Eugene W. Stetson served as vice president and member of the executive committee of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York. He was educated at Gordon Military Institute, Barnesville, Georgia, and at Mercer University, Macon, Georgia. Upon completion of his education he began his banking career with the American National Bank of Macon, Georgia then became cashier of the Exchange National Bank of Fitzgerald, Georgia, then organized the Citizens National Bank at Macon, serving first as its cashier and later as president, when he was only twenty-eight years old. He served as president of the Macon Chamber of Commerce and helped organize the Georgia State Chamber of Commerce. He also served as arbitrator for the city of Macon when the city took over the water system from a private corporation.

Stetson was appointed to numbers of corporate boards, spanning a diverse set of industries including banking, insurance, manufacturing, petroleum, soft drinks, carbonation, sugar, textiles, machinery, automobiles, railroads, tobacco, drugs, baking and alcohol. Stetson was appointed to a mind-boggling number of corporate boards, spanning a diverse set of industries including banking, insurance, manufacturing, petroleum, soft drinks, carbonation, sugar, textiles, machinery, automobiles, railroads, tobacco, drugs, baking, and alcohol.

Established in 1984, Mercer University’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business and Economics is named for Eugene W. Stetson, a 1901 Mercer graduate and business pioneer who helped negotiate the first major leveraged buyout in corporate history.

Mark Suster is an American entrepreneur, angel investor and investment partner at Upfront Ventures (until June 2013 known as GRP Partners). He is a prominent blogger in the startup venture capital world and mentor at Techstars, a mentorship-driven seed stage investment fund.

Suster grew up in Northern California and is a dual citizen of both the United Kingdom and the United States. He graduated from University of California, San Diego with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics. He started his career as a programmer at Accenture, which later paid for a postgraduate Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago.

In 1999, with Ireland-based property entrepreneur Brian Moran, he founded his first company, a construction collaboration technology business called BuildOnline, where he was also chief executive officer. BuildOnline merged with US-based rival Citadon in December 2006 and the combined business, CTSpace, was acquired by the French Sword Group corporation a year later in December 2007. By this stage, Suster had already left the business, having founded a second company, a content collaboration software business, Koral. In April 2007, Koral was acquired by Salesforce.com where Suster took the role of Vice President, Product Management. He joined Upfront Ventures, an investment firm, later in 2007.

As an investor, Suster focuses on early-stage technology companies. They include: Affordit, DataSift, EagleCrest Energy, EcoMom, ExpenseCloud, Gendai Games, Osmo, MyTime, and LaughStub.

John H. Tyson was born on September 5, 1953 in Springdale, Arkansas. He is the son on Don and Jean Tyson and the grandson of John W. Tyson, the founder of Tyson Foods, Inc.

Tyson Foods Inc., founded in 1935 with headquarters in Springdale, Arkansas, is the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef, and pork and the second-largest food company in the Fortune 500. The company produces a wide variety of protein-based and prepared food products, which are marketed under the “Powered by Tyson” strategy. Tyson is the recognized market leader in the retail and food service markets it serves, providing products and service to customers throughout the United States and more than 80 countries. Tyson has approximately 114,000 team members employed at more than 300 facilities and offices in the United States and around the world.

After graduating from Springdale High School in 1971, John attended the University of Arkansas where in 1972 he was initiated into the Arkansas Alpha chapter. John later transferred to SMU where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. John has worked in the family business since his early teens and became a member of the board in 1984.

Today he is chairman of the board of Tyson Foods and has served in that capacity since 1998. Under John’s direction, Tyson Foods has emerged as the world’s largest protein-processing company largely on the strength of the 2001 acquisition of IBP, a giant processor of beef and pork.

That acquisition, engineered by John, accomplished a long time family goal – namely, to successfully diversify the company beyond the confines of the poultry business. By early 2003 Tyson Foods was producing roughly 25% of all the meat products consumed in the United States. Brother Tyson has been honored with the Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. He has been named Man of the Year by the Arkansas Poultry Industry, by the Arkansas Easter Seals and by the Art Center of the Ozarks. He was also named Humanitarian of the Year by the National Conference for Community and Justice.

John serves on numerous boards and committees including: Walden Woods Project, the Advisory Board for the Yale Center for Faith and Culure, University of Arkansas, and as Committee Chairman of the University of Arkansas Capital Campaign for the 21st Century.

Clint Smith is the co-founder and CEO of Emma®, the digital marketing service that helps nearly 50,000 organizations around the world manage their email and social marketing in style – with best-in-class products, hands-on services and advice from Emma’s team of experts.

