Building on What’s Possible
By: Marquette University
Tags: Marquette, Success Story, Business, Higher Education

Building on What’s Possible

Marquette alumnus Rick Dillon steps up to help students get the academic support and opportunities they need to succeed Marquette University Follow Jun 17 · 4 min read

Rick Dillion. Photo by John Nienhuis.

By Tracy Staedter

For Rick Dillon, Bus Ad ’93, the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020 sparked within him a desire to get more involved in his community. The chief financial officer and executive vice president of Enerpac Tool Group, a global manufacturing company based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, says that although he was active in his church and occasionally mentored youth, he would often volunteer with his checkbook. “Sometimes your donations, although meaningful, can be silent,” Dillon says.

He committed to two impactful roles in 2020: as a Marquette University Board of Trustees member and a board member for College Possible Milwaukee, a local chapter of a national organization managed by AmeriCorps that helps low-income and underrepresented students graduate from college. Drawing from his award-winning work in finance — the Milwaukee Business Journal named him CFO of the Year in 2019 — and from his experience as a first-generation college student, Dillon aims to help the university and College Possible each succeed.

“I am thrilled to hear that Rick Dillon joined the Board of Trustees. His financial acumen and insights are proving invaluable to the board and university leadership,” says Acting Keyes Dean of Business Tim Hanley, Bus Ad ’78, who also notes Dillon is a member of the College Leadership Council.

Stepping forward

Dillon’s decisions to serve Marquette and College Possible are tied to his personal journey. As a native Milwaukeean who grew up in the city’s impoverished 53206 ZIP code, Dillon faced many potential pitfalls, he says. But thanks to the encouragement of his parents and his belief that God had a plan for him, he was able to grow into the opportunities that came his way.

The first emerged when he was a freshman at Rufus King High School. Dillon connected with the nonprofit Inroads, which places talented minority youth in business and industry and prepares them for corporate and community leadership. Support from Inroads, as well as motivation from his high school accounting teacher, buoyed Dillon. Through his participation with Inroads, he had an internship with PricewaterhouseCoopers after high school graduation.

College scholarships from several organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as participation in Marquette’s Educational Opportunity Program bolstered his undergraduate studies. After graduation, he landed a job at Arthur Andersen. He went on to get his MBA, and several high-profile executive-level jobs followed.

“I want to give young people what I had, the guidance and support, both personally and professionally, that made me believe I could do this, that helped me continually build on what was possible,” Dillon says.

Financial stewardship

As a Marquette trustee, Dillon can help the university manage financial challenges. He was instrumental in the strategic transformation of Actuant Corp., an industrial tool and engineering company that, after more than 100 years in business, was experiencing growing pains. Dillon zeroed in on the company’s financial strengths to identify areas for investment. The transformation culminated with the relaunch of the company in 2019, renaming it Enerpac, after its flagship brand.

As a College Possible Milwaukee board member, Dillon wants to increase the nonprofit’s visibility. He recalls attending College Possible’s annual Dream Big Dinner for the first time in 2018, when he heard scholars speak of their remarkable experiences. They were just a handful of hundreds of College Possible graduates in the last decade, yet the organization’s name wasn’t “popping in the community,” he says.

He also hopes to strengthen the nonprofit’s partnerships with universities. To date, 29 College Possible Milwaukee scholars have graduated from Marquette, and in 2020, 57 were enrolled. Dillon would like to see Marquette add a College Possible campus counselor who would support students to keep them on track.

“Community organizations are the ones that put their arms around our youth to help them grow and stay focused, making it possible for them to make it to and through college,” he says.