Pitt Board of Trustees Approves Membership for Four Alumni

The University of Pittsburgh Board of Trustees has approved four alumni for membership on the board: Douglas M. Browning (A&S ’72), global customs counsel for General Motors Company in Washington, D.C.; Deborah J. Gillotti (A&S ’77) vice president and general manager of health care for speech-recognition software developer nVoq in Boulder, Colo.; Thomas M. Kurtz (UPJ ’77), president and chief executive officer of Windber Research Institute in Windber, Pa.; and Larry J. Merlo (PHARM ’78), president and chief executive officer of CVS Caremark Corporation in Woonsocket, R.I. 

Also during the board’s June 28 annual meeting, Stephen R. Tritch (ENGR ’71, BUS ’77G), retired chair of Westinghouse Electric Co., was re-elected as chair of the Pitt Board, and Eva Tansky Blum (A&S ’70, LAW ’73) and Morgan K. O’Brien were nominated for re-election as vice chairs. Blum is executive vice president and director of community affairs for PNC Bank and chair and president of The PNC Foundation, and O’Brien is president and CEO of Peoples Natural Gas Company LLC, both in Pittsburgh.

Nominated for re-election to the Pitt Board as trustees were Suzanne W. Broadhurst, retired director of corporate giving, Eat ’n Park Hospitality Group, in Homestead, Pa.; Ira J. Gumberg (A&S ’75), president and chief executive officer, J.J. Gumberg Co., in Pittsburgh; Craig A. Hartburg (A&S ’77), president, Servco Services, in Bradford, Pa.; Dawne S. Hickton (LAW ’83), vice chair, president, and chief executive officer, RTI International Metals, Inc., in Coraopolis, Pa.; Roberta A. Luxbacher (ENGR ’78), vice president, Wholesale and Specialties Global Business Unit, ExxonMobil Fuels, Lubricants & Specialties Marketing Company, in Dallas, Texas; Thomas E. Richards (A&S ’76), chair and chief executive officer, CDW, in Vernon Hills, Ill.; Bryant J Salter (A&S ’71), president and chief executive officer, Business Diplomacy Consulting, LLC, in Palmetto Bay, Fla.; and Charles M. Steiner (BUS ’63), Steiner Family Office, in Rockville, Md. 

“These nominees will add to the strength of an already outstanding Board,” said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg. “Each of the nominees has built an enviable record of professional achievement, earned the respect and admiration of colleagues and friends, and made significant contributions to Pitt’s momentum. I look forward to working with each of them as we collectively advance Pitt’s progress as a leader in education, a pioneer in research, and a partner in regional development.”

In his capacity as global customs counsel for General Motors, Douglas M. Browning manages General Motor’s Global Customs Group, which is part of GM’s Finance Organization. Before joining General Motors, Browning served for six years as the senior vice president for border security and customs modernization at Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services. Prior to holding that position, he was the deputy commissioner for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, having begun his career as a staff attorney at U.S. Customs in the Office of Regulations and Rulings. Browning transferred to the Office of Chief Counsel, where he served as assistant regional counsel in New Orleans, as district director in Baltimore, and as senior counsel for international enforcement. In 1994, he was appointed assistant commissioner for the Office of International Affairs and was the acting assistant commissioner for the Office of Regulations and Rulings. 

Browning earned his Pitt Bachelor of Arts degree in political science; he received his Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra University. He also is a graduate of the Senior Executive Fellows program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

An active and generous Pitt alumnus, Browning is a recipient of the University’s 225th Anniversary Medallion and was named a 2007 Legacy Laureate. He is a member of Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors and is vice president and a life member of the Pitt Alumni Association. As a member of Pitt’s African American Alumni Council (AAAC), he served as scholarship campaign chair on the AAAC Campaign Steering Committee, a campaign that surpassed its goal. He also has established the D. M. Browning Endowed Scholarship Fund to support underrepresented and disadvantaged students in the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences who have documented financial need and have demonstrated academic potential to succeed at the University of Pittsburgh.

Browning is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Chevalier of the National Order of Merit of the Republic of France, the second-highest civilian award accorded by France, and the U.S. Presidential Senior Executive Service Rank Awards of Distinguished Executive and Meritorious Executive.

As vice president and general manager of health care at nVoq, which develops speech-recognition software for the health care and customer care industries, Deborah J. Gillotti directs sales and marketing strategies for the health care business unit and provides overall marketing leadership for the company. Prior to joining nVoq, Gillotti held senior global leadership positions in sales and marketing for the past decade, including general manager and senior director of Worldwide Partner Strategy and Development at Microsoft; vice president of Channel Partner Sales for Quest Diagnostics/MedPlus; and chief executive officer of Healthphone Solutions. She has focused in recent years on strategic business development through channel partnerships in the public sector and health care vertical markets. Previously, Gillotti served as chief information officer for Starbucks Coffee Company and Duracell and as a senior consulting manager with KPMG Peat Marwick. 

