Delta State University’s College of Business will hold the 12th annual International Business Symposium on March 29-30.
The theme for this year’s symposium is business innovation, focussing on how businesses must remain innovative in both macro and micro aspects.
The symposium is sponsored by David and Sherry Abney, Mississippi Delta natives who currently reside in Atlanta. Abney, a 1976 graduate of DSU, began his career as a part-time United Parcel Service (UPS) package loader while in college. He now serves as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board for UPS, the world’s largest package delivery company. Abney is the eleventh CEO in the 107-year-history of UPS.
“Sherry and I wanted to do something meaningful for the Delta. By bringing global leaders onto campus and sharing their experiences with students, I believe we’ll be able to expand Delta State students’ horizons in how they see and prepare for their futures,” Abney said in a previous Delta State interview.
Along with Abney, the schedule will feature four distinguished speakers, all Delta State graduates:
*Laird Hamberlin: Hamberlin returns to the symposium to share his expertise. He received his bachelor’s in business administration from Delta State before going on to become the vice president of sales and commercial for Terminix (a division of ServiceMaster). Prior to being an equity investor of ServiceMaster and taking the company public in June 2014, he worked for various conglomerates including UTC Climate, Controls and Security, where he served as president of the access controls division.
*Teresa Hubbard: Hubbard is president and CEO of CITE ARMORED, a company which provides every level of service for the armored vehicle industry, including manufacturing, refurbishing, repair and part replacement. She is well-versed in business operations, staff supervision, sales and marketing and financial analysis and management. Hubbard received her bachelor degrees in accounting and CIS from Delta State.
*Rodney Scaife: Scaife serves as vice president and chief human resources officer for CPA Global-North America, the world’s leading intellectual property (IP) management and IP technology firm company. He previously held international positions as head of HR operations for PANDORA Americas, with oversight for the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. Scaife studied business administration at Delta State before completing his executive education studies at Cornell University’s Center for Advance Human Resources Studies.
*Josh West: West serves as CEO and co-founder of Blue Delta, a bespoke denim manufacturing company. Blue Delta jeans are made in the U.S.A with globally sourced premium raw materials. The company sells jeans in over 44 U.S. cities and abroad with accounts in Toronto and London. West is a 2005 graduate of Delta State, where he served as student body president.
The 2017 International Business Symposium is free and open to public. For more information, contact Zina Taran at 662-846-4190 or email ztaran@deltastate.edu.
