January 22, 2008

“Leadership in Technology” Executive Speakers Series Continues at NC State

Three visionary business leaders will share keys to succeeding in a high-tech world when they speak at North Carolina State University during the spring semester.

The Department of Computer Science at NC State is hosting the speakers as part of the Fidelity Investments “Leadership in Technology” Executive Speakers Series. The series, which is free and open to the public, began during the Fall 2007 semester as part of the department’s 40th Year Celebration. It resumes Jan. 29.

“It is truly an honor to host this distinguished group of speakers,” said Dr. Louis Martin-Vega, dean of the College of Engineering. “Our guests can offer our students valuable advice on how to adapt their leadership skills to the ever-changing technology landscape. We are grateful to Fidelity Investments for making this series possible.”

The first event, scheduled for Jan. 29, will feature Douglas M. Balog, Vice President of IBM Modular and Blade Systems Development and the Chairperson of Blade.org, the industry blade-server solution community. In his presentation, titled “Innovation Driven Leadership,” Balog will provide examples of where the ability to innovate has been the deciding factor between success and failure. He will also share his vision for where innovation is necessary to drive leadership in the future of information technology.

Balog first joined IBM a development programmer in 1983, and has held numerous positions in product development and management of servers, software and storage. Prior to his current position, he was Vice President and Business Line Executive for IBM BladeCenter. Balog graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Computer Science in 1983.

The series will continue on Feb. 26, when the speaker will be Bob Young, Founder and CEO of Lulu.com. The topic of Young’s presentation will be “Empowering Your Content.” He will discuss ways that Lulu.com, a marketplace for new digital content, has been a leader in the self-publishing revolution.

Young also co-founded Red Hat, the Fortune 500 open-source software company. His success has won him industry accolades, including nomination as one of Business Week’s “Top Entrepreneurs” in 1999. Young graduated from the University of Toronto in 1976.

The last event of the semester, on April 10, will feature Tom Mendoza, President of Network Appliance. Mendoza will speak on “The Power of Corporate Culture,” elaborating on how Network Appliance’s positive work environment, which allowed the company to be ranked #6 on Fortune Magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” for 2007, has played a central role in the company’s success.

Mendoza joined Network Appliance in 1994 and became its President in 2000. He is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame, which renamed its business school the Mendoza College of Business in 2000 in recognition of an endowment from Mendoza and his wife, Kathy.

All three events will take place at 6 p.m. in Room 1231 of Engineering Building II, the new home of the Department of Computer Science on NC State’s Centennial Campus. Admission is free, and the public is welcome to attend. Free parking after 5 p.m. is available in the deck on Partners Way.

For more information, including speaker biographies, talk abstracts, directions and a map, please visit the series Web site at www.csc.ncsu.edu/corporate_relations/fi_lit/.

— degraff —

Media Contact:
Nate DeGraff, (919) 515-3848 (office), (336) 253-2893 (cell), nate_degraff@ncsu.edu

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