Winter 2007 BGSIE

WINTER 2007

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ProďŹ ling Business Excellence

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what’s inside 2

A Message from the BGS President

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Letters to the Editor

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BGS Corporate Contributors and Affiliates 2007 Beta Gamma Sigma thanks those organizations that generously support the Society’s programs and services Beta Level Sponsors

Making a Difference - With Style

($50,000+) BusinessWeek

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Student Entrepreneur Sets Sights on Asia

Gamma Level Sponsors ($25,000-49,999)

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Member Leads On and Off the Court

10

A Rising Star in Silicon Valley

12

Bank of America Fortune College Loan Corporation (CLC) GEICO

Focus on Family Yields Small Business Success

Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) KPMG and the KPMG Foundation

Others

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16

EBL in Action: Willie Deese, President, Merck Manufacturing

1-800-Flowers.com A2Connect - BGS Wireless Solutions AACSB International AACSB Accredited Business Programs

Gifts from Friends

AVIS Rent A Car System, Inc. Barnes & Noble.com Becker Professional Review Corporantes, Inc. Diversity, Inc. The Economist Enterprise Rent-A-Car

BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE Beta Gamma Sigma 125 Weldon Parkway Maryland Heights, MO 63043-3101

Winter 2007 Volume 6, No. 4 Circulation: 101,257

Financial Times GlobalFit Herff Jones Hotels.com JobTarget Kaplan and Schweser Test Prep Services LIFE, Inc.

email: bgshonors@betagammasigma.org phone: 314-432-5650 website: www.betagammasigma.org

McGraw-Hill Professional MBNA Canada MiQuotes The PhD Project

If you have any questions or comments about this issue of the BGS International Exchange, please forward them to exchange@betagammasigma.org.

Princeton Review SIRIUS Satellite Radio SIRVA – BGS Home Benefits USA Today

Beta Gamma Sigma is a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organization.

The Wall Street Journal The Wall Street Journal Europe

BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG 1

world. In fact, many already have.

When I think about the success of our lifetime members in their professional endeavors, I get very excited. I was fortunate to serve as dean of the business school at Loyola Marymount University for many years, and I saw first-hand the quality of the individuals who were inducted as members there. Well, when my two-year term as president of Beta Gamma Sigma concludes next year, we will have brought into membership more than 41,000 outstanding new members from schools all over the world within that timeframe. That’s very exciting, and you should be proud to be a part of this organization. I know that I am, and we’ve got some great things in store for the future.

I’m very sorry more of our members’ stories couldn’t have been shared on the pages of the Exchange. I know there are 500,000 stories out there that could have inspired us – reinforced within us – the value of membership in our honor society. I’m not suggesting that our members succeed because they are members. But I do believe that committing to the Society’s ideals when beginning their professional journeys has helped our lifetime members along the way. I hope you feel the same way.

Honor, Wisdom and Earnestness. If you didn’t understand those ideals before, read the stories in this issue and you’ll get a better idea what we mean.

A Message from the BGS President

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ith this issue of the BGS International Exchange, we hope to enlighten you about the many different ways members are achieving greatness in our world.

Whether members’ journeys are entrepreneurial, within a traditional corporate environment, at a non-profit, or heading in a unique or unusual direction, members of Beta Gamma Sigma are contributing to the vitality and advancement of our world.

Now, remember that within these pages we profile just a few of our lifetime members and the directions they have taken. Their stories may be typical or unusual, but with more than 580,000 worldwide, our members can be found in every corner of the globe – doing anything and everything within business, nonprofit, government, law, and any other sector you can imagine.

We certainly wish each and every one of you good luck, and please remember the importance of the commitment you made when you joined Beta Gamma Sigma. “Honor, Wisdom and Earnestness” were the ideals you pledged to advance in your lives, and we’re counting on you to do just that. Those weren’t just words to fly through on the way to putting honor society membership on your resume. We all committed to keeping them frontand-center within our professional lives.

As you can see from the short Ethical Business Leadership piece on page 14, another member, Willie Deese, president of Merck Manufacturing, thinks that leading ethically within an organization is important enough that he’s willing to share some thoughts about what works for his company. How do leaders within your organization lead ethically? If you haven’t thought about it, maybe it’s time you do. Ethical Business Leadership is an outstanding goal, and one you can help advance within your sphere of influence. You don’t have to be the president or CEO, you just have to commit to making a difference and lead others around you.

I recently returned from the Fall 2007 BGS Student Leadership Forum in Tampa, Fla. I’ve written about the Forum before, but I’m always impressed by the quality of the individuals that take part in that event. Students from across the U.S. – in fact, from around the world with members participating from schools in Canada and Taiwan – came together and learned a little more about leading others and, more importantly, themselves.

This is just a great program and I believe we’ll see past participants start to make their mark on the business 2 BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG

Attention BGS Members: Don’t miss a single issue!

