At its regular spring meeting earlier this month, the Vanderbilt University Board of Trust elected three new trustees, reelected three trustees to second terms, and thanked several outgoing trustees for their service.
The board welcomed new trustees David Bronson Ingram, MBA'89, and CJ (Cynthia) Warner, BE'80, who will serve five-year terms beginning July 1. In addition, outgoing Vanderbilt University Alumni Association Board President Anu (Anurag) Pardeshi, BS'00, MS'02, MBA'04, will begin a two-year term as alumni trustee.
"David, CJ and Anu have deep Vanderbilt roots, have demonstrated a long-term commitment to advancing the mission of the university and bring an enormous amount of professional and civic experience to the board," Board of Trust Chair Bruce Evans said of the new trustees. "We are lucky to have them, and I look forward to working with each of them as we map Vanderbilt's way forward."
The board also reelected Ike (Lawrence) Epstein BA'89, JD'92, Suzanne Perot McGee, BS'86, and Corey Thomas, BE'98, to second five-year terms. Board members voted to elect outgoing board members Shirley Collado, BS'94, Jay Hoag and John Ingram, MBA'86, to positions of trustees emeriti, and recognized alumni trustee Tim Warnock, BA'84, on the completion of his board term.
"Our new and returning trustees continue the long history of steadfast leadership by board members committed to Vanderbilt's progress," Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. "As we embark on some of our most ambitious initiatives and, at the same time, reaffirm values and principles that have served the university well for generations, having a Board of Trust with such deep experience and varied perspectives is an invaluable asset. I thank all of these trustees-new, reelected and outgoing alike-for their service to the university."
About the new trustees
David B. Ingram, MBA'89, is chairman and CEO of DBI Next, a family office platform for investments in real estate and operating companies. He formerly owned Ingram Entertainment Inc., one of the nation's largest distributors of DVDs and video games. Ingram graduated from Duke University in 1985 and earned an MBA degree from the Vanderbilt University Owen Graduate School of Management in 1989. He held a variety of positions at Ingram Entertainment Inc. before being named president in 1994 and chairman and president in 1996.
Ingram founded DBI Beverage Inc. in 2002 as a separate company that became the second-largest beer distributor in California, distributing products including Miller, Coors, Corona, Modelo, Pacifico, Guinness and numerous craft beer brands. He was chairman for 17 years before selling the company in 2019.
Ingram chairs the Owen Graduate School of Management Board of Visitors and is also chair of Owen's Campaign Cabinet for the Dare to Grow campaign. He previously served as general chair for the Owen Shape the Future Campaign Committee (2002-06) and received the Owen Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2011. In June 2020 he was named one of the "Owen Century Partners" in recognition of his contributions toward
Since 2008, Ingram has been president of The Golf Club of Tennessee, and he has served as a board member of Pinnacle Financial Partners since 2016. He was formerly chairman of the Montgomery Bell Academy Board of Trustees and a board member of Buy.com, Goldleaf Financial Solutions Inc., Ingram Micro and the Video Software Dealers Association.
CJ (Cynthia) Warner, BE'80, is a seasoned energy executive with experience in both traditional and renewable energies. She has been driving growth and improvements to deliver energy more safely, reliably and sustainably for more than 40 years. From 2019 through 2022, she was president and CEO of Renewable Energy Group, an international producer of low-carbon, bio-based diesel. She grew the company's market value approximately threefold prior to its acquisition by Chevron.
Warner earned a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from Vanderbilt and an MBA from Illinois Institute of Technology. She began her career as a chemical engineer at UOP before serving in executive roles for global energy companies including British Petroleum and Sapphire Energy. Prior to REG, she was executive vice president, operations, at Andeavor.
Warner was inducted into the School of Engineering's Academy of Distinguished Alumni in March 2019. She is a member of the School of Engineering Board of Visitors and has been a VUConnect career adviser since 2011. Warner is actively engaged with the Supporting Women in Engineering Leadership Program at the School of Engineering.
Warner was named 2020 Businessperson of the Year by Fortune and one of the 100 most creative people in business by Fast Company in 2010. She serves on the board of directors for Chevron and Bloom Energy and is lead independent director for Sempra Energy. She is also a member of the executive committee for the Columbia University advisory board for the Center for Global Energy Policy and serves as Senior Operating Partner for GVP Climate LLP.
Anu (Anurag) Pardeshi, BS'00, MS'02, MBA'04, was elected to a two-year term as alumni trustee, a position filled by the outgoing president of the alumni association board. He fills the position as current alumni trustee Tim Warnock's term concludes on June 30.
Pardeshi has more than 25 years of diverse health care experience, including 10 years in health care investing and 15 years of operating and strategy experience. He is currently a partner at A1A Investment Partners, a health care-focused private credit and equity fund, where he is responsible for value creation within portfolio companies and prospective investments.
Previously he was a member of the Truist (formerly SunTrust) Middle Market health care team in Nashville, where he originated more than $750 million in financing opportunities in six years. Prior to that, he held executive leadership roles at CapitalOne Healthcare Financial Services, Sheridan (now Envision), DaVita and Healthways (now Tivity).
