Harvard Business School

University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Lawrenceville School

Sweet Briar College Vice President for Finance, Operations, and Auxiliary Enterprises

Executive Director of the Virginia Private Colleges 403(b) Multiple Employer Plan (VPC MEP) via CICV working with the VPC MEP Governing Committee to provide 1) strategic leadership and governance oversight, 2) meeting coordination, oversight, agenda development, documentation, and follow-up, 3) financial strategy and oversight, 4) committee leadership for the Executive and Governing committees, 5) communications and reporting withVPC MEP partners, and 6) project and operational management with the MEP Administrator and Controller. The role is a part-time, long-term role focused on the quarterly meeting cycle of the VPC MEP.

Virginia Private Colleges

VPC MEP Executive Director

Interim CFO to provide financial leadership concerning 1) the allocation of resources, 2) managing the college’s finances, 3) renegotiating major contracts, 4) overseeing facilities, Information technology, and human resources, 5) managing audit and banking relationships, and 6) providing leadership input for long-term sustainable financial results. Services are provided via Griffith Resources, Inc. through The Registry for six months.

Alverno College

Interim Chief Financial Officer

A personal business entity used over the years for angel investment for startup companies, consulting services for smaller companies in transition, higher education projects and consulting work, and board member for smaller public companies.

Griffith Resources, Inc.

President

After volunteering at his wife’s alma mater and joining the faculty to teach a finance course, Luther joined Sweet Briar College in May 2019 as the Vice President for Finance, Operations, and Auxiliaries Enterprises. He served almost five years in this 24/7 role, living on campus.  His duties include:
• Chief financial and administrative officer of the College (CFO & COO)
• Responsible for operation of the agricultural enterprises (apiary, 20-acre vineyard, and 27,000 sq. ft. soil and hydroponic greenhouse,), auxiliary enterprises (hospitality, non-SBC events, and summer programs), bookstore, business office, campus safety, dining services, human resources, grounds, information technology, physical plant, and all campus construction.
• Directed over $18M of construction 1) a 27,000 sq. ft. greenhouse, 2) $2M+ main riding stalls complex total renovation, 3) 4,000 sq ft. health center built in 4 months, 4) numerous academic and residential building refreshes, 5) a $4.2M artificial turf field, and 6) $2.5M Student Commons project.
• Initiated, managed, and received forgiveness on a $2.5M Payroll Protection Plan loan plus all the federal HEERF funding programs due to COVID.
• Completed a SACSCOC decennial reaccreditation with no financial exceptions after the College was on financial warning before Luther arrived.
• Liaison for the board of directors’ Finance Committee, Buildings, Grounds, and Technology Committee, Audit Committee, and OCIO (Outsourced Chief Investment Officer) Committee
• Governing board member on the Virginia Private College Benefits Consortium (healthcare plan with over 8,000 lives covered).

Sweet Briar College, founded in 1901, is located on a 2,840-acre campus outside Lynchburg, Virginia. The all women’s College has an innovative Core Curriculum, robust liberal arts majors,  and an ABET-accredited engineering department with a significant historic district of Ralph Adams Cram buildings on a college campus.

Sweet Briar College

Vice President for Finance, Operations and Auxiliary Enterprises

The Virginia Private Colleges 403(b) Multiple Employer Plan (VPC MEP) comprises 17 Virginia Private College and University 403(b) retirement assets exceeding $1B for the employee participants. I served as Vice Chair for two years and was Chair for 2023. The Chair is the CEO role, and during Luther’s tenure, he significantly enhanced the operating structure by upgrading the support staff role to manage the five primary vendors to the VPC MEP.

VPC MEP Chair, Vice Chair and Governing Committee member 

Luther was appointed an Adjunct Professor to teach a Leadership Core Curriculum 171 course, Principles of Finance. He created all the materials to cover a semester of instruction in two months with excellent student participation and engagement. Previously as a volunteer, Luther completed the last month of three Economics courses (Intro to Macro, Intermediate Micro, and Econometics) after another professor suffered a concussion.

Economics Professor 

As CFO and Board Member at Fortamus, Inc., an ATDC Portfolio Company at Georgia Tech, I guided the financial, operational and business strategies of the company.

