Boston University - Boston University School of Management - Fusing the ART, SCIENCE, and TECHNOLOGY of Business (R)

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Networking with leaders

In the spirit of fostering a vibrant environment for accomplished executives, the program frequently invites leaders in business, government, and academia to speak at the Executive Leadership Center as part of EMBA's executive speaker and alumni lecture series, CEO leadership panel, commencement speakers, and live case development.

Sharing Wisdom. Catalyzing Connections.

Executive Speaker Series

Throughout the program, executives from different industries participate in class and/or special dinner or lunch programs.

Alumni Lecture Series

An active group of EMBA graduates from diverse classes organize an annual lecture for alumni networking and lifelong learning. Past speakers have included:

Kerry Healey Lieutenant Governor Commonwealth of Massachusetts	Richard Doyle CEO Harpoon Breweries
Michael Dukakis Former Governor Commonwealth of Massachusetts Vice-Chair Amtrak Board	Jim Koch Founder; CEO Boston Beer Company
Jack Gill Founder and General Partner Vanguard Venture Partners	William Saunders VP; CIO Honeywell International Inc.
Zoltan Csimma Senior Vice President Genzyme	Winthrop Swenson Managing Director KPMG Integrity Management Services
Phil Catchings Senior Vice President Boston Consulting Group	Al Verrecchia President & CEO Hasbro, Inc.
Bob Zelnick Journalism Chair Boston University Former reporter ABC News	Professor Yves Willems Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium
Michael Dennis VP Worldwide Ops Avaya	Joseph M. Zubretsky EVP; CFO MassMutual Financial Group

CEO Leadership Panel

As part of our third residential week, we invite a panel of CEOs to address our class and join us for dinner. Past speakers have included:

Mary Puma President and COO Axcelis Technologies	Gary Gottlieb President Brigham & Women's Hospital
Jan Eyvin Wang President Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines Americas	Thomas Phillips Retired Chairman of the Board Raytheon Corporation
Peter Browning President; CEO SONOCO	Jeanette Chirico-Post Clinical Manager VA New England Healthcare System
Marshall Carter Former CEO State Street Bank	Thomas Shepherd Managing Director Thomas H. Lee Company
Carol Johnson VP The Gillette Company	Ingar Skaug President; CEO Wilhelmson Lines
Joanna Lau Founder; President; CEO Lau Technologies	Tom Uhlig VP; GM Timken Super Precision
Charles Lax Founder SOFTBANK Capital	Ellen Zane President Partner's Community Health Care, Inc.

Commencement speakers

Our tradition of presenting inspiring commentary continues through graduation with world-class commencement speakers. The themes of leadership, philanthropy, and life balance were woven throughout the commencement ceremonies for the 20th EMBA graduating class.

Commencement speakers have included:

Jose Alvarez President & CEO Stop & Shop/Giant-Landover June 2008	Robert A. Brown President Boston University June 2007	Jim Koch President & CEO The Boston Beer Company June 2006
Phil Marineau CEO Levi Strauss June 2005	Paul Samuelson Economist & Professor Emeritus MIT June 2002	Paul Fireman Chariman; President; CEO Reebok International, Inc. June 1999
Jeanette Horan (EMBA 5) SVP IBM June 2004	Phillip Evans Author of Blown to Bits; VP Boston Consulting Group June 2001	Larry Moulter CEO Bob Woolf Associates June 1998
Jan Eyvin Wang President Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines Americas June 2003	Suzanne Cutler EVP New York Federal Reserve June 2000	Enrique Merielles COO BankBoston June 1997

Live Case Development

Live case development keeps the curriculum highly relevant by focusing on real-world business challenges. For instance, during the second EMBA Residential Week, which focuses on managing organizational change, participants prepare cases that depict an organizational change situation.

We then select situations to serve as "live" cases for the entire class, and invite organizational leaders to join the class for a lively discussion of the issues faced by the protagonists—and to hear the class's recommendations.

Recent Participating Companies: