Board Members

Robert B. (Rob) Carter

Robert B. (Rob) Carter is Executive Vice President, FedEx Information Services and Chief Information Officer of FedEx Corporation. He is a member of the six-person Executive
Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities. Carter also serves as Co-President & Co-CEO of FedEx Services, the shared service entity responsible for Sales, Marketing, Information Technology and Customer Service.

Carter joined FedEx in 1993 and has more than 40 years of systems development and implementation experience. Carter is responsible for setting the technology direction of the FedEx applications, infrastructure and networks that provide around the clock and around the globe support for FedEx product offerings.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in computer and information science from the University of Florida and his MBA from the University of South Florida.

Carter has been awarded many industry accolades, including, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Fortune Magazine’s Executive Dream Team, Forbes Magazine CIO Innovation Award, Information Week's Chief of the Year Award, and is a charter inductee of CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame. Carter also serves on the Board of Directors of New York Life.

G. Douglas Edwards
Doug Edwards is President of the Edwin M. Jones Oil Company of San Antonio. He was previously the CEO of Morgan Keegan and Company, a division of Regions Financial Corporation. Edwards currently serves as senior advisor to Brown Brothers Harriman, a director of Microban International Corporation, a director of the SIFMA Foundation for Investor Education, and Chairman of the Baptist Memorial Healthcare Foundation. He is the past Chairman of the Teach for America Regional Board.

Edwards is a University of Memphis graduate and a previous member of its Board of Visitors. In 2008, he was awarded the University's Distinguished Alumni Award.

Marvin R. Ellison
Marvin Ellison is Chief Executive Officer of Lowe’s. Before joining Lowe’s in May 2018, JCPenney in November 2014, he spent three years as Chairman and CEO of JCPenney, 12 years as an executive with the Home Depot and 15 years with Target Corporation. Ellison serves on the Board of Directors for the National Retail Federation and FedEx. He is actively involved in philanthropic efforts, including mentoring programs for at-risk youth. Marvin was named to Fortune's "World's Greatest Leaders in 2016" and the "2016 Corporate Executive of the Year" by Black Enterprise.

Ellison earned a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from the University of Memphis and an MBA degree from Emory University.

Cato Johnson

Senior Vice President & Chief of Staff

Cato Johnson was named Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare's Chief of Staff in April 2017, In addition to his leadership in Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, a role he has held at Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare since 1985. Prior to that he was vice president of Corporate Affairs at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis. Johnson currently serves as chairman of the TennCare Medical Care Advisory Committee and chairman of the University of Memphis Board of Trustees.

Active in Legislative affairs for more than 20 years, Johnson is a former member of the original Governor's TennCare Roundtable. He was vice chair of the State Health planning and Advisory Board and chair of the TennCare Medical Care Advisory Committee. Johnson is a past president of the University of Memphis Alumni Association and served on the executive committee of the Memphis and Shelby County Sports Authority. He is a former chair of Tennessee Higher Education Commission, ormer member of the Tennessee State School Board and current Chairman of theBoard of Trustees for the University of Memphis.

Johnson is over Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs, Mission Integration, Employee Assistance Program and Le Bonheur Community Health. Johnson helped establish and now Chairs Partnership Tennessee, a coalition of African American business leaders, which elevates and accelerates workforce diversity and leadership opportunities. He has received numerous awards including: 2007 Memphis City Schools Hall of Fame, Distinguish Alumni Award in 2019 from University of Memphis. The last three years he received the Power 100- Most Influential Business Leader from the Memphis Business Journal. In 2022, the Distinguished Service Award from the NAACP. He also received the 100 Black Men of Memphis Award.

Johnson was a founding University of Memphis Board of Trustee member and has served various roles on the board prior to becoming the board chairman. He is especially proud of the new Georgette and Cato Johnson YMCA In Whitehaven, only the second YMCA in the state of Tennessee to be named after a family of color. Johnson received the 2024 Health Care Heroes Lifetime Achievement honor from the Memphis Buisness Journal.

