Folks Center for International Business offers a Pathways series especially for students
The Folks Center for International Business hosted two Pathways series events in fall 2022 featuring two international business graduate alumni who interacted with Moore School students about managing global businesses and entrepreneurial ventures.
Whit Richardson (’94 MIBS/IMBA) discussed his role as the executive vice president of Warner Bros. Discovery with students. Richardson, the former president of WarnerMedia in Latin America, presented “Leading a Global Media Corporation: Embrace Your Natural Swing.” Prior to his time with the Warner companies, Richardson had worked for Turner Broadcasting for more than 16 years.
Richardson has enjoyed a remarkable career in media communications and international business, said Karen Brosius, Folks Center executive director who coordinated the Pathways events.
At WarnerMedia Latin America, Richardson had executive oversight and responsibility for programming, marketing, licensing, distribution and operations for all WarnerMedia entertainment brands in Latin America.
Through his leadership, he turned the company into a “leading force” in Latin America through award-winning original content, intellectual property, sports entertainment and through the growth of key cable and streaming channels, Brosius added.
Richardson’s “authenticity springs from his own experience of honing in on his own natural abilities and what contributes to the team’s success,” she said.
Richardson used a metaphor of him learning the game of golf, which he said there are so many things to try to remember before even hitting the ball.
“He encouraged students not to worry about the throes of every issue but rather to embrace their ‘natural swing,’” Brosius said. “He said the key is to build on the strengths of who they are as individuals and create their own leadership style and sense of purpose.”
Like Richardson, fellow MIBS alumnus Jose Salibi Neto ('82 marketing and ’86 MIBS/IMBA) found success after he finished his Moore School degree.
Neto presented “Transforming the Impossible: My Journey as a Global Entrepreneur and Management Guru” during his Pathways event.
Neto is one of the leading names in management in Brazil; he worked for 30 years with the world’s leading business thinkers, helping to transform thousands of companies, executives and entrepreneurs in that country, Brosius said.
He created the biggest executive education company in Brazil and is the co-author of eight best-selling management books. In 2021, Neto was elected to one of the 50 chairs of the Brazilian Academy of Marketing and is a Distinguished Alumnus of the Moore School. Neto was also one of Brazil’s leading tennis players and won several junior and professional tournaments in Brazil and abroad.
With the student attendees to his October Folks Center event, Neto “shared the importance of building a network of people with shared vision and values as it will become an essential path in sustaining one’s own professional journey,” Brosius said. “He encouraged students to start forming and nourishing their networks, which will provide a source of continuous innovation and ideas to bring inside their companies and help them make a meaningful difference in their work.”
Both Neto and Richardson participated in a question-and-answer session at the end of their talks for the Folks Center Pathways events.
Launched in 2021, the Folks Center Pathways series brings international business careers to life for students. These informal events provide up-close-and-personal opportunities for students across the Moore School to hear from dynamic global business leaders and entrepreneurs about their career journeys and ask about innovative ideas and trends in the marketplace.
The third and final Pathways talk of the fall featured Sonoco Visiting Fellow Nicole Wong, the former director general of foreign policy for the Government of Panama who led Panama’s negotiations with China to establish formal diplomatic relations between the two countries.