Each year, the Eller College brings outstanding leaders from the private, government, and nonprofit sectors to Tucson for the Distinguished Speaker Series. These leaders address a variety of topics and issues that impact the business and public policy worlds. Gwen Ifill, (moderator and managing edit…
The Eller College of Management
The Eller College of Management celebrated the accomplishments of Robert M. Gates, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, on Friday, March 30, 2012 by recognizing him as the University of Arizona 2012 Executive of the Year. Robert M. Gates served as the 22nd Secretary of Defense (2006-2011) and is the only Secretary of Defense in U.S. history to be asked to remain in that office by a newly-elected president. President Barack Obama is the eighth president Gates has served. He previously served under President George W. Bush. On Gates' last day in office, President Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor.
Dr. Mary Sally Matiella, Office of the Secretary of the Army, Financial Management and Comptroller (ASA FM&C), advises the Secretary of the Army and Chief of Staff on all matters related to Army financial management. She oversees the development, formulation, and implementation of policies, procedures, and programs for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of overall resources in the Department of the Army. She is also responsible for the formulation and submission of the Army budget to Congress and the American people. On November 23, 2009, President Barack H. Obama nominated Dr. Matiella as Assistant Secretary of the Army, Financial Management and Comptroller, and she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 11, 2010. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Matiella served as Assistant Chief Financial Officer for Accounting for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). She was responsible for the payment of over $40 billion in annual grants, loans and subsidies, and the consolidation and submission of quarterly and annual financial statements to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). She ensured HUD was in full compliance with government legislation, generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), and other governmental budget and accounting standards. Under her leadership, HUD earned "unqualified" audit opinions each fiscal year and received all "green" ratings from OMB for its accounting practices. In December 2001, Dr. Matiella entered the Senior Executive Service and served as the Chief Financial Officer for the USDA Forest Service. She oversaw the formulation and execution of a $4 billion annual budget, which funded the management of 200 million acres of national forest and grasslands. Under her leadership, the Forest Service received its first ever "clean" audit opinion in FY 2002 and the GAO, April 2003 report, recognized the Forest Service for “Significant Improvement in Financial Reporting.”
Jerry Colangelo serves as chairman of the USA Basketball’s Board of Directors and is a principal partner in JDM Partners, LLC, a real estate development company. He first became involved in USA Basketball in 2005 when he was named managing director of the USA Basketball Men’s Senior National Team program and subsequently led the U.S. Men’s Team (Beijing 2008) and USA Senior National Team (Istanbul 2010) to gold medals. Colangelo served for 40 years in a variety of roles for the NBA Phoenix Suns franchise, including general manager, head coach, president, managing general partner, chief executive officer and most recently as chairman. His tenure with one franchise stands as the longest in the NBA. Colangelo’s impact on the game of basketball has been so significant he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2004. He added to his NBA involvement with a position on the founding committee for the WNBA, helping advance professional women’s basketball in the U.S. The Phoenix Mercury was one of the WNBA’s inaugural teams in 1997. As Chairman of the NBA’s Board of Governors from 2001 through 2005, Colangelo had influence on the growth of the NBA as a member of the league’s Finance Committee, Long Range Planning Committee, Expansion Committee, and Competition and Rules Committee. In addition to his basketball legacy, Colangelo is also credited for bringing Major League Baseball to Phoenix in 1998, serving as Chairman and CEO of the 2001 World Champion Arizona Diamondbacks. Moving from an expansion team to MLB champions in just four years was a record for Major League Baseball. Other sports team involvement included bringing National Hockey League’s Winnepeg Jets to Phoenix to become the Phoenix Coyotes. The author of two books, Colangelo continues to provide valuable insights on competitive sports and the critical skill of leadership. His works include How You Play the Game, Return of the Gold: The Journey of Jerry Colangelo and The Redeem Team. Colangelo grew up in the Hungry Hill neighborhood of Chicago Heights, where the Jerry Colangelo Gymnasium was dedicated in his honor in 1996. Colangelo and his wife Joan have four children, six granddaughters, and four grandsons.
