CEO Bob Pittman Tapped as NYU Stern Convocation Speaker
On May 23, Bob Pittman, the CEO of Clear Channel, delivered the keynote address at the NYU Stern School of Business’s 2013 Graduate Convocation Ceremony. Speaking from Manhattan’s Radio City Music Hall, Pittman encouraged newly minted Stern graduates to embrace change and question the status quo, including advice to “ignore the conventional wisdom” and “expect and tolerate mistakes.”
While Pittman presently serves as the CEO of media, digital and entertainment company Clear Channel, he also brought to bear his managerial and entrepreneurial experiences as former CEO of MTV Networks and COO of AOL Time Warner. Pittman’s career has also included senior roles in organizations including Six Flags Theme Parks, Quantum Media, Century 21 Real Estate and Time Warner Enterprises, and he shared with Stern graduates that his career “was not about a plan, it was about saying ‘yes,’ not ‘no’ to the unexpected.” Pittman joined faculty speaker Professor Charles Murphy in addressing Stern’s 2013 graduates. Now a Professor of Management Practice, Murphy also holds an MBA from NYU Stern as a member of the Class of 1974.
The Graduate Convocation Ceremony is an event held in conjunction with Convocation at NYU Stern, and Graduate Convocation formally honors each individual student completing a higher degree at Stern. In the 2012-2013 academic year, 461 students earned their MBA from NYU Stern by September 2012 and January 2013. At the time of Graduate Convocation, another 720 students were slated to receive their MBAs during Commencement exercises.
