LEHMAN, Pa. — Wico van Genderen, Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry President and CEO, will address graduates at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre commencement ceremony at 10 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, in the campus’ Athletics and Recreation Building.
Named president and CEO of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business and Industry in June 2014, van Genderen has over 30 years of global leadership experience in multi-national, multi-billion dollar corporations, and an accomplished track record in strategic and operational leadership. His corporate international management positions include leading Global Marketing, World-Wide Product Management, North American Operations and COO/Managing Director for Asia Pacific for Diebold. He also worked in various management positions at IBM and has served on a number of international and national boards.
Van Genderen currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors for Leadership Wilkes-Barre, The SHINE Advisory Board, the Diamond City Partnership, The Luzerne County Community College Foundation, Penn’s Northeast, Foundation for Free Enterprise Education, Tech Bridge, the Institute of Public Policy and Economic Development, and ReadyNation.
“In my short time in the Wilkes-Barre community, I have become aware that Wico is a highly respected and admired community leader,” explains Chancellor and Chief Academic Officer Dale Jones. “Having Wico as our commencement speaker is an honor. Our community is fortunate to have his leadership to promote and advance business and industry in the Wilkes-Barre area and Luzerne County region.”
With a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers University, van Genderen’s education took him to Drexel University where he received his MBA. A 2014 graduate of the Leadership Wilkes-Barre Executive Program, Wico has also participated in the Management Executive Leadership Programs at Harvard, Wharton, MIT, the University of Michigan, Case Western and Indiana University.