February 27, 2009
Power Lunch with Ozborne-Hessey Logistics
The March Power Lunch for Massey students will be with Scott McWilliams, CEO of OHL, Inc (Ozborne-Hessey Logistics) on March 31, 2009, 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. The lunch will be held on campus in the Fourth Floor Massey Boardroom. Please RSVP by March 24th to Jessica Betts at Jessica.betts@unitedwaynashville.org
Scott McWilliams is the Chief Executive Officer of Ozburn-Hessey Logistics. He has served in that capacity since 2001. Scott previously served as President and COO from 1996-2001 and as VP of Operations from 1990-1996. Prior to joining OH Logistics, Scott worked for the Kroger Company and Super X Food and Drug in a variety of warehousing, transportation and supply chain management positions over almost a decade.
Scott is an active member and speaker in several industry associations, including the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP), the Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC), eye for transport and the International Warehouse and Logistics Association (IWLA). He serves on the editorial advisory board of DC Velocity Magazine, as Past President of the Southeastern Warehouse Association, and on the Board of Directors of WERC, QPSI, Franklin Synergy Bank and OH Logistics.
Scott is also very involved in supporting his community. He serves as a Board member of The United Way of Middle Tennessee and has also served on the Board of Second Harvest Food Bank, as Board President for Habitat for Humanity, American Red Cross Disaster Response Team and as a Deacon at First Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. Scott has a B.S. degree in Logistics from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville.
October 30, 2008
Power Lunch at Province Healthcare
After the short break from Power Lunches we are back with the next one on Wednesday, November 12 at Power Lunch at Province Healthcare (105 Westwood Place, Suite 200 Brentwood, TN 37027) from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. We will be hearing from founder and former CEO Martin Rash. To RSVP for this event, please email masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu by Thursday, November 6 at 5:00 pm.
September 04, 2008
Power Lunch at Avenue Bank
The Fall Power Lunch series will start Monday, September 8th at The Avenue Bank (209 Tenth Ave South, Nashville, TN 37203) from 11:00 am - 1:00 p.m. We will be hearing from Ronald Samuels, the Chairman, President & CEO of Avenue Bank. For more information visit http://www.avenuenashville.com. To RSVP for this event, please email masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu by Friday, September 5 at 5:00 pm.
June 30, 2008
Power Lunch at Tennessee Lottery
Join us on Thursday, July 17 for our summer Power Lunch with the Tennessee Lottery. The event will run from 11:30 to 1:00 pm and be held at the Lottery office (200 Athens Way, Suite 200, Nashville, TN 37728). To RSVP, please email masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu by July 11, 2008.
March 31, 2008
April Power Lunch with VF Imagewear
The April Power Lunch will be held Thursday, April 10th at VF Imagewear (545 Marriott Drive, Nashville, TN 37214). We will be hearing from Steve Cochran, president of VF Imagewear. Visit http://www.vfsolutions.com for more information. To RSVP for this event, please email masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu by Monday, April 7 at 2:00 pm.
Successful Power Lunch at CMT
The March Power Lunch was hosted by CMT, a division of MTV Networks. We heard from Chet Flippo, Editorial Director of content for CMT and CMT.com, and Evan Kroft, Senior Director of Music Programming. Chet’s experience as a journalist and editor with Rolling Stone and his continued impact on the music industry through his work at CMT were inspiring. Evan’s enthusiasm, impressive track record and scope of responsibility for someone under 30 were also motivational. 
Both speakers shared their personal career path, gave an overview of their current respective positions and fielded questions from the group. The luncheon wrapped up with a tour of the downtown facility, which includes CMT Radio Networks and the video production facilities. Thank you to CMT for its support of the Massey School of Business. 
February 26, 2008
Upcoming Power Lunch at CMT Productions
Save the Date! March 20 is the date of the next installment in the Massey Power Lunch series. We will be visiting CMT Productions. Watch your email for more details or email masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu to RSVP.
