Distinguished Alumni Award

Eleanor Beardsley, ’91 MIBS

Eleanor Beardsley is the Paris correspondent for National Public Radio where she covers all aspects of French society, politics, economics, culture and gastronomy. She is also a core part of NPR’s breaking news team in Europe and beyond, recently covering the conflict in Israel, the earthquake in Morocco and the war in Ukraine. She was on the ground in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv on February 24, 2022, when the Russian invasion began.

In 2011, Beardsley covered the first Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia, where she witnessed the overthrow of the autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Since then, she has regularly returned to the North African country to follow its progress.

Beardsley has been a part of NPR’s coverage of the events that have shaped the European continent over the last decade. From terrorist attacks to the migrant crisis, where she followed the arrival of Syrian refugees to Hungary, Austria, Germany, Sweden and France.

She has covered four French presidential elections, including the surprising win by outsider Emmanuel Macron in 2017, and the implosion of the country’s two traditional mainstream parties. Less than two years later, Macron's presidency would be severely tested by France's Yellow vest movement, which Beardsley followed closely.

In France, Beardsley especially enjoys featuring historical topics and has covered several anniversaries of the Normandy D-day invasion as well as the centennial of World War I.

In sports, she closely covered the Women's World Cup soccer competition held in France in June 2019 (and won by Team USA!) and regularly follows the Tour de France cycling race.

After two decades, listeners have come to rely on Beardsley’s insightful reporting on France and beyond. She has even been a question on Jeopardy!

Prior to moving to Paris in 2004 to begin her career as a radio journalist, Beardsley worked for the United Nations Mission in Kosovo and as a television news producer for French broadcaster TF1 in Washington, D.C. She also worked in the U.S. Congress, notably as a staff assistant to South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond.

Beardsley says reporting from France is the fulfillment of a lifelong passion for the French language and culture. At age 10 she began learning French by reading the “Asterix the Gaul” comic book series in French with her father. (The answer to the Jeopardy! question)

While she came to the field of radio journalism relatively late in her career, Beardsley says her varied background, studies and travels prepared her well for the job.

“I love reporting on the French because there are so many stereotypes about them in America," she says. "Sometimes it's fun to dispel the false notions and show a different side of the Gallic character. And sometimes the old stereotypes hold up. But whether Americans love or hate France and the French, they're always interested!"

A native of South Carolina, Beardsley has a Bachelor of Arts in European History and French and an Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and a Master's Degree in International Business from the University of South Carolina.

Beardsley is interested in politics, travel and observing people and foreign cultures.

Distinguished Young Alumni Award

Sheimaliz Glover, ’14 international business and marketing

Sheimaliz Glover is the Labor, Education, and Social Policy Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. 

Glover is an economic-coned Foreign Service officer at the U.S. Department of State with a passion for public service. Glover currently serves as the Labor, Education, and Social Policy Advisor at the U.S. Mission to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a 38-member multilateral organization, where she represents the United States in coordinating economic and social policy on various committees.

She previously served as the political-military officer at the U.S. Embassy Muscat, Oman, where she managed the defense cooperation and security assistance initiatives. She has served overseas assignments in Mexico and the Netherlands. In Washington, D.C., Glover worked in the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs’ Office of Intellectual Property and Enforcement on technology transfer and entrepreneurship. She has been awarded several U.S. Department of State Meritorious Honor awards for her leadership and service and the 2014 Graduate Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship. Prior to joining the State Department, Glover worked as a market research analyst in a biotechnology start up and in economic development at the City of Columbia Mayor’s Office in Columbia, South Carolina, and U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency.

Along with her Moore School degrees, Glover is a graduate of the Chinese University of Hong Kong with a bachelor’s in international business, marketing and Chinese studies. She holds a master’s degree in international economics and international law and organizations from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and was awarded the William C. Foster Award for public service. She speaks Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Spanish and French.

Raised in a military family, Glover spent most of her childhood overseas and the east coast but calls South Carolina home. She is married to Jeefer Gosh.

Distinguished Service Award

Lloyd Emerson Johnson, ’80 accounting and finance, ’81 MACC

Lloyd Emerson Johnson, MBA, MACC, CPA, is an independent director and experienced corporate executive with more than 40 years of progressive senior leadership experience, mostly in leading-edge Fortune 500 companies. Johnson retired from Accenture Corporation in 2015. At the time of his retirement, he was Managing Director of Global Finance and Audit. His career includes senior finance leadership positions with Delphi Automotive Corporation, Emerson Corporation and Sara Lee Corporation. Johnson has extensive experience in strategy, governance, finance, mergers and acquisitions, information technology, cybersecurity and enterprise risk management. 

