The Runners’ Club – Developing the Next Generation Of Large-Scale African American Entrepreneurs

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Carlton Guthrie

Carlton L. Guthrie is President, CEO, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and co-owner of Trumark, Inc., a Lansing, Michigan manufacturer and supplier of stamped and welded assemblies to the automotive industry with 250 employees.

Mr. Guthrie began his career at the Philadelphia National Bank and then moved to Procter & Gamble where he was selected District Salesman of the Year after only eight months. He later worked as a management consultant, initially with Jewel Companies, the Chicago-based diversified food, drug and general merchandise distributor, as an internal consultant; with McKinsey and Company's Chicago office as a senior consultant in the firm’s Consumer Group specializing in strategic planning and mergers and acquisitions; and with James H. Lowry & Associates, a medium-sized, multi-office general management consulting firm as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

Since the 1985 acquisition of Trumark through a leveraged buyout, Mr. Guthrie and his brother Mike have presided over a dramatic turnaround in the company's fortunes: sales have quintupled and are approximately $45 million. In January 1998, Trumark received the coveted QS-9000 global quality award and earned Ford Motor Company’s highest quality honor – the Q1 Award. Other accomplishments include the 1992 Supplier of the Year Award from the National Minority Supplier Development Council, the 1991 Michigan Manufacturer of the Year Award from the Impressions 5 Museum of Lansing, Michigan and Mr. Guthrie received the 1989 Chivas Regal Extrapreneur of the Year Award.

Mr. Guthrie serves on the Board of Directors of Shorebank Corporation (Chicago and Detroit), Joyce Foundation, Centers for New Horizons, Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, National Association of Black Automotive Suppliers, and the Single Parent Family Institute. He also serves on the Advisory Boards of Governor's State University School of Business, and the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.