Laureate Bios Diane B. Medley, CPA, ABV, CGMA Active in public accounting since 1981, Diane Medley co-founded Chilton & Medley in 1988 and Mountjoy Chilton Medley LLP in 2010. Diane has led the firm through several mergers and acquisitions, making MCM the largest CPA firm in the region with Victor A. Staffieri Vic Staffieri is in his 17th year as Chairman and CEO of Louisville Gas and Electric and Kentucky Utilities. The combined companies have four locations and over 300 employees. Today the firm is the 82nd-largest professional and financial services firm in the United States. As Managing Partner and Co-Founder, she was the first woman to hold this leadership position in the public accounting industry in Kentucky and is currently one of only four female Managing Partners of the Top 100 Firms in the U.S. Medley also co-founded Meritrust Wealth Management LLC, an affiliate company which provides financial planning and investment management. Diane’s other distinctions include Alumna Fellow of the Year of the University of Louisville, 2015; Women Leading Kentucky, Martha Layne Collins Award, 2015; Tower Award for Business, 2009; Business First Who’s Who in Finance and Accounting, 1995; Outstanding CPA, 1987 and Outstanding Alumnus, 1993 Award from University of Louisville Beta Alpha Psi Accounting Fraternity; Kentucky Society of CPAs Award for Highest Grades on May 1981 CPA Exam; Elijah Watt Sells Award for National High Distinction on May 1981 Exam. Diane holds several certifications, including Certified Public Accountant, Accredited in Business Valuation Certified Valuation Analyst and Chartered Global Management Accountant. She currently serves as a board member of Brinly-Hardy Inc., a private, multigenerational family company based in Southern Indiana; Vice Chair of Hardin Memorial Health Foundation; board member of Nucleus; Chair of Greater Louisville Inc.; advisory member to One Southern Indiana’s Economic Development Council; steering committee member of 2020 Women on Boards; past officer of Louisville Chapter of NAWBO; past board member of the Kentucky Society of CPAs; member of the International Women’s Forum, the AICPA, the KyCPA and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. After graduating from Meade County High School in 1973, Diane attended UofL and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in commerce in 1980 with highest honors. She was the class valedictorian of the college of Business and was named Outstanding Senior in Accounting. Diane still resides in Meade County, Ky., with her husband. She frequently travels the globe and spends time with her four children and five grandchildren. guidance and annual revenues of more than $3 billion and assets in excess of $10 billion. Before assuming his current responsibilities, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel. Prior to coming to Kentucky in 1992, Vic was General Counsel of Long Island Lighting Company, a Fortune 500 Company in New York. Vic has been directly involved in the strategic transformation of LG&E and KU. He served as one of the principal negotiators in the mergers with KU in 1998 and Powergen in 2000 and then oversaw the company’s transactions with E.ON and PPL. In addition to his duties in Kentucky, Vic has served on the Board of London-based Powergen and the nine-member Executive Committee of E.ON in Düsseldorf, Germany – which was the largest investor-owned utility in the world – and he now is a part of the PPL senior leadership team. Vic has a long history of community service. He has been Chairman of the Louisville Chamber of Commerce, Chairman of the 2002 United Way Campaign, Chairman of the Coordination Council for Economic Development Efforts and Chairman of a recent statewide task force on Postsecondary Education. He was Dinner Chair for the National Conference, Junior Achievement and the Catholic Charities Foundation. Vic has served on the boards of Fifth Third Bank in Louisville, Mid-America Bancorp, The Edison Electric Institute, the Muhammad Ali Center, Leadership Louisville and Bellarmine University. In Vic’s 37-year business career, he has been fortunate to be surrounded by superbly talented individuals. In Kentucky, our utility emphasis on safety, customer service, community involvement and providing reliable energy are products of their collective efforts. Vic played football at Yale. He is a twotime All-Ivy and All East selection and a member of the quarter-century All Ivy Team. Recently Vic was honored as one of the 100 best players in the century-old history of Yale Bowl. He played on two Ivy Championship teams and was the 100th Yale football captain. Vic and his wife of 37 years, Kim, have four children. Paul Varga Paul Varga was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of BrownForman Corporation on August 1, 2005, and became Chairman of the company in August 2007. He has been a member of the company’s board of directors since 2003. As CEO, Paul has led the company’s long-term growth strategy, resulting in the fastpaced international expansion of the business and the transformation of its portfolio of consumer brands. He has overseen the global growth of Jack Daniel’s and Woodford Reserve while acquiring and building additional strategic whiskey brands. Paul has championed people development and talent management efforts while supporting new initiatives around product development, cost containment and corporate social responsibility. In 2009, he established the office of Diversity and Inclusion and has been a strong supporter of the company’s diversity efforts worldwide. Prior to becoming CEO, Paul served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company’s Brown-Forman Beverages subsidiary. Since he assumed responsibility for the company’s beverage business in 2003, Brown-Forman’s reported annual operating income has grown from $378 million to $1,048 million, representing a compound annual growth rate of 8% over the 12-year period. After beginning his career at Brown-Forman as a summer intern in 1986, Paul worked in Chicago, Southern California, Nashville and Louisville in a variety of positions, including many years of overseeing the company’s most important brand, Jack Daniel’s. Starting in the mid-1990s, he helped the company establish its system which today continues to provide marketing direction on behalf of BrownForman’s brands throughout the world. Paul also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Brown-Forman Beverages. global brand management Paul is a member of the board of directors for Brown-Forman and Macy’s Inc. He is a past board member of the Metro United Way, Muhammad Ali Center, the Louisville Urban League, the YMCA of Louisville and Three Chimneys Farm, a Kentucky-based thoroughbred horse business. Paul earned his bachelor of business administration degree in finance from the University of Kentucky in 1985. He went on to earn his master’s in business administration at Purdue University in 1987. Paul resides in Louisville with his wife, Melissa, and their three children.
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