Conversation On Leadership Highlights April 29 Alumni Event In New York City
Penn State’s Smeal College of Business invites Smeal alumni to join the college’s Board of Visitors at 5:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Manhattan headquarters of Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation for the finale event of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, entitled “Conversation with Business Leaders.”
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (February 27, 2004) – Penn State’s Smeal College of Business invites Smeal alumni to join the college’s Board of Visitors at 5:30 p.m. on April 29 at the Manhattan headquarters of Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation for the finale event of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, entitled “Conversation with Business Leaders.”
Free to all alumni, this networking opportunity will feature a moderated discussion on identifying talent and leadership in today’s corporate world. Joining in the conversation will be Randy Battat, president and CEO of wireless Internet company Airvana; Stephen W. Delaney, CEO of electronics manufacturer Celestica; and John Thompson, vice chairman of executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. The program will touch upon many topics including the intricacies of matching an individual to the needs of an organization and the CEO’s evaluation process of the leadership opportunity.
Battat directs the overall operations of Airvana, which develops equipment to support wireless Internet. Before joining the company he was senior vice president and general manager of the Internet and Networking Group at Motorola, responsible for a full line of wireline and wireless access solutions, broadband communications, corporate networking, wireless content services and platform software. Prior to Motorola, he spent 13 years at Apple Computer where he held several strategic positions, including vice president of the PowerBook Division, and vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing.
Delaney has been Celestica's chief executive officer since January 2004. He is responsible for charting Celestica's course and overall company strategy. Prior to this position, he was president of Americas operations, where he was responsible for Celestica's operations in this region. Before joining Celestica in 2001, Delaney was the vice president and general manager of Interior and Exterior Systems Business at Visteon Automotive Systems, where he was responsible for a division with 25 plants and 25,000 employees spanning North and South America, Europe, and Asia. Prior to joining Visteon in 1997, as vice president of Supply, Delaney held executive and senior management roles in the operations of AlliedSignal's Electronic Systems business, Ford's Electronics division, and IBM's Telecommunications division.
A former member of the Executive Committee of the Heidrick & Struggles Board of Directors, Thompson serves as a focal point for chief executive officer, chief operating officer, and board of director assignments for the firm. His clients have included Dell Computer, Intuit, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP, and Google to name just a few. Along with being recognized by clients and peers as one of the country’s most respected executive search consultants, BusinessWeek also recognized Thompson as one of the top 25 power brokers in the technology industry.
"Conversation with Business Leaders" Details:
Time: 5:30 p.m.
Date: Thursday, April 29
Place: Credit Suisse First Boston Corporation, One Madison Avenue, New York City
Attire: Business
RSVP: By April 16.
For more information or to RSVP, call Brenda Kephart at 814-863-0448 or e-mail bew3@psu.edu.
