Category: Events

Posted on

Hruby brings technical, business expertise to CEO Summit keynote

Dennis Hruby headshot
SIGA Chief Scientific Officer and CEO Summit Keynote Speaker Dennis Hruby.

Every day a host of great ideas swirl around college campuses.

While many become research papers, inventions or other innovative creations, there’s a major push now to also find some to become products, startups and companies that can help the economy and create jobs.

Oregon State recently launched its own initiative, the OSU Advantage, which includes a Venture Accelerator to help find OSU research and technologies that are possible candidates for commercialization.

That process of finding ways to partner universities and industry is the focus of the upcoming Oregon CEO Summit, May 7 at the Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront.

Giving the keynote will be SIGA Chief Scientific Officer Dennis Hruby, who brings an impressive breadth of experience to the discussion.

Hruby received his Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Colorado Medical Center and holds an undergraduate degree in Microbiology from Oregon State University.

A specialist in poxviruses, virology and anti-infective research, Hruby spent more than 25 years as a faculty member and other positions with Oregon State University. He’s worked with SIGA since 1996 in a variety of roles including senior scientific advisor, Vice President of Research and now as CSO.

SIGA works to create products for the prevention and treatment of serious infectious diseases, including those that may be used as biological weapons.

With its corporate headquarters in New York, SIGA decided to keep its research and development labs in Corvallis in part because of the access to the facilities, technology and expertise at Oregon State.

That has helped SIGA develop innovative solutions and grow profits, which benefits the company, the university and Oregon’s economy.

Hruby will discuss the genesis of one recent project, and how the partnership between SIGA and Oregon State helped the company produce an effective treatment for a deadly disease.

The Summit will also feature a panel discussion with Oregon leaders in technology and education on the importance of industry partnerships with universities. Panelists include:

Mary Coucher, vice president of IP engineering, operations and geography licensing for IBM Corporation, will serve as the moderator for the discussion.

For more information and to register, go to http://business.oregonstate.edu/CEOSummit

Posted on

College of Business community celebrates Austin Hall construction launch

College of Business seniors Josh Gilardi and Kayla Pearce unveil the sign for the Austin Hall construction site.

Friday afternoon, with a late bit of sun peaking through after early morning clouds, the Oregon State University College of Business community took a moment to celebrate the construction launch of Austin Hall, the new home for the College of Business that will open in Fall 2014.

That community included not just current students and faculty but alumni, friends, family and those invested in Oregon and its continued economic growth – and it was a capacity crowd with more than 300 people in attendance.

“The dream and this journey to Austin Hall has been a vision of so many alumni and donors for many years and I have had the privilege of carrying this dream and sharing the story of the College, of Bexell Hall, of the people and the programs,” College of Business Dean Ilene Kleinsorge told the crowd assembled on 26th Street to see the official launch.

The lead gifts came from two storied OSU families, those of Ken and Joan Austin and the Al and Pat Reser. Together they pledged a combined $16 million — $10 from the Austin’s themselves — to kick off the campaign.

Then Friday Kleinsorge announced that 1965 College of Business graduate and E*TRADE co-founder Bernie Newcomb raised his already substantial gift of $250,000 to $1 million, becoming the sixth to pledge at least $1 million.

Benny the Beaver holds a thank you to College of Business alumnus and Austin Hall donor Bernie Newcomb.

Newcomb has been a strong supporter of the College of Business for many years.

Friday Newcomb’s partner Gerry Marshall was in attendance at the construction launch. She also took time to visit with COB faculty and staff picked as Newcomb Fellows and the students supported by the Newcomb Family Scholarship.

Newcomb’s gift pushed the campaign past its original $30 million philanthropic goal, a major milestone as the campaign continues toward the Fall 2014 completion of Austin Hall.

Ken Austin and Benny Beaver

Throughout the afternoon different members of community took turns to share their thanks and what the new building will mean to them.

Oregon State University President Ed Ray addressed the gathering, and noted that while many buildings at OSU have names on them, Austin Hall will be a fitting tribute for a great OSU family.

“I can’t think of a name other than Austin we could be prouder of being on this building,” Ray said.

College of Business student Connor Deeks after the Austin Hall construction launch ceremony Friday April 19, 2013.

College of Business student Connor Deeks shared testimonials from his fellow students, from bringing together students, alumni and faculty into a single space to the creation of a landmark students could point to as a point of pride.

“Austin Hall will propel students to achieve their highest potential,” Deeks said. “I take great honor in saying thank you.”

