BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Six alumni of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business will be honored for professional achievement during the 50th Annual Alumni Awards Gala on Saturday, April 27, in Chicago.
Being named to the Kelley School of Business Academy of Alumni Fellows are:
- Fay Ferguson, (top row, left) co-CEO and co-owner of Burrell Communications Group based in Chicago. She earned an MBA from Kelley in 1978. Under her leadership, Burrell has consistently ranked among the top-performing multicultural agencies, attracting Fortune 100 companies such as Toyota, McDonald’s, Comcast XFINITY, Procter & Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline and Walmart. It has won more creative awards and built more No. 1 brands among African Americans than any other agency. Her honors include the Chicago Advertising Woman of the Year, the Chicago Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award, Advertising Working Mother of the Year, and History Makers, a lifetime achievement award.
- Larry Gerdes, (bottom row, left) chairman and CEO of Pursuant Health, an Atlanta-based healthcare data and services company. He received an MBA from Kelley in 1974 and spent his career building startup companies. He has invested in — and in some cases — been a board member and CEO of more than 60 startups predominately on the West Coast. Many of these companies have become public, and a few have grown past $1 billion in annual revenue.
- Ian Lee, (center, top row) chief executive officer of Asia Pacific, The Adecco Group, with overall responsibility for the group’s general and professional staffing business in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. He joined The Adecco Group in September 2017 as president for its China operations after 14 years with the Whirlpool Corp. and 13 years with Procter & Gamble. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance with honors (magna cum laude) in 1989 from Kelley and went on to complete an MBA in finance there in 1990.
- Michael Petrie, (bottom row, center) chairman and CEO of Merchants Bancorp and Merchants Bank of Indiana, a $3.9 billion bank headquartered in Carmel, Indiana, and chairman and CEO of Merchants Capital Corp., a mortgage banking firm specializing in multifamily housing and health care facilities finance. He received a bachelor’s degree in finance in 1979 and an MBA in 1983, both from Kelley. He serves on the national board for the IU Varsity Club and the advisory board for the IU Center for Real Estate Studies.
The 2019 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award will be presented to Richard L. Johnson, (bottom row, right) president and CEO of Johnson Ventures, Inc., an operating and investment company based in Columbus, Indiana. Its current operating companies include Johnson Agricultural, Lenny’s Franchise Systems, and Black Jewell Popcorn. He has served through the IU Foundation, the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and IUPUC. He was instrumental in efforts to establish the J. Irwin Miller Master of Architecture Program in Columbus. He earned a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship and marketing from Kelley in 1981.
Katharine Finn, (top, right) a senior consultant in strategy and analytics office at Deloitte Consulting LLP, based in Chicago, will receive the Volunteer Leadership Award. She earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems in 2014. She has served as the KSB Alumni Association Analytics Council chair for the last two years and is an advisor for the Kelley Institute of Business Analytics.
“For 50 years, the Kelley School has been honoring alumni who have excelled in their professional lives and who help promote Kelley’s culture of collaboration and support,” said Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the Kelley School and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management. “With nearly 115,000 living alumni, it’s a formidable network. These six honorees represent the best qualities of a Kelley School graduate – they have talent, tenacity, and humility – as well as a drive to improve their companies and communities. We’re proud they are part of the Kelley family.”
Event sponsors
The platinum sponsor of the 2019 Kelley Alumni Awards Gala is Burrell Communications Group. Gold sponsors are Alvarez & Marshal, CIBC Bank USA, Deloitte, Eli Lilly and Co., FedEx Corp., Johnson Ventures Inc., MasterBrand Cabinets Inc., Merchants Bank of Indiana, Tire Rack and Wing Tai Holdings Ltd. Silver sponsors are Bloomington Brands, Grant Thornton, IU Alumni Association, Jack Link’s, Markey’s Rental & Staging and Visit Bloomington. Bronze sponsors are Barnes & Thornburg, Hammond, Kennedy, Whitney & Co., IU Credit Union, Monroe Capital LLC, Seed Strategy, Seneca Capital LLC and Taft Law.