Leaders from business and golf highlight nominations
LIBERTY CORNER, N.J. – Andrew Biggadike of Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.; David Dorton of Atlanta, Ga.; Virginia C. Drosos of Dallas, Texas; David Leitch of Earlysville, Va.; and Andy North of Madison, Wis., have each been nominated to serve on the USGA Executive Committee, highlighting the USGA Nominating Committee’s 2024 slate.
In addition, Cathy Engelbert of Berkeley Heights, N.J., has been nominated to serve a second three-year term on the USGA Executive Committee, a volunteer group of 15 people that provides strategic and financial oversight as the Association’s policy-making and governance board.
“I’m thrilled to have these five incredibly talented individuals joining the USGA Executive Committee,” said USGA CEO Mike Whan. “Their vision, experience and passion for our great game will be tremendous assets for the organization.”
Andrew Biggadike
Biggadike was a three-time NCAA Division III All-American at Guilford College and a member of his alma mater’s 2002 NCAA Division III National Championship team. He won the 2018 Travis Invitational at Garden City Golf Club and is a three-time champion of the Carnegie Shield held at Royal Dornoch in Scotland. He represented California in the 2012 USGA State Team Championship and finished tied for fourth individually. Biggadike qualified for match play in the 2012 U.S. Amateur Championship at Cherry Hills Country Club.
A USGA Committee member since 2016, Biggadike has served as a Rules official at 13 USGA championships and six international team matches, including the 2017 and 2021 Walker Cup Matches and the 2022 Curtis Cup Match, and numerous Northern California Golf Association competitions. In addition, he has served as vice president of the Amateur Golf Alliance since 2015.
After earning his master’s degree from Carnegie Mellon University as a Frank J. Marshall Fellow, Biggadike joined VMware Inc. in 2005. He currently serves as a director of research & development software for Broadcom, a semiconductor and infrastructure software company that acquired VMware in 2023.
David Dorton
Dorton serves as senior partner and leader of the Global Operations Transformation Practice at McKinsey & Company. He is also the former managing partner for the Atlanta office. Previously, he served as an executive for The Home Depot in strategy, finance and operations. There he led the company’s rental and repair business (tools, trucks, and large equipment).
A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy who earned his MBA from Harvard University, Dorton served as a nuclear submarine officer in the U.S. Navy with deployments to the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. He played on the golf team at the Naval Academy and competed in AJGA, state and local events while in high school.
Dorton has served on the boards of the Georgia Council on Economic Education, Zoo Atlanta, Murphy-Harpst Children’s Centers and the Atlanta Botanical Garden. As a Leadership Atlanta alum, he currently supports the Atlanta Committee for Progress on a range of issues to improve the city.
Virginia C. Drosos
Drosos is CEO of Signet Jewelers, Ltd., the world’s largest retailer of diamond jewelry. Prior to joining Signet, she served as president and CEO of Assurex Health, a biotech startup, and group president of Global Beauty Care at Procter & Gamble, where she spent 25 years.
Drosos, a graduate of the University of Georgia and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, serves on the board of directors of Signet and Foot Locker and served on the board of directors of American Financial Group from 2013-2021. She has been a member of the Akron Children’s Hospital Board since 2019 and is a longtime supporter of purpose-driven organizations, having served on the boards of Back2Back Ministries and Cosmetic Executive Women.
Among her many professional honors, she has been recognized by WWD x FN x Beauty Inc 50 Women in Power (2023), as one of the Top 50 Women CEOs by Women We Admire (2022), EY’s Entrepreneur of the Year (2017), Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Woman of the Year (2017), Ohio Venture Exit of the Year (2016), Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business (2010, 2011), as one of the YWCA Career Women of Achievement (2008), and the Cosmetic Executive Women Achiever (2007).
David Leitch
Leitch is a former global general counsel and vice chair for Bank of America and former group vice president and general counsel for the Ford Motor Company.
He served as deputy counsel and deputy assistant to the President of the United States from 2002-2005 and formerly served as chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration and deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice. He earned his undergraduate degree from Duke University and his juris doctor from the University of Virginia Law School. He served as a law clerk to former Chief Justice of the United States William H. Rehnquist, as well as to Federal Circuit Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III.
Leitch is a member of the American Law Institute and is a trustee of the Supreme Court Historical Society. In 2017, he was recognized by the Burton Foundation as a “Legend in the Law.”
Andy North
North’s storied playing career started as a youngster in his home state when he turned to golf after a knee injury. He finished as the runner-up in the 1967 U.S. Junior Amateur and won the 1969 Wisconsin Amateur and 1971 Western Amateur titles. He was a three-time All-America player at the University of Florida before turning professional in 1972. His first professional victory came in the 1977 Westchester Classic and a year later he earned his first major victory, the 1978 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills Country Club. He would win his second U.S. Open in 1985 at Oakland Hills Country Club, the same year he made his lone Ryder Cup appearance for the USA.
After battling injuries for much of his career, North joined ESPN as an on-course reporter in 1992. He currently serves as an analyst and reporter for ESPN’s golf coverage.
Off the course, North, a skin-cancer survivor, is well-known for his charity work. Since 2008, he has supported cancer research at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center through the Andy North and Friends Initiative. In 2013, he was honored with the Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation’s Award of Excellence for his efforts to support cancer research fundraising. He is a member and past chair of the Board of Trustees of Sanford Health and serves as the host of the Sanford International, a PGA Tour Champions event.
Per the bylaws of the association, Biggadike, Dorton, Drosos and Leitch have been nominated for three-year terms to begin in 2024 with the potential to be elected for a second and final three-year term in 2027. North has been nominated for a two-year term, with the potential to be elected for a second and final three-year term in 2026.
If elected, the new members will assume seats vacated by retiring members Chuck Brymer of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Kendra Graham of Winter Park, Fla.; Tony Petitti of Irvington, N.Y.; and Sharon Ritchey of Longboat Key, Fla.
Current USGA Executive Committee members include Tony Anderson of Chicago, Ill.; Sinclair Eaddy Jr., of Baltimore, Md.; Engelbert; Kevin Hammer of Boynton Beach, Fla.; Leslie Henry of New Orleans, La.; Bryan Lewis of Pinehurst, N.C.; Deborah Platt Majoras of McLean, Va.; Michael McCarthy of San Francisco, Calif.; Courtney Myhrum of Pittsburgh, Pa.; and Fred Perpall of Dallas, Texas, the USGA’s 67th president.
The USGA Annual Meeting will take place on March 2, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn.
About the USGA
The USGA is a nonprofit organization that celebrates, serves and advances the game of golf. Founded in 1894, we conduct many of golf’s premier professional and amateur championships, including the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open. With The R&A, we govern the sport via a global set of playing, equipment, handicapping and amateur status rules. The USGA campus in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, is home to the Association’s Research and Test Center, where science and innovation are fueling a healthy and sustainable game for the future. The campus is also home to the USGA Golf Museum, where we honor the game by curating the world’s most comprehensive archive of golf artifacts. To learn more, visit usga.org.
Media Contact:
Beth Major
USGA Communications
908-781-1040
bmajor@usga.org