Representing the state of Oregon, state Treasuer Ted Wheeler pointed out that while Austin Hall was a great moment for OSU, it would pay dividends for the entire state economy by helping to better prepare graduates to contribute in the workforce.

“[Austin Hall] is the kind of thing we need to invest in now to continue the economic development of our state,” Wheeler said.

You can continue to follow the progress of Austin Hall by going to business.oregonstate.edu and clicking on the live webcam, where you can watch the construction as it happens

Joan Austin (left) speaks after the Austin Hall construction launch Friday APril 19, 2013.
Posted on

MBA teams make the pitch at annual Business Plan Competition

It’s the dream of every entrepreneur looking to fund a new startup. You’re holding the elevator door open and in walks the investor you’ve been waiting for.

What do you say? Well, after watching the 11th annual Oregon State MBA Business Plan Competition Thursday night, here are some possible strategies:

  • Go right into the pitch, and wow them with your market research.
  • Take a quick phone call on a successful test of your product.
  • Start with an icebreaker, such as “Hey, my power was out last night, how about yours?” or “There’s a gas station down the street. The pump has one slot for your credit card and one for your 401K.”
  • Oh, and whatever you chose from above, don’t forget a business card.

Each year the Oregon State MBA Integrated Business Project teams take a real-world technology and spend nine months developing a commercialization plan around it, whether that’s a new company, product, licensing agreement or other plan.

The Business Plan Competition gives the teams a chance to present those plans in front of not only their teachers, advisors and other business professionals but the friends and family members who have watched the entire journey.

Thursday’s competition included a five-minute “Shark Tank”-style pitch to introduce the teams and technologies and the Elevator Pitch, which gave a team member 45 seconds to wow a potential investor.

Each team took a different approach, trying to get the investor’s attention while showing the best their business plan had to offer.

In the end the team of Eric Revell, Bi Tran, Raymond McGuinness, Edward Brown and Kelong Kim took first place for their presentation, including the Elevator Pitch from Brown.

In second was Yi Zhuang, josh McBee, Amanda Williams, Adam Welch and Sarah Che. Third place went to Chalo Masias, Ryan Meyer , Jenny Cheung and Michael Knapp.

Posted on

Nominations open for 2013 Excellence in Family Business Awards

Former Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh accepting an Excellence in Family Business Award for the Atiyeh Oriental Rugs family.
Former Oregon Governor Vic Atiyeh accepting an Excellence in Family Business Award for the Atiyeh Oriental Rugs family at the 2012 awards ceremony.

Looking back more than 10 years after her business received an Excellence in Family Business Award, Lori Luchak can still remember the feeling of the ceremony.

Luchak, President of Miles Fiberglass & Composites, said being named a Family Business of the Year by the Austin Family Business program in 1999 not only gave her sense of validation for her family’s hard work, but a chance to reflect.

“The Austin Family Business Award allowed our family to celebrate the joy of being a family business and forget about the hard work of balancing family and business for one special night,” Luchak said.

Fruithill, Inc., started in 1919 in Yamhill, Ore. The farm grows cherries, plums, hazelnuts, wine grapes and other crops, and last year was named the Small Family Business of the Year.

Linda Schrepel, a member of Fruithill’s third-generation, said participating in the awards helped the family connect with the history of the business and the family.

“I like that in a way we were forced to put together our family history because now it is together,” she said. “The history is down and it’s there for generations to read.”

The program is currently accepting nominations for the 2013 Excellence in Family Business Awards.  To nominate a business, fill out the online form, or visit the Excellence in Family Business Awards website for more information.

Deadline for nominations is April 1. Businesses may still apply for the awards without being nominated before May 1.

Now in their 25th year, the awards honor innovative family businesses from around the Northwest who demonstrate innovation, entrepreneurship and a commitment to community involvement.

More than 180 companies have been honored in this peer-reviewed competition since the awards were first presented in 1988.

 

Posted on

2013 Weatherford Awards: Cloudkick

To celebrate the 2013 Weatherford Awards, we’re profiling each of the honorees here at the College of Business blog. Today are Dan Di Spaltro, Alex Polvi and Logan Welliver, the founders of Cloudkick. For more information about the awards and links to other honoree profiles as they’re posted, check out our introduction to the series.

For Alex Polvi, entrepreneurship comes down to one simple phrase:

“Just go for it.”

That’s exactly what he and fellow Oregon State alumni Dan Di Spaltro and Logan Welliver did after graduating from OSU.

In 2008, the trio moved to Silicon Valley and created Cloudkick, a startup dedicated to helping customers better manage their cloud computing resources.