Big Brothers Big Sisters Power Lunch
Thank you to Lowell Perry Jr., CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee (BBBS), who was the speaker at our February Power Lunch. Mr. Perry offered an interesting glimpse into the nature of the non-profit sector as well as sharing the BBBS story with Massey students and alumni. BBBS serves approximately 5,000 children with 200 more on the waiting list. If you are interested in becoming a big brother or big sister, visit http://www.bbbsmt.org/home.
October 31, 2007
Power Lunch at Cat Financial
On Thursday, November 1st, students from the Massey School were treated to an informative Power Lunch at the Nashville office of Caterpillar. The speaker was Mr. Kent Adams, who serves as the President of the firm's Financial Services division.
Attendees were given a tour of the company's facilities, allowing them a glimpse of what an average Cat employee experiences in a regular day. Along with the exercise facilties and cafeteria, students were shown around the offices and meeting spaces that are designed to mimic elements of the machines that Cat is well-known for manufacturing.
Mr. Adams gave an overview of the company as a whole as well as highlighting the role of the financial services division. Mr. Adams went on to share experiences from his own 28 year career with the firm. Mr. Adams has progressed through the employee ranks, serving in many divisions and areas during his tenure. International expereince is required for executives at Cat, and Mr. Adams shared some of his experiences adjusting to the different business cultures while working in Brazil and Asia.
September 24, 2007
Successful Power Lunch at Capella Healthcare
This month, MBA students visited Capella Heathcare headquarters in Cool Springs where we met Denise Wilder Warren who currently serves as Senior Vice President and CFO of Capella Healthcare.
Capella was founded in 2005 with a vision of providing clinical, financial and operational expertise to non-urban hospitals around the country. Today, the company runs five hospitals: three in Tennessee, one in Oklahoma and one in Washington.
Warren joined Capella in October 2005 as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. She has worked for many well-known companies, such as Ernst and Young, Merrill Lynch, and Gaylord Entertainment. Just like the students in the Massey MBA program, she worked hard to succeed, taking evening classes while holding a full-time job. Warren earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from Southern Methodist University in 1992 and went on to earn her MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1996. Studying at Harvard was very intensive. After class she would work at least nine hours each day on her cases or papers. Her experience at Harvard not only expanded her knowledge, but connected her to a network of colleagues with whom she still keeps in contact.
Warren's guiding philosophy in life is to "enjoy what you do." She loves her job. She wakes up at 5 a.m. every morning for an hour of jogging and stays energetic the whole working day until 7 p.m. She has a husband, a six-year-old daughter and a Labrador Retriever.
September 03, 2007
Power Lunch at Capella Healthcare
The fall series of Power Lunches will begin with a visit at Capella Healthcare in Cool Springs on September 26.
We will be hearing from Denise Wilder Warren who currently serves as Senior Vice President and CFO of Capella Healthcare and is a graduate of the Harvard Business School.
If you are interested in attending the Capella power lunch, please RSVP by September 17 by emailing masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu. The event will run from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, and lunch will be provided by the Massey School.
For more information regarding Denise Wilder Warren’s professional experiences, a short bio is below.
Denise Wilder Warren
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Capella Healthcare
Before joining Capella, Warren was Senior Equity Analyst and former Research Director for Avondale Partners LLC and brings over 20 years of financial experience to the company.
Prior to her four years with Avondale, Warren served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Gaylord Entertainment Company, a $1.8 billion leading hospitality and entertainment organization. While at Gaylord, Warren was selected as Financial Executive of the Year by The Institute of Management Accountants. Prior to Gaylord, Warren worked in the New York office of Merrill Lynch & Co. as a Director and Senior Equity Analyst for several years.
Warren earned her Bachelor of Science in Economics from Southern Methodist University in 1992 where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa, summa cum laude, and received her Masters in Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in 1996.
