FedEx Express' David Bronczek speaks at the UNCG Business Summit Oct. 23.
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Posted 10-24-07
GREENSBORO, NC – Universities must do a better job preparing students to lead in the global marketplace, David J. Bronczek, president and CEO of FedEx Express, told more than 200 business and higher education leaders at UNCG Oct. 23.
Bronczek delivered the keynote address at the second annual UNCG Business Summit, an event formerly known as the Corporate Expo. FedEx Express, the world’s largest express transportation company, will operate the FedEx hub at Piedmont Triad International Airport when it opens in the summer of 2009.
“This is a great country,” he said, “but we’ve got to pick up the pace in universities for studies abroad, for our students and for our future employees to take advantage of something we’re falling behind in.”
FedEx Express is based in the United States, but many of the top jobs, in areas including law, finance and engineering, are filled by people from other countries, he said. In other countries, on the other hand, the company’s offices tend to employ more homegrown experts.
In order to move up in the ranks at FedEx, for instance, executives must have lived outside the U.S. Companies also are increasingly looking beyond a narrow skill when they evaluate job candidates, he said.
“What business executives look for is the specific field of expertise and more. We’re looking for teamwork skills, beyond just being an engineer. We’re looking for creative thinking.
“We’re looking for oral and written communication skills. It doesn’t matter if you know the answer if you can’t communicate it. We’re looking for the ability to organize across disciplines. And of course, we’re looking for innovation.”
The summit also featured presentations by faculty members and their partners in business and government. Dr. Roy Stine (Geography) and Warner Phelps of Syngenta talked about how graduate students have helped the company by producing GIS maps. Nolo Martinez (Center for New North Carolinians) and Dave Maner of Duke Energy described the center’s Spanish-language public safety campaign sponsored by Duke Energy.
Dr. Vidyaranya B. Gargeya (Information Systems and Operations Management) and Mark Baker of Tyco Electronics spoke about consulting projects MBA students have produced for the company. And Robert Charest (Interior Architecture) and Dan Curry from Greensboro’s Department of Housing and Community Development talked about their collaboration to build a house for a low-income couple in the Glenwood neighborhood.
The summit’s final speaker, Ralph K. Shelton, CEO of Southeast Fuels, reported on the work of the Institute of Emerging Issues’ Business Committee on Higher Education. He and other committee members see a shortage of “soft skills” in high school and college students – such as leadership, critical thinking, intellectual agility and interpersonal skills. He presented a number of recommendations to ultimately make the state’s workforce more competitive.
