Executive Leadership Council

Sports executive Mark Tatum was born on October 22, 1969 in Vung Tau, Vietnam to Kim and Charlie Tatum. Tatum grew up in New York’s East Flatbush neighborhood. In 1987, Tatum graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, where he led the baseball team to the New York City public school championship at Yankee Stadium in 1984. In 1991, he received his B.S. degree in business management and marketing from Cornell University. Tatum went on to receive his M.B.A. degree in 1998 from Harvard Business School.

In 1991, Tatum was hired by Procter & Gamble as a corporate account executive and was later promoted to corporate account executive. In 1995, he joined the Clorox Company, where he served as a regional sales manager and oversaw the company's $100 million northeast sales territory. After graduating from Harvard Business School Tatum joined Major League Baseball’s department of corporate sponsorships in 1998. A year later, Tatum was hired by the National Basketball Association (NBA) as director of marketing partnerships. In 2009, Tatum served as executive vice president of global marketing partnerships at the National Basketball Association, where he managed corporate sponsorships for companies such as American Express, Anheuser-Bush Inc., and Kia Motors. In 2014, he was appointed deputy commissioner and chief operating officer of the National Basketball Association and became the highest-ranking executive of color in a professional sports league. As deputy commissioner, Tatum is responsible for the NBA’s technology advancements, launched the Basketball Africa League, and developed programs in China and India.

Tatum is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, and sits on the boards of USA Basketball, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, LA 2028 Summer Olympics, and the Harvard Business School Board of Dean’s Advisors. He is chair of the Harvard Business School Club of New York and member of the board of directors for The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids.

In 2006, 2007, and 2008, Tatum received the Forty Under 40 Award from Sports Business Journal, making him a member of the publication’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame. In 2014 and 2015, Tatum was named to the list of the 50 Most Influential People in Sports Business by Sports Business Journal. In 2016, Tatum was named to Forbes’ list of the Top 25 Most Influential Minorities in Sports.

Tatum and his wife, Lisa Skeete Tatum, have two sons: Tai and Kylan.

Mark Tatum was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 16, 2019.

Corporate executive Lydia G. Mallett was born on August 22, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan to Conrad Mallett Sr. and Claudia Mallett. In 1976, Mallett received her B.A. degree in psychology from Michigan State University. She went on to receive her M.A. degree in labor and industrial relations in 1979 and her M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in social psychology in 1981, all from Michigan State University.

After serving as an assistant professor at the University of Michigan-Flint School of Management, Mallett moved to Chicago, Illinois to join James H. Lowry Associates as a consultant. She later served as director of human resources advisory at Coopers & Lybrand. Mallett went on to serve as vice president/chief diversity officer at General Mills, where she designed and implemented a co-mentoring strategy for women and people of color. In 1999, she served as director of human resources for the Snacks Unlimited division of General Mills. In 2004, Mallett was hired by Tyco International as vice president of staffing and vice president of diversity and inclusion. Eight years later, she joined DuPont as director of global talent acquisition, chief diversity officer, and employee engagement leader. In 2018, she attended Harvard Business School’s Executive Education program, “Women on Boards: Succeeding as a Corporate Director.” The same year, Mallett served as managing director of Mallett Consulting & Associates in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Mallett is a board member of the Feminist Press and a member of the American Psychological Association. Mallett served as chair of the Executive Leadership Council’s governance committee and as chair of the Conference Board’s Council on Global Diversity. She was elected president of the Minnesota Women’s Campaign Fund and served as the White House appointment for the National Women’s Business Council. Mallett served as president of the Chicago chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women before being elected national president in 1997. In 2011 and 2018, she was listed as a Top Executive in Corporate Diversity by Black Enterprise.

Mallett lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her partner Stanley White. She has one daughter, Noel.

Lydia Mallett was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 13, 2019.

Investment banker Milton Irvin was born on June 18, 1949 in Orange, New Jersey to Milton M. Sr., and Dorothy W. Irvin. A graduate of Essex Catholic Boys High School in 1967 in Newark, New Jersey, Irvin received his B.S. degree in marine engineering in 1971 from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, New York and his M.B.A. degree in finance in 1974 from the Wharton School of Business at University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia.

