Speakers
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.
Changing Recruitment Opens More Boards To Women
Just 15 percent of board seats for Fortune 500 companies are women, but women who have managed profit-and-loss units are more likely to be recruited for positions. A sold-out event in New York for Business School alumnae discussed “How and Why to Join a Board.”
Roberts Sees Light Even in a Down Market
George Roberts, who 30 years ago founded Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Co. with two partners and $120,000, told a student audience he took the chance on the new company because “if I didn’t do it, I would always look back and say I missed an opportunity”.
Former Mexican President Fox Optimistic
Mexico, 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.
Newsom: Politics Needs More Risk-Taking
San Francisco’s Charismatic mayor Gavin Newsom, who four years ago ordered San Francisco to provide marriage licenses to same-sex couples, talked to a Business School audience about the need for politicians to take risks and described the personal and professional price he has paid for taking bold positions on controversial issues.
International Markets are Growing for FedEx Express
By 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.
Startups Learn to Roll With the Punches Penchina Tells Entrepreneurs
Making mistakes doesn’t scare Gil Penchina, chief executive officer of Wikia. His company, which develops ‘wikis,’ has made plenty of missteps and is prepared to make more he told the 2008 Conference on Entrepreneurship.
InBev Practices No-Frills Approach to Corporate Leadership
Developing 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.
Global Firms Must Understand Local Practices
Establishing Eli Lilly’s operations in China in the mid 1990s was complicated because the firm didn’t understand local dynamics, including how top employees would react to peers being promoted, the firm’s Chief Marketing Officer Robert Brown told a Business School audience.
Who Should Tell the Global Warming Story?
Global warming and environmental deterioration has not played a major role in the 2008 U.S. Presidential Campaign. Journalists and environmentalists at a Business School panel discussion debated just why this issue isn’t higher on the national agenda.
Balancing Career and Family Isn't Getting Easier
Women have to be very strategic in balancing family and career goals. Hard work and fairness won’t guarantee you a path to the top and a satisfied family life, Myra Hart advised an audience of Stanford women MBAs.
Give Yourself Sound Career Advice says Ellis of Bain & Co.
Bain & Co. worldwide managing director Stephen Ellis, MBA ’90, urged students to have a clear understanding of their own strengths, weaknesses, passions, and motivations to guide their career paths in the right directions.
Wozniak Reflects on Founding Apple Computer
"You are not going to be too successful unless it’s in your heart and is your passion," Apple Computer cofounder Steve Wozniak told a Stanford Graduate School of Business
Consumers Influence Can Shutter Sweatshops
Consumers can wield great influence over working conditions under which goods are manufactured, Professor Huggy Rao told a Stanford audience. “You’ve got to influence consumers so they’re willing to pay more,” he said.
Ghosn Keeps Nissan-Renault in the Fast Lane
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.
Brazil’s Cosan Seeks a Bigger Chunk of the Ethanol Market
As 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.
Infosys Leaders Discuss Benefiting Stakeholders and Society
Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murty, two of India’s best known executives, 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.
Successful CEOs Have Work With Passion Says
Capital One's Fairbank
If you want to run a business, forget about what’s in your wallet. Richard Fairbank, chief executive of Capital One Financial Corp. wants to know what’s in your heart. (November 2007)
Environmental Challenges are Profit Opportunities,
Says Roberts of World Wildlife Fund
“Companies still thinking about the environment as a social responsibility rather than a business imperative are living in the dark ages,” Carter Roberts, CEO and chief conservation officer of the World Wildlife Fund, told the audience at the Business School’s annual von Gugelberg Memorial Environmental Lecture.
Continental CEO Kellner Bets the Business on Being On Time
Continental Airlines progressed from bankruptcy to a top-ranked on-time U.S. airline under a plan to concentrate on making customers happy and employees functioning like a team, says Larry Kellner, the firm’s CEO.
Leadership Is In the Eyes of the Led
Well-run companies may or may not have great leaders, Kent Thiry of DaVita Inc. told business students. To lead his firm Thiry focused on team building and created a corporate culture focused on commitment, communication, and accountability.
Kenyan Bank Focus of Case Study at Graduate School of Business
A student trip to Kenya introduced a Stanford Business School professor to a successful Nairobi bank and led to a case study that links MBA students to the African continent.
