Awards
- Kelley School of Business Academy of Alumni Fellows (2003)
R. David Hoover is chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ball Corporation, one of the world's leading suppliers of metal and plastic packaging to the beverage and food industries. The company also owns Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., a provider of advanced imaging, communications, and information solutions to government and commercial aerospace markets.
Hoover joined Ball in 1970 as assistant to the treasurer. He served in various corporate planning and development and finance positions until 1980 when he became director, and later vice president, finance and administration, of the company's agricultural systems division. In 1985 he was named vice president, finance and administration, of the company's aerospace group. He became assistant treasurer in 1987, was elected vice president and treasurer in 1988 and senior vice president and chief financial officer in 1992. He was named executive vice president and elected to the company's board of directors in 1996. In 1998, he was elected vice chairman.
Hoover became president of Ball on Jan. 1, 2000; was named chief operating officer in April 2000; and was elected president and CEO in January 2001. On April 24, 2002, he was elected chairman of the board.
Before joining Ball, Hoover was a corporate financial analyst for Eli Lilly & Co., Indianapolis.
Hoover serves on the boards of Maxon Corporation, Energizer Holdings, Inc. and the National Association of Manufacturers. He is past chairman of the Can Manufacturers Institute (CMI) and a member of its board of governors. Hoover is also a member of the boards of the Boulder Community Foundation; the National Food Processors Association (NFPA); DePauw University Board of Trustees; and the IU Kelley School of Business Dean's Advisory Council.
A native of Straughn, Ind., Hoover earned his bachelor's degree in economics from DePauw University, Greencastle, Ind., in 1967. He was awarded an M.B.A. in finance and real estate from IU in 1970 and completed the Advanced Management Program of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business, Boston, in 1988.
Hoover lives in Colorado with his wife, Suzanne. They are parents of one daughter and one son.