Two Morehead-Cain Alumni have been elected as members of the Morehead-Cain Foundation’s board of trustees. Walker Poole ’87 and Will Alston ’00 assumed their roles on September 1, 2021.

Poole is vice chairman and a founding partner of Ridgemont Equity Partners. The alumnus has worked at the private equity firm for nearly three decades, with a focus on middle-market healthcare companies.

Alston is the head of corporate banking at Wells Fargo, where the alumnus has worked for the past fifteen years in several executive roles.

Morehead-Cain Board of Trustees Chairman David Wright ’80 said Poole and Alston, both Charlotte-based alumni, will bring fresh perspectives combined with strong industry experience to the board as the Foundation transitions under its new president, Chris Bradford.

“Walker and Will each have a great love and appreciation for the Program and have served the Foundation in a variety of ways,” Wright said. “Their business and finance experience will serve us well, and we look forward to benefiting from their voice and leadership as trustees.”

Poole and Alston are joining the board after Frank Dowd ’78 decided to step down from the board after five years of service, according to Wright.

“We are deeply appreciative of Frank’s service to the Foundation and his continued support of the Program,” the chairman said.

More about Poole

Prior to Ridgemont, Poole worked at the NCNB Corporation and the Bankers Trust Company. The trustee is also a founder and former partner of Banc of America Capital Investors, a private equity fund that spun off in 2010 to form Ridgemont.

Poole has served in various leadership roles within the Morehead-Cain and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill communities. For the past three years, he’s been a member of the Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund (MCSF) board, the fundraising entity for the Morehead-Cain Scholars Program, and previously served on the MCSF Campaign Leadership Committee.

He has also supported the selection process for Morehead-Cain Scholars as a recruiter of recipients and a Charlotte Regional Committee member. (The alumnus has also been an event host for the Charlotte Alumni regional group).

Poole said he was “honored to serve—and excited to work with—Chris and the board during the next chapter in the Foundation’s journey.”

From 2009 to 2013, the alumnus served on the UNC–Chapel Hill Board of Visitors to support the University’s board of trustees and the Office of the Chancellor on strategic initiatives that help advance the university.

Poole received his bachelor’s degree from Carolina in business administration.

More about Alston

Prior to joining Wells Fargo, Alston was a senior consultant at Cap Gemini Ernst & Young.

At the Foundation, Alston served on the Central Selection Committee for two years, and he’s served on the Charlotte Regional Committee for the past five years. The alumnus has also supported recruitment efforts, has been an alumni reviewer of scholarship applications, and is a member of the Morehead-Cain Black Alumni Working Group (BAWG).

In the Charlotte metropolitan area, Alston was the board chair and a campaign co-chair for the Men’s Shelter of Charlotte and helped navigate its merger with the Urban Ministry Center to form Roof Above. He is also a board member for United Way of Central Carolinas and part of the 2025 Charlotte-Mecklenburg Housing and Homelessness Strategy task force.

The trustee received his bachelor’s degree from Carolina in political science. In 2006, he earned an MBA in general management from Harvard Business School.

In addition to the two new members, the Foundation trustees comprise the following (as of the 2021–2022 academic year): Jennifer Halsey Evans ’94 (an ex-officio trustee and chair of the MCSF board), Holly Cluett Gwynne-Timothy, Terri Lacy, Peter Larkin, Rachel Mazyck Pfeifer ’02, Timothy Sullivan ’85, and David Wright ’80.