Joseph A. Alutto is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Max M. Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Prior to that, he served as interim president of the university from July 2013 through June 2014, the second time he has served in that capacity. He previously served as interim president of the university from July 2007 through September 2007.

From October 2007 through June 2013, Dr. Alutto served as the university’s executive vice president and provost. As executive vice president and provost, Dr. Alutto was the chief officer for all academic functions of the university, including coordinating all budgeting expenditures as chair of the university’s Integrated Financial Planning Committee. He is the second-longest serving provost in the history of the university.

Prior to these earlier appointments, Dr. Alutto was dean of Ohio State’s Max M. Fisher College of Business for 16 years. He was named the John W. Berry, Sr. Chair in Business in 1999. Before coming to Ohio State, Dr. Alutto was the Clarence S. Marsh Professor of Management at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he focused on Sino-U.S. joint ventures and the relationships between improvement processes and corporate performance. He also served as dean of the SUNY-Buffalo School of Management from 1976 to 1990. Dr. Alutto received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Manhattan College, a master’s degree in industrial relations from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Cornell University.

In July 1998, Dr. Alutto was named executive dean for the professional colleges at The Ohio State University. While continuing to serve as dean of the Fisher College, Dr. Alutto also coordinated the activities of the Colleges of Engineering; Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; Education and Human Ecology; Law; and Social Work and represented the interests of those colleges in university-wide decision-making bodies.

In addition to his experience as an administrator, Dr. Alutto is a leading authority on managerial behavior, having coauthored a book on research methods in organizational research and published more than 65 articles in academic journals such as Administrative Science Quarterly, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, and Industrial and Labor Relations Review. He has lectured widely in China on management issues and was part of the U.S. Department of Commerce and People’s Republic of China State Economic Commission’s National Center for Science and Technology Management Development. He pioneered the first Sino-U.S. jointly funded MBA program offered in the People’s Republic of China in 1984. In 1985, Dr. Alutto was appointed to the Dalian Behavioral Sciences Association, served as the first international dean and International Advisory Committee for the Dalian University School of Management and Economics, served as a visiting professor at the College of Management, Zhejiang University, and lectured widely throughout China. He has been a visible and active advocate for advanced management education and research in China.

Dr. Alutto has served as a consultant to banks, manufacturing firms, aerospace companies, health care agencies, and educational institutions. He currently serves on a number of corporate and public boards, including Columbia Gas of Ohio; Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority; and The Children’s Place. He is active as a national labor arbitrator through the American Arbitration Association and Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services and has served in leadership capacities for a wide variety of voluntary organizations. He is a member of the Academy of Management, Labor and Employment Relations Association, and American Association for the Advancement of Science. He was president of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business from October 1996 to June 1998. He was the Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters Degrees from Manhattan College (1994) and Honorary Doctorate in Education by Ohio State University (2014).

Stuart Burgdoerfer served as Chief Financial Officer of L Brands Inc. for 14 years retiring in August, 2021. Named one of America’s Best CFO’s by Institutional Investor on multiple occasions, Burgdoerfer also served as interim CEO of Victoria’s Secret in 2020 improving profitability by more than $400 million. In 2020 and 2021, he also led the process to separate Bath & Body Works and Victoria’s Secret into two independent public companies working closely with the Board, other senior leaders, outside bankers and counsel. Improved performance and the valuation benefits of BBW and VS trading independently delivered $16 Billion of equity value in the 12 months ended August 6, 2021

Burgdoerfer has been a Board Member of Progressive Insurance Company since 2009 and now serves as Chair of its Audit Committee. His experience includes work as a CPA at Deloitte, as a management consultant and in financial leadership roles at PepsiCo/YUM Brands subsidiary Pizza Hut and as Senior Vice President at The Home Depot.

Mr. Burgdoerfer’s Board experience also includes service as a member of the Boards of Galyan’s Trading Company (Nasdaq:GLYN), Spelman College and KIPP Columbus.

Burgdoerfer holds an undergraduate degree from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

Jody Davids is the former Senior Vice President, Chief Information Officer for PepsiCo. During her tenure, Davids rebuilt the company’s IT leadership team, significantly improved serves and systems stability, and worked closely with the PepsiCo executive team to build a three-year technology strategy to simplify and standardize their global business processes.

Prior to PepsiCo, Davids served as the Chief Information Officer for Agrium, Inc. While there, she combined two highly disparate IT organizations to form one high-performing team which streamlined the company’s cost model. Davids also developed and delivered a technology strategy incorporating big data as the next platform for revenue growth.