On Thursday, March 24, 2011, Dr. Anil K. Kashyap gave the Fathauer Lecture in Political Economy at The University of Arizona Eller College of Management. Anil K. Kashyap is the Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics and Finance and Richard N. Rosett Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His research focuses on banking, business cycles, corporate finance, price setting, and monetary policy. His research has won him numerous awards, including a Sloan Research Fellowship, the Nikkei Prize for Excellent Books in Economic Sciences, and a Senior Houblon-Norman Fellowship from the Bank of England. Prior to joining the Chicago Booth faculty in 1991, Kashyap spent three years as an economist for the Board of Governors for the Federal Reserve System. He currently works as a consultant for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and serves as a member of the Economic Advisory Panel of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and as a Research Associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). He is one of the advisors to the Cabinet Office of the Government of Japan for its research project on “The Japanese Economy and Macroeconomic Policies over Last Twenty-Five Years,” is on the Congressional Budget Office's Panel of Economic Advisers, serves on the Board of Directors of the Bank of Italy’s Einuadi Institute of Economics and Finance and is a member of the Squam Lake Group on Financial Regulation. Kashyap is also one of the academic members of the Bellagio Group (whose non-academic members consist of the Deputy Central Bank Governors and Vice Ministers of Finance of the G7 countries). Kashyap serves as co-organizer of the NBER's Working Group on the Japanese Economy and of the NBER’s Working Group on the Functioning of Financial Firms and Resolution of their Distress, is a member of both the American Economic Association and American Finance Association, and cofounded the U.S. Monetary Policy Forum. He is one of the two faculty directors of the Chicago Booth’s Initiative on Global Markets. He regularly speaks on the financial crisis, Japan, the global economy, and the direction of economic policy. He graduated from the University of California at Davis in 1982 with a bachelor's degree in economics and statistics with highest honors. In 1989, he earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He enjoys rotisserie baseball, bridge, and the Indianapolis 500.
Richard Fisher's lecture was given on March 30, 2010. Richard W. Fisher assumed the office of president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas on April 4, 2005. In this role, Fisher serves as a member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Federal Reserve’s principal monetary policymaking group. Fisher is former vice chairman of Kissinger McLarty Associates, a strategic advisory firm chaired by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. Fisher began his career in 1975 at the private bank of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., where he specialized in fixed income and foreign exchange markets. He became assistant to the secretary of the Treasury during the Carter administration, working on issues related to the dollar crisis of 1978–79. He then returned to Brown Brothers to found its Texas operations in Dallas. In 1987, Fisher created Fisher Capital Management and a separate funds-management firm, Fisher Ewing Partners. Fisher Ewing’s sole fund, Value Partners, earned a compound rate of return of 24 percent per annum during his period as managing partner. He sold his controlling interests in both firms when he rejoined the government in 1997. From 1997 to 2001, Fisher was deputy U.S. trade representative with the rank of ambassador. He oversaw the implementation of NAFTA and various agreements with Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Chile, and Singapore. He was a senior member of the team that negotiated the bilateral accords for China's and Taiwan's accession to the World Trade Organization. Throughout his career, Fisher has served on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards. He has also maintained his academic interests, teaching graduate courses and serving on several university boards. He was a Weatherhead Fellow at Harvard in 2001, is an honorary fellow of Hertford College at Oxford University, and is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. A first-generation American, Fisher is equally fluent in Spanish and English, having spent his formative years in Mexico. He attended the U.S. Naval Academy (1967–69), graduated with honors from Harvard University in economics (1971), read Latin American politics at Oxford (1972–73), and received an MBA from Stanford University (1975). In October of 2006, Fisher received the Service to Democracy Award and Dwight D. Eisenhower Medal for Public Service from the American Assembly. In April 2009, he was inducted into the Dallas Business Hall of Fame.
David Childers' lecture was presented on January 21, 2010. David Childers is a pioneer in the fields of governance, risk, and compliance. He is a member of the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE), the Ethics & Compliance Officer Association (ECOA), the International Association of Privacy Professionals, where he has been trained and is certified as an Information Privacy Professional (CIPP), and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), where he has completed the Director of Professionalism course and is certified in Director Education. He is a charter member of the Open Compliance and Ethics Group (OCEG), a coalition of the nation's business leaders assembled to develop compliance standards and guidelines. He is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) and serves as the Vice Chairman for the Software Association of Oregon (SAO). Mr. Childers is a frequent lecturer on the subject of business ethics and was named one of the “100 Most Influential People in Finance” by Treasury & Risk magazine in 2008.