Irvin joined Chase Manhattan Bank as corporate lending officer and assistant treasurer from 1974 to 1977. He then went to work for Salomon Brothers, Inc. in New York City from 1977 to 1988. Irvin then served as managing director at Paine Webber Inc. from 1988 to 1990 and then re-joined Salomon Brothers, Inc. as managing director, and the firm’s first African American partner where he worked from 1990 to 1998 and handled short-term debt securities for Salomon’s clients. Irvin was appointed to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation as chair of the Advisory Committee by President Bill Clinton and served from 1995 to 1998. He then joined Blaylock & Partners as president, chief operating officer and partner. Irvin was named managing director at UBS Investment Bank where he led the strategic and tactical execution of diversity initiatives. He also served as UBS global head of career mobility advisor office, talent executive for Leadership Development Program (ASCENT), and global head of recruiting and training for the Fixed Income, Rates and Currency Department from 2002 to 2012.

Irvin was appointed by President Barack Obama for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He also was appointed chairman of the Board of Advisors at CastleOak Securities in 2012. He served as non-executive chairman at NexTier Companies, LLC., a multi-disciplined consulting and investment advisory in 2013. Governor Nikki Haley appointed Irvin to serve on the South Carolina State University Board of Trustees in 2015. Irvin was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees for South Carolina State University in 2018.

Irvin was named one of The 25 Hottest Blacks on Wall Street by Black Enterprise magazine.

Milton and his wife Melody have three adult children including Brandon, Viola and Kesi.

Milton Irvin was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 23, 2018.

Corporate executive Challis Lowe was born on July 21, 1945 in Chicago, Illinois to Clotilde Waller and Abner Waller. She graduated from Parker High School in 1962, and received her B.A. degree in communications from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 1966. She later earned her M.B.A. degree in finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management University in 1978.

Lowe began her career at the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago. In 1972, she was named the first African American female vice president of the Continental Bank, at the time, the fifth largest bank in the U.S. She was senior vice president of Illinois Leasing Corporation, a subsidiary focused on domestic lease and debt financing transactions, when Continental Bank sold this business unit to Sanwa Bank, Ltd. of Japan in 1984. Lowe remained in Chicago as senior vice president of administrative services for the newly formed Sanwa Business Credit Corporation. In 1993, she became the executive vice president of human resources for the Walter E. Heller International Corporation. In 1997, Lowe moved into a similar role at the Beneficial Corporation, then the nation’s second largest consumer finance company. When Beneficial merged with Household International, Inc. in 1998, Lowe served as a consultant. In 2000, she moved to Florida, where she worked as the executive vice president of human resources, corporate communications and public affairs for Ryder System, Inc. Four years later, Lowe was hired as executive vice president of human resources of Dollar General where she remained until the acquisition of Dollar General by KKR & Co. L.P., a private equity company. In 2009, Lowe was recruited to serve as the senior vice president of organization development and human resources for Ascension Health, Inc., a position she held until her retirement in 2013.

In 1997, Lowe joined the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation board as a financial specialist to chair its newly formed Investment Committee; and in 2000, she became a trustee of the Kenwood Growth and Income Fund in Chicago. Upon relocating to Florida, she served on the Florida Memorial College Board of Directors in 2001, and the Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University Board of Trustees in 2003, which she later chaired. In 2005, Lowe was elected as a board member and treasurer of the Executive Leadership Council. Lowe joined the Fisk University Board of Trustees in 2013, and was named to the board of directors of the Seaway Bank and Trust Company in 2014. In 2016, Lowe was named to the board of Catholic Health Initiatives where she chaired the Retirement Committee and served on its Audit Committee.

Challis Lowe was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on June 30, 2018.

Corporate executive Alfred “Al” Zollar was born in 1954 in Kansas City, Missouri. He attended Paseo High School in Kansas City and then graduated from Mills High School in Millbrae, California. He went on to receive his M.A. degree in applied mathematics from the University of California at San Diego in 1976.

