A family farm converted into a public golf course, not a boardroom, higher education or an international meeting, is the cornerstone that has propelled Gina Drosos into a longtime CEO role and now a United States Golf Association Executive Committee member.
From the late 1960s through the 1970s, a young Drosos, brother John and their Georgia family would regularly make seven-hour summer drives to suburban Virginia and the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. In 1958, Gina’s grandmother and namesake, Virginia Rucker, joined family members in converting a portion of their cattle farm just south of Lynchburg, Virginia, into a nine-hole golf course and driving range, called Cedar Hills Golf Club, expanded to 18 holes later as the first public course in the area. Even though the course closed in 2006 to make way for a next-door rock quarry, the memories are vital to Drosos.
“That’s where I developed my lifelong passion for golf,” said Drosos, the newest member of the USGA’s Executive Committee as of early March. “My grandmother was an inspiration. She was born in 1902 and had a modest education. She ran the golf course, and my mother grew up in the house which became the clubhouse. I remember washing the range balls to get ready for the day, watching soap operas with my grandmother, getting dressed to go to work in the afternoon – because you had to be dressed properly – and ready for people to come to the driving range.
“All of this taught me a reverence for the game. To this day, the best part of my game is driving the ball because it’s the muscle memory of my childhood on the range, setting my targets and measuring my accuracy.”
Drosos learned her lesson well and has the CEO chops to prove it. At Procter & Gamble, she earned the moniker “Beauty Queen” as a group president for restoring Olay and CoverGirl and being on hand when the popular “Old Spice Guys” commercials were launched into the public consciousness in 2010. As the leader at Signet Jewelers for seven years, she oversees familiar jewelry brands such as Kay Jewelers, Zales and Jared Jewelry from the Dallas headquarters.
“The very most important thing for me as a CEO is create a strong organization and focus on talent, having leaders at every level,” said Drosos, a 1985 University of Georgia graduate and a 1987 MBA from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. “Also, having a clear vision and strategy so that the individuals can see their place in the organization.”
Drosos was elected to the USGA Executive Committee at its March 2 meeting in Nashville, Tennessee. The 15-person volunteer leadership group is composed of some of the top business minds in the country, all of whom have a passion for golf. Within the last few years, the group has gotten more diverse, with as many as six women serving, and now has five. There are also three Black men on the board, led by USGA president Fred Perpall, the first Black man to lead the organization.
The current women include New Jersey’s Cathy Engelbert, the commissioner of the WNBA; Houston’s Leslie Henry, the immediate past president of the Texas Golf Association and the first woman to serve in that capacity; Virginia’s Deborah Platt Majoras, the former chair of the Federal Trade Commission; Pittsburgh’s Courtney Myhrum, the owner of a consulting firm; and Drosos, the newbie among the group. Drosos will focus on the Compensation, Finance, Audit & Risk and Handicap committees in her first year.
The makeup of the group mirrors the growth of golf in the United States, with females leading the charge by surpassing 6 million participants – a 28 percent increase over the past decade – and the majority of those being junior golfers.
“I have played sports all my life, so I understand the leadership skills you get from playing sports,” Drosos said. “And golf is particularly great for girls and women. It’s camaraderie, great opportunities and you’re outdoors. As I have learned more things the USGA is working on, you can see our fantastic app that allows showing partial scores. Many girls and women choose to play nine holes and develop a nine-hole handicap score. So, we’re working to improve for people who are playing.”
While Drosos’ success is rooted in golf, she also relies on her experience in basketball. She played on the varsity team in high school. As a freshman at Georgia, while not on the Lady Bulldogs team, she was crowned the intramural free-throw champion. After clanking the first free throw in the competition, Drosos drained the next 19. That trend continued years later when she was coaching her daughter’s fourth-to-sixth grade team. The team started slowly but rallied as the postseason came and Drosos promised to be on hand if they reached the championship game despite a scheduled business trip to India. Hearing about the team advancing to the title game, Drosos gained approval from her boss, flew from India to Dubai to Dayton, Ohio, and made the final in Akron by 45 minutes. The team won the championship.
“Basketball was a previous part of my life, and I now view golf as a lifetime sport,” Drosos said. “At the USGA, for example, we’re helping to develop a national team which is designed to include great golf athletes from everywhere.
“At a public golf course like my grandmother ran, that kid could have been me.”