David Laibson's Fathauer Lecture in Political Economy was presented on December 7, 2009. David Laibson is a Harvard College Professor and the Robert I. Goldman Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Laibson is also a member of the National Bureau of Economic Research, where he is Research Associate in the Asset Pricing, Economic Fluctuations, and Aging Working Groups. Laibson serves on numerous editorial boards, as well as the boards of the Health and Retirement Survey and the Pension Research Council. He is a recipient of a Marshall Scholarship and grants from the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the National Institute on Aging, the Sloan Foundation, the Social Security Administration, and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Laibson co-organizes the Russell Sage Foundation’s Summer School in Behavioral Economics. He has received the PBK Prize for Excellence in Teaching. Laibson’s research focuses on the topic of psychology and economics and his work is frequently discussed in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, the Economist, Business Week, Forbes, Fortune, Money, Wired Magazine, the New Yorker, and on the PBS program Wealthtrack. In 2005, Fortune named Laibson one of ten people to watch. In 2008, Wired Magazine included Laibson on the “2008 Smart List: 15 People the Next President Should Listen To.” In 2006 Laibson served as an external reviewer for the Department of Labor regulations that implement the Pension Protection Act. Laibson holds degrees from Harvard University (BA in Economics, summa cum laude), the London School of Economic (MSc in Econometrics and Mathematical Economics), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D. in Economics).
Raymond Spencer's lecture was presented on April 15, 2009. Raymond Spencer is Chairman of Capgemini’s Financial Services Global Business Unit (FS GBU). Following the acquisition of Kanbay International by Capgemini in early 2007, Raymond launched and was CEO of Capgemini’s Financial Services Strategic Business Unit (FS SBU). He was a member of the Group’s General Management Board and reported to the Group CEO. Raymond brings more than thirty five years of leadership in international business, management planning, technology, finance, organizational culture and mergers and acquisitions. Previously, Raymond was Chairman and CEO of Kanbay International, Inc. As a founder in 1989, he led Kanbay from its inception through its acquisition by Capgemini in 2007 for $1.3 billion. At that time, Kanbay had over 7,500 associates in fourteen cities across eight nations. Through Raymond’s leadership and vision, Kanbay became one of the top five performing IPO’s on the NASDAQ in 2004, and was ranked #9 on BusinessWeek's Annual “Hot Growth Companies” List in 2005. During his tenure, Raymond oversaw several successful acquisitions, including that of Adjoined Technologies, a 500-person consulting firm. Raymond’s strength lies in driving significant change and growth through large, complex, multicultural and international projects for both big business and grassroots organizations. His organizational, cultural and leadership initiatives have benefited a wide range of multinational and Fortune 500 corporations, micro-economies and rural communities alike, in eighteen countries, including the USA, Australia, India, UK, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. Previous to Kanbay, Raymond spent 20 years with the Institute of Cultural Affairs (ICA), a United Nations–recognized private voluntary organization focused on worldwide rural and community development. While spearheading ICA projects, he resided in India for six years, where he established ICA’s Indian division and consulted with the leadership of India’s largest corporations. Raymond later held numerous leadership roles within ICA’s headquarters based in Chicago, Illinois. In addition to his executive role at ICA, Raymond was chairman of a management consulting firm affiliated with ICA, where he helped guide the development of its proprietary, participatory technology for strategic planning, project implementation and leadership development. Some of Raymond’s notable recognition and current affiliations include: * Induction into the Chicago Area Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in 2003 * Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 for the Illinois Region. * Laureate in the Computerworld Honors Program, which distinguishes innovators around the world whose visionary use of information technology produces and promotes positive social change. * Board member of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) * Director of Rubicon Technology, Inc. (RBCN), a NASDAQ listed manufacturer of advanced electronic materials * Member of the Advisory Board of the Cross Atlantic Technology Fund * Member of The Economic Club of Chicago * Board of Columbia College, Chicago Raymond was born in Adelaide, South Australia and attended law school at the University of Adelaide.
P. Brett Hammond's lecture was given on April 2, 2009. P. Brett Hammond is a Managing Director and Chief Investment Strategist for TIAA-CREF and serves as the company’s ambassador on issues relating to the macro economy, financial markets, and long-term investing. He is also chair of the Research Council on Global Investment, an organization of senior leaders in pension and investment management. Hammond is a member of the Forbes.com Intelligent Investing Channel’s All-Star Investor Panel and a frequent resource on topics relating to long-term investing for outlets including The New York Times, Washington Post, Associated Press, CNNMoney, Pensions & Investments, International Herald Tribune, CNBC, and Bloomberg Television. Prior to joining TIAA-CREF, Hammond held positions at the National Academy of Sciences, UCLA, and UC-Berkeley. He received a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
William K. Reilly's lecture was presented on January 29, 2009. William K. Reilly is a founding partner of Aqua International Partners, LP, a private equity fund dedicated to investing in companies engaged in water and renewable energy, and a senior advisor to TPG Capital, LP, an international investment partnership. Mr. Reilly served as the first Payne Visiting Professor at Stanford University (1993-1994), Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1989-1993), president of the World Wildlife Fund (1985-1989), president of The Conservation Foundation (1973-1989), and director of the Rockefeller Task Force on Land Use and Urban Growth (1972-1973). He was head of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations Earth Summit at Rio in 1992. Mr. Reilly is Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the World Wildlife Fund, Co-Chair of the National Commission on Energy Policy, Chair of the Advisory Board for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions at Duke University, Chair of the Board for the Global Water Challenge, and a Director of the Packard Foundation, the American Academy in Rome, and the National Geographic Society. He also serves on the Board of Directors of DuPont, ConocoPhillips, and Royal Caribbean International. In 2007 Mr. Reilly was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He holds a B.A. degree from Yale, J.D. from Harvard, and M.S. in urban planning from Columbia University.
Steven Pearlstein's lecture was presented on November 6, 2008. Steven Pearlstein is an award-winning business and economics columnist for The Washington Post. He joined the Post in 1988 as deputy business editor, overseeing the paper’s daily and Sunday coverage. He returned to reporting in 1991 to cover the defense industry following the end of the Cold War. Two years later, he became the newspaper’s chief economic correspondent. In 1998, Steve moved to Toronto as the Post’s Canadian correspondent, returning in 2000 to Washington and the business sector to cover the bursting of the tech and telecom bubble. He began writing his twice-weekly opinion column for the Post in the spring of 2003, and quickly got a reputation for unpredictable, hard-hitting commentary on a wide range of issues, from business and management to economics and economic policy. Steve won the Gerald Loeb Award for his columns in 2006. In 2008, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for commentary in 2008, the first business columnist ever to win that award. Steve started out in journalism in 1973 right out of Trinity College in Hartford, Conn., where he was editor of the school newspaper. He worked is first job was at Foster’s Daily Democrat in Dover, N.H., an afternoon daily that is last newspaper in America to still bear the name of its owners. He later moved to the Concord, N.H. Monitor where he covered local, state and federal courts. One story caught the eye of John Durkin, the newly elected U.S. senator, who invited Steve to Washington to join his staff. For the next two years, Steve served as Durkin’s press secretary and administrative assistant before jumping to the House of Representatives, where he served as administrative assistant to Rep. Michael Harrington of Massachusetts. With Harrington’s retirement from politics in 1978, Steve moved to Boston’s public television station, WGBH-TV, where he was a writer and on-air reporter for the nightly Ten O’Clock News. In 1982, he left the station and launched the Boston Observer, a monthly journal of liberal opinion for which he held the official title as editor and publisher but unofficially was also the ad salesman, circulation director, and typesetter. The Observer was a critical success but not a financial one, and closed its doors in 1986. For the next two years, he worked as a senior editor at Inc., the business monthly magazine, until being recruited to The Washington Post. Steve grew up in Brookline, Mass., where he attended public schools. Later, while working in Boston, he lived in the small town of West Newbury, where he served two terms as the elected town moderator. He now lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Wendy Gray. His daughter Laura works in advertising in New York. His son Eli majors in broadcast journalism at the University of Southern California.
Brad Casper's lecture was presented on October 23, 2008. Brad Casper became President and Chief Executive Officer of The Dial Corporation, a company of Henkel AG & Co. KGaA in April 2005. Mr. Casper oversees business operations of some of America’s most trusted consumer products, including Dial® soaps and body washes, Purex® laundry detergents, Renuzit® air fresheners, and Right Guard® antiperspirant/deodorants. Casper joined Dial from Church & Dwight, where he served as President, Personal Care, since 2002. Prior to joining Church & Dwight, Brad spent 16 years at Procter & Gamble, most recently as Vice President, Global Fabric Care. He held increasingly responsible senior positions at Procter & Gamble prior to that role, including General Manager, Hong Kong and China Hair Care, and Marketing Director, Laundry & Cleaning Products, P&G Far East in Kobe, Japan. Earlier in his career Casper worked for the General Electric Company as a financial analyst in the aircraft engine business. Casper serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Personal Care Products Council (PCPC), Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE), and the Grocery Manufacturers’ Association (GMA). Locally, Casper is a member of Greater Phoenix Leadership (GPL), and a Board Member of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC), where he co-chairs the International Leadership Council. He also serves as Vice Chair of both the Scottsdale Unified School District Foundation (SUDF) and Say Yes to Children. Casper holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Tech University, where he serves on the Pamplin Business School Advisory Council.
Coach Olson's lecture was given on November 20, 2006. As Lute Olson enters his 24th season at The University of Arizona, he has established both the Wildcat basketball program and himself as two of the preeminent figures on the collegiate basketball landscape. Olson, now in his fourth decade as a head coach, also has a title that befits those monumental accomplishments — Hall of Famer — as he was enducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002. In a career full of individual and team accolades, this honor ranks among the best. Long considered one of the top coaches in Pac-10 history, he has led Arizona to 11 league titles, the latest in 2005. His 316 conference victories are the most in league history. Olson is the No. 2 coach in Pac-10 history for career winning percentage for conference games with more than two years experience, trailing only the legendary John Wooden. Olson became the 16th coach in basketball history (covering all levels) to register 1,000 career wins, when his Wildcats defeated Utah, 67-62, on Dec. 11, 2004. In his collegiate career, Olson has produced 52 NBA draft picks, including 31 at Arizona. Last year, there were 10 Arizona alums on NBA rosters, and Olson has had 13 former players appear in the NBA finals in the last 11 seasons. He was born on a farm just outside Mayville, N.D., on Sept. 22, 1934, and went on to attend high school in Grand Forks, N.D., for the 1951-52 season, where he led the team to the 1952 state basketball championship. In college, Olson was a three-sport athlete (basketball, football, and baseball) at Augsburg (Minn.) College from 1953-56. As a senior in 1956, he was recognized with the Augsburg Honors Athlete Award, which is given annually to the top male student-athlete. Since that time he also has been honored by his alma mater with induction into the Augsburg Athletic Hall of Fame in 1977 and received the Augsburg College Distinguished Alumni Award in April 1986. Olson's new autobiography, Lute!: The Seasons of My Life, tells the story of his more than forty years in basketball.
Gwen Ifill's interview was held on March 5, 2007. Gwen Ifill is moderator and managing editor of Washington Week and senior correspondent for The News Hour with Jim Lehrer. She is also frequently asked to moderate debates in national elections, most recently the Vice Presidential debate during the 2004 election. Ifill spent several years as a Washington Week panelist before taking over the moderator's chair in October 1999. Before coming to PBS, she spent five years at NBC News as chief congressional and political correspondent. While at NBC, she covered the premier political stories affecting the nation, including national political campaigns and conventions, legislation before Congress, and the impeachment of President Clinton. Her reports appeared on NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, Today, Meet the Press, and MSNBC, the all-news cable network. A veteran journalist, Ifill joined NBC News from The New York Times where she covered the White House and politics. She also covered national and local affairs for The Washington Post, Baltimore Evening Sun, and Boston Herald American. "I always knew I wanted to be a journalist, and my first love was newspapers," Ifill said. "But public broadcasting provides the best of both worlds — combining the depth of newspapering with the immediate impact of broadcast television." A native of New York City and a graduate of Simmons College in Boston, Ifill has also received 15 honorary degrees. She serves on the board of the Harvard University Institute of Politics, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the Museum of Television and Radio, and the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism.
Bill Emmott's lecture was presented on September 27, 2006. From 1993 until March 2006, Bill Emmott was the editor of The Economist, the world's leading weekly magazine on current affairs and business. During his tenure at The Economist, the magazine's circulation more than doubled to over 1.1 million. He joined The Economist's Brussels office in 1980, writing about European Economic Community affairs and the Benelux countries. In 1982 he became the magazine's economics correspondent in London and the following year moved to Tokyo to cover Japan and South Korea. In 1986, he returned to London as the finance and economics editor and in 1989, became business affairs editor, responsible for all the magazine's coverage of business, finance, and science. Emmott was appointed editor of The Economist in March 1993. He has written four books on Japan: The Sun Also Sets: The Limits to Japan's Economic power, Japan's Global Reach: The Influence, Strategies and Weaknesses of Japan's Multinational Corporations, Kanryo no Taizai (The Bureaucrats' Deadly Sins), and, most recently, The Sun Also Rises. Emmott is now an independent writer, speaker, and consultant based in London and Somerset, England. He writes a column on international affairs for a Japanese monthly magazine, Ushio, and is a contributor to The Guardian's "comment is free" blog, and PostGlobal, a discussion forum run by The Washington Post. In 2006, Emmott received three journalism awards in Britain: a special award from the Wincott Foundation, the business journalist of the year award from the London Press Club, and the decade of excellence award from the World Leadership Forum's business journalism awards program.
Norman Gaut's lecture was presented on February 12, 2008. The professional life of Norman Gaut focuses on the development of mostly technical innovations into viable businesses. Since graduating from MIT in 1967 with a Ph.D. in geophysics, he has been building businesses. The first business started immediately after a one-year post-doctoral appointment at MIT in the subject area of environmental consulting, services, and equipment. The company emphasizes innovation and advanced computer modeling, combined with state-of-the-art monitoring of environmental parameters. The AIRMAP (Air Monitoring, Analysis and Prediction) program eventually covered 1,500 monitoring sites throughout the northeastern United States and included the majority of power generating facilities east of the Mississippi. The company also provided environmental assessments, research into coal gasification, optimum ship routing for large ocean-going vessels traveling between continents, and developed highly advanced infrared stack gas analyzers. The second major business developed by Gaut was the PictureTel Corporation, based on technology developed at MIT in the subject area of video compression. This company created the video-conferencing industry. The technical innovations that were developed and standardized by company engineers made it possible for high quality images and audio to be sent over very low bandwidth networks. The company dominated the industry for 10 years, reaching a peak of $500 million in sales. Gaut co-founded seven other businesses, is a trustee at MIT, and an overseer at Boston University. Presently, he is the chairman of two startups, one developing a radically new cancer drug, and the other developing a highly efficient process to treat wastewater sludge with no environmental impact.
Hector de J. Ruiz's lecture was given on October 12, 2007. Introduced by UA President Dr. Robert Shelton. Hector de J. Ruiz, Ph.D. is chairman and CEO of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Dr. Ruiz joined AMD in January 2000 as president and COO and was named CEO in April 2002. He was appointed chairman of the board in April 2004. Previously, Dr. Ruiz served as president of Motorola’s Semiconductor Products Sector. In his 22-year career with the technology firm, Dr. Ruiz held a variety of executive positions in the United States and overseas. He also worked at Texas Instruments in the company’s research laboratories and manufacturing operations.
