CHARGESC - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Aerospace Initiatives
- Director of Strategy and Communications
- Named Director of Strategy & Communications
As Director of Strategy and Communications, Adrianne assists in the long term strategic planning for the Council and manages communications and marketing for the Council and each of its statewide clusters, programs and initiatives.
Adrianne joined the SC Council on Competitiveness in March 2017 as Director of Aerospace Initiatives. Prior to coming to the Council, Adrianne was Program Manager for the University of South Carolina McNAIR Center for Aerospace Innovation and Research. She was an integral part of the strategic design and build out of the McNAIR Center, which focuses on key areas in advanced composite materials and manufacturing to support the aerospace cluster.
Adrianne is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Moore School of Business. She is certified by the University of South Carolina in Research Administration. Adrianne currently serves on the Challenger Learning Center Foundation Advisory Board, the University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business Alumni Board, and the South Carolina District Export Council.
Job Titles:
- Communications Coordinator
- Communications Coordinator for SC Competes
Alex Albrecht is the Communications Coordinator for SC Competes. His role involves social media management, copywriting, web editing, and strategic communication planning for the various initiatives.
Alex has a bachelor of science degree in Integrated Marketing Communication from Winthrop University 2013 and was born and raised in the Midlands. He currently resides in Greenville with his wife, Morgan and cat, Inky and dog, Otter.
Alex was raised in the Midlands of South Carolina and attended Lexington High School and earned a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Marketing Communication from Winthrop University.
Alex joins the Council as Communications Coordinator after spending time in roles across marketing agencies and large corporate business alike, helping to grow brand voices both domestically and internationally . He brings a love of words, people, brand development, and hometown pride to the role and is excited to advance the Council's voice and role across the state and globe.
Currently based in Greenville, South Carolina, Alex enjoys exploring the beautiful Upstate with his camera and spending quality time with his wife and cat.
Job Titles:
- Creative Communications Specialist
- Creative Communications Specialist for South Carolina Council on Competitiveness
Amanda was born in New Bern, North Carolina and later moved to the Columbia area at a young age. She attended Spring Valley High School and continued her education at the University of South Carolina where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communications with a minor in Spanish in 2019.
Amanda Campbell joins the Council as the Creative Communications Specialist after having served as the Communications Intern since November 2017. Specializing in visual communications, she focuses her passion on graphic design, videography, photography, motion design and other forms of creative media.
In her free time, she enjoys taking road trips to new places and connecting with people through food and live music. Amanda also loves exploring new hiking trails in the mountains of North Carolina and finding creative inspiration within nature.
Callie joins the Council as Project Coordinator. She was born and raised in Anderson, South Carolina. She graduated with honors from Presbyterian College in 2009, earning a B.A. in Political Science and attended law school at the Charleston School of Law.
After graduating and being admitted to the South Carolina Bar in November 2012, Callie worked as law clerk to The Honorable John C. Hayes, III in York, South Carolina and The Honorable R. Lawton McIntosh in Anderson, South Carolina. She then went into private practice with the Shannon Jones Law Firm in Charleston, South Carolina. She has worked as a Business Development Manager for Allstate for the last four years.
Callie lives in Columbia, South Carolina and in her spare time, enjoys seeing live music, baking, and spending time with friends and her Springer Spaniel George.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Chairman of Board of Directors, South Carolina Research Authority ( SCRA )
Dr. Peggy Torrey has served as Director of TransformSC since 2014. Peggy began her career in education as a middle school counselor in Richland School District One before obtaining her Ph.D. in Educational Research and Psychology from the University of South Carolina. She then joined the SC Department of Education where she co-managed the development and implementation of a new statewide teacher evaluation system.
When her family relocated to Georgia, Peggy served as the chief executive and operating officer of the Georgia Standards Commission - the cabinet agency responsible for state accreditation of all GA educator preparation programs and educator licensing. When Dr. Torrey's family returned to South Carolina, she was tapped by the SC Chamber of Commerce to serve as Associate Vice President of Education Policy.
