RICHARD T. FARMER

Founder and Chairman Emeritus
Cintas Corporation
Mason, Ohio

As the founder and chairman emeritus of Cintas corporation, Richard T. Farmer has created and guided a dynamic company that today is the largest in its industry. Cintas provides highly specialized services to more than 800,000 businesses throughout North America and was recently named among Fortune magazine's list of "America's Most Admired companies" for the ninth consecutive year.

Upon graduating from Miami University in 1956 and being honorably discharged from the U.S. Marine Corps, Farmer joined his family's business. He worked in the company for 11 years, eventually rising to become president of the company. In 1968 he left the business to test new concepts and systems that ultimately revolutionized the industry.

Within two years, Farmer's new company was so successful that it acquired the Farmer family's business.

Under Farmer's leadership, Cintas has grown to over $3.5 billion in revenue. Cintas today is more than 30,000 people strong and maintains more than 400 locations.

Farmer was inducted into the Greater Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame in 1996, named Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year in 1995, and honored by the Cincinnati USA Regional chamber in 2010 as one of the Great Living Cincinnatians. He is the recipient of Doctor of Laws degrees from Miami University and Xavier University, CEO of the Year awards from Financial World magazine in 1994 and 1995, and the 1992 Executive of the Year Award from Sales and Marketing Executives Cincinnati. In 1999, United Way of Greater Cincinnati thanked Farmer for his steady friendship by presenting him with its Alexis de Tocqueville Society Award.

Farmer was born in November 1934. He married Joyce Barnes in 1957. The couple has three children and 10 grandchildren. Their Farmer Family Foundation has provided grants and pledges to more than 200 organizations.

BRAD ALFORD

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Nestlé USA
Glendale, California

Brad Alford earned a Bachelor of Science in business at Miami in 1978 and an MBA from Indiana University in 1980.

In nearly three decades with Nestlé, SA, Alford held a series of key positions leading up to his current role as Chairman and CEO of Nestlé USA. The company, a unit of Swiss company Nestlé S.A., logged over $10 billion in sales in 2010.  It employs more than 25,000 people and operates 25 manufacturing facilities and 46 distribution centers nationwide.

Alford’s career in the food industry began in 1980, when he joined Carnation Company as a sales trainee, then became an associate product manager in the company’s pet foods division. After Nestlé S.A. acquired Carnation in 1985, Alford continued to serve in various marketing positions before transferring to Nestlé Australia in 1989 to lead sales and marketing for the Friskies PetCare Division.

Returning stateside in 1992, Alford was appointed President of the L.J. Minor Corporation, a component of Nestlé’s FoodServices Division. Two years later he was made a Vice President on special assignment for Nestlé USA, leading the company-wide continuous process improvement initiative.

In 1995 Alford rejoined Nestlé FoodServices as Executive Vice President and was named President the following year. In this position he was responsible for the division’s food service and industrial businesses as well as for corporate staffing groups.

Another international assignment sent Alford back to Australia in 1998 as Regional Head of the Nestlé Oceania market. Two years later he returned to the company’s North American headquarters as President of the Confections & Snacks Division for Nestlé USA. He was chosen to head Nestlé Brands Company in 2003 and was named to his current position in October, 2006.

JOHN W. ALTMAN

Entrepreneur and investor
Reno, Nevada

John Altman received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Miami University in 1960, later earning a master’s degree from Fuller Theological Seminary. He also completed the Owner/President Management Program, a three-year certificate program at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Business, and an entrepreneurship executive program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Business.

For more than three decades as a highly successful entrepreneur, Altman owned, founded, and/or was a partner in six businesses, two of which were ultimately sold to multinational companies. He also served as a senior manager of two multinational corporations, Rohm & Haas and ICI.

Altman has also taught extensively at the university level at Babson College, University of California-Berkeley, and Miami University, where he was the first Richard A. Forsythe Professor of Entrepreneurship. His impact on students was recognized through several teaching award nominations and the Associated Student Government Outstanding Teacher Award in 1994 as well as Miami greek associations’ Outstanding Faculty/Staff Award in 1997.

In addition to serving as the first director of the Thomas C. Page Center for Entrepreneurship, Altman was the first person to be inducted into the Miami University Academy of Entrepreneurs. Currently, he serves on the Miami University Foundation Board, and is Chairman of the John W. Altman Charitable Foundation. He has received honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees from Miami, Phillips Graduate Institute, and Sierra Nevada College.

