Leadership Summit Features Colin Powell, Top Execs

Newswise — Former U.S. secretary of state Colin Powell will be joined by leaders in energy, communications, trade, and economic development at a September 24 business leadership conference at Mississippi State.

Powell, a retired four-star U.S. Army general who was the nation's top diplomat during President Bush's first term, will be keynote speaker for the event.

His presentation will begin at 8 p.m. in Humphrey Coliseum. MSU faculty, staff and students will receive one free admission ticket with valid identification. A limited number of $10 public seats are being made available Sept. 3, beginning at 8:30 a.m. from the coliseum ticket office. Otherwise, the two-day registration fee is $399.

Sponsored by the university's College of Business and Industry and Division of Academic Outreach and Continuing Education, the summit primarily features a series of workshops and panel discussions led by visiting executives.

"We have been very fortunate to secure some of the nation's most distinguished and successful executives to discuss critical business issues facing us in the future," said organizer Barbara Spencer, associate dean of the college.

"We believe these panelists will offer unique perspectives on rapid shifts in the world economy and world environment and the new demands for leadership," she added.

A partial list of featured workshop leaders includes:

--Richard Adkerson, president and chief executive officer of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc., the world's largest publicly traded copper company. He is an MSU accounting graduate and namesake of the college's accounting school.

--Chuck Boles, founder of the Chuck & Buddy business marketing firm. He is a senior member of the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors.

--Walt C. Coleman III, a National Football League official and longtime owner of Coleman Dairy in Little Rock, Ark.

--Ralph D. Crosby Jr., president and chief executive officer of EADS North America, one of the world's largest aerospace and defense companies.

--John Hendrix, director of economic development for the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.

--Carl Hicks, founder and president of the Growth Group in Chevy Chase, Md. An MSU management graduate, he held positions earlier with the World Bank and Verizon Communications., among others.

--Hu Meena, chief executive officer of Cellular South.

--James E. Newsome, president and chief executive officer of the New York Mercantile Exchange, the world's largest physical commodity futures exchange and pre-eminent energy and precious metals trading forum. He holds master's and doctoral degrees from MSU.

--Shirley Olson, president of Jackson-based Olson Consulting Group.

--Marshall Ramsey, editorial cartoonist with the Clarion-Ledger newspaper.

--David P. Rumbarger, president and chief executive officer of the Tupelo-based Community Development Foundation.

--Carolyn Shanks, senior vice president, administration and corporate support, Enexus Energy Corp., an independent, publicly traded nuclear power company founded by Entergy Mississippi. An MSU accounting graduate, she is Entergy's former president.

--Barbara Travis, executive director of the Mississippi World Trade Center.

Colin Powell also has held national leadership positions as the president's national security adviser and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His 1995 autobiography, "My American Journey," was a best-seller.