Five Atlanta Business Leaders Receive Robinson College Alumni Awards

by Jenifer Shockley

ATLANTA – Four alumni and one honorary alumnus were honored at Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business 13th annual Alumni Awards last week.

This year's recipients are: William H. Rogers, Jr. (MBA '86), chairman and CEO, SunTrust Banks Inc. (Robinson Hall of Fame Award); J. Grover Thomas Jr. (MBA '85), retired chairman, president and CEO, The Trustmark Companies (Robinson Distinguished Alumni Award); Aziz Hashim, managing partner, NRD Capital Management LLC (Robinson Honorary Alumnus Award); Delia S. Cochran (MBA '77), global director of capability, The Coca-Cola Company (Robinson Distinguished Service Alumni Award); and Sharon E. Schacter (M.S. '91), retired director of global leadership, The Coca-Cola Company (Robinson Distinguished Service Alumni Award).

"It's thrilling to recognize Robinson and Georgia State alumni – and honorary alumni – whose careers and service are inspiring not only to me, but also to our students," said Robinson College Dean Richard D. Phillips.

About the Recipients

William H. Rogers, Jr. – Robinson Hall of Fame Award

William H. Rogers, Jr. is chairman and chief executive officer of SunTrust Banks Inc., one of the nation's largest financial services companies serving 4.6 million households and business clients.

Since taking the CEO post, Rogers has led a significant transformation of the company, building its client-first culture and increasing focus on operating returns and efficiency. Under his leadership, SunTrust has improved its adjusted tangible efficiency ratio from 72 percent to approximately 63 percent, and more than doubled the return on average tangible common equity. SunTrust's shares have increased by approximately 70 percent, outperforming both the broader market and the U.S. banking sector.

Rogers is currently chair of trustees for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Atlanta and chair of Achieve Atlanta. He is a member of the Atlanta Committee for Progress and serves on the board of the Georgia Research Alliance and Operation HOPE. In addition, he serves on the Robinson College Board of Advisers and the Woodruff Arts Center Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

J. Grover Thomas Jr. – Robinson Distinguished Alumni Award

J. Grover Thomas, Jr. is the retired chairman, president and CEO of Trustmark Companies. Thomas joined Trustmark, an Illinois-based provider of employee benefits, in 2000 right after the company reported the first operating loss in its history. Thomas focused Trustmark on core businesses and capabilities, leading to four successive years of record earnings from 2002 through 2005. He was elected chairman in 2002 and continued in that role until his retirement in 2015.

Prior to Trustmark, Thomas spent 18 years at Fortis Inc., first as senior vice president of sales for American Security Insurance Group (now Assurant Solutions) and later as chairman of four subsidiary companies and a member of the executive committee.

Thomas has and continues to serve on numerous professional and philanthropic boards, including as a trustee of the Georgia State University Foundation. He was president of the Georgia State University Alumni Association from 1993 through 1994. His professional board service includes U.S. HealthCare, the Actuarial Foundation, the Medical Information Bureau, the Illinois Life Insurance Council, the Georgia Guaranty Association, the National Second Mortgage Association and Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.

Aziz Hashim – Robinson Honorary Alumnus Award

Aziz Hashim is the incoming chairman of the International Franchise Association and managing partner of NRD Capital Management LLC. The first private equity fund sponsored and managed by a multi-unit franchisee, NRD Capital is focused on acquiring franchise concepts that offer compelling unit economics and represent solid opportunities for franchisees, helping them accelerate growth through proprietary processes and systems.

Prior to founding NRD Capital, Hashim, a highly regarded executive in the U.S. and international franchise space, founded NRD Holdings in 1996, beginning with one location. Through expert risk identification and management, unique portfolio management strategies and superior execution, Hashim has become a leading multi-state, multi-brand, multinational franchisee, growing to one of the top 200 franchise operators in the U.S., Canada and Africa.

In 2014, Hashim and his wife, Farahnaz, established the Aziz and Farahnaz Hashim Chair for Franchise Entrepreneurship at the Robinson College. The Aziz and Farahnaz Hashim Faculty Position in Franchise Entrepreneurship provides the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality with the resources to expand the graduate and undergraduate curriculum to encompass this fast-growing business model.

Delia S. Cochran – Robinson Distinguished Service Alumni Award

Delia Cochran is completing her 16th year with The Coca-Cola Company. As global director of capability, she focuses on developing global leaders for The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners worldwide by designing and executing learning solutions focused on individual, team and organizational effectiveness. In 2013, at the request of CEO Muhtar Kent, she played a key leadership role in the design, development and deployment of a signature senior-level system leadership program, The Donald R. Keough System Leadership.

Cochran partnered in the creation of the Global Women's Initiative (GWI) in 2007 and remains as lead faculty for the global Women in Leadership development program as well as the regional women’s program, Achieving Your Best Self. The GWI was launched by CEO Muhtar Kent to ensure focus on creating a workforce that mirrors the marketplace served by The Coca-Cola Company. Since 70 percent of purchasing decisions for its products are made by women, Coca-Cola leadership wanted to build a strong pipeline of female leaders.

Cochran has brought her expertise in leadership development to the Robinson College and Georgia State, supporting the launch and sustainability of Robinson’s Women Lead program.

Sharon E. Schachter – Robinson Distinguished Service Alumni Award

Sharon Schachter retired in 2013 after 33 years with The Coca-Cola Company. In her last role, she was director, global leadership development, having responsibility for strategy, design and deployment of the global leadership curriculum targeted to high-performing mid and senior level leadership. Her work included the flagship program sponsored by the global Women’s Leadership Council (WLC): Women in Leadership, and another program for women in the global Coca-Cola system: Achieving Your Best Self.

The WLC and Global Women’s Initiative were established by CEO Muhtar Kent in 2007 to develop, promote and empower female business leaders across the global value chain. The other leadership programs Schacter oversaw included Enterprise Leader, Leading Teams, and Catalyst, a five-month action learning program for high potentials tackling projects chosen by the CEO and operating committee.

Most recently she has been supporting the Robinson College's Women Lead program and serving as a mentor in its Honors Program.

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The largest business school in the South and part of a major research institution, Georgia State University's J. Mack Robinson College of Business has 200 faculty, 8,000 students and 75,000 alumni. With programs on five continents and students from 88 countries, the college is world-class and worldwide. Its part-time MBA is ranked among the best by the Bloomberg Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report, and its Executive MBA is on the Financial Times list of the world's premier programs. Located in Atlanta, the Robinson College and Georgia State have produced more of Georgia's top executives with graduate degrees than any other school in the Southeast.