Board of Directors
Chair
Ms. Barbara Melvin
Senior Vice President of Operations and Terminals
South Carolina Ports Authority
As Senior Vice President, Operations & Terminals for the SC Ports Authority, Barbara oversees terminal operations, information technology and support services, crane and equipment maintenance, engineering, environmental, Port Police and cruise operations. Barbara served as the Ports Authority’s lead staff person on the Charleston Harbor Post 45 Project and the Jasper Ocean Terminal Project. Ms. Melvin is a Riley Institute Diversity Leadership participant; a member of the South Carolina Advisory Council of the United States Global Leadership Coalition; serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors; Business Advocacy Committee of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce; the Ports Caucus Advisory Board for the United States Congress; and is also a Liberty Fellow. She is a member of the Board of Charleston Wine+Food Festival and a Community Advisor for the Junior League and formerly served on the board for Communities in Schools and the South Carolina Maritime Foundation.
Commerce Chair
Leighton Lord
Commerce Chair
Nexsen Pruet
Leighton Lord practices in the areas of economic development, corporate, partnership and real estate law at Nexsen Pruet. His legal practice has a special emphasis on siting economic development projects, real estate financing, general business law, and formation and opinions on Delaware entities. Leighton is the current Chairman of Nexsen Pruet and serves as Managing Director of the firm's communications affiliate, NP Strategy, LLC. Prior to joining Nexsen Pruet, Leighton clerked for the prestigious Delaware Chancery Court before practicing corporate litigation in Wilmington, Delaware. He also served for three years as staff counsel to the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. He currently serves as Chair of Santee Cooper, South Carolina's electric and water utility, and serves on South Carolina's Coordinating Council for Economic Development.
Chair-Elect
Mr. Jack Sanders
President & CEO
Sonoco
Jack Sanders became Sonoco’s eighth CEO on April 1, 2013. He serves on the Board of Directors, executive committee and leads the Company’s management committee. During his 28-year career with Sonoco, Sanders has played an integral role in growing the Company by leading all Consumer, Industrial and Protective packaging businesses at various points. Sanders, a 1976 graduate of Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science in finance, joined Sonoco in 1988 as national sales and marketing manager, Wire and Cable Reels. Sanders serves on the boards of Sonoco, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation and the Charles W. Coker and Elizabeth H. Coker Foundation. In addition, he is the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s First Commerce Chairman and a member of the Palmetto Business Forum. He is also engaged with the Boy Scouts of America Pee Dee Area Council and helped establish the ScoutReach program in Hartsville area elementary schools. He and his wife, Sheri, live in Garden City, S.C., and have three grown children. Sanders serves on the boards of Sonoco, the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Foundation and the Charles W. Coker and Elizabeth H. Coker Foundation. In addition, he is the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce’s First Commerce Chairman and a member of the Palmetto Business Forum. He is also engaged with the Boy Scouts of America Pee Dee Area Council and helped establish the ScoutReach program in Hartsville area elementary schools. He and his wife, Sheri, live in Garden City, S.C., and have three grown children.
Past Chairman
Mr. John Uprichard
President
Find Great People Greenville
John is president and CEO of FGP International, one of the fastest-growing executive recruitment, staffing and talent management firms in America. His company works with clients ranging from privately held companies to family owned businesses and publicly traded corporations. He is a frequent speaker on leadership development, hiring, organizational design and healthcare reform, including testimony before Congress on behalf of the recruiting and staffing industry. Uprichard is a Liberty Fellow, affiliated with the Aspen Institute Global Leadership Network, a member of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) and been appointed to serve on the South Carolina Workforce Investment Board by the Governor.
General Counsel
Mr. Charles "Ted" Speth II
Shareholder
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
Treasurer
Mr. Chris Barras
Executive Director
Ernst & Young, LLP
CEO
Mr. Ted Pitts
President & CEO
SC Chamber of Commerce
Mr. David Alexander
Director of Taxes
Mount Vernon Mills, Inc.
Tax Committee Chairman
Ms. Natalia Castillo
Founder and President
Escapada
Chairman's Nominee
Chuck Claunch
VP, State Government Affairs
Duke Energy
Mr. Stephen Cox
Attorney
Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A.
Education & Workforce Development Committee Chairman
Dr. Christine Crawford
D&G Management
McDonald's Franchisee
Small Business Committee Chairman
Mr. David Cuda
Director of Corporate Solutions
Colliers International
Mr. James D'Alessio
Vice President of Government Affairs
BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
Chairman's Circle
Ms. Tyler Easterling
President and Chief Operating Officer
The Brandon Agency
Communications Committee Chairman
Mr. Sidney J. Evering II
Attorney
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP
LATF Committee Chairman
Katarina Fjording
Vice President Purchasing & Manufacturing
Volvo Car USA
Mr. Kenny Jackson
SVP, Services/Rates & Regulatory Affair
South Carolina Electric & Gas
Chairman's Circle
Mr. Randy Lowell
Attorney
Willoughby & Hoefer, P.A.