Because of the recent increase in postage costs, print editions of the BGS International Exchange will no longer be mailed to our entire membership.

Make sure you are on the permanent mailing list for every single new issue!

Send an email containing your current mailing address to: subscriptions@betagammasigma.org

What do you think about this issue of the International Exchange?

Send your letters and comments to the editor: exchange@betagammasigma.org

I thought that the articles with regard to the changing economic structures of India and China were quite enlightening. I also suggest a review of Alan Greenspan’s (BGS 1947, New York University)book Age of Turbulence, merits a review. I realize that reviewing a book more than three months past its release date is quite late; however, his trip through history contains many valuable lessons for today’s world. He has several chapters on various foreign competitors which provide valuable insight for American business.

William K. Bissey (BGS 1962, Indiana University)

Your Fall 2007 issue contained three articles that I found interesting.

Mr. Kent’s article about the need for collaboration, cooperation and relationships in an increasingly interconnected, but much larger world, was an excellent reminder that people still work on a relationship basis with others.

Your article on the emerging economic superpowers, China and India, was both informative and instructive as it highlighted the differences in their approaches to government and growth.

Lastly, the article on workplace discrimination reminded me that while the acceptance of diversity is improving we still have a ways to go.

Thank you for articles—they are informative and worthwhile.

Rick Atwill (BGS 1969, University of Miami)

I found the Workplace Trends article on “Fewer Mothers Feel Full-Time Work is Best for Them” very interesting. One option that was not discussed is working in a professional role part-time. I was able to negotiate with my company to slightly change my role and work part-time. I continue to add value to the company in a global role, while leaving the office in time to pick up my children from school. Busy mothers are some of the hardest working, most efficient women I know, and it can be a win-win situation for the companies and the mothers.

Helenmarie Mendoza Slater (BGS 1993, Arizona State University)

BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG 3

Who are Beta Gamma Sigma members?

Simply put, Beta Gamma Sigma members are the “Best in Business.”

Having found success in a virtually unlimited array of business opportunities, BGS members have proven themselves to be vanguards, entrepreneurs, forwardthinkers and, above-all-else, high achievers.

Beta Gamma Sigma takes great pride in the successes of our lifetime members, and hopes that you will enjoy this special issue of the International Exchange.

Who is Beta Gamma Sigma? You are Beta Gamma Sigma!

A

ccountants don’t typically use words like “creative” when describing themselves, or admit to having an overriding need to satisfy their artistic side. The generality is they tend to see the world in black and white, which works well for their numbers-based profession.

Melodie Bundrage succeeds within the hard confines of accounting with a softer, more colorful flair that satisfies her and her employer, 100 Black Men of America, Inc., where she is currently senior vice president, finance and administration. She found her niche in the nonprofit world because she wanted to make a difference; not just a difference for a company’s bottom line, but a real difference to people.

Bundrage began her college career with thoughts of merging her business and artistic talents into a career as a fashion buyer. She enrolled at Howard University as a fashion merchandising major, but soon found it necessary to find another direction when the university eliminated that major option.

Her father and mother, who owned and operated their own successful real estate management business, encouraged her to pursue the accounting track.

“My parents have always been business people,” Bundrage said.

“They gave me very good advice.”

Making a Difference - With Style Melodie Bundrage - BGS 1994, Howard University That advice included the need to develop a strong background in business principles. “They said, ‘If you want to own your own business, no matter what the business is – it can be one of your creative pursuits – but it will fail if you don’t have the business background that you need.”

Following her very successful undergraduate career – one in which she was selected to join Beta Gamma Sigma – Bundrage took advantage of the opportunities before her, as she interned with both IBM and Arthur Andersen.

She credits her accounting professors at Howard University with pushing her to join a large accounting firm, as well as helping her land a post-graduate opportunity at Harvard University. She accepted an offer from Arthur Andersen, so she was able to work as a staff auditor immediately following school. She eventually earned her master’s in Management (specializing in human resources) from the University of Maryland University College.

“Everything I’ve done since then was really developed at Andersen,” she said, “and that’s because every week, every couple of days – the longest I was with a client was probably a month – you got the chance to go out into different companies and industries and learn about their businesses.

“Working on different audit teams, you also worked with many different bosses. It really gave me a diverse exposure to the business world.”

However, she said the position took a great deal away from her personal life.

Marriage, children – it was becoming difficult to work and live the life she wanted with the extensive travel. So she took a position with the Enterprise Group within Arthur Andersen, which worked exclusively with small businesses and nonprofits. She said this experience led her into the nonprofit world, where she has worked ever since.

“My main interests were small businesses, and I found that I really loved working with nonprofits. With nonprofits, every day you’re working toward a mission.”

Bundrage said the day-to-day details of

“If I have to be working somewhere, and I have to spend time away from my kids and husband – on a Saturday, or on a conference call at 10 o’clock at night, or when I travel – I want to feel and think that I’ve given up those hours for a good reason. A reason that’s important to me.”

