S.C. Chamber announces 2016-2017 Board of Directors

The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce its newly elected Executive Committee and Board of Directors for 2016-17, effective October 1, 2016.

Executive Committee

Barbara Melvin (Chairman) – 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 on the Executive Committee of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce as Chair-Elect; 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.

John Uprichard (Past Chairman) – 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 Governor Haley.

Jack Sanders (Chair-Elect) – 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. 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.

Charles ‘Ted’ Speth II, Esq. (General Counsel) – Ted is a shareholder in the Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak and Stewart, P.C. Columbia office. He practices in the area of employment litigation with an emphasis over the last decade in complex and class action litigation. Speth is a past chair of the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

Chris Barras (Treasurer) – Chris is an Executive Director in the Greenville, SC office of Ernst & Young.  He has over twenty-five years of experience in public accounting, specializing in tax services. Chris serves as Tax Account Leader for several clients in the Greenville area, with a focus in state and local taxation.  Chris has Carolinas and Southeast area responsibilities within EY’s tax practice, providing tax advisory services to companies in a wide variety of industries.

Leighton Lord (Commerce Chair) – 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.

Executive Committee Chairs

• Kenny Jackson (Chairman’s Circle) Sr. Vice President, Services/Rates & Regulatory Affairs, SCANA
• Chuck Claunch (Chairman’s Circle) VP, State Government Affairs SC, Duke Energy
• James D’Alessio (Chairman’s Circle) VP of Government Affairs, BCBS South Carolina
• Tyler Easterling – Communications Committee Chairman – President & COO, The Brandon Agency
• Melanie Steinbach – Membership Committee Chairman – Chief HR Officer, Milliken & Company
• Stephen Cox – Education & Workforce Development Committee Chairman – Attorney, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson, PA
• Steve Nail – Human Resources Committee Chairman – VP HR, Hubbell Lighting
• Sidney Evering – LATF Committee Chairman – Attorney, Parker Poe
• Dan Sanders – Manufacturing Steering Committee Chairman – VP, General Counsel & Secretary, Michelin North America
• Elizabeth ‘Babs’ Warner – ETC Committee Chairman Associate General Counsel,Santee Cooper
• David Alexander – Tax Committee Chairman Director of Taxes, Mount Vernon Mills
• Christine Crawford – Small Business Committee Chairman McDonald’s Franchisee, D & G Management
• Cynthia Walters – Diversity Committee Chairman Corporate Director of Inclusion, Palmetto Health, Columbia, SC
• Katarina Fjording (Chairman’s Nominee) Vice President Purchasing & Manufacturing, Volvo Car Group
• Natalia Castillo (Chairman’s Nominee) Founder and President, Escapada
• Randy Lowell (Chairman’s Nominee) Attorney, Willoughby & Hoefer, P.A.

Board of Directors

• Rob Youngblood – Chamber Partnership Committee Chairman President, York County Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Len Hutchison, Senior Vice President and Lowcountry Business Banking Manager, Wells Fargo
• Roger Schrum, Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, Sonoco
• Michael Baxley, Sr. VP & General Counsel, Santee Cooper
• Don Balderson, Sr. Client Manager- Middle Market Banking, Bank of America
• David Dubberly, Partner, Nexsen Pruet
• Frank Bullard, Regional President- Coastal Region, BB&T, Charleston
• Richard Lackey, Legal Counsel, Cox Industries
• Boyd “Nick” Nicholson, Attorney, Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd P.A.
• Jane Sosebee, Director Legislative Affairs, AT&T
• Mike Shetterly, Attorney, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.
• Thomas Rhodes, President, Rhodes Graduation Services Inc.
• Doyle Hopper, Vice President and General Manager, Nucor Steel South Carolina
• Dr. David Cole, President, MUSC
• Walt Tobin, President, Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College
• Jonathan Taber, Shareholder, McNair Law Firm
• Deepal Eliatamby, President, Alliance Consulting Engineers, Inc.
• Chris McCorkendale, VP of Operations, Engineering and Strategic Sales, Hargray
• Sky Foster, Manager Communications, BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC
• Bob Friedman, Manufacturing Finance Specialist, The Timken Company
• John Williams, President and Chief Executive Officer, Domtar
• Sidney Locke, Director of Strategic Marketing and Communication, Sage Automotive Interiors
• Janet Matricciani, Chief Operating Officer, World Acceptance Corporation
• Blanton Phillips, CEO, Phillips Staffing
• Mark Crocker, Partner, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP
• Sharon Marra, Senior VP & Savannah River National Laboratory Deputy Director, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions
• Cheryl Stanton, Executive Director, SCDEW
• Roger Stonecipher, Executive Vice President, Zeus Industrial Products, Inc.
• Lauris D. Finney, District Operations Manager, UPS
• Cathy Novinger, Executive Director, Palmetto AgriBusiness Council
• James Bennett, Executive Vice President, First Citizens Bank, Columbia
• Zeb Portanova, President & CEO, Swiss KRONO USA
• Rich Williams, Senior Vice President of Growth Markets, Colonial Life
• Bill Dudley, Vice President, AFLAC
• Robby Hill, President & CEO, HillSouth IT Solutions
• Dan Becker, Senior VP and Controller, AECOM, Aiken, SC
• Lindsey Leonard, Senior Director of State & Local, Government Operations, The Boeing Company
• Kay Biscopink, Shareholder, Elliott Davis Decosimo
• Ben Rex, CEO, Cyberwoven
• Ben Green, Chief Operating Officer, DP Professionals, Inc.
• Steve Mitchell, Regional Managing Partner, Fisher Phillips
• Adam Hatcher, General Counsel, MAU
• Brent Yarborough, President, TeamIA, INC.
• Grey Humphrey, Executive Vice President of Sales, Spirit Communications Columbia
• David Jones, Executive Vice President/CMO, Jackson Marketing
• Gene King, Managing Director, Sequence Holdings, LLC
• David Summer, Partner, Parker Poe Adams Bernstein, Columbia
• Lou Kennedy, President and CEO, Nephron Pharmaceuticals Corporation
• David Cuda, Director of Corporate Solutions, Colliers International
• Christian L. Gullott, Director, State & Federal Government Affairs, Bridgestone
• Chris Stormer, Shareholder, Bauknight, Pietras & Stormer, P.A.
• George R. Jurch III, General Counsel, Continental Automotive, Inc.
• George Wolfe, Partner, Nelson Mullins & Scarborough LLP
• Richard Jackson, CEO, C. R. Jackson, Inc.
• Keith Avery, President & CEO, The Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Newberry)
• Michael Allen, Project Designer, McMillan Pazdan Smith
• Todd Hyneman, Owner & President, Total Comfort Solutions
• Chuck Garnett, President and CEO, NBSC