USC Moore School announces 2015 Distinguished Award Winners
March 30, 2015
COLUMBIA, SC – The University of South Carolina’s Darla Moore School of Business will honor the 2015 Distinguished Award Winners at its 31stannual Business Leadership Dinner and Awards Ceremony on April 23. The honorees include three alumni and one distinguished faculty member.
The 2015 award winners include:
Distinguished Alumnus Award
David J. Comeau (MIBS ’85)
President, Asia Pacific Biscuits
Mondelēz International
David J. Comeau is president of Asia Pacific Biscuits for Mondelēz International (formerly Kraft Foods), one of the largest packaged foods companies in the world. Comeau oversees all biscuit food operations in the Asia Pacific region, with a $1.5 billion portfolio and with organizations in India and China. He directs the development of iconic brands that include Oreo, Chips Ahoy! and Belvita. Comeau earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing from the Isenberg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and his Master of International Business Studies (MIBS) degree from the Moore School in 1985. Comeau resides in Singapore.
Distinguished Young Alumni Awards
Keshiv Desai (MBA ’02)
Executive director
Morgan Stanley
Keshiv Desai is an executive director at Morgan Stanley, one of the largest diversified companies in the world. As a member of the equity derivatives sales-trading team at Morgan Stanley, Desai works with asset managers, insurance companies and pension funds to structure and execute hedging and investment strategies. Desai was born and raised in Rajkot, India, and moved to the United States to attend the Moore School, where he earned his MBA in 2002. Keshiv lives in New York City.
Sid Giddings (PMBA ’06)
Vice president of operations
Wyndham Vacation Ownership
Sid Giddings is vice president of operations for Wyndham Vacation Ownership, the worldwide leader in the development and sale of vacation ownership properties. Giddings joined Wyndham in 2010. He began his professional career at Marriott International, where he was promoted into several executive positions, ultimately being named regional director for the western United States. Giddings earned his PMBA from the Moore School in 2006 and lives in Costa Mesa, Calif.
Distinguished Service Award
William R. “Randy” Folks, Jr.
Distinguished professor emeritus
Darla Moore School of Business
William R. “Randy” Folks Jr. has been an integral part of the University of South Carolina faculty since 1969. Folks has more than 45 years of distinguished service to the Darla Moore School of Business, having served as the executive director of its Center for International Business Education and Research. He was a member of the five-person committee that developed the Moore School’s original Masters of International Business Studies program (known today as the International Master of Business Administration). From 1976-1985, he served as the first director of the international business program, responsible for developing it into one of the university’s most nationally prominent academic programs. Under Folks’ leadership, the MIBS program became recognized as the leading graduate program in international business in the world. Folks resides in Columbia, S.C.
The annual gala honors the Moore School community’s most distinguished leaders and celebrates the school’s academic success and the achievements of its students, faculty and alumni and business partnerships. The event draws hundreds of alumni and prominent business leaders each year. The dinner and awards ceremony will take place Thursday, April 23, at the Columbia Marriott in downtown Columbia.
This year’s event is sponsored by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts (garnet level) and Edward Jones (platinum level). Additional sponsorship opportunities at various levels are available for the event, with net proceeds benefitting student scholarships.
For more information about the honorees, sponsorship opportunities and ticket information, call 803-777-2144 or [email protected], or visit the Moore School website.
More information about the 2015 Distinguished Award Winners is available on the Moore School website.
About the Darla Moore School of Business
The Darla Moore School of Business is among the highest-ranked business schools in the world for international business education and research. Founded in 1919, the school has a history of innovative educational leadership, blending academic preparation with real-world experience through internships, consulting projects, study-abroad programs and entrepreneurial opportunities. The Moore School offers undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as distinctive executive education programs. In 1998, the school was named for South Carolina native and New York financier Darla Moore, making the University of South Carolina the first major university to name its business school after a woman.
