George E. Strickler ('69 Accounting)
2020 Distinguished Achievement Award
George Strickler is a senior executive with nearly fifty years of global experience leading four major corporations, both publicly traded companies (Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, BorgWarner and Stoneridge, Inc.) and privately held companies (Republic Engineered Products and LakeWest, Inc.).
During his career, Strickler’s responsibilities were focused on financial, strategic, and operational excellence to drive top-line growth based on customer, market, and geographic opportunities linked to leading-edge technologies, products, and services. He held several senior executive positions, including executive vice president & chief financial officer, chief operating officer, chief accounting officer, and treasurer across a variety of industries including automotive, commercial, agricultural, consumer, industrial, retail markets and distribution services. In these roles, Strickler was dedicated to strategic planning, organizational development, international operations, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and financial and operational excellence. His results created significant financial and operational improvements and led to increased shareholder value, market capitalization, debt/equity improvement, and significant cash flow generation.
Strickler was a member of the Board of Directors at Technical Consumer Products (TCP International), a publicly-traded LED lighting company, from 2014 to 2018. He also served as the chairman of the Board, chairman of the Governance & Nominating Committee, and chairman of the Audit Committee at TCP. While at BorgWarner and Stoneridge, Strickler was a senior executive on the Board of Directors, Finance Committee, and Governance Committees from 2001 to 2018. Since April 2018, he has been on the Board of Directors of Summa Health, a $1.4 billion non-profit health organization. Strickler has been an active member of the Smeal Board of Visitors since 2002.
In addition to his degree from Smeal, Strickler received his M.B.A. in finance from the University of Akron in 1974 and holds the CPA Certificate from the state of Ohio. He was named Chief Financial Officer of the Year in April 2003 for the Chicago Chapter of National Investor Relations Institute and the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He also received the Frank L. Simonetti Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Akron in April 2016. Since April 2018, he has been on the Board of Directors of Summa Health, a $1.6 billion non-profit health organization, and was elected as Chairman of the Board on January 1, 2021.