BUSINESS LEADERS CONVERGE ON CAMPUS

This fall, an unprecedented number of leading business practitioners, many of them alumni, returned to campus to join School of Business faculty and students in a variety of noteworthy events.

Speaker Series

Steve Bennett

“Leaders add value by making decisions and teaching others how to make decisions. They need to have the courage to use their own judgment. Once you get great leaders, have them spend time on the areas crucial to helping your company.”

—Steve Bennett

This fall, Wisconsin MBA students heard from leading executives who shared their personal and career experiences in the John J. Oros Executive Leadership Speaker Series. Students heard about leadership from the CEO of a leading high-tech firm, learned how lessons from the game of basketball can be lessons for life and discovered what goes into building a successful investment firm.

Speakers this fall were:

  • Steve Bennett, president and CEO of Intuit (pictured above)
  • Bo Ryan, Badgers basketball coach
  • Ted Kellner, chairman and CEO, Fiduciary Management Inc

CEO Summit

Approximately 30 CEOs and leading executives from companies around the world convened on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus in October for a “CEO Summit.” Attendees shared a common experience ­— an education from the University of Wisconsin. The CEO Summit, the first of its kind, was a chance for leaders with Wisconsin ties to network with each other and address relevant business topics with leading industry and university experts.

Attendees included:

  • Dave Anderson, BBA ‘70, MBA ‘74, president and COO, American Family
  • Steve Bennett, BBA ’76, president and CEO, Intuit
  • Curt Culver, BBA ’74, MBA ’75, chairman and CEO, MGIC
  • Tom Falk, BBA ’80, chairman and CEO, Kimberly-Clark
  • Mike Lehman, BBA ’74, CFO, Sun Microsystems
  • Dave Lesar, BS ’75, MBA ’78, chairman, president and CEO, Halliburton Company
  • Tom Pyle, MBA ‘63, chairman/president, The Pyle Group

The CEO Summit grew out of national attention to the number of S&P 500 CEOs produced by the University of Wisconsin. BusinessWeek and other media have noted that as of 2004, 15 of the CEOs at S&P 500 companies held undergraduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin, putting it in a tie with Harvard for first place.

The executives participated in a panel on the future of energy moderated by Michael Krasny, who earned a PhD from Wisconsin and is a senior editor on KQED public radio in San Francisco. They explored paths to leadership in a discussion led by Owen Ullmann, a Wisconsin journalism alumnus, who is the deputy managing editor, news of USA Today. A panel of internationally known UW faculty experts presented on cutting-edge scientific research at Wisconsin: Stem-cell pioneer Professor James Thompson, avian flu expert Yoshihiro Kawaoka and Paul Barford, who is conducting important research on Internet security issues.

John Morgridge, BBA ’55, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, organized the summit. “UW-Madison is one of the world’s great universities and, as alumni, we would like to ensure that its legacy continues,” said Morgridge. “This summit gives us the opportunity to learn more about the outstanding research taking place on this campus and to delve into the question of: What is it about the UW that creates such a breeding ground for leaders?”

 

Feature Stories

In Demand: Marketing Researchers

Marketing research is getting a seat at the head table as never before. Alumni explore the new cachet— and challenges —facing their field.

Real Estate Reality Check

Now that the super-hot residential housing market of recent years is cooling, real estate professors and practitioners explore the new reality.

Innovate or Else

Status quo is not an option. Management Professor Sanjay Jain explores why companies must innovate
and how successful companies have done it.

What Every New Board Member Should Know

Corporate boards are increasingly in the headlines—and often not in a good way. Ten things you should know before you agree to serve on that corporate board.

Women at Work

Companies must find ways to benefit from the talents of women leaders if they wish to remain competitive.

Departments

From the Dean

On Campus

Development

Faculty-Staff News

Alumni Notes

 

DECEMBER 2006 VOLUME 25 NUMBER 2

EDITOR: Lari Fanlund
DESIGN: Lori Strelow
INTERNS: Jessica Williams,
Annie Van Cleve and Megan Wood
PRINTING: Schumann Printers, Inc.
EDITORIAL BOARD:
Alisa Robertson, Chair
Melissa Amos-Landgraf, Jim Kubek, Richard Lee, Mark Matosian, Maureen O’Connor, Kaylene Reilly, Patricia Seaman, Steve Schroeder and Charlie Trevor

 



UPDATE is published in print and online each June and December by Wisconsin Business Alumni to inform alumni and friends about programs and activities of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business and its alumni. Printing is paid for with private contributions. This issue, and previous ones, are available online. Correspondence should be sent to lfanlund@bus.wisc.edu or mailed to:

UPDATE
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