Exactly two years later they were finalizing the sale of the startup to Rackspace, the second-largest cloud-computing company in the world.

All three took a risk, driven by a desire to do something they loved with the skills they had acquired at OSU. Now, just more than five years removed from graduation, the group has cemented their reputations as innovative entrepreneurs.

The story of Cloudkick began before OSU, when Polvi and Welliver met growing up in McMinnville, Oregon.

At OSU Polvi studied computer science, where he met Di Spaltro, while Welliver pursued graphic design.

Polvi says working in the Open Source Lab at OSU gave him the skills he needed to land internships with Mozilla and Google and eventually his first job out of school.

After graduating, Di Paltro and Polvi moved to San Jose, California. A year out of school the pair decided to start a new venture, and Polvi called Welliver to join them.

“It sounded like a good opportunity, and I knew Alex well enough to trust his nose for business, so I flew down to San Jose to meet with him and Dan,” Welliver remembers. “After that meeting, I closed up shop in Portland and moved down to San Jose to give it a shot.”

Di Spaltro and Polvi created the technical aspects of the project while Welliver used his graphic design talents to make the final product visually appealing and intuitive for users.

After participating in the Y Combinator accelerator program in 2009, the company launched and started its ascent in the cloud-computing world.

Less than a year later the company had grown to 12 employees — including six OSU alumni.

In December of 2011, Rackspace acquired Cloudkick, capping an amazing journey for the startup and its three founders.

Looking back, Polvi says the group had its share of luck, but they made it possible by following their passions and starting something of their own.

“Just the fact that we started a company in the first place positioned us to have 20 times more luck than someone who didn’t,” Polvi said.

Welliver said his main piece of advice for students and young entrepreneurs is to start working on what they love now instead of waiting for more favorable conditions.

“If you’re truly passionate about something, start working on it today,” Welliver said. “I hear too many people endlessly pitching ideas instead of building them. Executing a poor idea has infinitely more value than postulating you have a great one.”

Posted on

2013 Weatherford Awards: Dr. Albert Starr

To celebrate the 2013 Weatherford Awards, this week we’re profiling each of the honorees here at the College of Business blog. Today is Dr. Albert Starr. For more information about the awards and links to other honoree profiles as they’re posted, check out our introduction to the series.

Dr. Albert Starr, courtesy OHSU
Dr. Albert Starr, courtesy OHSU

While all innovators have pressure to succeed, few work with the possibility of actually saving a life with their inventions.

Those were the stakes for Dr. Albert Starr just more than 50 years ago as he and co-creator Miles Lowell Edwards developed the first artificial heart valve.

On September 21, 1960, Dr. Starr and his surgical team successfully implanted the first heart valve. Since the valve’s first use, heart valve replacement surgery has saved millions of lives, giving hope to those with heart disease.

“Up until that point those patients were doomed to progressively worse heart failure, medication and spiral toward death,” heart surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Swanson told the Portland Business Journal in 2000.

Today, life-saving heart valve replacement surgery is performed 300,000 times each year around the globe, with more than 90,000 of those operations taking place in the U.S.

“Valve replacement turned the corner of cardiac surgery enormously,” Dr. Starr said. “It was the first implantable life sustaining cardiac device. And before that we were nibbling around the outside of the heart but nothing was put inside. This was the first life sustaining device.”

Dr. Starr came to Oregon in 1958 after graduating from Columbia College (now Columbia Univeristy) in New York. Soon after Dr. Starr was approached by Edwards, a retiring mechanical engineer, about the possibility of creating an artificial heart.

Dr. Starr, seeing an entire heart as too much for their first attempt, suggested the smaller but still never-accomplished task of an artificial heart valve.

Just two years later, after an exhaustive testing and selection course, Dr. Starr performed the first of thousands of valve implantation surgeries.

“I’ve done 8,000-9,000 heart surgeries during my career,” Dr. Starr said. “Actually, at one time I had callouses on my fingers from handling instruments all of the time.”

That drive has kept Dr. Starr a pioneer in the field. In 2007 he was named a winner of the Albert Lasker Award for Clinical Medical Research.

Even today, 50 years after his initial breakthrough, Dr. Starr continues to push for innovations in treatment.

Recently he took on a new role at OHSU. A historic $125 million gift from Nike founder Phil Knight and his wife Penny established the OHSU Knight Cardiovascular Institute and Dr. Starr and Dr. Sanijiv Kaul were chosen to lead the Institute that will bring clinicians and researchers together to take lab discoveries and turn them into new treatments for heart disease.

