Jimmy Black

Jimmy Black moved to Huntington in the summer of 1999 before his freshman year at Huntington High School. The son of two Military parents, Jimmy & his family moved from the suburbs of Seattle to Huntington, WV after his Mother was promoted and took a job with the Corp of Engineers. During HS, Jimmy lettered in both Football and Track & Field earning 3rd Place at the State Tournament as 1/4 of HHS’s Shuttle Hurdle Relay team. Upon his graduation from HS in 2003, Jimmy graduated w/over a 4.0 GPA and received a double academic scholarship to Marshall University (Promise & Presidential scholarships).

During his time at Marshall, Jimmy was an active member of the newly created Society of Outstanding Black Scholars & earned his Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Business Management with a minor in Finance in the spring of 2007. At graduation, Jimmy Black was honored as The Outstanding Business Management Graduate of 2007. Mr. Black would later continue his education at the University of Louisville earning his MBA and graduating with Distinction in 2016 and also served as President of the University of Louisville’s MBA Alumni Council after graduation.

Mr. Black has been an active member of the Marshall University Alumni Association (MUAA) Board of Directors since 2017 and has served in numerous roles including Membership Chair, 2nd VP, and 1st VP and was elected to his current role as President in 2023 becoming only the 3rd African American to be named President of MUAA. During his time as President of MUAA, Mr. Black implemented the “3 Cs” principles of focusing on Current Alumni, Current Students and Community which would inspire the creation of the “Ron Area 3 Cs Award” given out for the 1st time at the MUAA Awards Banquet in the spring of 2023.

In his professional career, after graduation Jimmy started his career with PepsiCo in Nitro, WV for 5 years before being promoted and moving to his current home outside Louisville, KY in 2013. During his career, Mr. Black has held a variety of Operations and Sales roles in his 17 year career with PepsiCo, winning numerous sales incentives and awards along the way. Jimmy currently serves PepsiCo as a National Account Sales Manager for QSR Restaurants and Speciality Retail Accounts.