Speakers
The Right Decisions Aren't Always Easy, Says Avon's Jung
Andrea Jung stuck with a company she loved. Today, she's turning heads, as Avon's CEO. The firm is a success story in a brutal economic climate.
TARP Head Allison Challenges the Banking Industry
Banking industry executives need to look broadly at changes to reform the American financial system, says Herbert Allison, MBA '71, the head of the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Culture and People Made the Difference Says Kovacevich
Success in the business world is less about brains and more about developing people, Richard Kovacevich, MBA '67, chairman of Wells Fargo, told a View from the Top audience.
Networking Is More Than Lots of Names, Says Heidi Roizen
Networking is more than having a hefty collection of business cards and attending A-list parties. Heidi Roizen has been a Silicon Valley CEO, a venture capitalist, and a corporate board member but “the homework never ends,” she told students.
Don’t Invest in Russia Today, Warns Bill Browder
Hermitage Capital Management went from $25 million to $4 billion by investing in undervalued Russian companies. Today its founder, Bill Browder, MBA '89, says anyone investing in Russia long term "is out of their mind."
Credit Card Pioneer Fairbank Recalls the Early Days
As founder of Capital One Financial Corp., Richard Fairbank revolutionized the credit card industry with teaser rates and zero-balance transfers. But in the beginning he recalls, he had "no money, no experience, and no ideas."
Nobel Laureate Sharpe: There Are No Shortcuts in Investing
Although Nobel Laureate William F. Sharpe didn't give listeners any new advice about how to weather the current financial crisis and fill the holes in their portfolios, he did explain during a speech on the Stanford University campus how futile it is to read sure-thing investing books or watch the latest financial guru to find easy answers.
September 11 Attacks Changed FBI Focus
Today the Federal Bureau of Investigation is more focused on counterterrorism around the world than on racking up big numbers of arrests FBI Director Robert Mueller told a student audience.
Don't Waste Volunteers' Time
Many nonprofits fail to use their volunteers effectively, asking them to stuff envelopes when they could be doing more skilled and mission-critical work, speakers told a Stanford conference. While financial donations dropped in 2008, volunteering rose to more than 8 billion hours of service, worth an estimated $162 billion.
Microlending Gives Dignity to People with Leprosy
In India, microlending has been a powerful tool in helping individuals with leprosy move from a life of begging to economic self-sufficiency, leaders of the group Rising Star Outreach told a student audience.
Strategic Management: Routes to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition
Four entrepreneurs discuss the idea of acquiring a small business as a route to entrepreneurship. The participants took different routes to Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA): search funds, a self-funded search, and a search sponsored by a private equity fund. Each entrepreneur shares his decision making on the right time to take the path of ETA. Participants: Moderator Peter Kelly; David Kennedy, Sean Callahan, Ciaran Power, and Michael Sanabria. Recorded: Oct. 5, 2009 as part of Strategic Management 543 course.
Microlending Gives Dignity to People with Leprosy
In India, microlending has been a powerful tool in helping individuals with leprosy move from a life of begging to economic self-sufficiency, leaders of the group Rising Star Outreach told a Business School student audience.
What's It Like to be the Boss of the "Most Interesting Man in the World?"
He’s suave, he’s wise, and his advice is always: “Stay thirsty, my friends.” Jose Antonio Fernandez, chairman and CEO of FEMSA, the largest bottler in Latin America, is the man behind the ad campaign featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World.
Oracle CFO's Career Didn't Follow Straight Path
When Jeff Epstein earned his Stanford MBA in 1979 and went to work for Boston Consulting Group on Sand Hill Road, he didn’t know about a young company a mile away—a company that would later become Oracle. Three decades later, Epstein is Oracle’s chief financial officer, but his path was no simple one-mile drive.
Leadership Means Responsibility
In his View from the Top speech, Dean Robert Joss defines what it means to be "at the top": "It's any position where you take responsibility for a group with a mission to fulfill."
Approach to Leadership Evolves
Jose Antonio Fernandez, Chairman and CEO of FEMSA, the largest beverage company in Latin America, discusses how his approach to leadership has evolved over the years.
Financial Institutions Caused this Crisis Says Wells Fargo’s Kovacevich
The current financial crisis was caused by financial institutions themselves, not by their customers, Richard Kovacevich, MBA ‘67, chairman of Wells Fargo, told a Stanford audience. Financial institutions exhibited a total disregard for basic risk management fundamentals “and even common sense.” It was fueled by greed, lapses in ethical behavior, and was unchecked by the ratings agencies he told a gathering of business and academic leaders at the day-long program organized by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research on March 13.
Google’s Schmidt: 2009 is a Good Year to Be a New Graduate
Google Chairman and CEO Eric Schmidt told a Business School audience 2009 is a good time to be graduating. "Assets are cheap and expectations are set realistically. . . .Change happens when things are hard."
