Seven students from Notre Dame’s upper division spent lunch today at Cobo Center in downtown Detroit as special guests of the Detroit Economic Club for a presentation and speech by Dell Computer founder Michael Dell. A special thanks to current Notre Dame parents Pam and Bill Popp for hosting the Notre Dame students at the luncheon.
The juniors and seniors who made the trip downtown with Andy Guest, Notre Dame’s executive vice president, were chosen because of their interest in business and technology and a willingness to experience a “real-world,” high-profile gathering of business executives. The event was moderated by Andrew Humphrey, meteorologist and science & technology reporter with WDIV-TV Local 4. John Fikany, vice president of Microsoft, presided over today's DEC meeting.
After his speech, Michael Dell met with the students to offer advice and answer any questions.
Dell is the chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer of Dell, the company he founded with $1000 in 1984 at the age of 19. Notably quoted as saying that “technology is about enabling human potential,” Dell’s vision of how technology should be designed, manufactured and sold forever changed the IT industry. In 1992, Dell became the youngest CEO ever to earn a ranking on the Fortune 500.
Michael Dell also spoke at the DEC in 2008.
In 1998, Dell formed MSD Capital, and in 1999, he and his wife established the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation to provide philanthropic support to a variety of global causes.
Dell, who last presented at the DEC in 2008, is an honorary member of the Foundation Board of the World Economic Forum and is an executive committee member of the International Business Council. He is also a member of the Technology CEO Council, the U.S. Business Council and the Business Roundtable. He serves on the governing board of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, India and is a board member of Catalyst. In June 2014, Dell was named the United Nations Foundation's first Global Advocate for Entrepreneurship.
Comments or questions? mkelly@ndpma.org.
Follow us on Twitter @NDPMA
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.