Goldring honored as inaugural AACSB Influential Leader

AACSB International, the global accrediting body and membership association for business schools, has named Tulane University business alumnus Bill Goldring (BBA ’64), chairman of the Sazerac Co. and Crescent Crown Distributing Co., as one of its inaugural “100 Influential Leaders.”

In honor of AACSB’s Centennial Anniversary, the distinction recognizes alumni from AACSB-accredited schools who are making an impact in the world through their business acumen, leadership or entrepreneurial success.

“No one is more deserving of this great honor than Bill Goldring,” said Ira Solomon, dean of the A. B. Freeman School of Business. “Bill has led some of the most significant projects in the history of Tulane University, and his philanthropy has left an indelible impact on not only Tulane but all of New Orleans.”

"Bill Goldring has played an essential role in the life of both Tulane and New Orleans," said Tulane President Mike Fitts. "I can't think of one area of the university that has not benefited from his support, vision or guidance."

A member of the Board of Tulane and the Business School Council, Goldring and his family provided anchor gifts for the construction of the two buildings that house the A. B. Freeman School of Business, Goldring/Woldenberg Hall (1986) and Goldring/Woldenberg Hall II (2003). He and his family also donated funds to the business school to establish the Goldring Institute of International Business and the Malcolm S. Woldenberg Chair of Marketing. He was instrumental in establishing the Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University, the nation’s first medical school teaching kitchen, and his gifts have also helped establish the Woldenberg Art Center and the Goldring Tennis Center.

Goldring received the Freeman School’s Outstanding Alumnus Award in 1989. He is a past member of the President’s Council at Tulane; president of the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library Association; and a recipient of the Tulane University Paul Tulane Society Award, the A. B. Freeman School of Business Distinguished Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Dermot McGlinchey Lifetime Achievement Award.