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CUMMING—William Guilfoil Jr. has been named president of
Pinecrest Academy, effective Oct. 1.
Guilfoil, who will join Pinecrest after concluding a 32-year
career as an executive with the IBM Corp., has been involved with the school
since its founding in 1992, serving on the board of directors since 1996.
“He is a gift,” Arlene Gannon, co-founder and director
of formation for Pinecrest Academy, said of Guilfoil. “He has a lot a good
experience business-wise. It will be great to have a businessman integrated
into the community. We have a lot of money to raise.”
Guilfoil joined IBM in 1969 and held marketing and sales
management positions with geographic and product responsibilities. In the 1990s
he joined IBM Global Services and became an IBM certified project executive
with a track record of managing complex consulting, systems integration, and
outsourcing contracts for IBM clients. Most recently he was responsible for IBM
Services, providing solutions to clients in one of their several industry
units.
During his IBM career in Atlanta, Guilfoil had the opportunity to
serve in numerous community support capacities. In 1992 he accepted a chair
assignment to advise former President Jimmy Carter in establishing the Atlanta
Project, an unprecedented community-based project to attack the economic and
social issues confronting Atlanta’s inner city. In late 1994, Guilfoil was
named as the IBM executive with the overall responsibility for the development
and operation of the highly successful ticketing system for the 1996 Olympic
Games.
Guilfoil holds a bachelor of science degree in economics and a
master of business administration degree in finance from the University of
Kentucky, Lexington.
He and his wife, Judy, have resided in Atlanta for 18 years and
are members of All Saints Church in Dunwoody. They have three daughters and two
grandchildren.
His youngest daughter, now a senior at Marist School in Atlanta,
was in the first class at Pinecrest Academy. The new president said he is
excited to begin the new venture.
“It is a gift to have the opportunity to lead something you
believe so strongly in,” he said. “It is very gratifying. I have had
a heart for this school since the beginning.”
Though Guilfoil will oversee all aspects of the school, he said
that he will primarily focus on the business side, such as strategic planning
and community relations. Margaret Richardson serves as the school’s acting
principal.
Guilfoil said that it has been “amazing” to see the
school grow over the last eight years.
“I don’t think that any of us perceived that the school
would become what it is today,” he said. “Especially in the first
three or four years, it was obvious that it was not in our hands and that we
were not in control, and if God wants to create an institute of his liking,
he’ll do it.” |
