Smith Speaker Series
The Robert H. Smith School of Business is pleased to welcome a distinguished lineup of industry experts and thought leaders to Van Munching Hall this semester. Through these signature events, you’ll explore the ideas, challenges and opportunities shaping the future of business.
Each year, the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business brings in top CEOs to speak in the CEO at Smith speaker series.
The Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series offers the Smith community an opportunity to engage with influential leaders from business, government and academia. Each event features candid conversations and expert perspectives on the ideas, challenges and innovations shaping today’s world.
The Roland Rust Speaker Series brings industry experts and thought leaders to campus for engaging discussions on the issues shaping business today. Explore how AI and other emerging technologies are transforming the way we work, and gain insight into the evolving conversations surrounding their impact.
Upcoming Events
Roland Rust Speaker Series
Parenting AI Through Adolescence: Adventures and Risks of Humanity in Motion
September 29 | 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Van Munching Hall 2333
Register Now: Kevin Clark
Kevin Clark
Founder, Content Evolution
Former Director, IBM
Kevin Clark is an award-winning business and brand experience strategist, entrepreneur and author with more than 25 years of experience at the intersection of people, technology and emerging trends. He is president and federation CEO of Content Evolution, chairman and CEO of Choiceflows Inc. and CEO of platformUX. A former director of brand and values experience at IBM and the company’s first ThinkPad brand steward, Clark helped create IBM’s client experience design and business partner programs. He advises organizations worldwide on customer experience, innovation and AI readiness and serves in fiduciary and advisory roles with organizations including the People-Centered Internet, ISSIP, Ultisim and Storyvine
Roland Rust Speaker Series
Making AI Strategic for Business and Society
November 2 | 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Edward St. John 0202
Registration information coming soon.
Neil Hoyne
Chief Strategist, Google
Neil Hoyne is Google’s chief strategist and a leading voice on corporate strategy, data and sustainable growth. Over the past two decades, he has advised hundreds of Fortune 500 companies, worked with CEOs, boards and frontline teams and helped build tools used by billions. His book, Converted, has been translated into multiple languages and adopted by organizations worldwide. Hoyne holds degrees from Purdue University and UCLA Anderson, served as a senior fellow at the Wharton School and serves on the board of trustees at Purdue University Global.
Past Events
2026
CEO at Smith: Jay Sunny Bajaj, UMD ’99, Talks Business Roots and Big Wins
Jay Sunny Bajaj, UMD ’99, shared lessons from building and selling DMI and launching DigiCap, emphasizing purpose-driven entrepreneurship, defining exit goals, supporting others, disciplined leadership and using AI as a tool, not a substitute for innovation.
2025
CEO at Smith: Board Chair David Marriott Shares Timeless Hospitality Lessons
David S. Marriott, Chairman of Marriott International, shared insights on leadership, service, and technology at the Smith School's CEO at Smith event, reflecting on his family's legacy and the enduring values behind the global hospitality brand.
2024
CEO at Smith: Cava’s Brett Schulman Shares His Recipe for Business Success
Commanders’ Josh Harris Shares Career Lessons on Leadership, Risk and Resilience
AMA CEO Bennie F. Johnson's Insights: AI, Data Privacy, & Career Growth in Marketing
2023
L3Harris CEO Shares Leadership Lessons During ‘CEO at Smith’ Event
2020
EY CEO on How to Build, Think and Be in the New Economy
2019
How do toys stay relevant? Richard Dickson ’90 explains Mattel's philosophy
2018
Tools for Success from the Stanley Black & Decker CEO
CEO at Smith: Deloitte CEO, Cathy Engelbert
2017
CEO at Smith: Kees Kruythoff, Unilever
2016
CEO at Smith: Arne Sorenson, Marriott International, Inc.
CEO at Smith: Bill McDermott, SAP
2015
CEO at Smith: Barry Salzberg, Deloitte
CEO at Smith: Indra Nooyi, Pepsico
CEO at Smith: Wes Bush, Northrop Grumman
2013
CEO at Smith: Kelly King, BB&T
CareFirst CEO Encourages Students to Find Their Purpose
B. Muthuraman Concludes CEO at Smith Speaker Series
Be Ninja Innovators, Revive the Economy: Top Strategist to Smith Students
Spring CEO at Smith Launches with ATK Defense President
2012
Loveman Speaks at Final 2011-12 CEO at Smith Event
Goodwill CEO Offers Insight Into Running a Social Enterprise
Siemens CEO Delivers CEO at Smith Presentation
David Williams Speaks at CEO at Smith
C.E. Andrews Dispels Business Myths at First CEO at Smith of Spring Semester
2011
David Rubenstein speaks at Smith School as final CEO in the 2010-11 CEO at Smith Speaker Series
CEO at Smith: Al Carey, CEO, PepsiCo Americas Beverages
McCormick CEO spices up the CEO at Smith Speaker Series
PwC's Bob Moritz Kicks Off CEO at Smith Speaker Series with Record Attendance
CEO at Smith Hosts Pradman Kaul, Hughes Communications, Inc.
