A prominent local investment adviser and the general counsel for a Fortune 500 company have joined Case Western Reserve University’s Board of Trustees. Fred DiSanto (WRC ’85, MGT ’86) and Colleen Batcheler (LAW ’98) join 44 current and 86 emeriti trustees who dedicate their time, expertise and resources to the university.
DiSanto earned his Bachelor of Science and MBA from Case Western Reserve and is chief executive officer of The Ancora Group, Northern Ohio’s largest privately owned investment management firm. Batcheler, general counsel for multi-national ConAgra Foods, Inc., completed her undergraduate studies at State University of New York College at Fredonia and attained her JD from Case Western Reserve.
After beginning his career in institutional equity sales at McDonald Investments, DiSanto served as managing partner at Gelfand Partners Asset Management and as president and chief operating officer of Maxus Investment Group, before selling it to Fifth Third Bank, all in Cleveland. DiSanto serves on the board of Park View Federal Savings Bank and W.F. Hahn Sons, an HVAC company. He is chairman of the board of the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission and is a board member of the Greater Cleveland Film Commission.
While a student at Case Western Reserve, DiSanto earned 12 varsity letters in football, baseball and basketball. He was a football All-American in 1984 and 1985, and was inducted in the CWRU Hall of Fame in 1996.
“I feel so fortunate to have the chance to serve the institution that had such a profound impact on my life,” DiSanto said. “Case Western Reserve is moving forward and I’m happy to help make that happen.”
Batcheler serves as executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for ConAgra Foods Inc., a Nebraska-based company with more than 30,000 employees and annual sales exceeding $13 billion. The ConAgra Foods portfolio includes consumer brands found in 97 percent of America’s households and the largest private brand-packaged food business in North America.
Prior to joining ConAgra Foods in 2006, Batcheler was vice president and corporate secretary for supermarket retailer Albertson’s Inc. While in Cleveland, Batcheler was associate counsel with The Cleveland Clinic Foundation and an associate with the law firm Jones Day.
Batcheler graduated with the academic distinction Order of the Coif from Case Western Reserve’s School of Law and served as executive notes editor of the school’s Law Review.
“It’s wonderful to be part of the campus community again,” Batcheler said. “The faculty and administration here at Case Western Reserve are clearly committed to ensuring the success of our students and I want to use my experience to keep us moving in the right direction.”