Board of Trustees announces new officers and new and returning members

The members of the Board of Trustees of Wake Forest University are pleased to announce the election of new leadership and its next class of Trustees, for terms beginning July 1, 2026.

Officers for the 2026-27 term

Chair: Curt Farmer (’84, MBA ’91, P ’16, P ’17), of Dallas, Texas, is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Comerica Incorporated and Comerica Bank. He joined Comerica in 2008 following a 24-year career with Wachovia Bank where he held a variety of positions with increasing responsibilities in Retail Banking, Commercial Banking and Wealth Management. Curt served as Vice Chair of the Board for the past three years and most recently as Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee.    

Vice Chair: Gary Pinkus (P ’20, P ’22), from Woodside, California, is senior partner emeritus for McKinsey & Company. He joined the firm in 1987 and held many roles over the course of his career, including global leader of McKinsey’s Private Equity and Principal Investors Practice, which he co-founded, and leading the firm’s western U.S. office before becoming Chairman for McKinsey & Company in North America.  

Vice Chair: Mit Shah (’91, P ’26), from Atlanta, Georgia, is senior managing principal and chief executive officer of Noble Investment Group, a travel and hospitality real estate investment manager he founded in 1993. A prominent leader in the hospitality industry, Mit has been profiled by Newsweek magazine as one of the e most influential South Asians in the U.S. and recognized for his achievements by many organizations and publications such as Atlanta Business Chronicle, Lodging magazine, Lodging Hospitality magazine, and the American Hotel and Lodging Association.   

Vice Chair: Jeanne Whitman Bobbitt (’79, MBA ’87), of Dallas, Texas, works with nonprofits in the areas of strategy, leadership transition, and resource identification. She served as vice president for development and external affairs at Southern Methodist University and head of the Hockaday School in Dallas, after beginning her professional career at Wake Forest University. Jeanne served as Chair of the Board of Trustees for the past two years and most recently as Co-Chair of the Presidential Search Committee.

Treasurer: Dr. Jacqueline A. Travisano

Secretary: Dr. Paula Gentius

Assistant Secretary: Ms. Molly Field

Returning members elected to a new term include:

Shelmer Blackburn, Jr. (’82), Purlear, NC 

Peter C. Brockway (P ’09), Boca Raton, FL

Helen Hough Feinberg (’84, P ’14, P ’19), St. Pete Beach, FL  

Anil Rai Gupta (MBA ’92, LLD ’17), Delhi, India

Marybeth Torbet Hays (’90, MBA ’94, DBA ’26), Winston-Salem, NC 

Aubrey Martin (’80), Sandy Springs, GA  

Jane McGraw (P ’16, P ’20), Short Hills, NJ 

Michael C. Smith (’89, P ’21), Raleigh, NC 

Ben C. Sutton, Jr. (’80, JD ’83, P ’14, P ’16, P ’19), Winston-Salem, NC  

Student Trustee:

Mr. Carter McDonald, a Politics and International Affairs and Economics double major from Denver, Colorado was elected as student trustee for 2026-2027.

Life Trustee:

Janice Kulynych Story (’75), Park City, UT

A complete list of Trustees currently serving on the Board can be found here