Ronald (Ron) Butler grew up in the small mining town of San Manuel, Arizona. As a teenager, he was fortunate to land an office job with the mining company where his father worked, where he eventually received a scholarship to attend the University of Arizona, becoming the first in his family to go to college.
After earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting, Ron began his career in Tucson before moving to Phoenix to join Ernst & Young (EY). He now is the managing partner of the firm’s Phoenix office, a role he has held for over 15 years, as well as the U.S. Mining and Metals Leader for EY.
While pursuing his successful career, Ron always finds time to give back to the community, UArizona and the Eller College of Management. Among his many contributions, he is currently on the boards of directors of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and Education Forward Arizona. He also is a member of the Eller College National Board of Advisors and the W.P. Carey School of Business Dean’s Council.
In 2004, Ron started the Business Career Awareness Program at Eller to introduce minority high school students to accounting and the business world. He has championed the program — and support for the college more broadly — at EY. The EY Foundation has contributed $500,000 in support of BCAP. Giving by the foundation and EY professionals to the Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy in the last 10 years has exceeded $600,000.
