Red McCombs (left) talks with Dean Tom Gilligan. Photo by Robert Shaw.

“Access McCombs: A Candid Conversation with Dean Gilligan and Red McCombs” was held at McCombs Enterprises in San Antonio on March 25. In an intimate setting, Red McCombs (left) shared stories from his life and his insights on the economy and politics with Dean Gilligan and more than 50 area alumni. They discussed numerous topics including McCombs’ keys to success, leadership, the economy, the auto industry, work/life balance and philanthropy. In this clip, McCombs comments on the current recession. “There is so much productivity built in to the American way that we’ll work our way through this,” he said. McCombs thinks an area of opportunity today is in improving customer service. “Automation has done it thing. It’s time for people to get back to providing personal service,” he said. ”And the people who do that are going to do well at it. Because we’ve missed it enough, now we’ll pay for it.”

The rest of the interview can be found at the McCombs Alumni Network blog.

“I thought it was great to hear Mr. McCombs speak on pressing issues facing our economy and about his road to success. The event was first class, and it was nice opportunity to visit with McCombs staff and fellow alumni.” – Neal Meadows, BBA ’95, MPA ’97