Sears Holdings CEO Aylwin Lewis Shares Perspective on Sowing the Seeds of a New Culture

About two years after Kmart emerged from bankruptcy in May 2003, it merged with Sears to become Sears Holdings Corporation.  The combined company became #38 on the Fortune 100 list and one of the largest employers in the United States with 352,000 employees in 3,900 locations.  Achieving the goals and leveraging the potential of Sears Holdings is likely to be one of the most daunting business leadership challenges of the decade. Aylwin Lewis, the company’s CEO, is up for the challenge. Read more...

Profiles in Leadership: Teresa Ridge at Wells Fargo

Forty-three-year-old Teresa Ridge always had an intuition that she could blend her heart and her mind as a leader.  She has proven her theory correct, ascending up the Wells Fargo ladder over a period of 18 years, based on this leadership style. Ridge worked her way up from a teller to her current position as Regional Manager of the Private Bank of Wells Fargo in San Diego County.  Her team comprises 150 people who focus on the needs of high net worth individuals. Read more...

Cracking the Books

A Leadership Point of View: Navy SEAL Eddie Hiner stresses Servant Leadership as a foundation for leading his team. Known for developing outstanding character, the Navy SEALs is an organization where team cohesion are critical for success and survival. Hiner envisions his role as similar to that of a stagecoach driver. Read more...

Leadership Resources

Strategies for Maximizing Internal and External Learning

On June 20th area executives gathered at the Executive Leadership Forum to learn how the AMN Healthcare, Proflowers.com and Rancho Santa Fe Technology CEOs nurture and support a learning oriented culture. Click here to view a video recap.

Managing Up to Get What You Need with Susan Fowler

A free Webinar hosted by The Ken Blanchard Companies on Thursday, July 19th, 2007 at 9:00-10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. Click here for more information...

Upcoming Events

"Sowing the Seeds of Our Culture" featuring Aylwin Lewis, CEO and President of Sears Holdings Company Advanced Registration is required for this event. Wednesday, July 18, 2007 at 6:00pm. Learn more...

Achieve Leadership Genius

What does 40 years of research tell us about leadership? How can we use that knowledge to become truly inspirational leaders? In Achieve Leadership Genius, three renowned leadership experts offer definitive answers to these questions, presenting a detailed framework that any manager can use to become dramatically more effective and that any organization can use to nurture tomorrow's leaders.Learn more...

Corporate Spotlight: Filefax

Curtis Dadian, CEO of Filefax, a space-planning and storage management company founded in 1983, never necessarily wanted to be an entrepreneur.  “Opportunity seemed to knock on my door,” he notes.  But Dadian obviously has a knack for it, growing Filefax’s revenue by 20% percent in just a few years from $2.9 million in 2004 to $3.45 million in 2006, spread over just 10 employees.
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A Dialogue on Developing Leadership Benchstrength

The Executive Leadership Forum event on May 31st featured a panel of three executives with experience creating internal programs that ensure a continuous pipeline of future organizational leaders. The program featured Kaye Stambaugh, vice-president of customer care for The Home Depot Supply, Belinda Hyde, vice-president of global learning and development at Invitrogen Corporation, and Cyrus DeVere, vice president of human resources at Panda Restaurant Group. Read more...

University of San Diego • Master of Science in Executive Leadership • (619) 260-4828 • MSEL@sandiego.edu