Gillotti earned her Pitt Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and history; she received her Master of Science in Accounting degree from Georgetown University. She also completed the Women Directors Development Program at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Business. 

An active and generous Pitt alumnus, Gillotti is a recipient of the University’s 225th Anniversary Medallion. She is a member of Pitt’s Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences Board of Visitors, a life member of the Pitt Alumni Association, and a School College and Regional Campus (SCR) Director of the Pitt Alumni Association and chair of the SCR Committee. She also has provided service as a Pitt Advocate and Pitt Career Network volunteer. She has been a guest speaker at University programs on campus and a University event host in her home state of Washington. A member of the Brackenridge Circle, Gillotti established the Deborah Jeanne Gillotti Endowed Equipment Fund in the Department of Computer Science and the Deborah Jeanne Gillotti Graduate Fellowship Fund in the Office of the Provost.

Gillotti also served as a mentor to the University of Washington Foster School of Business from 1998 to 2009. She has received national recognition for her leadership in the technology field, including “America’s Best Technology Users” from Forbes magazine, CIO and Computerworld’s Top 100 IT executives, and has been a contributor to Harvard Business Review and other publications. 

Prior to assuming the presidency of Windber Research Institute in 2009, Thomas M. Kurtz was a partner with Pivotal Technology Group in Johnstown, Pa., and held leadership positions in health care services. He was vice president for government relations and business development and vice president for clinical services and special projects for the Conemaugh Health System in Johnstown; director of practice management for UPMC in Pittsburgh and Johnstown; president and chief executive officer of Lee Regional Care Centers for the Lee Regional Health System in Johnstown; and vice president of the Carlisle Hospital and Health System in Carlisle, Pa. He also served as executive director of the American Red Cross in Westmoreland County.

Kurtz earned his Pitt-Johnstown Bachelor of Science degree in psychology and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, Minn. He has been an active and engaged member of the Pitt-Johnstown Advisory Board since his appointment in 2012, has served on the Pitt-Johnstown Alumni Association Board, and continues to support the mission and vision of the Johnstown campus. As chief executive officer of Windber Research Institute, Kurtz has been instrumental in establishing a partnership with Pitt-Johnstown in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines to encourage interest in science and research.

Kurtz has been a member of a number of civic and community boards in the Johnstown area, including the American Red Cross, Johnstown Area Regional Industries, the Johnstown Area Heritage Association, and the Greater Johnstown Community YMCA. He currently serves on the Windber Medical Center and Somerset Chamber of Commerce boards.

Larry J. Merlo is the fourth chief executive officer in the history of CVS Caremark Corporation, which ranked 13th on the 2013 Fortune 500 list. With more than 30 years in pharmacy health care and a strong track record of success, he played an integral role over the past 20 years in CVS Corporation’s growth into the largest pharmacy health care provider in the United States. Merlo has held executive leadership positions with CVS Pharmacy and CVS Caremark since 1988. Most recently, and prior to becoming president and chief executive officer in 2011, Merlo was chief operating officer of CVS Caremark. Before holding that position, Merlo served as president of CVS Pharmacy and executive vice president of CVS Caremark; executive vice president–stores of CVS Corporation; and executive vice president–stores of CVS Pharmacy. Earlier in his career, he held positions at Peoples’ Drug, which CVS purchased in 1990, and Thrift Drug.

Merlo earned the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree from the University of Pittsburgh. He is a recipient of the University’s 225th Anniversary Medallion and the 2010 School of Pharmacy Distinguished Alumni Award. He was named a Legacy Laureate in 2008 and has been a guest lecturer in Pitt’s pharmacy school. 

Along with his wife, fellow alumnus Lee Ann (A&S ’77), Merlo has been a generous alumnus. He endowed The Larry and Lee Ann Merlo Student Leadership Fund Award in Pitt’s School of Pharmacy to provide assistance to students with financial need enrolled in the school’s Doctor of Pharmacy Program. 

Merlo advocates for the profession of pharmacy and the value it provides the health care system to help deliver innovative solutions and products and services that improve health outcomes and lower overall health care costs. He has received numerous professional honors, among them being named Chain Drug Retailer of the Year by Chain Drug Review for three consecutive years and Operations Executive of the Year by Drug Store News. He is a member of the board of directors of the National Association of Chain Drug Stores, which he chaired from 2010 to 2011 and previously served as vice chair and treasurer.