{"id":81680,"date":"2018-10-15T14:51:14","date_gmt":"2018-10-15T19:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/?p=81680"},"modified":"2018-10-15T14:52:24","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T19:52:24","slug":"alumnus-david-abney-ups-head-urges-restoring-trust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.deltastate.edu\/news-and-events\/2018\/10\/alumnus-david-abney-ups-head-urges-restoring-trust\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumnus David Abney, UPS Head, Urges Restoring Trust"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. David Abney \u201976 and \u201915, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of United Parcel Service, returned to his alma mater to speak at the 14th<\/sup> annual International Business Symposium, which he co-founded with his wife, Sherry, in 2006.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. David Abney \u201976 and \u201915, chief executive officer and chairman of the board of United Parcel Service, stressed the importance of trust in his keynote address at Delta State University\u2019s 14th<\/sup> annual International Business Symposium last week. He used lessons learned from the Great Recession to discuss the imperative of reestablishing faith in businesses, government, and beyond.
\n<\/p>\n

Ten years after the Great Recession, America and the world still suffer from \u201ca crisis of confidence,\u201d he explained on the evening of Oct. 11 in Jobe Hall to kick off the two-day event, which was themed \u201cThe Global Financial Market.\u201d People\u2019s homes went underwater or were foreclosed. They stopped spending. Businesses scaled back or closed. The job market shriveled. \u201cAnd one big spiral resulted,\u201d he said, causing \u201cbusiness, political, and societal consequences\u201d and \u201ca loss of trust in our communities, financial institutions, government, and leadership in general.\u201d<\/p>\n

The $700 billion bailout for banks too big to fail resulted in new regulations and guidelines, he continued, and the country wound up split on fundamental divides because of a \u201cbig break of the social contract between Main Street and Wall Street.\u201d<\/p>\n

Therefore, restoring credibility has become key. One way Abney said that he seeks credibility: telling drivers that over the span of his 20 jobs in 44 years at UPS, he did theirs for four years.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt UPS, trust is certainly crucial,\u201d he said of the world\u2019s largest package delivery company. \u201cEach and every one of us has a role to play in trust.\u201d UPS counts 455,000 employees in 22 countries, ships 20 million items a day, and moves about 6 percent of the U.S. gross domestic production (GDP) and 3 percent of the world\u2019s GDP, according to his figures. \u201cWe don\u2019t make anything. There\u2019s no tangible product. If our customers don\u2019t trust us,\u201d he said, then UPS is doomed.<\/p>\n

So, too, are governments, NGOs, the media, and other institutions \u201csuffering from a complete lack of trust,\u201d Abney said, citing findings about lack of trust across the board from the Edelman Trust Barometer.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Abney answered numerous questions from the attentive audience.<\/p><\/div>\n

This is why, pointed out Abney\u2014who began his career as a part-time UPS package loader while in college at Delta State before rising to become the 11th<\/sup> CEO in its 111-year history\u2014his first public speech as UPS CEO in 2014 announced a company goal of performing 20 million hours of community service by 2020. It\u2019s also why he considers his job to set long-term strategy and not make day-to-day decisions, to stay up-to-date on current events, and to instill a philosophy of \u201cconstructive dissatisfaction\u201d and \u201ccontinuous transformation\u201d to combat complacency and remain relevant, Abney explained during a Q&A after his talk.<\/p>\n

Other questions he answered from the audience included topics such as tariffs, drones, and his daily routine.<\/p>\n

Delta State President William N. LaForge opened the evening by welcoming Abney, who with his wife, Sherry, established the symposium in 2006. Abney posed for selfies with students after his talk and chatted with scores of students individually.<\/p>\n

Other symposium speakers included former U.S. ambassador to Tanzania, Mike Retzer, CEO and owner of Retzer Resources, the largest McDonald\u2019s franchisee in the nation, with 101 stores; Delta State alumnus Arian Maliqi (B.A. in business administration in 2010; MBA in 2011), CFO of Press-Seal Corp., which provides infrastructure products for underground collection systems; and Dr. Darrin Webb, state economist and director of the University Research Center, a division of the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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