Posted on

Students “envision tomorrow” at SDHE Career Symposium

Students talk to business representatives and alumni during a session at the SDHE Career Symposium.
Students talk to business representatives and alumni during a session at the SDHE Career Symposium.

Students of the School of Design and Human Environment got an opportunity to start building their future Thursday at the school’s annual Career Symposium.

Held at the CH2M Hill Alumni Center, the 27th annual event connected students with Oregon State alumni and representatives from industry leaders such as adidas, Columbia Sportswear, Nike and many more.

“As internship coordinator, this is when it all comes together, to see the students in action,” said Sandy Burnett, SDHE senior instructor and internship coordinator. “Almost every year you see students making those connections for internships.”

Titled “Envision Your Tomorrow,” this year’s symposium was also special as it was the first year the event was student-organized.

“This year we all agreed to give that project management experience to the students,” Burnett said.

OSU student Demarcus Gentle listens during a session at the SDHE Career Symposium.
OSU student Demarcus Gentle listens during a session at the SDHE Career Symposium.

College of Business Dean Ilene Kleinsorge set the tone in her opening remarks, reminding students the work they put in that morning could have a major impact on their opportunities after graduation.

“Today is important for you and your future,” Kleinsorge said as she helped welcome students. “The career preparation you do as a student the netowrking and oportunites you create for yourself are a valuable part of the experiential learning that will help you establish your carrer. And I differentiate a job and a career.”

The event provided plenty of chances for students to connect with companies and alumni in a number of different ways. Students could find their favorite alumni or business in the main ballroom for networking or to talk job and internship opportunities, while side sessions allowed smaller groups to dive into topics such as branding and creating a professional identity.

In a session on starting your own business, Oregon State alumni Leanna Petrone, owner of Leanna NYC, and Jillian Rabe, owner of Jillian Rabe LLC, talked about their paths to entrepreneurship.

Petrone worked in the New York fashion industry for 12 years after graduating from OSU with a BS in Apparel Design and a minor in Merchandising Management before realizing her dream was to own her own business, like both her parents did. She said the process is more work than she imagined, but fulfilling in a way her previous jobs weren’t.

“Every day, week, month, year, I’m on,” Petrone said. “But every day I do what I love.”

Alumni and business owner Jillian Rabe speaks at a entrepreneurship talk at the SDHE Career Symposium.
Alumna and business owner Jillian Rabe speaks at a entrepreneurship talk at the SDHE Career Symposium.

Rabe — whose company produces fashion shows, video and photo shoots and other events and marketing services — graduated from OSU with a degree in speech communication an psychology. She quickly realized she had other interests, and eventually went into business for herself.

“No one is going to work as hard for you as you are,” Rabe said.

Posted on

2013 Weatherford Awards: Don Robert

To celebrate the 2013 Weatherford Awards, this week we’re profiling each of the honorees here at the College of Business blog. Today is Experian LLC CEO Don Robert. For more information about the awards and links to other honoree profiles as they’re posted, check out our introduction to the series.

Experian, LLC, CEO Don Robert
Experian, LLC, CEO Don Robert

Looking only at Don Robert’s title, one may not immediately think of entrepreneurship.

But as CEO of Experian, LLC, the world’s largest credit services company, Robert must constantly be on the lookout for the next great idea and foster an environment that encourages and rewards innovation.

“I really think that defines entrepreneurship, constantly having to make left-hand turns and constantly having to reinvent the plan as you go along,” Robert said.

A native Oregonian, Robert grew up in North Portland and attended Oregon State, where he earned a degree in business administration.

“I got a great business education at Oregon State and it stood me in good stead when I graduated and entered banking,” Robert said. “I had fantastic professors. Two or three who were particularly noteworthy, and I still think about and I still have their books on my bookshelf at home.”

Robert was also introduced to the idea of leadership at Oregon State thanks to his roommate, then-ASOSU President Jeff Strickler.

Strickler made sure Robert was involved and active, encouraging him to join the Memorial Union Program Council and other student activities.

“Jeff dragged me into a lot of activities on the periphery of student activities and student government and it was in those activities I became more comfortable with the idea of leadership,” Robert said.

From Oregon State Robert went straight into the business world, excelling at every step.

Starting at US Bancorp and then First American, Robert advanced to become a Group Executive.

In 2001 he joined Experian as Chief Operating Officer in North America, before becoming North American CEO and eventually Group CEO.

At each stop he worked hard to expand his skillset. Robert learned how to be an effective communicator, a strong leader and a pragmatic executive.

At Experian, Robert said one of his major goals as CEO is creating an environment that makes it possible to develop and support the ideas that become new Experian products.

