2025 Alumni Award Winners Recognized
Three School of Business alumni were recognized for outstanding leadership, service and impact at the Board of Visitors spring meeting. We check in with the winners to explore the significance of their achievements.
__________________________________
Marc Villegas (MBA ‘05), senior brand director at Procter & Gamble, embodies the values of integrity, character and ethical decision-making, making him a deserving winner of the 2025 Judson D. DeRamus Distinguished Alumni Award. In his 20 years with P&G, Marc has consistently driven business growth, developed future leaders, and pioneered innovations that have created nearly $10 billion in value across multiple brands and business units in North America, Europe and Latin America. However, what sets Marc apart isn’t just the positive business results he has generated, but how he achieves them – by developing others. During his career, he has trained over 10,000 brand builders globally and mentored dozens of junior marketers. He championed P&G’s Hispanic efforts through leadership in programs including Capitanes del Futuro (a partnership with Major League Soccer) creating mentorship opportunities for Latino youth, and is the driving force behind P&G’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. Over the years he has returned to Wake Forest as a speaker in marketing classes, giving students a perspective on how the principles they are learning in class have real application in the business world. As his nominator boasts, “Marc truly embodies Wake Forest in everything he does.”
What does receiving this award mean to you personally and professionally?
Marc: This award is a full-circle moment that reminds me how the foundation and skills I built at Wake Forest, and the people I met there, have played such an important role in helping me get to where I am today. On one hand, it’s rewarding to look back and see how far I’ve come after 20 years at P&G, while on the other, I still feel a powerful connection to Wake Forest and the amazing experience I had there not long ago.
Looking back, what experiences at Wake Forest helped shape who you are today?
Marc: The brand management skills I learned in Roger Beahm’s class were transformative – that’s where I truly learned how to think about a brand holistically: the who (consumer), the what (strategy), and the how (advertising) all coming together to build brands for the long-term. These are skills I use every day in my job, actively work to impart to our junior employees, and are core to how we operate as a company.
What advice would you give to fellow alumni or current students striving to make a meaningful impact?
Marc: Find ways to combine what you’re personally passionate about with your professional work. For me, I’ve been able to follow my passion to work internationally with a multinational CPG company that allowed me to work in Geneva and Panama on brands with global scale. The creative components of advertising, the psychological aspects of consumer behavior, and most recently my work with AI – these are all areas I’m passionate about that have aligned with my professional path. When you connect personal interests with your career, you feel like you’re constantly learning and growing; it makes the journey more rewarding.
Any last thoughts you would like to share?
Marc: I’m incredibly grateful to Wake Forest for this recognition and especially to Roger Beahm who has been an amazing mentor throughout my career. Roger’s distinguished career at P&G, in the agency world, and now as a professor at Wake Forest has touched the lives of countless students and professionals. As he approaches retirement, I hope he knows he’s made a tremendous impact on my life and career, as well as so many other students who’ve had the privilege to learn from him. His guidance and support have been invaluable, and this award is as much a testament to his mentorship as it is to my own achievements.
_________________________
Kelly Smith (’86), recently retired senior vice president & chief financial officer at Replacements Ltd., was named the 2025 recipient of the Allegacy Center for Leadership & Character Excellence in Leadership Alumni Award. As summarized in his nomination, when he was hired as CFO, Kelly immediately provided competency, leadership and stability to a finance team that had experienced significant and continual turnover. He forged strong working relationships with the staff, several of whom would have left were it not for his hiring and subsequent leadership. At the same time, he developed a strong leadership team so that he could contribute to other areas. Kelly has long been known as a “fixer” or troubleshooter; he helped adjust the Replacements Ltd. business model which dynamically changed the business cash-flow, ushering in an era of prosperity for the business. As a WFU alumnus, he has served as a speaker for MSA Orientation, a judge for classroom projects, a panelist and a mentor for students. In 2009, Kelly was selected as the Triad Business Journal’s “CFO of the Year”. He has also lent his talents to various non-profits, serving as the treasurer of the United Arts Council of Greater Greensboro, the New Garden Friends School and most recently Habitat for Humanity of Greater Greensboro. Those who volunteer and serve with Kelly rave about the contributions he makes, leaving a lasting impact on all those he crosses paths with. His leadership is nothing short of significant, which is a testament to why he was chosen as this year’s recipient of the Excellence in Leadership Alumni Award.
