College of Business Hall of Fame 2009 - 2010 Alumni Hall of Fame Inductees
The College of Business honored the first inductees into its Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002/03. Each year the College will name a small number of alumni to the Hall of Fame from nominations submitted by alumni, friends, faculty, and staff. Alumni are recognized for significant career accomplishment and outstanding service to others. A committee of faculty and staff assembled by the dean chooses the honorees from those nominated. The inductees are honored on a permanent plaque in the College of Business.
The College of Business honored its seventh class of Alumni Hall of Fame recipients during the 2009/2010 Business Week events.
Gary Gemberling '63
Gary Gemberling is a successful entrepreneur, holds professional certification as a Certified Public Accountant, a Personal Financial Specialist, and a Certified Financial Planner. Gemberling is the founder of four CPA firms and sold three of them. He is a founding partner of O & G Financial, and serves as chairman of the board of First Farmers State Bank. Gemberling has served as CFO of Malcolm Group Inc. from its inception in 1973 until its sale in 2007, overseeing all financial aspects of a five company conglomerate operating worldwide in the areas of manufacturing, mail order, and Internet marketing.
In addition to his professional accomplishments, Gemberling is actively involved within his community. As chairman elect of the Workforce Investment Board, he administers federal and Illinois monies for economic development and workforce initiatives in a fourcounty region. Gemberling is also chair of the Audit Committee and a member of the Investment Committee for the Illinois State University Foundation Board. As an active member of his church, he serves on the Personnel Committee, and as chair of the Audit and Investments Committees. Additionally, Gemberling holds the treasurer positions of both a Masonic Lodge and a Shriner organization. He established and funded the Herbert Sieg Endowed Scholarship in the College of Business at Illinois State University. Gemberling was awarded the Illinois Valley Community Service Award for outstanding service leadership within his community.
Duane Livingston ‘70
A proven senior executive, Duane Livingston enjoyed a highly successful career at Caterpillar Inc. He became the first African-American vice president at Caterpillar, having joined the company as an hourly laborer. After graduating from Illinois State in 1970, he moved to the management ranks and enjoyed a series of promotions which included accounting manager in Mexico, development manager for projects in India, business unit divisional controller, and director of corporate auditing.
At the time of his retirement in 2002, Livingston was responsible for worldwide Financial Services/Operational Auditing, Information Technology Auditing, Business Risk Management, Corporate Environment/Health/Safety, and Office of Business Practices/ Ethics. He managed office locations in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Asia/Pacific, and South America and reported to the executive office with frequent contact with the Audit and Public Policy Committees of the Board of Directors.
Over the years, Livingston has been involved in leadership positions with numerous civic and professional organizations including the Mental Health Association, G.W. Carver Center, Peoria Economic Development Association, OSF Saint Francis Advisory Board, and the Institute of Internal Auditors. He was past chair of the Illinois Special Olympics and Eureka College Boards, and served on the Executive Leadership Council & Foundation in Washington D.C.
A father of three, Livingston has long encouraged and mentored minority students at Illinois State University. In addition to funding an endowed scholarship at the College of Business, Livingston was also instrumental in securing a six figure gift from Caterpillar to help fund portions of the construction of the State Farm Hall of Business Building.
Dave Magers ‘77, M.B.A. '86
David Magers of Bloomington has been executive vice president and chief financial officer of the COUNTRY Financial group since 2003. As CFO of the Count ry group, he also serves as CFO and on the boards of directors of Count ry’s three alliance companies: Holyoke Mutual Insurance Company, Salem, Massachusetts; Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company, Middleton, Connecticut; and Cotton States Insurance Group, Atlanta.
Magers previously served as COUNTRY vice president of Property and Casualty Operations. Prior to that he was vice president of finance and treasurer for the Illinois Agricultural Association®, where he was responsible for the treasury, cash management, and risk management for COUNTRY and other Illinois Agricultural Association® affiliated companies. Magers served in various accounting and finance related positions with GROWMAR K Inc., a Farm Bureau agricultural supply company from 1977 to 1988. A Certified Public Accountant, Magers is a member of the Illinois Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Professional and community service are priorities for Magers. He serves on various committees of the Property Casualty Insurers of America and the American Council of Life Insurers. He is on the board of directors of the Heartland American Red Cross and the McLean County Chamber of Commerce. He chairs the Children’s Hospital of Illinois McLean County Milestone Capital Campaign and is on the OSF Saint Francis Medical Center Community Advisory Board. Magers is a member of the finance committee of the Community Cancer Center and the boards of directors for the Community Development Corporation and the Economic Development Council of McLean County. In addition he chairs the Advisory Board of the Illinois State University Katie School of Insurance. Magers was named Central Illinois Louis J. Barger philanthropy volunteer of the year by the Central Illinois Association of Fundraising Professionals.
Mark Thorndyke ’85
Jeff Stempora is CEO and board member of the Evogi Group, a collection of companies focused on providing commercial and consumer global telematics technology and information based products and services to the insurance, automotive, and finance industries. Through this role Stempora serves as CEO of the individual companies - MileKeeper, FleetDaddy, and NavSeeker.
Previously he founded the Stempora Group, a consulting firm specializing in executive coaching, mentoring, and organizational and strategy development within the financial services and insurance industries. Prior to that Stempora was senior vice president, CIO and board member of the Erie Insurance Group where he was responsible for the transformation of Erie’s strategy, information technology, infrastructure services, products, and business processes critical to the company’s turnaround.
Prior roles held by Stempora include executive vice president, chief administrative officer and global head of strategy at Citigroup, assistant vice president at State Farm Insurance Companies, assistant vice president at CNA Financial, and executive account manager at Hewlett-Packard. He served as chairman of the Executive Committee for Risk and Security of the Financial Services Roundtable, BITS in Washington, DC and was directly involved in the recovery of the financial markets during and after the attacks of September 11. In addition to that role, he was appointed to a special presidential task force to address the risks of and develop controls for the US financial services critical infrastructure.
Jeff serves on a number of boards within startup and established companies and is active with community youth groups.
Donna F. Zarcone ‘79
Donna F. Zarcone is founder of D.F. Zarcone & Associates LLC , a strategic advisory firm providing consulting at the executive and board level. Zarcone is an experienced chief executive and board director, with a proven record of rapidly growing and building companies, while consistently delivering outstanding bottom line results. She serves on the boards of directors for the Chamberlain Group Inc., CIGNA Corporation, and Jones Apparel Group Inc., and the Board of Managers for Wrightwood Capital. Additionally, she is a frequent speaker at industry and corporate governance conferences.
As former president of Harley-Davidson Financial Services Inc., Zarcone led the international company through transformational growth. In her eight year tenure as president, managed loans grew from $1.1 billion to more than $6 billion, market share grew from 20 percent to 50 percent, and annual operating income increased from $20 million to more than $200 million. Zarcone joined the start-up finance subsidiary of Harley-Davidson Inc. in 1994, serving four years as vice president and chief financial officer. Prior to Harley-Davidson, she served as executive vice president, CFO, and treasurer of Chrysler Systems Leasing Inc., a computer technology leasing company. A certified public accountant, Zarcone began her career as an auditor and computer audit specialist with KPMG/Peat Marwick. She holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Zarcone is actively engaged civically, serving on the boards of the Economic Club of Chicago; the National Association of Corporate Directors–Chicago Chapter; the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; and the Hyde Park Angels. She is a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Committee of 200, the Chicago Network, and the Young Presidents’ Organization.