Published: September 03, 2020

UT Board of Trustees Welcomes Five New Members, Plus Ex Officio Members

The University of Tampa Board of Trustees has named five new members to three-year terms.

Ultimate responsibility for UT resides with the Board of Trustees, as governance of the University is legally invested in the board. The Trustees provide broad oversight of the University and work to raise institutional resources.

The Trustees provide broad oversight of the University and works to raise institutional resources.

The new members are:

• Ronice Barlow EMBA ’17, senior vice president, head of strategic planning and business development and co-head of internal sales for U.S. Advisory Services at Franklin Templeton Investments. Since joining Franklin Templeton in 1993, Barlow has developed broad experience in field sales and global sales management, along with having been responsible for introducing and leading innovative distribution strategies throughout Franklin Templeton Investments. Barlow earned a bachelor’s degree in international business from Eckerd College and an MBA from UT. Barlow also serves on the community boards of Habitat for Humanity of Pinellas County and Copperhead Charities.
  
  
• Paul B. Heth ’90, founder and principal of Patton Ventures. Heth is a major force in the global expansion of cinema, and has led the transformation of the Russian motion picture industry. As CEO of Karo Film Group, Heth developed and operates Russia's leading cinema company. His theatrical production company, Monumental, in partnership with Sony Pictures and Fox, has produced some of the highest-grossing Russian films. Heth, a UT alumnus, is an Army veteran, and was honored with a 2018 UT Entrepreneur Service Award.
  
  
• Dirk Montgomery, chief financial officer and executive vice president supply chain for the Fiesta Restaurant Group. Montgomery is an accomplished financial and operational executive with more than 25 years of experience in private and public companies with domestic and international operations. In his position as CFO, Montgomery led several debt and equity transactions totaling over $4 billion. Montgomery received a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from Miami University (OH) and an MBA from the University of Chicago.
  
  
• Nipesh Shah, CEO of Anchor Glass. Shah has spent his career in strategic operating roles within consumer, chemical and packaging companies. He has served as president and CEO of Anchor Glass Container Corporation since July 2017. He also serves on its board of directors. Shah received a bachelor’s degree in polymer engineering from University of Pune (India) and a master’s degree in polymer engineering from the University of Akron.
  
  
• Karen Zaderej, chairman, CEO and president of Axogen Corp. Zaderej joined Axogen — the leading company focusing specifically on the science, development and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair — in May 2006 and became chair of the board of directors in 2018. Zaderej received a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business.

The Board of Trustees also named three new ex officio members. These individuals are Trustees by virtue of their leadership of University-affiliated organizations. They include:

• Katie Martinez, chair of the UT Board of Counselors, and multimedia account executive at the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Martinez is responsible for developing and executing comprehensive media strategies that target an affluent audience. Martinez is an advocate for St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital and holds the position of the Give to Live society chair for the annual Around the World Gala. She received a bachelor’s degree in communication from Florida Gulf Coast University and has been involved with UT’s Board of Counselors since 2016.
  
  
• Penny Parks MBA ’93 – chair of the UT Board of Fellows, and president and founder of Links Financial LLC. Prior to founding Links Financial, Parks’ banking career included senior positions with Bank of America, Northern Trust and the Royal Bank of Canada’s U.S. subsidiary. Parks is the chair of the CEO Council of Tampa Bay. She also serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board for the UT Sykes College of Business, and is a board member for the Tampa Bay Wave, a board member of the Greater Tampa Chamber and an executive committee member for Go Red for Women of the American Heart Association. Parks earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and business from Wake Forest University and an MBA from UT.
  
  
• Teri Willis – president of The Chiselers. Willis began volunteering for Cross of Nails at Coventry Cathedral in Coventry, England, during college. Since then she has sat on the board for the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, worked with the development of the St. Petersburg International Folk Fair Society, volunteered at the H.B. Plant Museum, participated in the Symphony Guild Antique show, co-chaired the Symphony Book Fair and served on the executive board of the Festival of Trees. Additionally, Willis is the past president of the Hillsborough County Bar Auxiliary and Las Damas de Arte, and is a founder of the Krewe of Grace O’Malley.