Management

He started out as a banker, but instead of making money for his clients, Robert Morris now gives it away for them. This year, Morris celebrates 15 years as the president of the Community Foundation of Greenville.

As president and CEO of the largest health system in the state, Greenville Health System, Michael Riordan recalls his journey from a kid in Newark, N.J., to trained teacher, Marine and healthcare administrator.

At a very young age, Table 301 President Carl Sobocinski knew he’d be going into business for himself, and with more than 20 years of service in downtown Greenville, he has seen that business mirror the city’s growth around him.

Just eight years out of the Army and practicing law in the firm founded by his father, William Walter Wilkins, he read a newspaper headline saying that Rex Carter would not seek re-election to the South Carolina House of Representatives. Wilkins, who had never even worked on a political campaign before, decided he would run.

Finding this year’s Who’s Who winners was up to nominators from the public and a panel of volunteer judges from the community. It was no easy task. They looked for people who make an economic impact on the Upstate and also go above and beyond their professional roles or calls of duty.

How do the Upstate’s business leaders get their news? The 2014 Who’s Who winners share their favorite information sources, online and off.

We asked our Who's Who winners: What's the best advice you've ever gotten?

The 2014 Who’s Who panelists agreed to take on a difficult – yet exciting – task: Sift through dozens of worthy nominations from all around the Upstate, and help us find the first batch of winners for an award that didn’t exist yet. The panelists each took a moment to sit down with UBJ and share a bit about themselves and their goals in helping us celebrate Who’s Who in the Upstate.

Do boards of directors matter? Do they contribute to better share price performance for public companies, to greater shareholder value and sustainability for private companies, and to faster growth for startups?

Thomas Green Clemson baked innovation into the core of his university’s mission, saying he was creating “a high seminary of learning… affording to its youth the advantages of scientific culture.” Leaders in the Clemson University Bioengineering Department are making Thomas Clemson’s vision a reality by fostering an entrepreneurial spirit in some of the most passionate people around the university’s technologies – the students.