WWU College of Business and Economics to hold winter Strategic Management Executive Speaker Series

Western Washington University’s College of Business and Economics will host Bill Bruders and Ric Merrifield as the speakers for its Strategic Management Executive Strategy Speaker Series this quarter.

The Strategic Management Speaker Series guest lectures are free and open to the public.

Bruders joined Dri-Eaz Products, Inc. 11 years ago as a sales accounts manager. In 2000, he was selected to establish a European Operations Center outside of London, and in 2002 he led the establishment of the Dri-Eaz Southeast Operations Center in Nashville, Tenn., from which more than 70 percent of the company’s products are distributed today. In 2003, he was promoted to general manager of the company, and in 2004 he became president; he completed a management purchase of the company from its founder in 2006. His talk will be from 3-4 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 29, in Fraser Hall Room 3 on the WWU campus.

Merrifield has spent more than 10,000 hours as Microsoft’s business scientist and has filed 12 patent applications with the goal of helping companies rethink their operating models. He is the author of the 2009 book entitled “Rethink: A Business Manifesto for Cutting Costs and Boosting Innovation.” Also, he co-authored “The Next Revolution in Productivity,” a June 2008 Harvard Business Review article focused on case studies that highlight needs of organizations and the opportunity to rethink business operating models before making major technology changes. His talk will be from 3-4 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 26, in Fraser 3.

The WWU College of Business and Economics Strategic Management Executive Strategy Speaker Series brings senior business leaders to campus to interact with students and local business leaders and share their perspectives on strategic management and leadership, and is presented by the CBE’s Center for Excellence in Management Education.

For more information about these events and others, please contact Craig Tyran at (360) 650-2207.