Johnson currently serves as national board chair of AARP. He also serves as a public company board member of Apogee Enterprises and Beazer Homes, where he chairs their audit committees, and as a board member of Haemonetics Corp. and VSE Corp.  

Active in local community service, Johnson has served on the United Way of the Carolinas Board of Directors, NACD Carolinas and as a board member of the United Way Legacy Foundation. He also served on the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center and is the immediate past board chair of AARP Foundation.

As a first-generation college graduate and military veteran, Johnson has a deep understanding of the transformative impact of education on families, communities, the state and nation and is a passionate and avid supporter of Moore School programs, students and faculty. Johnson has sponsored scholarships and mentored students and alums at the Darla Moore Business School and serves on the USC Business Partnership Foundation Board of Advisors, where he chairs the audit committee. He is also a member of the Moore School’s Center for Executive Succession CEO Directors Council.

Johnson was recognized by Boards and Directors Magazine as one of 25 Directors to Watch in December 2020. He was also twice recognized by Savoy Magazine as one of the Most Influential Black Corporate Directors.

In addition to his Moore School degrees, Johnson holds an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business. He is a CPA, NACD Board Governance Fellow and holds the NACD Directorship Certification.

Corporate Partnership Award

As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing’s diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability and cultivating a culture based on the company’s core values of safety, quality and integrity. 

Boeing has a long tradition of aerospace leadership and innovation. The company continues to expand its product line and services to meet emerging customer needs. Its broad range of capabilities includes creating new, more efficient members of its commercial airplane family; designing, building and integrating military platforms and defense systems; creating advanced technology solutions; and arranging innovative financing and service options for customers. 

With corporate offices near Washington, D.C., Boeing employs more than 170,000 people across the United States and in more than 65 countries. This represents one of the most diverse, talented and innovative workforces anywhere. Our enterprise also leverages the talents of hundreds of thousands more skilled people working for Boeing suppliers worldwide. 

Boeing is organized into three business units: Commercial Airplanes; Defense, Space & Security; and Global Services. 

In addition, functional organizations working across the company focus on engineering and program management; technology and development-program execution; advanced design and manufacturing systems; safety, finance, quality and productivity improvement and information technology. 

Preston Keat

• Managing Director and Head of Political and Country Risk, UBS London

Preston Keat is a managing director and head of political and country risk at UBS. His team focuses on economic, geopolitical and policy analysis, country ratings and exposure limits, stress-scenario development, and climate change forecasting. He also leads the firm’s internal "Economist Forum" and “Risk Think Tank.”

Prior to joining UBS, Preston worked for ten years at the political risk consultancy, Eurasia Group, where he was a research director, head of the Europe practice, and a member of the management committee. He is co-author of The Fat Tail: The Power of Political Knowledge for Strategic Investing (Oxford, 2009). He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA, an M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a B.A. from the College of William and Mary.

Harry Lightsey

• South Carolina Secretary of Commerce

Harry M. Lightsey III was appointed by Governor Henry McMaster to serve as Secretary of Commerce in June 2021. Since then, Lightsey has led the agency’s globally competitive recruitment strategy for South Carolina’s evolving target industries. Notably, through partnerships with state and allied economic development leaders, South Carolina achieved historic recruitment in 2022, announcing $10.27 billion in capital investment.

Under Lightsey's leadership, Commerce has secured major economic development deals, including Redwood Materials' $3.5B investment in Berkeley County, Scout Motors' $2B investment in Richland County, Albemarle Corporation's $1.3B investment in Chester County, and BMW Manufacturing's $1.7B investment in Spartanburg.

Lightsey is a respected member of South Carolina's business community. Working alongside the state’s executive and legislative leaders, he leads an agency which offers free services designed to help businesses of all sizes remain successful and innovative to promote sustainable economic growth. Furthermore, the agency created the LocateSC program to provide economic development stakeholders seamless access to the state’s detailed inventory and demographic data.

Lightsey has held top executive positions at major corporations both locally and nationally. He was the president of BellSouth Telecommunications in South Carolina and later became the president of AT&T's Southeast region after the two companies merged. After 26 years in the telecommunications industry, Lightsey joined General Motors. There, he oversaw the federal government affairs operation and emerging technologies, including OnStar and infotainment.

Lightsey graduated from Princeton University in 1978 and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981. He is a Columbia, S.C. native and is married with two adult children.

