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October 13, 2008

ULM Business Symposium features business leaders from across the US and World

Students attending the 2008 ULM Business Symposium, themed “Making Tough Choices: The Art of Decision Making,” will benefit from the insights and experience of several distinguished business leaders from such renowned companies as Kraft Foods and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The symposium begins Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 10:30 a.m. and concludes Friday, Oct. 17, with an alumni reception.

Martha Richey, president of Richey Construction Inc. of Shreveport, will begin the symposium with “Decision Making When It’s Your Business” Oct. 15 at 10:30 a.m. in the Construction Building, room 100.

At 6:30 p.m. that evening in the Student Union Building, room A, Stephanie Mocatta and Richard Whatton of Insurance Services Group, London, will discuss “Surviving Very Bad Things that Happen to an Insurance Company: Our Personal Experiences.”

Thursday, Oct. 16’s sessions will occur throughout the day in various locations, beginning at 8:15 a.m. and concluding at 7 p.m. Options for students include:

8:15-9:15 a.m. in the Student Union Building:

• “Financial Structure of Alternative Investment Private Equity Funds” by Jonathan Davies, tax partner for PWC, LLP of Washington D.C.
• “Making Tough Business and Personal Decisions in Sales” by Tim Clow, employed by Kraft Foods Inc. of Bella Vista, Ark.

9:30-10:45 a.m. in the Student Union Building:

• “Decisions and Values” by Bruce Boulware, chief operating officer for O’Melveny and Myers of San Francisco, Calif.
• “Entrepreneurial Challenges: the Launch of a 4X4 Electric Vehicle,” Bill Krutzer, CEO, Stealth Manufacturing, Monroe
• “Decision-Making in Business Negotiations: A Few Thoughts from Experience” by Jeremy Ouchley, legal counsel for US Oncology, Inc, Houston, Texas

11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.: in the Student Union Building:

• “Making Decisions in an International Market” by Albert Ku, president of IntegraSys of Dallas, Texas
• “Top Down vs. Bottom Up Decision Making” by Alan Hebert, executive district sales manager, hospital division, for AstraZenexa
• “Panel – Making the Right Decisions for Your Career” by Mark Robertson of O’Melveny and Myers in New York, Joe Deutsch, the Americas of Monroe, and by Jay Lewis, chief financial officer for Entergy of Jackson, Miss.

2-3:15 p.m. in the Student Union Building:

• “Panel – Making Sound Decisions in the Current Economy” by Barry Higgins, partner for Ranger Advisors of Dallas, Texas, and by Tom Shehane, senior vice president for JP Morgan Chase of Monroe
• “Prioritizing, Organizing and Managing Time” by Teri Fontenot, CEO/president for Women’s Hospital of Baton Rouge

3:30-4:15 p.m. in the Student Union Building:

• “Work-Life Balance: Making the Decision to Have a Life and Career” by Angela McCray and Krystal Pickett of PWC in Dallas, Texas

6-7 p.m. in the Construction Building, room 100:

• “Decision Making in the Construction Industry” by David Dumas, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Brown Builders Inc. of Shreveport

Business insights will continue Friday, Oct. 17, in Brown Auditorium:

9:30-10:30 a.m.:

• “Internship Success Stories” by panelists Ashley Hester, Ashley Murphy, Pat Avinger, and Brian Evans. Ann Smith, ULM director of academic internships, will moderate.

11 a.m.-12 p.m. for the plenary session:

• “Change Management during Market Uncertainty” by Sean Menke, president/CEO for Frontier Airlines of Denver, Colo.

The community is invited to attend all sessions. For a complete schedule of the ULM Business Symposium, visit http://ele.ulm.edu.

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