Portland State Magazine Fall 2015

24 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 2015 Alumni GREG NESS MBA ’87 will receive the Portland State University Foundation’s top alumni achievement award at this year’s Simon Benson Awards Dinner on Oct. 29. Ness, 58, leads StanCorp Financial Group, the Portland- based parent company of The Standard, a provider of insurance and financial services. He joined The Standard at 22 years old and grew with the company, accepting every new position offered to him. “It was extremely beneficial that I worked 15 different jobs. It allowed me to see how the sum of the parts fit together,” he says. Ness has served as chairman, president and chief executive officer since 2011. In July, StanCorp announced an agreement to be acquired by Tokyo-based Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co., but Ness says it will be business as usual as The Standard remains headquartered in Oregon with the same employees and management team. Even after three decades in corporate management, Ness says his most valuable professional move was returning to school and earning an MBA. “I’ve always believed that it is a good idea to work before going to graduate school,” he says. “Work gave me an added perspective when thinking about economics, business and financial analysis.” In the community, Ness serves on the boards of the Armory Theater Fund, Greater Portland Inc., Grow Oregon, the OHSU Foundation and the Oregon Business Council. He and his wife, Terry, have been generous supporters of PSU’s School of Business Administration for more than 20 years. HONORING AN ACCOMPLISHED ALUMNUS FAL 2015