Melodie Bundrage Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration, 100 Black Men of America, Inc.

4 BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG

many for-profit industries didn’t really excite her. She found that she wanted to make a difference, and many companies were strictly bottom-line driven.

“It mattered to that business but didn’t matter to my heart; it wasn’t going to directly affect me or my community after 5 pm,” she said. “So, I found that I loved being involved with the missions of the nonprofit organizations, whether they were health care, education, higher education, it didn’t matter. I felt like we were doing something toward the greater good at the end of the day.”

She has also found time in her life to satisfy that creative side. She laughs while admitting that her interests might be unique in her profession.

“It is, because accounting is A+B=C. It’s very rigid,” Bundrage said. “I guess that (her creative side) is just my outlet. It’s always come natural to me – color and style, if you want to call it that.

“I was a licensed makeup artist in the state of Maryland, so I’ve worked for many high-end, prestigious cosmetic companies as a traveling freelance artist. It’s just always been very natural to me.”

Bundrage’s current employer, 100 Black Men of America, Inc, has 106 member chapters around the world. According to its website, the organization’s mission is to “improve the quality of life within our communities and enhance educational and economic opportunities for all African Americans.”

It specifically focuses on the development of African American youth.

“Basically, they mentor children,” Bundrage said, “children who would otherwise not have a role model or someone to inspire them to do better, do greater, go to college…We’ve helped thousands of children every year through direct mentoring programs – real men giving real time.

“It’s just something that I admire, because our membership base is a very influential population of African American males. They’ve all achieved a certain level of success in their lives, and they’re all willing to give back to the community.”

Bundrage spoke with pride about her affiliation to “The 100”: “For their core initiatives to be so closely linked to my aspirations in my

career, it was a perfect fit,” she said. Those core initiatives include education, health and wellness, economic development and mentoring.

She’s also quite proud of what she ranked as the most important thing in her life: her family. She and her husband John have three children, Mariah, Mychael and Jasmine. She said they are each bright, talented, and understand the importance of hard work and dedication.

Professionally, Bundrage said nonprofits have been the perfect fit for her. She said she likes the challenge of helping organizations operate efficiently while also doing something good.

“If I have to be working somewhere, and I have to spend time away from my kids and husband – on a Saturday, or on a conference call at 10 o’clock at night, or when I travel – I want to feel and think that I’ve given up those hours for a good reason. A reason that’s important to me.”

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Student Entrepreneur Sets Sights on Asia David Guerrera - BGS 2007, Fairfield University

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eta Gamma Sigma members are, by definition, intelligent.

They’ve accomplished a great deal academically, which sets them apart from their peers. When you get to know a little about David Guerrera, however, you see a student member who’s got a truly bright future, and the energy to make his goals happen.

As a senior finance major set to graduate from Fairfield University in May 2008, Guerrera is a young man who’s taking advantage of every opportunity as it comes along. He’s one of the few students in the Charles F. Dolan School of Business to have been selected to complete two summer internships at the General Electric Company, and he’s turned those into a full-time offer of employment with GE

Healthcare upon graduation.

During his junior year, Guerrera was chosen for the prestigious William G. McGowan Scholarship, which pays $18,000 toward his senior year. The McGowan Charitable Fund rewards applicants who achieve not only academic excellence, but who also demonstrate leadership qualities, show intellectual curiosity, display entrepreneurial potential, and are significantly involved in campus and

community activities.

His entrepreneurial potential was apparent early on.

“Ever since a young age I’ve had my fair share of small startups – the local (snow) shoveling business around the neighborhood, a radio station I started with my friends.

“But it really started in my freshman year in high school when I founded my own disk jockey business. I’m 100 percent Italian – we have a big Italian family – and whenever I’d go to weddings I thought it would be fun to be a DJ. So, a friend and I bought our first set of equipment – our parents put in a couple hundred dollars – and we bought some used speakers. Little by little we started doing birthday parties and other small events, and before you know it we were advertising on the radio and on TV. “So, now we’ve got a successful disk jockey business doing school dances, bar mitzvahs, weddings and a little bit of everything. We started with a hobby and from there we grew it into a successful business.”

Guerrera said the business is still going strong, and since 2002 his company has handled the music for many of the big events on campus at Fairfield University.

Guerrera said he’s very close to his family, and they are the driving force behind his success to date. His father moved to the United States at the age of 15,

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and has always pushed him to excel.

“As a first generation Italian immigrant, I have seen many of the struggles he’s been through and his accomplishments,” Guerrera said.

“He’s always stressed the importance of education – ‘Go to college, get an education, it will be worth it in the long run.’ He’s always instilled that sense that, ‘Hard work pays off.’ My family’s always stressed that work ethic, whether it’s been at home or at school.”

