Mintha Roach, the first female president and CEO of the Knoxville Utilities Board, graduated from the Haslam College of Business in 1974 with a BS in personnel management. She fondly recalls her own “lightbulb moment” at UT: “It was a class on predictive behavior and the employee selection process. In other words, it was about helping people play to their strengths and find fulfillment in their work, and I absolutely loved it.”
Roach joined the City of Knoxville Civil Service Merit Board and served as its executive director from 1987 to 1992. She then moved to KUB and held various positions of increasing responsibility before becoming president and CEO in 2005. As president and CEO, she transformed KUB, consolidating its business and operating functions to be more efficient. She retired in 2018 with a legacy that speaks volumes about her character.
Following her retirement, she was awarded the James A Haslam Chairman’s Leadership Award at the 2019 Pinnacle Business Awards. Earlier in her career, she was named a Lifetime Achievement honoree by the YWCA of Knoxville.
Through the years, Roach has given tirelessly of her time and talents, serving in every capacity possible as an alumna of the university. She has been president of the UT Alumni Board of Directors and chair of the Chancellor’s Associates and the Alumni Board Awards Committee; a member of the Haslam College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, the UT Foundation Board, the UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists, and the business college’s past dean’s search committee as well as the search committee for the vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs. She is also a past recipient of the Haslam College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. Perhaps most important of all, she often and regularly visits with classes, serving as a mentor to the students at the Haslam College of Business.
Roach joined the City of Knoxville Civil Service Merit Board and served as its executive director from 1987 to 1992. She then moved to KUB and held various positions of increasing responsibility before becoming president and CEO in 2005. As president and CEO, she transformed KUB, consolidating its business and operating functions to be more efficient. She retired in 2018 with a legacy that speaks volumes about her character.
Following her retirement, she was awarded the James A Haslam Chairman’s Leadership Award at the 2019 Pinnacle Business Awards. Earlier in her career, she was named a Lifetime Achievement honoree by the YWCA of Knoxville.
Through the years, Roach has given tirelessly of her time and talents, serving in every capacity possible as an alumna of the university. She has been president of the UT Alumni Board of Directors and chair of the Chancellor’s Associates and the Alumni Board Awards Committee; a member of the Haslam College of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, the UT Foundation Board, the UT Alliance of Women Philanthropists, and the business college’s past dean’s search committee as well as the search committee for the vice chancellor for development and alumni affairs. She is also a past recipient of the Haslam College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award. Perhaps most important of all, she often and regularly visits with classes, serving as a mentor to the students at the Haslam College of Business.
Mintha Roach
2016 Alumni Service Award Winner
2016 Alumni Service Award Winner
