CCSF Board of Directors Welcomes 3 New Members

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation's Board of Directors has elected Ulysses “Junior” Bridgeman, Owner and Chief Executive Officer of Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company; Lisa Chang, Senior Vice President and Chief People Officer of The Coca-Cola Company; and Josh Dorminy, Senior Vice President, Assistant to the Chairman & CEO, Coca-Cola Consolidated, to the board.

"Junior, Lisa, and Josh are innovative and influential leaders within the Coca-Cola system, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the Board. We look forward to serving alongside them as we continue to ignite the societal potential of all Coke Scholars and cultivate this special network of leaders who create positive change in their communities and beyond." said Kirk Tyler, CCSF Board Chair and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Bottling Company.

Ulysses L. "Junior" Bridgeman, Jr., is the owner and chief executive officer of Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Company, LLC, a Kansas limited liability company which owns and operates a Coca-Cola production/manufacturing facility in Lenexa, Kansas, and 17 Coca-Cola distribution facilities sprinkled across the USA’s heartland, including Kansas, Missouri and Illinois.

Mr. Bridgeman is also part owner of Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited with Larry Tanenbaum, a prominent Canadian businessman and philanthropist. Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited employs approximately 5,800 associates and operates five production facilities and over 50 sales and distribution centers. Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited conducts business in all 10 Canadian provinces and three territories.

Mr. Bridgeman acquired the Heartland manufacturing and bottling territories from Coca-Cola Refreshments USA, LLC in late February 2017. The Coca-Cola Canada Bottling Limited acquisition was completed in October 2018, and both transactions made Mr. Bridgeman one of the Coca-Cola system’s newest independent bottlers.

Prior to acquisition of the Heartland and Canadian bottling operations, Mr. Bridgeman was the owner and chief executive officer of various companies operating over 450 restaurants in 20 states, including 263 Wendy’s restaurants and 123 Chili’s restaurants. His companies received several prestigious awards during his tenure including the Diamond Award (most effective neighborhood marketer), the Wendy Award (exemplary performance by a franchisee), the Founder’s Award (recognizing operational excellence by a franchisee), the Jim Near Legacy Award (for employer of choice) and the Hall of Fame Award (for overall achievement) from Wendy’s International, and the Franchisee of the Year Award (2012) and the Chili’s Sales Award (2015) from Brinker International.

Mr. Bridgeman attended the University of Louisville where he graduated in 1975 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. He was a three-year letter winner and starter on the University’s basketball team, receiving All American honors as a senior
From 1975 to 1983 and from 1986 to 1987, Mr. Bridgeman played professional basketball with the Milwaukee Bucks. During the interim period of 1983 to 1986, he played for the Los Angeles Clippers.

Mr. Bridgeman currently serves on the Board of Directors of Meijer, Inc., Churchill Downs, the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, the James Graham Brown Foundation, Simmons College, and the West End School. He served as past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the University of Louisville.

Mr. Bridgeman has personally received many awards, including the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame; Volunteers of America Tribute Award for Outstanding Service to the Commonwealth of Kentucky; John Thompson Foundation Outstanding Achievement Award; Coach John Wooden Key to Life Award and the Kentucky Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.

Lisa Chang is senior vice president and chief people officer for Coca-Cola, overseeing the company’s global human resources operations. Chang joined Coca-Cola in 2019.

Previously, Chang served as senior vice president and chief human resources officer for AMB Group LLC in Atlanta. AMB Group is the investment management and shared services arm of The Blank Family of Businesses, including AMB Sports & Entertainment, the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United FC, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, PGA TOUR Superstores, Mountain Sky Guest Ranch, West Creek Ranch and The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

During her four years with AMB Group, Chang led HR strategy for all AMB businesses and was instrumental in the creation and execution of the people and talent strategies that helped successfully launch Atlanta United’s Major League Soccer team and the 2018 opening of Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Prior to joining AMB Group in 2014, Chang served as vice president of human resources for international at Equifax, where she led HR for all of Equifax’s global locations. Before joining Equifax, she was senior vice president of human resources at Turner Broadcasting System Inc., where she led HR strategy for the Technology, Strategy & Operations division and the international division. Prior to Turner, her career included HR roles of increasing responsibility at The Weather Channel Companies, ultimately as executive vice president of human resources.

Chang has a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Virginia. She earned an MBA from the Stetson School of Business and Economics at Mercer University.

Josh Dorminy serves as Senior Vice President, Assistant to the Chairman & CEO of Coca-Cola Consolidated. In this role, Josh is responsible for advising the Chairman & CEO regarding various aspects of the business and participating in the management of the Chairman’s office. Josh is deeply involved in the strategic direction and planning of Coca-Cola Consolidated’s Culture & Stewardship, t-factor, Rapid Response and charitable giving programs.

Josh joined Coca-Cola Consolidated in 2016. Prior to joining Coca-Cola Consolidated, he was the Broker and Managing Member of a commercial real estate brokerage firm. Additionally, Josh served for a number of years as the Executive Director of Timothy Barnabas where he led efforts to train and encourage pastors and their spouses around the world.

The Coca-Cola Scholars Foundation celebrates and empowers visionary leaders who are refreshing the world. With its 32nd class of Coca-Cola Scholars, the Foundation has provided more than $70 million in scholarships to over 6,300 program alumni who together have become a powerful force for positive change.