Executive Briefings

The Graduate School of Management Dean's Distinguished Speaker is Harold Schmitz, chief science officer of Mars Inc. who speaks about his company's enterprise.

Anne Simpson is the senior portfolio manager, investments, and director of corporate governance at CalPERS, the largest public pension system in the United States with approximately $224 billion under management. The corporate governance program includes CalPERS Focus List of shareholder engagement with companies, global proxy voting, legal and regulatory reform agenda and CalPERS actively managed corporate governance investment strategy. Simpson talks about her work to integrate environmental, social, and governance across the total fund.

Rick Ridgeway, vice president of Environment Initiatives, speaks at Gallagher Hall about Patagonia; the company's Common Threads initiative; and building the best product without causing harm.

UC Davis Graduate School of Management Dean Steven C. Currall leads a candid conversation with Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson and StudentsFirst Founder/CEO Michelle Rhee about their experiences leading organizational change in city government and the public schools. Nearly 300 attended this Dean's Distinguished Speaker event, Feb. 24, in Sacramento.

Varian speaks about "Predicting the Present with Search Engine Data." Varian started at Google in 2002 and has been involved in many aspects of the company, including auction design, econometric analysis, finance, corporate strategy and public policy.

Steven C. Currall, dean of the UC Davis School of Management, moderates a panel of thought leaders on the commercialization of clean technology at the Governors' Global Climate Summit 3 at UC Davis.

Cleary speaks as a GSM Dean's Distinguished Speaker on "Sustaining Inspiration: The Challenges and Opportunities of Running a Privately Held, Employee Owned, Socially Responsible Business." Clif Bar is a leading maker nutritious, all-natural, organic foods and drinks for sport and healthy snacking. As president and COO, Kevin Cleary oversees the company’s sales, supply chain operations, marketing and brand development, and sustainability programs.

Dean Steven Currall presents his "State of the School" speech at the 2010 Dean's Fall Welcome Luncheon at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker at Gallagher Hall, UC Davis Features Ambassador Edward P. Djerejian, the founding director of the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University, one of the United States’ most distinguished diplomats and a leading expert on the complex political, security, economic, religious and ethnic issues of the Middle East. Djerejian's career spanned the administrations of eight U.S. presidents. He played key roles in the Arab–Israeli peace process, the U.S.-led coalition against Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, successful efforts to end the civil war in Lebanon, the release of U.S. hostages in Lebanon, and the establishment of collective and bilateral security arrangements in the Persian Gulf.

Former CIA director turned-clean tech venture capitalist R. James Woolsey argues that U.S. dependence on Middle Eastern oil ranks "very high" as a national security concern.

Hear one of the leading experts in cleantech give her perspective on the sector’s greatest challenges and opportunities to contribute to sustainable economic growth.

Don Paul on energy research and development; sharing his insights and views on the long-term future of the energy marketplace, tapping the promise of new technologies and the adoption of better energy-management practices.

Michael Mondavi talks about his new wine venture since the sale of his family's legendary winery four years ago.

Combining humor and personal experience, Nora Denzel shared what she learned as she climbed the corporate ladder at IBM and Hewlett Packard, emphasizing the 10 most common mistakes people make as they try to advance their careers-and how to avoid them.

Wil Agatstein talks about tailoring technology to solve global problems.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker Tony Perkins discusses the past and future of the Web and considers new business models in this evolving arena.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker Dale Carlsen shares how he built the nation's third largest mattress retailer from the ground up.

Robert Lorber, an expert on executive coaching, performance management, leadership, teamwork, culture and developing strategy, reflects on working and writing a book with Gillette CEO Jim Kilts about .

Dean's Distinguished Speaker Robert Simpson's "sweet" presentation about one of the world's most innovative candy companies.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker Janis Heaphy talks about her experience in the newspaper industry and the core values that are key to her success.

Dean's Distinguished Speaker Richard Davis describes the major challenges facing banks today.

At a Business Partner Breakfast, Rick Lenny talks about Hershey's issues of business strategy, corporate politics and communications.

As keynote of the Graduate School of Management's 25th anniversary, Bruce Bodaken shares his perspective on how to make managers better leaders.