One of the new members of the Wexner Center Foundation Board didn’t follow the typical path of her college major after graduating.
Dr. Janet Reid earned a Ph.D. in chemistry, but after working at Procter and Gamble Co. for several years in chemistry, she transitioned to working in the consumer research department. She then went on to become P&G’s brand manager, a position usually reserved for those trained in business, Reid said.
P&G operates popular household, beauty and grooming brands including CoverGirl, Crest, Gillette, Downy and Charmin.
And her journey didn’t stop there. Reid left and started her own company, Global Lead, which merged with another company in 2010 to become Global Novations, a global management consulting firm that “helps the world’s leading organizations unleash the capacity of their employees,” according to its website.
Global Novations was sold in September to Korn/Ferry International, which offers leadership recruitment and retention consulting services, for an undisclosed amount.
On Oct. 30, Reid was appointed to the Wexner Center Foundation Board. Adam Flatto, president of The Georgetown Company, a real-estate investment and development company in New York City and Jeni Britton Bauer, founder and creative director of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, were appointed to the board on the same day.
Reid, a resident of Cincinnati, has won the Leading Women’s Entrepreneur Award, was named one of Cincinnati Enquirer Women of the Year in 1996 and was honored with the P&G Product Development’s Pioneering Black Woman Award.
But Reid said she thinks her most important accomplishment is her view of the world.
“I was fortunate to be raised by parents who exposed me to the world. World affairs, people around the world, world cultures, etc.,” Reid said. “So I think one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve had is to be able to bring more of a global viewpoint to the company that I created, to Ohio State, to … Xavier University.”
Reid has been on the OSU Board of Trustees since 2009, according to the Board website. She is also a trustee of Xavier University in Cincinnati.
Reid is filling the role of liaison between OSU’s Board and the Wexner Center Foundation Board, a position that was held by Robert Schottenstein. He left the Wexner Center board after more than five years and currently serves as OSU Board chairman.
Reid had no direct ties with OSU before being appointed to the Board.
“Once I got appointed, my son-in-law had to coach me on football,” Reid laughed. “I really had no association with Ohio State. However, I’ve had a long affiliation with higher education, so I had been on Xavier’s board for a long time. Prior to that I had been on the board of the University of (Cincinnati).”
Reid said her father, Broadus Butler, was the president of Dillard University, a historically black university in New Orleans, so she grew up on a college campus.
One of Reid’s goals in her new role on the Wexner board is to draw international attention to the Wexner Center.
“I probably will have an interest in … having the Wexner Center’s profile raised globally so more people will know about it. And also, even though the Wexner Center’s artists really do come from all over the world, I would like to work to have an even greater global array of artists and exhibits and so forth,” Reid said. “Because I think in doing that work … that will bode well in having the state of Ohio become even more globally linked than it is.”
Some employees of the Wexner Center said they have been impressed by Reid’s accomplishments.
“One of the pieces of her resume that really struck me was her international experience,” said Karen Simonian, directory of media and public relations for the Wexner Center. “(Her appointment is) really going to bring an extra level of expertise.”
Reid was appointed by OSU President E. Gordon Gee, and Simonian said she trusts his judgement.
Some other Wexner Center board members feel that Reid will bring great experience to the table.
“Janet has been a longtime patron and advocate of the arts center who brings savvy leadership, management and international experience,” said Leslie Wexner, chairman and CEO of Limited Brands and president of the Wexner Center board, in a university press release.
The Wexner Center Foundation is a private partner of OSU’s Board of Trustees created to represent the interests of the Wexner Center for the Arts, according to a university press release. OSU does not pay its trustees, Simonian said.