Keynote Speakers and CEO Dinners

Accompanying the CEO Speaker Series, in which an educational dialogue between a notable entrepreneur/business leader and students is facilitated, the CEO Dinner Series allows club members to interact with exemplary entrepreneurial role models in an intimate setting. Past CEO Dinner Series guests include Sherry Barrat (featured below), and Diane Stover (Vice President of Marketing at Memorial Health System in South Bend). Guest speakers for the 2009 academic year include Jeff Bernel (featured below), Jeff Sucec (Former President of Frontline Group), and Jaime Zobel (Keynote Speaker of the Year 2009, featured below).







Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chairman & CEO, Ayala Corporation

2008 Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society Keynote Speaker: October 16, 2008

2006 Harvard Business School Management Man of the Year

MBA HBS 1987, Harvard College 1981

Mr. Zobel is an internationally renowned businessman and entrepreneur who, among numerous other notable achievements, became the first Filipino to receive the Harvard Business School Alumni Achievement Award for his "entrepreneurial style of management [that] has benefited both Ayala and an island nation that faces significant social and economic challenges." Mr. Zobel will undoubtedly have much to impart to the club both as an entrepreneur and an ethical business role model. Mr. Zobel will arrive on campus at Notre Dame on October 16, 2008 and will serve as the Entrepreneurship Society Fall Keynote Speaker of 2008.

LIFELONG LESSON FROM HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

The ability to find solutions to challenges increases exponentially when you tackle them with a team. Success comes much more easily if you can create the right environment for a group to address issues together.

ADVICE TO STUDENTS

"Never underestimate the importance of the 'softer' management lessons you learn at HBS.the ones that revolve around working with and leading others. As your responsibilities in any organization expand, the people-related issues become increasingly important. The technical tools that seem so important when you are a student will help only up to a point."



Jeffery Bernel, CEO & Chairman of Unitek Solutions, Bernel Investments, and American Rubber Products Corporation

2008 Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society Dinner with the CEO Series

Co-Founder of the Notre Dame Gigot Center of Entrepreneurial Studies

Distinguished Notre Dame Alumni Award Recipient

Not only is Jeff Bernel the chairman of UniTek Sealing Solutions, the founder of Bernel Investments, the former CEO of American Rubber Products, a Professional Specialist in the Mendoza College of Business, and a world-class entrepreneur, he is also the advisor and a valued friend of the Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society. He'll be one of the marquee names of the CEO Dinner Series in the 2009 Academic Year.

Why Entrepreneurship Society?

"I was very impressed with the meeting last night and feel encouraged that entrepreneurship is alive and well at Notre Dame. Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help. Professor Jim Davis and I were the original founders of the Gigot Center, so I have a lot of personal equity in the movement."



Sherry Barrat

President of Personal Financial Services, Northern Trust Company

2008 Entrepreneurship Society Spring Keynote Speaker

The Notre Dame Entrepreneurship Society's Spring of 2008 Keynote Speaker, Sherry Barrat shared her expert insight into the interplay between the corporate environment and entrepreneurship as part of both the CEO Speaker Series and the CEO Dinner Series. An incredible, intelligent, and influential woman of the business world, Mrs. Barrat is a friend of the club. She shared her story and perspectives on leadership as she helped lead a company that protects the wealth of 22% of Forbes. Richest 400 Americans.



Tom Suddes

CHIEF Visionary OFFICER
FOR IMPACT SUDDES GROUP

Tom Suddes has made a name for himself as a thought leader in the nonprofit arena. A coach, trainer, consultant, speaker and writer with over 33 years of experience in development, strategic visioning, campaign management and major gift solicitation, Tom has been labeled radical, whacky, crazy and (what he feels is the highest compliment) "The Tom Peter of the Non-Profit World."

Suddes is widely known as a Maverick and an agent of change. He began his career in the Development Office at the University of Notre Dame in 1973. He eventually became the Director of Development and headed the Campaign for Notre Dame, which raised $180 Million ($50 Million over the $130 Million Goal).

In 1983, he founded The Suddes Group, which managed over 300 campaigns, raised over $1 Billion, and helped generate 3 million new jobs in their work with 125 economic development organizations around the country. In his current role, he acts as Chief Visionary Officer for The Suddes Group and Chief Evangelist for the For Impact Movement. As the "voice" of the For Impact community, Tom lives, plays and coaches at the For Impact Leadership Center just outside Columbus, Ohio. He has made more than 6,000 one-on-one major gift presentations and has trained thousands of "nonprofit" leaders in the art and science of For Impact . and raising more money at a much lower cost.