Zollar joined IBM Corporation in 1977 as a systems engineer trainee in the company’s San Francisco office. After working in systems engineering for ten years, he was transferred to IBM’s White Plains, New York headquarters in 1986 as a member of the corporate staff. Zollar was promoted to product manager for IBM's relational database software DB2 in 1989; and was made laboratory director at the IBM Software Group laboratory in Raleigh, North Carolina in 1993. In 1996, IBM bought software maker Tivoli and appointed Zollar senior vice president of development. He was promoted again to general manager of IBM's Network Computing Software Division in 1998; and, in 2000, was named president and chief executive officer of IBM’s Lotus Development Corporation. Three years later, Zollar left Lotus to become the general manager of iSeries, IBM's range of servers aimed at small and medium-sized companies. He then served as general manager of IBM Tivoli Software, a global, multi-billion dollar business within IBM's software division, from 2004 until 2011. Zollar retired from IBM in January of 2011 and became an executive partner of the Siris Capital Group in 2014.

Zollar has served on the boards of the Chubb Corporation and PSEG Incorporated. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council, and a lifetime member of the National Society of Black Engineers. He was ranked #15 on Fortune magazine’s 2002 list of Most Powerful Black Executives; named one of the 50 most important African Americans in technology by US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine in 2004; one of the 100 most powerful executives in corporate America by Black Enterprise magazine in 2009; and one of fifty distinguished alumni of the University of California at San Diego in 2011. In addition, Zollar was a Harvard University Fellow in the 2011 cohort of the Advanced Leadership Initiative, and was issued a U.S. patent for “Trust and Identity in Secure Calendar Sharing Collaboration,” in 2012.

Alfred “Al” Zollar was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on May 9, 2014.

Diversity strategist J.T. (Ted) Childs, Jr. was born on November 26, 1944 in Springfield, Massachusetts to John and Clara Childs. He graduated from Classical High School in 1962, and received his B.A. degree in psychology from West Virginia State University in 1967.

Upon graduation, Childs joined IBM as a personnel administration trainee. He went on to work in several staff and managerial positions at IBM, including program manager of personnel operations. He was subsequently appointed IBM's vice president of global workforce diversity, where he oversaw the company's diversity programs and policies. From March of 1983 to September of 1984, Childs served as executive assistant to Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, executive director of the NAACP, on an IBM Social Service Leave. In 1989, he was appointed by Governor Mario Cuomo to the New York State Governor’s Advisory Council on Child Care; and, in 1995, Childs was appointed as an official delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. In 1997, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Robert E. Rubin, appointed Childs as an advisor to the Secretary’s Working Group on Child Care. In 2006, Childs retired from IBM and founded the consulting firm, Ted Childs, LLC, where he serves as a strategic diversity advisor.

Childs is a member of the board of trustees, and past chair of the West Virginia State University Foundation. He is a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC); The Families and Work Institute board of directors; was installed as a Fellow of The National Academy of Human Resources in 2001; and has served as co-chair of the National Council of Jewish Women’s Work Family Advisory Board. Childs holds life memberships in the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources, The National Council of Negro Women, Inc., The National Organization of Women (NOW), Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., the NAACP, the Sierra Club, and the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society.

In 1997, Childs was named by Working Mother magazine as one of the 25 Men Friends of the Family who have made it easier for working parents to raise and nurture children. In 1998, the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies presented Joan Lombardi, U.S. Senators Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch, and Childs with its Lifetime Achievement Award. Childs also received the Corporate Leadership Award from the Human Rights Campaign in 2003, the Work/Life Legacy Award from the Families and Work Institute in 2004, and the Trailblazers in Diversity Award from the Chief Diversity Officer’s Forum in 2006. In addition, Working Mother Media announced The Ted Childs Life / Work Excellence Award to be given annually to the individual who by their distinctive performance has contributed to the field of Life / Work in the business community. Childs has received Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees from Pace University, West Virginia State University and Our Lady of the Elms College.

Ted Childs was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on March 20, 2014.