Pardeshi earned a bachelor's degree in economics and computer science and a master's degree in computer science from Vanderbilt University, as well as an MBA from Owen Graduate School of Management. He has been a board member of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board since 2017 and previously served as a member of the Owen Alumni Board.
Trustees reelected
The following trustees were reelected to second five-year terms:
Ike (Lawrence) Epstein, BA'89, JD'92, is senior executive vice president and chief operating officer at Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization. Before joining UFC, Epstein was partner and president of the Nevada-based law firm Beckley Singleton. He is on the Vanderbilt Law School's Board of Advisors and serves as a member of the Law School Campaign Cabinet.
Suzanne Perot McGee, BS'86, is a Dallas-based philanthropic leader and volunteer and actively engaged in the Dallas and Vanderbilt communities. She is a director of the Perot Foundation and Petrus Asset Management. In 2022, McGee and her family established the McGee Applied Research Center for Narrative Studies at Vanderbilt, which promotes media literacy by providing resources to evaluate the objectivity of news coverage, social media, blogs and other narratives.
Corey Thomas, BE'98, is CEO and chairman of Rapid7, a publicly held company that provides cybersecurity services for a variety of Fortune 500 clients.
Thomas was appointed to The President's National Security Telecommunications Advisory Council in 2023 and serves as chair of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He is vice chair of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
In other board action, the board approved a voluntary one-year pause of Somto Okoye's term as Young Alumni Leader. She will resume service as of July 1, 2025.
New trustees emeriti
The following trustees were elected to emeritus or emerita status:
Shirley Collado, BS'94, is president and chief executive officer of College Track, the most comprehensive college completion program in the country dedicated to democratizing potential among first-generation college students from underserved communities. She earned a Ph.D. from Duke University and went on to serve as ninth president of Ithaca College. She was the first person of color to serve in that role and the first Dominican American in the U.S. to serve as president of a four-year institution. Upon the conclusion of her tenure as president, the board of trustees conferred upon her the title of president emerita. She is a board member of ACT, Excelencia in Education, Kids First Chicago and StarRez, and a founding member of Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration. She also is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
Elected to the Vanderbilt Board of Trust in 2014, Collado served as secretary to the board from 2015 to 2018 and was the first woman of color trustee to serve as a board officer and the first Latinx person to serve as a term trustee. She has served on various standing and ad hoc committees of the board during her tenure, including the Executive Committee, the 2019 chancellor search committee, the Governance and Board Affairs Committee and the Audit Committee. Additionally, she served as a member of the Ad Hoc EDI Committee and as chair of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee and as a member of the same on the renamed Human and Organizational Development Committee. She also served as chair of the Ad Hoc Committee that recommended the renaming of Memorial Hall.
Jay Hoag co-founded TCV, a leading provider of growth capital to technology companies. In addition to his investment activities, Hoag is a member of TCV's Executive Committee, which oversees general management of the firm and its funds. Previously he was a managing director at Chancellor Capital Management. He has been recognized numerous times by the Forbes Midas List as one of the industry's top technology investors. Hoag serves on the boards of Netflix, TripAdvisor and Zillow and was recently named chair of Peloton's board of directors.
Elected to the Vanderbilt Board of Trust in 2014, Hoag served as a member of the Audit Committee, the Student Affairs Committee, and the Athletics Committee. He served as both a member and as vice chairman of the Compensation Committee and served eight years on the Investment Committee-three as vice chairman and five as a member.
John Ingram, MBA'86, is the chairman of Ingram Industries Inc., as well as Ingram Content Group, a division which focuses on physical and digital content services in the book industry. He is a founding benefactor along with his wife Stephanie Ingram, BA'86, of the Currey Ingram Academy, and he has served numerous other national and local nonprofits including the National Center for Learning Disabilities, the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, The Harpeth Hall School, and Montgomery Bell Academy. An avid sports enthusiast, he was the lead investor behind the successful effort to bring a Major League Soccer team to Nashville. In 2022, Ingram established the Ingram Center for Student-Athlete Success, the mission of which is to equip Vanderbilt student-athletes with resources to maximize their potential for unmatched postgraduate preparation.
Ingram served a total of 20 years on the Board of Trust, first from 2003 to 2013 and again from 2014 to present. During his tenure, he served on the Athletics Committee for 19 years: nine as committee chair, three as vice chair and seven as a member. He served on the 2007 chancellor search committee and on the Medical Center Affairs Committee for six years. Additionally, he served on the Audit Committee, the Compensation Committee, the Executive Committee, and the Governance and Board Affairs Committee. He currently serves as a Vanderbilt Director on the Vanderbilt University Medical Center Board.
In addition to electing the trustees emeriti, the board recognized Tim Warnock, BA'84, on the completion of his two-year term as alumni trustee. He is a past president of the Vanderbilt Alumni Association Board and has been deeply involved in university life for decades. He continues his law practice in the Nashville office of Loeb & Loeb, where he focuses on commercial and intellectual property litigation in federal and state courts.
