FutureTech 2005 Features Senior Executives for Walmart and Virgin Mobile
Neil Harrison and Brian Loh, MBA 2's
Issue date: 2/7/05 Section: News
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The seventh annual FuturTech conference took place on January 27 and 28 at the Ross School of Business. More than 500 participants attended FuturTech events, including nine panel discussions and keynote speeches by Linda Dillman, Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of Wal-Mart Stores, and Howard Handler, Chief Marketing Officer of Virgin Mobile USA. FuturTech also included the Tech Fair trade show and Quick Pitch business plan competition.
Each year, FuturTech explores the intersection of business and technology, and the theme this year was "Competing & Living in a World Transformed by Technology." To attract attendees with a variety of interests, FuturTech partnered with other organizations in creating panels on topics ranging from medicine to marketing to sports. Conference events were co-sponsored by eleven different clubs and organizations: the High Tech Club, Marketing Club, Operations Management Club, Healthcare & Life Science Club, Entrepreneur & Venture Club, Net Impact, Nanotechnology Commercialization Group, Entertainment, Media, & Sports Club, Michigan Business Women, Women in Business Initiative, and the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Linda Dillman delivered the opening keynote address of FuturTech and received the Women in Leadership Award from Michigan Business Women and the Women in Business Initiative. Dillman told the story of her rise from administrative assistant at Indiana University to leader of one of the most respected and influential information services organizations in the world. Dillman advised students to "learn from every opportunity you have," "focus on being the best in every job you have," and "take opportunities that arise - even those that feel risky." To ensure a sustainable work-life balance, Dillman shared a useful trick: "When I go home, I take my laptop but always leave my power cord at work."
Howard Handler's keynote speech described how Virgin Mobile USA has rapidly built a base of over two million subscribers by focusing on the needs and desires of the youth market. Innovative services offered by Virgin Mobile include the "rescue ring," the ability to schedule phone calls to help rescue you from sticky situations, and the "drunk-dial blocker," a blocker that steps in late at night when the cell phone owner may have otherwise lost their inhibition. Further demonstrating Virgin Mobile's understanding of the youth market, Handler showed several humorous commercials from recent Virgin Mobile television ad campaigns. Handler has a bachelor's degree and M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Handler began his post-M.B.A. career at Quaker Oats and has held senior marketing positions at the National Football League, MTV: Music Television, and Saturday Night Live.
FuturTech was organized by students from the Ross School of Business, College of Engineering, and School of Information. Funding for the conference was provided by the schools and ten corporate sponsors, including Platinum sponsor Ecolab and Gold sponsors DaimlerChrysler, Sprint, and Citigroup Foundation.
Each year, FuturTech explores the intersection of business and technology, and the theme this year was "Competing & Living in a World Transformed by Technology." To attract attendees with a variety of interests, FuturTech partnered with other organizations in creating panels on topics ranging from medicine to marketing to sports. Conference events were co-sponsored by eleven different clubs and organizations: the High Tech Club, Marketing Club, Operations Management Club, Healthcare & Life Science Club, Entrepreneur & Venture Club, Net Impact, Nanotechnology Commercialization Group, Entertainment, Media, & Sports Club, Michigan Business Women, Women in Business Initiative, and the Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.
Linda Dillman delivered the opening keynote address of FuturTech and received the Women in Leadership Award from Michigan Business Women and the Women in Business Initiative. Dillman told the story of her rise from administrative assistant at Indiana University to leader of one of the most respected and influential information services organizations in the world. Dillman advised students to "learn from every opportunity you have," "focus on being the best in every job you have," and "take opportunities that arise - even those that feel risky." To ensure a sustainable work-life balance, Dillman shared a useful trick: "When I go home, I take my laptop but always leave my power cord at work."
Howard Handler's keynote speech described how Virgin Mobile USA has rapidly built a base of over two million subscribers by focusing on the needs and desires of the youth market. Innovative services offered by Virgin Mobile include the "rescue ring," the ability to schedule phone calls to help rescue you from sticky situations, and the "drunk-dial blocker," a blocker that steps in late at night when the cell phone owner may have otherwise lost their inhibition. Further demonstrating Virgin Mobile's understanding of the youth market, Handler showed several humorous commercials from recent Virgin Mobile television ad campaigns. Handler has a bachelor's degree and M.B.A. from the University of Michigan. Handler began his post-M.B.A. career at Quaker Oats and has held senior marketing positions at the National Football League, MTV: Music Television, and Saturday Night Live.
FuturTech was organized by students from the Ross School of Business, College of Engineering, and School of Information. Funding for the conference was provided by the schools and ten corporate sponsors, including Platinum sponsor Ecolab and Gold sponsors DaimlerChrysler, Sprint, and Citigroup Foundation.
