Corporate Leadership will Increase the Visibility of NAF’s National Work and Help Advance the Organization’s Vision for the Future
November 04, 2016 (New York, NY) – NAF is pleased to announce the appointment of two new members, David L. Steward and Larry Renfro, to its Board of Directors. Steward is Founder and Chairman of World Wide Technology (WWT), and Renfro is Vice Chairman of UnitedHealth Group and CEO of its Optum health services business. On the NAF Board, they join a team of corporate, education and community leaders dedicated to ensuring that high school students are college, career, and future ready.
Sandy Weill, NAF’s founder and board chairman, said, “We are thrilled to welcome these outstanding business, community and thought leaders to NAF’s Board of Directors. We look forward to working with Dave and Larry on NAF’s strategic plan and tackling one of the most important issues facing our country today, educating our high school students in the areas where the jobs are. NAF’s network of academies, students and alumni will benefit immensely from their engaged leadership.”
Both members will help further NAF’s commitment to connecting students and the organization to leaders in STEM fields who, above all, bring a strong personal commitment to developing the leaders of tomorrow and are also leading their businesses to do the same.
Steward and WWT will be supporting the development of four new NAF academies in Jennings, Missouri, and will provide significant investment in NAF over five years to support the organization’s new business plan and academy development in the St. Louis area. Steward continues to use his decades of experience in the technology industry to develop strategic supplier, customer, and employee relationships. “Our partnership with NAF helps further the impact WWT has made through significant investments in organizations focused on increasing the pipeline of talent in the underserved community – particularly in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) through a coalition called the Global Leadership Forum (GLF)” said Steward. “To inspire and ignite untapped potential in this global community is GLF’s vision. NAF, through its Academies, does just that.”
Renfro brings a passion for connecting his business directly with NAF academy students in key markets and using his experience and expertise to help advance NAF’s Academy of Health Sciences. Renfro was named Vice Chairman of UnitedHealthGroup in November 2014 and oversees responsibilities for all enterprise strategic partnerships, key client relationships, and company-wide business growth efforts. He also serves as CEO of Optum, UnitedHealthGroup’s heath-services platform, overseeing Optuminsight, OptumHealth, and OptumRx. With over 100,000 professionals across the globe serving 115 million individuals across the health care system, Optum powers modern health care by combining data and analytics with technology and expertise.
“I’m honored to join the NAF board and support its work preparing students for college and careers, especially in the health sciences,” Renfro said. “It’s important that today’s students get the opportunities, direction and support they need to become tomorrow’s leaders.”
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About NAF:
NAF is a national network that brings together the business and education communities to provide high school students access to opportunities that will help make them college, career, and future ready.
NAF works with high need communities to transform the high school experience through an educational design that includes industry-specific curricula, work-based learning experiences, and relationships with business professionals, culminating in a paid internship. NAF academies fit within and enhance school systems, allowing NAF to become an integral part of a plan for higher achievement at a low cost. NAF academies focus on one of five career themes: finance, hospitality & tourism, information technology, engineering, and health sciences. During the 2015-16 school year nearly 89,000 students attended 716 NAF academies across 36 states, including D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In 2015, NAF academies reported 98% of seniors graduated with 92% of graduates with post-secondary intentions. For more information, please visit: https://naf.org/
About World Wide Technology:
World Wide Technology (WWT) is a leading technology integrator with over $7 billion in annual revenue that provides innovative technology and supply chain solutions to large public and private organizations. Through its culture of innovation, WWT inspires, builds and delivers business results, from idea to outcome. Based in St. Louis, WWT works closely with industry leaders including Boeing (NYSE: BA); Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO); Dell Technologies (NYSE: DVMT); AT&T Inc., (NYSE: ATT); VMware; NetApp, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP); Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and the U.S. Air Force. WWT employs more than 3,000 people and operates over 2 million square feet of warehousing, distribution and integration space in more than 20 facilities throughout the world. For more information about World Wide Technology, visit www.wwt.com.
About UnitedHealth Group:
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health and well-being company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to make the health system work better for everyone. UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which provides information and technology-enabled health services. For more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on Twitter.
About Optum:
Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 100,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH). For more information, visit www.Optum.com.