Kris Wooten, Chairman
Prior to her retirement, Kris Wooten led the Strategic Finance team for Turner International and was responsible for overseeing budgets, forecasts and long-range plans for the International business. She also oversaw all M&A activity and provided analytical support for business development transactions, strategic partnerships, new businesses and capital investments across three regions. Prior to joining Turner International, Kris spent 12 years at CNN, most recently as SVP, Finance. Her primary responsibilities included overseeing the budgeting, forecasting and long-range planning processes for the CNN businesses as well as providing analytical support for new initiatives and investments. Prior to joining CNN Worldwide in 2000, Kris was Director, Finance and Special Projects for TBS, Inc., where her primary responsibility was to provide an analytical framework for business decisions involving TBS’ real estate assets, business investments and strategic partnerships. Other roles at TBS include Director, Strategic Planning and Director, Finance for the Turner Entertainment Group. Prior to joining Turner Broadcasting in 1995, she worked at Dean Witter Reynolds in the Mergers and Acquisition group as an Associate in New York and Los Angeles. Kris graduated with Distinction from the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia with a BA in Finance and a Minor in Business Spanish. She first learned to play polo on the Club Team at UVA.
Karen Manning, President
Karen has served as general counsel for the South Carolina Department of Commerce since 1998 and is responsible for all legal issues affecting the agency. In addition to serving as the primary legal point of contact for some of the state’s largest economic development clients, in including BMW, Boeing, and Volvo, Karen is also closely involved in supporting Commerce’s rail division in the ongoing development of an equal dual access intermodal rail facility at the former Navy Base to serve the Port of Charleston. A Columbia, South Carolina native, Karen is a 1987 graduate of the University of Virginia’s College of Arts & Sciences and McIntire School of Commerce Business Institute. She later received her law degree from the University of South Carolina’s School of Law. A former fox hunter and three-phase eventer, Karen learned to play polo while a student at UVA and spent three summers managing the Virginia Polo Clinic for polo instructor and high-goal coach Rege Ludwig. During that period, Karen groomed for and played with Rob Rinehart enabling her to advance to the Varsity Team during her last two years at Virginia Polo.
Strother Scott, Treasurer
Strother is a Principal at H.I.G. Capital, LLC based in their Boston office. He is responsible for all aspects of the investment process including deal origination, financing, transaction execution, and implementation of post-closing operational initiatives. Strother has private equity investing experience across a wide range of industries including business services, manufacturing, and enterprise software, and currently serves on the boards of several of H.I.G. Capital’s portfolio companies. Prior to joining H.I.G. Capital’s LBO group in 2012, Strother worked at Harris Williams & Co. in their dedicated Healthcare & Life Sciences investment banking group. He began his career in technology consulting. Strother earned a B.S. in Commerce from the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce in 2010. He first learned to play polo as a middle school student at a UVA-hosted clinic.
Steve Walsh, Secretary
Steve is a retired career US Marine officer with over 25 years on active duty in a variety of conventional and special operations assignments in Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and South West Asia. He is currently managing director of global operations for Traxys, a metals, mining and energy company based in New York. He has previously held a variety of worldwide C-suite leadership roles in multiple business lines including power generation, energy distribution, mining, program management and government/legal affairs. Steve’s polo career began in El Salvador in 1992 where he was serving as a military advisor during the civil war. Returning stateside he subsequently played as a member of the US Military’s Polo Team and in 1997, became the team captain until 1999 when he retired. He foxhunts with the Bull Run Hunt, participates in eventing activities and plays polo with the summer league at the Virginia Polo Center along with his son, Brendan Walsh.
Kris Wooten, Chairman
Karen Manning, President
Strother Scott, Treasurer
Steve Walsh, Secretary
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