February 05, 2007
Power Lunches Resume on February 21st
The spring series of the Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business Power Lunches will resume on February 21st with David Myers, Managing Director of the Morgan Keegan Nashville office. The Power Lunch will be held in the Massey Board Room from 11:30-1:00 PM. If you are interested in attending the Morgan Keegan power lunch, please RSVP before February 12th by sending an email to masseygrad@mail.belmont.edu.
Mark Your Calendars!
The spring power lunches will continue on April 24th with the opportunity to hear from Mike Saint of Saint Consulting. Watch for an email with the details regarding this event in the next few weeks.
October 01, 2006
Massey Students Discuss Talent Management at Aon Power Lunch
On Wednesday, September 20th, Corbette Doyle, Chief Diversity Officer for Aon Worldwide, provided us with an unprecedented look into the future of America’s workforce and the direction of diversity.
Corbette led the discussion on the changes occurring with the employment supply and demand equation in the 21st century. Demand is growing with the department of Labor projecting 2.2% of college grads are unemployed while supply of qualified candidates is shrinking. Productivity gains are narrowing and the immigration policy is affecting labor demands in the US. There is an emerging global crisis in Japan, Germany, Italy and the UK reporting decreases in their employment populations over the next five years while population growth continues.
Diversity in multinational companies generates creativity and innovation. Globally, more men than women are attending college. Currently in the US, women account for 58% of the total college enrollment. However, women and minorities are rejecting business schools saying that they are a poor fit to their career goals.
What are employers looking for from MBAs? They want people, who fit into their culture, have proven ability to perform and strong soft skills: communication, leadership and interpersonal skills. Hard skills are important based on the technical nature of the position. Employers say that leadership, interpersonal skills, written communication skills and oral communications are the most lacking talent. Oral communication skills were defined as the ability to present to groups, large employee sections or public speaking abilities.
Corbette ended the session with a “how to” section on finding or creating the right opportunity for you. Her suggestions were to choose the company not the job, a “go getter” attitude goes farther than aptitude, be proactive, build value by branding yourself and follow your passion. All of these encompass the ability to find and search out your passion in career. Two books Corbette highly recommended were “The Highest Goal” by Michael Ray and “Brand You” by Tom Peters.
August 18, 2006
Power Lunch At Aon Healthcare
The next Jack C. Massey Graduate School of Business Power Lunch will be held on September 20th, 2006 at Aon Healthcare with Corbette Doyle, Chief Diversity Officer.
Corbette attended Vanderbilt's Owen School, graduating first in her class while working full-time at Willis Risk Management. Aon recruited her to start Aon’s national healthcare practice. While at Aon, she has since headed multiple committees and business practices. She also is currently co-writing a book about the shrinking pool of women interested in executive level careers in corporate America.
March 27, 2006
Massey Students Visit Cigna for Power Lunch
On Wednesday, March 15th, the last Power Lunch of the spring season was hosted by Cigna Government Services. The speaker was Brian Setzer, vice president of Operations. The lunch was also attended by Massey student Melody Kief, Director, Benefit Accounting. Setzer began by giving a brief overview of Cigna Government Services, which is a division of Cigna, primarily a healthcare company.
Setzer explained that Cigna Government Services works with Medicare, and that although Medicare is a government program, administration of the program is privatized. Cigna Government Services handles approximately 70 million claims a year and uses technology to expedite claims processing.
Setzer talked about the changing market and how that will impact Cigna Government Services. The large amounts of people about to retire will double the number of people with Medicare in the next twenty years. Setzer believes this will “swamp the system.” While this growth provides opportunities, recent changes are increasing competition for Medicare business. New competitors have emerged that are not insurance companies but claims processing companies.
The highlight of the Power Lunch was when Setzer spoke candidly about his career path and gave some interview tips. Setzer has a background in finance and has worked in internal controls and operations. “Stay challenged and keep learning,” Setzer advised. Although Setzer has been with Cigna Government Services for 8 years, he has never held a position within the company for more than 20 months. Setzer also gave some suggestions for questions a candidate should ask a potential employer. Questions such as:
“Do people move from functional area to functional area?”
