David Gergen, Prominent Commentator, Editor, Professor, Author and Presidential Adviser, Speaks at 92nd Annual Bentley University Commencement

Christopher Lynch MBA '91, Vice President and General Manager of Vertica Systems, Addresses the Bentley McCallum Graduate School of Business

WALTHAM, Mass., April 20, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- David Gergen, a prominent commentator, editor, professor, best-selling author and adviser to four presidents, will deliver the commencement address to approximately 1,000 Bentley University undergraduate students on Saturday, May 21, 2011 at 10:00 a.m. on the south campus of Bentley University, with an expected 7,000 in attendance.

Gergen, who will also receive an honorary doctor of laws degree at the ceremony, has been an active participant in American national life. Currently a professor of public service and the director of the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Gergen also appears regularly as a senior political analyst for CNN.  

"David Gergen has been a passionate advocate for our next generation of leaders.  His ability to inspire and share personal and historical perspective with our graduates will make this commencement a very special event for all of us," says Bentley University President Gloria Larson.

Christopher Lynch MBA '91, a highly successful chief executive and serial entrepreneur, who currently serves as Vice President and General Manager of Vertica Systems, a Hewlett Packard company, will deliver the keynote address to approximately 400 graduate students when McCallum Graduate School of Business degrees are conferred in the Dana Center on the south campus at 3:00 p.m.  

Lynch will receive an honorary doctor of commercial science degree during the ceremony.  Bringing more than 25 years of senior executive experience to the pioneering analytic database company, Lynch successfully led Vertica Systems into its recent acquisition by Hewlett Packard.  His strong performance in leadership positions stretches across a variety of leading and emerging technology companies.

According to President Larson, "Christopher Lynch is such a significant success story for our graduate school.  His track record of growth and success in so many technology ventures is a testament to his versatility, ambition, and leadership skills, and he will be an inspiration to our graduates."

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

David Gergen

David Gergen has an extraordinary record of bipartisan public service.  He served in the White House as an adviser to four Presidents: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and Bill Clinton.  Most recently, he served in the Clinton administration, first as Counselor to the President and then as Special Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State.

Gergen also works as a political journalist and analyst. He was the first managing editor of Public Opinion, a magazine affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute, and from 1985 to 1986 he worked as an editor at U.S. News & World Report, where he also served as editor-at-large.

Gergen's career in broadcast began in 1985 when he joined the MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour for Friday night discussions of politics. Today, he appears frequently on CNN as an analyst for Anderson Cooper 360 and Situation Room, and regularly provides analysis on radio programs. He is also the author of the best-selling book, Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton.

A native of Durham, North Carolina, Gergen is an honors graduate of Yale University, where he earned his bachelor of arts in 1963, and Harvard Law School, where he received his bachelor of laws degree in 1967.  He is active as a speaker on leadership and serves on many boards including Teach for America, the Aspen Institute, and Duke University, where he taught from 1995 To 1999. He is a member of the Washington D.C. Bar, the Council on Foreign Relations, and holds 18 honorary degrees. He also served for three-and-a-half years in the U.S. Navy, where he was posted for two years to a ship home-ported in Japan.

Christopher Lynch

A veteran of both emerging and established technology leaders, Lynch was tapped by Vertica's board in 2010 to take the company to the next level, extending its market leadership, channel partnerships and international expansion. His successful record of leadership positions across a variety of leading technology companies includes F5 Networks, where he was senior vice president of data solutions; Acopia Networks, where he was CEO; Cisco Systems where he was vice president of worldwide content delivery networking sales; and ArrowPoint Communications where he served as vice president of worldwide sales, marketing and support.

Lynch's impressive accomplishments as an entrepreneur and visionary business leader made him instrumental in ArrowPoint's initial public offering, leading the organization's revenue growth from zero to $250 million sales annually over 18 months and establishing 60 sales and support offices worldwide. ArrowPoint was subsequently acquired by Cisco Systems for $5.7 billion in June of 2000. Prior to ArrowPoint, Lynch was vice president of North and South American sales for Lucent Technologies Gigabit Ethernet Products Unit, where he built a sales and channels organization that generated revenue at an annual rate of $40 million over a seven-month period. He joined Lucent from Prominet Corporation after the company was acquired by Lucent for $200 million in January 1998.

With 25 years in the technology industry, Lynch has also held sales leadership positions at Bay Networks, Wellfleet Communications, and Digital Equipment Corporation.

Lynch earned his master's in business administration from the McCallum Graduate School of Business at Bentley University in 1991 and his bachelor's degree in business management from Suffolk University.  He serves on the boards of Tervela, Azuki Systems and RayV.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Commencement 2011 takes place on the south campus at Bentley University.  The undergraduate ceremony is held under the tent on the football field. Indoor viewing on large monitors is available in the Dana Athletic Center. The graduate ceremony takes place inside the Dana Center. Both events are held rain or shine. Buses will run from the parking lots on the main campus to the south campus.  

Further details on Commencement 2011 can be found on the Bentley University commencement web site:  http://commencement.bentley.edu/.

About Bentley University

BENTLEY UNIVERSITY is one of the nation's leading business schools, dedicated to preparing a new kind of business leader – one with the deep technical skills, broad global perspective, and high ethical standards required to make a difference in an ever-changing world. Our rich, diverse arts and sciences program, combined with an advanced business curriculum, prepares informed professionals who make an impact in their chosen fields. Located on a classic New England campus minutes from Boston, Bentley is a dynamic community of leaders, scholars and creative thinkers. The McCallum Graduate School emphasizes the impact of technology on business practice, in offerings that include MBA and Master of Science programs, PhD programs in accountancy and in business, and customized executive education programs. The university enrolls approximately 4,100 full-time undergraduate, 140 adult part-time undergraduate, 1,430 graduate, and 34 doctoral students. Bentley is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; AACSB International – The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business; and the European Quality Improvement System, which benchmarks quality in management and business education.

SOURCE Bentley University