Wesley A. Coleman

Chairman
Class of 1971

(Executive Committee Chair, Ex officio member of the Academic Affairs, Audit, Development, Finance Investment, Nominations, and Student-Alumni Affairs Committees)
Former Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer The Walt Disney Company

Wesley A. Coleman was a senior human resources executive prior to retirement.  In his career, he served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of The Walt Disney Company.  In this role, he was responsible for developing and executing worldwide human resources strategies to attract, motivate, and retrain experienced, knowledgeable and creative employees throughout the organization.  At The Walt Disney Company, Mr. Coleman led the global human resources team of 2,000 employees.

Prior to this position, Mr. Coleman was the Vice President of Global Human Resources and the top Human Resources Executive at Nike, Inc.  In this role, he was responsible for all domestic and global human resources functions and led a global human resources team of 500 employees.

In the span of his career, Mr. Coleman has served as the Vice President of Human Resources at S.C. Johnson.  During his 20 year tenure, he moved from middle level manager to Corporate Officer and Vice President of Human Resources.  He also spent 3½ years in London, United Kingdom in regional human resources management for Europe, Africa, Middle East, and India.  Prior to this position, he held various industrial/employee relations positions from Compensation Analyst to the plant Human Resources Manager of Compensation and Manager Benefits at Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company.

Mr. Coleman currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Boule Foundation, Hampton University (where he currently serves as the Chairman of the Board), the Art Center College of Design as well as on the National Executive Board for the Boy Scouts of America, and the Board of Directors for the Ray Charles Foundation.  His prior board involvement and community service include serving on the Board of Advisors for KMS Software Company, LLC, the Board of Directors for the Los Angeles Urban League, the Board of Trustees for the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Racine (WI) County Workforce Development Board as Chairman.  He has also served on the Board of Trustees for Johnson Wax Foundation (where he served as Chair of the Education Committee).

Mr. Coleman pledged Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. at Hampton Institute (University) in 1969 and he is also a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, commonly referred to as The Boule’.  He previously served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Executive Committee and was elected by the members of the Boule to serve as Grand Sire Archon (i.e., National President) overseeing a full-time staff of eight with a $4 million annual budget.

Mr. Coleman’s accolades include the H.F. Johnson Community Service Award (1986), Hampton University Outstanding Alumnus Award (2004), University of Pittsburgh Distinguished Alumni Award, and University of Pittsburgh 225 Medallion recipient (2012).

Mr. Coleman holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Hampton University and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Pittsburgh.