The Wilmington Leaders Alliance (WLA) announced that There du Pont, President of Longwood Foundation, has been named Chairman of WLA’s Executive Board.
WLA also announced that Robert W. Perkins, Executive Director of the Delaware Business Roundtable, has been named Executive Director of WLA.
Du Pont follows Paul McConnell, Partner in McConnell Johnson Real Estate, who served as the first chairman of WLA. WLA is an alliance of 30 leading businesses, civic organizations and foundations working together to foster, support and drive positive change for Wilmington.
A founder of WLA, du Pont previously held positions as Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations of drugstore.com, and President and Chief Financial Officer of Wawa, Inc. He serves on the Board of Directors of WSFS Financial Corporation. Du Pont served as an Independent Director of The DuPont Company until August 31, 2017. Since the merger of equals with Dow, he has been an ex-officio member of the DowDuPont Board.
“Paul did a masterful job in helping to found and guide the creation of WLA since its inception, and all of our members appreciate the time, effort and resources Paul has dedicated to making Wilmington a better place to live and work,” du Pont said. “WLA is well positioned to help promote positive change in our four areas of focus – economic development, leadership, livability and education. I look forward to working with the Executive Board and our members to make that happen.”
Perkins is the first Executive Director of WLA since the organization’s launch a year ago. He will continue to serve as Executive Director of the Delaware Business Roundtable and President of Brandywine Public Strategies, LLC, a consulting firm he founded in 2012.
In the private sector, he was Vice President of Global Public Policy at AstraZeneca.
In the non-profit sector, Perkins served as Executive Director of Together Rx, a coalition of major pharmaceutical companies offering senior citizens discounts on prescription drugs. He also worked for two Delaware Governors, Pierre S. du Pont IV and Michael N. Castle.
“It’s a privilege to serve as WLA Executive Director,” Perkins said. “The effort WLA members have undertaken is critical to the success of Wilmington and to the entire state of Delaware. WLA is a great example of how the business community is stepping up to help drive progress in the City, and I welcome the opportunity
