Disney Executive to Speak at Cal Lutheran Leadership Forum

There may, indeed, be born leaders.

But mention that to Cal Lutheran business professor Ron Hagler and you’re liable to find yourself in the midst of a debate.

“Of all the characteristics of leadership, the only ones we are born with are intelligence and metabolism--energy level,” Hagler said. “Leadership can be learned. And when students discover this, hopefully they start thinking about being a leader.”

Hagler is not alone in his thinking. He and other Cal Lutheran University faculty and staff are working with community business leaders to present the 29th annual Mathews Leadership Forum. The program, scheduled for March 4 at the university, will focus on “Exploring Creative Leadership.”

More than 300 attendees, about half students and half businesspeople, will divide into small groups to share their interests and backgrounds and discuss issues of leadership--including what it means to be a leader and what qualities it takes to be a successful one.

Richard Cook, chairman of Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group and president of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution and Marketing, will be the forum’s keynote speaker. Cook will discuss the leadership skills that helped him rise from his job as a ride operator at Disneyland in 1970 to his current position.

Among the corporate sponsors of the event are Rockwell Science Center, Southern California Edison, California Oaks State Bank and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. Representatives of businesses throughout Ventura County and the Conejo Valley are expected to attend the program.

“The value to the students is the chance to sit there among these business leaders and ask any kinds of questions they want and not feel threatened,” said Hagler, who wrote a series of questions that will be used to spark discussion. “They can explore their ideas and thoughts and find out if their ideas have merit.”

In its early years, the forum was targeted primarily toward business students. But more recently, organizers have opened it to a wider audience.

“Hopefully, all students will come to rise to the level of leadership,” Hagler said.

Forum chairwoman Sharon Clark, vice president of commercial banking at Los Robles Bank, said the program helps the participating business leaders as much as the students.

“I see this forum as doing multiple things by bringing academia and business leaders together,” she said.

“We older guys learn a lot from the students--we can learn what the current thinking is, while they are receiving from us some good insight,” Clark said. “Any of us who is interfacing with the public--including leaders of companies, public officials, all of these areas--from Ma and Pa to major conglomerates like Amgen, GTE, Edison, we are all kind of keeping an eye on what the trends are, what the young people are thinking.”

Clark said the Matthews Forum is just one example of the potential of a business and education partnership.

“The education and business sectors should always work together--it’s more than just looking for talent, it’s keeping sharp, and it’s their civic duty,” Clark said. “The university plays an integral part in the community’s economic vitality.”

Cal Lutheran’s other business outreach programs include an annual investor’s forum, in which selected owners have the opportunity to present their business plans to a roomful of potential financiers; and Hagler’s “Consulting to Small Business” class in which students serve as consultants to local firms.

Clark herself has taught banking courses at the university as part of a quick-hit program for businesspeople needing to develop critical business skills. She said it is enriching for both the students and the teacher.

“The courses hone the skill of upcoming or seasoned businesses,” Clark said. “I talk about how to structure a loan, what constitutes bankability, how to successfully present to a banker. And likewise, I as a banker am exposed to a group of people who might otherwise go unknown to me.”