Ted Leonsis Visits the Smith School As Part of the CEO at Smith Speaker Series
2010
KPMG Chairman and CEO John Veihmeyer dispenses invaluable advice for students at CEO at Smith
CEO at Smith Features SAIC's Walter Havenstein
Ravens President Dick Cass Talks to Students About Running a Football Organization
Former CEO of Southwest Airlines Helped put the “Friendly” in Friendly Skies
2009
Washington Post CEO Don Graham: Warren Buffett and The Washington Post Company
2026
Andrew Ross Sorkin
Co-Anchor, CNBC’s Squawk Box
Financial Columnist, The New York Times
Editor at large, DealBook
May 8, 2026
Andrew Ross Sorkin is an award-winning journalist for The New York Times, co-anchor of CNBC’s “Squawk Box” and founder and editor-at-large of DealBook, the influential financial news platform he launched in 2001. He is the author of Too Big to Fail, the definitive account of the 2008 financial crisis, which won the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book, spent more than six months on The New York Times Best Seller list and was adapted into an Emmy-nominated HBO film that he co-produced. Sorkin is also co-creator of the Showtime drama series Billions and is widely recognized for his incisive interviews with global business and cultural leaders.
His latest book, 1929: The Inside Story of the Greatest Crash in Wall Street History, offers a vivid, deeply reported account of the market collapse that reshaped the nation. Drawing on newly uncovered documents and historical records, Sorkin examines the forces behind the crash, the battle between Wall Street and Washington and the lasting parallels to today’s economic climate. A leading voice on Wall Street and corporate America, he has broken news on major mergers and acquisitions, reported extensively on the 2008 crisis and earned numerous honors for his journalism, including multiple Gerald Loeb Awards and an Emmy for Outstanding Live Interview.
Mark Ciardi ’83
Co-Founder, CEO and President
Select Films
April 9, 2026
Mark is one of Hollywood’s most prolific true-story producers, having spent 12 years under a first-look deal with Walt Disney Studios, where he produced films including The Rookie, Miracle, Invincible, The Game Plan, Secretariat, Million Dollar Arm and McFarland, USA. He later founded Select Films, producing Miracle Season, Disney’s Safety, Lionsgate’s American Underdog, the recently released A Million Miles Away for Amazon Prime starring Michael Peña, and the upcoming film The Senior. In unscripted content, he has produced Netflix’s Miracle: The Boys of ’80, the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Big Shot, 42 to 1, and Peacock’s 72: A Gathering of Champions.
A University of Maryland graduate with a B.S. in business, Mark was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in 1983 and reached the major leagues in 1987; he is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and serves on the University of Maryland Board of Trustees.
Bill Fishlinger ’71
CEO and Chairman
Gramercy Risk Holdings
March 11, 2026
William J. Fishlinger is the founder and former CEO and chairman of The Wright Insurance Group and its subsidiary companies and a leading entrepreneur in the insurance industry who built WRM and guided it through its 2014 consolidation with Brown & Brown, one of the industry’s largest transactions that year. He helped transform public sector risk financing with the creation of the New York Schools Insurance Reciprocal in 1989 and the New York Municipal Insurance Reciprocal in 1992, both now the predominant underwriters of public sector risk in New York state. In 2008, he partnered with Aquiline Capital Partners to form WRM America and capitalize WRM America Indemnity Co., later expanding into federal flood insurance with the 2010 acquisition and rebranding of Wright Flood. In 2014, he founded Gramercy Risk Holdings LLC, where he serves as chairman and CEO. Fishlinger also leads Congdon, Flaherty, O’Callaghan, Fishlinger & Pavlides, a New York-based law firm focused on insurance and complex civil litigation. A graduate of the University of Maryland and St. John’s University School of Law, a U.S. Air Force veteran, and a member of the New York state and federal bars, he serves on the boards of the University of Maryland Foundation and the Diabetes Research Institute Foundation and has received numerous honors, including the Insurance Federation of New York’s Free Enterprise Award.
2025
Dan Ives
Managing Partner and Senior Equity Research Analyst
Wedbush Securities
November 11, 2025
Daniel (Dan) Ives is managing director and senior equity research analyst covering the technology sector at Wedbush Securities, where he has worked since 2018. He also serves as the firm’s global head of technology research. Ives has been a Wall Street tech analyst for more than two decades, beginning his career as a financial analyst at HBO before earning his MBA in finance from the University of Maryland. He later became a managing director at FBR Capital Markets, where he spent 16 years focused on enterprise software and hardware, including cybersecurity, cloud computing, big data and the mobile industry. His current research includes electric vehicles and disruptive technologies expected to shape the next decade. Ives is a frequent commentator on the technology sector, speaking at events worldwide and appearing on networks including CNBC, Bloomberg, CNN, Fox News, BBC and Sky News. His insights have been cited in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Financial Times, The Guardian, The New York Times and The Sydney Morning Herald. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State University and an MBA from the University of Maryland.
Michael Faulkender
William A. Longbrake Professor of Finance
Former United States Deputy Secretary of the Treasury
September 24, 2025
Michael Faulkender, the William A. Longbrake Professor of Finance at Maryland Smith, joined the University of Maryland in 2008 and served as associate dean of master’s programs in 2017-2018. Confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 26, 2025, as the 16th deputy secretary of the Treasury, he was later appointed acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service on April 21, 2025. He previously served as assistant secretary for economic policy at the Treasury Department from 2019, where he advised the secretary on domestic and international economic issues, helped negotiate the CARES Act and led the implementation of the Paycheck Protection Program during the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of his service, he received the Alexander Hamilton Award for Distinguished Leadership, the department’s highest honor. His research, which explores the intersection of financial economics and public policy—including corporate capital structure, risk management, liquidity, executive compensation and the job impacts of the PPP—has been published in leading academic journals, won numerous best paper awards and been cited in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The New York Times.