CEO @ Smith Speaker Series presents Cathy Engelbert, Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte, on March 14, 2018, in Van Munching Hall, home of the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. As CEO of Deloitte, Engelbert leads one of the largest professional services organizations in the United States with more than 85,000 professionals, providing services to over 80 percent of the Fortune 500.

Students starting their careers should ask themselves three questions, Unilever North America President Kees Kruythoff said on Oct. 10, 2017, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. “These individual discussions can help you discover your personal purpose,” Kruythoff said during a CEO @ Smith keynote address. “People with purpose, they thrive.” “Are you making a difference?” is the first question. Kruythoff said people can define impact in different ways. “But make sure you put a high ambition level in there,” he said.

In the face of hotel industry disruption, Marriott International’s answer is to grow, the company’s president and CEO said April 26, 2016, at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. The Bethesda, Md.-based hospitality giant is poised to become the world’s biggest hotel company later this year with the acquisition of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, allowing it to create more connections with middle-class travelers worldwide.

Business leaders need to win to advance their careers, but SAP CEO Bill McDermott says they must never lose sight of the need to play fairly. “You gotta win, but you gotta win the right way,” he told an audience of more than 250 people crowded into Frank Auditorium in Van Munching Hall on Feb. 11, 2016. “Winning the wrong way is losing in the end, and your character will reveal itself. Keep that in mind as you climb the ladder.”

The Smith School’s CEO @ Smith speaker series will continue in April with a presentation from Marriott International’s Arne Sorenson. Marriott operates and franchises more than 4,300 lodging properties in 81 countries and territories under 19 brands. Sorenson co-founded Marriott’s Global Sustainability Council in 2007, and in 2008 he launched the firm’s rainforest preservation partnership with the Amazonas Sustainable Foundation in Brazil.

The University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business Presents CEO @ Smith Speaker Series Arne Sorenson President and Chief Executive Officer Marriott International, Inc.

Bill McDermott is a fantastic storyteller with tremendous energy. The CEO of SAP enthralled an audience of students, alumni, faculty, and staff at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business with tales of his life experiences. From his first entrepreneurial venture, to his most memorable sale, to his an overhaul of the worst branch at Xerox, to what he learned from a terrible accident, McDermott had his audience on the edge if their seats.

Big companies need more of the entrepreneurial spirit that pervades the University of Maryland, PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said March 25, 2015, during a CEO @ Smith keynote address in College Park, Md.

Do the right thing when nobody is looking, Deloitte Global CEO Barry Salzberg said April 13, 2015, during a CEO @ Smith keynote address in College Park, Md. The executive, who manages a network of 47 consulting and advisory services firms in more than 140 countries, said Millennials respond when organizations have a purpose beyond profit. Here are excerpts from his presentation:

Barry Salzberg, Global CEO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (DTTL), spoke to students, faculty and alumni at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business on April 13, 2015, at the final CEO@Smith lecture of the semester.  In a conversation with Dr. Jeffrey Kudisch, assistant dean of corporate relations, Salzberg shared his insights on the challenges of managing an organization that spans continents: the global network has 47 member firms operating in more than 140 countries, with approximately 210,000 staff members.