Welcome to Triangle Business Journal’s inaugural “The Triangle’s Most Influential Business Leaders” list.
The 100 names for this list were chosen by the TBJ editors after going through hundreds of names across various sectors that fall under the general coverage guidelines of this newspaper.
A special feature relating to these 100 individuals will be published in our July 27 issue. At that time, you will read about the influence and impact these individuals have had on our communities.
The 2012 list contains many familiar names in business, education, philanthropy and government. It also contains some names you may not recognize right away because they have just started their careers but hold tremendous promise for our communities.
Also, you will see some names missing from this list, including North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, former Progress Energy (NYSE: PGN) CEO Bill Johnson and former Raleigh Mayor Charles Meeker. These individuals have made unparalleled contributions in forwarding our collective goal of being one of the best places in the country to live, work and play. But with this list, we also wanted to look ahead and take inventory of what individuals we believe will continue to make a substantial contribution in the coming years.
Also on this list you will find some former corporate executives such as Red Hat’s (NYSE: RHT) Matthew Szulik, Mulkey’s Barbara Mulkey and Martin Marietta Materials’ (NYSE: MLM) Steve Zelnak who have managed to remain active in this community by participating in ventures that make our communities richer in talent, culture and education.
As I mentioned, the process itself being subjective, might result in some disagreements over who has been included since we only chose 100 individuals. And that’s where you come in. We would love to hear from you any names you feel deserve mention as part of the Top 100. Email me at sougata@amcity.com and follow our blogs relating to this issue in the coming weeks.
Names are in alphabetical order:
Adam Abram, founder, James River Corp.
Catharine Arrowood, attorney, Parker Poe.
John Atkins, founder, O’BrienAtkins.
William Atkinson, CEO, WakeMed Health and Hospitals.
Bill Bell, mayor, city of Durham.
Betsy Bennett, executive director, N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.
Linda Birnbaum, director, NIEHS.
Jim Blaine, CEO, State Employees Credit Union.
Richard Brodhead, president, Duke University.
Joe Bryan, commissioner, Wake County.
Mike Capps, CEO, Epic Games.
Ralph Capps, CEO, Boys and Girls Club of Wake County.
Ashley Christensen, chef and owner of several local restaurants.
Jack Clayton, regional president, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC).
Gene Conti, secretary, N.C. Department of Transportation.
Keith Crisco, secretary, N.C. Department of Commerce.
Don Curtis, owner, Curtis Media Group.
Dennis Daugherty, managing partner, Intersouth Partners.
Dr. Joseph DiSimone, professor, UNC-CH and N.C. State University .
Dr. Victor Dzau, CEO, Duke University Health System .
Martin Eakes, CEO, Self-Help Credit Union.
Ken Eudy, CEO, Capstrat.
Van Eure, owner, The Angus Barn.
Philip Freelon, CEO, The Freelon Group.
Kip Frey, CEO, EvoApp.
Bill Friday, retired president, UNC System.
Ed Fritsch, CEO, Highwoods properties (NYSE: HIW).
Paula Fryland, regional executive, PNC Bank (NYSE: PNC).
Ping Fu, CEO, Geomagic.
Bob Geolas, CEO, Research Triangle Foundation.
Dennis Gillings, chairman, Quintiles .
Jim Goodmon, CEO, Capitol Broadcasting Co.
Ann Goodnight, community volunteer.
Jim Goodnight, CEO, SAS.
Robert Gruber, director, N.C. Public Staff.
Charles Hamner, former CEO, N.C. Biotech Center.
Clay Hamner, director for the Center of Entrepreneurial Studies, UNC-CH.
Frank Harmon, principal, Frank Harmon Architect.
Frank Holding Jr., CEO, First Citizens Bancshares (Nasdaq: FCNCA).
Noah Huffstetler, attorney, Nelson Mullins.
Jim Hunt, former governor, North Carolina.
Fred Hutchison, managing partner, Hutchison Law.
Jim Hyler, former president, USGA.
Bob Ingram, former vice chairman, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK).
John Jernigan, managing principal, Smith Anderson.
Darleen Johns, former owner, Alphanumeric Systems.
Gary Joyner, partner, Kilpatrick Townsend.
John Kane, developer, North Hills.
Mark Kleinschmidt, mayor, town of Chapel Hill.
Mike Krzyzewski, men’s basketball coach, Duke University.
Michael Landguth, CEO, RDU Airport Authority.
Steve Lerner, Managing Partner, Blue Hill Group.
Carolyn Logan, CEO, Salix Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SLXP).
Cynthia Marshall, president, AT&T North Carolina.
Elaine Marshall, N.C. secretary of state.
James Maynard, Chairman, Investors Management Corp.
John McConnell, CEO, McConnell Golf.
Nancy McFarlane, mayor, city of Raleigh.
Assad Meymandi, Triangle philanthropist.
Rusine Mitchell-Sinclair, former site executive, IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM).
Johnny Morisey, founder, Fonville Morisey Realty.
Lou Moshakos, CEO, LM Restaurants.
Barbara Mulkey, founder, Mulkey Engineers & Consultants.
Charlie Nelms, chancellor, N.C. Central University.
Art Pappas, founder, Pappas Ventures.
Sarah Parker, chief justice, N.C. Supreme Court.
Roger Perry, CEO, East West Partners.
Lonnie Poole, founder, Waste Industries.
Art Pope, CEO, Variety Wholesalers.
Billie Redmond, CEO, Coldwell Banker Commercial.
Larry Robbins, partner, Wyrick Robbins.
Dr. William Roper, CEO, UNC Health.
Tom Ross, president, UNC System.
Jim Rutherford, general manager, Carolina Hurricanes.
Harvey Schmitt, CEO, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce.
Steven Scott, president, Wake Technical Community College.
O. Temple Sloan, chairman, General Parts Inc.
Dr. Ralph Snyderman, chancellor emeritus, Duke University Health System.
David Strong, CEO, Rex Hospital.
Steve Stroud, chairman, NAI Carolantic.
Chuck Swoboda, CEO, Cree Inc. (Nasdaq: CREE).
Matthew Szulik, former CEO, Red Hat.
Robb Teer, CEO, Teer Associates.
J. Rex Thomas, founder, Thomas Linderman Group.
Holden Thorp, chancellor, UNC-Chapel Hill.
Garland Tucker, CEO, Triangle Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: TCAP).
Doug Vinsel, CEO, Duke Raleigh Hospital .
John Wagner, plant manager, Merck & Co. (NYSE: MRK).
Don Walston, founder, Howard Perry and Walston.
Larry Wheeler, CEO, N.C. Museum of Art.
Jim Whitehurst, CEO, Red Hat (NYSE: RHT).
Brad Wilson, CEO, Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina.
Bob Winston, founder, Winston Hotels.
Thad Woodard, CEO, N.C. Bankers Association.
Randy Woodson, chancellor, N.C. State University.
Phail Wynn, vice president, Duke University.
Lee Yarbrough, former president, Novozymes North America.
Smedes York, former mayor, city of Raleigh.
Debbie Yow, athletic director, N.C. State University.
Steve Zelnak, former CEO, Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE: MLM).
by Sougata Mukherjee, Editor
(Triangle Business Journal)
Monday, July 9, 2012, 2:56pm EDT
Last Modified: Monday, July 9, 2012, 3:23pm EDT
