St. Louis business leaders Thomas Douaihy, Kathy O’Neill and AJ Segal will serve as executives-in-residence at UMSL and help guide the development of the university’s new Leadership Institute.
The University of Missouri–St. Louis is launching a Leadership Institute that will serve as a regional center for leadership development, social impact and executive education.
The institute will help prepare both emerging and established leaders to drive organizational performance and community impact through evidence-based leadership instruction.
Existing leadership programs such as the St. Louis Coro Fellows Program supported by UMSL’s Community Innovation and Action Center, the Creating Whole Communities neighborhood leadership programs in partnership with MU Extension, and the NextGen Leaders Program will all be housed in the institute. It will oversee leadership initiatives targeted toward students, professionals, community representatives and partner organizations throughout the St. Louis region. The institute will also partner with academic colleges to develop and deliver cutting-edge programs to advance workforce talent in our region.
“The launch of the Leadership Institute is an important step in strengthening the role the University of Missouri–St. Louis plays in preparing the leaders our region needs,” said Reggie Hill, UMSL’s vice chancellor for strategic enrollment and career advancement. “We’re creating a collaborative hub where emerging and established leaders can build the skills, perspective and networks necessary to strengthen organizations and drive meaningful impact across the St. Louis region.”
Hill will oversee the institute as part of the newly formed Division of Leadership, Career and Workforce Development. The division is also home to UMSL’s Advanced Workforce Center and the Office of Career Services.
UMSL has brought on Thomas Douaihy, Kathy O’Neill and AJ Segal to serve as executives-in-residence. All three will help guide the direction and development of the Leadership Institute in addition to other contributions at UMSL.
Douaihy, the founder and principal of the Digital Foundry Collaborative and the former senior vice president for digital transformation at Nestlé Purina, brings nearly three decades of executive leadership in technology, data and digital transformation. His expertise will support several high-impact initiatives across the university in the areas of enrollment and career readiness, and he is expected to collaborate with faculty, staff and administrative leaders to reimagine the full student journey – identifying opportunities to streamline processes, reduce barriers and elevate how students engage with UMSL from recruitment through graduation or certificate completion.
He will also engage with the Advanced Workforce Center on aligning non-credit curriculum, applied learning and experiential opportunities with current workforce expectations, ensuring UMSL graduates are equipped with the skills, mindset and confidence needed to thrive in an evolving labor market.
O’Neill, currently president and CEO of O’Neill Advisers, LLC, was a former interim CEO and chief operating officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis and a national leader for the Federal Reserve’s Treasury Support Function. She has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience across financial services, economic policy and multistate operations. She also served as president of CommunityAmerica Credit Union for the St. Louis market, where she successfully led local business development and retail branch operations with a focus on mergers, operational integration, philanthropy and community impact.
As an executive-in-residence, she will engage with students, faculty and staff to strengthen career readiness initiatives, expand employer partnerships and provide executive mentorship to students aspiring to careers in business, finance, operations and public policy. She will also support leadership programming, experiential learning strategies and regional workforce engagement efforts.
Segal is a retired U.S. Marine with more than 20 years of distinguished service in leadership roles around the globe. He now serves as the public sector AI center and workforce lead at Scale AI, where he works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, public-sector strategy and workforce development. Segal focuses on building responsible, scalable AI capabilities while ensuring that workforce strategy and talent development evolve alongside technological innovation.
In his new role, Segal will collaborate with students, faculty and staff to strengthen leadership development initiatives, expand career readiness programming and deepen UMSL’s engagement in emerging technologies and AI literacy. He also will mentor students pursuing careers in technology, defense, public service and innovation-driven industries while supporting experiential learning and employer partnerships that connect academic preparation with real-world opportunity. His strategic technology leadership and global military experience make him uniquely suited to advance UMSL’s mission of preparing graduates who are adaptable, principled and ready to lead in a rapidly evolving global economy.
“We’re excited to welcome Thomas, Kathy and AJ to our university community,” Chancellor Kristin Sobolik said. “They bring an extraordinary depth of experience from industry, finance, public service and emerging technologies, and their insight will be invaluable as we continue to strengthen the Leadership Institute and expand opportunities for our students. Each of them understands what it takes to lead and innovate in complex environments, and their mentorship will be invaluable in providing students with the real-world perspective needed to succeed in our changing workforce.”