Guerrera’s minor is Asian studies, and like everything else, he’s been passionate about growing his knowledge base about that part of the world.

“All you hear in the news is about China – China is expanding, China will be No. 1 or No. 2 as a world power in 20 years – so my junior year I was looking to study abroad,” he said. “Typically, my options would be somewhere in Europe. But I thought, ‘What if I went to China?’ I knew that the university offered a program in Beijing, so it was almost spur-of-themoment that I decided that I was going to study in China.”

He took part in a study abroad program run jointly by The Beijing Center at Loyola University Chicago and the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) in Beijing. While at UIBE, he became more immersed in the society by taking language classes, business classes, and visiting cultural and business sites in and around Beijing.

Does he see his future working for GE in Asia?

“Definitely. The program I’m in right now with General Electric, which I start in July, has several six-month rotations in either Japan or China,” he said. “That’s one of the main reasons I picked GE Healthcare.

“Actually, before this semester started, I just got back from a trip to Tokyo, Japan for two weeks. Hopefully I’ll go back – maybe not right after college, but within the next few years I’d like to get into one of GE’s programs” in Asia.

He says having a job lined up – with the company he’s wanted to work for since his sophomore year – has allowed him to relax and enjoy the college experience this year. But for his future, he sets lofty goals.

“I would love to be a CFO someday. That’s my dream,” he said.

“Either with a division of GE or another company.”

But before looking too far down the road, Guerrera intends to have a good time, work hard, and continue making the most of the opportunities before him. And when he has opportunities to travel, he intends to take them.

“I plan to get the most I can out of work,” he said, “and one of the ways is to explore the world and learn as much as I can while I’m still young.”

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Member Leads On and Off the Court Martin Klimes - BGS 2005, University of Vermont

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ost Beta Gamma Sigma members that finished undergraduate degrees in spring 2007 are either working hard at their first professional positions or working hard on graduate studies.

Martin Klimes, who completed his studies in finance last spring in the School of Business Administration at The University of Vermont, currently works hard at a completely different pursuit – professional basketball. Putting aside his business goals for a bit, Klimes signed a one-year contract with Alcazar de San Juan, a team in Spain’s second division that plays in the town Alcazar, located about 80 miles south of Madrid.

“It’s actually going really well,” he said recently. “So far this season we are 6-1 and in first place in our division. We’re playing very well right now.”

Klimes wound up playing professionally in Spain because he signed with an agent who specializes in placing players in the Spanish professional leagues. He has enjoyed the experience so far.

Aside from soccer, Klimes said basketball is the most-watched sport in Spain. So, even though the team is in the second division (similar to minor league baseball in the U.S.), they have a strong following. He said that being in the small city of Alcazar, they generally play before a few thousand people at each game. “We are the top sports team in the area, so there is a very good following.”

Athletics in general and basketball in particular has been a passion of Klimes’ family for several generations. His sister, Zuzi Klimesova, was an all-conference forward at Vanderbilt University who went on to play professionally in the U.S. in the WNBA, in Europe, and then represented the Czech Republic in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. Both of his parents, Vlastibor Klimes and Dana Klimesova, and an uncle played for Czechoslovakian Olympic basketball teams, and his grandmother is considered by many to be the greatest allaround female athlete of post-World War II Europe.

“My family has been very good at sports,” Klimes said. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to reach the level and fame that my parents, sister, uncle and grandmother have achieved in their lives, but I’m very proud of them. They have done incredible things throughout their careers, and I’m just happy that I can follow in their shoes and play here in Spain and have a great time.”

Usually when you hear the term “studentathlete,” the “athlete” side of the equation takes precedence. But Klimes, who is from Prague, Czech Republic, matches his basketball passion with his dedication to academic excellence. As a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, he completed his degree in finance and was rewarded by being twice named the America East Conference’s Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete.

In addition, he earned membership on the conference’s All-Academic Team and Academic 8 BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG

Photo by Peter Aiken

Commissioner’s Honor Roll, and was named to ESPN The Magazine’s Academic All-District I Team.

He said his experience at The University of Vermont gives him confidence for the future.

“It was absolutely incredible,” he said. “Part of me being so successful, not only on the basketball court but on the academic side, is because I’ve had so much support from everybody involved at the university. The dean of the business school was extremely helpful throughout my career; all of my professors – not only those in the business school – were very helpful.

“But at the same time it was extremely challenging, not only managing athletics and school, but the business school really challenges all its students. You had to work very hard to do well and to prosper, so I’m very grateful for what the school has given me.”

percent effort. He said he’s very thankful they passed that along to him.

“My family is incredibly competitive,” said Klimes. “Because we are all athletes, each one of us hates losing. Everything was always a competition; everyone was always trying to outdo the other.

“And athletics can be very similar to business. You work in teams, you compete against others, you have to keep working and getting better at

“Athletics can be very similar to business. You work in teams, you compete against others, you have to keep working and getting better at your job. Sometimes you have bad days, but in the end you have to give it 100 percent every day.”

