MIT Sloan Convocation 2005 to Feature Carly Fiorina and Other Keynote Speakers

Business Wire, Oct 3, 2005

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Please replace the release dated Sept. 29, 2005 with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

The corrected release reads:

MIT SLOAN CONVOCATION 2005 TO FEATURE CARLY FIORINA AND OTHER KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Event Marks 75th Anniversary of Sloan Fellows Program as Well as Launch of MIT Leadership Center

Leaders - and leadership - will share center stage next week in Cambridge as the MIT Sloan School of Management dips into its deep reservoir of alumni to attract hundreds of senior executives, management thinkers and others to Convocation 2005, an event held once every three years at which graduates of Sloan and its prestigious executive training programs exchange insights and ideas.

Among those attending and giving keynote speeches at the October 6-8 gathering are former Hewlett-Packard Company President and Chief Executive Officer Carleton S. (Carly) Fiorina, New York Stock Exchange CEO John A. Thain, and Morris Chang, Chairman and CEO of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company.

Like many of those returning to MIT for the Convocation to share experiences and ideas, Fiorina is an alumna of the MIT Sloan Fellows Program, the 75th anniversary of which is being marked at the event. Other prominent former Fellows include United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. Coast Guard Vice Admiral Thad Allen, who is now heading the Hurricane Katrina relief operation.

But even as the Convocation celebrates Sloan's past -- the Fellows program is the oldest program of its kind in the world -- it will also look ahead as the weekend will mark the public launch of the MIT Leadership Center, which blends MIT's preeminence in technological innovation with MIT Sloan's resources in management and leadership.

The Convocation "is a celebration of the thought leadership that is the lifeblood of MIT Sloan," said MIT Sloan Dean Richard Schmalensee. He noted that in addition to marking the 75th anniversary of the Fellows Program, the event marks the 25th anniversary of another Sloan landmark, the Management of Technology Program (MOT), which last year was merged with the Fellows Program to form the MIT Sloan Fellows Program in Innovation and Global Leadership.

Fiorina, who was a Sloan Fellow in 1989, said her experience at MIT Sloan "continues to help shape how I act and think about management innovation and leadership. We learned a lot from professors and others at Sloan, but much of the program's value is in learning from other Fellows. I look forward to continuing that process next week."

Vice Admiral Allen added that the lessons learned while at MIT Sloan have significantly enhanced his ability to direct recovery operations for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the day to day business operations of the U.S. Coast Guard. "My time at MIT Sloan offered the time to reflect on my professional experience to date and gain valuable insight into the management of complex organizations and interdependent networks that cross public and private sector boundaries. The diversity of perspectives gained at MIT Sloan, especially as they relate to transnational and global networks has been invaluable in crafting effective business strategies for the Coast Guard and, most recently, the complex federal response to the Gulf Coast hurricanes."

Of 400 MIT alumni expected to attend the Convocation, well over half will be former participants in Fellows or MOT programs, according to program director Stephen Sacca, a 1990 Sloan Fellow. "The Fellows Program has endured many changes in how people think and act about management," he said. "After 75 years, we still have our sites set on that horizon to help people get to the next level to gain the broader perspective a leader needs."

Schmalensee said it is fitting that the new MIT Leadership Center is being officially launched at the same event that is highlighting the long success of the Fellows Program. "Convocation is an opportunity to renew our alumni's intellectual connection to MIT Sloan," he said. "And it is a way for the school to let them know of the exciting new connections we continue to make to the world of management practice."