Board of Directors

C. Ronald Blankenship

Chairman Of The Board

Most recently, Mr. Blankenship served as Chief Executive Officer of Verde Realty.  Prior to joining Verde, he was Vice Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of Security Capital Group Incorporated, a publicly held international real estate operating and investment management company.  Security Capital had controlling interest in 18 public and private, fully integrated real estate operating companies with a total market capitalization of over $26 billion. Eight of the companies were listed on the NYSE. He is currently a Director of Regency Centers Corporation and has also been a Director for Archstone Trust, Belmont Corp., ProLogis, CarrAmerica, and Storage USA.

Theo Bunting

Chairman of the Capital and Planning Committee

Mr. Bunting served as the Group President, Utility Operations of Entergy Corporation, an integrated energy company, from June 2012 until his retirement in June 2017. From 2007 – 2012, he served its SVP and Chief Accounting Officer. Prior to that, he held numerous executive positions within Entergy, which he joined in 1983. He began his professional career with Arthur Andersen & Co. and is a CPA. He also serves as a director of NiSource Inc., an energy holding company.

William Crawford

CEO

William Crawford is Pacolet’s Chief Executive Officer. In such capacity, he has primary responsibility for the Company’s overall performance, its strategic planning and shareholder communications.

Prior to joining Pacolet Milliken, William was Senior Vice President with TD Bank, where he was responsible for the legal aspects associated with the Bank’s US-wide corporate, real estate and contract functions. He previously was EVP – Chief Legal and Risk Officer of The South Financial Group, Inc., a publicly-traded banking holding company that sold to The Toronto-Dominion Bank in 2010.  From 1989 through 2001, William was a lawyer with Wyche Burgess Freeman & Parham in Greenville SC, where he specialized in SEC matters, corporate finance, governance and M&A activities. During his tenure with the firm, he was a partner and a member of its executive committee.

William was born in Cuthbert, GA. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees in piano performance from the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University and his law degree from Harvard Law School. He lives in Greenville, SC with his wife and three children, and is active in many civic and charitable organizations.

Laura Folse

Independent Director

Ms. Folse is the former CEO of BP Wind Energy, North America.  In that role, she managed over 500 employees and contractors and operations at 14 wind farms across eight states, with an operating capacity of over 2.5 gigawatts.  Prior to that, she served as Executive VP, Science, Technology, Environment and Regulatory Affairs at BP p.l.c., where she led cleanup and restoration efforts in response to the 2010 BP Macondo well explosion off the coast of Louisiana.  Before being named Executive VP, she served in various leadership roles within BP p.l.c.

Ms. Folse serves on the board of TransAlta Corporation and the Auburn University College of Arts & Sciences.  From 2016 to 2019, she was a board member for the American Wind Energy Association.  Ms. Folse holds a Master of Management, Business from Stanford University, a Master of Science, Geology from the University of Alabama, and a Bachelor of Science, Geology from Auburn University.  She brings to the Board her experience in corporate risk management, large-scale crisis management, leveraging data analysis, leading large and complex organizations, and driving cultural change.

Patricia L. Gibson

Chair Of The Human Resource & Compensation Committee

Ms. Gibson is the Chief Executive Officer of Banner Oak Capital Partners, an independent real estate management company based in Dallas, Texas.  Banner Oak was launched from its predecessor firm, Hunt Realty Investments, Inc., where Ms. Gibson served as President. Previously, she served as a Senior Vice President of Hunt Realty Investments, and Senior Vice President and Director of Structured Finance at Archon Group, a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs. Before joining Archon, she spent nine years at Travelers Realty Investment Company. She serves as the Chair of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM). Ms. Gibson is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Ms. Gibson has been an independent Director of the Company since 2012. She is a member of Pacolet Milliken’s Audit Committee, Finance Committee, and Planning and Investment Committee.

Natalie Jackson

Chair of the Power and Infrastructure Investment Committee

Ms. Jackson currently serves as Chief of Capital Markets and Structuring at Tree Energy Solutions (TES), where she is responsible for all capital formation, investment, and commercial structuring activities globally.  Prior to TES, Ms. Jackson served as Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Markets and Portfolio Finance for Clearway Energy Group, where she was responsible for all capital formation and portfolio finance activities. Prior positions were with Vestas Wind Systems, SunPower Corporation, BrightSource Energy, Invenergy, and The AES Corporation. Ms. Jackson serves on the board of Renewa LLC, including serving on their Investment Committee.  She holds a BBA from James Madison University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and is a CPA, having started her career as a public accountant at Deloitte in Washington, DC.

Donald A. Miller

Chairman of The Real Estate Investment Committee; Chairman of The Nominating & Governance Committee

Mr. Miller is a private investor. From 2007 through 2019, Mr. Miller served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Piedmont Realty Trust, one of the five largest publicly traded office REIT’s in the country. Previously, he was as head of real estate activities at Wells Real Estate Funds, Inc., and head of the U.S. equity real estate operations of Lend Lease. Earlier in his career, he worked in the pension investment management department of Delta Air Lines and was responsible for real estate and international equity investment programs. He currently sits on the Board of Directors of Pacolet Milliken, and the Board of Governors for the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. Mr. Miller is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

John W. Milliken

Chairman Of The Audit Committee

Mr. Milliken is Chairman of the Board & Chief Executive Officer, Representative & Treasurer and director of Merimil Holdings, LLC. Mr. Milliken also serves on the Board of Directors of Baskahegan Company and Baskahegan Dam Company.

Samuel G. Peelle

Shareholder Director

Mr. Peelle is currently Senior Director & Partner of Marvel Power Group, a consulting and brokerage firm for clients in energy, water, and manufacturing. He started his career with United Technologies Corporation before focusing on clean energy at EnerNOC and, most recently, Advanced Microgrid Solutions, a developer and asset manager of battery and renewable energy systems. He holds a BA from University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Babson College.

Stephen Stroud

Shareholder Director

Trinity College, Hartford, CT: Bachelor of Arts (History), 1986

Thunderbird, The Garvin School of International Management, Glendale, AZ: Masters in International Management, 1991

President, Finca Barú del Pacífico S.A. (1993 – Present). The company owns and operates Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge on the Central Pacific Coast of Costa Rica near the town of Dominical.

President, Asociación Centro de Investigación Stroud (ACIS), a Costa Rican non-profit association that oversees legal and administrative matters for Stroud Water Research Center research in Costa Rica. ACIS is based at the Maritza Biological Research Center in Area de Conservación de Guanacaste (ACG).

Treasurer, Guanacaste Dry Forest Conservation Fund (GDFCF). GDFCF’s formal mission statement is to: “Promote the long-term survival of the ecosystems and biodiversity of wild protected area of ACG in Costa Rica through conservation, education, science-based management and biodiversity development.”

Steve has lived and worked in Costa Rica since 1992. He is married to Mayra Bonilla and they have a son, Michael Stroud.