Martin Klimes BGS Member and Professional Basketball Player, Alcazar de San Juan

Rocki-Lee DeWitt, dean of the School of Business Administration at The your job. Sometimes you have bad University of Vermont, said Klimes stood out among his peers for various days, but in the end you have to give reasons. it 100 percent every day.

“Mr. Klimes epitomizes ‘earnestness,’” she said. “Every moment was treated “So, I think athletics are a great as a learning moment – he had this inquisitive look, asked clarifying questions, way to get ready for the business and if he found something in his subsequent reading that pertained to the topic world, and I hope someday I can use it you were discussing, he’d be sure to bring it to your attention. We were clearly to my advantage.” learning together.”

In addition, DeWitt pointed out his status as a leader. As a player, she said he was always encouraging his teammates to do KPMG is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer, M/F/D/V. KPMG maintains a well academically, and was selected to represent his teammates drug-free workplace. 14810STM when the school was searching for a new head basketball coach.

He was voted co-captain for his final two seasons on the team, and often assisted in recruiting potential players who cared about both athletics and academics.

DeWitt said Klimes shined as a leader on campus as well, whether in his role as a teaching assistant for accounting classes, taking charge in a Beta Gamma Sigma chapter meeting when they were attempting to choose a scholarship recipient, or just A firm foundation for success. You can find it at by saying “thank you” to faculty and staff who were making a difference in his and other students’ lives.

KPMG LLP. We start by giving you personal Klimes said it was a difficult decision to forgo business for responsibility for your own career development. a while to pursue a pro basketball career. He had opportunities Then we support you with the people, processes, with large companies in New York City and London, and and experiences to help you turn your goals and seriously considered giving up his athletic dream. aspirations into a powerful plan of action.

“The basketball career was an opportunity now or never,” he said. “I talked to a lot of people about this decision, especially Whatever you’re looking for in a career, you can find in the finance field, and it was funny because all of them gave it at KPMG—the Big Four accounting firm that helps me the unanimous answer that, ‘You have the opportunity to you build your career. Your future. And your life. do something special now – do it. Don’t even think about it. Just make sure you keep networking and let people know where you kpmgcareers.com are and what you’re doing. Afterward, those people will help you get back into it.’”

A great place to build your career.

Klimes seems very happy with his decision.

“As of right now I’m sure I made the right choice,” he said. “I need a little more time before I enter the 7 (am) to 6 (pm) world.”

Klimes said his family has definitely been the driving force behind his success. He said each of his family members believes that if you’re going to do something – anything – do it at 100

Our most essential resource: You.

BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG 9

the elite of the San Francisco Bay area.

“I worked for two of the largest specialized staffing companies in the world previously. Before I Francisco State University started up Lighthouse Management Group, I saw somewhat of a shift in the market in what companies and clients look for in our industry.

That was pretty much the genesis of my ideas and how I wanted to build up my company,” said Woo. “I knew working in a larger, more corporate setting, it’s not (easy) to be as entrepreneurial as you would like to be because of the bureaucratic structure that is involved. The best way I could build my vision was to start up my own company.”

Woo’s leadership of LMG is one of balance and know-how. He combines a profound respect for his staff with a commitment to ethical leadership and savvy business sense.

“First of all, the great people that I have working here with me, I think that’s pretty much the driving force,” he said. “You’ve got to have good people first and foremost. Second of all, you’ve got to have a certain culture within your team, and the best way to build that is to hire and mentor people with the same mindset.

You’ve got to have, I guess, what I like to call a winning attitude…someone who is truly motivated by being successful. Obviously everybody wants to do well and make money and all the things that go along with that but you have to have people who are self driven and truly motivated to do well for themselves.”

Woo laughs modestly when asked to attribute his success. He admits competition may be his greatest motivator.

“I’m probably the most competitive person I know. That’s what drives me,” he said. “It’s not just competing with other people or other companies, I compete with myself. I want to continue to outdo and improve myself every single day,

A Rising Star in Silicon Valley Song Woo - BGS 1998, San

H

e was once employed by two of the largest staffing firms in the world. He had drive, determination and the desire to build his own company, his own way. Most recently, he was named to The Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal’s Annual “40 under 40” list as someone to watch, and is what some might call a rising star. He is Song Woo, Beta Gamma Sigma member and president of Lighthouse Management Group (LMG), once a start-up company that has become a multi-million-dollar firm.

Woo identified trends and deficiencies in the staffing and recruiting industry when he worked for the large firms. He took that knowledge and built his own company, which propelled Woo into

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every week, every year. I want to be the best I can possibly be. That type of mindset helps me to continue to strive and move forward. I’m never content. I’m just not satisfied. Whatever goals I achieve, I instantly set new goals and achieve higher standards so we can keep growing and continue to do better.”

