Kenneth W. Freeman
Kenneth W. Freeman is an American former business executive and academic dean who is the president ad interim of Boston University.
Corning
A graduate of Bucknell University and the Harvard Business School, Freeman began his career with Corning Glass Works in 1972. He held a number of accounting, control, and finance positions with the company.[1] He worked his way up to the position of corporate controller and in 1985, was given the additional title of vice president.[2] Two years later he was appointed senior vice president.[3] In 1990 he was appointed chief executive officer of Corning Asahi Video.[4] In 1993 he was named Corning's diversity officer in charge of minority hiring and other personnel issues.[5]
Quest Diagnostics
In 1995, Freeman was named president and chief executive officer of Corning Clinical Labs.[1] On December 31, 1996, Corning Clinical Labs was spun-off into an independent company known as Quest Diagnostics.[6] He remained with the company until 2004, when he was succeeded by Surya Mohapatra.[7]
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts
In 2005, Freeman joined Kohlberg Kravis Roberts as a managing director.[8] He also served on the firm's portfolio management committee, which oversees the company's holdings.[9] He was appointed chairman and CEO of Masonite International after the company was acquired by KKR. In 2006 he became executive chairman of Accellent Inc.[10]
Boston University
In 2010, Freeman became the Allen Questrom professor and dean of Boston University's School of Management.[9] He ended his service as dean, but remained with BU as dean emeritus and professor of the practice at the Questrom School of Business. From April 2020 to August 2021, he was the interim vice president for human resources and from 2021 to 2022 was the university's interim vice president and associate provost for online programs at-scale. On August 1, 2023, he assumed the position of interim president of Boston University following the retirement of Robert A. Brown.[11]
Bucknell University
Freeman was a member of the Bucknell University board of trustees for 18 years and served as chair from 2009 to 2018.[11] In 2018, he donated $25 million to Bucknell's new College of Management, which was renamed the Kenneth W. Freeman College of Management. It was the first time in the university's history that a college was named after a person.[12]
References
- Littleton, Kathryn C. (May 2, 1995). "Corning Clinical Labs names Freeman President and Chief Executive Officer". Business Wire.
- "Mortgage & Realty Says Officials Resigned After Sale of Adviser". Wall Street Journal. July 3, 1985.
- "Corning Glass Names Four As Senior Vice Presidents". Wall Street Journal. May 1, 1987.
- Maglitta, Joseph (January 17, 1994). "Glass act". Computerworld.
- "Corning Inc". Wall Street Journal. September 16, 1993.
- "Corning to Spin Off 2 Subsidiaries to Shareholders". The New York Times. Reuters. November 28, 1996. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
- "Who's News". Wall Street Journal. October 26, 2004.
- Mathek, Justin (May 10, 2005). "Who's News". Wall Street Journal.
- de la Merced, Michael (June 22, 2010). "A K.K.R. Executive Goes Back to School". The New York Times.
- "Kenneth W. Freeman Named Executive Chairman of Accellent". Business Wire. December 21, 2006.
- "Meet Our President". Boston University Office of the President. Trustees of Boston University. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
- Nicolai, Kathryn (February 1, 2018). "Kenneth W. Freeman college of management named after $25 million donation". The Bucknellian. Retrieved 5 September 2023.