Spears School to host 8th annual CEO Day Forum

Three chief executive officers will visit with Oklahoma State University students and participate in a public forum on "Keys to Success in the Current Economy” from 3:30 to 5 p.m. April 7 in the Oklahom State University Student Union Theatre in Stillwater.

The forum is part of the eighth annual Spears School of Business CEO Day and will feature Keith Geary, chairman, president and CEO of Capital West Securities, Inc.; Steve Irby, president and founder of Stillwater Designs; and Terry London, president of London Broadcasting Co.

“CEO Day is designed to give students a chance to interact with business leaders who have been successful in their chosen industries and gain insight into management and career issues,” said Sara Freedman, Spears School dean. “We are excited that Mr. Geary, Mr. Irby and Mr. London have agreed to share their experiences and wisdom with students and the public.”

Geary and his wife, Joni, formed The Geary Companies in 2007 to acquire Capital West Securities, Inc. The company offers a variety of financial services to banks, corporations, municipal entities and individuals. Capital West serves more than twelve Oklahoma banks with security portfolios totaling more than $1 billion.

In addition to Capital West acquisition, The Geary Companies formed OOK Advisors in order to launch OOK – The Oklahoma Exchange Traded Fund which is the first state-based Equity ETF. Also, Keith and Joni founded Aaron’s Bridge, a non-profit foundation to help establish treatment facilities in Oklahoma for children with developmental disabilities.

Steve Irby is the president and founder of Stillwater Designs and Audio Incorporated, maker of the Kicker and SoundGate brands car audio and mobile electronics products. Irby developed the original KICKER stereo system in 1980. His love of music in high school and college led him to begin building custom public address speakers in his garage.

Irby’s focus is still product design and development. He personally approves each KICKER product before releasing it on the market through rigorous measurement and listening tests. The KICKER car audio brand is sold through a network of nearly 3,000 retailers worldwide in all 50 states and more than 60 countries.

Terry London is the president of London Broadcasting Company, which was founded in 2007 to identify and acquire media and entertainment companies. Terry is an OSU alumni, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and a master’s degree in accounting. He also graduated from the OSU ROTC program and served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves.

Much of London’s career was spent working for Gaylord Entertainment where he served as president and CEO. Gaylord Entertainment owns and operates entities such as the world-famous Grand Old Opry, Bass Pro Shops and the Texas Rangers.

Managment students wins awards at regional contest

Four students from the Oklahoma State University Department of Management recently earned the “congeniality award” at the Southwest Regional Human Resource Games, which were held March 20 and 21 in Denver, Colo.

The HR Games are an academic bowl for human resource students sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management. The goal of this Jeopardy-style competition is to prepare students for the professional human resources exam. Teams with the best record at the end of the matches compete in the championship round for first and second place.

“The congeniality award was voted on by all conference participants that included other student teams, the professional HR volunteers and other student chapter advisers who were there,” said Tom Stone, professor of management and team adviser.

OSU team members included Andre Storey, human resource management senior; Jenna Hartmann, human resource management junior; Brittney Lane, human resource management senior; and Thu Tran, human resource management junior.

Throughout the two-day event, team members were able to network with students from other universities and professionals in human resource management. The event is designed to benefit everyone involved – giving students a chance to showcase their abilities while giving professionals a review of the regulations for their industry.

“The experience was great – going to a conference like this helps me understand further the value of my membership to a national professional organization,” said Andre Storey, team captain. “You get the chance to interact with professionals and students that could be the introduction to your next opportunity – over 70 percent of jobs are filled through some form of networking.”

iPod Nano from Spears School Career Services

It’s the time of year where Career Services desperately needs students' help collecting important information to assist in helping students and professors navigate the career world.

Career Services currently is trying to gather information about upcoming internships (Summer/Spring) for Spears School students. If you have an internship lined up, please take 3 minutes to complete the survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=S8P1vdHLvfKTd6_2bEnDTh5A_3d_3d

Each student who completes a valid survey will automatically be entered into a drawing for one of two 4-gigabyte iPod Nanos!

Spears School on Twitter

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Unique New Internship Program

The Riata Entrepreneurship Center is pleased to announce the launch of the Riata Entrepreneurial Internship Program. During the regular Fall or Spring semesters, students will have the opportunity to intern within high growth entrepreneurial firms, learning directly from entrepreneurs and the senior leadership team. Students earn six hours of credit, and are also paid. Students spend between 15-20 hours at week at the host company. The company and the Riata Center share the cost of the internship. Riata Interns are expected to add value and produce tangible deliverables for their host companies, and also to collaborate with other Riata interns in periodic interventions.

The program is open to highly motivated upper-level undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at any school or college at Oklahoma State University. Candidates must have strong grade point averages, evidence of extracurricular involvement, be self motivated and have an interest in entrepreneurship. To apply, interested students must complete a Riata Intern Application, provide a professional resume, and schedule an interview. Application forms can be found at http://entrepreneurship.okstate.edu. For additional information, see Nola Miyasaki at the Riata Center for Entrepreneurship, 101 Spears School of Business.