What does receiving this award mean to you personally and professionally?
Kelly: I’ve just retired after a 39-year career in accounting and finance, the last 30 of those years as CFO with a single company. Being recognized as a distinguished alumni is an unexpected honor and an amazing capstone to my career.
Looking back, what experiences at Wake Forest helped shape who you are today?
Kelly: As I often tell the owner of our company, this “job” has truly been the privilege of a lifetime. But the opportunity to have that privilege was built on the tremendous education I received in the business school. While the technical skills were certainly important, the faculty encouraged us to think deeper and more broadly in our education. While I may have thought I was just another student, I was seen by the faculty and given individualized opportunities to learn and grow. My first exposure to leadership development as a student set me on a lifelong path to positively impact others.
What advice would you give to fellow alumni or current students striving to make a meaningful impact?
Kelly: Remember that the impact you can make in your career is a long-term play. However, even in the early years, seek opportunities to give back to your community. Your skills are in high demand – find a nonprofit in a field you enjoy and ask how you can help! Always remember those who helped you along the way and use that experience as a catalyst to mentor others. Mentoring has been extremely rewarding for me over the course of my career.
__________________________________
Sebastian “Sebi” Santamaria (‘21, MSBA ‘22), associate, private equity, at Bain & Company, was named the 2025 winner of the Center for Analytics Impact Alumni Award. Formerly a senior analyst at Delta Air Lines, the project he was nominated for was a transformative analytics initiative that radically improved Delta’s Global Sales Division’s efficiency. By standardizing processes and codifying best practices, teams consolidated 70 dashboards into 12, introduced organization-wide data governance, and adopted a robust community-based intake process. Sebi’s service-focused mindset maintained user trust, enabled continuous improvement, and paved the way for innovations like mobile dashboarding and predictive analytics. He not only drove organizational change but also built a foundation for sustainable growth as Global Sales—and Delta—continue to “keep climbing.” This strategy not only streamlined weekly executive reporting and cut response times to critical issues, but also saved the division an estimated $18.6 million per year by reducing manual work and empowering self-service analytics across 2.2 million annual dashboard views. It’s clear to see why Sebi was chosen as this year’s Analytics Impact Alumni Award winner!
What does receiving this award mean to you personally and professionally?
Sebi: Receiving this award is both a personal milestone and a professional honor. It not only validates the work I’ve devoted to my career but also provides a heartwarming opportunity to reconnect with past colleagues. Although I left Delta to pursue my passion in private equity, the collaborative spirit of analytics continues to resonate with me. Celebrating this achievement with former teammates reinforces that our collective efforts were the foundation of my professional growth.
Looking back, what experiences at Wake Forest helped shape who you are today?
Sebi: My time at Wake Forest was instrumental in shaping both my character and my professional ethos. The University’s rigorous academics and high standards instilled in me a relentless work ethic and a commitment to excellence. Unlike high school where I could get good grades with minimal effort, Wake Forest pushed me to fully engage and strive beyond the minimum requirements. This challenge not only honed my problem-solving skills but also laid the groundwork for the perseverance and dedication I carry with me today.
What advice would you give to fellow alumni or current students striving to make a meaningful impact?
Sebi: Relationships are everything in business. You could have the best idea in the world, but it won’t matter if people don’t like you and trust you. With that in mind, the best way to establish trust in business is to listen and take other people’s points of view seriously. Even if you disagree with someone, show them that you truly understand their argument. It goes a long way.
