Biographies
Term: 2015 - 2024
Kim M. Heiman, a former institutional equities and options trader with Paine Webber in New York City and a brokerage firm partner in Jerusalem is Managing Director at Standard Textile Co. and President and owner of SK Textile, a Los Angeles based textile fabricator for the hospitality industry.
Ms. Heiman serves on Standard Textile’s Corporate Executive Committee. She is responsible for the management of the Interiors Division which designs and develops specialty fabrics and products for hotels and hospitals. Kim also leads the company’s business development activities in Japan, Australia, New Zealand, the Persian Gulf States, Mexico, and Latin America. She has been in the textile industry for 30 years and her experience includes managing the company’s European sales and manufacturing operations in Israel.
Ms. Heiman is actively involved in communal activities both in Cincinnati and nationally. She is currently on the Rockwern Academy board, co-chair of the Rockwern Academy Endowment Campaign and Treasurer of the Hadassah Foundation, a non-profit grant making organization that empowers women and girls. She also serves as a committee chair for the Jewish Federations of North America’s Global Planning Table. Kim’s past community involvement includes work with Bridges for a Just Community, The Ohio Cancer Research Associates, the Hebrew Union College, The American Jewish Committee, Israel Bonds and the Junior Achievement Globe Program. She is also a past President of the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati.
In 2001, the Cincinnati Enquirer named Kim Heiman a Woman of the Year. She was also honored as A Woman to Watch by Jewish Women International in 2011 and selected as a Woman of the Year Finalist for Cincinnati Regional Chamber of Commerce’s “Women Excel” program in 2013. This year, Kim and her husband Gary, will receive the Heart of the City Award at the 2015 Cincinnati Heart Ball.
Kim was born in Nashville Tennessee where her family has been involved in community work for six generations. She received her B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College in 1978. Gary and Kim have three adult children, Danielle, Alexander and Thea.
Term: 2016 - 2025
Phil Collins is founder and Managing Director of Orchard Holdings Group, a private equity investment firm, and serves on the board of several privately held companies.
Prior to founding Orchard, Phil spent 9 years in the private equity industry in New York and Menlo Park, California. He started his career during and after his time as a UC student working as an assistant to private investment pioneer Carl H. Lindner, Jr., the Founder, Chairman and CEO of American Financial Group.
Phil has strong ties to the University of Cincinnati. His parents, grandparents and wife attended UC, and his daughter is currently a fourth generation Bearcat. He and his wife serve as Co-Chairs of the University’s Bicentennial Commission, and he is a Trustee and former Vice Chairman of the University of Cincinnati Foundation. He also serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee that oversees the University’s $1.3 billion endowment, and as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee at the Carl H. Lindner, Jr. College of Business. As recognition for his work on behalf of the University, he has received the Chairman’s Award from the UC Foundation and the Distinguished Service Award from the Lindner College of Business. In addition to his work at UC, he is a director of the Harvard Business School Alumni Club of Cincinnati and a Section Chair for the Campaign for Harvard and the Harvard Business School Annual Fund.
Phil is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where he served as Student Body President and delivered the 1989 student commencement address. He also attended Harvard Business School, where he graduated with honors and served as Publisher and CEO of The Harbus News, the campus newspaper. Phil and his wife, Lela, met in high school and were both born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where they returned in 2005 to raise their two children after 15 years in Boston, New York and Silicon Valley.
Term: 2019-2028
Mr. Holloman was with Cintas for 22 years and held many positions including Vice President of Engineering/Construction, Vice President of Distribution/Production Planning, Executive Champion of Six Sigma Initiatives, Senior Vice President of Global Supply Chain Management, Rental Division President & COO and President & COO. Mr. Holloman is a founding member of Cintas’ Diversity Committee and also received the Excalibur Award, the company’s highest award reserved for business executives who demonstrate excellence during their tenure.
Mr. Holloman is also the recipient of numerous external awards and recognition. In 2009, he was recognized in Black Enterprise magazine as one of the “100 Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America.” He received an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Wilberforce University; was a 2010 Cincinnati “Men of Honor, A Salute to African American Men” award recipient and received the Merlin Pope, Jr. Diversity Leadership Award in 2012. Mr. Holloman was named a University of Cincinnati Kautz Alumni Master in 2012 as well.
Mr. Holloman serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Rockwell Automation; serves on the Business School Advisory Board for Florida A&M University and on the Advisory Boards for the Business School and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences for the University of Cincinnati; is a Board Member of the Urban League of Greater Cincinnati; serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the Cincinnati Center City Development Corporation (3CDC); serves on the University of Cincinnati Foundation’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council; and serves on the Advisory Board of the Middletown, Ohio Teen Mentoring Program.
