James Olson effectively helped AT&T get back into stable conditions during his brief tenure as the CEO of AT&T. He is considered one of the last of his generations as a CEO, this being due to the fact he spent his entire working career, a span of 46 years, working his way up AT&T’s chain of command.
Mr. Olson became an AT&T executive vice president in 1977 and was elected vice chairman in 1979. He became the chairman and chief executive of AT&T Technologies in 1984 and the president and chief operating officer the following year. He was elected chairman in September 1986.
Cyrus Osborn was a manager at General Motors in the 1930s and 1940s. He is best known for inventing the railroad dome car in 1947. Born in Dayton, Ohio, Osborn served in World War I and graduated from the University of Cincinnati with an M.E. degree in 1921. Osborn then started as an apprentice with Dayton Engineering Laboratories (a division of General Motors). He rose through the ranks to manage G.M.’s overseas division, and then became the second in command at G.M.’s Opel division in Germany in 1936.
His leadership of Opel from 1937 to 1940 was marked by increasing controversy as tensions between the United States and Germany increased prior to the outbreak of World War II. Osborn was elected a vice president of the corporation in 1943. He retired from G.M. in 1962 after 45 years of service.
Kirk Perry is president, brand solutions at Google and serves on the board of Hillerich and Bradsby Co. (maker of Louisville Slugger baseball bats). He was president of family care at Proctor & Gamble before being named president, brand solutions at Google.
As head of family care at P&G, Mr. Perry led a unit that included Puffs, Bounty and Charmin, considered one of the company’s more successful business units in recent years. He previously ran P&G’s North American baby care business and had been tapped by former Chairman-CEO Bob McDonald to design one of many company restructuring efforts in recent years before that.
Poe has served as CEO in the insurance industry for 44 years – including 20 years as President and founder of Poe & Associates, a public company and a predecessor to Poe Financial Group. Poe & Associates was the most profitable NASDAQ Company in the country in 1991.
Poe & Associates was the largest property and casualty insurance agency based in the State of Florida and the 12th largest in the United States. Mr. Poe also served two terms as mayor of Tampa from 1974 to 1979.
James Leavell spent forty two years working for Continental Banking in Chicago. The final seventeen years he spent as their president. During his tenure as president, he experienced three different stages in which the banking world was changed; he saw over the loss of prestige in the banking industry, the Great Depression, and the rebirth of faith in the banking industry . He was also a founder of the Association of Reserve City Bankers. Leavell retired at sixty three years of age from the banking industry.
Tom Long announced his retirement as the CEO of Miller Coors Brewing Company in June 2015. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Miller Brewing Company beginning August 1, 2006. Tom then took over as President and COO of the newly formed joint venture between SABMiller and Molson Coors, Miller Coors. He had this position from July 1, 2008 to June 1, 2011.
Brother Long served as Chief Marketing Officer of Miller Brewing Co. since July 2005 and also served as its Executive Vice President. Prior to that, Mr. Long served as President of Northwest Europe Division of Coca-Cola Company since 2003. From 2000 to 2003, Mr. Long served as President of Coca-Cola Great Britain & Ireland Division. He joined Coca-Cola Company in 1988 following stints in brand management and advertising. He began at Coca-Cola’s Atlanta, Georgia headquarters as manager of market planning; and after five years serving in various management positions, he was appointed vice president – 7-Eleven Account Team Worldwide in 1993; and vice president – Wal-Mart Global Account in 1995.
During his tenure at Coca-Cola, Brother Long also served as Vice President of National Sales. From 1997-1998, he served as vice president, director of Marketing Research & Trends and subsequently, Vice President and Director of Strategic Marketing, responsible for the Global Brand Strategy of Coca-Cola, diet Coke, Coke Light, Sprite, Fanta and new brands. He has worked in more than 60 countries in his career.
In 1924, Stanley F. Learned began his 43-year career with Phillips Petroleum Company (Bartlesville, Oklahoma). He was appointed chairman of the company’s corporate operating committee in 1944, and was named vice president of the company in 1949. Learned then became president of Phillips Petroleum Company in 1962 and its chief executive officer in 1964. He led the oil and natural gas company’s expansion to Puerto Rico which was instrumental in Phillips Petroleum becoming one of the nation’s leading international oil companies. He retired from in 1967, but remained on its board of directors until 1970.
In 1971, Learned was awarded the Gas Processors Association’s prestigious Hanlon Award. For his extraordinary service to the University of Kansas, he earned additional honors, including the University Alumni Association’s 1959 Distinguished Service Citation, and its 1975 Fred Ellsworth Medallion for outstanding service. The University’s School of Engineering awarded him its Distinguished Service Award in 1980, and in 1988 awarded him its first life membership in the School. Learned Hall, home of the School of Engineering, was named in his honor in 1966.
A distinguished Ohio State alumnus, “Dick” began his prominent career with Allstate Insurance in 1951 as an underwriter. He held a number of management positions in the company prior to being appointed an officer in 1969. Dick was elected president in 1980, chief operating officer in 1982 and chairman and chief executive officer in October 1986.
He was an internationally recognized leader in the industry and was active in many industry organizations and advisory groups. He served as chairman of the Insurance Information Institute, the Insurance Institute of America and the International Insurance Society. In addition, he served on the Sears Board of Directors and was a board member of the Insurance Services Office.
Following his retirement on June 30, 1989, Dick resided in Dallas where he was the executive in residence at the Southern Methodist University Cox School of Business. He also served as a board member of Guaranty Federal Bank, R.L.I. Insurance Company, the Dallas Opera, the Dallas Museum of Natural History, and was board chair of Communities in Schools.
Bill Harrah stands as one of the most influential figures in gaming history. The company named for him is currently the world’s largest gaming operator, and his focus on efficient management and effective marketing has become the industry standard.
Harrah owned a series of small bingo parlors in downtown Reno. In 1946, he opened a larger gambling hall called Harrah’s Club.
In 1956, Harrah opened a Harrah’s Club at Lake Tahoe. In order to stay open during the slow winter, Harrah inaugurated a bus program that delivered patrons from across northern California to his casino. Both the Reno and Tahoe casinos became extremely successful, and both subsequently added hotels.
Harrah was generally content to let his top executives run daily operations, and devoted much of his time and money to an extensive collection of automobiles that was, at the time of his death, assessed at over $40 million.
In 1971 Harrah’s offered its first stock to the public, and in 1973 it became the first gaming company traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Today, the William F. Harrah College of Hotel Administration is one of the world’s top hotel programs, a legacy truly worthy of this gaming pioneer.
Kevin Hartz is a Co- Founder & Chairman of Eventbrite, a ticketing service that allows people to create and find events all over the world.
Hartz began his career at Silicon Graphics (SGI) as the product manager for Virtual reality browser Cosmo Player. Subsequently, Hartz was a co-founder of ConnectGroup, a startup providing high-speed Internet access to the hotel Industry. Five months after incorporating the company, it was acquired by LodgeNet.
In 2001, Hartz co-founded Xoom, an international money remittance business, along with Alan Braverman. He served as CEO of Xoom until 2005 and served on the Board of Directors of Xoom through its 2012 IPO and subsequent acquisition by PayPal in 2015 for a total equity value of $1.1 Billion.
Hartz founded Eventbrite, the global self-service ticketing platform, in 2006 with his wife Julia Hartz and Renaud Visage. Hartz is currently on the Board of Directors for Eventbrite (Chairman) and Lookout.