Management consultant Gerald S. Adolph was born on December 30, 1953 in New York City, New York. His father, Leroy Adolph, was a New York City department of sanitation worker; his mother, Beryl Adolph, a nurse. Raised in New York, Adolph attended Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx, where he graduated from in 1971. He then received his B.S. degrees in management science and chemical engineering in 1976 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Adolph went on to receive his M.S. degree in chemical engineering from MIT in 1980, and his M.B.A degree from the Harvard Business School in 1981.

Adolph was hired as a research engineer at the Polaroid Corporation in 1976, where he worked in the company’s development labs and chemical manufacturing division. In 1981, Adolph was hired at Booz Allen Hamilton, now Booz & Company, as an associate of technology management services. After being promoted to a senior associate in 1983, and as principal of technology management services in 1985, he was made partner of the chemicals practice at Booz & Company in 1989. While employed as partner of the chemicals practice, Adolph also served as the practice leader of global chemicals. Then, in 1999, Adolph was promoted to a senior partner of consumer, health and M&A, as well as practice leader of global consumer and health at Booz & Company. In 2001, while still serving as senior partner, he led the global mergers and restructuring group. In 2010, Adolph was promoted to a managing senior partner for the New York region at Booz & Company.

Adolph has served on numerous corporate and educational boards throughout his career, including the Corporate Advisory Board at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Helen Keller International, and Co-Chair of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund. Adolph also served on Booz & Company’s board of directors, and as board chair of the Executive Leadership Council in 2004. He was elected to the board of Cintas in 2006 and the board of his alma mater Cardinal Spellman High School in 2010. In 2009, Adolph co-authored the book Merge Ahead: Mastering the Five Enduring Trends of Artful M&A. He was awarded the Pierre Toussaint Medallion from the Archdiocese of New York in 2009. Booz & Company has also honored Adolph with their Professional Excellence Award.

Gerald S. Adolph was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on October 20, 2013.

Corporate executive Sheila G. Talton was born on October 12, 1952 in Cleveland, Ohio. As a teenager, she became involved in the civil rights movement in Rockford, Illinois. Talton went on to graduate from Northern Illinois University with her B.S. degree in business administration and speech communications in 1980

Upon graduation, Talton was hired as a sales trainee at NCR Corporation. She became head of Midwest sales for Data Group Systems in Chicago in 1982, moving on to a position as team leader in the sales department of Applied Data Research (ADR) in 1984. Taking advantage of a void left by the breakup of AT&T, Talton founded Unisource Network Services, a provider of voice, data and video networking consultation and support services, in 1987. In 1996, while still leading Unisource, she helped establish the Information Technology Senior Management Forum, a mentoring group that cultivates executive talent among African American IT professionals. Talton sold her stake in Unisource in 2000, and was hired as the vice president of Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young’s Midwest technology consulting practice. In 2002, she was named president of global business innovation services for Electronic Data Systems (EDS). Talton was hired by the computer networking company Cisco Systems Inc. in 2004 where she became vice president of advisory services in the Customer Advocacy Group. She was promoted to a role as vice president of Cisco’s Office of Globalization in 2008 and helped the company identify growth opportunities in emerging markets around the world. She left Cisco in 2012 to found the consulting firm SGT, Ltd. In 2013, Talton established Gray Matter Analytics, Inc., a business providing consulting services and cloud hosting service for analytics.

Talton has served as a member of the board of directors of the ACCO Brands Corporation, the Wintrust Financial Corporation, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Lighthouse for the Blind, and the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Her honors include selection as a Congressional appointee on the US White House Women’s Business Council, as one of the “Top 10 Women in Technology” by Enterprising Women, and as “Entrepreneur of the Year” by the National Federation of Black Women Business Owners. She is also a recipient of the “Entrepreneurial Excellence Award” from Working Woman magazine and a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Legacy Award. She was named a 2007 “Woman Worth Watching” by Profiles in Diversity Journal, received a 2008 Egretha Award from the African American Women’s Business and Career Conference, and was named a 2009 Business Leader of Color by Chicago United. In 2010 she was honored as a Woman of Achievement by the Anti-Defamation League, and as the Outstanding College Alumni of the Year by the Business School of Northern Illinois University. In 2011 she was named one of “25 Influential Black Women in Business” by The Network Journal and received the “Diamond Leadership Award” from the Information Technology Senior Management Forum.