David E. McKinney
David McKinney is Vice President of Human Resources for AutoZone (NYSE: AZO). In his position, he is responsible for AutoZone’s field and supply chain human resources, and talent acquisition. McKinney remains active in the civic and business communities. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Tennessee, Texas and California Retailers Association. David is a member of Leadership Tennessee – Class IX. Previously, he served on the Tennessee Governor’s Council for Judicial Appointments and the University of Memphis School of Law Alumni Board.

McKinney earned a Bachelor of Business Administration and Juris Doctorate from the University of Memphis.

David A. North

Dave North is retired Executive Chairman of Sedgwick, Inc. a Memphis based insurance services company. North served the insurance industry for 45 years and was recognized as one of the 50 most influential people in Insurance for the last 50 years, a recipient of the Business Insurance Lifetime Achievement Award and numerous other recognitions. A veteran of the USAF, firefighter and graduate of the College of the Air Force. He serves on the Board of Directors of The Folds of Honor Foundation, Lead Director of ComPsych the leading EAP and mental health company, author and frequent speaker on leadership.

North was appointed to the University Board by Gov. Bill Haslam and served as the Universities Chairman of the Board.

Carol L. Roberts
Carol Roberts is a retired Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for International Paper. Roberts leads the global finance organization, including Internal Audit, Tax, Accounting, Trust Investments, Investor Relations, Treasury and Strategic Planning and Information Technology. She joined IP after earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Yale in 1981. Roberts has held numerous positions in manufacturing, operations, human resources and general management.

Roberts serves on the Yale University Council, which advises the Yale president on key academic and administrative issues. She also serves on the Board of Directors and is Chair of the Audit Committee for Alcoa.

Susan L. Springfield

Susan Springfield is Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Credit Officer for First Horizon Corporation and First Horizon Bank. She is an executive sponsor of First Horizon's Inclusion and Diversity Council and their Women's Initiative. Springfiled is a board member for the Family Safety Center and Streets Ministries. She is a past board member for Hutchison School, SRVS, Le Bonheur Foundation, Rise Foundation, the Women's Foundation and is a 2002 Leadership Memphis graduate.

Springfield earned her bachelor's degree in Management and her MBA in finance from the University of Memphis and completed the Wharton School of Business Advanced Risk Management Program.

Faculty and Student Representatives

Jeffrey (Jeff) G. Marchetta
Jeffrey (Jeff) G. Marchetta, is a professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Memphis. He specializes in the design and analysis of fluid-thermal systems, and he has research interests in astronautics, energy efficiency and sustainability. Marchetta has been a recipient of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Abe Zarem Award for Distinguished Research in Astronautics and the Educator Award in Astronautics. JHe has served as the affiliate representative for the Tennessee Space Grant Consortium since 2003. Marchetta is the director of the Tennessee 3-Star Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) satellite at the University of Memphis, a program sponsored by the Department of Energy. He served on the University of Memphis Faculty Senate Executive Committee for 5 years which included a one-year term as the 2020-2021 Faculty Senate President.

Marchetta earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and his Ph.D. in Engineering from the University of Memphis.

Seth Khokhar

Seth is a Senior marketing major from Memphis currently involved with the Student Ambassador Board, Student Government Association, Sigma Chi Fraternity, Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, Tiger Catholic and the Emerging Leaders Program. Within these organizations, he has been Risk Manager and President for the Sigma Chi Fraternity, as well as the Vice President of Administration for the Student Ambassador Board. Under his leadership, Khokhar was named Risk Manager of the Year for Greek Life and Sigma Chi was awarded Outstanding Chapter of the Year. He received the Leadership Development Pillar of Excellence and raised a record amount of charitable dollars during his term as president.

Khokhar is deeply passionate about the City of Memphis and the University. His hobbies include involvement in local politics, including an internship with Congressman David Kustoff's office in Washington D.C. Khokhar looks forward to advancing the interests of his fellow students and the University as a whole. He has a deep love for the University of Memphis and believes the best is yet to come.