Before her time at Agrium, Inc., Davids spent three years at Best Buy where her time culminated with Senior Vice President, Global Business Services, CIO. Before Best Buy, she spent nine years at Cardinal Health where she attained the role of Executive Vice President, Global Shared Services and CIO.  She also held leadership roles at Nike, Inc., and Apple Computer, Inc.

Davids’ ability to develop best-in-class cost and delivery models for IT functions has been a proven part of her career. Her knack for developing leadership and customer-focused capabilities have also been important to Davids’ career success.

She serves on the boards for Premier, Inc., and Eyes of Freedom. She holds her MBA and BA in Business Administration from San Jose State University.

Davids is a Gold Star Mother and currently resides in New Albany, Ohio.

Deborah Liebert Karl was the Chair of the Campaign for Every Individual on the Ashland University’s Board of Trustees. In addition, she serves on the Recreation Unlimited Board of Trustees, a non-profit organization serving individuals with physical and developmental disabilities in Ashley, Ohio.

Karl’s spirit for service doesn’t end there. From 2003 – 2008, she served on the Ashland University Alumni Board of Directors where she was a part of the College of Education campaign.

An avid advocate for veteran services, Karl worked to support the creation of the Military Veterans Resource Center on Ashland University’s campus. The center welcomes and receives veterans as they transition from military service to campus life including recruitment, admission, registration and GI Bill processing, financial aid, academic advising, accessibility services, mental health counseling and career development.

Karl’s veteran support work is in honor and memory of her late father Jack W. Liebert who served in the Navy during World War II and enlisted in the Korean War.

A former educator, Karl has a BSc in Secondary Education and Teaching from Ashland University.

Ami G. Scott is a Consultant and Coach at Volta Talent Strategies in Washington, DC. In her role, Scott is part of the team responsible for developing and strengthening attorneys in various roles — firm leaders, partners, and even general counsel and in-house lawyers.

Before Volta, Scott was Finance Partner at Schiff Hardin LLP in Washington, DC. In her role, Scott has represented the likes of institutional investors in a large volume of domestic and cross-border private placement transactions; farm credit bank in over $1.75 billion of secured and unsecured financings provided to rural electric cooperatives; and a group of private equity funds in connection with several subscription credit facilities secured by investor capital commitments and the right to make capital calls, among others.

Prior to joining Schiff Hardin LLP, Scott held roles as Finance Associate, Partner for Associate Career Development, and finally Finance Partner at Mayer Brown LLP in Chicago, IL. As the firm’s Partner for Associate Career Development, she advised firm management on responses to the 2008 recession; researched best practices for and helped lead the development and implementation of a competencies-based evaluation system; coordinated new associate integration; provided one-on-one career coaching; developed and facilitated firm-wide career development presentations; ensured delivery of substantive legal training for associates of all levels; and coordinated outreach efforts for diverse law students. She also served on the firm’s partner-level Committee on Diversity and Inclusion for seven years focusing on the hiring, mentoring and retention of diverse attorneys, and spent over a decade on the Chicago office’s Recruiting Committee, interviewing at least 50 candidates each year.

Scott also spent two years at Dickinson Wright PLLC as Finance and Real Estate Associate.

She is the recipient of the Pacesetters Executive Award, the Diversity Business Award, and the Young Professional Achievement Award from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Scott was previously designated as an Illinois “Leading Lawyer” in baking by Chambers USA.

In addition to her day-to-day work, Scott serves on the Washington Performing Arts Board of Directors, the Dean’s Advisory Council for the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, and the Fisher Global Council for the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. Prior Board appointments include KidPower DC, the President’s Club Advisory Board at The Ohio State University, Link Unlimited, Academy for Global Citizenship, and the Alumni Society Board for the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University.

Scott received her BSBA/MBA from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University and earned her JD from the University of Michigan Law School.

Ilias Simpson is the President of Cart.com, a top provider of unified commerce and logistics software and services. Prior to this role, he was President and CEO of Radial Inc. and Modivcare Mobility.

Ilias also led bpost’s Parcels & Logistics North America division as CEO, overseeing subsidiaries such as Radial, Apple Express, FDM, Landmark Global, and The Mail Group.

Simpson is a member of the Group Executive Committee and has formerly held the position of Senior Vice President of Fulfillment Services at Radial. In his former role, he led Radial’s nationwide operations for fulfillment centers, network optimization, engineering, continuous improvement and project management.

