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Ambassador João Vale de Almeida is the Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United States.  He presented his credentials to President Obama on August 10, 2010.

Prior to his appointment in Washington as the European Union's Ambassador, he served as the Director General for External Relations at the European Commission, the European Union's executive body. As the most senior official under the authority of the High Representative/Vice-President Baroness Ashton, he helped formulate and execute the EU's foreign policy and played a key role in preparing for the new European External Action Service (EEAS) introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.

Nathan serves on Savage Companies Board of Directors and as Senior Vice President and Group Leader for the Oil & Gas Midstream Solutions Group.  Nathan joined Savage in 1995 and served in Operations, Finance, Business Development and most recently as Leader for the Corporate Development and Refinery Solutions Groups.  Before joining Savage, Nathan worked with a venture capital group as Operations Manager for a wireless telecommunications company.

William C.  Foote is retired chairman and CEO of USG Corporation, based in Chicago.  Mr. Foote is a member of the board of Walgreen Co., Kohler Co. and a trustee of Williams College. 

USG Corporation is a multi-billion dollar manufacturer and distributor of high-performance building systems that serve the residential, non-residential, and repair and remodel construction markets. USG is the largest manufacturer of gypsum products in North America and largest distributor of wallboard in the United States.

Robert McMillian has been in business in West Virginia for 37 years, much of that time as a beer distributor in Martinsburg, West Virginia. A major business figure in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle, McMillan has been active in West Virginia’s business and educational arenas for much of those nearly four decades.

A native of Charleston, West Virginia, McMillan serves as president and CEO of Martinsburg-based Jefferson Distributing Company, a company he purchased in 1986. He earned his bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MBA from Emory University.

Richard Pilnik is Chairman of the Board of Diamedica, a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of diabetes.

A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Pilnik’s 30-plus year career has been truly global in scope, holding various management positions in Brazil, Venezuela, the UK and U.S. He retired earlier this year from Quintiles Transnational, a global leader in outsourcing services to the pharmaceutical industry, where he had served for five years.

Marvin Samson is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Samson Medical Technologies, L.L.C., a company specializing in injectable drug delivery systems and programs for hospital and alternate site pharmacists.

A native of Philadelphia, Mr. Samson received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Temple University, working full time to finance his education. Entering the pharmaceutical industry upon graduation from high school, he held a variety of jobs, beginning as a material handler and assistant compounder and worked his way up to plant manager of Philadelphia Laboratories.

There is a relatively small segment of leaders in the business world who can effectively build trust and rapport with almost anyone. Leaders who can efficiently build relationships and make connections between people, create partnerships and gain forward momentum to ‘get things done’ with excellence.

Arria Hines is one of those leaders. She effectively drives results through collaboration, partnerships, and relationships. As CEO & President of a rapidly growing business in federal contracting, Arria is all about value and performance. With an enthusiastic and genuinely friendly attitude, Arria radiates a sincere passion for delivering value to her customers.

A graduate of the WVU Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, Aly is currently Chief Marketing Officer for MVB Bank and MVB Financial Corp, headquartered in Fairmont, W.Va., with corporate offices throughout West Virginia and northern Virginia.

Aly’s most recent honors include awards as 2014 Outstanding PR Practitioner by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) – West Virginia chapter, as well as the 2014 Best in West Virginia award from the chapter for her work at MVB Bank.

Wes Bush is chairman, chief executive officer and president of Northrop Grumman Corporation, a leader in global security. Bush was named chief executive officer and president in January 2010, and elected to the company’s Board of Directors in 2009. He assumed the role of chairman in July 2011.

Bush previously served as the president and chief operating officer of the company. Before that, he served as the corporate vice president and chief financial officer, and, earlier, as the president of the company’s Space Technology sector. Prior to the acquisition of TRW by Northrop Grumman, he had served since 2001 as president and chief executive officer for TRW’s UK-based global Aeronautical Systems. Bush joined TRW in 1987 as a systems engineer, and served in engineering, program management and business development roles in TRW’s Space & Electronics business. Prior to joining TRW, he held engineering positions with both the Aerospace Corporation and Comsat Labs.

Bill Bayless is the co-founder, President and CEO of American Campus Communities, Inc., the nation’s largest developer, owner and manager of high quality student housing. Today, more than 130,000 college students call one of American Campus’ 200 plus student properties “home” in more than 80 collegiate markets across America. The company currently has a total enterprise value in excess of $7 billion.

The son and grandson of steelworkers, Bayless was born and raised in the northern panhandle of West Virginia. He started working at the age of 12, mowing lawns and detailing cars. A first generation college student, he attended West Virginia University from 1982 – 1986 graduating from the College of Business and Economics with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Bayless first forged his vision of what would someday become American Campus Communities, while he was still a student at WVU working as a dishwasher, grill cook, night desk attendant, and as a resident assistant at Summit Hall.