USM Set to Honor Alumna, Young Alumna of Year in March 25 Luncheon

Fri, 03/18/2022 - 07:49am | By: Van Arnold

Longtime global financial executive Cindy Gaddis has been named the 2022 Alumna of the Year by the College of Business and Economic Development at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Courtney Campbell, director of group sales for Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment Global, has been selected as the Young Alumna of the Year.

Gaddis and Campbell will be honored during a special luncheon at noon on Friday, March 25 at the Trent Lott National Center on USM’s Hattiesburg campus.

“We are extremely proud to honor Cindy and Courtney. While they are at different points in their careers, they have both represented Southern Miss Business with honor, dignity, and capability while achieving remarkable success. They are great examples for our students and alumni to emulate,” said Dr. Bret Becton, Dean of USM’s College of Business and Economic Development.

Gaddis is a proven professional with broad-based experience across the integrated oil, gas, and petrochemicals industry. She is known for being passionate about developing staff and building a diverse and inclusive work environment. As a multicultural leader, she managed staff directly or indirectly in Europe (including the Middle East), Asia, and North and South America.

She lived abroad for over four years in London, England, and has traveled extensively, visiting more than 30 foreign countries. Gaddis joined Royal Dutch Shell in 1985 as a graduate after obtaining a Bachelor of Business Administration with honors from USM.

She also secured further leadership training through Shell-sponsored courses at The Wharton School of Business and the University of Houston Bauer College of Business. 

Gaddis retired from Shell in 2019 after a distinguished career that spanned more than 34 years. In her final assignment, she held the position of vice president of finance and global downstream (DS) controller, which included responsibility for preparing the consolidated global DS sector business and operating plans and latest estimates, producing the monthly and quarterly business performance reporting for the DS sector, and for ensuring a robust DS Governance Risk and Control framework.

In addition, she held the role of country finance functional lead (CFFL) for the United States, where she was responsible for overseeing the development of the finance skill pool in country. Her prior roles included CFO Global Chemicals, Finance General Manager Manufacturing U.S. Region, Manager Houston based internal consultancy group, Controller and Accounting Manager US Upstream business, as well as roles in financial accounting and business partnering in a refining Joint Venture, Supply and Trading, and Information Technology.  Cindy was also a board member on several joint ventures and/or Shell owned companies. 

Currently, Gaddis is actively involved in several volunteer positions. She is a member of the Southern Miss Business Advisory Council, including serving on the Executive Committee, and was an Inspired Leader Series speaker for Southern Miss Business in 2019. She is on the Board of Directors for both the Shell Houston Area Alumni Association and the Heritage Shores Property Owners Association.

The young alumna honoree, Campbell, has also made quite an impact in her respective industry.

She serves as director of group sales for Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment Global, which encompasses various growth properties, such as Brooklyn Nets, New York Liberty, Barclays Center and more. She joined the organization just before the start of the 2021-22 season to relaunch the group sales department from the ground up. She serves as a member of the National Sports Forum Planning Committee, Black Alliance Network social events chair, and BSE Global youth marketing research and strategy co-chair. In her coaching role, she oversees the group sales department across all properties with a commitment, dedication and focus on meeting and exceeding all group sales, department, and organizational goals.

Campbell works to recruit, coach, and develop sales professionals, all while providing the necessary training to aid in achieving success and strategizing for long-term business growth. Her team achieves results through a full-menu sales approach, committed to community involvement with diversity, equity, and inclusion at the forefront, all while exuding quality character. She operates using the people, process, and results model by saying, “I hire based on character because I believe in my ability to train skill. I want everyone on my team to be good people, first, and great sellers, second.” Prior to her new leadership career in the NBA, she served as a member of the leadership team in the NFL.

She led the Group Sales Team for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium as the manager for the department and launched the Diversity and Inclusion Council and Women’s Network. She made franchise history by producing the first group seller to have a $1 million campaign, a feat which three of her team members achieved in one season, all following the year of COVID-19 limited capacity. She joined the Dolphins in 2019 following her tenure as a group account executive for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. During the 2015, 2016 and 2017 seasons, she was one of eight individuals who made up the #1 Group Sales Team in the NFL. 

Courtney earned her degrees in business administration with a marketing emphasis, foreign language and literature with a Spanish emphasis, and mass communication and journalism with a public relations emphasis, all from USM.

To learn more about the College of Business and Economic Development at USM, call 601.266.4659 or visit: https://www.usm.edu/business/index.php