Simpson has many years of experience in business development, lean implementation and growth strategies and held leadership positions at Ryder, Pentair, Halliburton and Cintas. Simpson earned an MBA degree from the University of Dayton and a BA degree in Sociology from the University of North Texas.

Simpson is also a member of the National Black MBA Association and holds certifications as a Six Sigma Green Belt and Bronze Lean Leader from the Association for Manufacturing Excellence. He is a decorated veteran of the U.S. Air Force.

For more than 40 years, Jesse Tyson has been a thought leader, business strategist and implementer. Through technological innovation, keen business strategy and aggressive business tactics, his career grew from an early interest in marketing and sales with initial successes in sales strategy and operations; to his regional expertise in energy policy, to leading road transportation, safety and efficiency operations at the world’s largest oil and gas corporation, ExxonMobil.

Tyson’s acumen for not only business operations, but strategy, also put him in the position of leading the Global Aviation business for ExxonMobil based in Brussels, Belgium, where he worked across multiple industry groups developing strategic customer segmentation solutions, operations and shareholder return requirements. He directed a $10 billion business with clients in over 50 countries and 500 locations that delivered significant double digit returns for ExxonMobil and over $30 million per year in operating efficiencies.

Prior to relocating to Brussels Belgium, Jesse Tyson served in many positions within ExxonMobil, with responsibilities in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Africa and the USA. Mr. Tyson led the South America Fuels Marketing efforts for ExxonMobil as Marketing Director and President of ExxonMobil Inter‐America. As chief of the ExxonMobil South America Fuels group, his focus areas included retail fuels. He represented ExxonMobil as a spokesperson with the Council of the Americas, the US Department of Commerce, the US Department of State and the US Department of Energy. Earlier in his career, Mr. Tyson served as the Global Customer Service and Logistics Manager with functional responsibility for operations, road transportation and order-to-cash management. In this position, he pioneered ExxonMobil’s global call center consolidations project, consolidating 40 global call centers into 9 central facilities across the world.

In 2011, Jesse announced his retirement from a 35-year career at ExxonMobil as the Global Aviation Director to begin a new chapter in his life, philanthropy. Jesse Tyson has received numerous awards for his philanthropic work and benevolence. Black Enterprise magazine named Tyson “one of the most influential people of the 20th century.” Most recently, he received The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Global Diversity Award and the Pacesetter Award and the 100 Black Men of America Lifetime Achievement Award for Community Service. He is a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated, where he participates in the development of leaders, promotes brotherhood and academic excellence, while providing service and advocacy for diverse, multicultural communities

In addition, Jesse is the former President and CEO of the National Black MBA Association®, the largest association of MBA graduates in the United States. He developed strategic partnerships that resulted in the creation of intellectual and economic wealth in the black community through the NBMBAA®’s five channels of engagement: education, career, leadership, entrepreneurship, and lifestyle.

Mike Carrell completed a successful Air Force career in Air Operations, operational planning, headquarters staff, and education, retiring as a Colonel. Following these 23 years in the military, Carrell developed and launched The Ohio State University’s Military and Veterans Office which is a top-tier national exemplar (rated #1 in the nation for two years). He has also been instrumental in building cross-university organizations as the founder of the Ohio Veteran Education Council and the Big 10’s Military Office Alliance. Carrell worked closely with state leaders to develop, and co-chair, the Ohio Department of Higher Education’s Military Strategic Implementation Team (MSIT) to promote policy and programs for military members and their families across all 36 public institutions. In addition, Carrell has served as a senior academic administrator, professor, and department chair at Ohio State.

Before joining the NVLF as a volunteer, Becki Crowell retired from The Ohio State University after 34 years of service. In her various roles in the Office of the President and the Office of Advancement, Crowell’s responsibilities included developing and implementing strategies to cultivate, solicit and steward donors to the University; planning and executing meetings, events and other key donor engagement activities; and the strategic management of schedules of the President and other University leaders.

Keenan Delaney brings more than 35 years of experience in the sports/entertainment industry to his work with NVLF. He founded The Rockridge Group, a consulting firm, specializing in sports marketing, brand partnerships, talent marketing and event production. He served as Vice President, Public Affairs for Dallas-based Affiliated Computer Services. During his career, he also worked for the 1996 Atlanta Centennial Olympic Games and the SFX Sports Group. Delaney began his career in intercollegiate athletics at the University of Michigan and the University of Minnesota.

