In a look at the balance of nature vs. nurture, many have raised the question of why so many leaders are a product of Wisconsin. This same question first received national attention when Bloomberg Markets reported a study by Spencer Stuart that found 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. Several events this fall have brought leading business practitioners to campus to further explore this phenomenon.
CEO Summit
Thirty CEOs with degrees from UW, including eight from the S&P group of 15, convened on the UW-Madison campus 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 of Intuit
- Curt Culver, BBA ’74, MBA ’75,Chairman and CEO, MGIC
- Tom Falk, BBA ’80, chairman and CEO of 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 executives participated in a panel on the future of energy, held a discussion exploring paths to leadership and a panel of internationally known UW faculty experts presented on cutting-edge scientific research at Wisconsin.
John Morgridge, BBA ’55, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems, organized the summit. “The 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?”
Directors’ Summit™
Further exploring the responsibilities that come with leadership, corporate directors, CEOs, CFOs and other senior corporate officers from throughout the country met at the two-day Director’s Summit™ held at the Fluno Center.
The Executive Education conference was keynoted by Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples and a venture partner with Highland Capital Partners; John Morgridge, BBA ’55, former chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems; and Patrick McGurn, executive vice president and special counsel of Institutional Shareholder Services.
A range of issues in relation to the complexities of today’s corporate governance environment were examined - from setting appropriate executive compensation to strategies for coping when a company is under attack for anything from a hostile bid to a product recall.
This year, as in 2005, NASDAQ was the event’s title sponsor. For more information, go to http://www.directorssummit.com.
Speaker Series
Taking leadership strategy straight to the students, Wisconsin MBA students heard from leading executives this fall 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
- Bo Ryan, Badgers basketball coach
- Ted Kellner, chairman and CEO, Fiduciary Management Inc
For more on the Oros Speaker Series, visit http://www.bus.wisc.edu/oros/.
