Oyler, Wimsett honored as top entrepreneurs

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The University of Louisville’s College of Business is inducting two new honorees into its Entrepreneurship Circle of Fame.

Kent Oyler, president and chief executive officer of Greater Louisville Inc., and Thomas Wimsett, chairman and managing partner of Wimsett & Co., are the latest to join the group created in 2012 by the college’s Board of Advisors to recognize top entrepreneurial graduates.

The two businessmen will be inducted Nov. 7 in an 11:30 a.m. ceremony at Jane Goldstein Plaza outside the business school’s Harry Frazier Hall.

Oyler, who holds UofL bachelor’s and master’s degrees, joined GLI, Louisville Metro’s chamber of commerce, in June. Before that, he served on GLI’s board for eight years and twice chaired its EnterpriseCorp.

He has launched 19 new ventures, including High Speed Access Corp., a broadband internet provider that went public in 1999 and still ranks as Kentucky’s highest initial public offering. Wimsett, who earned a UofL bachelor’s degree in 1986, has decades of experience starting and managing payment-related businesses. He founded Wimsett & Co., a Louisville-based payments consulting firm, in 2012.

In 2010, a company he started in 2003, Iron Triangle, sold for more than $600 million. As former chief executive officer of National Processing Company, he grew the company’s market capitalization from $275 million to $1.8 billion.

“These two embody the principle we strive to instill in our students – that innovation leads to success,” said Rohan Christie-David, interim dean of UofL’s business school. “We’re delighted to honor them for their achievements and welcome them into our Circle of Fame.”

Oyler’s and Wimsett’s names will appear on a granite slab in Goldstein Plaza beside the names of seven other Circle of Fame inductees.