Clay Whittemore

Clay Whittemore graduated from Jacksonville State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Finance in 2008.  According to Clay, “My higher-education experience was exciting and challenging in all aspects while a student-athlete at Jacksonville State. In the classroom I was able to fully immerse in my studies, loosen the tethers of a syllabus, and engage with my professors in a way that wasn’t possible at larger state schools I’d attended prior.  The personal engagement from the faculty helped me discover the passion for developing the skill-sets and capabilities on which I would later depend on my professional career.  The academic result was multiple Dean’s List and President’s List honors and eventually graduating Cum Laude in 2008 with a B.S. in Finance, but the journey had only begun.

“Being a student-athlete at Jacksonville State was a very special privilege that also helped me to develop a “transferrable skill-set” that I took from the baseball field and applied in the professional environment.  Passion for winning, trust, and teamwork were character traits that flourished under the guidance of my coach, Jim Case.  I was surrounded by great players who, together, helped our team accomplish many of our goals, including two conference championships and one conference tournament championship.  It was an incredible blessing to be a part of such a special group representing my fellow students, faculty, and the town of Jacksonville on the baseball diamond.”

After graduation from JSU, Clay was offered a job at Procter & Gamble in Cincinnati, OH working in the Global Internal Audit group.  Clay states:  “my work with the Global Internal Audit group took me to five continents, and I even went “around the world in 20 days” once on an extended business trip.  While working on internal controls in Cincinnati, I earned the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certification via continuing professional education programs at P&G.  From there, I relocated to Lima, OH to focus on manufacturing operations finance at one of P&G’s Fabric Care plants where I was hands on at the grass roots level of P&G’s Fabric Care Business helping deliver consumer products that would eventually be on the shelves of millions of consumers.  Next, I was moved back to headquarters in Cincinnati to manage the North America P&L of one of P&G’s chemical Categories, serving both internal and external customers.  Here I partnered with my Category team to over-deliver profit in consecutive years by growing sales and eliminating supply chain inefficiencies.  Today, I am the lead finance manager for P&G’s Beauty & Grooming Business with Walmart – another role, another relocation, another exciting challenge – this time in Fayetteville, AR.  In each of these exciting roles within P&G, I find myself increasingly reliant on the base set of skills I established at Jacksonville State thanks to the help of the incredible faculty, my coaches, and my teammates.  To the current/potential Business-students at Jacksonville State, I encourage you to fully leverage the resources, faculty, and staff that are at your disposal – with the right start, you can go anywhere.”