Kimmel Center Elects Roland Bullard Board Chairman
December 22, 2008
Roland K. Bullard, II
At its annual meeting on Wednesday, December 17, 2008, the Board of Directors of Kimmel Center, Inc. elected Roland K. Bullard, II as the Center's new Chairman effective January 1, 2009. Bullard, President and CEO of FastShip, Inc., succeeds William P. Hankowsky, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Property Trust, who will remain on the Executive Committee of the Board.
Roland Bullard, in speaking about his election said, "As the region's leading performing arts center, which is home to eight professional and well-established resident companies, I look forward to building upon the legacy and collaborative spirit for which the Kimmel Center is known. Having retired the construction debt this year, we are positioned to move ahead in developing an exciting Master Plan; inaugurate a major city-wide arts festival in 2011; grow our endowment, and strengthen our partnerships with our wonderful resident companies, as we deal with these challenging times. I am honored to Chair such a vibrant Board, and am confident that the Kimmel Center will continue to grow and flourish as the region's premier performing arts destination."
"I am delighted that Roland K. Bullard will be the Kimmel Center's new Chairman," remarked William P. Hankowsky, "I know Roland's unique background and experience will be invaluable in sustaining the Kimmel Center's mission and leading the organization into the future. The Kimmel Center continues to provide high quality and diverse programming to the community, and state-of-the-art performing spaces to our resident companies, as well as serving as a catalyst for creative artistic collaborations in the community."
Anne Ewers, Kimmel Center's President and CEO stated, "I am enormously grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Bill this past year. His accomplishments and leadership as Chairman have helped reposition the Kimmel Center in establishing a solid financial footing. I am positive that Roland will take energetic strides toward developing the Center to reach a broader community and help build upon the rich and diverse artistic offerings we present each season."
Roland K. Bullard, II
Roland K. Bullard, II has been an active member of the Kimmel Center Board since 2001.
Mr. Bullard is the President and CEO of FastShip, Inc., in Philadelphia, Pa., and joined the company in June 1998. FastShip is developing a revolutionary intercontinental freight transportation network, initially between the United States and Europe that will provide time-definite service comparable to standard air freight at half the cost. He was a founding partner of Strategic Advisors International, Inc. in 1996, while Chairman of the Philadelphia Advisory Board of Directors of First Union National Bank. From January 1996 to his retirement in May 1996, he was Area resident of the Philadelphia region. Prior to the acquisition of First Fidelity Bancorporation (FFB) by First Union in January 1996, Mr. Bullard was Senior Executive Vice President and Director of FFB. In May of 1991, Mr. Bullard was named President of Fidelity Bank, NA, which was renamed First Fidelity Bank NA, Pennsylvania, in 1993. Prior to joining First Fidelity in 1991, Mr. Bullard was Vice Chairman of CoreStates, Philadelphia National Bank.
Mr. Bullard is a director and a vice chairman of the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, a director of St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, Chairman of Urban Genesis and Chairman of Marine Propulsion Systems, Inc. of Miami.
William P. Hankowsky
William P. Hankowsky joined the Kimmel Center Board of Directors in 1995, served as Vice Chairman, and became Board Chairman on January 1, 2006.
Mr. Hankowsky currently serves as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Liberty Property Trust. He joined Liberty in January 2001 as Chief Investment Officer, and was responsible for refining the company's corporate strategy and investment process. In 2002, he was named President, and in 2003 was appointed Chief Executive Officer and elected Chairman of Liberty's Board of Trustees. Prior to joining Liberty, he served for 11 years as the President of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), where he oversaw the city's economic development agency, managing 11 industrial parks, operating 20 loan programs, and coordinating major projects including a new arena, convention center, hotels, and stadium. Prior to PIDC, Mr. Hankowsky was the city of Philadelphia's commerce director.
