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.

William Martin was an extremely successful business man, described by his peers as a genius of the industry. Upon his beginnings at Phillips Petroleum Martin quickly rose through the ranks as he served as both treasurer and Secretary before being appointed to the board of directors in 1964. The following year he was named the senior vice president; by 1971 he was named president of the company. In 1973 he became the Chief Executive Officer and a year later he was made chairman of the board.

Martin is credited with leading the company through a period of exponential growth while the company was in his reigns. They eventually became one of the top companies in the entire industry and much of their success is credited to Brother Martin. In 1972 he was honored by the University of Oklahoma by being named to their Alumni Hall of Fame.

Dr. Paul Martin earned the majority of his living through the automobile industry but he never forgot the values that Phi Delta Theta instilled in him. He claimed his proudest achievement in life was his devotion to the Christian faith. He is one of the two highest individual donors to the University of Akron.

In 1935, Paul and his father began their exploits into the automotive industry by purchasing their first dealership. At the peak of Brother Martin’s business he owned nine separate dealerships in northern Ohio, a group that became known as the Martin Auto Group.

At the age of 31 he was stationed in France while a part of the United States Army, he was injured ironically enough in an automobile accident and was discharged while at the rank of lieutenant colonel. When he returned to the states he picked up in the automobile industry. During his career he either founded, was president, or was chairman of twelve separate companies. He was also a two time recipient of the Times magazine Quality Dealer of the Year.

Brother Martin was a generous man as he gave more than seven million dollars to his alma mater, the University of Akron. He served as chairman of the universities $52 million fundraising campaign in the 90’s as well as president of their foundation. He helped fund the building in which Phi Delta Theta’s General Headquarters is located in. Brother Martin passed away in 2011.

John Willard Marriott was an American entrepreneur and businessman. He was the founder of the Marriott Corporation (which became Marriott International in 1993), the parent company of one of the world’s largest hospitality, hotel chains, and food services companies.

The Marriott Company rose from a small root beer stand in Washington D.C. in 1927 to a chain of family restaurants by 1932, to its first motel in 1957. By the time he died, the Marriott Company operated 1,400 restaurants and 143 hotels and resorts worldwide, including two theme parks, earned USD $4.5 billion in revenue annually with 154,600 employees.

Marriott rarely rested while growing his business, his mind always consumed with his dreams for the company’s future. Throughout his life, he was also invested in the Mormon church, charity, and country.

Dave has had a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship, technology, culture, design, nature, and improving society.

Morin began his career at Apple in 2003 where he assumed positions in marketing. In 2006, Morin left Apple and joined Facebook as senior platform manager. Morin co-created Facebook Platform, a software environment allowing third party developers to create applications within Facebook, and Facebook Connect, a technology for Facebook members to connect their profile data and authentication credentials to external web sites. In 2010, Morin left Facebook to co-found Path.

Morin has helped to raise capital for startups such as Hipcamp through angel investor scheme AngelList. He also founded the venture capital firm, Slow Ventures. It is based in San Francisco.

Dave serves on the Board of Directors of Eventbrite and on the Boards of two Non-Profit Organizations, the United States Ski and Snowboard Association and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Morin and several technological innovators, creators, or business owners launched Fwd.us, a Silicon Valley-based 501(c)(4) lobbying group.

He grew up under the big sky of Montana where he was ranked as one of the top downhill ski racers in America.

Gary Morin is executive vice president and chief financial officer for Lexmark International, Inc. He joined the company in January 1996. In addition to financial operations, he is responsible for Lexmark’s investor relations, corporate communications, strategy and development, and audit and security functions.

Morin previously was executive vice president and chief operating officer of Huffy Corp. in Dayton, Ohio. Earlier, he held a number of positions with Huffy, including president and general manager of the Huffy Bicycle Co. and president and general manager of Washington Inventory Service. Morin also served in several financial management positions with Tambrands Inc., General Foods Corp. and The Pillsbury Co.

James Nance had a very long career inside the automotive industry. While at Studebaker Packard, Nance moved to separate the Packard Clipper range of vehicles into a stand-alone brand, Clipper. He also expedited development of Packard’s first V8 engine and automatic transmission, Ultramatic. Nance left Studebaker Packard in 1956 when the company was on the verge of insolvency, but not until he found the organization a safe-harbor relationship with airplane manufacturer Curtiss-Wright.

Following his tenure at Studebaker Packard, Nance was named vice president of Ford’s Mercury Edsel Lincoln Division. He left the automobile business following his tenure with Ford and became president and CEO of Central National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio 1960, being elevated to the position of chairman and CEO in 1962.

Nance also served on numerous universities boards of trustees until his passing in 1984.

Brian R. Niccol is an American businessman and the chief executive officer of Starbucks, a role which he started on September 9, 2024. He previously served as chairman and CEO of Chipotle until August 31, 2024.

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.