Robins School of Business appoints seven local business leaders to its Executive Advisory Council

October 3, 2008

Seven local business leaders have been appointed to positions on the Robins School of Business Executive Advisory Council at the University of Richmond.

The council recommends outreach programs, advises the Robins School on curriculum enhancements and offers career guidance and mentoring to business students.

"We are honored to have such exceptional, high-caliber professionals join the council. With their input and guidance, we can provide continuous improvement throughout the Robins School and enhance the quality of education for our students, helping us to remain one of the top business schools in the country," said Jorge Haddock, the school's dean.

Robert G. Reynolds, principal of Reynolds Development, is the council's new chairman. At Reynolds Development, he is actively involved in the planning, financing, construction and management of Reynolds Crossing, a mixed use commercial development in Richmond. Reynolds is co-chairman of the annual Richmond Red Cross Charity Golf Classic and a board member of both the Greater Richmond Association of Commercial Real Estate and Advantage Virginia.

New council members include:

John Adams, The Martin Agency chairman and CEO—Adams has been with the agency more than 30 years and plays a key role in national accounts such as UPS, Hanes, Wal-Mart and GEICO. Adams has served on many boards, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts board of trustees and Longwood University's board of visitors. He is a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame.
Deborah Armstrong, Bank of America senior vice president, healthcare and institutions—Armstrong works with the bank's large Virginia-based nonprofit clients, representing the bank in the sale of various services such as credit, treasury and investments. She has held positions on various nonprofit boards, with a primary interest in the arts.
Brad Booker, SunTrust Bank executive vice president of commercial—Booker leads SunTrust's regional commercial group serving Central Virginia. He has worked in banking 36 years, 31 of them with SunTrust in a variety of positions including compensation, benefits, credit administration, corporate banking and regional commercial banking. Booker has served on a number of boards, including currently with the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce.
Mark S. Cross, MeadWestvaco Packaging senior vice president—Cross joined MeadWestvaco in 2006 as senior vice president for emerging markets after holding positions around the world. He assumed his current role April 2007. He serves several professional associations and is a trustee of the Children's Museum of Richmond and director of the University of Maine Pulp & Paper Foundation.
Joel Mier, Genworth Financial vice president, global customer insights—Since joining Genworth in 2007, Mier has focused on strategies to make the company an industry-leading, consumer-oriented firm. Previously, he worked for Netflix, Adobe Systems, Gartner Group and other corporations.
Kim Scheeler, Greater Richmond Chamber president and CEO—Scheeler joined the Richmond chamber in August 2008, after seven years leading the Greater Tampa Chamber. He also serves on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Committee of 100 and Emerging Technologies Committee, as well as the American Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He also is member of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau and Greater Richmond Partnership boards and the Richmond Symphony Council.
Craig Smith, Owens & Minor president and chief executive officer—Smith joined Owens & Minor in 1989, becoming executive vice president-COO in 1995, president-COO in 1999 and president-CEO in 2005. An active volunteer, he serves on the board of the Virginia Bio-Technology Research Park Corp. and was appointed to the Healthcare Reform Commission for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Smith is on the board of Venture Richmond, a community development organization.