Last modified: Wednesday, February 22, 2012
IU Kelley School of Business to honor five alumni March 2 in Indianapolis
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 22, 2012
Editors: Contact George Vlahakis at 812-855-0846 or gvlahaki@indiana.edu if you are interested in scheduling an advance interview with any of the people featured in this release. Some of them may be available for brief interviews on the day of the conference.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Five alumni of the Indiana University Kelley School of Business will be honored for professional achievement during an awards ceremony at the 66th annual IU Kelley Business Conference on Friday, March 2, in Indianapolis.
Being named to the Kelley School of Business Academy of Alumni Fellows are Stephen E. Sterrett, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of Simon Property Group, Indianapolis; L. Robert Stohler, owner/manager of Bloomington Brands, Bloomington, Ind.; Mary E. Tuuk, president, Western Michigan Region, Fifth Third Bank, Grand Rapids. Mich.; and Anton V. Vincent, vice president and president, Baking Products Division, General Mills, Minneapolis.
The 2012 Distinguished Entrepreneur Award will be presented posthumously to Jerry W. Throgmartin, executive chairman of the board of hhgregg, who passed away Jan. 22.
The conference, with the theme "Incite Innovation," will be from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Indiana Convention Center, 100 S. Capitol Ave. Information and online registration are available at 812-855-6340 and kelley.iu.edu/busconf.
Ray Kurzweil, a futurist coined a "restless genius" by The Wall Street Journal, and John Kao, an authority on corporate innovation dubbed "Mr. Creativity" by The Economist, will keynote the event.
More about those being honored (listed alphabetically):
Stephen E. Sterrett (B.S., '77, MBA, '83)
Sterrett is the CFO of Indianapolis-based Simon Property Group, an S&P 500 company and the largest U.S. real estate company. Simon Property Group is uniquely positioned as an owner, operator and developer across multiple retail formats: regional malls, Premium Outlets, The Mills, community/lifestyle centers and international properties. Simon owns or has an interest in about 390 properties in North America, Europe and Asia.
A native of Indianapolis, Sterrett joined Simon in 1988 and has been the CFO since 2000. Before joining the company, he was a senior manager with the international accounting firm of Price Waterhouse. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and an MBA in finance, both from IU's Kelley School of Business.
He serves on the boards of the Greater Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce, the Indiana Golf Foundation and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He is a former board member of Simon Youth Foundation, Indianapolis Downtown Inc., Crossroads of America Council Boy Scouts of America, Christian Theological Seminary, Goodwill Industries Foundation, Catholic Youth Organization, Lawrence Township Schools Foundation and Training Inc.
He is active in several professional organizations, including the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the International Council of Shopping Centers and is a past member of the Indiana CPA Society. He serves on the board of the IU Benecki Center for Real Estate Studies and the Kelley School's Board of Visitors.
L. Robert Stohler (B.S., '64; MBA, '69)
Stohler founded Bloomington Brands in 2003 and has been its managing partner since its inception. He retired from the Scotts Miracle-Gro Co. that same year. He is a visiting scholar at the Kelley School and is responsible for the course "M579, Experiential Marketing." Popularly known as "Brands," M579 is a two-semester course where half a dozen students manage the Osmocote brand of plant food under contract from The Scotts Co.
At the point of retirement, Stohler was responsible for Scotts North America, a $1.5 billion business unit. He initially joined the company as vice president of its fledging international division, based in the United Kingdom. While there, he identified and negotiated the acquisition of several lawn and garden companies in the U.K. and across Europe.
Prior to Scotts, Stohler was president of Rubbermaid Europe in Luxembourg. Other international postings include England with SC Johnson and the Philippines with Procter & Gamble. Between these international assignments, he served as CFO of Synthes North America, a then Swiss-owned company that specializes in orthopedic implants.
With two degrees from the Kelley School, Stohler is a member of advisory boards for its Center for Brand Leadership and Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He is a past president of the Kelley School of Business Alumni Association Board of Directors.
As an IU undergraduate, Stohler was a four-year manager of the men's basketball team under coach Branch McCracken. He also participated as both a manager and rider in the Little 500 bike race. He was manager of the winning team in 1962 that the Academy Award-winning film "Breaking Away" later was based on.
Together with his wife of 45 years, Sylvia Wright Stohler, he established a fellowship for ex-military officers who are transitioning to civilian life by pursuing an MBA degree at Kelley. His own military experience was with the U.S. Navy, where he served as an officer aboard the carrier USS Saratoga.