C. MICHAEL ARMSTRONG

Chairman, Board of Trustees
Johns Hopkins Medicine, Health System Corp. and Hospital
Baltimore, Maryland

Mike Armstrong earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business and economics from Miami University in 1961 and completed the advanced management curriculum at Dartmouth Institute in 1976.

He is the retired Chairman and Director Emeritus of Comcast Corporation and the former Chairman and CEO of AT&T and Hughes Electronics. He spent more than three decades with IBM, beginning as a systems engineer and rising through the ranks to become Chairman of the Board of the IBM World Trade Corporation.

An active supporter of higher education and community activities, Armstrong is Vice Chairman, Johns Hopkins University, and Chair of the Corporate/Foundation Campaign at Miami University. He is co-founder and past President of ABC (A Better Chance) in Darien, Conn.

Armstrong has chaired the President's Export Council, the U.S.-Japan Business Council, and the FCC's Network Reliability and Interoperability Council. He is a former member of the Business Council, the Business Roundtable, The National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, and The Defense Policy Advisory Committee. He has been a visiting professor at MIT's Sloan School.

Currently, Armstrong serves on the board of directors of IHS (Information Handling Services), Parsons Corporation, IDS, The Philharmonic Center for the Arts (Naples, Florida), the Forum Club of Southwest Florida, and the Telluride Foundation. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and The Conference Board, and is a senior advisor at SV Investment Partners and Tudor Venture Capital.

He is the recipient of honorary Doctor of Laws degrees from Pepperdine University, Loyola Marymount University, Shenandoah University, and Miami University, as well as a Doctor of Engineering degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

DAVID CALHOUN

Chairman, Executive Board
Chief Executive Officer
The Nielsen Company, B.V.
Covington, Kentucky

After graduating from Virginia Tech in 1979, David Calhoun joined General Electric, where he held a wide range of operating, finance, and marketing positions across the corporation and within GE Plastics and GE Capital.

During his 26-year career with General Electric, Calhoun served as President and Chief Executive Officer of multiple business units, including GE Lighting, GE Employers Reinsurance Company, GE Aircraft Engines, GE Transportation (Aircraft and Rail), and ultimately, GE Infrastructure. Later, Calhoun served as Vice Chairman of The General Electric Company (GE) and as President and Chief Executive Officer of GE Infrastructure, the largest of six GE business units. Under his leadership, this business annually contributed more than $47 billion in revenues and $9 billion in profits to the company, driven by a team of more than 120,000 employees around the world.

In August of 2006, Calhoun was appointed to his current role, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Board of The Nielsen Company B.V. Nielsen, founded as the A.C. Nielsen Co. in 1923, now provides clients in 100 countries a complete view of what consumers watch and buy, through its measurement and information services.

Calhoun is the author of a book with Rick Kash: How Companies Win. He sits on the Board of Directors of The Boeing Corporation and of Medtronic, Inc. and is a member of Virginia Tech’s Pamplin Advisory Council, which advises the university on student and alumni issues.

ARTHUR D. COLLINS, JR.

Chairman (retired)
Medtronic, Inc.
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Since graduating from Miami University in 1969 with a B.S. degree in business administration, Art Collins has become a leader in the world of medical technology. Collins is the retired Chairman and CEO of Minneapolis-based Medtronic, Inc., the largest medical technology company in the world, with annual revenues of about $16 billion. The company has a presence in more than 120 countries and employs more than 39,000 people.

Medtronic is continually recognized for its strong corporate governance and its commitment to philanthropy and community involvement. In the 2006 Fortune magazine list of the “Most Admired” U.S. companies, Medtronic was first in its industry category.

After leaving Miami, Collins served as an officer in the U.S. Navy and then earned an MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his professional career as a consultant with Booz, Allen Hamilton’s Chicago office, then joined Abbott Laboratories, where he remained for 14 years, eventually becoming Corporate Vice President with responsibility for Abbott’s worldwide diagnostic business units.

In 1992 Collins accepted the position of Corporate Executive Vice President and President of Medtronic International. He became the corporate CEO in 2001 and Chairman in 2002.

Collins serves on the Boards of Directors of Alcoa, Inc., The Boeing Company, Cargill, Inc. and U.S. Bancorp. In addition, he is a Senior Advisor with Oak Hill Capital Partners, a New York-based private equity firm, and a member of the Board of Overseers of the Wharton School. He is the previous Chairman of AdvaMed, the medical technology industry association, and remains active in a variety of community and volunteer activities.