“Institutional innovation and a big part of my job is to create a platform where we allow the best ideas to come forward, to be developed, to be bankrolled and put into the marketplace at a very rapid pace, because one of the primary growth vehicles we have in the company is bringing new products into the marketplace,” he said.

Robert said a major entrepreneurial challenge for Experian has been moving into new markets, such as India and Columbia. Both areas required new solutions and quick thinking to make the endeavors successful.

“We’ve had to create new products, throw away our original business plans,” Robert said. “We’ve had to raise financing locally. We’ve had to do things we didn’t anticipate.”

Robert’s advice for current students is to find something they’re passionate about, work harder than anyone else to get it, but not to be afraid to fail along the way.

“You never learn and you never grow when everything is going great,” he said. “It’s only during the tough times that you get stretched and that you develop as a person.”

Posted on

2013 Weatherford Awards: Barbara Roberts

To celebrate the 2013 Weatherford Awards, this week we’re profiling each of the honorees here at the College of Business blog. Today is former Oregon Governor Barbara Roberts. For more information about the awards and links to other honoree profiles as they’re posted, check out our introduction to the series.

 

Former Gov. Barbara Roberts.
Former Gov. Barbara Roberts. Photo: Edmund Keene Photography

Barbara Roberts has never let convention get in the way of doing what she knew to be right.

As a young mother of an autistic son, Roberts began advocating for special needs children.

In 1984 she became Oregon’s first woman House majority leader, then in 1990 was elected as the state’s first and still only woman governor.

“It’s impossible to be a leader without being a risk-taker,” Roberts said. “You must take a risk to lead. You have to walk out on a limb to make the kind of changes to make you that leader.”

Roberts was born a fourth-generation Oregonian in Corvallis before moving to Sheridan. She graduated from Sheridan High School and then Portland State University.

Though Roberts never saw herself as a reformer, in 1971 she saw a need and began to fight for the rights of special needs children, inspired by her own son, Mike.

In her new role as a lobbyist, she spent four days a week at her job as a bookkeeper and one day at the capitol building in Salem.

In the next six months, she became an expected presence, talking to all 90 members of the Oregon legislature, telling her story and advocating for educational rights.

Roberts’ efforts helped Oregon make history, passing the first law in the nation requiring special education for children.

“Women have a tendency to be more collaborative leaders and it was that collaboration that allowed me to bring all kinds of people to the table,” Roberts said. “The table was full – out of that collaboration, we came up with a lot of innovations.”

From there Roberts become involved at every level of Oregon’s political landscape, serving on the Parkrose School Board, Multnomah County Commission and the Oregon House of Representatives.

In 1984 Roberts was elected Oregon Secretary of State, winning re-election in 1988.

Soon after, the Democratic candidacy for governor was open and, with this newfound confidence and understanding of herself, Roberts announced her campaign.

During her time in office, Roberts had a significant impact on the state – on the economy, on the people, in education and the environment.

Roberts initiated the “Conversation with Oregon,” a statewide project to meet with citizens and hear opinions on how the state should address issues with taxation and government spending. The Roberts administration is also a strong supporter of gay rights and appointed a number of women and minorities to positions in state government.

After her term as governor, Roberts served as Director of the State and Local Government Executive Programs at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, as Associate Director of Leadership at Portland State University’s Hatfield School of Government and as a member of the Metro City Council in Portland.

“I like to look at the fact that I served in public office for more than thirty years and no one ever questioned my honesty and ethics,” Roberts said. “If I had to pick a thing that I am proud of, that would be it.”

For a career of service that always found new ways to bring people together for innovative solutions to the problems of government, Roberts is being honored as one of the 2013 Weatherford Award Winners.

“At first I was surprised to hear that I was getting this award,” Roberts said. “It became clear to me that there was more than one way to be innovative. ”

Posted on

Meet the 2013 Weatherford Award Winners

Oregon’s first woman governor. A groundbreaking heart surgeon. A dynamic chief executive. Innovative tech startup founders.

Over the next few days on the College of Business Blog we’ll introduce you to the honorees of the 2013 Weatherford Awards, which honor entrepreneurs and innovators who further Oregon’s pioneering spirit. As posts are added we’ll link to them below. This year the awards will recognize:

Each day we will  profile a different honoree with a glimpse into how they changed the world by advancing entrepreneurship, innovation, and social progress.

If you’d like to join us to honor this distinguished group and their achievements, the awards take place Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 at the Hilton Portland & Executive Tower. Registration runs until Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013. Click here to register.