Amelio '79 to share global economic insights as executive-in-residence

	William J. Amelio '79

William J. Amelio ’79, former Lenovo Group CEO, will spend three days at Lehigh this month as the Martindale Center Executive-in-Residence.
Amelio, who was invited to join the Lehigh community by President Alice P. Gast, will kick off his visit with a lecture on the topic of “Global Leadership in a Changing World,” at 4:10 p.m. March 23 in Perella Auditorium.
The speech, which is free and open to the public, will include a question-and-answer period.
Amelio, the university’s 2008 commencement speaker, has built a distinguished career in the global electronics industry. He joined Lenovo shortly after its purchase of IBM’s personal computer division, making it the world’s third largest computer manufacturer.
He has spent much of his professional life working and living in Asia during the region’s ascent as a global electronics hub. It’s during that time that Amelio launched Caring for Cambodia, a charity he started along with his wife to build state-of-the-art educational facilities for Cambodia’s youth.
He is the Martindale Center’s second executive-in-residence in as many semesters. Last fall, Rodolfo Segovia traveled to Lehigh from Colombia to speak about the importance of international education. Amelio also is expected to discuss globalization, drawing on his experience in Asia and his knowledge of the electronics industry to offer students an unusual glimpse into the world’s fastest economies.
“In a career that has spanned a number of senior-level positions and jumped continents, Bill has earned a reputation as a savvy and principled leader who understands, better than most, the connection between business and society,” says Richard Aronson, director of the Martindale Center for the Study of Private Enterprise at Lehigh.
“He also has particularly interesting insight into the changing dynamics of the global marketplace, and how vital it is for companies to cultivate trust—particularly across cultures—in order to succeed,” Aronson says.
Amelio, who earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering as an undergraduate at Lehigh, will meet with a number of classes, clubs, and offices during his visit, among them the Microfinance Club, Engineers Without Borders, Global Lehigh, MBA students, and a team of social entrepreneurs. He’ll also speak privately with the Martindale Student Associates.
--Tom Yencho