Boone Pickens, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to speak at first OSU Sustainable Enterprise Conference

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Legendary energy entrepreneur T. Boone Pickens and environmental business leader Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will headline the first Sustainable Enterprise Conference to be hosted by the Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business. The conference will be held April 20 at the Renaissance Hotel in Tulsa in conjunction with the Tulsa Business Forum, and it is offered in cooperation with the Tulsa Metro Chamber.

"I'm not convinced Washington and the rest of America fully understand energy and the issues facing our country. Conferences like this will address that problem," said Pickens, who envisions a long-term energy plan for the United States called The Pickens Plan. "We need to educate ourselves and use everything American to strengthen our energy security."

The full-day Sustainable Enterprise Conference will address how sustainability impacts Oklahoma businesses. Pickens and Kennedy will be joined by other national business and sustainable enterprise speakers. The event will focus on how Oklahoma businesses can prosper by following the principles of the triple bottom line: people-planet-profits.

"Oklahoma and regional businesses and government are in the process of coming to grips with how they can best respond to the sustainability imperative," said Spears School dean Larry Crosby. "In the Spears School of Business we believe that creativity, innovation and markets have a key role to play in addressing this critical issue and, hence, the title of this event. This one-day program features some of the most powerful and knowledgeable experts on the topic, and representatives of organizations who are leading the way by incorporating sustainability into their strategies.  

Pickens will present a keynote address, followed by a luncheon presentation by Kennedy, which also is part of the Tulsa Business Forum.  Following the luncheon presentation, both Kennedy and Pickens will be joined by OSU President Burns Hargis for an interview in which the Pickens will address sustainability and The Pickens Plan and Kennedy will address  “Green Gold Rush:  A Vision for Energy Independence, Jobs and National Wealth.” Other speakers for the event will include Tim Gratto, vice president of Dr Pepper Snapple; Keith McGlamery, founder of McGlamery Law firm in Washington, D.C.; and Dennis Welch, executive vice president of environment, safety & health and facilities of American Electric Power.

Sponsors of the conference include AEP-PSO; Doerner, Sanders, Daniel & Anderson, L.L.P.; i2E; OG&E; and OSU Research.   Additional sponsorship opportunities are available. Sponsors will receive several benefits throughout the conference, including reserved seating at the lunch and company logo promotion on marketing materials and the website.

For more information about the Sustainable Enterprise Conference, please contact Wravenna Bloomberg, Program Coordinator in the OSU Center for Executive and Professional Development at wravenna.bloomberg@okstate.edu or 405-744-5208. To register online for the event or view sponsorship opportunities, please visit http://spears.okstate.edu/cepd/openenrollment/conferences/sustainability