The Executive Speakers Program brings executives in business and industry to the Hillsdale campus and gives students and faculty the opportunity to hear first-hand the lessons of these business leaders. 

RECENT SPEAKERS:

• Mark A. Murray of Grand Rapids, Michigan

Mark Murray is president of Meijer, Inc.  Meijer operates a chain of 181 self-service combination supermarket-discount department stores located in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky.  Mr. Murray was president of Grand Valley State University for five years following a two-decade career in state government and education.  During his years in state government, Mr. Murray was state treasurer, state budget director, director of the Department of Management and Budget, and acting director of the Family Independence Agency.  He also served as vice president for finance and administration at Michigan State University.

• Philip L. Zeller of Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Phillip Zeller is a partner of Ralph Nichols Group, Inc., which has offered Dale Carnegie Training in southern Michigan for over 40 years.  They have presented training to over 200,000 people, making it one of the top producers of Dale Carnegie Training in North America and in the world.  Mr. Zeller is widely recognized for his work in Michigan assisting corporations, schools, and teenagers to become more accountable to successful outcomes.

• Terry S. Galanis, Jr., '69 of Lancaster, New York

Terry Galanis, Jr. graduated from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in business administration. He joined Sealing Devices, Inc. in 1972 and became its president in 1984.  Sealing Devices, Inc., a family company founded by his father, is a distributor/fabricator of industrial and electronic seals, gaskets and sealants, manufactured by Parker Seal, Flexitallic, W.L. Gore, Garlock, 3M, Loctite, E. I. DuPont, Dow Corning, Parker/Chomerics, and many other leading seal manufacturers.

• Donald R. McNeeley, Ph.D., of Chicago, Illinois

Don McNeeley is the president of Chicago Tube and Iron, a steel company founded in 1914 on free-market principles, distinguished by its 96 consecutive years of profitability.  Dr. McNeeley is also a Northwestern University professor, where he teaches the capstone course in the graduate engineering program.

• Steve Parker, '73, of Dayton, Ohio

Steve Parker is the owner and president of Rush Transportation/Logistics, Inc., a full-service transportation and logistics service firm with centers in several Ohio cities. They deliver across the street or across the nation, from one ounce to 45,000 lbs.  They continually strive to provide on-time delivery, professional employees and value to their customers' distribution processes, and deliver over 2,000 packages per day.

PREVIOUS SPEAKERS:

• Chuck Stetson, chairman of Essentials in Education and managing director of PEI Funds, New York, New York.
• Kirk M. Cordill, '92, managing director and CEO of BMW Group Financial Services in China.
• Pamela J. Lowe, '80, corporate communications consultant with extensive experience in developing and directing comprehensive communication programs to drive corporate image and promote strategic business goals, Cincinnati, Ohio.
• Joseph C. Chocola, '84, president and CEO of the Club for Growth, America's leading limited-government, free-enterprise political advocacy group, Bristol, Indiana.  He was an Indiana Congressman from 2003 to 2007. 
• Kenneth Whipple, chairman of the Board of Consumers Energy Company, Jackson, Michigan.
• Jack Shewmaker, executive consultant recognized internationally for his retailing expertise.  He retired as an officer of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., Bentonville, Arkansas.
• Jack Kahl, president of Jack Kahl & Associates of Avon Lake, Ohio.  He is also the creator of Duck® tape.
• Katherine E. Doner, president of Doner Fundraising, Austin, Texas.
• Robert L. Luddy, president and CEO of CaptiveAire, Raleigh, North Carolina.
• David R. Giroux '98, vice president of T. Rowe Price, Inc. and T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc., Baltimore, Maryland.
• David M. Armstrong, president and CEO of Armstrong International, Inc., Stuart, Florida
• Bruce E. Thomsen, president and CEO of Asia Millennium Investments, Inc., Irvine, California.
• Miroslav Andrew Simo, president and founder or New Archery Products which reigns as the industry's premier archery accessory manufacturer, Forest Park, Illinois.
• Walter "Trip" Howell III, '80, an international director for the Washington, DC, operations of Jones Lang LaSalle, the largest commercial real estate firm in the world.
• Edward Peper Jr., '84, division general manager of Chevrolet, Detroit, Michigan.
• Michael Carnock, '84, founder of PDC, Inc., Columbia, Maryland, a land development company.
• Aaron Kennedy, founder and chairman of Noodles & Company, Boulder, Colorado, a high-growth, national chain of quick casual restaurants that features freshly sauteed noodle dishes from around the world.
• PJ Osgood, '95, co-owner of It's Just Lunch!, Chicago, Illinois, a premier dating service that specializes in low-pressure dates for busy and high-achieving professionals.
• Karlis Mateus, '81, president of Performance Systematix, Inc. in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
• JoAnne Shaw, founder and president of The Coffee Beanery, Ltd., Flushing, Michigan.
• Mark R. Taylor, president and CEO of St. John Hospital and Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan.
• John R. Hantz, CEO of the Hantz Group, a financial holding company located in Southfield, Michigan.
• Katherine Fischer, retired, Capital City Moving and Storage, Inc., Kansas.
• Robert Eastman, owner of Gorilla, Inc., Eastman Outdoors and Quick-Save Convenience Stores, Flushing, Michigan.
• William R. Sauey, chairman of Nordic Group of Companies, Baraboo, Wisconsin.
• Dennis Foley ’72, Green Beret, Hollywood screenwriter/consultant and novelist now living in Whitefish, Montana.
• George F. Kettle, former regional owner of Century 21 Realty, Washington, DC.
• John McIntyre, co-founder and former CEO of Health Care Microsystems, Inc., California.
• W. Robert Stover, chairman and founder of Westaff, Inc., California.
• Christopher Long, Chief Operating Officer of Friess Associates, LLC, Wilmington, Delaware.