George Scanlon ’75 retired as the CEO of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. in 2013 after a career primarily in senior finance roles across a variety of industries, including financial
technology, real estate, data analytics and logistics. He currently serves on the boards of Landstar System, Inc. and Cyndx Holdco Inc., and previously served on the boards of Remy International, Inc. and WageWorks Inc.

Scanlon is involved in several civic activities, including serving on the Board of Trustees of Jacksonville University as chair of the Academic Affairs Committee and the United Way of Northeast Florida, where he served as the Chairman of the Board. He has previously served on the boards of Leadership Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Symphony, and as a member of the Gator Bowl Executive Committee.

He is also a judge in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Southeast Region program and has been honored as a member of the 2011 Irish America Wall Street 50 and as 2012 Ultimate
CEO by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

Scanlon received his BBA in accounting from the University of Notre Dame, and his MBA from the University of Miami.

Laurie M. Joyner, Ph.D., brings extensive leadership experience to the Board as she currently serves as President for Saint Xavier University. Prior to SXU, Dr. Joyner served as President of Wittenberg University in Ohio, as well as in multiple vice presidential and decanal roles at Rollins College in Florida.

Prior to Rollins, President Joyner served on the faculty and held administrative positions of increasing responsibility at Loyola University New Orleans.

In addition to her numerous published works, she has participated as a keynote speaker and/or expert panelist for national conferences on a range of areas, including higher education trends and challenges, leadership development, nonprofit governance and effective universitycommunity partnerships.

Tom Kopko ’07 is an associate in the Chicago office of Sidley Austin LLP. As a member in the firm’s Investment Fund and Private Equity practice groups, he currently focuses on legal, structural, economic and strategic issues of special concern to private investment fund managers, sponsors and their principals. Mr. Kopko regularly advises clients in securities, derivatives and futures-related corporate and regulatory matters arising in connection with the formation and operation of private equity funds, hedge funds, venture capital funds, funds of funds, managed account platforms and family offices. Mr. Kopko is also is involved in the firm’s Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program, which provides free legal support to eligible small and medium- sized for-profit enterprises and market-focused NGOs and non-profits that have a clear social impact in developing countries across Africa, Asia, Central and South America and the Caribbean.

Prior to law school, Mr. Kopko was a consultant for a small business consulting firm based out of the United States Virgin Islands, where he assisted with portfolio client projects and proposals. Prior to joining Sidley, he was a Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) graduate fellow at the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law.

Mr. Kopko received his B.A. from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a four-year member of the varsity men’s basketball team and recipient of the Francis Patrick O’Connor Award, one of the University’s three major athletic awards. Mr. Kopko received his J.D. from Cornell Law School, where he was an editor of the Cornell International Law Journal.

David Lopez ’82 brings more than 30 years of sales management experience in the telecom industry. In addition to sales management, Dave is accomplished in the areas of strategic partnerships and helped build 2 start-up companies from inception.

Most recently, Dave was Senior Vice President at Inteliquent. He was part of the founding management team with two other STL alums in 2003, until his retirement in 2017. Dave was also instrumental in helping the company to its Initial Public Offering (TNDM-IQNT) in November 2007. The company Inteliquent (formerly Neutral Tandem) was sold in February 2017 to Chicago Private Equity firm GTCR. Before Inteliquent, Dave worked at Focal Communications where he was instrumental in helping build the company from inception with three other STL alums. Focal was sold in 2004 to Corvis Corporation.

Dan McCarthy ‘84 received his B.A. from The University of Notre Dame, a J.D. from DePaul College of Law and a M.B.A. from Northwestern University. An active member of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Dan is an expert on the subject of Structured Settlements. He is the current Managing Partner for Waterville Advisors, a financial management firm. The McCarthy family has a long legacy at STL which includes Dan’s mother, Joyce McCarthy, the school’s long time business manager. Dan is also a generous donor to the school and member of our Defend the Glory campaign cabinet.

Alan Oremus was the President & CEO of Prairie Material Sales, Inc., a privately held ready mix company, operating locations throughout four Midwestern states. Prairie was founded by Alan’s grandfather, John Oremus, in 1948. The company was handed down to Jack Oremus, and then Alan, to continue the expansion programs both his father and grandfather envisioned. In 2008, the Oremus family sold the redi-mix and quarry locations, and retained the brick businesses.

Alan is currently the Chairman of the Board of Southfield Corporation. Southfield is comprised of IBC Illinois Brick, IBC Indiana Brick, Rose Brick, Edgewood Landscape Supply, Lansing Cut Stone and Menconi Terrazzo, a total of 21 locations.

Alan was a former Board member of Prairie Bank & Trust, the Portland Cement Association and the National Ready Mix Concrete Association.

Mario Rizzo ’84 is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of The Allstate Corporation and Allstate Insurance Company, as well as a member of Allstate’s Operating Committee. Prior to becoming CFO in 2018, Rizzo served as Chief Financial Officer of Allstate Personal Lines (APL), where he was responsible for its comprehensive financial planning and analytics. Rizzo previously served for nearly eight years as Allstate’s Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, and as Vice President in APL Finance before that. He joined the company in 1989.

Rizzo serves as a member of the Finance Committee and the Governing Board of UCAN Chicago, an organization focused on empowering youth to develop into our future leaders.

Mario resides in the south suburbs of Chicago with his wife Linda. Mario’s daughter Aubrie, QoP Class of 2011, currently serves as a member of the STL faculty.

Mike Roche ’68 got his start with Continental Bank in Chicago, taking on various roles in Systems and Application Development before eventually rising to the role of Managing Director. His next stop was Heller Financial as CIO before becoming Group President, Receivables Lending & Small Business Finance. In 2002, Mike switched over to the insurance sector, serving as CIO and then Chief Claims Officer at Allstate Insurance before retiring in the summer of 2016.

Theresa Roche is President of OAR Management, Inc., where her responsibilities include oversight of all company-owned investments in the U.S., in addition to Roche Enterprises in-house services. Previously, she managed her own law practice and also worked as a Contract Attorney for the Office of the Cook County Public Guardian. She is a former adjunct faculty member at Robert Morris University.

Theresa is currently VP for the Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123 School Board and served on the Queen of Peace Board for 6 years, including 2 as President. Theresa is a longtime volunteer for Girl Scouts of America.

Theresa serves on the Board of Directors for Cara Chicago, whose mission is to break the cycles of homelessness and poverty through job training. She is also the Director of the Roche Family Foundation, which generously sponsors several current STL students.

Favorite Quote: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader” John Quincy Adams

St. Laurence is truly Where Leadership Begins. I am lucky to be a 1986 graduate and of service to the school 30 years later.

“I did not fully appreciate the value of a St. Laurence education when I was a student. As I got older it became apparent that the lessons I learned there gave me an essential moral foundation. In our very complicated world it is difficult to always do the Right Thing. I think it is important for all alumni to realize that we have a responsibility to give back to the institution that helped shape our lives.”

Click here to read George’s full bio.

Joe Silich ’87 brings 29 years of experience heading the The Silich Group at Morgan Stanley, widely recognized as one of the top wealth management firms in Illinois and nationally.

Joe is also very proud of his philanthropic commitment, especially causes related to children. Currently, Joe also serves as a board member for Chicagobased UNICEF, DePaul University, the Center for Behavioral Finance and the USO. Joe was also a Co-Chair for St. Laurence’s Defend the Glory campaign, a $5 million initiative to raise funds for student aid, faculty excellence and facility investment.