Seven Join Wesleyan Board
Souleymane Ba ’03 is a partner at Helios Investment Partners, a specialist private equity firm with investments in more than 30 countries in Africa. Prior to joining Helios, he worked at Morgan Stanley, The Carlyle Group, and Warburg Pincus. He earned an MBA from Harvard Business School and serves on the boards of Solevo and Bayport Management Limited. At Wesleyan, Ba majored in economics and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. He was a resident advisor, a member of the Wesleyan Student Assembly, cochair of the African Students Association, treasurer of the International Students Association, a member of the rugby team, and a recipient of the White Prize, the Plukas Teaching Apprentice Prize, the Heideman Award, and the Gilbert Clee Scholarship.
Essel W. Bailey, Jr. ’66 is a lawyer and private investor with a long involvement in health care services to the elderly. He organized and ran two public companies and served as director of several publicly listed ones. He has worked with capital markets, investment banks, and other financial organizations in real estate, finance, healthcare, and manufacturing. Having retired from public companies in 2000, he organized a private company providing health care services through retirement communities and assisted living and nursing facilities. Now managing director of Alpha Capital Inc., president of Orion Care Services, and vice chair of Knightsbridge winery, he is active in conservation issues and is a supporter of Wesleyan’s College of the Environment. As an undergraduate, he was a history major and a member of Eclectic, the Student Judiciary Council, and the track team. He holds a JD from the University of Michigan Law School and has served on the President’s Council at Wesleyan.
Susannah Gray ’82 is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Royalty Pharma, which she joined in 2005 after a 14-year career in investment banking. Gray spearheaded Royalty Pharma’s successful 2007 implementation of a $2.3 billion credit facility and has helped raise over $1.4 billion in equity capital for the company. Previously the managing director and senior analyst covering the health care sector for CIBC World Market’s high yield group, she worked in a similar capacity at Merrill Lynch prior to that. Gray joined Merrill Lynch in April 1999 after nine years at Chase Securities, working in various capacities within the high yield and structured finance groups. At Wesleyan, Gray majored in the College of Social Studies, receiving her BA with honors. She holds an MBA degree from Columbia University.
Emily Greenhouse ’08 works as the managing editor of The New Yorker magazine. Previously a reporter at Bloomberg, covering gender and politics, she has also worked at the The New York Review of Books and Granta magazine, and has written for publications including Rolling Stone and The New Republic. At Wesleyan, Greenhouse double-majored in the College of Letters and French studies. She wrote a column for The Wesleyan Argus, conducted theater workshops at Oddfellows Playhouse, and worked at the College of Letters Library.
C. Andrew “Andy” McGadney ’92 is vice president and dean of student advancement at Colby College. He oversees DavisConnects, a global liberal-arts model that infuses the pursuit of knowledge with a set of integrated research, internship, and global experiences. He previously served as vice president and secretary of the college. Prior to that, McGadney was vice president for university advancement at Clark University, where he led a $125-million comprehensive campaign and engineered significant increases in annual giving and in corporate and foundation support. At Wesleyan, McGadney double-majored in sociology and African American studies. He later became director of major gifts and then director of development, where he led all areas of fund development and post-campaign planning streams during Wesleyan’s then-record-setting $281-million fundraising effort. McGadney holds a master’s degree in public administration and policy from Columbia University and a doctorate in education from the University of Pennsylvania.
Michele A. Roberts ’77, executive director of the National Basketball Players Association—the first woman to head a major professional sports union in North America—serves as primary advocate for all players, ensuring the protection of the organization and its membership, and is the lead negotiator in all collective bargaining activities. Previously Roberts was a trial lawyer and member of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s Litigation Group, focusing on complex civil and white-collar criminal litigation. A fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, she has tried more than 100 cases to jury verdicts. Roberts is a frequent lecturer and presenter and has served as an adjunct member of the faculty at Harvard Law School. She was also an instructor with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy. At Wesleyan, Roberts majored in government. She earned her JD from University of California at Berkeley and served for eight years in the office of the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia, where she was named chief of the Trial Division.
Luke Wood ’91 is president of Beats by Dr. Dre, a premium brand of headphones and speakers acquired by Apple in 2014. A producer, guitarist, and music industry veteran, Wood joined Beats in 2011. Prior to that, he was chief strategy officer of Interscope Geffen A&M and president of the imprint DGC Records. He began his career with Geffen Records in 1991 as a director of publicity. A lifelong songwriter and musician, Wood signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Group in 1996 and that same year his band, Sammy, released its third album on Geffen/DGC Records. In 2014, Luke joined the board of directors for Fender Musical Instruments. An American studies major while at Wesleyan, Wood’s senior project on Resistance and the Birth of Rock and Roll continues to inform his work in business, music, and beyond. He received a Distinguished Alumnus Award at his 25th Reunion.
