View from the Top speaking event in Bishop Auditorium.
![[photo - View from the Top speaking event]](../../photos/events_Al-Gore@GSB_25A-crowd.jpg)
Supported in part by the F. Kirk Brennan Speaker Series Fund, the View from the Top Dean’s speaker series brings top leaders from across all sectors coming from around the world to share their personal reflections in and insights on effective leadership.
Recent speeches:
- Leadership Means Taking Responsibility for a Group with a Mission, says Dean Joss
Former GSB Dean Robert Joss describes the many views from the many tops he has experienced, whether it was leading a project as a first-time manager or a bank with 30,000 employees. At its core, he says, leaders must take responsibility to see that the right things get done.
View the video
Be Sure You Really Want Honest Answers, Advises Jeffrey Bewkes
Leaders depend on the advice
they get from people around
them, says Time Warner CEO Jeffrey Bewkes. So it’s important they are open to honest answers, not a reply designed to keep lower level employees out of trouble.
Jeffrey Bewkes video, 53:17 minutes -
The CEO Must Steer the Corporate Culture, Says
Steve Ballmer
Personnel issues and new
business models are two of the
few things he occasionally loses sleep over, says Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.
-
Failure Is Important, Says Indian Tech Leader
Failure is an essential part of the innovative process, says Azim Premji, chairman of the Indian outsourcing giant Wipro Technologies: “It is impossible to generate a few good ideas without a lot of bad ideas. Failure should be forgiven and forgotten quickly.”
![[photo - Eli Harari]](images/VFTTHeader_000.jpg){kind=small}
The Dean's speaker series, View From The Top, brings premier leaders to the Business School.
This student-run program brings well-respected leaders from a variety of business, government and social sector communities to campus to share their views of leadership with student audiences.
Speakers typically discuss their personal core values, share their lessons learned and their recipe for effective leadership, including reflection on career and life choices. View from the Top is open only to Stanford GSB students, faculty, and administration.
Past speakers have included Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Sheila Johnson, and Colin Powell. Pictured above (left to right): Ken Mehlman, Meg Whitman, Carlos Guitterez, Jack Welch, Anne Mulcahy, and Al Gore.
2009-2010 View From The Top Speakers
- Richard Fairbank, Chairman and CEO, Capital One (10/16)
- Richard Kovacevich, Chairman, Well Fargo (11/5)
- Andrea Jung, Chairman and CEO, Avon (11/9)
- John Doerr, Partner, Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers (11/19)
- Carlos Ghosn, President and CEO, Nissan and Renault (1/12)
- John Mackey, Chairman and CEO, Whole Foods (1/26)
- Condoleeza Rich, Former U.S. Secretary of State (2/18)
- Kenneth Chennault, Chairman and CEO, American Express (3/1)
- Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo, President and CEO, Nokia (4/8)
2008-2009 View From The Top Speakers
- Steve Ballmer, CEO, Microsoft (9/25)
- Paul Otellini, President and CEO, Intel Corporation (11/7)
- Abdallah Jum'ah, President and CEO, Saudi Aramco (11/13)
- Jamie Dimon, Chairman and CEO, JPMorgan Chase (1/13)
- Brenda Barnes, Chairman and CEO, Sara Lee (2/10)
- Jeff Raikes, CEO, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (2/27)
- Eric Schmidt, Chairman and CEO, Google (3/10)
- Andy Stern, President, SEIU (4/21)
- Tony Hayward, Chief Executive, BP Group (5/12)
- Jose Antonio Fernandez, Chairman and CEO, FEMSA (5/18)
- Dean Robert Joss, Stanford GSB (5/28)
Contact: If your organization's most senior-level leader would like to participate in the series, please contact Mike Hochleutner: 650.724.4508.