A Fireside Chat Speaker Series

You are invited to be inspired.

The complimentary series will be conducted in a fireside chat format moderated by SMU Cox Associate Dean of Graduate Programs and Executive Education Shane Goodwin. We seek to invite speakers from a range of industries and fields who will share their leadership journeys to help inspire current and future leaders in the audience.

Join us to hear exceptional leaders share their stories, insights, and wisdom from their leadership path, so you can forge yours.

Why Leadership?

Leadership ability is a critical component of employee and organizational success. However, the overwhelming consensus among employers is that too many business professionals lack critical-thinking skills to solve unstructured problems creatively, the ability to communicate effectively, work collaboratively and adapt to changing priorities.

In collaboration with our corporate partners, we invite you to join us for fireside chats with stand-out leaders that will leave you inspired. Speakers will share how they approach ambiguity, face critical decisions, keep their team motivated, adapt to rapid innovation, and maintain professional and personal growth.

The audience will leave with concrete takeaways to forge their own leadership style.

2024-25 Events

Events are complimentary and open to students, alumni, faculty, staff, and the business community at every leadership level. Seating is limited to the first 300 registrants. 

Speakers:

Aaron Powell

Chief Executive Officer, Pizza Hut

James M. Collins Executive Education Center

February 27, 2025 -- 5 p.m. Fireside Chat, 6 p.m. Reception

Register to Attend

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Marisa Solis

SVP, Global Brand and Consumer Marketing, National Football League

James M. Collins Executive Education Center

February 12, 2025 -- 5:15 p.m. Fireside Chat, 6:15 p.m. Reception

Register to Attend

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Jim Keyes

Chairman, Key Development, LLC

November 5, 2024 

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Stephen Gillett

CEO, Verily

October 10, 2024

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General David Petraeus

Retired, US Army

September 26, 2024 

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Stefanie Tsen Ward

Chief Integrated Retail and Customer Officer, Neiman Marcus

September 4, 2024 
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Leadership And Learning Culture

The NextGen Cox Curriculum integrates the three foundational pillars to develop business school graduates who are “future prepared”. Cox graduates demonstrate both technical skills, and people skills to confidently navigate any business environment. Cox graduates are equipped with a curriculum anchored in analytical rigor, refined leadership skills to support complex problem-solving and knowledge with practical application gained through hands-on experiential learning. Read more about our NextGen Curriculum here.