Wendy Gillespie

President & CEO, Frontier Trading Inc. / Starhawk Productions,
Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation

As a successful entrepreneur since 1991, Wendy was a co-owner and is President & CEO of Frontier Trading, Inc, a binational company exporting to and distributing grocery products in Mexico and Latin America, achieving $180 million in sales in 2005. Previously, she spent 13 years with the IBM Corporation in various sales and marketing management positions, including an assignment at IBM’s Asia Pacific Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. She currently serves on several boards including, Pacific Arts Movement, Montclair State University College of the Arts Advisory Board, San Diego State University Wendy Gillespie Center for the Advancement of Global Business, The University of San Diego Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, The Strategic Roundtable of the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation, and The U.S. District Export Council. Wendy is a charter member of the San Diego Women’s Foundation, and the San Diego World Trade Center, where she served on the Board for 15 years. She previously served on the La Jolla Playhouse Board of Directors and The National Council for the American Theater.

Wendy is the President & CEO of the Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation and is very involved in the San Diego philanthropic community. The Foundation supports organizations that foster social innovation, cross-border and immigrant population education and support, arts education and innovation, and personal responsibility. They support educational initiatives leading to greater self-sufficiency and community building.

Wendy’s current passion is as a New York Broadway producer. Her most successful production, “Come from Away,” premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse, received 7 Tony Award nominations in 2017, with Chris Ashley winning “Best Musical Director” and she received an Olivier Award for Best Musical in the U.K.in 2019. Her first production, “Allegiance: A New American Musical,” made its debut in San Diego at The Old Globe in 2012, and premiered on Broadway in 2015-16. “Diana” opened for previews in March 2020 and returned to Broadway in November 2021. “Working Girl” and "Slam” are currently in development.

Wendy received the Distinguished Alumna Award from Montclair State University (NJ) in 2018. She was inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, received the Junior Achievement Worldwide Gold Leadership Award, and has been recognized as a San Diego Woman Who Means Business, Girl Scouts Cool Woman, YWCA TWIN (Tribute to Women in Industry) and in 2016 received the UPAC (Union Pan Asian Communities) Visionary Award, and the JACL (Japanese American Citizens League) Civil Rights Leadership Award for her work with “Allegiance”.

As a young immigrant from the United Kingdom, Wendy is committed to making a difference in the diverse communities of our region and our world.