Dr. Scott Tinker presents at Texas Enterprise speaker series event

Today was one of those days that confirmed my decision to return to McCombs. It was a day of immense learning and education – and ironically all of it came from outside class.

First up was Dr. Scott Tinker discussing the future of energy at a Texas Enterprise lunchtime speaker series event. I love Texas Enterprise, and I was thrilled when I realized my schedule would allow me to attend this presentation. In case you didn’t know it, the University of Texas is a leader in energy education, and McCombs has been stepping things up with the recent launch of the UT Energy Poll.  Having worked in the wind power industry out of undergrad, I am always interested in hearing the latest thoughts and trends about energy. Dr. Tinker was fascinating, and his documentary entitled “Switch” looks equally fascinating.  (The part he showed was shot in India – since I will be going there in March on a global trip, I found this particularly relevant.)

Blaine McPeak, CEO of White Wave, presents to the Marketing Fellows

Later in the day, Marketing Fellows hosted Blaine McPeak, the CEO of WhiteWave Foods. Some of WhiteWave’s brands include Silk, Horizon Organic, and International Delight. He spent two hours with us talking about reframing a brand for growth and providing specific examples from his experience.  The fact that ~20 of us had an intimate conversation with such an accomplished person is somewhat mind-blowing for me. The conversation was so informative, honest, and inspiring.

Helayne Angelus speaks to GWIB

Finally, I attended a Graduate Women in Business speech by Helayne Angelus, Kalypso principal and founder of the Network of Executive Women. It was refreshing to hear a speech from an accomplished woman that emphasized being true to oneself and having fun. She was an impressive, enthusiastic, and funny speaker. Again I left feeling inspired!

It’s crazy to think that I heard all of these amazing speakers in just one day at McCombs. In all honesty, I don’t think this is particularly abnormal either – you just have to be on the lookout and then show up.

Dean Gilligan interviews Indra Nooyi in 2010

Thinking of these speeches reminds me of my favorite speaker I have seen at McCombs. This was in 2010, before I even decided to return to grad school. Luckily my alumni status provided me access to the VIP speaker series.  The speaker(s): Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo, and Dean Tom Gilligan. To be fair, Indra is my idol and seeing her was similar to seeing my favorite band in concert with front row tickets. No, actually, this was better. I credit this event for sparking my interest in getting my MBA.

So there you have it. McCombs = Amazing speakers, insights, and access. I’m glad I have another 1.5 years to take advantage of more!