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Former PepsiCo chief to be WFU business dean
Reinemund will take over July 1, leading both undergraduate and graduate schools
Journal Photo by Jennifer Rotenizer
Steve Reinemund says that as dean of business, he will work at ensuring that students, faculty and staff share his commitment to diversity.
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Published: April 23, 2008
The new dean of Wake Forest University's two business schools said yesterday that he wants to bring a lifelong dedication to diversity and inclusion to his new job.
"I think diversity is not only good for business, but it's the right thing to do," said Steve Reinemund, the former chief executive and chairman of PepsiCo Inc. Reinemund will take over July 1 as the dean of the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy for undergraduates and the Babcock Graduate School of Management. He will also be a professor of leadership and strategy. His hiring was announced yesterday.
Reinemund emerged as a favorite early in the search, said Charles Iacovou, an associate professor of management at Babcock and a member of the search committee. Committee members were impressed with Reinemund's ability to lead people and motivate them to reach their potential, and his understanding of the role of business in shaping society, Iacovou said.
Reinemund retired from PepsiCo in 2007 and currently lives in Dallas. He and Gail, his wife of 34 years, have four children.
Reinemund has long maintained ties to Wake Forest, he said in an interview after the announcement. He first came to the campus in the 1980s and has visited several times.
Wayne Calloway, for whom the undergraduate business school is named, was one of his mentors, Reinemund said. Calloway, a 1959 Wake Forest graduate, was a previous chairman and CEO of PepsiCo. In 2002, Reinemund and two other PepsiCo executives contributed $500,000 to create the Four Chairmen's Bridge, an arched bridge with wrought-iron railing that serves as the main entrance to the Calloway School.
Reinemund said that business schools are the feeders in providing more diverse corporate leadership, and he intends to look for ways to ensure that the students, faculty members and staff member reflect his views. He did not provide specifics.
His efforts to diversify PepsiCo earned him the National Equal Justice Award from the Legal Defense Fund of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Man Who Did the Most for Women Award from the National Council for Research on Women.
Reinemund spent 23 years at PepsiCo, serving as chairman and chief executive from 2001 to 2006.
He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and received a master's of business administration from the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
He served five years as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving the rank of captain.
Holly Brower, an associate professor at Calloway School and a member of the search committee, said that in many ways, Reinemund's strength of character was as important as his professional qualifications. She said that over and over, when the search committee talked with people about him, they heard about his ability to bring people together and create a common vision.
He wants to educate the whole person, not just teach technical skills, Brower said.
Reinemund will be the first dean to lead both of the university's business schools. Wake Forest announced in September that it would realign the schools as part of the university's new strategic plan, said Wake Provost Jill Tiefenthaler, who led the search committee.
The move to have one dean is aimed at promoting collaboration in teaching and scholarship and creating the most innovative education for students. The current deans -- Ajay Patel at Babcock and Jack Wilkerson at Calloway -- will go back to teaching full time. Neither was considered for the new post because the university decided that it wanted to hire from outside.
The president of Wake Forest, Nathan Hatch, said that Reinemund's ties to the university and his proved leadership abilities made him an excellent candidate.
"During his extraordinary career, Steve has been recognized as an inspirational leader and mentor," Hatch said. "I greatly value his creative thinking about the role corporations should play in the contemporary world."
■ Mary Giunca can be reached at 727-4089 or at mgiunca@wsjournal.com
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The Downtown Summer Music Series will begin on Thursday. Ed Bumgardner talks to some of the organizers of the Downtown Jazz lineup, in which a form of music known as "smooth jazz" will play a more prominent role this year.
Thursday's relish stories will appear in the Entertainment section.
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