John Verbanac Appointed Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Trustee on Pitt’s Board of Trustees

Pitt alumnus John Verbanac of Cranberry Township, Pa.—CEO of Summa Development, LLC , the real estate arm of investment holding company Summa Group LLC—has been appointed by Pennsylvania Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati of Warren, Pa., to be a Commonwealth trustee on Pitt’s Board of Trustees, effective June 30.

Experienced as a leader in diverse categories of business and at all levels of government, Verbanac has served since early 2005 as a director of Summa Group, which manages a diversified portfolio of service and technology companies.

From 1994 through 2004, Verbanac served in a number of business leadership positions and undertook several entrepreneurial ventures.

Several years ago, Verbanac nurtured the growth of two start-up companies: IdeaMill, a Pittsburgh-based branding and advertising firm, and Neri-Verbanac Public Affairs, a Harrisburg-based public affairs agency. In less than three years, Neri-Verbanac’s leading product, The Insider, became Pennsylvania’s largest statewide political publication; as its chair, Verbanac led the firm to maturation and broadened its offerings, culminating in its sale in 2005.

From 1997 to 2000, Verbanac led the restructuring of BrabenderCox as the marketing/advertising company’s executive vice president. Throughout its restructuring and subsequent launch of a new brand—Adams Marketing, of which Verbanac became president—BrabenderCox underwent substantial growth.

From 1994 to 1997, Verbanac was vice president of public affairs at Ketchum Communications Worldwide, one of the world’s leading public relations firms, handling such major national brands as GNC, MCI, Wal-Mart, Heinz, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Verbanac began his career in government and politics working on Capitol Hill for two U.S. senators and a member of Congress; during that time, he functioned as a senior aide and political strategist. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pitt’s College of General Studies in 1990.