Leadership Council Members are champions of innovation and entrepreneurship at Furman University. Council members serve as mentors to students and liaisons to the local, regional and national entrepreneurial ecosystem.

  • FORD BLAKELY CEO, Zingle
  • AMANDA BORON Principal, Korn Ferry
  • REED BROWN Vice President, Brown Packing Co.
  • DAVID BURTON President & CEO, Burton Holdings
  • KEVIN BYRNE President & CEO, The University Financing Foundation**
  • DAVID CHORBA National Sales Manager, Delaware Funds
  • KEN CLEMENS President & CEO, URL Insurance Group
  • RICHARD CULLEN Senior Partner, McGuire Woods, LLP**
  • GARY DAVIES CEO, CAPE Asset Management
  • DILLON DIEFFENBACH Principled Leader, EY
  • AMY DIEFFENBACH Private Investor
  • DAVE ELLISON Wealth Advisor, Northwestern Mutual**
  • GORDON FORD Founder/Chairman, CrossLink
  • EVA-MARIE FOX VP-Marketing, T&S Brass
  • NEAL FREEMAN CEO, Competitive Social Ventures, LLC
  • CHAD HARDAWAY Deputy Director, University of South Carolina
  • DAVID HAUSER Retired Chairman & CEO, FairPoint Comm., Inc.**
  • ROBERT HENRY CEO; Pierian Biosciences
  • ROBERT HILL Retired Vice Chair, Acosta**
  • MARSHALL HILL Director, Invest Operations at SoFi
  • DIANA HURLEY 
  • JOE HURLEY President & CIO, Chi Rho Financial
  • KELLY-ANN JENKINS Managing Partner, Jenkins Law PL
  • JAMES JENKINS Managing Partner, Jenkins Law PL
  • ZACH JOHNSON President, Metropolitan Properties
  • MARK KAISER External Advisor, Bain & Co.
  • LOU KENNEDY CEO/Co-Founder, Nephron Pharmaceuticals
  • RAYMOND KING President & CEO, Zoo Atlanta
  • LES KNIGHT Retired Partner, Ernst & Young LLP
  • ANDY KURTZ CEO/Founder, Kopis USA
  • JAIME LANIER Trustee, Ray C. Anderson Foundation**
  • TODD MALO Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Mavin Construction
  • SUZANNE MALO Director, DHG Search Advisors
  • RON MALONE PE Operating Partner, Shore Capital Partner
  • MALCOLM MCCOMB Vice Chair, CBRE
  • METT MILLER Executive Managing Director, Savills Studley
  • TRACI MILLER Psychologist PhD, Assessment Services
  • JOHN PAZDAN CEO, Roy Metal Finishing
  • LIBBY PHILLIPS Managing Partner, Phillips Family Office
  • KATHRYN PHILLIPS Founder & Managing Director, Kaina Strategic Counsel
  • KEVIN PHILLIPS Partner & COO, Jarrard Phillips Cate & Hancock
  • JEFF POWELL General Manager Americas, BioSerenity
  • NORM RICHARDSON President, Anchor Power Solutions
  • CHRIS RINKER President, GCP Ventures
  • LEIGHAN RINKER Founder & Chair, Beginnings of Palm Beach County**
  • DAN SANDERS JR. Partner, Nelson Mullins
  • CHRISS SPIRES Partner, BKS Partners
  • PAUL STASKO President/Founder, Exceptional Software
  • SANDY STASKO Product Manager, Exceptional Software
  • TOM SWAIN Principal, Findley
  • ALEC TAYLOR Retired CEO/Chairman, FGX International**
  • ROB VICTOR Principal, Foster Victor Wealth Advisors
  • ERIK WEIR Principal and Founder, WCM Global Wealth
  • WILL WILLIAMS Vice Chair, KPMG LLP
  • KEM WILSON III Principal, Kemmons Wilson Companies
  • JOHN YATES Partner, Morris, Manning & Martin LLC**

**Furman Board of Trustee

Associate Members

Associate members champion the student experience in innovation and entrepreneurship at Furman University, providing financial support for Paladin Pitch Competition grant awards and internship opportunities for students.

  • JUSTIN ALBRIGHT Principal, OakPoint Real Estate
  • RACHEL ALBRIGHT Strategic Consultant, The Ingram Group
  • MATTHEW BROWN Vice President, Shore Capital Partners
  • SARAH BUDD VP Finance, The Budd Group
  • KENNETH FIELDS Partner/Co-Founder, BlueInc Strategies
  • GEORGE HADDAD VC of Operations, Children’s Hospital, Prisma
  • JAIRY HUNTER Medical Director, naviHealth
  • BRIAN JOHNSTON Chief Investment Officer & Managing Partner, Fortwright Wealth Management
  • SHELLY JOHNSON
  • WILL LUCAS Principal, Azalea Capital
  • MATT MARRON President, StaffTrack, Inc.
  • IVAN MATHENA Director Business Dev., Paper Cutters, Inc.
  • MATTHEW CESARI Financial Advisor, Northwestern Mutual
  • KATHRYN CESARI Investment Banker, William Blair

Community Partners

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Support The Hill Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Support The Hill Institute for Innovation & Entrepreneurship

The Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a self-funded institute and 100% of its operations and programs are made possible by the contributions of donors.