Thursday, October 2, 2008
by: Dean's Office

Kenneth G. Langone, financial backer and founder of Home Depot, will be the Stillman School's keynote speaker for the fall Integrity and Professionalism Convocation. The event takes place on Monday, November 17, at 6:15 p.m. Watch for further details about the location. 
 
Kenneth Langone
Langone first gained national prominence when, in 1968, he teamed up with Ross Perot, taking Electronic Data Systems public. In the mid-1970s, he founded Invemed Associates, a small investment bank aimed at financing start-ups in the medical industry. During this time period, he became interested in a small home improvement business called Handy Dan, now known as Home Depot, employing more than 300,000 people and inspiring millions of others to take on their own home improvement projects.
 
Langone was also a director on the New York Stock Exchange, and was on the NYSE's compensation committee, amidst the issue surrounding the pay of his colleague and former chairman of the NYSE Dick Grasso. In that controversy, the then New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer targeted both Grasso and Langone for an investigation on excessive pay (Grasso's pay was $187.5 million), which was eventually dismissed this past summer by a NY appeals court.
 
Langone has also served on the board of General Electric. His philanthropy, involving millions of dollars, has been targeted toward education, medicine, and organizations for the disadvantaged. 
 
As we travel through unprecedented times in our financial markets, where trust and integrity undergird the functioning of these, listening to Langone will be absolutely fascinating. Whether the topic is entrepreneurship, board governance, business investing, executive compensation, or taking a position to protect one's name, you can be sure that this will be a great evening.
 
Langone is the latest in a long line of prominent speakers for the StillmanSchool's Integrity and Professionalism Convocations. They include Tim Gunn, chief creative officer at Liz Claiborne, Inc. and mentor on Bravo TV's Project Runway: Christopher Christie, J.D. '87, United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey; Cory A Booker, mayor of Newark; Mary Higgins Clark, author and entrepreneur; James Carville, political consultant; Kevin Plank, founder and president of Under Armour; Betsy Bernard, AT&T president; and Raymond Kelly, police commissioner of the City of New York -- to name just a few.  
 

For more information please contact:
Leigh Onimus
(9730 313-6058
onimusle@shu.edu