Kent Oyler, president and chief executive officer of Greater Louisville Inc., and Thomas Wimsett, chairman and managing partner of Wimsett & Co., are the latest to join the group created in 2012 by the college鈥檚 Board of Advisors to recognize top entrepreneurial graduates.
The two businessmen will be inducted Nov. 7 in an 11:30 a.m. ceremony at Jane Goldstein Plaza outside the business school鈥檚 Harry Frazier Hall.
Oyler, who holds UofL bachelor鈥檚 and master鈥檚 degrees, joined GLI, Louisville Metro鈥檚 chamber of commerce, in June. Before that, he served on GLI鈥檚 board for eight years and twice chaired its EnterpriseCorp.
He has launched 19 new ventures, including High Speed Access Corp., a broadband internet provider that went public in 1999 and still ranks as Kentucky鈥檚 highest initial public offering.
Wimsett, who earned a UofL bachelor鈥檚 degree in 1986, has decades of experience starting and managing payment-related businesses. He founded Wimsett & Co., a Louisville-based payments consulting firm, in 2012.
In 2010, a company he started in 2003, Iron Triangle, sold for more than $600 million. As former chief executive officer of National Processing Company, he grew the company鈥檚 market capitalization from $275 million to $1.8 billion.
鈥淭hese two embody the principle we strive to instill in our students 鈥 that innovation leads to success,鈥 said Rohan Christie-David, interim dean of UofL鈥檚 business school. 鈥淲e鈥檙e delighted to honor them for their achievements and welcome them into our Circle of Fame.鈥
Oyler鈥檚 and Wimsett鈥檚 names will appear on a granite slab in Goldstein Plaza beside the names of seven other Circle of Fame inductees.
