Smeal Welcomes Executives From PricewaterhouseCoopers, Procter & Gamble

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (March 25, 2008) – Penn State's Smeal College of Business will host executives from PricewaterhouseCoopers and Procter & Gamble in April as part of the college's guest speaker program, Leadership in Focus: Executive Insights.

Dennis M. Nally, chairman and senior partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. firm, will address Smeal students and faculty on April 1, and Smeal alumnus James R. Stengel, global marketing officer of Procter & Gamble Co., will be the college's guest on April 11.

While on campus, each guest will join Smeal Dean James B. Thomas for an on-stage conversation at 11:15 a.m. in the Business Building's Struthers Auditorium, during which Thomas will pose questions submitted by the audience. The events are open to students, faculty, staff, and the public.

Nally was first elected by PricewaterhouseCoopers' U.S. partners as the firm's chairman and senior partner in 2002. From 2000 through 2001, he served as managing partner of the U.S. firm, and from 1998 to 2000, he was Audit and Business Advisory Services leader for the Americas Theatre. He first joined the firm's Detroit office in 1974 and became a partner in 1985. 

Nally is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer on issues affecting the accounting profession and the U.S. capital markets. Recently, he has spoken at the World Business Forum, the Detroit Economic Club, the Cambridge Energy Research Association (CERA) annual global energy conference, and at several leading business schools.

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of CPAs, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, The Business Roundtable, The Carnegie Hall Society Board of Trustees, and the Partnership for New York City Board of Directors.

A graduate of Western Michigan University, Nally has also completed executive education programs at Smeal and Columbia University.

Stengel has been with Procter & Gamble since graduating from the Smeal MBA Program in 1983. He started out working on the company's Duncan Hines, Jif, and Olestra brands, and served as general manager of Procter & Gamble in Europe and vice president for global baby care before becoming global marketing officer in 2001.

Advertising Age named Stengel the number one "Power Player" in marketing in 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2007 and Brandweek magazine named him 2005's "Grand Marketer of the Year" for his consumer-centered marketing approach, which is credited with reviving some of Procter & Gamble's biggest brands.

Stengel has previously served as chairman of the board of directors for the Association of National Advertisers, and currently serves on the boards of the Motorola Corporation, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and The Ad Council.

In addition to his M.B.A. from Smeal, he holds a bachelor's degree from Franklin & Marshall College.

Leadership in Focus: Executive Insights, an initiative started in the 2006-2007 academic year, is designed to complement the Smeal educational experience by bringing high-profile business leaders to the college to connect with students, faculty, and administrators to share some of their experiences in leadership.

The spring 2008 series kicked off in February with Robert J. Pasterick, vice president and chief financial officer for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

James Clifton, chairman and chief executive officer of The Gallup Organization, Smeal alumna Julie McHugh '86, company group chairman of Global Virology Business for Johnson & Johnson, and alumnus Stephen Sheetz '69, chair of Sheetz, Inc., spoke during the fall 2007 series.

Previous Executive Insights guests also include Art Rooney II, president of the Pittsburgh Steelers, and James Turley, chairman and chief executive officer of Ernst & Young.

For more information on the Executive Insights series, visit www.smeal.psu.edu/about/lecture/execin.html.