John E. Bauknight
Since receiving his B.S. in Psychology from Wofford College in 1989, John E. Bauknight has been active in the startup of several entrepreneurial ventures, first in the employee benefits industry, and later in the document shredding and recycling industry. John, along with Nick Wildrick ’90, began working on the idea for a document destruction company, and in October 1997, Shred First, LLC officially opened its doors. Shred First was named to the INC. 500 twice, which recognizes the 500 fastest growing, privately-held companies in the United States. In August 2006, Shred First sold the paper shredding division of the business to Cintas Document Management. He was also one of the Founders of Total Records and Information Management, LLC. John is currently the President of the investment firm Longleaf Holdings USA, LLC.
John participates in the Young Presidents’ Organization, is Chairman of the Charles Lea Center Foundation Board and serves on the BB&T Local Advisory Board, the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce Board and the Spartanburg Community College Incubator Advisory Board. He is currently a Chairman on the Wofford Terrier Club Board, the Wofford President's Advisory Board and the Wofford Alumni Council. Along with Nick Wildrick ’90, the two Wofford graduates and business partners have endowed an athletic scholarship reserved for student-athletes on the football team who exhibit academic promise, leadership, and a strong moral character, as determined by the head football coach.