Gates CEO Jeff Raikes: Have a Plan But Be Flexible
Gates Foundation CEO Jeff Raikes has taken a circuitous path to lead one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations. He started out on the farm then fell in love with software development. As his father advised, he’s flexible.
Colombian Vice President Santos Urges Investment, Free Trade
Colombia still has problems with drug cartels but a dramatic drop in violence and greater government investment in education, health, and democratic institutions makes it a good country for corporations to invest, Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos told a Business School audience.
GM-Daewoo Venture Feeling Global Turmoil
The new electric Chevy Volt will be built in Michigan, but the cells for its battery pack will come from South Korea as part of the GM Daewoo Automotive & Technology venture. The global venture is not immune to the current economic turmoil, Michael Grimaldi, MBA ’76, told a Business School audience.
Brenda Barnes Champions Women Returning to The Work Force
Brenda Barnes has broken a lot of stereotypes as the CEO of Sara Lee Corp., including making sure corporate America is aware of the hidden talents of women who once stayed at home but who today want to re-enter the work force.
Just Translating It into Spanish Isn’t Enough
to Reach Hispanic Audiences
Four Hollywood media experts agree successful niche marketing requires starting from scratch to reach each distinct audience segment. “Whatever market you’re targeting, you must approach that market freshly and sell to it,” one speaker, writer and producer Roberto Orci Jr., told a student audience.
Today’s Market Behavior Shouldn’t Be a Surprise
Says Joseph Stiglitz
The Great Depression taught lessons about financial market behavior that were forgotten says economist Joseph Stiglitz who blames both Wall Street and mortgage lenders for the current economic chaos.
Risk Taking is Necessary Says Dimon of JP Morgan Chase
Risk-taking has to be calculated, says Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan Chase. "You’ve got to decide what you want to do and what happens if it goes wrong." Any CEO worth his salary knows, "The business takes place in the detail."
Green Tech Must First Make Economic Sense Says Khosla
Zero emission buildings and hybrid vehicles, have broad appeal, but any climate change solution must first make economic sense in order to truly be effective venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, MBA ’80, said as the School’s 2008 von Gugelberg Memorial Lecturer.
Market Stresses Won’t Halt Saudi Arabian Oil’s Market Dominance, says CEO Jum’ah
The leader of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, the world’s largest producer of crude oil, says he doubts that either the current instability of world financial markets or a U. S. push toward oil independence will stop his company’s growth.
Developing Nations Offer Big Market Opportunities,
Says Intel’s Otellini
Intel CEO Paul Otellini, has spent over 30 years shaping the chipmaker as well as his own career. What does the future hold? How about cell phones in Africa and the computer market in China?
Time Will Tell How Bad the Economic Crisis Is, Says Latin-America’s
Medina-Mora
It’s much greater than the subprime crisis, says Citigroup Latin America CEO Manuel Medina-Mora. But the current economic turmoil can teach us a great deal.
Government Testing New Ways to Avoid Foreclosures,
Says HUD Secretary Preston
Housing Secretary Steven Preston acknowledged the current economic turmoil is “a time in history like no other,” but added it’s also an opportunity to solve problems in ways that have not been attempted before.
Microsoft’s Ballmer Says Nurturing Innovation and Top Talent Are Priorities
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer tells Stanford MBA students how his leadership style has evolved. If he could change one decision he made since becoming CEO, Ballmer said he’d have pushed the company to start developing internet search products years earlier.
Women are Still Scarce in Top-Level Business Positions
Their numbers have grown in business schools and throughout the corporate world. But women still have a long way to go before they become a significant presence in top-level business jobs, Deborah Zoullas, MBA ’78 told the 2008 Women in Management banquet audience.
The United States Can Learn from High School Students in India, China
The United States’ attitude toward high school, where athletic ability is often valued more than academic prowess, could threaten the nation’s future, warns venture capitalist Robert Compton. “The fault lies not in our schools but in ourselves.”
Environmental Investment Can Pay Dividends says Mark Tercek
There are “huge opportunities for companies and other private sector players in the environmental area,” said Mark Tercek, an investment banker who spent the past 24 years at global giant Goldman Sachs. “We’re off to the races there.”
No Near-Term Alternatives to Oil, Says Chevron’s O’Reilly
“Energy is not a God-given right,” Chevron Chairman David O’Reilly cautioned a Business School audience. Coming up quickly with alternatives to oil will be nearly impossible, because the amount of energy required globally is so huge.
Criticism May Produce Innovation, Wal-Mart CEO Scott Says
Wal-Mart’s innovative approach to environmental sustainability and its addition of health care services to stores were partly triggered by critics of the company in other areas.