Presbyterian College’s Department of Economics and Business Administration has announced its lineup of Fall 2018 speakers, as part of a yearly speakers series through The Society for the Advancement of Management (SAM) and the BB&T Program for the Study of Capitalism.

Industry experts, including PC alumni, will speak to students about several aspects of business such as marketing, management, employment and law.

“Our classes relate business and economics theories to case studies and current events,” said Dr. Suzie Smith, PC professor of Economics and Business Administration. “The speakers series  strengthens classroom experience and introduces students to successful business leaders who apply these principles every day.”

The SAM events, which start on Sept. 11, will be held in Jacobs Hall (108) on campus. The BB&T speaker will speak at Edmunds Hall. The community is welcome.

The following is a list of the Fall 2018 speakers:

Warren Blanchard, ’92
11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 11

Warren Blanchard, of McGriff Insurance Services (BB&T Bank), has more than 20 years of experience in his field. The PC alumnus will speak about strategic selling, the impact of 9/11 on the insurance industry, and offer advice for launching careers.

Jill Mungovan
11 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18

Jill Mungovan, director of marketing at Hubbell Lighting in Greenville, S.C., is described as a “high-energy marketing management professional.” Strategic marketing will be the focus of Mungovan’s talk. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Roanoke College and an MBA from Georgia State University’s Robinson College of Business.

Leigh Nason
4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 20

Leigh Nason is a shareholder at Ogletree Deakins Law Firm in Columbia, S.C. and co-chairs the firm’s Affirmative Action/OFCCP Compliance Practice Group. Nason, a Wake Forest University and University of South Carolina School of Law graduate, will speak about what college students need to know about employment law.  She was named Columbia Employment Lawyer of the Year in 2017.

Marshall Davis
11 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 27

Marshall Davis is the owner/operator of Chick-fil-A in Laurens County. Davis, who graduated from the Moody Bible Institute, of Chicago, will talk about the business model of the popular fast food chain.

Matthew Larry ’16
11 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 2

Matt Larry is an inside sales account representative at UPS. As a recent grad who majored in Business Administration with a Management concentration and minored in political science, Matt actively participated in attending business speaker programs.

Dr. Murray Bessette — BB&T Speaker
“So You Think You’re a Socialist?”
7:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 3, Edmunds Hall

Murray Bessette is the director of academic programs at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, where he leads its educational and scholarly activities. Bessette holds a Bachelor of Arts honours and Master of Arts from the University of Alberta, a Master of Arts and Ph.D. in political science from the Claremont Graduate University.

Carly Tebbetts ’96
Noon-1:15 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 10

Carly Tebbetts, who double majored in physics and business at PC, went on to work at Milliken & Company in Spartanburg, S.C. She earned a Master of Business Administration at Clemson University and today is a senior operations leader at the company. Tebbetts will speak about Lean Management and 5S Organizational Techniques.

Rob Coleman ’11 and Kat Leitner ’11
3 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13

Rob Coleman, wealth management advisor at Foster Victor Wealth Advisors in Greenville, S.C., has a Bachelor of Science in Business Management & Economics (with minors in pre-law studies and political science) from PC. Kat Leitner, chief operations officer at Apollon Wealth Management, LLC in Charleston, has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the College. The duo will speak about networking and goal setting.