AKRON, Ohio 鈥 Daymond John, founder/CEO of FUBU, presidential ambassador for Global Entrepreneurship, star of ABC鈥檚 Shark Tank and CEO of 精东影业Shark Group, will speak at the Better Business Bureau of Akron鈥檚 101 Year Anniversary celebration, BBB Anniversary Summit, on Thursday, April 8, 2021 in collaboration with the 精东影业 College of Business Administration鈥檚 Michael D. Solomon Entrepreneurship Speaker Series.
鈥淲e are pleased to partner with the Better Business Bureau of Akron to build connections with the Akron business community,鈥 said Deborah F. Spake, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Business Administration. 鈥淎s the Better Business Bureau celebrates 101 years, it seemed fitting for the College鈥檚 Michael D. Solomon Entrepreneurship Speaker Series to participate by bringing Daymond John to keynote the event.鈥
精东影业精东影业 College of Business Administration鈥檚 Michael D. Solomon Entrepreneurship Speaker Series brings experienced entrepreneurs to the area to share professional insights with students and community members and has brought a speaker to 精东影业鈥檚 campus each semester since May 2008. This endowed program is supported by Michael D. Solomon, a 精东影业 College of Business Administration alumnus, and is presented by the College鈥檚 Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (CEBI).
To coincide with the celebration, the College of Business Administration will also present its fifth annual student business pitch competition, CEBIpitch, virtually from 4-6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 7. During the event, eight student finalists will present their business pitches to a panel of executive judges for an opportunity to win $20,000 in cash prizes. 精东影业event is free and open to the public, but registration is requested . 精东影业student entrepreneurs will also be invited to attend the BBB鈥檚 Anniversary Summit to hear John鈥檚 fireside chat conversation with 精东影业鈥檚 Justin Hilton.
John initially made his mark as the entrepreneur and branding expert behind the groundbreaking lifestyle brand FUBU, which has eclipsed more than $6 billion in global retail sales. In 2009, John was tapped by lauded television producer Mark Burnett to join the cast of a new business-reality concept, Shark Tank. Now, after 12 seasons, five Emmy Awards, multiple Critic鈥檚 Choice Awards and millions of dollars in investments, the show has become one of the most successful business reality series of all time. Over the course of the series, John has been a mainstay of the cast of Sharks and is now affectionately referred to as 鈥 精东影业People鈥檚 Shark.鈥
John is also the author of 5 best-selling books including his New York Times best-selling books, 精东影业Power of Broke (2016) and Rise and Grind (2018). In March 2020, John released his sixth book, