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Global Management Program

 

Global Speakers Series

The GMP has been honored to host a number of high-level speakers for our Global Speaker Series. Leaders from the worlds of business, politics, and academia discuss the challenges of leading global organizations with our students.

Vicente Fox, Former President of Mexico (March 2008)

Vicente FoxMexico, the United States' largest trading partner with Latin America's highest per capita income, is expected to become the world's fifth largest economy by the year 2040 former Mexican President Vicente Fox told a Business School audience.

Michael Ducker, President, International, FedEx Express (February 2008)

Michael Ducker speaking to GSB studentsBy keeping its eye on technology, International FedEx Express avoids going the way of the Pony Express, the firm’s president, Michael Ducker, told a Business School audience.

Carlos Brito, CEO, InBev (February 2008)

Carlos BritoDeveloping a cohesive corporate culture that trains leaders from the ground up and rewards strong performers based on merit is an important ingredient in financial success said Carlos Brito, chief executive officer of the Belgium-based company InBev, the world’s second-largest brewer.

Paul Idzik, COO, Barclays (January 2008)

Paul Idzik To remain a top-tier competitor in its field, Barclays PLC faced replacing two-thirds of its top positions and even members of its executive committee. “Doing the right thing is often hard,” COO Paul Idzik told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience.

Sérgio Rial, President, Cargill (January 2008)

Sérgio Rial, Presidnent of Cargill Brazil, a global leader in food and agricultural products, shared his experiences of managing a fast-growing business in Latin America and of working for one of the world’s largest private corporations. He joined Cargill in 2003, holding the positions of CEO of Seara (poultry) and head of Cargill Food Ingredients Latin America.

Carlos Ghosn, Nissan and Renault (November 2007)

Carlos Ghosn Vehicle sales in the United States, Europe, and Japan are either stable or declining, Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan and Renault told a Business School audience. So he is looking to new markets such as India, Russia, China, Brazil, and Africa—where sales are expanding an average 20 percent annually.

Paulo Diniz, CFO, COSAN (November 2007)

Paulo DinizAs the demand for alternative fuels grows, Brazil’s Cosan-one of the world’s top growers and producers of sugarcane and ethanol-wants to increase its share of the world market for ethanol, the firm’s chief financial officer Paulo Diniz told a Stanford Graduate School of Business audience. 

Narayana Murthy & Sudha Murty (October 2007)

Narayana and Sudha during lunch with students Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, two of India’s best known executives of Infosys Techonolgies Ltd and Infosys Foundation respectively, share their experiences in leadership and management with current MBA students during a visit to campus as the first Denning Distinguished Fellows in Global Business and the Economy.

Shawn Wang, CFO, Baidu (May 2007)

Shawn WangChina today is poised to become a global powerhouse but its entrepreneurs face major challenges as they chart their roadmaps to success without the network that exists in the United States, said Wang, CFO of the Chinese internet giant Baidu.

Maria Eitel, President, Nike Foundation (May 2007)

Maria Eitel speaking with studentsThe President of Nike Foundation, the nonprofit arm of Nike, described how her team zeroed in on a pressing need: the plight of 500 million girls in many of the world's most impoverished countries who are cut off from taking part in their nations' economies.

Yang Kaisheng , President, Commercial Bank of China (March 2007)

Bank president Yang Kaisheng described to the audience how Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's third largest international bank, successfully launched the world's largest initial public offering.

Michael D. White, CEO, PepsiCo International & Vice Chairman, PepsiCo (March 2007)

Michael WhiteThe top executive from the international division of one of the leading food brands gave the GSB students a flavor of localization. When balancing global and local interests, White sides with the locals. "If it's a tie between global and local, I'll vote for local every time, because then people will own it," he said.

William Weldon, Chairman & CEO, Johnson and Johnson (February 2007)

William WeldonA key to the firm's future will be to work across all of Johnson & Johnson's divisions, said Weldon who challenges the company's managers to fight cancer with sun block as well as oncology treatments.

Thomas Friel, Chairman, Heidrick and Struggles (February 2007)

The Chairman of one of the leading firms in the executive search industry gave the students pointers on how to plan their executive careers in a rapidly globalizing economy.

Sabeer Bhatia, Co-Founder, Hotmail Corporation (January 2007)

Sabeer BhatiaThe web based email veteran is building a new city from scratch, and described his new urban design plans for India to the students at the GSB.

Matthew Bannick, General Manager, Global Development, eBay (November 2006)

Matt Bannick, who was until recently, President of of eBay International gave an account of running a global business across cultures and an introduction to eBay's initiatives in corporate philanthropy and the developing world.

Azim Premji, Chairman, WIPRO Technologies (October 2006)

Azim PremjiFailure is an essential part of the innovative process, Azim Premji, chairman of the Indian outsourcing giant Wipro Technologies, told a Business School audience. He added that innovation is what enabled young startups to upset the existing balance of power.

 

Past GMP Global Speaker Series Guests / Speakers