“What was the career progression of the key individuals in the organization?”
“Who had the job before me?”
The Cigna Government Services Power Lunch was a great way to end the semester. Setzer spoke openly about to the attendees about his own career path and provided meaningful advice for students embarking on a job search. This Power Lunch was enhanced by Setzer’s honesty and casual interaction with attendants.
February 24, 2006
Belmont Students Visit Lightning Source for Power Lunch
Kirby Best
On Wednesday February 1st, the Power Lunch series continued at the Lightning Source facilities in LaVergne, Tennessee. Massey students, alumni and Dr. Ian Stewart had the opportunity to meet with Kirby Best, President and CEO of Lightning Source, and Charles Marshall, Senior Vice President and General Manager. We were treated to a tour of the Lightning Source plant which operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, creating “on demand” books. Lightning Source frequently prints book orders as small as one book. At Lightning Source, it is the process that is the secret to its success. The tour allowed us to see first hand how Lightning Source maintains its competitive advantage of speed and availability.
Kirby Best shared with us personal stories of men who had helped shape his life views. He mentioned John Weir who believed a person should “do everything.” Mr. Best took this advice to heart and has competed in the Olympics multiple times for Canada. Mr. Best also cited Warren Bingham’s advice to “be yourself.” In the business world this means taking what one learns from a leader and integrating it into one’s personal style. Mr. Best is also a proponent of making a list of the 100 things you want to do in a lifetime. He advises constantly looking at the top 10 things on your list to get a vision of where you are going and if you are on track.
Charles Marshall
Mr. Marshall talked to us about the difficulties businesses face in today’s economy. He said that it is a challenge to get a product to market and persuade a consumer to pick it up. Mr. Marshall addressed threats and opportunities for Lightning Source. Mr. Marshall cited managing growth, hiring good people and increased competition as obstacles to success and referred to the publishing shift from traditional models as an opportunity. In regards to the job market, Mr. Best and Mr. Marshall pointed out that hiring the right person for the right job means choosing individuals that complement a team. Mr. Best and Mr. Marshall emphasized the importance of teams, with both men saying they would prefer to have a team working on a problem than an outstanding individual. Mr. Marshall stressed the importance of empowering your people and allowing them to do their finest work.
The Lightning Source Power Lunch was informative and enlightening. Don’t miss our final Power Lunch of the spring semester at Cigna on March 15th. Contact Elizabeth Kraft at krafte@pop.belmont.edu for more information or to sign up.
January 30, 2006
BellSouth Power Lunch
On Wednesday, January 25th, Massey students, alumni and Dr. Ian Stewart had the opportunity to meet with Marty Dickens, President of BellSouth Tennessee. Mr. Dickens also serves as the Chairman of the Belmont University Board of Trustees. Our group was hosted on the 21st floor of the BellSouth Building, commonly known as the Batman Building, in downtown Nashville. Mr. Dickens spoke about the future of technology and how quickly technology is changing. Mr. Dickens stated that, based on the rate of technological advancement, no one can predict what the technology sector will be like in three years, not even industry professionals.
Mr. Dickens shared his thoughts on the work/life balance and the importance of realizing what matters most, which in his case, is family. Mr. Dickens had advice for students as they look forward in their careers. A common mistake is looking too far down the road at future opportunities. Mr. Dickens believes that no job is just “passing time” and that the best approach to advancement is to perform well at the job one is in. The BellSouth Power Lunch was a great kick off to the spring semester series with excellent attendance and meaningful advice.
