Featured image for post: Frank E. Emory, Jr. Slated to Speak at Barton’s 121st Commencement Exercises

Frank E. Emory, Jr. Slated to Speak at Barton’s 121st Commencement Exercises

WILSON, N.C. — April 11, 2023 — Frank E. Emory, Jr., executive vice president and chief administrative officer for Novant Health in Charlotte, will be the featured speaker at the 121st annual commencement exercises of Barton College scheduled for Saturday, May 13, on center campus at 10:30 a.m.

“The College is delighted to welcome Frank Emory back to his hometown of Wilson,” shared Dr. Douglas N. Searcy, president of Barton College. “His extraordinary leadership across the state and his keen business acumen provide a perfect platform for him to inspire this year’s graduating class. Mr. Emory’s parents, the late Athalene Emory and Frank E. Emory, Sr., were highly respected leaders locally and regionally in the education and government sectors, and his father was a dedicated lifetime member of the Barton College Board of Trustees. The Emory family have been strong advocates for education for many years, and we are most pleased that our 2023 graduates will benefit from Mr. Emory’s wisdom and insight as they choose where they will boldly lead in their communities.”

Emory currently serves as a member of the Barton College Board of Advisors.

A seasoned business leader and corporate board member, Emory has more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare, financial services, professional services, technology, government, and public sectors. The breadth of his work has spanned publicly traded companies, private companies, and integrated healthcare systems. He is recognized as an accomplished industry veteran with in-depth expertise in business operations, corporate governance, risk management, legal and compliance, human capital, growth strategy, and community engagement.

In his role at Novant Health, Emory is responsible for oversight of the Compliance, Legal, External Affairs, Internal Audit, Risk Management, Privacy, and Diversity & Inclusion functions for the entire organization. He also co-leads the merger and acquisition strategy for Novant and has been responsible for the reorganization and transformation of the business since his appointment as chief administrative officer in October 2019.

Emory was appointed in October 2020 to the Board of Directors of ScanSource (NASDAQ: SCSC), a leading global provider of technology products and solutions, where he serves as a member of the Audit, Compensation, Governance, Nominating and Risk Committees.

Prior to joining Novant Health, Emory was a longstanding partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP, an international law firm, where he served as co-head of the Firm’s Litigation and Labor Group and managing partner of the Charlotte Office. He specialized in complex commercial litigation and arbitration matters and ran the Litigation practice, where he was responsible for all human capital and personnel decisions with oversight of 250+ attorneys across the firm’s global footprint.

He is a recognized thought leader in economic development, workforce mobility, and public-private partnerships. He previously served as chairman of the board of the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina, an appointment made in 2017 by Governor Roy Cooper. And, he served as chairman of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce for 2012.

Emory also previously served on the Executive Committee of the Duke University Board of Trustees, including as chairman of the Academic and Student Affairs Committees, respectively. In those positions, he played a key role in the conception and launch of Duke Kunshan University. He is past vice chair of the North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center Board of Directors and served for eight years as a gubernatorial appointee on the North Carolina Board of Transportation. He is a past president of the Mecklenburg County Bar, where he was honored with the Pro Bono Attorney of the Year Award in 2008. Emory received the Citizen Lawyer of the Year Award from the North Carolina Bar Association in 2010, is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a permanent member of the Judicial Conference of the Fourth Circuit. He was the first African American and youngest chair of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission. Emory received the Order of the Long Leaf Pine in 2001, the highest award for state service granted by the Office of the Governor.

Emory was an Angier B. Duke Scholar at Duke University, then and now, its most prestigious academic scholarship. He was the president of the student government and studied in Oxford, England. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law on a Morehead Law Fellowship. Emory is married to the former Lisa Lewis, and they have two sons, Frank III and Ross Alexander. They reside in Charlotte.

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