Harry Lee Crisp III, or Lee as he is commonly referred to, is currently President and Chief Operating Officer of
Pepsi MidAmerica and President and Chief Executive Officer of Crisp Container Corporation. Pepsi MidAmerica's
diverse food and beverage products include Starbucks coffee, Gatorade, and Frito Lay products. In this capacity,
he is responsible for one of the largest privately held Pepsi franchises in the nation.
Lee attended Culver Military Academy in Culver, Indiana and earned the Boy Scout's Eagle Scout and Catholic Ad Alteri Dei awards while there.
He graduated with the fourth highest rank in his class.
He went on to graduate at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Illinois with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. After his
graduation he entered the Marine Corps. Lee was then stationed at Camp Pendleton, California where he was the Officer-in-Charge of the Command
Information Center, a state of the art logistics command and coordination center which he founded. Based on his service, he was promoted to
the rank of Captain one year early and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal. Lee completed his service with the Marines in October, 1996
and returned to the beverage industry.
Internationally, Lee is a Friend of the Pope John Paul II Foundation in Rome, Italy. Among its diverse projects is a center in Indonesia that
provides inter-faith dialog and cooperation between Islam and Christianity. Additionally, he is a Patron of the Arts at the Vatican Museums
which funds restorations of the Vatican's art collection.
Nationally, Lee serves as a Founder, Director, and Treasurer of the United States Marine Corps Heritage Foundation. In this capacity, he
oversees the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia. Additional positions include Principle Benefactor, Mayo Clinic and
Founder with the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation which provides immediate scholarship bonds to eligible children of Marines and Federal
law enforcement personnel killed on active duty. Lee serves as Director and Treasurer of the Independent Bottlers Association.
Regionally, Lee serves on the Southern Illinois University College of Business External Advisory Board, the Southern Illinois University
Foundation, and the Southern Illinois Economic Development (SI EDGE) Board.
Past positions include serving as President of the Illinois Beverage Association, Director, Pepsi-Cola Bottlers Association (PCBA), board
member of the Governor's Task Force on Telecommunications, Chairman, American Heart Association for Southern Illinois, and Chairman, March of
Dimes for Southern Illinois.
Additionally, Lee has 30 United States Patents issued or pending related to fluid dynamics and beverage dispensing including GE Appliances'
SmartDispenseTM technology. This technology was awarded the Popular Science Magazine's "Best of What's New" award as one of the 100 best
inventions in 2005. In 2006, Lee was inducted into the Southern Illinois University College of Business Hall of Fame.
> Back
|