Four honored at 2017 Belk College Alumni Awards

As part of UNC Charlotte’s Homecoming celebrations, the Belk College of Business honored four alumni and friends for their accomplishments, service and dedication to the college on Oct. 17 during its second annual Alumni Awards celebration.

View the images from the Belk College Alumni Awards

The UNC Charlotte Belk College Alumni Awards recognize alumni and advocates who have demonstrated leadership and outstanding career achievements and enhanced the mission of the College. Sponsored by the Belk College of Business Alumni Council, the awards were bestowed to four individuals in these categories:

• Distinguished Alumni Award: The Distinguished Alumni Award is presented to alumni for extraordinary leadership and accomplishments. It recognizes alumni who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the university and the business community by giving generously of their time, energy and leadership. This award celebrates alumni who’ve had a transforming influence for our college and/or the community, over a lifetime. It is the highest alumni honor the Belk College bestows.

• Distinguished Service Award: The Distinguished Alumni Service Award is presented to a member of the Belk College community for outstanding service to the Belk College of Business.

• Distinguished Young Alumni Award: The Distinguished Young Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus or alumna who is under 40 years of age, has demonstrated achievement, and shows a promising future in business.

• Honorary Alumni Award: The Honorary Alumni Award recognizes outstanding individuals who, while not graduates of the Belk College of Business, have made significant contributions to its leadership, vision and educational mission.

Carol P. Lowe, ’87 Accounting – Distinguished Alumni Award

Carol P. Lowe is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at FLIR Systems, Inc. as of Nov. 27, 2017. Previously, she was Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Sealed Air, overseeing all financial functions including external reporting, FP&A, treasury, tax, internal audit and shared services and serving as a member of the Company’s Executive Committee. Prior to that role, Lowe was President of Carlisle Food Service Products, a subsidiary of Carlisle Companies Incorporated, a global diversified manufacturing company, and through March 31, 2011, President of Trail King Industries Inc., a subsidiary of Carlisle. She served as the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Carlisle from 2004 until November 2008 and its Treasurer from 2002 through 2004. Prior to joining Carlisle, she spent eight years at National Gypsum Company where she held various accounting and treasury positions including Treasurer. Preceding that, she spent seven years with Ernst & Young. Lowe was named to the board of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE: EME) in May 2017 and also serves as a member of the Audit Committee. Lowe previously served as a member of the board of directors for Cytec Industries, Inc. (NYSE: CYT) from 2007–2016. Cytec was acquired by Solvay. She is also a board member of United Way of the Central Carolinas. Lowe is a member of C200, Women Corporate Directors and the UNC Charlotte Board of Athletics. Lowe obtained her MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and her B.S. in Accounting from UNC Charlotte. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tom Coley, ’91 Business Administration, ‘98 Accounting – Distinguished Service Award

Tom Coley serves as a Tax Partner in Grant Thornton’s Charlotte office. He has more than 19 years of public accounting experience serving public and private clients in the transportation, manufacturing, distribution, retail and technology industries. He specializes in state and local taxes including multi-state corporate income and franchise tax planning, ASC 740 and FIN 48 analysis, compliance and refund reviews, audit defense, nexus studies, and voluntary disclosures. He has extensive experience identifying, substantiating, and calculating state tax credits in the Southeastern United States. Additionally, he has assisted clients in identifying and obtaining discretionary state and local incentives. Prior to joining Grant Thornton LLP, Coley spent over four years with Arthur Andersen. Before his public accounting experience, Coley spent five years with General Electric in procurement roles. He serves on the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce Tax Committee and is Grant Thornton’s representative on the Southeastern Association of Tax Administrators Industry Council. Additionally, Coley is a member of the Institute for Professionals in Taxation. Coley serves as the Chair of the UNC Charlotte Accounting Advisory Board. Coley holds a B.S. in Business Administration and a B.S. in Accounting from UNC Charlotte. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Shabari Basu, Ph.D. ’13 MBA – Distinguished Young Alumni Award

Shabari Basu is the technical director in the renewable energy (wind, solar and battery storage) department at Duke Energy. In her role, she is responsible for energy assessments for renewable projects, technology selection for projects in development and supervisory control / data acquisition systems for remote control of the generators for operational sites. She leads a group of engineers and works with various consultants to keep the wind and solar farms running smoothly with remote visibility. In 2016, she was named an honoree of the Charlotte Business Journal Women in Business awards. In 2017, she was honored with a Charlotte Business Journal 40 Under 40 award. Basu received her MBA from UNC Charlotte in 2013. She also holds a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in space sciences from California Institute of Technology.

Brian Marley – Honorary Alumnus Award

Brian Marley is the founder and Managing Partner of Marley Associates LLC, an advisory services firm. Marley previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Belk, Inc. from 2000 to 2013. Prior to joining Belk, Marley was a Partner with KPMG LLP, where he served for over 20 years. In addition to serving on the Board of Advisors of the Belk College of Business, Marley serves on the Board and Chairs the Investment Committee for the John M. Belk Endowment. He is a member of the Investment Committee of the Belk Foundation, the Board of Visitors of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and serves on the Board of Directors of Follett Corporation. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a James M. Johnston scholar.

Dean Steven Ott said the award winners are the embodiment of leadership and inspiration not only for the Belk College, but for the broader business community.

“The Belk College is proud to honor these four alumni and friends this year during UNC Charlotte Homecoming Week. The award winners support the Belk College as volunteers, advocates and donors, while serving as leaders in the business community. All of our awardees have achieved greatness personally and professionally. They are leaders among our strong and growing Belk College network of more than 29,000 alumni worldwide,” Ott said.

About the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte

Accredited by AACSB International, the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte offers outstanding business education programs at the undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and executive levels, including the top 20 nationally-ranked MBA and Mathematical Finance programs based at UNC Charlotte Center City. The Belk College has more than 29,000 alumni, more than 17,000 of whom live and work in the Charlotte region. The Belk College is committed to building strong partnerships in the Greater Charlotte region and beyond as a vital part of our mission as North Carolina’s urban research business school. Find the Belk College of Business online at belkcollege.charlotte.edu.

Media contact:

Belk College of Business: Kirsten Khire, APR | 704-885-4134 | kkhire@uncc.edu