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Overall role
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Audit
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Compensation
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Nominating and Corporate Governance
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Executive
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Risk and Finance
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Michael S. Dunlap
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 Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Born 1963 Michael S. Dunlap is Nelnet's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, as well as one of the founders of the company. In this capacity, Dunlap is involved in helping establish and implement the strategic direction of the company. Dunlap focuses his time on Nelnet's key strategies of diversifying the company's revenue stream, achieving superior economies of scale through successful operations of all business units, and attaining high quality earnings. He is driven to help develop leadership across the breadth of Nelnet management. He is driven by the Nelnet vision that the customer is number one. "I believe the strength of a corporate leader lies in leadership by example," says Dunlap. Dunlap is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Union Bank and Trust Company and also serves as a Director and Co-President of Farmers & Merchants Investment Inc., the parent of Union Bank and Trust Company. Dunlap serves on the Lincoln group 2015 which is actively involved in promoting the development of Nelnet's hometown. He's a member of the President's Community Council for Union College and the Board of Directors for the University of Nebraska Foundation. In addition, Dunlap is a member of the Board of Capital Casualty Company; and BankFirst of Norfolk. Dunlap is a member of the Nebraska State Bar Association. He received a B.S. degree in finance and accounting in 1986 and a J.D. degree from the University of Nebraska in 1988. He lives in Lincoln, Nebraska, with his family.
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Stephen F. Butterfield
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 Vice Chairman
Born 1952 Stephen F. Butterfield serves as our Vice Chairman. Previously, he served as the company's co-CEO and Vice Chairman. Butterfield also served as a Director for Nelnet's predecessor.
He and Dunlap founded Nelnet with the dream of making the company one of the finest in the education services and finance industry. Butterfield, known as "Butter" to his friends and colleagues, reflects on the significant accomplishments and the realization of their shared dream: " It is rewarding to stand back and see the strong company that Mike and I worked so hard to create and develop. We've seen it through the infancy stages to become the solid, growing company that it is today." He helped develop the philosophy that the leadership of the company works for the associates. This has grown from a way of illustrating his philosophy that Nelnet leadership supports and assists our hard working associates — one distinction that sets the company apart – to a daily mantra for the top officers of the company.
Butterfield's dynamic personality and compassionate leadership have endeared him to Nelnet associates across the nation. His business acumen and accessibility have created trusting and long-lasting relationships throughout the industry.
For nearly 20 years, Butterfield has been involved in the student loan industry. First, he served as President of a for-profit student loan secondary marketing facility located in Scottsdale, Arizona, and subsequently as President of the Student Loan Acquisition Authority of Arizona, a non-profit secondary marketing facility. Prior to his work in the student loan industry, Butterfield spent 15 years as an investment banker; he spent several years in investment banking with Boettcher and Company, specializing in municipal finance.
Butterfield received his B.S. degree in business administration from Arizona State University. He lives with his family in Scottsdale, Arizona.
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James P. Abel
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 Director
Born 1950 James P. Abel has been a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since August 2003 and serves as Chair on the compensation committee. Mr. Abel had previously served as a Director of NHELP-I, Inc., a Nelnet subsidiary, for three years until August 2003.
Since 1983, Mr. Abel has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of NEBCO, Inc., a Lincoln, Nebraska, based company with interests in the manufacture of building materials, construction, insurance, mining, railroading, farming, and real estate.
Mr. Abel serves on the Boards of Directors of UNIFI Mutual Holding Company, Ameritas Holding Company, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp., and is an Advisory Board Member for the US Bank Lincoln. He is also Chairman of the Nebraska Game & Parks Foundation. Mr. Abel received a B.S. degree from Arizona State University in 1973.
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William R. Cintani
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Director William R. Cintani has been a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since May 2012, and is a member of the audit and risk and finance committees. Mr. Cintani is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mapes Industries, a diversified manufacturer of specialty architectural products with distribution across the Unites States and Canada. Mr. Cintani's service on numerous civic, philanthropic, and service boards have provided him with a wide array of experience in both corporate governance and operations. His practical knowledge and board experience provides the Company with a resource for all aspects of finance, operations, IT, and strategic planning. In addition, Mr. Cintani has served 10 years as a member of the board of directors for certain of the Company's asset-backed securities special purpose corporations.
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Kathleen A. Farrell Ph.D.
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 Director
Born 1964 Kathleen A. Farrell has been a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since October 2007 and serves as Chair on the Risk and Finance Committee, and is also a member of the Audit Committee and Executive Committee.
