Robert W Pratt Jr

Dr. Pratt joined the Board in 2008 and was elected Board Chairman in 2013. He had previously chaired the Board’s Strategic Planning Committee. Dr. Pratt joined General Electric Company in 1963 as an Economist. He spent 14 years with GE in marketing and strategic planning assignments, and later was responsible for strategy development at Heublein, Inc., R.J.Reynolds Food & Beverage Group, and Avon Products, Inc. In 1992, he retired from Avon as Executive Vice President and a member of the Corporate Executive Committee. From 1992 through 1998, Dr. Pratt taught a course in Strategic Marketing Planning at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business, where he was Marketing Executive-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor. In addition, he advised several corporations in the areas of marketing and strategic management. Dr. Pratt has served on several for-profit boards, including Liz Claiborne Cosmetics and Greenfield Industries, and several not-for-profit boards, including the Louisville School of Art (Chairman), the Institute for Global Ethics (Vice Chairman), the Osborn Retirement Community (President), the Marketing Science Institute, and Ventures in Education. He is a former member of the Kentucky Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors. Dr. Pratt received his undergraduate degree from the University of Texas, and his MBA and PhD from the University of Michigan.