Jerry W. Throgmartin (MBA, '89)
At the time of his death, Throgmartin was executive chairman of hhgregg, one of the nation's leading and fastest growing retailers of home appliances and consumer electronics.
Throgmartin joined the company in 1975 and held positions including store manager, district manager, advertising director and vice president of store operations, before becoming president and chief operating officer in 1988. Under Throgmartin's leadership, the company has expanded from roughly a dozen stores to include more than 190 locations.
In 1999, Throgmartin became chairman and CEO in addition to president and continued to serve as chairman and CEO from 2003 to 2009. He served as executive chairman since 2009 and as a director since 1988. He also was a partner of Cardinal Equity Partners. In 1989, he earned an MBA from the Kelley School.
He was president of the IU Simon Cancer Center Development Board, a trustee of the University of Indianapolis, where he earned a bachelor's degree, and a board member of LDI Ltd., Throgmartin-Henke Development and Hulman & Co. He and his wife, Peggy, endowed a chaired position in oncology at the IU Simon Cancer Center.
Mary E. Tuuk (MBA, '90)
Tuuk became president of Fifth Third's Western Michigan market on Jan. 1. In that role, she has responsibility for the retail, business banking, investment advisors, and mortgage and commercial lines of business for Western Michigan. She previously served in a variety of risk management roles, such as Fifth Third Bancorp's chief operational risk and compliance officer, and as director of its risk policy group, overseeing the Bancorp's risk policies.
Tuuk also has served in a variety of senior management positions for Fifth Third Bank (Western Michigan). Before joining Fifth Third, she was senior vice president, corporate secretary and chief legal counsel for Old Kent Bank until Fifth Third acquired the company in 2001.
She was named one of the "25 Women to Watch in Banking" by American Banker magazine in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. She is a member of the Financial Services Roundtable Financial Stability Industry Council for chief risk officers and serves as chair of the sub-committee on risk management for that council.
Tuuk frequently serves as guest lecturer on banking at universities. She served on the board of directors and the allocations committee for Cincinnati ArtsWave and on the board of directors and as chair of the development committee for the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble.
She earned bachelor's degrees in business and music from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. She received both an MBA and a Juris Doctorate from IU. Tuuk is a member of the Kelley School of Business Dean's Council and the state of Michigan Bar Association. She has sung as a professional soprano in various communities, including with the Cincinnati Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Anton V. Vincent (MBA, '93)
Vincent leads the Baking Products Division at General Mills, where he is responsible for the profitable growth of iconic brand franchises such as Betty Crocker dessert products, Bisquick baking mix and Gold Medal flour.
He was named corporate officer in 2006 and division president in 2009. His career spans leadership roles on Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks, Total Cereal, Pop Secret Popcorn, Chex Mix, Gardetto's, Yoplait Yogurt, Betty Crocker side dishes and new products.
Vincent also is a founding member of General Mills' renowned Black Champions Network. He left General Mills in 1998 to head a restaurant holding company he helped found and secure venture funding for. His earlier leadership experiences include MCI Telecommunications consumer markets and Fidelity Investments mutual fund sales and distribution.
Upon Vincent's return to General Mills, he became part of the Corporate Development group, where he was a key member of the acquisition team during the 2001 $10 billion acquisition of The Pillsbury Co. He subsequently led the $640 million divestiture of General Mills' interest in Ice Cream Partners USA, producer of Häagen-Dazs.
Outside General Mills, Vincent serves as vice chairman of the board of the Milestone Growth Fund, on the board of trustees of Breck School and on the Dean's Council of the Kelley School, and he advises its Center for Brand Leadership. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council and Sigma Pi Phi Omicron Boule.
Diversity MBA Magazine in 2006 featured Vincent among its "Top 50 Under 50." In 2008, he was the Minneapolis Business Journal Minority Corporate Executive of the Year. He also was General Mills Champions Award winner in 2009. Last year, he was included in Black Enterprise's Top 100 in Marketing & Advertising and won the Omega Psi Fraternity Centennial Award for Business Leadership.
Gold-level sponsors for the IU Kelley Business Conference include BKD LLP, Deloitte, Eli Lilly and Co., FedEx Corp., Kimball International and Simon Property Group. At the Silver level, sponsors include ArcelorMittal USA, Bloomington Brands, CenterPoint Energy, Citizens Energy Group, Duke Energy, Ernst & Young, Hillenbrand Inc., The Indianapolis Business Journal, Johnson Ventures, The Pampered Chef and St. Vincent Health. Fifth Third Bank is a Bronze-level sponsor.
