Diversity MBA Magazine names five alums to “Top 100 Under 50”

Diversity MBA Magazine has selected five alumni of the Freeman School for inclusion on its 2010 list of the “Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders.” The list recognizes exceptional minority and multicultural executives—including African Americans, Asians, Hispanics, foreign nationals and women—who have achieved success in highly competitive corporate, government or entrepreneurial environments.

This year’s Freeman alumni honorees are:

• Shellond D. Chester (MBA ’00), assistant dean for finance, School of Liberal Arts, Tulane University
• Jesse W. Devlyn Jr. (MBA ’93), CEO, Devlyn Vision Inc.
• Vincent Ilustre (MBA ’04), executive director, Center for Public Service, Tulane University
• William A. Taylor Jr. (BSM ’93, MACCT ’94), owner and founder, Taylor CPA & Associates and W3 CPAs and Consultants
• Bouvier Williams (MBA ’93), vice president, talent management, human resources, MTV Networks

The Top 100 Under 50 were selected based on their positions within their organizations, the size of budgets managed, their scope of responsibility, their community service work, and their education including MBAs and other advanced degrees. Taylor and Williams were recognized as Diverse Executive Leaders while Chester, Ilustre and Devlyn were honored as Diverse Emerging Leaders.

As assistant dean for finance at Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts, Shellond D. Chester manages budgets in excess of $30 million for the school’s 15 departments. Chester is responsible for overseeing all financial activities affecting the dean’s office and departments within the school as well as training employees on university financial procedures and consulting with department chairs and administrators on financial and personnel/hiring decisions.

Jesse W. Devlyn Jr. is the driving force behind product development, go-to-market strategies and lead generation programs at Devlyn Vision Inc., which operates more than 200 optical stores for grocery store retailers such as HEB and Wal-Mart. Prior to Devlyn Vision, he founded Coupon Logix Inc., a software and services firm that enabled manufacturers and grocery retailers to execute, settle and analyze in-store coupon-based promotions.

As executive director of the Center for Public Service at Tulane University, Vincent Ilustre is responsible for the implementation of the undergraduate academic public service graduation requirement at the university. In that role, he manages a staff of 28 people to ensure proper coordination of partnerships between the university and the local community.

William A. Taylor Jr. is the founder and owner of two CPA firms in Georgia, Taylor CPA & Associates PC of Columbus, Ga., and W3 CPAs and Consultants Inc. of Atlanta. He and his wife also own an asset holding company with commercial real estate, residential real estate, securities, precious stones and other assets. Prior to founding those firms, Taylor worked at Robinson, Grimes & Co. in Columbus and Arthur Andersen & Co. in New Orleans.

As vice president of talent management, human resources, Bouvier Williams drives organizational initiatives and processes for MTV Networks, a division of Viacom International Inc. Williams and his team of four TM practitioners ensure that employees at MTV Networks have access to innovative learning solutions and developmental tools to support them in executing channel strategies, maximizing business results and achieving personal growth.

This year was the fourth consecutive year that Freeman School alumni have been featured among the Top 100 Under 50. Since the magazine began compiling the list in 2007, more than a dozen alumni of the Freeman School have been honored.

Diversity MBA Magazine is an internationally distributed publication targeting women and multicultural professionals in corporate America and government as well as entrepreneurs and business students. The list of the “Top 100 Under 50 Diverse Executive & Emerging Leaders” appears in the magazine’s summer 2010 issue, which will hit newsstands in August.