Sam Seltzer has been committed to personal enterprise throughout his life. In 1960, he founded Allison Corporation, a company that manufactures and sells a wide variety of automobile accessories with facilities in East Asia, Europe, and the United States. Allison was one of the first American companies to do business in Mainland China.
By the early 1980s, Sam came to recognize the need for undergraduate education in business skills, specifically for those young people wishing to join family enterprises or for those willing to make the commitment and to take the risks to start their own businesses. Thus, he became the founding chairman of Cornell PEP (Personal Enterprise Program); a program which began with one course in Business Planning, quickly grew to over 35 courses, mostly at the undergraduate level, and eventually merged into Entrepreneurship@Cornell (Entrepreneurship@Cornell).
In 1954, Seltzer started one of the first manufacturing operations to be set up under the Puerto Rican government's Operation Boot Strap. He was founder and an officer of the Commonwealth Manufacturers Association of Puerto Rico and the Plastic Manufacturers Association of Puerto Rico. The U.S. and Puerto Rican governments appointed him to serve on their respective committees to determine minimum wages for the island. From 1975-92, Sam Seltzer was also an officer and trustee of the Pension Fund of the United Furniture and Bedding Workers Union.
Sam Seltzer is a graduate of Cornell University.
Jerry Goldman is a senior tax partner at Ernst & Young. Goldman began his career in audit at Arthur Young before swtiching to the tax field. Arthur Young merged with Ernst and Whinney in 1989 to become Ernst & Young.
Jerry Goldman received his underegraduate degree from Cornell University and his MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Steven Wells is Chief Operating Officer of American Food & Vending Corporation. Founded in 1990 in Syracuse, N.Y., American Food & Vending has expanded beyond its original charter as a dining account to become one of the largest independent corporate dining and vending firms in the U.S. The company has consistently achieved annual growth rates exceeding 20 percent by carving out a niche as a viable alternative to the three large international foodservice companies. Clients include Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Nestle-Purina Petcare.
This lecture is part of the "Conversations with Entrepreneurs" series presented by the Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship at the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.
Steven Wells is a graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.
Joshua Wells is General Counsel of American Food & Vending Corporation. Founded in 1990 in Syracuse, N.Y., American Food & Vending has expanded beyond its original charter as a dining account to become one of the largest independent corporate dining and vending firms in the U.S. The company has consistently achieved annual growth rates exceeding 20 percent by carving out a niche as a viable alternative to the three large international foodservice companies. Clients include Anheuser-Busch, General Motors, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and Nestle-Purina Petcare.
Joshua Wells is graduate of the Cornell School of Hotel Administration.
<p>Drew Conklin works in Strategy & Operations for Deloitte Consulting in Washington, D.C. He currently works with governmental clients in the firm's federal practice. </p> <p>He previously completed internships in real estate consulting and investment management with firms in Queensland, Australia and Beverly Hills, California. </p> <p>Drew Conklin is a graduate of Cornell University.</p>
<p>Emmy Award-winning musician Peter Buffett has an acclaimed career that spans more than 28 years as a professional musician, composer, philanthropist and author. He began his career as the musical mind behind many of the early MTV bumpers of the '80s, and the climactic crescendo in the memorable "Fire Dance" scene in 1990's Oscar winning film Dances with Wolves. </p> <p>From 1987 to present, Buffett has released 15 records, and has been signed to such labels as Narada, Epic and Hollywood Records. He now owns two independent labels, BisonHead and BeSide Records.</p> <p>Buffett's latest venture is his inspiring new book, Life Is What You Make It. Personal and revealing, instructive and intuitive, Life Is What You Make It is about following passions over conventions, transcending your circumstances or status, taking up the reins of your destiny, and living life to its fullest. </p>
<p>Martin Garrett began his career as a Project Manager at HP Technology Finance where he worked for five years in the HP Leasing Business. He then continued working in computer software industry with McCue Systems and Cisco for three years. In 2006 Martin took became a Senior Financial Analyst at Chevron Energy Solutions. Over the past four years he has specialized in project finance.</p>
<p>Phillip Bell served 6 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force Civil Engineers and 5 years as an engineer with Corning Optical Fiber, and is currently the Manager of Business Development with Corning Strategic Growth.</p> <p>Phillip Bell earned a Mechanical Engineering degree from Oregon State University in 1994. He graduated with distinction from the Johnson School in 2007, where he was actively involved with Net Impact and the Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise.</p>
<p>Jonathan Green was recruited to Widetronix in its earliest stage to lead the implementation of market strategy. With an ongoing focus on business development, he has developed partnerships with Fortune 500 customers in the defense and medical device industries. Greene began his career in clean technology at Abt Associates, a research and consulting firm, in 1996 after receiving an MS degree in Environmental Management from the University of Michigan. At Abt he analyzed emerging clean technologies and advised federal agencies regarding commercial viability. Subsequently, as Director of Real Estate Development for Vail Resorts Inc., Greene managed pre-development for a portfolio of mix-use ski resort developments with budgets exceeding $450 million. Upon receiving an MBA from Cornell University in 2004, he became the founding Executive Director of Cornell's Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise where he led the administration of the organization and cleantech initiatives. Prior to joining Widetronix, Greene founded two technology ventures based on Cornell patented technology, including commercialization of a micro-fuel cell technology, and has successfully raised more than $4 million in early stage funding since 2004.</p>