Chairman's Nominee
Mr. Steve Nail
Dean
Anderson University School of Business
Human Resources Committee Chairman
Dan Sanders
VP, General Counsel & Secretary
Michelin North America
Manufacturing Steering Committee Chairman
Cynthia Walters
Corporate Director of Inclusion
Palmetto Health
Diversity Committee Chairman
Ms. Elizabeth Henry Warner (Babs)
Vice President Legal Services and Corporate Secretary
Santee Cooper
Environmental Technical Committee Chairman
Mr. Michael Allen
Architect
McMillan Pazdan Smith
Mr. Keith Avery
President & CEO
Newberry Electric Cooperative, Inc.
Mr. Don Balderson
Senior Client Manager - Middle Market Banking
Bank of America
Michael Baxley
Sr. VP & General Counsel
Santee Cooper
Dan Becker
Senior VP and Controller
AECOM, Aiken
Mr. James Bennett
Executive Vice President
First Citizens Bank, Columbia
Ms. Kay Biscopink
Shareholder and International Services Practice Leader
Elliot Davis Decosimo
Ben Breazeale
Sr. Director of Government Relations for S.C.
Charter Communications
President's Circle
Frank Bullard
Regional President- Coastal Region
BB&T, Charleston
Dr. David Cole
President
MUSC
Mr. Mark Crocker
Partner
Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP
Mr. David Dubberly
Partner
Nexsen Pruet
President's Circle
Bill Dudley
Vice President
AFLAC
Mr. Deepal Eliatamby
President
Alliance Consulting Engineers, Inc.
Mr. Lauris D. Finney
District Operations Mgr.
UPS
Ms. Schylver V. (Sky) Foster
Department Manager, Corporate Communications
BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
Mr. C.W. (Chuck) Garnett
President & CEO
NBSC
Mr. Ben Green
Partner
Insurance Advantage, LLC
Christian Gullott
Director, State & Federal Government Affairs
Bridgestone
Mr. Adam Hatcher
General Counsel
MAU
Mr. Robby Hill
President & CEO
HillSouth IT Solutions
Mr. Grey Humphrey
Executive Vice President of Sales & President of PalmettoNet
Spirit Communications, Columbia
Len Hutchison
Senior Vice President and Lowcountry Business Banking Manager
Wells Fargo
Todd Hyneman
President
Total Comfort Solutions
Mr. Richard Jackson
CEO
C.R. Jackson, Inc.
Mr. David Jones
Executive Vice President/CMO
Jackson Marketing
Mr. George R Jurch, III
General Counsel
The Americas, Continental Automotive, Inc.
Ms. Lou Kennedy
President & CEO
Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation
Stephanie Kindregan
Director, Public Policy
Kinder Morgan
Mr. Gene King
Managing Director
Sequence Holdings, LLC
Mr. Richard Lackey
General Counsel & Corporate Secretary
Cox Industries
President's Circle
Aaron Lawrence
VP, Corporate Strategic Planning & Business Analytics
Zeus Industrial Products
Lindsay Leonard
Senior Director of State & Local Government Operations
The Boeing Company
Mr. Sidney Locke
Director of Strategic Marketing and Communication
Sage Automotive Interiors
Ms. Sharon Marra
Senior VP & Savannah River National Laboratory Deputy Director
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
Ms. Janet Lewis Matricciani
Chief Operating Officer
World Acceptance Corporation
Mr. Chad McAllister
CFO- Specialty Fabrics Division
Milliken & Company
President's Circle
Mr. Chris McCorkendale
VP of Operations, Engineering and Strategic Sales
Hargray Communications Group, Inc.
Steve Mitchell
Regional Managing Partner
Fisher Phillips
Mr. Boyd B. (Nick) Nicholson, Jr.
Shareholder
Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A.
President's Circle
Mr. Blanton Phillips
CEO
Phillips Staffing
Zeb Portanova
President & CEO
Swiss KRONO USA
Mr. Ben Rex
CEO
Cyberwoven, LLC
Mr. Thomas L. Rhodes
President
Rhodes Graduation Services, Inc.
Mr. Daniel S. Sanders, Jr
VP, General Counsel & Secretary
Michelin North America, Greenville
President's Circle
Roger Schrum
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs
Sonoco
Mr. Michael M. Shetterly
Attorney
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
President's Circle
Ms. Jane Sosebee
Director Legislative Affairs
AT&T
President's Circle
Ms. Cheryl Stanton
Executive Director
S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce
Mr. Roger Stonecipher
Executive Vice President
Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.
Mr. Chris Stormer
Shareholder
Bauknight, Pietras & Stormer, P.A.
Mr. David Summer, Jr.
Partner
Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein, LLP
Jonathan Taber
Shareholder
McNair Law
Dr. Walter Tobin
President
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
Mr. George Wolfe
Partner
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Rob Youngblood
President
York County Chamber of Commerce