Conference focus: global careers

Marshall Larsen, keynote speaker at a global business conference, offered an unusual bit of advice to Saint Leo University students.

Don’t automatically search for the biggest corporate paycheck, the retired Goodrich executive told students.

“If you want to do anything out of the corporate norm, do it right now. So, what if you fail? Do it now. You’ve got time,” Larsen said. “Your youth, at some point, will be gone. There’s my lesson for the day.”

About 500 students participated in the seventh annual International Business Conference on March 10 at the main campus of Saint Leo University, in St. Leo.

The event included guest speakers, panels, mock interviews, and a cybersecurity competition, dubbed “Capture the Flag.” The conference theme was “Achieving Success in the Global Economy.”

Larsen said he was undecided after graduating from business school. He ended up at Goodrich as a financial analyst, and spent 35 years with the company.

He is the retired chairman, president and chief executive officer of Goodrich Corporation. The company was founded in 1870 as a producer of rubber hoses. It later became a tire manufacturer. Over a 40-year period, Goodrich got out of the tire business and acquired aerospace companies that compete globally for contracts.

A major factor in the company’s success, as it transformed over the years, came down to creating a unifying culture that was open to ideas from every employee at Goodrich, Larsen said.

“I prided myself on having people there who could say ‘Marshall, you’re wrong,’” he said.

After his talk, Larsen took questions.

Saint Leo sophomore Mindy Vitale asked for advice on setting up a small international business. She is majoring in hospitality and international tourism.

A good plan, not just a good idea, is a requirement for any business to succeed, Larsen said. “There are these pesky things like cash flow.”

Vitale, 20, said she found Larsen’s views on life after graduation helpful as well. “I do want to travel,” she said. “I totally agree with him. Experience is important. What you learn through the process is really critical.”

One student asked Larsen for his view on how the business world would fair under either a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton presidency.

“Who knows what’s going to happen?” he said. “Business is resilient, and they’ll figure out a way to grow.”

Congress also will have a say in the country’s future, he added.

“I’m just being very measured and watching this,” Larsen said. “I just hope for the sake of the country that we make the right decision.”

Panel discussions featured topics, such as women in leadership, the best degree for international business opportunities, and the changes in health care since the Affordable Care Act.

The leadership panel included Pamela Hobbs, vice president of human resources for the American Red Cross; Shirah Levine, managing director for institutional equity sales at Robert W. Baird & Co.; and Camille Renshaw, senior director and lead broker in New York City for Stan Johnson Company.

All of them found that hard work, a willingness to take risks, building relationships and being open to unexpected opportunities propelled them into successful careers.

Hobbs left her family dairy farm in upstate New York to relocate to Atlanta without having a job. She worked for 18 years in the solid waste industry, before taking her current position in human resources with the American Red Cross.

Renshaw got a liberal arts degree in college and later a fellowship in France “mostly because I didn’t know what else to do.”

Upon her return, she worked as an analyst for Turner Broadcasting System. She now is in commercial real estate and is founder of the New York office for Stan Johnson Company. Her clients include UBS and Checkers Drive-In restaurants.

Levine walked away from a full basketball scholarship in college, and worked a series of hourly-wage jobs including her favorite – a bartender.

She also went back to school and got a degree in communications and media studies.

At age 34, she now is a managing director and equity sales trader for Robert W. Baird & Co., a financial investment firm. She met her boss while working as bartender and bar manager and was invited for a job interview. At the time, Levine said she didn’t know a stock from a bond.

But she had drive, and better tests scores than her job competitors.

“I hope you guys see there are a lot of ways to skin a cat in this world,” Levine said.

Published March 16, 2016