Ms. Farrell is a Professor of Finance and Senior Associate Dean of Academic Programs at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Dr. Farrell joined the finance faculty at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the fall of 1993. Her primary research interests are in executive compensation, executive turnover and other corporate governance issues. Dr. Farrell's publications have appeared in such journals as the Journal of Business, Journal of Accounting and Economics, Journal of Corporate Finance, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Financial Research, and Advances in Financial Economics. Dr. Farrell teaches courses in corporate finance, managerial finance, and bank management. In 1996 she received the Distinguished Teaching Award and 2004 she received the University Distinguished Teaching Award from the College of Business Administration. Dr. Farrell draws on her experience from KPMG Peat Marwick as a supervising senior where she was involved with audit engagements for banks/savings and loans, manufacturers and college and universities. Dr. Farrell received her PhD in finance from the University of Georgia, and a BBA in finance and accounting from Kent State University.
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Thomas E. Henning
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 Director
Born 1953 Thomas E. Henning has served as a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since August 2003. He serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee and is a member of the Executive Committe and Risk and Finance Committee.
Mr. Henning serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Assurity Security Group Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary Assurity Life Insurance Company. Previously, Mr. Henning served concurrently as President and Chief Operating Officer of National Bank of Commerce of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Executive Vice President of First Commerce Bancshares between 1985 and 1990.
Mr. Henning serves on the Boards of Directors for the Federal Home Loan Bank Topeka, American Council of Life Insurers, and Nebraska Innovation Campus. Mr. Henning serves as Chair to the University of Nebraska Foundation Board of Directors and Lincoln Chamber of Commerce, and is a member of Lincoln Industries' Advisory Board. He is a 1975 graduate of the University of Nebraska, as well as Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University. He also has completed the Wharton School's Effective Management Program. Mr. Henning holds the CLU and CFA designations.
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Kimberly Rath
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 Director Kimberly K. Rath has been a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since October 2007. She serves as Chair of the Compensation Committee and is a member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.
Ms. Rath, a native of Nebraska, is Managing Director and President of Talent Plus, Inc. and has nearly 25 years of experience in the human resources field. She is a graduate of the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and a recognized leader in the field of executive development and human resources.
Demonstrating a strong commitment to others, Rath uses her skills as a leadership management consultant to help clients reach their highest growth potential. Through her initiatives at Talent Plus she has driven the company's growth at a rate not lower than 20 percent per year. Rath's achievements include:
The strategic development of the Quality Selection Process® (QSP®), with over 50 validated selection interviews in 20 languages.
The creation of Collaborative Coaching® for the development and career planning of executives.
The actualization of TalentBank®, the online human capital management system built on the talents and measurable performance of an organization's associates.
Rath provides executive management consulting and training to organizations worldwide, including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company (the only hospitality company to have twice won the U.S. Department of Commerce Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award), The Estee Lauder Companies, Mercedes-Benz USA, The Cheesecake Factory, Duty Free Shops and Cadbury Schweppes.
Rath is a member of the Young Presidents' Organization (YPO) as well as Cather Circle, Nebraska Alumni Association's mentoring and networking program for women. She previously served as a member of the Lincoln City/County Child Care Advisory Board. She also had a leadership role on the Executive Advisory Board for the Nebraska Center for Entrepreneurship and helped the Center gain recognition as the No. 1 Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Education Program in the country by the United States Association of Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Rath was a 1998 and 2005 nominee for the Lincoln YWCA Tribute to Women Award.
Prior to founding Talent Plus, Rath worked with The Gallup Organization for seven years, developing relationships with clients through training and development programs.
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Michael Reardon
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 Director
Born 1953 Michael Reardon has served as a member of Nelnet's Board of Directors since December 2003 and serves on the Compensation Committe and Nominating and Governance Committees. He had previously served since 2001 as an Independent Director for MELMAC, LLC, a Nelnet subsidiary.
Mr. Reardon is the Chief Executive Officer of ProVision Communications, a telecommunications company. He has also served on the Board of Directors of Geos Communications, Inc., a publicly traded mobile communications company, since June 2009 and has served as Chairman of that board since March 2010. Mr. Reardon has also served on the Board of Directors of HyperFlo, LLC, a manufacturer of precision cleaning equipment, since 1997 and has served as Chairman of that board since January 2010.
Mr. Reardon graduated from Arizona State University with a degree in economics.
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You can contact Nelnet, Inc.'s Board of Directors to provide comments, to report concerns, or to ask a question, at the following address.
You may submit your concern anonymously or confidentially by postal mail. You may also indicate whether you are a shareholder, customer, supplier, or other interested party.
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In addition, material that is unduly hostile, threatening, illegal or similarly unsuitable will be excluded, with the provision that any communication that is filtered out must be made available to any non-management director upon request.
