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Joseph Eddy, president and CEO of Wellsburg-based Eagle Manufacturing, credits his Tyler County upbringing with helping shape his career as a businessman. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
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Fiesta Tableware Company President and CEO Elizabeth McIlvan thanked her family after being inducted into the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
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PPD Inc. Former Chairman and CEO David Simmons credits his parents for raising him with the values they carried into the business. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
Joseph Eddy, president and CEO of Wellsburg-based Eagle Manufacturing, credits his Tyler County upbringing with helping shape his career as a businessman. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
WHITE SULFUR SPRINGS – West Virginia University honored three Ohio Valley business leaders Thursday with induction into the Business Hall of Fame.
WVU’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics held an induction ceremony Thursday afternoon for the 2022 class of the West Virginia Business Hall of Fame at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s 86th Annual Conference and Business Conference at the Greenbrier Resort.
Congratulations to the four leaders we have gathered today WVU President E. Gordon G said. “Each of their careers demonstrates the courage needed to move this state forward.”
Four individuals have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, including Joseph Eady, CEO of Wellsburg-based Eagle Manufacturing. Elizabeth McIlvan, president and CEO of Newell-based Fiesta Tableware Company. and Wheeling native David Simmons, former chairman and CEO of PPD Inc.
Eddie spent 25 years at Eagle, winning numerous awards for his business acumen and leadership. Eddie still manages Enhanced Technologies LLC, an energy development company, and Heritage Holdings LLC, a real estate company. He also produced the television show Shale Valley and appears regularly on radio programs promoting the natural gas industry and downstream production opportunities in the Marcellus and Utica Shale regions.
Fiesta Tableware Company President and CEO Elizabeth McIlvan thanked her family after being inducted into the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
Eddie serves as Executive Vice President at Chicago-based JustRate Safety Group. Eddie was born in Parkersburg, grew up in Friendly in Tiller County, and is a graduate of Sistersville High School. He grew up on his family’s farm for his work ethic.
“Growing up on a farm has been a blessing all our lives.” Eddie said. “Learning the value of hard work, responsibility, commitment, and perseverance; taking care of pets, crops, farm equipment, and most of all, each other. Our father instilled in us the economic value of a great work ethic, and our mother instilled in us the importance of a gracious heart and a strong compassion for life.”
Formerly known as the Homer Laughlin China Company, McIlvan is the fourth generation of the Wells family to work her way up the company hierarchy and join the family business after graduating from Bethany College. After leaving Fiesta to raise her three daughters, McIlvan rejoined the company in 2007 and became president and CEO in 2013.
Last year, Fiesta celebrated 150 years in business and its 85th anniversary, known for its unique colors and varieties.
“I am very proud to work with the Fiestaware family.” McIlvain said. “If it wasn’t for the hard work and dedication of our potters, this company would have closed down a long time ago. I appreciate all of you from the bottom of my heart… We are all – all of us, the family – committed to ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to provide jobs to the Ohio Valley community and to be a proud West Virginia manufacturer.
PPD Inc. Former Chairman and CEO David Simmons credits his parents for raising him with the values they carried into the business. (Photo by Steven Allen Adams)
Simmons was born in Wheeling and graduated from Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh. He started his career at Follansbee-based Wheeling-Nishin Steel. He spent 15 years at Pfizer, a leading pharmaceutical company, serving as president of two divisions – emerging markets and established commercial products.
Simmons joined pharmaceutical company PPD in 2012, managing a company with 30,000 employees in 47 countries focused on drug development programs. The company exited PPD in 2021 after merging with Thermo Fisher Scientific. He continues to work in the medical industry, serving on the boards of Cordis and CURIA, as well as advising private equity and venture capital firms. Simmons serves as a trustee of Linsley School in Wheeling.
“This is truly an honor.” Simmons said. “I’m proud of my roots, very, very true. I am a proud West Virginian and this is full circle for me to come home to. It’s really moving and very, very good. “
Also inducted into the Hall of Fame is Morgantown native Albert Lewis, president of Glass Inc. A glass and fiberglass company founded in 1968. Lewis, a Marine Corps veteran serving in World War II and a WVU graduate, and his wife, Doris, founded Helen Lewis Medical Research Foundation. Lewis was unable to attend Thursday’s ceremony.
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com.
