Earl G. Kendrick

A native of Princeton, WV, and a 1965 West Virginia University graduate with a degree in business administration, Earl G. "Ken" Kendrick, Jr. is a successful entrepreneur with a commitment to community.

He founded Datatel Inc., now an industry leader in integrated education and administration fundraising software. In 1990 he stepped down as president and CEO to explore new business opportunities, including partnership in the Arizona Diamondbacks. The team won the 2001 World Series, and Kendrick is now the team's managing general partner. In 2005 Kendrick was inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Other successful ventures include a banking computer services company that he eventually sold for $511 million and a Texas bank that became one of the largest employee owned banks in the United States. Kendrick has expanded his investments in sports to stakes in the Phoenix Suns NBA basketball team and several Arizona golf courses.

Kendrick has also invested his leadership and wealth in the communities that have shaped him. He is president of the Datatel Scholars Foundation, which provides college scholarships to students in the United States and Canada. He is one of the main investors in the Dodge Theater in Phoenix. He owns the Bumble Bee Ranch, which serves numerous children's charities, and supports a variety of organizations that further the interests of youth and of nature conservancy in Arizona and beyond. In service to his birth state, he serves on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors, has recently given funds to establish a free market research program in the WVU College of Business and Economics, and contributed funds toward construction of WVU Athletics' Donald J. Brohard Hall of Traditions.