It’s Often Smart to Make the First Move in a Negotiation
Making the first offer in a negotiation can have the power of setting a starting point, Professor Margaret Neale advised a conference of nonprofit managers. She advises being aggressive—“just this side of crazy.”
A Brand Is a Promise to a Customer
Nonprofits may not compete as fiercely as for-profit businesses, but they must find ways to make their brand stand out and evoke emotions from potential supporters says Professor Jennifer Aaker.
Art is Irreplaceable in Society Dana Gioia Tells Stanford Grads
Art in America is being subsumed by entertainment Dana Gioia, MBA '77, told Stanford graduates in his 2007 commencement address. "And the purpose of this omnipresent commercial entertainment is to sell us something. American culture has mostly become one vast infomercial." (June 2007)
Think Like an Immigrant Kordestani Tells San Jose Graduates
Immigrants are inherently dreamers and fighters, Omid Kordestani, MBA ’91, told San Jose State’s commencement audience. “To keep my edge I must think and act like an immigrant,” the Iranian-born Google executive told graduates. (May 2007)
First Generation Entrepreneurs Build the Chinese Market Says Baidu's Wang
China 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 Shawn Wang, CFO of the Chinese internet giant Baidu.
Nike Foundation Aims to Improve the Lives of 500 Million Girls
The Nike Foundation has zeroed in on a pressing need, says Maria Eitel, who heads the organization: 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. (May 2007)
Be Sure You Really Want Honest Answers, Advises Jeffrey Bewkes
Leaders depend on the advice they get from people around them, says Time Warner COO Jeffrey Bewkes. So it's important they are open to honest answers, not a reply designed to keep lower level employees out of trouble. (May 2007)
Jeffrey Bewkes video, (53:17 minutes, RealPlayer® format)
Autodesk CFO Offers Road Map for Aspiring Financial Officers
It isn't enough to be a financial whiz, Autodesk CFO Al Castino told students and faculty at the annual Arjay Miller lecture. Adept CFOs must be able to convince other people that their ideas are the right ones. (May 2007)
Stanford Business School Honors Steven Denning with 2007 Excellence in Leadership Award
Each year, the Business School marks the importance of leadership in business by highlighting the achievements of a Stanford Graduate School of Business alumnus/a who has made significant contributions to the corporate world and the community. (April 2007)
Steve Denning video, (41 minutes, RealPlayer® format)
BP's John Browne Lists Priorities for Combating Global Warming
Ten years after he broke ranks with much of the oil industry and delivered a landmark Stanford address that acknowledged the link between fossil fuels and global warming, BP Group Chief Executive John Browne returned to Stanford on April 26 to discuss the most urgent steps needed to minimize carbon dioxide emissions. (April 2007)
View from the Top: A Pitch for Deeper Green Thinking from Venture Capitalist John Doerr
Venture capitalist John Doerr doesn't believe the world's population will change its wasteful ways in time to stop global warming, he told an overflow audience at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. But, ever the optimist, he urged MBA students to make it a priority. (March 2007)
John Doerr video, (54 minutes, RealPlayer® format)
View from the Top: 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. (March 2007)
Steve Ballmer video, (1:03 hour, RealPlayer® format)
View from the Top: If It's India They Must Be Lentil Chips
Curry lentil snacks in India, chili lime in Mexico. The chairman of PepsiCo International says he would rather follow local tastes than force an unwanted flavor on a market. (March 2007)
Michael White video, (51:31 minutes, RealPlayer® format)
Commercial Bank of China Grows Its International Reputation
Bank president Yang Kaisheng described to a Stanford Business School audience how Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, the world's third largest international bank, successfully launched the world's largest initial public offering. (March 2007)
Hank McKinnell Honored with 2007 Arbuckle Award
Henry A. McKinnell Jr. (MBA ‘67, PhD ‘69) who last year retired as chairman and CEO of Pfizer Inc, the world's largest research-based pharmaceutical company, is the 2007 recipient of the 2007 Stanford Business School Alumni Association's Arbuckle Award. In a banquet in January, he was saluted by friends, classmates and business associates. (February 2007)
Arbuckle Award video, (43:04 minutes, RealPlayer® format)
Bhatia Describes His New Urban Design Plans for India
Sabeer Bhatia, the man who created Hotmail, is hard at work building a new Indian city with social and environmental features he believes will attract well-educated workers and tech companies to employ them. (January 2007)
Video File, (57:02 minutes, RealPlayer® format)