The School of Business offers the Distinguished Business Speaker Series for our MBA students each fall and spring semester. The purpose of this event is to provide our graduate students with the opportunity to meet outstanding business leaders and to explore pertinent issues affecting business today.

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Spring 2008 Distinguished Speaker, Fran O’Sullivan from Lenovo

The Spring 2008 Distinguished Speaker, Frances K. (Fran) O’Sullivan, Senior Vice President, Product Group, at Lenovo, spoke in April about doing business in China and the challenges that face a successful global corporation.

O’Sullivan is senior vice president, Product Group, with worldwide responsibility for all Think-, IBM- and Lenovo-branded desktops, notebooks, displays, options and services. Most recently, she was senior vice president and COO of Lenovo International (the operations of the former IBM Personal Computing Division). Previously, she was general manager of IBM's PC Division.

Ms. O’Sullivan was with IBM for 24 years, the last 21 of them in the personal computer business. She began her career with IBM with an assignment to NASA’s Space Shuttle Program at Cape Kennedy, Florida. She then transferred to IBM’s PC Division and gained engineering and management expertise in development, manufacturing, procurement, and technical and business operations. Her long association with the PC Division includes general management of ThinkPad worldwide operations, leading ThinkPad worldwide development, consumer desktop development, and, most recently, developing and executing the Think strategy. Ms. O’Sullivan graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and serves on the University of Virginia Engineering Industry Advisory Board.

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RBC Centura Hosts Fall Speakers and Events

The Fall 2007 Speaker Series included a variety of ethics-focused events made possible by RBC Centura’s Business Week at Meredith College. The week included a lecture by renowned educator Dr. Linda Trevino, a dynamic panel discussion on ethical leadership by business leaders, and an introductory talk by Ron Day, COO of RBC Centura, at a special dinner for MBA students hosted  by RBC Centura.

Linda Trevino from the Smeal College of Business at Penn State University delivered a talk on Managing Business Ethics: Straight Talk about How to Do it Right. Her talk discussed developing yourself as an ethical leader, with a focus on “expanding the lens” to see beyond your daily scope and see what’s really going on out there.

In the panel discussion on ethical leadership, a distinguished panel of business leaders shared examples of actual ethical dilemmas they have faced and ethical challenges common to their profession or industry. Panelists included: 

William Bost, Ragsdale Liggett
Judy Gangi, Credit Suisse
David Coulter, Wake Med
Michelle Rich Goode, Rich Commercial Realty
Jim Hansen, RBC Centura
Diane Jewell, Lenovo
Dennis Reigle, American Institute for Certified Public Accountants
Jerrae Williams, Department of the Treasury, City of Raleigh

At a special dinner for MBA students, Ron Day, COO of RBC Centura, discussed the importance of ethics in the banking industry and discussed the commitment of RBC Centura to work with the School of Business. The dinner included a lively discussion of a case that was then presented by an MBA student from each table at the event.

Special thanks to RBC Centura for making these events and experiences possible.

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Charlie Fisher of FedEx Kinko’s Addresses MBA Students

The spring 2007 Distinguished Speaker, Charlie Fisher, Senior Vice President of Human Resources of Fed Ex Kinko’s Office and Print Services, spoke to MBA students about the global economy and the changing workforce.

Fisher discussed the history of Kinko’s, from its one-store beginning in 1970 to the present, including 2004 when it was acquired by FedEx. He then began discussing FedEx Kinko’s place in the global economy, as evidenced by Fisher’s January business visit to China. “It is very important to see that we are in a global world…no longer can we look at what is going on around us, and think that is the full picture,” Fisher said.

As a human resources professional, Fisher manages issues relating to the changing workforce. According to Fisher, generational differences between Baby Boomer employers, who seem to have less desire for “work/life balance” than do their Generation X or Millennial employees can contribute to turnover. “Ask about what a day in the life is like, or about how many hours are worked during the week, rather than asking about work/life balance,” Fisher said.

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Recent speakers include...

Shelia B. Ahler Partner, Cherry, Bekaert & Holland
Gayle Lanier Vice President, Nortel Global Corporate Operations
David Strong CEO, Rex Healthcare
Scott M. Custer CEO, RBC Centura Banks Inc.
H. Kel Landis Senior Advisor for Business and Economic Affairs, State of North Carolina
Harvey Schmitt President, Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce

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