ECU College of Business Holds Inaugural Leadership Conference

The College of Business held its first-ever Business Leadership Conference from March 31 to April 1, bringing in local titans of industry to speak to more than 1,000 business students.

More than 1,000 students participate in the college’s first -ever Business Leadership Conference.

Held in Mendenhall Student Center, the conference helped to prepare students for the realities of the business world in a professional conference environment while providing opportunities to interact with ECU’s Business Advisory Council members, esteemed alumni, employers, and community members. The two-day event complemented the intensive leadership preparation that students get throughout their years in the business program.

Presenters came from Dallas, Florida, Atlanta, Charlotte, Washington, D.C. and across the state, traveling at their own cost to speak about their leadership experiences and lessons learned. The conference began with a with a keynote address by ECU Head Football Coach Ruffin McNeill, followed by 35 breakout sessions.

BLC5: ECU Head Football Coach Ruffin McNeill delivers the conference’s keynote address.

McNeill opened the conference by laying out his leadership vision and encouraging students to learn, saying, “There is knowledge everywhere in this room. In every session, there will be something you can use. Grab it, and put it in your toolbox.”

Students chose from breakout sessions including “Lessons in Survival, Life, and Leadership,” “The Grandma Rule and the Importance of People,” “Challenges of Entrepreneurship,” and “Women in Business: How to Jumpstart your Career and Leapfrog the Competition.”

Susan Alt, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs, Volvo Group North America leads a break out session on “How to Sell Your Story and Be Successful.”

Marketing student Casey Adcox said, “There were a lot of great takeaways from the conference. In a  session with Algenon Cash, he spoke a lot about finding yourself regarding your career. He stressed how important it is to identify your purpose and then work toward fulfilling that purpose. A lot of what he spoke about resonated with me not only on a professional level, but on a personal level as well.”

Another student, Caroline Arnold, said, “Listening to Mayor Murphy’s speech really inspired me to go for the things that I want and not be afraid of failure.”

(Left to right) Brandon Tate (MKTG ’95, MBA ’98), CEO of Atlantic Wireless Communications, Inc.; Dr. Jim Westmoreland, Associate Dean of External Affairs in the College of Business; and Mike Aman (MKTG ’81, MBA’83), President of One Source Communication, catch up at the conference.

Stan Eakins, dean of the College of Business, said, “This was a tremendous event that helped to inspire and inform our students, and the presenters touched lives in ways they can’t imagine. ECU is known as the Leadership University, and this event showed that the College of Business is determined to lead from the front in the development of tomorrow’s business leaders.”

Len Rhodes (ACCT ’82, MBA ’99), Director of Technology, Information, and Operations for the ECU College of Business and a Teaching Instructor in the Department of Finance, discusses how students should begin to manage their careers.

The Business Leadership Conference was free for juniors, seniors, and graduate students in the College of Business, made possible by the generosity of sponsors Harry Moser; Phil Tetterton and Keith Harris of Cox Industries; Jim Ward of Ward Holdings LLC; Van Isley of Professional Builders Supply; and Wanda Burgamy of Dell.

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