Mr. Hankowsky currently serves on the boards of Aqua America Inc., Citizens Financial Group Inc., Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Philadelphia Shipyard Development Corporation, Philadelphia Board of Trade, and the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce and the board of the Kimmel Center, Inc. He also serves on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT). He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Brown University.
Also announced today was the appointment of thirteen new members to the Kimmel Center's Board of Directors. They include:
William E. Brown has served as the Marketplace Leader for Citigroup's businesses within the Philadelphia region including: Citibank, CitiFinancial, Citi Smith Barney and CitiCards. Prior to this role, Brown was the head of retail banking for Citibank Texas where he was responsible for the sales, operations, integration, and training of over 120 full service financial centers and one thousand employees. Mr. Brown joined Citigroup in 1996 as a Citibank Financial Center Manager in Manhattan, followed by promotions as area manager for Downtown Manhattan, national service director for Citibank, and region manager for the North Manhattan, Bronx and Connecticut geography. Prior to joining Citibank in 1996, he was a lieutenant and naval flight officer in the United States Navy for nearly eight years. Active in community service, Mr. Brown was chairman of the March of Dimes Walk America-Dallas in 2007, and served as a board member on Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce from 2005-07 and Leadership Dallas in 2006. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in International Relations with a minor in Geography from Boston University. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Thomas A. Decker was named President and CEO of Cozen O'Connor in August 2007. He concentrates his practice in general corporate law with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance and alternative dispute resolution. He brings more than 25 years of corporate management and general counsel experience to Cozen O'Connor. Mr. Decker first joined the firm in May of 2000 and was the firm's Managing Partner. In 2004, he was appointed by Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell as the inaugural Chairman of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Prior to joining Cozen O'Connor, Mr. Decker held senior executive positions for a number of major corporations, including Asbury Automotive Group and Unisource Worldwide Inc., where he was Executive Vice President and General Counsel; and Saint-Gobain Corp., where he was Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel. Mr. Decker sits on the boards of Internet Capital Group, the YMCA of Philadelphia and Vicinity, The Philadelphia Zoo and Gesu School. Mr. Decker earned his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1971 and his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1968. He currently resides in Gladwyne, Pa.
Andre V. Duggin founded AV Consultants, Inc. (AVC) and developed it into a leading commercial insurance consulting, risk management and brokerage firm. Prior to AVC, he formed Consolidated Risk Services, Inc. (CRS) in 1992 and developed it into a leading alternative risk program management company for workers compensation and other casualty line programs. In 1998 Mr. Duggin formed AV International, Inc. (AVI) as a holding company for AV Consultants and Consolidated Risk Services, Inc. and as a vehicle to manage and direct the future expansion of his insurance services enterprise; followed by the founding of AVI West Coast, Inc. in 2000 to facilitate the expansion of AVI into California and other West Coast states. Additionally, Mr. Duggin has provided consulting support to AmeriChoice Corporation and has served on the board of directors since its inception in 1989. Mr. Duggin is a member of the Barnes Foundation and the James Madison Council of the Library of Congress. Additionally, he serves on the National Constitution Center Board, as well as the Board of Trustees for the Jazz at the Lincoln Center. He currently resides in Malvern, Pa.
Valerie C. Ferguson directed the $115 million conversion of the landmark PSFS Building in 1998 into the luxury, convention-driven Loews Philadelphia Hotel. Ms. Before joining Loews Corporation in 1998, Ms. Ferguson served with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company and Hyatt Hotels. She served as general manager of the Ritz-Carlton Atlanta and held general manager positions at Hyatt properties in Atlanta, Chicago and Flint, Michigan. Ms. Ferguson was named one of the 100 Most Influential Women in Travel for 1998 through 2000 by Travel Agent magazine and one of the Top 100 Women in Corporate America by Ebony, among other numerous accolades. She currently serves as a director on the boards of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, Historic Philadelphia Inc., Philadelphia Workforce Investment Corporation, Widener University Advisory Council-School of Hospitality, Penn State School of Health & Human Services and Secretary of the SE PA American Red Cross. She is also a member of the Board for Center City District Philadelphia. She currently resides in Haddon Township, NJ.
Rosemarie B. Greco currently serves as Director of Health Care Reform, a cabinet level established in 2003 by Governor, Edward G. Rendell. In addition, Ms. Greco has served the City of Philadelphia as Chair of the first Women's Commission, as a member of the City Planning Commission, as Chair of a special task force, which drew the charter for Mayor Rendell's Office for Management, Productivity and Planning, and as a member of the Executive Committee of the founding Board of Philadelphia's Special Service District. For four years, Ms. Greco served as a member of the Board of Education for the School District of Philadelphia. She founded and chaired the School-to-Career Leadership Council. Ms. Greco is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of St. Joseph's University and holds an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Temple University, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Cabrini College, an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Albright College, and an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Thomas Jefferson University. She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Dr. Ann Weaver Hart is President of Temple University, the first female president in the University's 123-year history. Hart assumed the presidency in 2006, and is committed to preserving and expanding Temple's mission to provide access to excellence for talented and highly motivated students regardless of status or station in life, and to strengthen ties to Temple's communities by creating a culture of engagement on all levels. Hart previously served as President of the University of New Hampshire and provost and vice president for Academy Affairs at Claremont Graduate University, in Claremont, Calif. Her prior appointments include professor of educational leadership, dean of the Graduate School and special assistant to the president at the University of Utah. She has published more than 85 articles and book chapters and five books and edited volumes. Hart is chair-elect of the Commission on International Programs of the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges. She received an M.A. in History and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration, both from the University of Utah. She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Alan B. Miller founded Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) in 1978. UHS, a Fortune 500 Company, is one of the largest hospital management companies in the world operating 132 facilities in 22 states, D.C., Puerto Rico, with net revenues in excess of $5 billion annually. Prior to UHS, Mr. Miller served as Chairman and President of American Medicorp. Prior to joining Medicorp, he was an executive in the advertising industry, primarily at Young and Rubicam, Inc. Mr. Miller is Chairman of UHT, an industry REIT (NYSE), which he founded, and Penn Mutual Life Insurance Company. At graduation from the College of William and Mary he was commissioned in the U.S. Army and served in the 77th Infantry Division, attaining the rank of Captain. He served as a trustee of the William and Mary Endowment Fund and was awarded the college's Alumni Medallion in 1998 and the Clark Medallion in 2007. He is Chairman Emeritus of the Opera Company of Philadelphia. He currently serves on the Board of Overseers at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, where he received an MBA degree, and resides in Gladwyne, Pa.
Pedro A. Ramos is a partner in the Business Department of Blank Rome LLP and a principal in the firm's wholly owned subsidiary Blank Rome Government Relations LLC. Mr. Ramos's primary practice areas include employment, benefits and labor, state and local law; as well as government relations. Mr. Ramos's law practice before joining Blank Rome included service as the City Solicitor of the City of Philadelphia, and practice as a partner and an associate at another large national firm. In addition, Mr. Ramos was Vice President and Chief of Staff to the President of the University of Pennsylvania; while at Penn, Ramos also co-chaired the Education Transition Team for Governor Ed Rendell. From 1995 to 2001, Ramos served on the Board of Education of the School District of Philadelphia, and was elected as vice-president for three terms and president for two terms. Mr. Ramos is a 1992 cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, a 1987 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, and a 1983 graduate of Central High School in Philadelphia. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa. with his wife Rafaela Torres and two daughters, Catalina and Isabel.
