Lee to deliver commencement address

Alumnus Greg A. Lee

SIU College of Business will honor Greg A. Lee, senior vice president, human resources for Motorola, Inc, with the 2008 Alumni Achievement Award during the College commencement ceremony on May 10. Lee will also deliver the commencement address.

"I'm truly honored and very humbled by this type of recognition from an institution that played such an instrumental role in my development," said Lee.

“We are thrilled to have Greg Lee as our commencement speaker,” said J. Dennis Cradit, dean of the College of Business. “I have no doubt that our students will be benefited by his message and inspired by his achievements.”

At Motorola, Lee’s worldwide responsibilities include workforce development, organizational effectiveness, benefits and compensation, staffing, global inclusion and diversity.

Prior to joining Motorola, Lee was senior vice president, human resources at Coca-Cola Enterprises, the world’s largest marketer, producer and distributor of Coca-Cola products. There Lee led a comprehensive restructuring of the company’s human resources function. Lee has more than 20 years of leadership in the field, having started his human resources career with PepsiCo in 1983. He held several positions at PepsiCo, earning promotions from director of personnel to vice president of employee relations, then to vice president of human resources and finally to vice president of personnel.

From there, Lee accepted a position as senior vice president of human resources for The St. Paul Companies in 1993, which provides commercial, personal property and casualty insurance nationwide. In 1998, Lee was hired by The Whirlpool Corporation, the largest home appliance maker in the United States, in the same position. Two years later, he was hired as senior vice president of human resources for retail giant Sears, Roebuck and Company. During the five years he spent leading the human resources efforts for Sears, the company had more than 200,000 employees.

A Chicago native, Lee received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern Illinois University College of Business. He is a member of the College of Business Hall of Fame and the Dean’s External Advisory Board.