Sheila G. Talton was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on August 23, 2013.

Corporate executive Christopher Simmons was born on August 15, 1957 and raised in Shelby, Tennessee. His mother Dorothy Anderson was a homemaker and his father Joseph Simmons was a school principal and a minister. He is the third of six children. Simmons attended Hamilton High School where he graduated at the top of his class. He obtained his B.A. degree in economics from Harvard University in 1979. Upon graduation, Simmons began his career at IBM; he then left IBM to take a position at Wang Laboratories where he worked as a senior marketing analyst. In 1986, he earned his M.B.A degree from Harvard School of Business. That same year, he then joined the Bankers Trust Company as an associate. While there, he was responsible for analysis and structuring of large leveraged buyout finances and other transactions.

In 1992, Simmons joined PricewaterhouseCoopers as senior manager, managing mergers and acquisitions with transaction services. In 1998, he managed PwC’s internal merger and acquisitions group. In 2001, Simmons was promoted to managing partner of PwC’s Washington, D.C. Metro area office. In 2004, he was asked by the chairman to serve as Chief Diversity Officer. He also served as chair of the Partner Admission Committee, and as a member of the Human Capital Leadership Team and the Management Evaluation and Compensation Committee. In 2009, he was elected to the firm’s United States Board of Partners & Principals.

Simmons served as PwC’s charitable foundation board president, where he was responsible for PwC’s $750,000 commitment to Feeding America. In 2011, Simmons was honored with the Corporate Community Investment Award, for his involvement in youth mentoring and assisting those in need. His involvement has included the Economic Club of Washington as Chair of the Membership Committee, and the Executive Leadership Council as a board member. He has served as secretary and executive board member of the Association of Latino professionals in Finance and Accounting and is a part of the Federal City Council.

Christopher Simmons was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on May 7, 2012.

Corporate executive Elynor A. Williams was born on October 27, 1946 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Albert and Naomi Williams. She graduated from Central Academy in Palatka, Florida before receiving her B.A. degree in home economics from Spelman College in 1966. Williams then joined Eugene Butler High School in Jacksonville, Florida as a home economics teacher. In 1968, she became an editor and publicist for General Foods Corporation in White Plains, New York. Williams received her M.A. degree in communication arts from Cornell University in 1973. At Cornell, she worked as a tutor for special education projects.

Following the completion of her education, Williams became a communication specialist for North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. In 1977, she became a senior public relations specialist for Western Electric Company in Greensboro, North Carolina. Williams served as director of corporate affairs for Sara Lee Corporation’s Hanes Group in Winston-Salem, North Carolina from 1983 to 1986 and director of public affairs for the Sara Lee Corporation in Chicago, Illinois from 1985 to 1990. Then, she was promoted to vice president of public responsibility for the Sara Lee Corporation, becoming the company’s first African American corporate officer. During William’s time at Sara Lee, she directed the Sara Lee Foundation, served as executive secretary of the Employee and Public Responsibility Committee for the board of directors and founded the Frontrunner Awards to honor the achievements of outstanding women. After leaving the Sara Lee Corporation, Williams served as president and managing director of Chestnut Pearson and Associates, an international management consulting firm.

Throughout her long career, Williams has demonstrated a continued commitment to her community, becoming involved with numerous local and national organizations. She is a founding board member of the Executive Leadership Council and Spelman College Corporate Women’s Roundtable. Williams has served on the board of directors of the American Cancer Society Foundation, Children’s Memorial Hospital and the Chicago Sinfonietta. She is also deeply dedicated to the advancement of women, especially minority women and has worked with the National Women’s Economic Alliance, the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., the International Women’s Forum and the President’s Council of Cornell University Women. Williams has been recognized many times by national media including being named one of the 50 Top Black Executives in Corporate America by Ebony ; Magazine and one Chicago’s most powerful women by WBBM-TV. She has received the Drum Major for Justice Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was named a National Headliner by Women in Communications. Williams lives in Chicago, Illinois.

Elynor A. Williams was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 19, 2012.