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Date ArticleType
8/29/2012 General

ND and IU South Bend Present Entrepreneurial Lecture Series

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University of Notre Dame and IU South Bend Present Entrepreneurial Lectures Series

Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame's entrepreneurship center brings in a varied group of entrepreneurs for its fall lecture series
The lineup of speakers for the 2012 Entrepreneurial Insights series at the University of Notre Dame includes a broad range of expertise and ventures, from Emerson Spartz, the founder of a popular Harry Potter website, to Jimmy John Liautaud of the sandwich-chain fame, to social entrepreneurs who blazed new paths in using business as a force for good.

The annual fall speaker series, organized by the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurship at the Mendoza College of Business, features entrepreneurs, investors, innovators and business leaders who offer their experience and advice in areas critical to the creation of new ventures, the ongoing viability of existing business, economic growth and the betterment of society.
Lectures are held on select Tuesdays from 5-6:15 p.m. in the Mendoza College’s Jordan Auditorium and include a Q&A session at the end of the talk. The series is free and open to the public, as well as the students, faculty and staff of the Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College and Holy Cross College community.

The entrepreneurs represent industries including retail, solar energy, food, manufacturing, consumer products, travel and financial services.
“We have a powerful mix of entrepreneurs – serial, corporate and social – from a broad base of industries and types of businesses, from young to well-established,” said Michael Vogel, entrepreneur-in-residence and instructor at the Gigot Center. “The talks provide a great opportunity to learn first-hand from people who have navigated the startup experience and continue to lead ventures on scales that range from local to global, digital to bricks-and-mortar, small to employing thousands.”

Additional speakers include Sarah Robb O’Hagan, president of both Gatorade North America and Pepsico Global Sports Nutrition, and Chuck Allen, executive chairman of 105-year-old Sloan Valve Company, along with his three sons who serve as co-presidents and CEOs in the family business.
Three speakers have developed successful social ventures, which is a type of entrepreneurship gaining increasing attention as individuals look for ways to impact social issues through commercial enterprise. Examples include Better World Books, which was founded by three Notre Dame students, and Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE), a venture founded by a Notre Dame alumna that is dedicated to women’s hygienic needs in developing countries. SHE recently won the prestigious Curry Stone Design Prize.
The complete Entrepreneurial Insights schedule is as follows:

• Sept. 4: David Brenner, executive director of Innovation Park at Notre Dame; “Innovation Park and Entrepreneurial Business Creation.” The talk will include presentations from three Innovation Park startup ventures.
• Sept. 11: Charles DelGrande, managing director of Global Head-Technology, Media and Interactive Services at C.W. Downer & Co.; “The Top Nine Habits of Wildly Successful Technology Entrepreneurs”
• Sept. 18: Chuck Allen, executive chairman of Sloan Valve Company, and sons Jim, Graham and Kirk, all co-CEOs and co-presidents; “Keeping a 105-Year-Old Family Business Innovative and Entrepreneurial”
• Sept. 25: Frank J. Belatti, managing partner and co-founder of Equicorp Partners, along with Michael Belatti, research analyst for Equicorp, and Melissa Paulsen, program manager of social entrepreneurship for the Gigot Center; “Social Entrepreneurship: The Practical Side and New Business Models for Developing Economies”
• Oct. 2: Emerson Spartz, CEO of Spartz Media and founder of Mugglenet.com; “Spartz: How it Became a Successful Business and What is Next?”
• Oct. 9: Jimmy John Liautaud, founder and CEO of Jimmy John’s; “My Story: Jimmy John Liautaud: Founder of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches”
• Oct. 23: Elizabeth Scharpf, founder and chief instigating officer of Sustainable Health Enterprises (SHE); “SHE: Beginning, Now and the Future”
• Oct. 30: Sarah Robb O’Hagan, president of Gatorade North America and Pepsico, Global Sports Nutrition
• Nov. 6: T.J. Kanczuzewski, founding member and president of Inovateus Solar LLC; “How We are Managing a Rapidly Growing Solar Energy Startup”
• Nov. 13: John C. Kennedy, founder, president and CEO of Autocam Corporation; “Being a Serial Entrepreneur”
• Nov. 27: John Anthony, founder, president and CEO of Anthony Travel; “Taking Care of Our Customers: From Notre Dame Football in Ireland, to Duke Basketball in Dubai and Everywhere Else”
• Dec. 4: Christopher “Kreece” Fuchs, co-founder and vice president of global logistics at Better World Books, along with Andrew Perlmutter, president and CEO, and David Murphy, former president and CEO; “Better World Books: The Start, the Growth, the Future”

More information about the series, including speaker bios, is available online

IU South Bend

The Indiana University South Bend School of Business and Economics will present the annual Entrepreneurship Lecture Series beginning on Sept. 6 with Mark Tarner, president of South Bend Chocolate. His topic will be “Celebrating the Soul of our Economy: Entrepreneurship.”

This is the 10th year for the lecture series that brings local entrepreneurs into the classroom to discuss business development from the ground up. Each speaker is selected to share his or her story of entrepreneurial success.

The theme this year is “Celebrating Entrepreneurship.” The topics include lean evolution, failure and turnaround strategies, the journey of invention, staying motivated, successes and pitfalls, entrepreneurship rebirth and financing.

Each lecture begins at 7 p.m. on Thursdays from Sept. 6 through Nov. 15 in Room 1001, Wiekamp Hall, which is adjacent to the parking garage on the corner of Mishawaka Avenue and 20th Street.

The lectures are free and open to the public. The series is also part of the MBA program and an undergraduate concentration in entrepreneurship.

The series has been sponsored by Lake City Bank for 10 years and is supported by the Chamber of Commerce of St. Joseph County.

Dean Rob Ducoffe of the School of Business and Economics said he is proud to bring local entrepreneurs, students and the public together to discuss this area of business. “Each fall semester for 10 years, the Lake City Bank Entrepreneur Series permits the School of Business and Economics to feature Michiana’s most successful business leaders in lectures open to undergraduates, master’s students, and members of the community.”

Ducoffe said the series teaches students and the community about “creating and managing enterprises that generate wealth and improve our quality of life. It is a partnership for which we are truly grateful and one that I hope lasts many years into the future.”

The other dates, lecture speakers, and topics are: Sept. 13, Jonathan Lutz, owner of Uptown Dining Group, and Carrie Hille, executive assistant of Uptown Dining Group, “Eat Well, Drink Well & Be Happy”; Sept 20, Dennis Kerbrdle, managing partner, Chikol, “Entrepreneurial Failure and Turnaround Strategies”; Sept. 27, Larry Davis, president, Daman Products, “The Lean Evolution: Creating an Entrepreneurial Environment”; and Oct. 4, Tim Abbott, business advisor with the Small Business Development Center, “ The Journey of Invention: From Idea to Market.”

The other lectures will be: Oct. 11, Rob Bartels Jr., president and CEO of Martin’s Super Markets, Inc., “The Joy of Entrepreneurship Capitalism”; Oct. 18, Perry Watson III, president, Lexus of Mishawaka, “Staying Motivated for Success”; Oct. 25, Amish Shah, president, Kem Krest, “Success and Pitfalls”; Nov. 1, Rich Carlton, president and CEO, Data Realty, “Studebaker to Ignition Park: Can South Bend have an Entrepreneurial Rebirth?”; Nov. 8, Terry Bush, director business development and human resource services, Kruggel Lawton & Co., “People Power: Harnessing the Strength of Human Resources in Entrepreneurial Companies”; and “Nov. 15, Mike Kubacki, president and CEO, Lake City Bank, “ I Want the Money Now!”