Leslie Donavan

Currently: Donavan currently serves as the CEO and president of Starfish Aquatics Institute, a group that helps aquatic facilities save lives. The Ill.-based company works with waterparks, YMCAs, parks and recreation agencies, USA swimming teams, swim schools and public safety first responders, among others, to provide training on risk management.

background: Donavan received a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and she attended the NU School of Law. She has worked in the commercial law field as well as the health care field. She served as president of the Northwestern Alumni Association from 2004 to 2010, and she served on the NU Presidential Search Committee.

Melih Keyman

Currently: Keyman is the CEO, president and founder of Keytrade AG, an international company that specializes in mineral fertilizers. The company operates in five continents and is based in Switzerland.

background: Prior to founding Keytrade, Keyman worked with fertilizers at the ENKA Marketing of Turkey and Transammonia. He is a member of the board of directors of The Fertilizer Institute. He is originally from Turkey and now lives in Switzerland, and he received his bachelor’s degree from the University of New Hampshire.

Keyman has supported the development of NU’s Turkish Studies, as part of former University President Henry Bienen’s efforts to expand Middle East studies.

Bhadrashyam Kothari

Currently: Kothari is the chairman and managing director of H.C. Kothari Group, a family business created by his grandparents in the early 20th century. Under Kothari’s leadership, the company works on environmental preservation and other development activities for the rural sector in India. The group owns several businesses, including a sugar company, a petroleum supplier and a company specializing in biotechnology, all under the Kothari family name. He is also the president of Loyola Alumni Association.

background: Kothari lives in Chennai, India, and he recently hosted University President Morton Schapiro at an event in India. He received a bachelor’s degree in commerce from the University of Madras’ Loyola College.

Robin Neustein

Currently: Neustein works as the senior director of Goldman Sachs, where she has worked since 1982. She also founded a peer-to-peer wealth management organization for women called Circle Financial Group.

She is serving on the Kellogg School of Management Pete Henderson Society, which includes alumni and friends of the school who have propelled the school as one of the nation’s leaders in business education. She is also a founder and trustee of Lightfighter Trust, an organization that helps combat stress and trauma of those who had fought in the military.

background: She first attended Mount Holyoke College but transferred to Brown University, where she received her bachelor’s degree. She earned her master’s degree in management and her doctorate in law at NU.

David Sachs

Currently: Sachs co-founded Ares Management, a firm that works with businesses to manage their investments. He has approximately $40 billion of committed capital under his management.

Sachs also serves as the director for Terex Corporation, a company specializing in equipment for construction, mining, transportation and recycling industries. Additionally, he is a lead director for F+W Media, a Cincinnati-based company that publishes special interest magazines.

background: He received his bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and management science from NU. He is a member of the McCormick Advisory Council and the advisory board for McCormick’s Farley Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

W. Rockwell Wirtz

Currently: Wirtz is the president of Wirtz Corporation, which specializes in banking, real estate and insurance, and the Wirtz Beverage Group, a division of the Chicago-based family business that specializes in luxury beer and wine. The Chicago resident serves as chairman of the Chicago Blackhawks, but he also has real estate companies and banks in Florida.

He is the co-chairman of the executive committee of Chicago’s United Center, and he is a trustee for The Field Museum. Wirtz also serves on the executive committee of the National Hockey League.

background: He received his bachelor’s degree in communications from NU and served as an alumni trustee for two years in 1980s. He established the Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Endowment for Visiting Artists at NU.

He was a member of the John Evans Club board of directors and is on the School of Communication National Advisory Council.