ECU Foundation welcomes new leadership and board members

ECU Foundation welcomes new leadership and board members

The ECU Foundation's board of directors has elected officers for its new term and appointed five East Carolina University alumni as new members.

Steve Cunanan '87 '91 and Todd Ervin '94 stepped into leadership roles on the 31-member board on July 1. Cunanan will serve as chair and Ervin as vice chair for two years.

Steve Cunanan

Cunanan has served on the board since 2013. He served as chair and vice chair of the strategic planning committee and vice chair of the board for two years. Cunanan is the president and chief executive officer of the Louisville Health Care CEO Council (CEOc). His career includes leadership positions in Kindred Healthcare, Catalyst Rx and Johnson and Johnson and as CEO of the American Red Cross for the Kentucky region. Cunanan served six years in the U.S. Marine Corps.

Todd Ervin

Ervin joined the board in 2021 and has served as chair of the strategic planning committee and as a member of the development and donor relations committee. He is a partner for the Cortado Group, a growth strategy company. He previously was vice president of marketing for Primo Water Corporation. After earning his commission from ECU's Army ROTC program, Ervin served as an Apache attack helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army from 1995 to 2000.

New Members

West Covington, Raj Kannan, Corin Lindsay, Jon Strickland and Scott Tippins have joined the board. Their four-year terms started in July and will end in 2029. They will support the ECU Foundation by promoting and strengthening the university through the solicitation, management and distribution of private gifts.

"I am excited to welcome our newest members to the board of directors. Their community leadership, professional expertise and varied backgrounds will contribute tremendously to the work of the ECU Foundation and our efforts to advance the university," said Christopher Dyba, vice chancellor for university advancement and foundation president.

West Covington

Covington '17 '20 earned his Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in finance and an MBA from ECU. He was an ECU baseball pitcher from 2016 to 2018.

He is a member of the client service and business development team at Gerber Taylor, which is a 35-year-old multi-asset class investment firm headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Covington, specializing in alternative investments, focuses his time building new investor relationships with RIAs, Family Offices and Institutions. Prior to Gerber Taylor, Covington was an associate director at Grubb Properties, where he led the real estate firm's capital raising efforts on the East Coast and central United States.

He has volunteered at the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina and the Ronald McDonald House Charities. While at ECU, he was a mentor at the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Coastal Plain Jack Minges Unit in Winterville.

Raj Kannan

Kannan '90 earned his MBA at ECU after completing his Bachelor of Science in chemistry at the University of Madras, India. He is a biopharmaceutical leader with more than 30 years of global experience building and scaling organizations, launching transformational therapies and driving strategic growth across biotech and pharma.

He currently serves as CEO of Alveus Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on innovative therapies for obesity and metabolic diseases. Previously, Kannan was CEO of I-Mab, a global immuno-oncology company, where he led a major corporate transformation. Before that, he served as CEO of Aerie Pharmaceuticals, overseeing its $770 million acquisition by Alcon, and as CEO of Chiasma, Inc., where he launched the company's first product and executed its strategic merger with Amryt Pharma.

Kannan also held senior leadership roles at Boehringer-Ingelheim and Merck KGaA, driving major product launches in cardiovascular, respiratory and rare diseases.

In 2023, Kannan was the keynote speaker for the College of Business Leadership Conference.

Corin Lindsay

Lindsay '08 '10 earned a Bachelor of Science in economics from the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences and a master's degree in applied and resource economics. He is an investment banker with Goldman Sachs in New York. Previously, he was a senior associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

He has more than a decade of expertise with financial markets, macroeconomic analysis and operational strategy. In 2024, Lindsay was a speaker at the student-led finance conference in ECU's College of Business.

Jon Strickland

Strickland '99 '01 earned a Bachelor of Science in finance and an MBA from the College of Business. He has served as principal and financial advisor at CAPTRUST in Raleigh for more than 20 years. Strickland previously served as a financial advisor with Edward Jones. He brings expertise in finance and retirement planning.

He was named Barron's Top Institutional Consultants (Team Strickland) from 2018 to 2024 and the Financial Times 401 Top Retirement Plan Advisor in 2020.

Strickland is returning to serve on the foundation board after a 12-year stint, during which he served as vice chair of the investment and budget and finance committees.

Scott Tippins

Tippins '93 earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration in marketing at ECU. He is an associate vice president at Ameriprise Financial Services in Raleigh, where he works with entrepreneurs and business owners to navigate financial decisions. He was awarded the 2024 Ameriprise Client Experience Award.

He has more than 20 years of experience as a financial advisor helping clients make informed financial decisions and develop strategies that align with both their business and personal goals. He previously held front-office roles with professional sports teams before entering wealth management.

While at ECU, Tippins was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Sigma Pi fraternity. He is the president of the Raleigh Downtown Lions Club, where he contributes to community service initiatives. He lives in Raleigh with his wife, Kelly '95.

Established in 1967, the ECU Foundation is a dynamic, forward-looking 501(c)(3) nonprofit that plays a critical role in advancing the university's mission. The foundation garners support through annual gifts, campaigns and planned giving, and manages and distributes these resources to the benefit of ECU's academic programs, research, faculty and students.