Jane Hutterly's lecture was presented on April 12, 2007. Jane M. Hutterly is Executive Vice President of Worldwide Corporate & Environmental Affairs for S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. in Racine, Wisconsin. In this capacity, Ms. Hutterly leads the consumer products business in environmental and sustainability actions, public and governmental policy, public affairs, community relations and philanthropy on a global and local level. She also serves as President of Johnson Keland Management, Inc. (The Family Office), in Racine. The Family Office provides corporate governance, financial and advisory services to the individual members of the Samuel C. Johnson and Karen Johnson Boyd families and serves as the focal point for all family business activities, servicing family needs either in-house or through specialized outside counsel. Ms. Hutterly joined SC Johnson as a marketing manager in 1979 from Frito-Lay, Inc. She held a variety of brand management positions in the company’s insect control and personal care businesses before being named Corporate Acquisitions Director in 1987. She served as Vice President of Franchise Sales & Marketing for Molly Maids, Inc. in 1989. She became Vice President – Environment & Safety in 1992. In 1998, she was appointed to the position of Senior Vice President – Worldwide Corporate Affairs, and in 2005 was appointed Executive Vice President of Worldwide Corporate & Environmental Affairs. She was appointed President of Johnson Keland Management, Inc. in 1999. Ms. Hutterly serves on the Boards of Directors of Johnson Financial Group, Inc. and the Soap and Detergent Association. She has also served as Chairman of the Board of the Consumer Specialty Products Association; on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Manufacturers of Chemical Specialties Association; on the Board of Trustees for the Alliance for Consumer Education; as Liaison to the U.S. President’s Council on Sustainable Development; as Liaison Delegate to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development; on the Board of Directors of The Keystone Center; as Vice Chair of the National Wildlife Federation’s Corporate Conservation Council; and as a member of The Nature Conservancy’s International Leadership Council. She is a member of Cornell University’s Johnson School Advisory Council, and has also served as a member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women. Locally, she serves on the Racine Art Museum’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee. She has also served on the Boards of Directors of the Downtown Racine Corporation, All Saints Healthcare System, and YWCA of Racine, and as Chair of the 2005 Racine County United Way Campaign. Ms. Hutterly is a native of Washington D.C. She holds a B.S. degree in Business from Centenary College of Louisiana and an MBA from Cornell University. She and her husband, Louie, who has two children, have resided in Racine for the past 28 years.
Ginny Shanks lecture was presented on September 25, 2007. Ginny Shanks is Senior Vice President of Brand Management for Harrah's Entertainment, Inc., the world's largest provider of branded casino entertainment. She is responsible for maximizing value of the company’s key strategic brands — Caesars, Harrah’s, Horseshoe, Total Rewards and World Series of Poker — and reports directly to Harrah’s Chairman, President and CEO, Gary Loveman. In addition to setting overall corporate brand strategy, Shanks oversees sports and entertainment marketing, strategic alliances, market research and nationwide casino promotions. Shanks joined the in-house advertising agency at Harrah’s Reno in 1983, when the company operated just four casinos; it now owns or manages 49. After earning several promotions, Shanks was named Vice President of Marketing for the company’s Western Division in 1998. In 2003, she was promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Western Division, where she implemented strategies to drive incremental revenue growth, customer retention and loyalty. She assumed her current position later that year. Shanks is a recipient of The Chairman’s Award for outstanding performance and the Corporate Excellence Award, the company’s highest executive award. Since its beginning in Reno, Nevada nearly 70 years ago, Harrah's has grown through development of new properties, expansions and acquisitions, and now owns or manages casinos on four continents. The company’s properties operate primarily under the Harrah’s, Caesars and Horseshoe brand names; Harrah’s also owns the London Clubs International family of casinos. Harrah's Entertainment is focused on building loyalty and value with its customers through a unique combination of great service, excellent products, unsurpassed distribution, operational excellence and technology leadership.
Steve Soboroff's presentation was given on February 5, 2008. Steve Soboroff has long been known as a business leader and public servant who brings people together to get positive results. He is Chairman and CEO of Playa Vista, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Foundation. He is a member of the Board of Directors of First Federal Bank, a senior fellow at the UCLA School of Public Policy, a member of the Board of Councilors to the USC School of Public Policy and the Chairman of the Center for the Study of Los Angeles at LMU. As Chairman and CEO of Playa Vista, one of the nation's most significant multi-use real estate projects, Steve and his team oversee all aspects of the Playa Vista community. Described by the Los Angeles Times as "L.A.'s Urban Model," the sustainable development provides critically needed housing, commercial office space and neighborhood shopping, while adding parks, preserving the environment and restoring hundreds of acres of wetlands. Steve has a strong track record for creating, improving and protecting open space and park land for city residents. He served as president of the L.A. Recreation and Parks Commission from 1995 to 2001, reinvigorating the city's park system to better meet the recreational needs of the people of Los Angeles. In addition, Steve was the driving force behind bringing Staples Center to Los Angeles and helped spearhead the Alameda Corridor Project, and he finished within 3% in the 2001 mayoral primary election in Los Angeles. Prior to serving as a Parks commissioner, Steve was a member of the City's Harbor Commission. After running for Mayor, Steve was asked to serve as a Senior Fellow at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and is involved as Councilor to the USC School of Public Affairs. Steve has also lectured at UCLA, USC, Stanford, UC Berkeley, U of A, and Loyola Marymount University and volunteers his time to mentor several university students annually. Steve has been active in Big Brothers since 1968, serving as President and then Chairman Emeritus of Big Brothers. He currently sits as a member of the Board of Governors of Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles. Steve's company received the "Los Angeles Beautiful" Award for restoration of retail buildings on Montana Avenue and in Malibu. He currently is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Weingart Foundation (www.weingartfnd.org) and a member of the Board of Directors of the First Federal Bank (www.firstfedca.com). A successful real estate executive who was honored locally as Harvard Business School's "Business Statesman of the Year," and was given the “Lifetime Achievement Award” by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce. Steve holds Bachelor and Masters Degrees in the Dept. of Finance, Insurance and Real Estate from the University of Arizona. He resides in Pacific Palisades with his wife Patti and their five children. Steve’s hobbies (other than time with the family) include golf (24 handicap), hiking, and collecting “volume 1 – number 1” issues of major American magazines.