Woo also places a tremendous value on ethical leadership and incorporates ethics into the core values of LMG. It is a value that starts at the top and trickles down throughout the company.

“We always want to do what’s right for everyone involved,” he said. “We’re not driven solely (by) making profit. Quality always comes first. Ethics always comes first. We conduct our business in a way where we are doing what’s best for our clients and our candidates, not just what’s going to make us the most money.

So if we feel like something isn’t up to our standards, we will not pursue that avenue. We want to make sure we do everything ethical with the proper business ethics and morals involved.”

Woo also isn’t afraid to make the hard decisions that go along with being on top. With the reality that every client may not share his moral agenda, Woo places his reputation above profits.

“In this business we work with every type of business and every industry you can imagine,” he said. Because of this, Woo said there are times when LMG must consider its options carefully. It can be easy to “go beyond our moral boundary lines,” and he said it’s everyone’s

request, everything is done the way it has to be done. Everything is always on time and per plan, which is nice.

They are a good team of people.”

Lighthouse Management Group’s growth, although important, is not Woo’s only passion. He has an intrinsic desire to help those in need in the community. By holding workshops on resume writing, interviewing skills and career counseling, Woo hopes to help others achieve success and a better life.

“I like to help people. That’s one of the main reasons why I got into this business, or in this industry, a long time ago,” said Woo. “I work with different groups and different leaders to help people become more

“I’m probably the most competitive person I know. That’s what drives me...It’s not just competing with other people or other companies, I compete with myself. I want to continue to outdo and improve myself every single day, every week, every year. I want to be the best I can possibly be.”

Song Woo President, Lighthouse Management Group

responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“We do what’s best and what is right for the client,” he explained, “but when they ask us to step aside or walk through some gray areas, we choose not to conduct business in that matter. So, we let them know.”

This approach has paid off for Woo and LMG, although he says it can be hard to quantify the value of doing the right thing. He said he believes that most people in business are ethical, and it’s important to maintain your personal and business reputation.

“Obviously we are a small company so it’s probably a little bit easier for us to communicate our ethics all the way up from the top to the bottom more effectively,” Woo said. “But, we have checks and balances in place so we don’t cross that line. We’ve got a couple of different business units here that we always have to communicate with through meetings and various communications to ensure we are all conducting business in the right manner.”

Clients of Woo echo this same sentiment. According to long-time and loyal client Angel Ruiz of Sunpower Corp., Woo’s business practices are nothing short of spectacular. Setting up a food service for Ruiz’s company, Woo impressed Sunpower Corp.’s top executives with his attention to detail and ability to deliver what he had promised on time.

“The job will be done on time and with real, good data. Song set up a cafeteria service here at my company, Sunpower. He was amazing the way he did it. He set up a food service and overall brought in a team of people and foods from many companies for us to try. His attention to detail was amazing,” said Ruiz. “I actually have to deal with them very little because anytime I call with a

successful. I provide free services with respect to career counseling. I try to help people get better jobs, be more successful and guide them in their career paths.”

Woo moved with his family from Korea to the U.S. when he was four years old. His father died eight years later, and he learned a great deal about work ethic from his mother.

“I grew up here in the (San Francisco) Bay area…” Woo said.

“Growing up I watched my mom work so much. My dad passed away when I was 12 years old, so she pretty much has been the focal point of my life and how I go about business and how I conduct myself.” He said his mother’s example has inspired him to reach the top.

Woo attended Saint Mary’s Continued on Next Page

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Hubert Glover President, CEO and Co-Founder of REDE, Inc.

doctorate in accounting from Texas A&M in 1992.

“I think from childhood I have always had an insatiable thirst for knowledge,” said Glover, CMA, CIA and CPA. “I have always been a pursuer of information, and I think learning is a lifelong process.”

Glover attributes much of his current success Hubert Glover - BGS 1980, Clark Atlanta University to his varied experiences in the professional and educational arenas, and has found that the two different fields intertwine quite nicely. atience, hard-work, great “My professional experience has helped me to be effective in the classroom as people who I have collaborated well as in contributing to professional research,” he said. “At the same time the with, and doing my networks I have developed through my research have opened up doors and led to homework.” Those are the factors that new professional opportunities.

Hubert Glover, president, CEO and “All of my business opportunities interact with one another. They have all co-founder of REDE, Inc., points to as been blended, interactive and integrated experiences.” keys to his business success.

Glover’s background in education has influenced how he leads his company – With his 28 years of executive taking more of an “educational approach” to management. “I try to educate my leadership, management consulting customers, and I try to educate my management team and my employees as and operational management well.” experience, Glover has effectively With REDE, Glover heads an incredibly fast-growing company with 150 served corporate entities ranging from employees in seven states providing an array of professional and support services small business contractors to Fortune to a diverse list of clients in both the public and private sectors.

500 commercial enterprises.

While still working full-time for other companies, Glover co-founded REDE Prior to founding REDE, Glover in 1998 as “the proverbial started-at-home business,” he said. REDE was formed served as president and CEO of with a simple goal in mind – to earn enough extra income to help put his family PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP’s members through college.

Atlanta office. While there, Glover According to Glover, the importance of family is at the foundation of the managed 200 employees and $20 company’s very core. million in annual revenue. Glover “R-E-D-E stands for family members,” he explained. “The co-founder’s name has also worked in higher education, is Dr. Roni Glover and we have two kids and both of their middle initials are E serving as a member of the business and my middle initial is D,” so he explained that even the name itself was mixed faculty at Clemson University, with his love of family.

Howard University and Georgia State Tapping into the skills and knowledge that he had gathered from his University. professional experience within the business world, Glover used REDE as a vehicle Education has been a constant to share his expertise with others. The company’s success has grown over time. motivator for Glover, who received his “It was something that if someone needed some consulting services, I would

Focus on Family Yields Small Business Success

P

‘A RISING STAR’ (cont. from page 11) College of California where he earned his MBA, and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from San Francisco State University in business analysis and finance. He earned the invitation and became a lifetime member of Beta Gamma Sigma as a senior in 1998.

Woo’s excitement is apparent as his company makes plans to expand next year with a second location.

“We will definitely expand,” he said. “Right now we currently have one location in Silicon Valley but we are planning to open another location probably third quarter of next year.”

12 BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG

Future plans call for the company to expand into every major market.

With Woo’s drive, determination, competitive edge and emphasis on doing the right thing, there’s nothing stopping him from achieving those goals and more.

Photo by Craig H. Hartley/Houston Business Journal

“My professional experience has helped me to be effective in the classroom as well as in contributing to professional research…At the same time the networks I have developed through my research have opened up doors and led to new professional opportunities.”

make myself available or a family member would make (him or herself) available,” Glover said. “We would just provide some advice to small- to medium-sized businesses. Over time, and with the changing of the economy, we saw an opportunity to start pursuing some of the same advice that we were giving to other companies, so we pursued it.”

Today, REDE provides outsourcing services that operate on the client’s side – providing an array of support services in the areas of information technology, general administrative services and document management.

The company’s client list includes CenterPoint Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Another of REDE’s clients, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, recognized the company’s efforts with the 2007 NASA Minority Contractor of the Year award.

In October 2007, Glover was honored by his alma mater, Texas A&M University. The school’s Center for New Ventures and Entrepreneurship ranked REDE No. 1 on its annual Aggie 100 – a list of the 100 fastest-growing companies owned or operated by Texas A&M University graduates. The company has achieved a compound annual growth rate of 371.32 percent from 2004-06.

“This is my Oscar. I will cherish this the rest of my life,” remarked Glover when accepting the award.

Despite his many successes, Glover remains grounded within his own core values.

“I don’t do business unless it is based on integrity and honesty,” he said. “It drives who I work with, the kind of people I employ, and it drives all of our behavior.”

Glover’s future plans for REDE mesh well with the company’s original purpose.

“My exit strategy for REDE is to make it as successful as reasonably possible and hopefully translate it into selling the company and taking its value to launch a foundation to make sure future generations of my family can go to college,” he said. “But it’s also to start an external foundation that will help others who do not have the same resources that my children had.”

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As part of Beta Gamma Sigma’s Ethical Business Leadership initiative, the Society is seeking to spark a global discussion about this issue and its importance to the business community. To that end, members of the BGS Board of Governors have been meeting with corporate executives to discuss this important topic, and to learn what these companies and business leaders are currently doing to ensure ethics is a core part of their business.

In October 2007, David H. Blake, Chairman of the Beta Gamma Sigma EBL Task Force, sat down with Willie A. Deese, president, Merck Manufacturing, to learn more about Merck’s approach to Ethical Business Leadership. The following are excerpts from that discussion.

“I take this (ethical leadership) very seriously, and certainly Merck takes this very seriously. We are in a business where reputation means everything, and once you lose it, getting it back is very difficult. We believe the best way to enhance that and ensure that you don’t lose it is to really invest in maintaining it.”

Willie A. Deese President, Merck Manufacturing

David Blake: Maybe the best place to start is to ask you to describe the process and what goes on to establish, and rejuvenate if need be, the values and ethics by which Merck is guided.

Willie Deese: I think that we have a couple of approaches to ethical business leadership. It’s not just a set of policies, though we have a strong set of policies. It’s really in our DNA from the time we hire people into our company… I think we then train well, and we reinforce that training through focus groups and surveys to understand whether or not people are still aligned with those policies and programs we set in place.

DB: It’s one thing to say that everyone needs to behave ethically, and it’s another to make sure it happens, and is able to happen. Not just that you check up on people, but that they are able to do it.