December 01, 2005
CCA Power Lunch
Damon Hininger
Massey Alum, 2000
On November 16th Corrections Corporation of America hosted our second Power Lunch of the semester. This Power Lunch was special due to the high participation of CCA executives, many of whom were Massey Alums. Everyone in attendance was pleased with the enthusiasm CCA attendees showed for the Massey program. CCA had a long-standing relationship with Jack Massey and our lunch was held in CCA’s own Jack C. Massey Conference Room. CCA is interested in continuing to be a part of the Massey Power Lunch series on a regular basis. The lunch was attended by 18 Massey students, several CCA executives, Dean Raines and Dr. Stewart. The Massey School was also represented by Lori LeBleu, Director of Career Services and Cindy Painter, Director of Advancement. John Ferguson, President and CEO of CCA, stopped by to welcome us to CCA and kick off the Lunch. Our introductory speaker was Damon Hininger, VP of Federal Customer Relations. Mr. Hininger spoke to us about the history of CCA and how the company has grown. Founded in 1983, CCA created the private corrections industry. CCA is the nation’s largest provider of outsourced corrections management with facilities in over 20 states. CCA designs, builds and manages prisons, jails and detention centers and also provides inmate transportation services for the government.
John Pfeiffer
Massey Alum, 1998
The lunch was attended by many CCA executives including Michelle Barker, Senior Manager of Proposal Development, Jason Childers, Manager of Research and Analysis, David Garfinkle, VP of Finance and Controller, Louise Gilchrist, VP of Marketing and Communications, Consuelo Hawkins, Director of HR Administration, John Pfeiffer, VP of Technology and CIO and John Tighe, VP of Health Services. Damon Hininger, Louise Gilchrist and John Pfeiffer are all Massey graduates. Amy Fuqua, a 2005 Massey graduate and new addition to CCA, was there to provide insight from a new hire’s perspective.
Louise Chickering
Massey Alum, 1994
Mr. Hininger spoke to us about how proud CCA was of its quick response when Florida prisons needed a place to evacuate prisoners due to hurricane threats. CCA was able to begin housing prisoners within 48 hours of Florida’s initial request for help. In this situation, Florida officials could have looked to other states or the federal government for assistance but they turned to CCA. This is just one example of how CCA is a leader in the industry. CCA executives also spoke proudly about programs offered to inmates such as substance abuse counseling/treatment, GEDs in English or Spanish and more advanced degrees. Mr. Tighe shared his thoughts on what the business community seeks from MBA graduates. He said companies are looking for people with the ability to take a load of data and retrieve significant information from it. Mr. Tighe continued that MBA graduates should be able to identify critical issues within a subject and develop strategies around those issues. He also said that the ability to reasonably predict the effect of a chosen strategy is extremely valuable. The CCA Power Lunch was very successful. Students left with a real sense of what CCA does and were also given some great insight into what employers expect of MBA graduates. This Power Lunch series will continue what is already a strong bond between CCA and The Massey Business School.
October 07, 2005
September Power Lunch: Dell
On Wednesday, September 7th several Massey students, along with Dean Raines and Dr. Ian Stewart, had the privilege of visiting Dell’s campus in Lebanon. We met with Steven Cook, director of manufacturing operations for that campus. Mr. Cook shared with us what Dell looks for in new employees and what it takes to be successful at Dell. Mr. Cook also shared how Dell becomes involved in local communities. Dell employees participate in local chambers of commerce, donate computers to local schools, and have most recently worked with victims of Hurricane Katrina. Mr. Cook spoke extensively on the technical side of Dell’s operations.
Mr. Cook arranged for a tour led by James Enright Mr. Enright took five of us on a very detailed tour of the plant floor. We learned about the newer production line. Mr. Enright shared with us improvements made to different work stations. He spoke about how management studied employee movement and collected employee feedback in order to make such improvements. One interesting fact shared by Mr. Enright was Mr. Cook’s involvement in the design of the facility’s operating systems.
We would like to thank Massey alumnus Anthony Anderson for arranging this Power Lunch. It was an incredible opportunity for all involved.