Honoring Our Veterans
Burke Whitman is a chief executive and board director who serves, leads and governs mission-driven organizations in business, government and civil society.
Since 2019, he serves as the CEO of Colmar Holdings, a privately-held holding company which provides resources to enterprises committed to the common good; a member of the corporate boards of directors of two publicly-listed companies, Amicus Therapeutics (Nasdaq: FOLD) and Omega Healthcare Investors (NYSE: OHI); a member of the Reserve Force Policy Board, a federal board which advises the U.S. Secretary of Defense; a member of the board of trustees of the Lovett School in Atlanta; and a lay leader with the Anglican communion of churches.
Formerly, he served as the CEO and CFO of four successful companies (all sold), including two Fortune 500 companies (both listed on the New York Stock Exchange), for which Institutional Investor Magazine named him a Best CFO and a Best CEO. Concurrently, he served for three decades as a reserve officer of the U.S. Marine Corps, including full-time during the late 1980s and 2010s, where he led forces in combat operations through multiple deployments, became a general officer by Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation, served as the commanding general of the 4th Marine Division and Marine Forces Reserve, moved to the Pentagon to serve with the Secretary of Defense, and retired in 2019 as a major general and the senior reserve Marine. He is a recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medals, Bronze Star Medal, Combat Action Ribbons, Presidential Unit Citation, and other decorations. He is a founder of the National Museum of the Marine Corps and served on the boards of the Federation of American Hospitals, Marine Corps University, and Toys for Tots Foundation.
An Atlanta native, he earned a BA Dartmouth, Master’s in Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and is in a Master of Ministry theological program for lay ministry at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. A frequent speaker, he delivered the 2017 commencement address at the Lovett School, and the 2015 Veterans Day address at Harvard. In 2013, Dartmouth awarded him its first annual James Wright Award for Distinguished Service, named for a former president of the College, and presented annually to a Dartmouth alumnus whose lifetime exemplifies the ideals of service, college, country. He currently resides in Atlanta.