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Deborah M. Fretz, President & CEO of Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P., has been selected to receive the 2008 Paradigm Award, the region’s most prestigious award for businesswomen.
The Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce will honor Ms. Fretz for her outstanding professional and personal achievements at its Paradigm Award Luncheon on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at the Crystal Tea Room in the Wanamaker Building in Center City Philadelphia.
As President and CEO of Sunoco Logistics Partners, L.P., Fretz presides over a company with successes that include an 89% increase in company distributions (dividends), with 1,100 employees, and interests in 5,500 miles of pipeline, 36 refined product terminals and almost 25 million barrels of storage capacity.
Fretz has been with the Sunoco family for 30 years, previously serving as senior vice president for Sunoco, Inc., where she was responsible for Midcontinent Refining, Marketing and Logistics, three of Sunoco’s seven business units with revenues of $3 billion, and president of Sun Pipe Line Company and Marine Terminals.
Her career with Sunoco began in 1977 as a financial analyst, and continued with assignments of increasing responsibility in the company. Before joining Sunoco, she worked as a virologist at Merck, Sharp & Dohme.
Fretz serves as a corporate board member of GATX Corp., a Chicago-based transportation services firm, where she is Lead Director and formerly chaired the Audit Committee. Previously, she served on the board of Cooper Tire and Rubber, also chairing the Audit Committee.
Among her many community commitments, she serves as director and Chair of the Finance Committee of the Foundation Board of the Free Library of Philadelphia. She is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Curtis Institute of Music where she is Chair of the Finance Committee. She also serves as a director of Project H.O.M.E and is on the Board of the World Affairs Council.
In recognition of her accomplishments, the Chamber will present Ms. Fretz with the Paradigm crystal sculpture and a charitable gift, provided Ernst & Young, which Ms. Fretz will allocate to community organizations of her choice. She will also retain a seat on the Chamber’s Board of Directors for an additional year.
Past winners of the Paradigm Award include distinguished businesswomen such as:
- Terry D’Alessandro, Market Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Sovereign Bank’s Metro Philadelphia/Southern New Jersey region, 2007
- Dorrit Bern, CEO, Charming Shoppes, 2006
- Carol Ammon, President & CEO, Endo Pharmaceuticals, 2005
For more information on this event, click here.
Constantine Papadakis, Ph.D., President, Drexel University, will receive the 2007 William Penn Award and be honored at a gala event on April 18 sponsored by Wachovia.
The William Penn Award is the highest honor bestowed upon a business executive in Greater Philadelphia. Awarded annually since 1949, recipients are chosen for their outstanding contributions toward the betterment of the region, their professional accomplishments, and their commitment to charity as well as to the community. The selection committee is comprised of past honorees.
Since assuming the presidency in 1995, Dr. Papadakis has capitalized on Drexel’s traditional strengths and taken bold actions to build it into a national comprehensive research university and a major contributor to the regional economy.
At the same time, he also has worked tirelessly to promote the economic strength of Greater Philadelphia. He is a member of the GPCC Executive Committee and the CEO Council for Growth, chairman of Select Greater Philadelphia’s Finance Committee and a member of the Select Oversight Committee.
In addition, Dr. Papadakis serves on the Board of Directors of the Schuylkill River Development Corp. and the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia. He has been involved with many philanthropic and charitable organizations, including the March of Dimes, the Wilma Theater and the Opera Company of Philadelphia.
“I am honored to receive The William Penn Award and to be recognized by the business leaders of Greater Philadelphia,” said Dr. Papadakis. “Drexel’s close partnerships with the business community, through co-operative education, research collaboration and technology transfer, contribute to our University’s success.”
Under his leadership, Drexel acquired the nation’s largest private medical school in 1998, founded Drexel University Online in 2003 and opened a law school in 2006. The full-time undergraduate enrollment has more than doubled while the endowment has grown seven-fold. To accommodate its growth, Drexel employs 7,300 people and has an annual budget of more than $650 million.
Mark S. Schweiker, President & CEO, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, said Greater Philadelphia is fortunate to have benefitted from the energy and vision of Constantine Papadakis, or Taki, as his friends call him.
“Dr. Papadakis’ contributions to the economic and civic well-being of our community have been enormous and long-lasting,” said Mr. Schweiker. “Taki is a true civic leader who has devoted countless hours to making Greater Philadelphia a more competitive place. He envisioned a resurgent Drexel University and is making it happen. Similarly, he sees opportunity to grow the economic base of our region and is working to make that happen.”
Dr. Papadakis has used the historic strengths of the University (cooperative education, Drexel's focus on technology and the rich resources of its Philadelphia location) to grow enrollment, endowment and research funding. In 1998, Drexel took over the bankrupt Allegheny University of the Health Sciences, which included the consolidated: Hahnemann Medical College and Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania. Today, Drexel University includes the College of Medicine, School of Public Health, and the College of Nursing and Health Professions. Its online subsidiary, Drexel University Online, is one of the largest providers of top-quality online education in the nation. Building on Drexel's strengths, in 2006 Dr. Papadakis spearheaded the creation of a law school focused on intellectual property, health care, and entrepreneurship law, and cooperative education.
“Drexel’s transformation into a comprehensive university has increased the ways in which we can help grow our region,” said Dr. Papadakis. “Our colleges and schools are important resources for a prosperous Greater Philadelphia.”
His business leadership roles include serving as Co-Chair of Select Greater Philadelphia’s new Ambassador Program that encourages regional business executives to advocate the attractiveness of doing business in Greater Philadelphia when talking with peers, vendors, and clients.
Dr. Papadakis received his diploma in Civil Engineering from the National Technical University of Athens in Greece. He holds a master's degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Cincinnati and a doctorate from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
Prior to coming to Drexel, Dr. Papadakis served as dean of the University of Cincinnati College of Engineering and as head of Colorado State University 's civil engineering department. Before serving as an academic leader, he held executive engineering positions with Bechtel Power Company, STS Consultants, and Tetra Tech, a Honeywell subsidiary.
“I have had the pleasure to work very closely with Dr. Papadakis on a wide range of initiatives both here at the Chamber and elsewhere in the region,” said Hugh Long, Wachovia Bank’s Northern Group CEO. “I have been greatly impressed with Taki’s vision, leadership, and devotion to making this a better region for everyone. Constantine Papadakis heads one of this region’s thriving institutions, and he demonstrates what every businessperson should aspire to be—a leader who uses his skills to better the community and chart its course for the future.”
Dr. Papadakis will be honored at the William Penn Award Gala on Friday, April 18, 2008 at the Park Hyatt Philadelphia at the Bellevue. The gala is sponsored by Wachovia and co-sponsored by Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP.
Past William Penn Award recipients include William R. Sasso, Esq., Chairman of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP; Nick DeBenedictis, Chairman and President of Aqua America Inc.; Rev. Leon Sullivan, Founder of OIC; Eugene Ormandy, former Director of Philadelphia Orchestra; Willard G. Rouse, III, Chair, Liberty Property Trust; G. Fred DiBona, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer, Independence Blue Cross; Ambassador Walter H. Annenberg; Ronald Rubin, President, Pennsylvania Realty Investment Trust; Judith Rodin, former President, University of Pennsylvania; and Ed Snider, Chairman of Comcast-Spectacor.
For more information on the William Penn dinner, please e-mail here.
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