Laura Gaines is an accomplished professional with more than 21 years of experience in customer service management, business administration, project and systems management, corporate receivables, and training. An alumna of Ohio State University and a dedicated military spouse, Laura has a deep-seated passion for supporting military families. She has a vested interest in developing community programs and events that benefit veterans, service members, spouses, and their families.

At the National Veterans Leadership Foundation, Laura serves as a Program Assistant. She works closely with our partner universities, Military Community Advocates (MCA), the Leadership Fellows, and the Advancement Institute in this role. Additionally, Laura plays a crucial role in managing the administration of grants and stipends for our partners, ensuring that our financial operations run smoothly and effectively.

Betsy Hubbard’s entrepreneurial career spans the private, public and nonprofit sectors. As a founder of Mindset Digital, she led an award-winning training and consulting firm, recognized in 2018 by Ernst & Young as one North America’s top female entrepreneurs. Prior to this, Hubbard transformed the Ohio State’s Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at into the first social media program for journalists. As a Program Officer at The Pew Charitable Trusts, Hubbard initiated and led a funding program on the civic engagement of young adults. She began her career working in economic development on the state and federal levels.

James “Jim” Miller has 35 years serving in a number of key leadership roles at The Ohio State University. Most recently, Jim served as Associate to the Dean for The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. In his role, Miller oversaw all activities related to development, marketing, and external relationships of the college.

During the past five years, Miller’s strategic acumen, relationship building, and out-of-the-box thinking has led the Fisher College to the highest gift total in history, development of plans to renovate the University’s flagship Blackwell Hotel, launch of the Fisher Global Council, the Fisher Leadership Initiative, and the naming of the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship.

Before joining the Fisher College of Business, Miller held leadership roles in the Office of Technology Commercialization and Office of the CFO where his guidance created a roadmap for change resulting in $650 million of savings over a five-year period and identified private resources to advance university technologies.

His numerous accomplishments garnered him the 2012 Mayor’s Award for Patriotic Service, The Ohio State University Alumni Association Distinguished Alumni award, and award for service to students presented in the name of Josephine Failer.

Miller’s passion for veteran affairs inspired him to support the launch of the Major Lawrence Miller Veterans Community Advocacy Program at The Ohio State University and a number of other programs in honor of his father aimed at helping connect veterans and families to resources and experiences that will ensure our veteran students accomplish their mission of academic and professional success.

Hank Wilson is a communications specialist whose diverse skills include photojournalism, graphic art, videography, web design and development, print design and journalism. He has been the director of communications at The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs and a Knight Digital Media Fellow in the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism also at The Ohio State University.

He was one of the senior editors on the Pulitzer Prize-winning team for Public Service at The Charlotte Observer. His journalism experience includes working at the Milwaukee Journal, the Baltimore Evening Sun, the Arkansas Democrat, Treasure Coast Newspapers in Florida, Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C., and the Roanoke Times in Virginia.

Rich Wurtzburger has more than 30 years of executive leadership, sales, marketing and licensing experience.

Currently Rich is the Co-founder and Director, Recruiting for Jump the Fence Recruiting working closely with NRG, the largest energy provider in the U.S., to bring them talent from across the country to hopefully become the next generation of leaders at NRG.

Prior to Jump The Fence Recruiting, Rich worked as the Global Ambassador of Sponsorships, Licensing & Human Spaceflight Travel for Axiom Space. Axiom is currently building the first commercial space station that will replace the International Space Station.

Before joining Axiom Space Rich spent 28 years in the apparel/fashion industry as a corporate EVP and President of licensing for Peerless Clothing Intl as well as EVP for PVH Corp. PVH at the time owned Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, Van Heusen, and numerous other global brands. Peerless Clothing is the largest men’s and boy’s tailored clothing manufacturer in the world with over 25 highly visible global and national brands.

In these roles, Rich was responsible for sales, marketing and licensing for brands such as Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Izod, Michael Kors, DKNY, Perry Ellis, Kenneth Cole, Van Heusen, Tallia, John Varvatos, Star Wars, Peanuts and many more. Rich has built strong relationships with most of the regular price, off-price and club retailers across the U.S.

Rich currently sits on the Board of Directors for the Ronald McDonald House New York and the New York District 20 Little League. He spent 22 years on the board for the National Father’s Day & Mother’s Day Council. Other boards have included The Shawn Grady Memorial Fund and Elmsford Little League.

Rich also enjoys mentoring young professionals and students. He has been a guest speaker at The Ohio State University, the University of Minnesota and Fordham University Law School.