This fall, Mays Business School at Texas A&M University has initiated the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series as a forum to present distinguished scholars from an array of business disciplines.
Grossing more than $85 million in revenue per year, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo isn’t merely carnivals, country stars, and cowboys. It’s a well-oiled business strategically managed to ensure top-notch entertainment each year, thanks to CEO and president Skip Wagner.
Paul Kruse ’77 says he’d go to work everyday even if they didn’t pay him. This sounds like extreme dedication to his business, but once you hear about what Kruse does for a living, you’ll volunteer for his job, too: he is the president and CEO of Blue Bell Creameries, maker of the iconic Texas brand, Blue Bell Ice Cream.
From work-life balance to earning the respect of colleagues in a male-dominated industry, Hallie Vanderhider, president and chief operating officer for Black Stone Minerals, knows the obstacles that come with establishing a career—and being a business woman.
Entrepreneur Dr. Nancy Chang says she never considered failure to be a possibility when she leveraged all she had to launch her own pharmaceutical company, Tanox, Inc., in 1986. Though it wasn’t until 2003 that the drug she set out to produce was approved by the FDA and a few years later before it found commercial success, Chang says she was never afraid of failure during the long wait.
When you think of buying office supplies, what comes to mind? Bob Thacker hopes it’s dancing elves, giant rubber band balls, and a penny tray the size of a swimming pool. Thacker, the senior vice president of marketing and advertising at OfficeMax, says that when it comes to building a brand, if you don’t have big bucks, you’d better have big ideas.
Because of the constant threats and pressure to forget the ethics in decision-making, many business professionals let their morals take a backseat to the thirst for success. Will there ever be a remedy to bring ethics back to business? According to Mike Albe ’88, VP controller for Catapult Systems, the Aggie Honor Code is the simplest solution.
The end is near, says Ken Lewis, chairman and CEO of Bank of America. No, not the end of the world—the end of the U.S. recession. Last week, Lewis shared insights on the economy from his unique perspective as leader of the largest bank in the nation with students at Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School.
Instead of asking his audience to silence their cell phones before his presentation, Rick Lindner, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer of AT&T, told students at Mays Business School the opposite.
Though James Royce Whatley ’47 was a brilliant businessman whose successful career spanned four decades, it is not his financial acumen he is remembered for. Instead, Whatley’s legacy is a history of philanthropy that has touched the lives of countless thousands, including students at Texas A&M University.
