Dan Neil Returns to ECU as Cunanan Leadership Series Speaker

Neil reads an excerpt from his Wall Street Journal column to attendees of the Fall 2016 Cunanan Leadership Series event.

On Thursday, November 3^rd, the ECU College of Business happily welcomed back Dan Neil (’82) as the Fall 2016 Cunanan Leadership Series Speaker. Students, faculty, and administrators gathered in Mendenhall Student Center to hear about Mr. Neil’s career as an automotive journalist. Highlights of Mr. Neil’s speech included stories about notable interviews and experiences driving rare and unique vehicles, including the 911 GT3 Hybrid. Mr. Neil also provided insight into the exciting future of the automotive industry, saying “the next ten years will utterly change the auto industry, and I can’t wait to see it.” ECU student Morgan Anderson tweeted that she was particularly impressed by Mr. Neil’s prediction that “in five years, autonomous functionality will be widely available in mainstream cars.”

Faculty were glad to hear Mr. Neil offer career advice. Dr. Amy McMillan especially enjoyed his comments related to following his passion: “It so important for students to hear not just that they should reach for their dreams, but that they can find ways to do so that allow them to pursue a rewarding career as long as they’re willing to lead and manage the process themselves.” As a car critic for the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Neil’s job has allowed him to engage a wide audience with rich stories about the newest cars, but he acknowledged that his writing allows him to tap into something that resonates much more deeply because “this job is culture, it’s history, and it’s business.”

ECU students Anthony Phillips and Skyler Everett listen attentively to Dan Neil’s stories and advice.

The College of Business is grateful to Steve (’87) and Ellen (’88) Cunanan for making the Cunanan Leadership Speaker Series available to the ECU community. The lecture series has and will continue to bring distinguished leaders to Greenville to discussion leadership, professional development, ethics, and the role of business in modern society, so that future students will feel as Mr. Neil does that “the single biggest event that let me to this life was the experience I had at East Carolina University.”

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