WD: We believe in a three-prong approach. One is training, both formal and informal – online and classroom. The other is providing support mechanisms and ensuring they are there when employees need them. The other piece, when I said that it’s in the DNA here, I honestly feel that we operate as an honor society. It’s the expectation coming in, and daily, that you are going to operate with high levels of integrity. Then, if it is not happening there is a strong possibility, probability, your peers will call you on that behavior.

DB: Do you see that happening?

WD: I think it does happen, and I think it happens at all levels. And I think we’re getting better at it. I don’t think it’s something people are necessarily comfortable doing.

We actually have training in that regard, where people are encouraged and taught how to have those kinds of interactions both at a peer level and above.

DB: How far down does Merck’s ethics training go? Is it more or less upper-management level?

WD: No, it permeates down to every level of the 14 BGS INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE WINTER 2007 WWW.BETAGAMMASIGMA.ORG

organization…the expectations are set for everyone and they’re reinforced through departmental meetings, one-on-one coaching and various other methods of communication.

DB: What if you have someone who really does a terrific job in meeting the numbers, but there are some issues about how he or she is behaving ethically?

WD: That would be a problem. Because as a leader, whether you are talking about executive level or managerial level, the expectation is that’s going to be dealt with following the typical remediation processes that exist here at Merck. So, part of our yearly evaluation really does evaluate, “How did you do it?” as well as “What did you do?” It is impossible here to do well on the ‘what’ and poorly on the ‘how.’

DB: Easy choices are easy choices, it’s the hard choices that are tough in many ways. What is done to help people in general when they are confronted with difficult decisions to make?

WD: First, because we have trained our managers and leaders well, that should be the first port of call for the employee who might be having difficulty. Our next port of call is the Office of Ethics and Integrity, and that office is staffed with individuals who understand many of the issues that confront our organization and the industry. From there, we also have the finance organization, our audit organization and our security organization that could also help.

DB: Is there any penalty for calling up one of those offices, and saying “This is a little bit beyond me and I need your help?”

WD: Absolutely not. The reason there is no penalty or fear of retaliation is that we want to create an environment, and we’ve created an environment, that encourages people to actually engage…where people do indeed feel safe to raise issues.

There is not a recipe book or cookbook that you could develop that’s going to address every situation that might arise. So, we

would not expect an employee to know how to respond to every possible permutation or issue that might come forth.

only the ethical standards of Merck but also the ethical expectations of Willie Deese?

DB: Does that work? Do you find generally that when people are a little stuck or in a quandary, do they generally pick up the phone and call somebody for help?

WD: I think it is, not because we have people who need to be reminded but because it is important when you think of the pace of what we do. It is important to remind people to take the time to make sure they are thinking of ethics and integrity issues. I don’t think anyone would knowingly do anything unethical, but when you are moving at the pace we move, it could be a situation of neglect. I think the probability of that is actually pretty low, but I do think it is important…it’s important to have people around you that you trust.

WD: I think they do. I think people in general know that we take ethics and integrity serious here at Merck and if people are going to err, they are going to err on the side of caution.

There is not a “three-strikes-you’re-out” kind of thing here.

If you are caught doing something unethical there is a high probability that you are going to lose your job. It’s going to result in termination, and those are the consequences. We don’t make this punitive, we make it factual and everyone understands that’s the consequence for violating an ethics policy or program in a very serious manner.

DB: As we know, values and ethics are somewhat culture bound and there are some very difficult issues that come across when operating in countries where there are these differences. How is Merck able to find its way through these various shoals that are on all sides at times?

DB: I don’t mean to be a cynic, but many companies have well developed codes and credos. They are often on the office walls; they stay there and no one looks at them very much. Is this really taken seriously throughout the Merck organization?

WD: Our approach to ethics and integrity globally is “the code is the code,” and that is where we start. Now we do recognize that there are some nuances and differences from country to country and culture to culture, but we start with the code is the code. From there if we have to make exceptions or changes to accommodate a country we will do so, but what we will not do is compromise our principles.

WD: It’s taken very seriously, particularly when it comes to ethics. In fact I’ve worked at four large national and multinational companies and I would say the ethics program we have here at Merck is the strongest I have ever seen.

And I didn’t come from organizations that were laggards in this respect. It is strong here. It truly is part of the DNA… I take this very seriously, and certainly Merck takes this very seriously. We are in a business where reputation means everything, and once you lose it, getting it back is very difficult. We believe the best way to enhance that and ensure that you don’t lose it is to really invest in maintaining it.

DB: Do you find in your own selection or promotion of people underneath you that it is important to reinforce not

For video clips from this discussion, go to: www.betagammasigma.org/ebl

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Beta Gamma Sigma gratefully acknowledges the support of the following individuals, as well as the organizations listed on page one. Without this assistance, the Society would be unable to continue adding value to the lifetime membership.

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