The De La Salle Collegiate Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Mr. Jerry Zaccardelli, Class of 1975, is returning to the Board and will become the Board’s Chair beginning July 1, 2024.

Zaccardelli was a member of the Board from 2003-2009, and served as the Board Chair from 2007-2009. 

Most recently, Zaccardelli was part of the Presidential Search Committee that ultimately recommended Brother Thomas Zoppo, FSC, to take on that role. 

“He is the right person for the right time,” Zaccardelli said. “We are fortunate to have this brother available. 

Brother Thomas inspired Zaccardelli to make himself available to the DLS Board. 

The Board’s Interview Committee recommended him to the full Board which elected Zaccardelli as Board Chair at its meeting earlier this week. 

John Bernard, Class of 1970, will continue as the Board’s Vice-Chair. 

Zaccardelli takes over the Chair from outgoing Board member Roma Heaney who served on the board the last six years. “She was very instrumental in getting Br. Thomas to come to the school,” he said. 

Zaccardelli has also been serving on the Steering Committee for the current Capital Campaign: “Builders of Boys. Makers of Men: The Next 100 Years.” 

“We have exciting things going on at De La Salle, and some challenges,” he said. “We are building this new STEM Center and planning for the school’s 100th anniversary in 2026.”

In addition to his board service, Zaccardelli was a founding member of the Brother George Synan Society in 2007. The Brother George Society encourages its members to create a planned gift for De La Salle Collegiate.

Zaccardelli was the honoree at the 2008 Christian Brothers’ Dinner.

He has also attended the Lasallian Leadership Institute (LLI), now renamed the Brother John Johnston Institute of Contemporary Lasallian Practice.

“It’s important to have a Lasallian attitude toward everything we do,” Zaccardelli said.

After a lengthy career in the private sector, Zaccardelli retired in 2022 from Brown and Brown, a full service financial service company covering life, health, auto, property and casualty insurance; financial planning; and retirement planning services. His employment involved key administrative roles. 

His work experience also includes 20 years for a manufacturing company where he was the corporation’s controller and human resources manager, and later its president and general manager. 

Most recently, Zaccardelli has served his local parish St. John Vianney as Chair of its Parish Council and has served on his local condo association as a member and treasurer. His terms on both of those boards end June 30, 2024. 

Zaccardelli attended the University of Michigan and also earned a master’s in Industrial Relations at Wayne State University. 

Zaccardelli and his wife Sue make their home in Shelby Township. Their sons are both De La Salle Collegiate alumni: Michael, Class of 2004, who works in finance for Huntington Bank, and Dr. John, a pharmacist with Royal Oak Beaumont Hospital. Zaccardelli and his wife also have a granddaughter.