Ronald D. McNeil is Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO of Great Ball of Light, Inc. GBL is an energy storage company that has developed groundbreaking capacitor technology that can store and disburse energy for a wide range of applications.
Ron spent 31 years at Allstate Insurance Corporation and led the company’s $30 billion Personal Lines Company. Through his innovative strategic leadership, and organizational transformations, the company grew market share, dramatically reduced catastrophic risk exposure as a percent of surplus, grew ethnic business from $700 million to $1.8 billion, and increased profit from $1 billion per year to $1 billion per quarter. This 70,000-person network experienced some of its best customer, employee, and agency/brokerage satisfaction levels under Ron’s leadership.
After retiring from Allstate, Ron was appointed to several boards and served as a private equity operator and advisor. He is the Chair Emeritus of the Detroit Urban Debate League and was Distinguished Director of the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management.
In 2002, Ron, along with his wife Dr. Regina McNeil, (ABEd ‘73), founded The Ronald D. & Regina C. McNeil Foundation, Inc. To date, The Foundation has established six endowed funds, two scholarship programs and one scholarship fund. In 2021, The Foundation named the Ronald D. & Regina C. McNeil Walking Robotics Laboratory which is housed in the Ford Motor Company Robotics Building at U of M College of Engineering.
In 2007, Ron was named a History Maker© in Business, and in 2019, the University of Michigan honored him and Regina with the David B. Hermelin Award for fundraising, volunteerism, and leadership. Currently, Ron serves as a Black Corporate Board Readiness Advisor and Mentor. He is also a member of the Dean’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council for the College of Engineering.