Term: 2021-2023
Michelle (“Shelly”) A. Gillis serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of American Financial Group with responsibilities for Human Resources, Communications, Marketing and Branding, Real Estate, and various corporate shared service functions. Through the operations of Great American Insurance Group, AFG is engaged primarily in specialty property and casualty insurance with more than 7,500 employees in approximately 120 locations worldwide. Since joining Great American Insurance Company (a wholly owned subsidiary of AFG) in 2004, Shelly held various senior human resource leadership roles within the Company. Prior to joining AFG, she served in various senior HR leadership roles with Fifth Third Bank.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber Foundation Board of Trustees, the Board of Advisors for the Carl H. Lindner III Center for Insurance and Risk Management at the University of Cincinnati and is a member of the UC Health Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. Shelly also volunteers as a mentor at Oyler Elementary as part of the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati’s mentor program. Shelly previously served on the Seton High School Board of Trustees, the HR Committee of the Cincinnati YWCA and the Camp Joy Board of Directors.
Shelly has a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Master of Arts in Labor and Employment Relations from the University of Cincinnati. She holds the Senior Professional in HR (SPHR) designation.
Shelly and her husband, Joe, have two children, Sam (a current UC Bearcat) and Sophia, and reside in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Term: 2018-2026
Monica leads P&G’s North America business, the Company’s largest and most profitable region which accounts for 47% of net sales. Her organization serves 370 million consumers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, spanning sales offices, technical centers, manufacturing plants and mixing centers across the region. Monica has a track record of delivering transformational results in businesses, organizations and the CPG industry. She leads with a possibilities mindset, creating innovative approaches to extend the superiority of P&G brands, enabling an empowered and inclusive organization, driving breakthrough impact in P&G’s largest region.
Monica joined P&G in 1987, progressing in sales, strategy and planning roles and making a significant impact across categories, channels and customers. In her prior role as President of Sales for North America, she led market growth and value creation across 10 categories and 65 brands. Her areas of expertise in innovating to accelerate growth across business models, building winning plans for P&G and its retail partners, and driving a growth mindset culture are hallmarks of her leadership.
Monica is also known for her passionate leadership of equality and inclusion within the company, the CPG industry and the broader community. Monica serves on P&G’s Corporate Women’s Leadership Team and is the Executive Leader of the global African Ancestry Leadership Network. She is also a Board Trustee of the University of Cincinnati and the Board Chair of the Network of Executive Women (NEW). In partnership with NEW, she developed the Open Doors program to support, developand advancemulticultural women in P&G.
Monica has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine and as a Woman of Excellence by the National Association of Female Executives. She has also receivedthe Visionary Leadership Award from WorkingMother Magazine.
Term: 2018-2027
Past Chair
Ronald D. Brown is the retired Chairman and Chief Executive officer of Milacron Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a leading supplier of plastics processing and industrial fluids technologies with major manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. He has also served as Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of The Armor Group, a certified woman owned enterprise, with manufacturing operations in North America and Asia.
He currently serves as a director on two public company boards: A.O. Smith Corporation, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a global S&P 500 manufacturing company of water treatment and heating products, where he is currently lead director, and LSI Industries, Inc., Cincinnati, Ohio, a leading provider of lighting and graphics technologies, where he previously served as Interim Chief Executive Officer.
Ron also serves on the board of directors of two family-owned manufacturing businesses: Master Fluid Solutions, Perrysburg, Ohio, a global metalworking fluids manufacturer, where he currently serves as Vice Chairman, and Cincinnati Incorporated, Harrison, Ohio, a U.S. based manufacturer of laser, powdered metal and press brake machinery. In addition, he serves as an independent trustee for the James Advantage Funds Trust, Alpha, Ohio, a diverse group of mutual funds.
Ron currently serves on the advisory board of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and is a member of Legatus, the Commercial Club of Cincinnati (Past Treasurer), the Queen City Optimists Club (Past President) and the Management Executive Society.
Ron’s past community service includes serving on the boards of the American Red Cross, Cincinnati Chapter, having served as its Chairman, the United Way of Greater Cincinnati, the Cincinnati Museum Center, the Cincinnati Business Committee, as well as serving as Chairman of the Steering Committee for Leadership Cincinnati, a leadership development program for the Greater Cincinnati Chamber of Commerce.
Ron received his Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting from the University of Cincinnati, where he graduated magna cum laude. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University Of Dayton School Of Law. Ron and his wife, Linda, have two children and five grandchildren, all of whom reside in the Cincinnati area.
Term: 2020-2029
Greg Hartmann advises clients on complex strategic issues in connection with sophisticated public-private projects. He is a trusted advisor with 20 years of diversified experience as an attorney, former government official, and a private consultant for Ohio government relations.
