Rob Carter, Executive Vice President of Information Services and Chief Informaton Officer of FedEx Corporation

by Andrew Baird

The Fall 2011 Fogelman College Executive Speaker Series was capped off on Tuesday, November 14th by Rob Carter, Executive Vice President of Information Services and Chief Informaton Officer of FedEx Corporation. Mr. Carter is a member of FedEx’s five-person Strategic Management Committee, which plans and executes the corporation’s strategic business activities. Mr. Carter is responsible for setting technology direction, as well as FedEx’s key applications and technology infrastructure. Mr Carter joined FedEx in 1993, and he was recently named as part of Fortune Magazine’s Executive Dream Team (http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/news/companies/1108/gallery.dream_team_starting_lineup.fortune/9.html), Mr. Carter is also currently a member of the Saks Inc. and First Horizon Corporation Boards of Directors, and the University of Florida Foundation Board of Trustees.

Born in Taiwan, Mr. Carter is a true citizen of the world and he came to understand and appreciate diverse cultures from a very young age. His talk focused on the importance of personal, business, and technological connections that have long guided our activities in every day life. Mr. Carter stressed the importance of the expansion of networks throughout history and how they have created value for us along the way. We discussed the difference between being a “native” digital versus being a “fluent” digital, and how we may take our own interconnectedness for granted in the constantly evolving digital world.

From discussing the development of network infrastructure to potentia consequences of our hyperconnectivity, Mr. Carter’s discussion with our class was poignant and thought-provoking. He urged us to consider the broader implications of networks and how they impact the flow of ideas, information, and commerce every day around the world. Our time with such an influential and accomplished business leader such as Mr. Carter was a great way to conclude the Fall session of our Lunch-and-Learn series. We are all excited to begin the Spring Series after the start of the second semester, and hope to provide more great blog entries on our next group of speakers.

Steve Bares-Executive Director of the Memphis Bioworks

by Martin Ostmann

On October 4th, 2011 Dr. Steve Bares visited the CDMBA/IMBA lunch speaker series. Dr. Bares is the President and Executive Director of the Memphis Bioworks foundation and has held this role since 2001. Bioworks is a non-profit organization with the mission of expanding the regional bioscience industries. The organization leverages the competitive strengths of the Memphis region in order to build business in three critical areas of bioscience – biomedical, biologistics, and bioagriculture.

 

Dr. Bares spoke with the students about the strategies that Bioworks uses in promoting the growth of the important bioscience sector in Memphis. The foundation helps entrepreneurs obtain critical seed funds and provides office and lab space to grow a new idea before ultimately starting a new company. Bioworks is currently preparing to break ground on a new bioscience research park to be located in the Memphis medical district. The complete, ten year, master plan will include a dedicated, six-story, 165,000-square-foot world-class biotechnology research facility, state-of-the-art laboratory and office buildings, substantial vivarium space, training facilities, meeting space, and an entrepreneurs program to develop new biotechnology businesses and foster the creation of new jobs.

Dr. Bares holds a Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry and an MBA from Oregon State University, and a B.Sc. in Chemistry from Humboldt State University. In addition to Dr. Bares’ leadership of Memphis Bioworks, he has previously served as business manager at International Paper; president, co-founder and VP Marketing/Sales at Sparcom corporation, and program manager at Hewlett Packard.

Thanks to Dr. Bares for taking the time to visit the Fogelman College of Business and Economics and for his continuing service, leadership, and vision to expand Memphis’ bioscience and entrepreneurial landscapes.

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Executive Speaker Series, Mark Colombo

On Tuesday, November 1st, Mark Colombo, Senior Vice President of Solutions and Digital Access for FedEx Services, spoke to our MBA Program about leadership. Through dialogue and several exercises, we learned about the importance, key components, and professional development of leadership within the workplace. Recalling on a past experience he noted, “It’s great to have the knowledge, you want to have all of the necessary tools in your tool box, but it’s what you do with those tools and how you execute that could establish you as a leader. You don’t want to be just a ‘brain on a stick’. It’s really how you collectively move people towards reaching different goals.” These real life experiences, current business issues, and problem solving exercises were perfect for the students to start thinking about direct education application and how they’ll begin shaping their future career paths.

Mark Colombo is senior vice president of FedEx Solutions & Digital Access. He and his teams provide market-leading seamless, customizable digital access to transportation and technology services for FedEx customers. His Solutions teams provide comprehensive support to Sales and the FedEx operating companies, from the design and implementation of integrated transportation solutions, to customer relationship management tools, reporting, information, education and processes that support The FedEx Sales teams.

Since joining FedEx in 2000, Mark has played key roles in Sales, Solutions and Marketing. Prior to joining FedEx, Mark developed broad experience by working in strategy consulting and private equity.  Mark received Bachelor’s degrees in both Economics and Political Science and Master’s Degrees in both Economics and Finance.

Mark is active in the Memphis community and serves as Chairman of Board of Trustees for Bridges, a non-profit organization that builds a community of leaders to advance racial, economic, educational and environmental justice.

By Laura Amole

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Rob Fredericks, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Medtronic Spine & Biologics

by Isaac Walker

On October 11^th, the Fogelman College Executive Lecture Series continued with Rob Fredericks, Vice President of Strategy and Innovation at Medtronic Spine & Biologics. Rob received his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and B.A. in Economics from Rice University, as well as his M.B.A from Wharton.  He also serves as the executive sponsor of Medtronic for the Customer-Driven MBA Program.  In his role as VP of Strategy and Innovation, Rob is responsible for product development strategy and globalization. He has been with Medtronic since 2003 fulfilling roles in the spine, diabetes, and CRDM business units.  He has also held the following positions since joining Medtronic:

•  Director of Cardiac Rhythm Management Customer Strategy

• Director of Patient Management Sales & Marketing

• Sr. Director of Corporate Strategy

• Sr. Marketing Director of Diabetes Western Europe

• Vice President of Finance, Strategy, and Communications

The discussion was very much informal, with everyone in attendance providing him with a little background information as well as from where each considered himself/herself a citizen.  Rob’s workshop focused on how companies, specifically Medtronic, go about building a strategy of globalization.  This topic is particularly relevant to today’s business students. He discussed multiple variables that drive globalization decisions and the importance of shifting away from a US-centric business philosophy in order to capitalize on the ever-expanding opportunities among various world regions.

We would like to again thank Rob for his support of our program, as well as dedication in helping develop the future leaders of industry in the US, and particularly our region!

 

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