He speaks and provides training throughout the country for entrepreneurs, sales people and leaders in both the nonprofit and the for-profit sector.

A serial entrepreneur since age 16, Tom has founded 19 businesses. Suddes was the first Entrepreneur-In-Residence at the Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies at Notre Dame; and has taught in the Masters Program at Notre Dame and the Leadership Program at Franklin University.

In 1996, Tom won a Trip Around the World when Success Magazine and Opportunity International awarded him a Trip Around the World to share his Social Entrepreneurial experiences with Third World Micro-Entrepreneurs in Russia, Poland, India, the Philippines and Australia. Tom served in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer, completed Airborne and Pathfinder Schools, and became a Tactical Officer at Officer Candidate School in Fort Benning, Georgia.

A two-time welterweight boxing champion at Notre Dame, Tom has been the boxing coach at Notre Dame for 35 years, returning every year for a six-week "mini-sabbatical" to coach and referee the Bengal Bouts.

Throughout his crazy, eclectic, eccentric life, Tom has been anchored by his wife Trudy and his five children. Now, his three grandchildren, Savannah, Keegan and Calvin are the centerpiece of life on a 50-acre farm/training center outside of Columbus, Ohio.



Chad Troutwine

FOUNDER , VERITAS PREP
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, FREAKONOMICS (the Movie)

2009 Entrepreneurship Society Spring Keynote Speaker

2002 Forbes' Future Capitalist of the Year

Chad Troutwine's desire to create the world's finest GMAT® program came as a surprise to no one. He is the son of successful business owners who nurtured his entrepreneurial spirit and placed a high value on education. Since childhood, Chad has demonstrated a preternatural talent for standardized examinations. In grade school, he recorded a perfect score on the Stanford Achievement Test. Years later, he went on to score in the 99th percentile on the PSAT, ACT, SAT, LSAT, Multistate Bar Examination, and the GMAT®.

Chad graduated from the public school system at sixteen years old and completed a BA at Arizona State University by nineteen. He earned a JD from the University of Missouri, graduating with honors, and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. Throughout, Chad served as a graduate assistant and lecturer. He spent another decade preparing students for the LSAT and GMAT®.

Chad is a gifted public speaker, winning several forensics awards in high school and his law school's moot court competition, where he delivered the final argument to the Chief Justice of the Missouri Supreme Court. Four years later, he and three classmates represented Yale at the annual Harvard Business School/Yale School of Management debate.

Chad is the co-founder and owner of Veritas Prep, a recognized leader in standardized test preparation and graduate school admissions consulting. Veritas Prep operates in 60 cities around the world and employs more than 150 graduates of the world's elite MBA programs. He is also a co-founder and owner of Spectrum Station, one of the largest and most innovative early education centers in the United States.

Chad Troutwine is also a celebrated entrepreneur and Executive Producer. His films have premiered at the world's most prestigious film festivals: Cannes, Sundance, Toronto, and Venice. Chad has produced independent films that have featured more than a dozen Academy award-winning actors and directors.

Chad is an attorney and received his MBA with distinction from Yale University. Prior to that, he established an advocacy scholarship in the name of his parents at the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, where he graduated with honors. In recognition of his achievements, Forbes magazine named Chad their Forbes Future Capitalist for 2002.

He lives in Malibu, California.

Did you know?

  • 85% of Members desire an opportunity to have dinner with the CEO..
  • 88% of Members cherish the opportunity of listening to presentations by accomplished executives about their entrepreneurial and leadership experiences.

Getting To Know

Christine Lynch

Role:
Vice President of Education,Marketing, and Corporate Development
Hometown:
Colts Neck, NJ
Major:
Marketing, Sociology
Contact:
clynch3@nd.edu

Why Entrepreneurship Society?

"I wanted to become more involved in business-related clubs and the name sounded interesting. I really had no idea what to expect. I started with taking a plunge with a case study on Facebook, which opened numerous doors for my future leadership involvement. Through that project, I met quite a few new people and members in the club. From that point on, I wanted to be part of it. This past spring, I was the Intra-School relations officer where I worked with the "Road Show" by spreading the brand name in classrooms and to dorms. Now I'm working on other marketing-related initiatives. The club has been a great experience to meet people and improve my personal and professional skills at multiple levels."