Nine Kelley alumni among Savoy’s ‘2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors’

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Nine alumni of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business are among Savoy magazine’s 2021 Most Influential Black Corporate Directors.

As the leading business magazine reporting on African American success and achievement, Savoy’s Most Influential Black Corporate Directory is a prestigious listing of executives, influencers, and achievers active on the boards of the world’s leading corporations and organizations.

“The Kelley School is so very proud of our alumni who were recognized on this prestigious list for their service on some of the country’s most important boards,” said Idalene “Idie” Kesner, dean of the Kelley School and the Frank P. Popoff Chair of Strategic Management. “Their board contributions are an outgrowth of their outstanding contributions to some of the country’s top organizations in business and government and an outgrowth of their significant contributions to community service. They also reflect the importance of inclusion in corporate governance, which is vital to these companies’ success.

“We thank those who were honored by this recognition for representing the Kelley School in such a distinguished way,” Kesner added. “They serve as role models to our students, who we hope will follow in their footsteps.”

Besides Kelley alumni, others featured in Savoy’s list include Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, acclaimed rapper and co-founder and majority owner of entertainment company Roc Nation LLC; Kenneth I. Chenault, former chairman and CEO of American Express; Kenneth Frazier, executive chairman of Merck; Ann C. Jenkins, CEO of AARP; and Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League.

Savoy’s list also includes a former Poling Chair at Kelley, Mae C. Jemison, the first woman of color to go into space and president and CEO of The Jemison Group, Inc.

Kelley is well represented on Savoy’s list, with nearly as many alumni being recognized as those from Purdue University, the University of Notre Dame, Wabash College and Indiana State University combined (10 total). In addition, there were five alumni on the list from other schools at IU.

Anton Vincent, president of Mars Wrigley North America and a 1993 MBA graduate, said Savoy’s list is a testament to the “great, elite education” that he and his peers received in Kelley’s Full-Time MBA Program.

“When I was at Kelley, it prepared us not just to be good at our jobs, but to be leaders and to have high expectations and expand what leadership means,” Vincent said. “It’s certainly in the DNA of how we think about trained leaders at Kelley and I can trace it back to my time at Kelley.”

Vincent is quick to acknowledge support he received from two mentors he had while he was a Kelley student — admissions director Pat Mullholland and Allyn Curry, who was instrumental in creating and enhancing diversity initiatives at Kelley for 30 years. Both are now retired.

“Both were essential in the development of all the Savoy honorees’ success,” he said. “They were at the school during a similar time and had a disproportionate impact on the success of students of color. This success couldn’t be possible for any of the honorees without them.”

Another Kelley alumnus who is in Savoy’s list, Darryl Wilson, a 1992 MBA graduate who retired from GE in 2017 as vice president and chief commercial officer of GE Power, added, “Kelley continues to develop, nurture, attract and graduate some of the best and brighter business minds. I think the results speak for themselves and we are all better as a result of our Kelley experience. Kelley continues to lead, evolve and challenge in the world of business.

“That these successful alumni are included in this illustrious list is a demonstration of the talent that Kelley attracts and develops. I am proud to know my fellow Kelleys who were recognized and proud to call them friends,” Wilson added.

Here’s who’s on Savoy’s list from Kelley:

