KNOXVILLE — Alan Wilson, chairman, president and CEO of McCormick & Company Inc., will receive the 2011 Donald G. Hileman Distinguished Alumni Award at the spring commencement ceremony for the College of Communication and Information (CCI) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Wilson also will deliver the college’s commencement address to graduates and their families at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, May 12, in Thompson-Boling Arena.
“As the top executive of one of the largest and best-to-work-for U.S. corporations, Alan Wilson is a master communicator,” said CCI Dean Mike Wirth. “His remarkable career as an entrepreneur and business leader underscores the importance and centrality of communication and information in all career fields and inspires our students to believe that there is no limit to what they can accomplish.”
Wilson earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from UT in 1980, and then served as a captain in the U.S. Army, completing tours of duty in Germany, the U.K., and the U.S. He worked for Proctor & Gamble for nine years in product supply before joining McCormick in 1993 as director of procurement for retail products. He was promoted the following year to vice president of corporate procurement and served a variety of roles in the company before being named its top executive in 2008.
McCormick & Company Inc. is a global leader in the manufacture, marketing and distribution of spices, herbs, seasonings, specialty foods, and flavors. In 2010, Fortune Magazine named McCormick one of the “100 Best Companies To Work For.”
Wilson is the inaugural and current president of the UT Knoxville Alumni Board of Directors and serves on the Board of Visitors of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He also serves on the boards of directors of the Grocery Manufacturers Association, the Greater Baltimore Committee, and the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation. Wilson also is a member of the Maryland Economic Development Commission and the Business Roundtable for Education.
The Donald G. Hileman Award is named for the first permanent dean of the College of Communications, the forerunner to the College of Communication and Information. The award was established in 1994 in celebration of the college’s 25th anniversary. It is awarded to college alumni who have made notable contributions to the field of communication and information. Past recipients include two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and noted science writer for the New York Times, John Noble Wilford; Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning; and former Esquire magazine publisher Alan N. Greenberg. For a complete list of past Hileman Award winners, visit http://cci.utk.edu/AlumDevel/hileman.
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CONTACT:
Charles Primm, 865-974-5180, primmc@utk.edu