Most recently, Peggy served as the Executive Director of Carolina Children's Home. She joined the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness as the Director of TransformSC in March and recently became the Director of Education and Workforce Initiatives in June. Her husband, David, is a Presbyterian minister. They have one daughter, Beth, who is a law professor at the University of Georgia.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Partner, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President & CEO, Blanchard Machinery Company
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer / Dean Emeritus, Moore School of Business
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Senior Executive Adviser, Cogdell Spencer ERDMAN Former CEO, Edens
Job Titles:
- Director of SC Tech and CyberSecureSC
- Named Director of SC Tech and SC Cyber SC Council on Competitiveness Taps Former SC Codes Director to Lead Initiative Formerly Known As TechSC
Kim Christ is the Director of SC Tech and CyberSecureSC at the SC Council on Competitiveness. With the mission to build SC's technology ecosystem, Kim works to connect partners across industry, education, and government to prepare our state for emerging technology trends, and grow opportunities for workforce and industry outreach with the goal of making industry in SC competitive on the world stage.
Prior to SC Tech, she was Program Director for SC Codes, where she helped create and implement the statewide program that provides workforce training and mentorship in computer programming to South Carolina residents free of charge. Kim was also previously Projects Manager at the South Carolina Department of Commerce Office of Innovation. Here, Kim helped manage programs such as the Relentless grant challenge, Scribble, and 3Phase. She also worked to connect the state's innovators through collaborative networking and ideation sessions that spurred ideas and new program creation.
A technologist by trade and an education ambassador at heart, Kim worked for over a decade as a Networking Manager in SC, and served for many years on the leadership team at East Point Academy, acting as an education ambassador in China on two occasions. She has a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Limestone University and is currently completing her EMBA in Strategic Leadership.
Job Titles:
- Next Energy Engineering Instructor from Richland Two Institute of Innovation ( R2i2 ), Named South Carolina 's 2022 STEM Educator of the Year
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
- BlueCross As President and Chief Operating Officer
- Chairman / Chairman, BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
- Chairman of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina
- Chairman, South Carolina Council on Competitiveness / Chairman
M. Edward Sellers is Chairman of BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina and the Companion group of companies. The Corporation's businesses include health insurance, administrative services contracting, Medicare intermediary functions, Department of Defense TRICARE intermediary functions, a life insurance company, a property and casualty insurance company, computer technology businesses, and an HMO.
Mr. Sellers joined BlueCross as President and Chief Operating Officer in September 1987. He was elected to the board of directors in 1989, became Chief Executive Officer in 1992, and was named Chairman in 2001. Today, BlueCross and BlueShield of South Carolina has over $2.9 billion in annual revenue and 13,000 employees located in sixteen states.
In prior assignments, Mr. Sellers worked for Westinghouse Electric Corporation (Pittsburgh), the Boston Consulting Group (Boston), and the BlueCross and BlueShield Association (Chicago).
A native of Kentucky, Mr. Sellers is a graduate of Vanderbilt University with a B.A. in Physics, and he has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Counsel, Burr & Forman
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Retired President, at & T South Carolina
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- CEO & Chair of the Board, J M Smith Corporation
Samantha joins the Council as Project Coordinator after working in Human Resources and Business Operations for 10 years, primarily working with small to medium-sized businesses across the state of South Carolina. Samantha is an active member in both National and Local SHRM and is both PHR and SHRM-CP Certified. Samantha is currently working on getting her PMP.
She was born in South Carolina and raised in both SC and Colorado. She was a student-athlete
and played soccer since she could walk through college. She graduated from Erskine College in 2012, earning a B.S. in Business Administration with a minor in Spanish.
Currently based in Columbia, South Carolina, Samantha enjoys exploring both locally and internationally, immersing herself in the food and music. Samantha also enjoys playing in a kickball league.
Job Titles:
- Director of Aerospace Initiatives
Stephen joins the Council after working as a Manufacturing Projects & Initiatives Specialist for GE Aviation's Operational Excellence Team. Stephen was one of the original members of the team, working with aviation suppliers to improve delivery of parts to GE Aviation shops. In addition to that role, Stephen spent time working as a Team Coach, Product Quality Engineer, and Operations Leader for GE Aviation and GE Power in both Greenville, South Carolina and Schenectady, New York.
Prior to starting a civilian career, Stephen was an officer in the United States Army. After completing Armor officer training at Fort Knox, Kentucky, he was assigned to the 7th Squadron, 10th Cavalry Regiment in Fort Carson, Colorado. He served as a scout platoon leader, human resources officer and assistant operations officer, and was deployed to both Afghanistan and Kuwait. Stephen has been awarded the Order of St. George-Black Medallion, Order of the Spur, Combat Action Badge, and Bronze Star Medal. He left active duty in 2014 with the rank of Captain.
