In May, Butler announced a $5 million financial commitment from Old National Bank to create the Old National Bank Center for Closely Held Business, which will provide privately owned businesses with training, education, mentoring, and networking opportunities to help them succeed.

The Center, located in Butler’s Andre B. Lacy School of Business, will place special emphasis on serving the unique needs of this core segment of the economy. The Center will advance the Lacy School of Business’s commitment to experiential education by extending the definition of the Butler student to include the individuals at the businesses that they have the opportunity to work with.

“We are grateful not only for the tremendous financial contribution, but for the partnership with Old National Bank (ONB),” said Stephen Standifird, Dean of the Lacy School of Business. “ONB has been, and continues to be, a strong advocate for supporting closely held businesses.”

The Old National Bank Center for Closely Held Business will initially concentrate on two core areas: helping organizations understand how to manage transition strategies, a challenge that is unique to closely held businesses; and identifying stage-appropriate advisors who can help businesses grow in areas such as accounting, legal, risk, and insurance. 

The Center’s leadership team will design its initial programming. The team consists of Administrative Director Dennis Wimer; Academic Director and longtime Butler Business Professor Dick Fetter; and Dean Standifird. Much of the ongoing programming of the Center will be determined by client feedback and consultation with appropriate experts. If you want to learn more about how you or your business could be involved in this organization at Butler, connect with Wimer at dwimer@butler.edu.

Wimer and colleague Jennifer Dewitt spent the summer meeting with members of the Indiana Business community as well as attending The Alliance Conference, an organization consisting of leaders of family and closely held business centers across North America. “The first step is to understand our customers’ needs and this summer has helped us identify the critical topics that drive organizational growth and value,” Wimer said. “We have started to build relationships with key partners that we know our members will be able to count on.”

ONB Chief Credit Officer Steve McGlothlin ’87 will chair the Center’s Advisory Board. Lacy School of Business Senior Advisor Andre Lacy will serve on the board as well as Elaine Bedel MBA ’79, President of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation; Bill Neale, Senior Partner Krieg Devault LLP; and JP Engelbrecht, CEO South Central Inc. Additional board members who bring a diverse perspective on today’s critical business issues will be added.

“Old National is thrilled to partner with Butler University to help advance the success of privately owned businesses throughout our great state,” Old National Chairman and CEO Bob Jones said. “As the largest bank headquartered in Indiana, Old National is deeply committed to ensuring that Hoosier businesses get the training, education, and other resources they need to grow and thrive.”