Conradin von Gugelberg Memorial Lecture Series
The Conradin von Gugelberg Memorial Fund was established by members of the Stanford MBA Class of 1987 to honor the memory of their classmate who died shortly after graduation. Because of his interests and commitment to environmental protection, the fund is used to promote an environmental ethic among Business School students, alumni, and community. The lecture series is an important means of reaching this goal. Overview
Endowed Lectures
2009
Oracle CFO's Career Didn't Follow Straight Path
When Jeff Epstein earned his Stanford MBA in 1979 and went to work for Boston Consulting Group on Sand Hill Road, he didn’t know about a young company a mile away—a company that would later become Oracle. Three decades later, Epstein is Oracle’s chief financial officer, but his path was no simple one-mile drive.
Reflections on a Meaningful Life
George Shultz recounted his experiences as a college football player, an economist, a Marine during World War II, a secretary of labor and the treasury in the Nixon administration and President Reagan's secretary of state during Harry’s Last Lecture, reflecting on leading a meaningful life. [Includes Video]
2008
Green Tech Must First Make Economic Sense Says Khosla
Zero emission buildings and hybrid vehicles, have broad appeal, but any climate change solution must first make economic sense in order to truly be effective venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, MBA ’80, told a Business School audience during the School’s 2008 von Gugelberg Memorial Lecture.
MercadoLibre is Cornering Latin American Online Sales Market
Latin America is the fastest-growing internet user market in the world today. This is good news for MercadoLibre, the Buenos Aires-based online sales firm said Nicolás Szekasy, MBA ’91, who presented the 2008 Arjay Miller Lecture.
2007
Environmental Challenges Are Profit Opportunities,
Says Roberts of World Wildlife Fund
“Companies still thinking about the environment as a social responsibility rather than a business imperative are living in the dark ages,” Carter Roberts, CEO and chief conservation officer of the World Wildlife Fund, told the audience at the Business School’s annual von Gugelberg Memorial Environmental Lecture.
Autodesk CFO Offers Road Map for Aspiring Financial Officers
It isn't enough to be a financial whiz, Autodesk CFO Al Castino told students and faculty at the annual Arjay Miller lecture. Adept CFOs must be able to convince other people that their ideas are the right ones.
2006
Arjay Miller Lecture: Moody's CFO Linda Huber Has Instituted Changes
Moody's Chief Financial Officer Linda Huber, MBA '86, says she has honed her finance and human resource goals down to four: drive growth and profitability, support the line business, create an excellent control environment, and make Moody's a great place to work.
Good Business Karma
Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard explains why his unconventional business practices have paid dividends.
Video File, 56:17 minutes
Idealism Won't Curtail Global Warming Warns, Carol Browner
If the current generation fails to halt global warming, “we'll become the first generation that has left to the next generation a problem that can't really be resolved,” Carol Browner, former head of the Environmental Protection Agency told a Business School audience. “There is not a single engineer in the world who could reverse the rise in the sea level once it starts to happen.”
2005
The High Price of Global Warming
Global warming is not just an environmental issue. Jacques Dubois, chairman of the reinsurance giant Swiss Re America, argues that climate change is becoming one of the most significant emerging risks in the insurance industry.
2004
Gary Hirshberg, Founder and CEO, Stonyfield Farms
Business Can Drive the Demand for Organics
Organic foods are now a $13.7 billion business in the United States, and Gary Hirshberg is bent on an even greater market share.
2003
William McDonough, architect and author
Architectural Leader William McDonough Calls for an End to Designed Obsolescence
The presence of regulations governing how we design common things like buildings or a television set is a sign of design failure says the architect who designed a factory roof covered with grass.
2002
John Browne, Sloan '81, Chief Executive, BP
Winning the Battle Against Greenhouse Gas
Energy giant British Petroleum intends to "hold emission from our operations at 10 percent below 1990 levels through 2010," declared the firm's leader John Browne.
Amory Lovins, Co-founder, Rocky Mountain Institute
Natural Capitalism
Business and the environmental interests increasingly overlap, providing opportunities to increase profits while helping solve environmental problems.
Additional Speakers
Barbara Dudley, Director, Greenpeace
The Outspoken Environmentalist
Greenpeace has built worldwide support by building a brand that places it at the forefront of environmental activism.
Paul Hawken, Chairman, The Natural Step
Fred Krupp, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund
William Reilly, Administrator, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Anita Roddick, Founder, The Body Shop
William Ruckelshaus, CEO, Browning Ferris Industries
John Sawhill, President and CEO, the Nature Conservancy
Dr. Stephan Schmidheiny, Founder, Business Council for Sustainable Development
Tim Wirth, U.S. Senator, Colorado