Greg, former Hamilton County Commissioner, began his career as a Hamilton County Prosecutor. He gained significant experience in the courtroom, handling hundreds of criminal cases in Juvenile, Municipal, Grand Jury, and Common Pleas divisions. After years of trial practice, Greg managed court operations and more than 330 employees as Hamilton County Clerk of Courts. He received Hamilton County’s Republican Elected Official of the Year Award in 2005 and in 2006, was the Republican nominee for Ohio Secretary of State. He also received the PreventionFirst Rob Portman Leadership Award in 2016.
Greg's term as Hamilton County Clerk of Courts ended in 2009 when elected Hamilton County Commissioner. While in office, Greg started several initiatives including the Hamilton County Heroin Task Force, Higher Education Mentoring Initiative, and Hamilton County Coalition to Stop Fraud, Scams, and Abuse.
Prior to joining KMK, Greg entered into private practice as a Partner at Shea Hartmann LLP and acted as President of GHSW Consulting Partners.
Greg holds a B.A. from Washington and Lee University and a J.D. from Pepperdine University College of Law.
Term: 2021-2030
Jill T. McGruder serves as senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Western & Southern Financial Group. In this capacity, McGruder has responsibility for Columbus Life Insurance Company, Gerber Life Insurance Company, Integrity Life Insurance Company, National Integrity Life Insurance Company, Lafayette Life Insurance Company, Touchstone Investments, Western & Southern Agency and W&S Financial Group Distributors.
Since joining Western & Southern in 1991, McGruder has been responsible for the startup, acquisition, integration and growth of core businesses with more than $65 billion in assets under management and $13 billion of annual sales.
McGruder is a Fellow of the Life Management Institute (FLMI), a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), a Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), and has earned FINRA Series 6, 26, 7, 24 and 63 registrations. Throughout her career, McGruder has been active on numerous financial services industry committees and boards at the national level. She is the immediate past chair of the LL Global Inc. (LIMRA/LOMA) board of directors.
Her not-for-profit activities include vice chair of the Taft Museum of Art, immediate past chair of the YWCA of Greater Cincinnati and Treasurer of the Cincinnati Women’s Executive Forum. She is the immediate past chair of the Greater Cincinnati ArtsWave Campaign. She is past chair of the Women’s Leadership Council of the United Way Tocqueville Society, past president of the Board of Governors of The University Club of Cincinnati and past member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Club. Former board responsibilities include United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Cincinnati Nature Center, Family Service of the Greater Cincinnati Area and Every Child Succeeds. She has chaired the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women Experience, has been honored as a YWCA Career Woman of Achievement, and as the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce's Corporate Woman of the Year.
McGruder obtained a Bachelor of Arts magna cum laude from Capital University and a Juris Doctor from Capital University Law School. She resides in Indian Hill, Ohio, with her husband, Larry.
Term: 2021-2023
Andrew Wessel is a second year in the College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services pursuing a Sports Administration degree and pre-medicine certificate with hopes to pursue medical school.
On campus, he works for the University of Cincinnati Football Team, is a Clinical Research Assistant in the University of Cincinnati Medical Center Emergency Room, was elected to serve as the Undergraduate Student Government Treasurer, works as a ROAR Tour Guide, and is on the executive board of the Society of Sports Leaders where students interested in pursing a career in athletics are introduced to various industry professionals.
Ohio Governor, Mike DeWine, recently appointed him as the next Undergraduate Student Trustee on the University of Cincinnati's Board of Trustees. Andrew is humbled to have been selected and is excited to work for the betterment of our campus, local community, and state by representing all students, past, present, and future.
Term: 2018-2026
Monica leads P&G’s North America business, the Company’s largest and most profitable region which accounts for 47% of net sales. Her organization serves 370 million consumers in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, spanning sales offices, technical centers, manufacturing plants and mixing centers across the region. Monica has a track record of delivering transformational results in businesses, organizations and the CPG industry. She leads with a possibilities mindset, creating innovative approaches to extend the superiority of P&G brands, enabling an empowered and inclusive organization, driving breakthrough impact in P&G’s largest region.
Monica joined P&G in 1987, progressing in sales, strategy and planning roles and making a significant impact across categories, channels and customers. In her prior role as President of Sales for North America, she led market growth and value creation across 10 categories and 65 brands. Her areas of expertise in innovating to accelerate growth across business models, building winning plans for P&G and its retail partners, and driving a growth mindset culture are hallmarks of her leadership.
Monica is also known for her passionate leadership of equality and inclusion within the company, the CPG industry and the broader community. Monica serves on P&G’s Corporate Women’s Leadership Team and is the Executive Leader of the global African Ancestry Leadership Network. She is also a Board Trustee of the University of Cincinnati and the Board Chair of the Network of Executive Women (NEW). In partnership with NEW, she developed the Open Doors program to support, developand advancemulticultural women in P&G.
Monica has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine and as a Woman of Excellence by the National Association of Female Executives. She has also receivedthe Visionary Leadership Award from WorkingMother Magazine.