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2014 Blanchard Leadership Forum

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Alumni Scholars from the Executive Leadership Institute (ELI) seized an opportunity for continued development by traveling from their campuses to see a lineup of nationally prominent entrepreneurs and leaders as part of Columbus State University’s 2014 Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum.

Organized and hosted by CSU’s Leadership Institute, the forum was held at the Columbus Iron Works and Trade Center. Mark Cuban, business magnate, investor on ABC’s popular TV show Shark Tank, philanthropist, and owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team was the keynote speaker.

Tuesday’s speakers included Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer for Facebook and Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx, the popular line of undergarments that made her the world’s youngest self-made billionaire.

“This stellar lineup of speakers reinforces our commitment to bringing the brightest minds to Columbus,” said Ed Helton, director of the Leadership Institute.

In addition to Cuban, Blakely and Sandberg, the Forum featured:

• Geoffrey Canada, Author and Founder of Harlem Children’s Zone
• Retired U.S. Navy Vice Admiral John R. Ryan, president and CEO of the Center for Creative Leadership, a nonprofit organization focusing on leadership education and research
• Author Marcus Buckingham, a leading expert on employee productivity
• And Ronald A. Heifetz, senior lecturer and co-founder of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government

For more information on leadership development in the University System please click here:

Posted by Jeremy Dye on September 02, 2014
Published in: Executive Leadership