Wendy Thomas

• CEO, Secureworks
• MIBS '98

As CEO, Wendy Thomas leads Secureworks to fulfill our purpose of securing human progress via innovative, battle-tested security solutions. She first joined Secureworks in 2008 leading Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A), where she helped to execute strategic acquisitions that scaled the business and Secureworks' IPO in 2016. As Strategy lead and Chief Product Officer, she developed the vision for Secureworks' future, fueling the team that built and launched Secureworks® Taegis™. Prior to becoming CEO, Wendy served as President of Customer Success, where she drove a customer-centric approach to help organizations achieve better security outcomes. In this role, Wendy was recognized in the number one position in The Software Report's "Top 25 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity of 2021." 

Wendy leverages over 25 years of experience in strategic and functional leadership roles, and has worked across multiple technology-driven companies such as FirstData, BellSouth, and Internap Network Services, Inc. Wendy is a graduate of the University of Virginia, with a double major in Economics and Foreign Affairs, and she holds an International MBA from the University of South Carolina School of Business. 

Wendy currently serves on the Board at IonQ, an industry leader in quantum computing. Additionally, she serves as a Liaison for AFS Intercultural Programs, an international youth exchange organization, and is a member of The Executive Committee of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. Wendy is an alumna of Leadership Midtown Atlanta, a program designed to propel established leaders to further serve their communities.

Bill Browder

• Founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management
• Head of the Global Magnitsky Justice campaign
• Author of Red Notice and Freezing Order

William Browder was the largest foreign investor in Russia until 2005, when he was denied entry to the country and declared “a threat to national security” for exposing corruption in Russian state-owned companies.

In 2008, Mr. Browder’s lawyer, Sergei Magnitsky, uncovered a massive fraud committed by Russian government officials that involved the theft of US $230 million of state taxes. Sergei testified against state officials involved in this fraud and was subsequently arrested, imprisoned without trial and systematically tortured. He spent a year in prison under horrific detention conditions, was repeatedly denied medical treatment, and died in prison on November 16, 2009, leaving behind a wife and two children.

Since then, Mr. Browder has sought justice outside of Russia and started a global campaign for governments around the world to impose targeted visa bans and asset freezes on human rights abusers and highly corrupt officials. The United States was the first to impose these targeted sanctions with the passage of the Sergei Magnitsky Accountability Act in 2012, followed by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act in 2016.

Since then, Canada, the United Kingdom, the Baltic states, the European Union and most recently Australia have passed their own versions of the Magnitsky Act. Mr. Browder is currently working to have similar legislation passed in other countries worldwide including New Zealand and Japan, to name a few.

Eleanor Beardsley

• MIBS '92
• 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award Winner
• Lead NPR European Correspondent

Eleanor Beardsley began reporting from France for NPR in 2004 as a freelance journalist, following all aspects of French society, politics, economics, culture and gastronomy. Since then, she has steadily worked her way to become a leading correspondent for NPR in Europe, including leading the coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from the frontlines in February 2022.

Beardsley was an active part of NPR's coverage of terrorist attacks in Paris and in Brussels. She has also followed the migrant crisis, traveling to meet and report on arriving refugees in Hungary, Austria, Germany, Sweden and France. She has covered the turmoil in Ukraine from early on, including the flashpoint eastern city of Donetsk, and she also reported from Athens on the Greek debt crisis.

In 2011, Beardsley covered the first Arab Spring revolution in Tunisia, where she witnessed the overthrow of the autocratic President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. Since then, she has returned to the North African country many times.

In France, Beardsley has covered three presidential elections, including the surprising win by outsider Emmanuel Macron in 2017. Less than two years later, Macron's presidency was severely tested by France's Yellow vest movement, which Beardsley followed closely.

Beardsley especially enjoys historical topics and has covered several anniversaries of the Normandy D-day invasion as well as the centennial of World War I.

In sports, Beardsley closely covered the Women's World Soccer Cup held in France in June 2019 (and won by Team USA!) and regularly follows the Tour de France cycling race.

Prior to moving to Paris, Beardsley worked for three years with the United Nations Mission in Kosovo. She also worked as a television news producer for French broadcaster TF1 in Washington, D.C., and as a staff assistant to South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond.

Reporting from France for Beardsley is the fulfillment of a lifelong passion for the French language and culture. At the age of 10 she began learning French by reading the Asterix the Gaul comic book series with her father.

While she came to the field of radio journalism relatively late in her career, Beardsley says her varied background, studies and travels prepared her for the job. "I love reporting on the French because there are so many stereotypes about them in America," she says. "Sometimes it's fun to dispel the false notions and show a different side of the Gallic character. And sometimes the old stereotypes do hold up. But whether Americans love or hate France and the French, they're always interested!"

A native of South Carolina, Beardsley has a Bachelor of Arts in European history and French from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina, and a master's degree in International Business from the University of South Carolina.

Beardsley is interested in politics, travel and observing foreign cultures. Her favorite cities are Paris and Istanbul.