WELLESLEY, Mass., Sept. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Babson College commemorated 100 years of entrepreneurial leadership by welcoming to Boston some of the world's most successful leaders in commerce and society to celebrate the power of entrepreneurship and its ability to shape and transform society.

Festivities and discussions took place in a transformed Copley Square in Boston as well as at Babson's Wellesley campus as part of the College's Centennial Celebration September 18-22, 2019. 

Returning in celebration of the world's premiere entrepreneurship hall of fame, the Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs, were members who since 1978 have contributed significantly to the development of free enterprise throughout the world, including:

• The Honorable Craig R. Benson '77, H'03, Chief Executive Officer of Soft Draw Investments, former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer at Cabletron Systems, Inc. and former Governor of the State of New Hampshire
• Arthur M. Blank '63, H'98, Owner and Chairman of Blank Family of Businesses, Co-founder of The Home Depot
• Gustavo A. Cisneros '68, H'19, Chairman of Cisneros
• John J. Cullinane, President of The Cullinane Group Inc., Former Chairman and CEO, Cullinet Software Inc.
• Robert J. Davis MBA '85, General Partner of Highland Capital Partners, Founder, Former President and CEO of Lycos, Inc.
• Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande, President and Chairman of Sparta Group LLC
• John Hatsopoulos for the late George N. Hatsopoulos G'20, Co-founder of Thermo Electron Corporation
• Diane Hessan, Founder and Chairman of C Space
• John C. Merritt '61, Owner and President of Dockside Marine Supply, Former Chairman and CEO of Van Kampen Merritt Holding Corp.
• C. Dean Metropoulos '67, MBA '68, Chairman and CEO of Metropoulos & Co
• Geoffrey Molson MBA '96, Owner, President, and CEO, Montreal Canadiens
• Douglas G. Rauch, Founder and President of Daily Table; Former CEO of Conscious Capitalism; Past President of Trader Joe's
• Peter J. Sprague H'88, Former Chairman of National Semiconductor Corporation; Chairman and Founder of Satellite Displays
• Diane von Furstenberg (first woman inducted into the Babson Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs), fashion designer, philanthropist, Founder and Chairwoman of DVF LLC.

Babson student and graduate entrepreneurs vied for $100,000+ funding from preeminent alumni, entrepreneurs, and investors at the Babson ePitch: Second Century Challenge, featuring judges:

• Tim Chae, 500 Startups
• Diane Hessan, Founder and Chairman of C Space
• Alicia Castillo Holley, MBA '96, Wealthing Institute
• Fred Kiang '70, MBA '75, H'19, Trustee, GAB, Sunrise Duty Free
• Edward Marram, entrepreneur and Senior Lecturer, Babson College
• Jamie Siminoff '99, CEO & Chief Inventor at Ring.

Other leaders and dignitaries joining in the Babson celebration of entrepreneurship included

• Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker
• Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh
• Babson President Stephen Spinelli Jr. MBA '92, PhD
• Former Babson President Kerry Murphy Healey
• Marla Capozzi MBA '96, Chair, Board of Trustees, Babson College
• Phil Castellini '92, President and Chief Operating Officer, Cincinnati Reds
• Linda Pizzuti Henry '00, H'19 Managing Director of Boston Globe, Co-Founder of HUBweek, and Limited Partner, Fenway Sports Group
• Adriana Cisneros, CEO, Cisneros
• Eric Johnson '72, P '08, President and CEO of Baldwin Richardson Foods
• Riz Khan, International Journalist
• Jeffery Perry '87, P '23, Babson Trustee, Global Client Service partner, EY
• Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief, Entrepreneur Magazine
• Aaron Walton '93, Co-founder, Walton Isaacson
• David Zamarin '19, Founder & CEO, DetraPel
• Phil Edmundson MBA '93, Founder, Corvus Insurance
• Matt Harris, Partner, Bain Capital Ventures
• Erika Karp, Founder and CEO, Cornerston Capital Inc.
• John Kluge MBA '17, Founder & Manager Director, Refugee Investment Network
• Heather McGowan MBA '01, Future-of-work Strategist
• Dr. Khama Rogo, MD, PhD, Lead Health Sector Specialist, World Bank
• Steve Conine and Niraj Shah, co-founders of Wayfair
• Ramon Mendiola '86, P '20 '23, Trustee, Chief Executive Officer, Florida Ice and Farm Company
• Deborah De Santis '85, Trustee, President and CEO, Corporation for Supportive Housing
• Devon Sherman, Director, MassChallenge FinTech
• Nigel Travis, Principal & Chairman, Challenge Consulting LLC & Dunkin' Brands, Inc. (former CEO)
• Odilon Almeida P '20 President, Western Union Global Money Transfer
• Jason Moens '99, VP of Product, Flywire
• Judson Althoff P '22, Executive Vice President, Worldwide Commercial Business, Microsoft
• Sanjiv Patel MBA '02, Founder and former President, Lord Nut Levington Gourmet Peanuts
• Abby Speicher Carroll MBA '15, CEO and Co-founder, DARTDrones
• Randall Ussery MBA '16, Entrepreneur in Residence, Wildcat Venture Partners
• Alex Markovitz '10 and Satellite Mode
• Huntington Library Curators D. Daniel Lewis and Dr. Joel A. Klein
• Cyril C. Camus '91, Chair, Babson Global Advisory Board, and Chairman, Camus Cognac
• Jamie Kent '09.

The Academy of Distinguished Entrepreneurs Global Gala & Summit was part of the College's global entrepreneurship summit, Babson Connect: Worldwide. Now in its fifth year, the summit provides a one-of-a-kind opportunity to hear from global business leaders and exchange ideas with business leaders from around the world.

Babson offered an exclusive lecture and related exhibition showcasing rare books and manuscripts from the Grace K. Babson Collection of the Works of Sir Isaac Newton. This collection was developed by Grace K. Babson, spouse of Roger W. Babson, and is the third-largest assemblage of Newton materials in the world. Now on loan to the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA, it is used by researchers from around the globe and continues to inspire new generations towards discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. The "Forces of Genius: Newton, Babson, and Huntington, from Nature's Laws to Entrepreneurship and Enterprise" lecture was delivered by Huntington Library Curators D. Daniel Lewis and Dr. Joel A. Klein.

Distinguished Sponsors

Platinum
House of Camus

Gold
Fairmont Copley Plaza
Thai Union
Baguette Atelier
Chartwells
DSA Investments

Silver
First Republic Bank

About Babson College

Babson College is the educator, convener, and thought leader of Entrepreneurship of All Kinds^®. The top-ranked college for entrepreneurship education, Babson is a dynamic living and learning laboratory where students, faculty, and staff work together to address the real-world problems of business and society. We prepare the entrepreneurial leaders our world needs most: those with strong functional knowledge and the skills and vision to navigate change, accommodate ambiguity, surmount complexity, and motivate teams in a common purpose to make a difference in the world, and have an impact on organizations of all sizes and types. As we have for nearly a half-century, Babson continues to advance Entrepreneurial Thought & Action^® as the most positive force on the planet for generating sustainable economic and social value.

SOURCE Babson College

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