Stephen graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering w/ honors. He currently serves as Pesident of the West Point Society of Upstate South Carolina and was Co-chair of the Class of 2009's 10-year reunion gift campaign. Stephen is a member of the Greenville Transit Authority Board, is a former mentee in the Greenville Chamber's Pacesetters program and is an active member of Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church. Stephen lives in Greenville with his wife Caroline.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- Council President & CEO
- Ex Officio Member / President & CEO, SC Council on Competitiveness
- President & CEO of the South Carolina Council
- President & CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, Participates in Education Field Study in Finland
- President and CEO of South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, Recognized As One of Columbia Business Monthly 's "50 Most Influential People for 2017"
- President and CEO of the SC Council on Competitiveness
- Role of President & CEO of the Council
Sue-Ann ("Susie") Gerald Shannon serves as the President & CEO of the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, a nonpartisan, business-led, nonprofit organization that drives South Carolina's long-term economic growth through managing select industry clusters and providing the research, network, and resources that clusters require to thrive. Industry clusters are concentrations of interdependent firms related through their industrial activities and includes both competitors and collaborators. The resulting inter-cluster business environment fosters innovation. Innovation, in turn, spurs new business ventures.
Since taking on the role of President & CEO of the Council, Susie has been consecutively recognized as being one of Columbia Business Monthly's 50 Most Influential People in Business (2017-2020). She was also the subject of a feature CEO article in SC Manufacturing Journal.
Susie is a graduate of Riley Institute Diversity Leaders Initiative and Nonprofit Leadership Institute of Francis Marion University and is a member of Liberty Fellowship (Aspen Global Leadership Network).
Job Titles:
- Director of SC Fraunhofer USA Alliance
Suzanne joined the SC Council on Competitiveness in 2016 after serving for 8 years as the Director for International Business Development at Clemson University's International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR). Suzanne's experience includes 20 years in the automotive industry: 12 years within BMW working in the fields of corporate sustainability, innovation management and long-term strategic and structural planning.
She began her career with BMW in Munich Germany at corporate headquarters upon completion of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship Program. Suzanne speaks fluent German and is also a Fellow of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Forum. Suzanne serves as a Founding Board Member of the multi-state Southern Automotive Women's Forum and is a Board Member of the South Carolina Automotive Council. In her local community of the Upstate of South Carolina, Suzanne is a Fellow of the Furman University Riley Institute Diversity Leadership Program and co-chairs a Task Force for the Upstate Mobility Alliance. Suzanne serves on the Board of the South Carolina International Trade Conference, the South Carolina Manufacturers Extension Partnership Board and Palmetto Green's Advisory Board.
In 2013, the South Carolina Research Authority awarded Suzanne with the Knowledge Economist Award and in 2015, Suzanne was the recipient of the Clemson Women in Leadership Award. Most recently, Suzanne was awarded the 2020 Charleston Woman of the Year Award from the Charleston Women in Trade organization.
Job Titles:
- Director of Logistics for the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness
- Director of SC Logistics With the South Carolina Council
- Scholarship & Awards Chair
Taylor Jackson serves as Director of SC Logistics with the South Carolina Council on Competitiveness. Taylor began her maritime career in 2014 working at a small freight forwarder as a Rates Analyst & Export Administrator. In 2016, Taylor joined Kuehne + Nagel as an Account Manager where she was responsible for managing global accounts in the Southeast territory.
In her spare time, Taylor is involved in many organizations in the Waterfront Community. She serves as Chair for Charleston Women in International Trade. Taylor is also on the Board for the Charleston Motor Carrier Association, The Propeller Club of Charleston and NTW. She is Chair of the Waterfront Collective in Charleston, SC and serves on the committee for Work Force and on the Board of the Maritime Association of South Carolina. Taylor also serves on the CSCMP Roundtable Board out of Greenville, SC. Taylor won 2019 Young Leader of the Year for the NTW.
Taylor has a Bachelor of Science in Political Science with a Biology Minor from Clemson University and currently lives in Charleston, SC with her two dogs: Kevin and Jameson.
Taylor Jackson named South Carolina Council on Competitiveness' Deputy Director of SC Logistics