Fortamus is a data-powered, InsurTech platform initially enabling US wealth managers to provide their existing clients life insurance products with 1) underwriting data assembled from external sources (clients just sign a release), 2) immediate pricing and execution (timeliness like buying a stock), 3) individualized pricing based on the client’s detailed, factual underwriting data (versus class-based pricing), and 4) real-time valuation of the products after acquisition (versus just cash values).

Fortamus

CFO and Board Member 

Hyllus Partners, LLC is a private equity and venture consulting firm located in Atlanta with deep technology and insurance (US, Europe and Lloyds) experience.   Luther joined Hyllus in January 2013 to develop new innovative insurance products and also to provide strategic direction to Hyllus' investments.

Drawing on his significant risk management and insurance experience coupled with 15+ years of technology start-up experience, Luther is working with the Hyllus team to develop this new insurance product lines and vehicles. They have explored various opportunities and, via Fortamus Insurance Services, LLC, are implementing a number of life related products in the US via London markets.

Luther also evaluates startup opportunities for Hyllus for direct investment by the firm. He is also available for mentoring the startup as he does at ATDC.

Hyllus Partners, LLC

Partner

Helping start-ups and entrepreneurs create and execute business models, product plans and marketing strategies.

ATDC is a start-up accelerator that helps technology entrepreneurs in Georgia launch and build successful companies. Founded in 1980, ATDC has helped create more than 200+ companies, which together have raised over a billion dollars in outside financing. Headquartered in Atlanta’s Technology Square, ATDC serves as the hub for technology entrepreneurship in Georgia.

ATDC

Mentor

SimpleC combines Psychology and Technology to assist individuals with dementia. The company's initial service, SimpleC Companion, is a proven, non-drug therapy for dementia are based on scientific research on the cognitive effects of aging and successful methods of behavioral intervention.

SimpleC Companion uses personalized, non-drug therapeutic techniques to improve the daily lives of individuals suffering from dementia. The service is delivered in assisted living communities via a touchscreen, multi-media display supplied to each individual in her room. SimpleC updates and supports each SimpleC Companion, which allows caregivers and family alike to benefit without the frustration of supporting technology.

As a partner, Luther manages the operational and administrative functions, including finance, administration, fulfillment, contracting, and operational build out.

Luther is still an investor in SimpleC, LLC.

SimpleC, LLC

A director of Theragenics Corporations, an NYSE listed company, was also on the audit, governance, and compensation committees. As audit chair, guided the search, selection, and implementation process to change public company auditors for more effective and economical services for the company’s growth.

Theragenics Corporation

Director & Audit Committee Chair

NutriTiming™ provides a new way of assessing and viewing energy balance and nutrient intake.  Instead of the traditional 24-hour view of energy balance (energy in vs energy out), NutriTiming™ gives you an hourly view of energy balance to help the user make the within-day corrections needed to more effectively improve weight, body composition, performance, and sense of well-being. Using this system, you'll be able to see precisely where you need to eat more and where you've eaten too much to take the guess work out of how to improve your daily food and activity patterns. NutriTiming™ also gives you an automated nutrient analysis, with some of the most sophisticated and unique nutrient intake views available.

NutriTiming, LLC

Direct Hits Education and Direct Hits Publishing provide SAT and ACT classes and print-on-demand study materials.

Direct Hits Publishing

Joined the board and supported the management team in a significant turnaround. Managed the audit committee through SOX implementation and a NOL reversal (good thing). Company was successfully sold to Warburg Pincus in March 2008 providing the shareholders an excellent value.

Lifecore Biomedical

Mr. Griffith was the chair and majority shareholder of Care Technologies, Inc., which manufactured, sold, and installed wireless monitoring and locating systems targeted at assisted living, independent living, and continuing care retirement communities. The company was started in 1995 with Mr. Griffith’s investment and he most recently managed the finance and administrative functions, having previously directed the sales activity for two years. The company was acquired via an asset purchase in October 2005 by Lifeline Systems Company (NASDAQ listed), which Philips Electronics acquired. The earnout on the sale was completed in December 2008.

Care Technologies, Inc. (now part of Philips Lifeline)

Chair

For fifteen years, Mr. Griffith was a senior executive in various roles with Alexander & Alexander, the second largest insurance broker in the world, now part of AON. He served as CEO of Global Risk Management Services Group, on the A&A Operations Board (internal Board of Directors) and was President of Alexander & Alexander of Georgia where he managed the Atlanta Property & Casualty operations.

Luther Griffith