion for investing started when he was 12 years old when his father bought him stocks every birthday and every Christmas instead of toys. His interest grew while majoring in Economics at Princeton University.
In addition to following stocks as a college student, John also played basketball and was even tapped by Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril to captain Princeton’s Varsity Basketball Team his senior year. There, Carril’s courtside lessons on teamwork, discipline and hard work profoundly shaped his views of entrepreneurship and investing.
Beyond Ariel, John currently serves as a board member of Aon Corporation, Exelon Corporation and McDonald’s Corporation. He is also a director of the Chicago Urban League, a trustee of the University of Chicago, chairman of the board for the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools as well as a member of the board of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, where he chairs the investment committee. He is chairman of the Economic Club of Chicago and a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. He is also a past president of the Board of the Chicago Park District.
In 2008, John was awarded Princeton University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to the alumni whose career embodies a commitment to national service. Following the election of President Barack Obama, John served as co-chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009.
John’s investment expertise has brought him to the forefront of media attention, including being selected as Mutual Fund Manager of the Year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance magazine as well as an All-Star Mutual Fund Manager by USA TODAY. Additionally, he is regularly featured and quoted in a wide variety of broadcast and print publications and is a contributing columnist to Forbes.
Thomas G. Stemberg, Managing General Partner, Highland Consumer Fund
Tom Stemberg pioneered the office superstore industry when he opened the first Staples store in 1986. Under Tom’s tenure as CEO, Staples grew to more than 1,700 stores and numerous delivery businesses throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia, becoming one of just seven (7) companies in U.S. history to reach $3 billion in sales within 10 years. It is now a $23 billion Fortune 200 company.Eager to share his entrepreneurial experiences Tom joined Highland Capital Partners in 2005 as a Venture Partner. In 2007, Tom launched the $300 million Highland Consumer Fund to focus exclusively on consumer products, services and retail investment opportunities. Tom currently represents Highland on the boards of City Sports, Guitar Center, lululemon athletica (Nasdaq: LULU), Pharmaca and StriVectin.
Dedicated to providing advice and guidance to entrepreneurs, Tom is a member of the Board of Directors at CarMax (NYSE: KMX) and PetSmart (Nasdaq: PETM). Additionally, he has helped start Olly shoes, an innovative children’s shoe retailer that uses a patented custom fitting process.
Tom has twice been recognized by Worth magazine as one of the most accomplished CEOs and by Boston magazine as the city’s best CEO. Additionally, he has been named to Babson College’s Entrepreneurial Hall of Fame and is a recipient of the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award.
Tom is a trustee of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and maintains close ties to his alma mater, Harvard University, where he serves on the Overseers Committee to Visit Harvard College, Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors and is a member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) Financial Aid Task Force.
Richard Wagoner, Private Investments
G. Richard "Rick" Wagoner was elected General Motors chairman and chief executive on May 1, 2003. He had been president and chief executive since June 2000. Mr. Wagoner stepped down on March 29, 2009.Mr. Wagoner was elected president and chief operating officer in 1998 and had been executive vice president of GM and president of North American Operations since 1994. He served as executive vice president and chief financial officer from 1992 to 1994 and also had responsibility for worldwide purchasing from 1993 to 1994.
Mr. Wagoner was president and managing director of General Motors do Brasil (GMB) in 1991 and 1992. Prior to that, he was vice president in charge of finance for General Motors Europe based in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1989 and 1990.
Born in Wilmington, Del., on February 9, 1953, and raised in Richmond, Va., Mr. Wagoner received a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University in 1975 and a master's degree in business administration from Harvard University in 1977.
Mr. Wagoner began his GM career as an analyst in the treasurer's office in New York in 1977. After several promotions there, in 1981 he became treasurer of GMB in São Paulo. In 1984, he became executive director of finance for GMB. He moved to GM of Canada Ltd. in 1987 as vice president and finance manager. In October 1988, he became group director, strategic business planning, for the former Chevrolet-Pontiac-GM of Canada Group.
Mr. Wagoner is a member of the board of trustees of Duke University, the Tsinghua School of Economics and Management Advisory Board, the Board of Dean's Advisors of the Harvard Business School, and the Mayor of Shanghai's International Business Leaders Advisory Council. He is chairman of the Society of Automotive Engineers A World In Motion Executive Committee, and a member of the Business Council, the Business Roundtable, and the Detroit Renaissance Executive Committee.
Don Wagner, Private Investments
Don Wagner is a private investor and General Partner of Wagner Investments, L.P. He worked for Trico Industries, a New York Stock Exchange company, in various positions from 1970, including President from 1984 – 1990. He acquired CST Industries from Trico Industries in 1990 and sold the company in 2006.Formerly Chairman of the Boys and Girls Club Board of Greater Kansas City and Friends of the Kansas City Zoo. Currently serves as a Board Member of United Missouri Bank, CST Industries, Inc., First Boston Pharma, B12 Capital Partners, TGP Investments, LLC, the National Association of Basketball Coaches Foundation, the University of Missouri at Kansas City, the University of Kansas Medical Center Advancement Board, the Police Foundation of Kansas City, and is a Trustee of Pembroke Hill School.
Don Wagner is a graduate of the University of Tulsa in 1967 and the Stanford Executive Program in 1989.