CHARLOTTE – Discovery Place recently appointed four new members to its Board of Trustees, all of whom are serving three-year terms that expire in 2023. Joining the Board of Trustees are:

• Christopher Perri, global real estate services executive at CBRE. As a global alliance director, Perri is responsible for leading the CBRE Global Workplace Solutions for a large financial services client account, overseeing a team of more than 1,000 CBRE professionals in 39 countries. Perri is a past chair of the Discovery Place Board of Trustees and has served on the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance and the Charlotte Mecklenburg Parks & Recreation Commission.
• Stephanie Sadowski, senior managing director at Accenture. Sadowski currently serves as the Charlotte office managing director in addition to being the global lead for financial services salesforce practice. Her role focuses on shaping and delivering the Accenture front office strategy and technology solutions for marketing, sales, services and customer analytics functions. She has a degree in chemical engineering from MIT.
• Suresh Venkatarayalu, chief technology officer at Honeywell. Venkatarayalu is responsible for driving new product introduction, innovation, technology roadmaps, mid segment offerings, Internet of Things and fueling breakthrough initiatives. He oversees engineering and technology functions across Honeywell Global Businesses and Corp R&D shared function based out of high-growth regions. He also serves as chief technology officer for Honeywell’s Safety and Productivity Solutions (SPS) business group. He has degrees in computer science engineering and general management.
• Richard (Rick) Tankersley, vice chancellor for Research and Economic Development at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. As chief research officer, he oversees all aspects of the university’s research enterprise and leads a team tasked with promoting disciplinary and interdisciplinary research and developing strategic partnerships aimed at growing the university’s research portfolio and infrastructure. He is also an appointed member of the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology and Innovation. Tankersley has a PhD in Biology from Wake Forest University.

“Now more than ever, members of our Board of Trustees are thoroughly engaged in shaping the future of Discovery Place as an organization and we are pleased to have these community leaders joining the effort,” said Catherine Wilson Horne, president and CEO of Discovery Place. “Their business acumen, STEM backgrounds, connection to the region and overall expertise will help guide the organization in being mission-driven and successful in a post-COVID world.”

The Discovery Place Board of Trustees is responsible for ensuring that adequate financial and other support is available through a broad variety of sources in order to sustain and grow the programs and other services of the organization. Each Discovery Place trustee serves on at least one standing board committee. Trustees approve organizational policies, review operational goals, advocate for the organization, support organization staff and contribute financially to the Museums’ success.

The Discovery Place Board of Trustees is led by Paul Camuti, of Trane Technologies, as chairman; Aditya Bhasin, of Bank of America, as vice chair of External Affairs; Doug Esamann, of Duke Energy, as vice chair of Internal Affairs; and Joclyn Balanda, of PNC, as secretary.

For a full list of the Board of Trustees, click here.