• Brian P. Anderson, an MBA finance graduate who graduated with honors in 1976, who has been executive vice president of finance and chief financial officer of OfficeMax, Inc.; senior vice president and CFO of Baxter International; and an audit partner with Deloitte, where he spent 15 years. In 2002, Anderson was named to Fortune magazine’s “Top 50 Most Powerful Black Executives in Corporate America” and was the inaugural recipient of the “Chief Financial Officer of the Year” awarded by the Chicago chapter of the National Investor Relations Institute and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He serves on board of directors for Stericycle, Inc., PulteGroup, Inc. and W. W. Grainger, Inc., and on the governing board for the Center for Audit Quality.
• Barry Granger, managing partner and co-founder of B3 Technology Investments, a start-up private equity firm. After earning an MBA from Kelley in 1987 with a major in operations management, Granger worked for more than 35 years at the DuPont Company and the Dow Chemical Company. Most recently, he served as DuPont’s vice president for government marketing and government affairs and as vice president and general manager of its Nonwovens business unit. He serves on board of directors for Black Hills Corporation and is a member of the Kelley Dean’s Council.
• Ted Manvitz, former group executive vice president and chief strategy officer for IHS Holding Plc. A 2002 MBA graduate, he was responsible for IHS Towers’ new growth initiatives, business development, M&A and strategy functions and previously served as the group’s chief financial officer, chief investment officer and chief operating officer. Before joining IHS Towers in 2009, he was the managing director at ARM Capital Partners in Nigeria, where he led Investment AB Kinnevik’s private equity investments in West and Central Africa. He serves on the board of directors for Sallie Mae.
• Ernest Marshall, executive vice president and chief human resources officer for Eaton, a power management company. A 1997 MBA graduate, he previously served as vice president, human resources leader for GE Aviation, with global HR responsibility for more than 45,000 employees. He serves on the boards of Republic Bank & Trust Company and the Kindway Organization and on the board of trustees of Bellarmine University. He also holds a law degree from the IU Maurer School of Law.
• Deidra Merriwether, chief financial officer of W.W. Grainger, Inc., a worldwide business-to-business distributor of maintenance, repair and operating products and related services. She earned an MBA at Kelley in 1997, majoring in finance and operations management. She has been with Granger since 2013 and previously served as senior vice president and president of direct sales and strategic initiatives. She serves as executive sponsor of Grainger’s Women’s Business Resource Group and on the board of the Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago.
• Derica Rice, a 1990 MBA graduate who has spent more than 30 years as a health care executive, including a 27-year career at Eli Lilly and Co. He most recently served as the executive vice president of CVS Health and president of CVS Caremark, the company’s pharmacy benefits management business. He currently serves as a member of the board of directors for the Walt Disney Co., Target Corp. and Bristol Myers Squibb Co. Earlier this year, he and his wife Robin made a $1 million gift to Kelley to support students who are MBA students and fellows of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management.
• Kim Seymour, chief people officer at WW (formerly Weight Watchers), where she leads the global human capital strategy with a strong emphasis on talent and leadership. The 1997 MBA graduate has spent more than 20 years as a change agent, driving the evolution of human resources teams to strongly contribute to business strategy and anticipate the ever-changing business environment. Prior to joining WW, Seymour held successive executive roles at American Express, The Home Depot and General Electric. She serves on the board of directors for RHR International.
• Anton Vincent, president of the world’s largest confectionery company, Mars Wrigley North America. The 1993 MBA graduate previously was CEO of Greencore USA, a fresh convenience food supplier, and spent 20 years at General Mills, where he oversaw the Snacks, Frozen Frontier and Baking Divisions as President, and became a founding member of General Mills’ renowned Black Champions Network (BCN). He serves on the board of directors for the International Paper Company and is a member of the Kelley Dean’s Council.
• Darryl L. Wilson, who retired from GE in 2017 after serving the company in a variety of executive leadership roles,  including as vice president and chief commercial officer of GE Power. Prior to that role he was vice president and chief commercial officer of GEs’ Energy Connections and Distributed Power divisions. From 2008 to 2013, he was president and CEO of GE Aeroderivative Products. From 2002- 2008 he served as president and CEO of GE Consumer and Products Europe, Middle East and Africa, based in Budapest, Hungary and London, England and also served as president and CEO of GE Consumer and Industrial Asia & India based in Shanghai, China. The 1992 MBA graduate. He also sits on the Board of Nextera Energy, is the chairman of the board of directors for the Houston branch of the Dallas Federal Reserve Bank and sits on the Houston Endowment Board. He previously sat on the Kelley School Dean’s Council, Houston Partnership and Houston Food Bank Boards.