Emma employs 100 exceptionally talented employees in its Nashville, Portland and New York offices. The company made the Inc. 5,000 list three consecutive years and was recently enshrined in the “Future 50” Hall of Fame after making the list of Nashville’s fastest growing private companies five consecutive years. Emma has also been named an Inc. Magazine “Winning Workplace” and a Nashville Business Journal “Best Place to Work.”

Prior to founding Emma, Clint worked as an editor with CitySearch.com and in product development with Smallbusiness.com.

Lee R. Miskowski is an Advisor at Bradford Equities Management, L.L.C. Mr. Miskowski was a General Manager and Vice President at The Ford Motor Company from 1991 to 1994 with responsibility for the Lincoln-Mercury Division. From 1989 to 1991, he was a General Manager of the Parts and Service Division of Ford and was assigned in Europe. Mr. Miskowski was the Interim Chief Executive Officer of Hospice Michigan in 1998 and the Chairman of the Board of the firm from 1986 to 1998.

As CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, Brian Niccol is responsible for driving the overall brand strategy and performance of over 2,400 restaurants in North America and Europe. He is passionate about Chipotle’s purpose of Cultivating a Better World and bringing a truly unique dining experience to consumers. Niccol takes pride in leading a purpose-driven brand offering extraordinary ingredients that are not only fresh, but that are raised responsibly, with respect for the animals, land, and people who produce them.

Prior to joining Chipotle, Brian Niccol was at Taco Bell from 2011 and served as CEO from January, 2015 and president from 2013 to 2014. Under his leadership, he successfully repositioned Taco Bell as a lifestyle brand and successfully launched numerous product initiatives, including the new breakfast daypart, the fastest growing daypart in the industry. He transformed Taco Bell into a social media leader and revolutionized its digital approach through mobile ordering and payment across their 7,000 restaurants. He also created a people-centric innovation culture that has been recognized throughout the industry.

Prior to Taco Bell, Niccol held leadership roles at Pizza Hut, including vice president of strategy, chief marketing officer, and general manager. He led the brand strategy and positioning that achieved record transactions and market share. Additionally, his innovation in digital with on-line and mobile app ordering was industry leading during his time in the business.

Niccol began his career at Procter & Gamble where he spent 10 years in various brand management positions. He holds an undergraduate degree from Miami University (OH) and an MBA from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Niccol serves on the Board of Governors for the Boys & Girls Club of America and on the Board of Directors of Harley-Davidson, Inc.

Chauncey J. Medberry III spent his entire career, besides his service in the second world war, as an employee of Bank of America. Medberry was named chairman of the bank and its parent company in 1971, and held that position until 1981.

During that period, he and A. W. Clausen, Bank of America’s president and chief executive, oversaw a significant expansion in the bank’s activities, particularly abroad. He was responsible for the merging of Bank of America national and international affairs, he created the strategic plan that the company would abide by over the course of their most profitable years, and many other contributions to the company.

James McLamore was one of the two founders of fast food staple, Burger King. His partner David Edgerton originally opened the first Insta Burger King in Miami, Florida in 1954 prior to meeting McLamore. The two would together create the Burger King Corporation.

The corporation opened Burger King stores and went on to introduce the Whopper burger in 1957, when it also dropped “Insta” from the name. The pair sold the business to Pillsbury in 1967 and McLamore served as Burger King’s president until 1970, and was chairman to 1976. McLamore passed away from cancer in 1996 at the age of 70.

Edward Mcllhenny Jr. assumed control of the McIlhenny Company that has produced Tabasco Sauce for over a century. During his tenure, McIlhenny expanded, modernized, and standardized sauce production, as well as experimented with new ways of promoting the world-famous product, such as advertising on radio.

McIlhenny also introduced the now ubiquitous modern screw-top Tabasco sauce bottle, which replaced the original cork-top Tabasco sauce bottle that had been used from 1868 to 1927; he also redesigned the iconic Tabasco diamond logo trademark, largely creating the version known today.

Charles Peter Philip Paul McColough was former CEO and chairman to Xerox. Aside from building Xerox to the corporate empire it is today, McColough was treasurer of the Democratic National Committee between 1974 and 1976, was Chairman of United Way of America, and served on the Board of Trustees at the Council on Foreign Relations, New York Stock Exchange, Bank of New York, Wachovia, Citigroup, Knight Ridder, and Union Carbide Corporation. C. Peter McColough is also the namesake of the C. Peter McColough Roundtable Series on International Economics, part of the Council on Foreign Relations.