Business Association of Stanford Engineering Students

Feeling Entrepreneurial?

Stanford University's Entrepreneurial Thought Leaders Seminar is a weekly speaker series that brings innovation leaders from business, finance, technology, education, and philanthropy, to share their insights with aspiring entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Featured Video ~ Innovation & Entrepreneurship: Opportunities in Difficult Times

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft CEO, shares his optimism for emerging innovation in the midst of economic turmoil, and the story of his own entrepreneurial path. He also speaks of his company's continued investment in Internet-ready hardware and software that seeks progress in healthcare, education, and science.

Spring 2009 Speaker Lineup

April 8 Skilling Auditorium	Jensen Huang ~ Co-Founder, NVidia Jen-Hsun "Jensen" Huang co-founded NVIDIA Corporation in April 1993 and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the Board of Directors since its inception. Under his leadership, NVIDIA has become the world leader in visual computing technologies and one of the semiconductor industry's largest fabless companies.
April 15 Skilling Auditorium Dinner afterwards	Mari Baker ~ CEO, Playfirst, formerly Navigenics Mari Baker is currently the CEO of PlayFirst, Inc., an award-winning entertainment company that makes games appealing to everyone. Ms. Baker was most recently CEO of Navigenics, a healthcare company that combines advances in genomics and technology to provide personalized medicine. In 2006, she was an executive-in-residence at KPCB. Prior to that, she was president of BabyCenter. Under her leadership, BabyCenter became the world's leading website for new and expectant parents, winning numerous online health awards and expanding significantly offline and internationally.
April 22 Skilling Auditorium	Sheryl Sandberg ~ COO, Facebook Sheryl Sandberg graduated in 1991 from Harvard College, and worked under Lawrence Summers at the World Bank. She later earned her MBA from Harvard Business School in 1995 and worked at McKinsey & Co. as a management consultant. Sandberg then served as chief of staff to Secretary of the Treasury Lawrence Summers from 1999 to 2001. Turning down several investment bank offers, she joined Google in 2000. She was included in Fortune's 50 Most Powerful Women of 2007 and, at the age of 38, had the distinction of being the youngest on the list. In March 2008 she left Google Inc. to become Facebook's COO.
April 29 Skilling Auditorium Handout	Jennifer Fonstad & Steve Perricone, BioFuelBox Jennifer Scott Fonstad is a Managing Director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Considered one of the most senior women in venture today, Ms. Fonstad invests broadly in early stage companies, most recently taking an early leadership role in clean energy. Additionally, she has been working to change our country’s healthcare system through entrepreneurship. Steve Perricone is President and CEO (Co-Founder) of BioFuelBox Corporation. Steve has over 20 years experience in the technology industry, with over half of that in start-up environments. Most recently Mr. Perricone was Vice President of Worldwide Sales for SonicWALL (NASDAQ: SNWL). He joined SonicWALL when it had less than 20 employees and was instrumental in the growth of the company to over 450 employees worldwide.
May 6 Memorial Auditorium	Steve Ballmer ~ CEO, Microsoft Steven Anthony Ballmer needs no introduction. He has been the chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation since January 2000. Ballmer joined Microsoft on June 11, 1980, and became Microsoft's 24th employee, the first business manager hired by Gates. As a visionary and leader, Steve Ballmer has led Microsoft to the top of the computer software world.
May 13 Skilling Auditorium	Jeff Hawkins ~ Founder, Numenta Prior founder of Palm and Handspring Jeff Hawkins is well known as co-founder of two companies, Palm and Handspring, and as the architect of many computing products such as the PalmPilot and Treo smartphone. Jeff also has a deep interest in neuroscience, which led him to create the non-profit Redwood Neuroscience Institute (RNI), a scientific institute focused on understanding how the human neocortex processes information. While at RNI, Hawkins developed a theory of neocortex which appeared in his 2004 book, On Intelligence. With the team of Dileep George and Donna Dubinsky, Hawkins founded Numenta in 2005 to develop a technology platform derived from his theory.
May 20 Skilling Auditorium	Steve Westly ~ Former CA Controller Steve P. Westly is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at The Westly Group. Prior to founding the firm, he served as the Controller and Chief Fiscal Officer of the state of California. Throughout his career, Mr. Westly has developed expertise in fiscal management. He brought determination and commitment to the State Controller’s Office at a time when California was facing a severe fiscal crisis. In the private sector, Mr. Westly guided eBay through a period of rapid growth, serving as a Senior Vice President of Marketing, Business Development, Mergers and Acquisitions, and International Operations. Currently, Westly is California Campaign Co-chair for Obama for America and is a member of the campaign's finance committee.
May 27 Skilling Auditorium	Tina Seelig ~ Executive Director, STVP & Author, What I Wish I knew When I Was 20 Tina Seelig, Ph.D. is the Executive Director for the Stanford Technology Ventures Program where she is responsible for strategic planning, operations, and outreach efforts of STVP. In addition, Tina is the Director of the Stanford Entrepreneurship Network and the co-Director of the Mayfield Fellows Program. Tina's latest book, What I wish I knew when I was 20, provides insights on life, leadership, and the little things that make a big difference in an entrepreneurial setting.