Kimberly V. Strauss is a director of the Strauss Foundation founded in 1951, by her grandfather Maurice "Moe" L. Strauss, founder of the Philadelphia-based Pep Boys Auto Stores – Manny, Moe & Jack, in 1921. She began her career in business with Merrill Lynch in New York, before moving to Palm Beach to become a partner, and a managing director of a private venture fund, where she specialized in real estate investment management. Concurrently she founded "the Wall Street Women's Club, Inc.," which she later sold, and was active in several philanthropic organizations. Ms. Strauss studied piano at the Curtis Institute, the Settlement School, and the former New School of Music, and is currently a contemporary, classical composer. She is a member of the League of American Orchestras, Meet the Composer and American Composers Forum, as well as a member of the Board of Directors of the Opera Company of Philadelphia, and other leading organizations. She received an honor scholarship in Music to Duke University, but later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where she majored in biochemistry. She currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Thomas C. Woodward is the Market President for Bank of America – Pennsylvania. Mr. Woodward also serves as senior risk manager for Bank of America's corporate and commercial banking activities with geographic responsibility for the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As state president, Woodward provides business, civic and philanthropic leadership for Bank of America throughout Pennsylvania, with a focus on the greater Philadelphia market. He serves as Treasurer of the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance, and he is also on the boards of Select Greater Philadelphia/CEO Council for Growth, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, NPower Pennsylvania, and Committee of Seventy, among other leading organizations. An avid musician, Woodward is a graduate of Grove City College in Grove City, Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Economics. He also holds an MBA in Finance from Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. A native of Chester County, Woodward currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Beverly Harper is the founder and President of Portfolio Associates, Inc. and oversees management and planning activities for all major projects. Ms. Harper has managed numerous federal, local and statewide projects including the landmark study of Public Involvement in Transportation Planning; and the development of a manual of techniques for involving citizens throughout the commonwealth in transportation planning—from systems planning through construction. Ms. Harper also designed the research and authored the eight strategies that led to Philadelphia being named the number one city in the country for African American historical and cultural attractions for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau. Other projects have involved substantial work with the National Park Service that included Valley Forge National Park, Gettysburg National Military Park and Hampton National Historic Site. Ms. Harper currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Kenneth I. Trujillo is a founding member of Trujillo Rodriguez & Richards, LLC a law firm with offices in Philadelphia and Haddonfield, New Jersey. He served as the City Solicitor of Philadelphia and as an Assistant U.S. Attorney. Mr. Trujillo and his firm have been substantially involved in antitrust, securities, consumer litigation and white collar criminal defense, as well as commercial and international litigation. As City Solicitor, Mr. Trujillo represented the Mayor, City Council and all departments, agencies and commissions of the City of Philadelphia. In addition, Mr. Trujillo sat on the Mayor's cabinet and ran the 155-lawyer Law Department. He currently resides in Philadelphia, Pa.
Reverend Dr. Alyn E. Waller is the senior pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa. In September 1990, Dr. Waller accepted the call to the Pastorate at First Baptist Church of Donora in Pennsylvania, where he remained until June of 1994. In July of 1994, Dr. Waller became the Pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church. Responding to the specific needs of the local community, Dr. Waller led Enon's membership to establish the Enon—Coulter Community Development Corporation (ECDC), a non-profit community development corporation that provides educational and support services to children and families. A highly sought after revivalist, lecturer and musician, he received a Bachelor of Music Business (B.G.S.) from Ohio University in 1985; earned a Master of Divinity Degree from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucy; and a Doctor of Ministry degree in Ministry to Marriage and Family from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wynnewood, Pa. Dr. Waller's partner in ministry and marriage is Ellyn Jo Waller, the leader of Enon's Women's Ministry and a devoted mother to their two daughters, Elynn Morgan and Eryka Lynn.
Members concluding their service on the Kimmel Center Board include Leslie Anne Miller, Steven Cozen, Kenneth Gamble, George Burrell, and Lawrence Kent.
Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, provides a rich diversity of programming through its Kimmel Center Presents sponsored by Citi and the Broadway series of performances, as well as arts in education and community outreach. The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts and the Academy of Music together serve as home to eight Resident Company performing arts organizations including: The Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, American Theater Arts for Youth, PHILADANCO, Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, and Peter Nero and the Philly Pops. Kimmel Center, Inc. owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center. Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, which is owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association.
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