Collins was born in Lakewood, Ohio in 1947. He and his wife now live in Chicago and have two grown daughters.

SCOTT D. FARMER

President and CEO
Cintas Corporation
Mason, Ohio

Scott D. Farmer earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from Miami University in 1981.

Having spent the summers of his youth in Cintas’ uniform processing plant, Farmer grew up in the business he now runs. In 1981, he joined Cintas as a fulltime marketing trainee, and has since held several positions. In 1994, he was elected to the Board of Directors and in 1997, he was elected President and Chief Operating Officer. During his six years as COO, Cintas revenues nearly tripled—from $995 million to more than $2.6 billion.

Farmer was elected Chief Executive Officer and President in July 2003. Currently, Cintas revenues approach $4 billion; the company employs more than 30,000 people and maintains a network of more than 400 locations.

Active in The Commonwealth Club of Cincinnati, the American Society of Corporate Executives, and the Young President’s Organization, Farmer also serves as a director of The Christ Hospital, The Cincinnati Eye Bank, and Summer Hill Partners.

He has been recognized nationally for his commitment to diversity in the workplace, and helped direct Cintas’s humanitarian efforts that have provided clothing and medical supplies to more than 1.5 million people worldwide.

Farmer and his wife, Mary, have three children.

ROGER L. HOWE

President, Howe Investment Co.
Chairman (retired), U.S. Precision Lens, Inc.
Cincinnati, Ohio

After graduating in 1957 from Miami University with a BS in business, Roger Howe was employed for 13 years by the S.D. Warren Co., a Boston-based fine paper manufacturer. He worked in sales management, product management, and as Director of Advertising.

In 1970 Howe purchased U.S. Precision Lens, a small maker of plastic optics in Cincinnati, and built it into a world leader of innovative optical systems for the photographic, instrument, and television industries. In 1986 he sold the company to Corning, Inc. and remained as Chairman of the Board until his retirement in 1997.

He formerly served on the boards of Cintas Corp., Convergys, Taft Broadcasting, U.S. Shoe Corp., Great American Communications, Eagle Picher Industries, Cincinnati Bell, Baldwin Piano and Organ, and U.S. Bancorp.

In addition to his professional responsibilities, Howe has been active in health care as a board member of The Christ Hospital, The Elizabeth Gamble Deaconess Home Association, and the James N. Gamble Institute of Medical Research, including serving terms as Chairman of each of them. He was formerly a board member of the Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati.

Howe’s record of service to Miami University includes membership on the Business Advisory Council of the Farmer School of Business, the University Foundation Board, and the Board of Trustees, which he chaired for three years. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Miami in 1987 and was inducted into the Cincinnati Business Hall of Fame in 1998.

Howe and his wife, Joyce, have one son and two daughters.

 

RICHARD K. SMUCKER

Chief Executive Officer
J. M. Smucker Company
Orrville, Ohio

Richard Smucker earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Miami University in 1970, and then completed an MBA from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

He and his brother, Timothy, are the fourth generation of Smuckers to lead the food company launched by his great-grandfather, Jerome Monroe (J.M.) Smucker, in 1897. Until June, 2011, Richard Smucker shared CEO duties with his brother, and was Executive Chairman of the company; he then became sole CEO.

In 2009, Richard and his brother were named MarketWatch CEO of the Year.

Since joining the family business, Richard Smucker has held various financial and operational positions, including President, Treasurer, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. To keep J. M. Smucker growing and vital, he and his brother have spurred major acquisitions of compatible food companies, including Folgers, Jif, Crisco, Pillsbury, and Eagle Brand. Although the company’s product portfolio has changed in recent years, the company’s location has not. Its corporate headquarters are still in Orrville, the small northeast Ohio town where J.M. Smucker began.

Smucker is a director of The Sherwin-Williams Company, a Deputy Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.  He has also been involved with various charitable organizations.

He married the former Emily Delp (Miami ‘70), and they have one married daughter and two grandchildren.

David C. Hodge

President of Miami University since 2006. B.A., Macalester College 1970; M.A., 1973, and Ph.D., 1975, Pennsylvania State University.

Conrado (Bobby) Gempesaw

Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs since 2011; B.A., Ateneo de Davao University; M.A., West Virginia University; and Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 1983.

Roger L. Jenkins

Dean and Professor of Marketing, Farmer School of Business since 2002. B.S. Berea College, 1968; MBA, East Tennessee State University, 1970; Ph.D., Ohio State University, 1976.