Warrington restructures advisory board to lean on active leadership

Warrington is reorganizing its Advisory Council to lean on prominent business leaders around the world. In his first year as dean, Saby Mitra noticed the opportunity to engage with industry executives and continue to strengthen the College’s position as a global leader in business education.

The council will have an executive group, led by CITY Furniture CEO Keith Koenig, who will serve as Chair. Retired CEO of Accenture North America Jorge Benitez will serve as vice chair while The Heavener Company CEO Bill Heavener will serve as past chair.

“Bill and Jorge and I have met and gotten aligned with Saby and Jon [Cannon, Executive Director of Development and Alumni Affairs], so we all hope to play meaningful roles in helping UF Warrington strive to be #1,” Koenig said. “The council members have a vast network of friends and partners that we can all leverage to open doors and make connections.”

Warrington’s new Advisory Council will be made up of 36 alumni and friends of the College who will serve three-year terms. Each person will be on one of four committees – branding and communications, corporate connections, philanthropy and engagement, or diversity, equity and inclusion. These groups will help guide the College into the future in their area of expertise.

“We can provide valuable insight on what business needs and where the opportunities are,” Koenig said. “We can be the practical connection between the business school and business. We are starting with four committees that will set clear and measurable goals to drive this performance.

“And, in true Gator fashion, we plan to do it while having fun!”

See all of the prominent business leaders that make up the Warrington Advisory Council:

• Bill Alcorn (Retired, SVP, Controller and Chief Procurement Officer, JCPenney)

• Drew Asher (EVP & CFO, Centene Corp./CEO, Envolve Pharmacy Solutions)

• Jorge Benitez (Director, World Fuel Services; Director, FifthThird Bank; Retired, CEO North America, Accenture)

• Brent Berthy (General Manager, Philips; Founder, Invivo Corp.)

• Laurie Burns (Founder & CEO, LBB Growth Partners; Director, Service Properties Trust; Retired, SVP, Chief Development Officer, Darden Restaurants, Inc.)

• Al Callier (Head of Business Development & Digital Innovation, JIFFY.ai)

• Janice Cellier (Retired, Divisional Sales Director, National Wires Division, Invesco)

• Suzanne Christensen (Chief Risk Officer, Invesco)

• Cheryl Cook (SVP of Global Channel, Dell Technologies)

• Coleman Cordell (Managing Director and Head of Florida Public Finance Group, Bank of America)

• John H. Dasburg (Private Investor, Dasburg Capital Partners)

• John P. Dasburg (Private Investor, Dasburg Capital Partners)

• Glenn Freed (Chief Investment Strategist, Syntax Advisors)

• Scott Friedman (Co-Founder, Soroban Capital)

• Jeff Gold (Retired President & CEO, Myoscience)

• Bill Heavener (CEO, The Heavener Companies; Co-Chairman, & CEO, Full Sail University)

• Keith Koenig (CEO, CITY Furniture)

• Chip Lane (Owner, Sealane Marketing)

• Andria Long (Owner, Andria Long & Co.)

• Joe Marconi (Managing Director, Bain Capital Real Estate)

• Linda McGurn (Principal, McGurn Investment Co.)

• Joelen Merkel (Retired, SVP & Treasurer, Chris Craft Industries [now News Corp.])

• Chris Meyer (CFO, Bloomin’ Brands)

• Tony Milikin (Chief Procurement Officer, ABInBev)

• Bill Muir (Director, SYKES; Retired, COO, Jabil Circuit, Inc.)

• Ben Plotkin (Executive Vice President, Stifel Nicolaus & Vice-Chairman, Stifel Financial)

• Charlie Poe (Chief Investment Officer at Grand Central Investment Group, LLC)

• Steve Rainey (Partner, Global COO, Tax & Legal Services, KPMG)

• Alison Rand (CFO, Primerica)

• Gary Rappeport (CEO & Principal, Far Horizons Capital)

• Rick Scarola (Co-Founder & Principal, Covenant Capital Group. LLC)

• Alex Smith (Partner & Senior Advisor, Brown Advisory)

• Larry Smith (Chairman & CIO, Third Wave Global; Chairman of the Board, White Plains Hospital)

• Allan Vigil (Owner, Vigil Ford)

• Mike Watford (Retired, CEO, Ultra Petroleum [now PureWest])

In addition to the 36 individuals on the Advisory Council, 20 business leaders serve as life members:

• Kelley Bergstrom (President, Bergstrom Investment Management, LLC)

• Nathan Collier (Principal & Chairman, The Collier Companies)

• Dan DuPree (Chairman; Preferred Apartment Communities)

• Debbie Ferree (Vice Chairman, Designer Brands Inc.; President, Camuto Group)

• Fred Fisher (Retired, CFO & Vice Chairman, U.S. Home Corporation)

• Tom Frankland (Retired, President, Mercantile Bank)

• Brian Gamache (Retired, Chairman & CEO, WMS Industries, Inc.)

• Jim Hammel (Owner, Blue Water Holdings Inc.)

• Mason Hawkins (Chairman, Southeastern Asset Management, Inc.)

• Tom Johnson (President, La Hacienda Del Cielo, LLC)

• Bob Lanzillotti (Dean Emeritus, Warrington College of Business)

• Eric Mandelblatt (Co-Founder/Co-CEO, Soroban Capital Partners)

• Ken McGurn (President, McGurn Investment Co.)

• Dave Miller, Jr. (D.F. Miller Development Company)

• Al Pareira (CEO, Florida Atlantic Securities Corp.)

• M. G. Sanchez (Director, Florida Capital Bank)

• Andrea Spottswood (Partner, Moore & Spottswood, C.P.A.’s)

• Charles Stuzin (President, SF Partners, Inc.)

• Tommy Thompson (President, Thompson Homes Inc.)

• George Wilson (Retired, President & CEO, Equitrac Corp.)