Sharon Allen's lecture was presented on February 19, 2008. Throughout the 20th century, the talent management model for businesses evolved to become known as the "career ladder," in which employees would continually proceed upward until they reached their maximum potential. Such a paradigm became entrenched as the post-World War II population surge of Baby Boomers ensured a ready supply of entry-level applicants eager to achieve upward career mobility. Today's workplace, however, faces a dilemma. The populations of Generations X and Y will be insufficient in numbers to fill the positions that will be left behind when today's Baby Boomers retire and leave the workplace. Such a reality calls for a new talent management model. Sharon Allen will discuss an exciting new innovation in career planning from Deloitte that will hold profound implications for every generation active in today's workforce — and tomorrow's. Sharon L. Allen is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Deloitte & Touche USA LLP (D&T USA). In this capacity, she is responsible for the governance of an organization with more than $10 billion in annual revenues and oversees the firm’s relationships with a number of major multinational clients. With more than 30 years of audit and consulting experience, Allen was elected as chairman of the board in 2003. Her re-election in 2007 was the latest achievement in a career of distinguished business leadership. She currently serves on the President’s Export Council and is a member of the Women’s Leadership Board at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Her responsibilities and influence extend beyond her U.S. leadership roles. She is a member of the Global Board of Directors of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, where she serves as the U.S. representative on the Global Governance Committee and chairs the Global Risk Management Committee. A frequent speaker on governance, diversity, ethics, and workplace issues, Allen has addressed such prestigious forums as Fortune Boardroom Reports, Forbes Executive Women’s Forum, The City Club of Cleveland, the Dallas Friday Group, and the UN Economic Development Fund. She also has addressed major business schools including those at Cornell, Notre Dame, Duke, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, and MIT. Allen has been honored for her contributions to business and community leadership. She has been twice-named to the Forbes list of “the 100 most powerful women in the worl.” In 2007, Directorship named her “one of the 100 most influential people in corporate governance” and Crain’s NY Business cited her as one of the most powerful business women in New York. In 2006, she was named Private Sector Woman of the Year by the Financial Women’s Association. She is a past designee as one of the “50 Women to Watch” by The Wall Street Journal and a “Woman of the Year” of the New York City Police Athletic League. She’s also earned the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce Distinguished Business Leader Award, and serves as a board member of the national board of the YMCA, The Autry National Center, and the United Way of Greater Los Angeles. Allen holds an honorary doctorate in Administrative Science from her alma mater, the University of Idaho.
Robert Reischauer's Fathauer Lecture in Political Economy lecture was presented on January 29, 2008. Robert D. Reischauer, a former director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and nationally known expert on the federal budget, Medicare, and Social Security, began his tenure as the second president of the Urban Institute in February 2000. He had been a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution since 1995. From 1989 to 1995, he was the director of the nonpartisan CBO. Mr. Reischauer served as the Urban Institute's senior vice president from 1981 to 1986. He was the CBO's assistant director for human resources and its deputy director between 1977 and 1981. Mr. Reischauer serves on the boards of several educational and nonprofit organizations. He is Vice Chair of the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission. He frequently contributes to the opinion pages of the nation's major newspapers, comments on public policy developments on radio and television, and testifies before congressional committees. Mr. Reischauer holds an A.B. in political science from Harvard University and an M.I.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Columbia University.