Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Commencement Speech -- On Great Leadership

Today, I had the great privilege and honor of delivering the commencement speech at the diploma ceremony in honor of the recipients of the Master's degrees at the School of Business, Economics and Law at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. There were a total of 105 graduates, ranging from Accounting, Finance, International Business and Trade to Economics and Transport and Logistics Management.

The theme of my speech was On Great Leadership. In my speech, I emphasized the importance of innovation and creation, doing the right thing, making opportunities for others, recognizing the achievements of others, supporting diversity, and remembering where you come from. I also noted that Great Leaders must be resilient, need to be great communicators, both in word and action, and keep their integrity. I highlighted both Swedish and US innovators and great leaders.

The full text of my commencement speech can be downloaded here.

The program of the ceremony is below.

The venue was a majestic University of Gothenberg building on Vasagaten. The photos below were taken at this very special event.


Congratulations to all the graduates -- I wish you all well on the new stage in your life's journeys!

Thank you for the great honor and opportunity to speak to you today.

Special thanks go to Dr. Maureen McKelvey, who is stepping down as the Dean of the Graduate School, and who has done so much for the school over the past 5 and a half years. Also, special thanks to Dr. Johan Malmsten, the Chair of the Board of the Malmsten Foundation, for the great support of the school, its programs, and its students. Today, he awarded checks of 10,000 kroner to each recipient of the best Master's thesis in a concentration.