Fireside chat with ADM McRaven at the Texas McCombs School of Business for the Mulva Leadership Symposium

ADM (R) Bill McRaven has “been there, done that” in every level of command in our military, created new opportunities in leadership in academia, and authored six books best selling books while continuing to provide thought leadership for our nation going forward in a rapidly changing world.

It was a high honor for me to be able to facilitate a fireside chat with ADM McRaven at the Texas McCombs School of Business for the Mulva Leadership Symposium to an audience of students and practitioners on the skills and attributes needed to lead in a time of crisis.

Whether it is a moment of personal crisis, group crisis, organizational or national crisis, Bill McRaven has been in the arena for decades following his internal call to service — from his days as a student graduating from Navy ROTC at UT-Austin in 1977, Desert Storm, OEF, OIF, catching Bin Laden, rescuing Captain Phillips, or his time as Chancellor of The University of Texas System.

He also played a huge part in helping groups like Capital Factory and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce convince Secretary Ash Carter that Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) should establish a home in Austin, Texas.

We are lucky to have him in Texas and anyone who has a chance to meet him is wiser for the opportunity.

Thanks to Texas McCombs School of Business Center for Leadership and Ethics and The University of Texas at Austin Naval ROTC for organizing the conference. Specifically, I want to thank Jay Levine, Stacey Rudnick, and Jack Boger for organizing this first annual event. The mission of the symposium was to create a community of cross-functional, interdisciplinary leaders through education around shared leadership challenges. I cannot wait for next year.

I also want to thank Dean Lillian Mills, UT Men’s Basketball Coach Terry, and Doug Wolfe from Horizon Bank for being our keynote speakers throughout the day.

What starts here, changes the world.

The University of Texas at Austin is a world class partner and destination for our military, veterans and their families.

Thanks to Eric Brown for the amazing photos of the conference.