The Citadel School of Business Hall of Fame to induct newest honorees
April 18, 2016
Three influential South Carolina business leaders will be inducted into The Citadel School of Business Hall of Fame on Thursday, April 21. Honorees will include Jonathan Zucker, president of The InterTech Group, Inc.; Tommy Baker, founder of Baker Motor Company, and William W. Gaffney, Jr., president of Citadel Management, LLC.
Zucker will be the recipient of The Alvah H. Chapman, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award. Leader of Principle Awards will be given to Baker and Gaffney.
“This celebrated, annual event allows The Citadel School of Business to recognize some of the top executive leadership in South Carolina,” said Bill Trumbull, Ph.D. dean of The Citadel School of Business. “This year’s recipients are highly successful professionals who lead organizations, create jobs and serve as stewards for their communities.”
As President of The InterTech Group, Inc. Zucker oversees a diversified holding enterprise with companies and portfolio investments in multiple sectors including aerospace, industrial and engineered products, financial transaction services, utilities and energy, specialty chemicals, recreation and leisure, medical technology, security and real estate. The company has operations in North America, Latin America, South America, Europe and the Far East. Zucker is also a trustee for the South Carolina Research Authority, as well as the Roper St. Francis Clinical Biotechnology Research Institute, and serves as the current board chairman for the South Carolina Aquarium. He received his Master of Business Administration with highest honors from The Citadel Graduate College, and his bachelor of science in management and information systems with high honors from Georgia Institute of Technology.
Baker attended The Citadel from 1968 thought 1972. In May 2015, the college awarded him an Honorary Doctorate of Commerce. He founded Baker Motor Company in 1988. After starting out in Charleston with a single dealership, Baker expanded the company to include several car dealerships which are located in West Ashley, Mount Pleasant, and in Wilmington, North Carolina. Baker Motor Company was named one of Automotive News’ Top 100 Best Dealerships to Work For in 2013 and 2014. Additionally, in 2014, the dealership was named the #1 Large Dealership in the country on that prestigious list.
Gaffney received a Bachelor of Science degree in business administration from The Citadel. As third generation cemetarian, Gaffney gravitated to the death care industry in the mid-1970s. He served as General Manager and then President of Woodlawn Memorial Park in Greenville, the largest cemetery in 
South Carolina. During the 1990s, he managed and was part-owner of Gorham Bronze Company, a leading supplier to the cemetery and funeral home industry. Since 2001, Gaffney has been president of Citadel Management, LLC, which operates 10 funeral homes and 27 cemeteries.
The Citadel School of Business Hall of Fame program begins at 6 p.m. at the Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Boulevard. The event is sponsored by The Citadel Class of 1965. For more information please email Kim Black at [email protected].
About the Leaders of Principle Award
Leaders of Principle have enjoyed substantial success in business or public service and have made significant contributions to their communities. Anyone can nominate a person for this award, and candidates may be living or deceased residents of South Carolina or another state and/or graduates of The Citadel or other colleges or universities. Moreover, the recipient’s values should support those of The Citadel School of Business.
About The Alvah H. Chapman, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award
The Alvah H. Chapman, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Award was created to recognize exceptional young leaders, thirty to fifty years old, who have been successful in business and have made noteworthy contributions to their communities, just as Mr. Chapman had done.
About The Citadel
The Citadel, with its iconic campus located in Charleston, South Carolina offers a classic military college education for young men and women profoundly focused on leadership excellence and academic distinction. Graduates are not required to serve in the military but about 30 percent of each class commission as officers in every branch of U.S. military service. Graduates of The Citadel have served the nation, their state and their communities as principled leaders since the college was founded in 1842. The Citadel Graduate College offers 26 graduate degree programs with 42 concentration options, 24 graduate certificate programs, and seven evening undergraduate programs, through an all-evening schedule, with many courses now available online. The college has been named Best Public College in the South by U.S. News and World Report for five consecutive years, and #3 Best College for Veterans in the South, as well as the best value out of all South Carolina colleges and universities, by Forbes.
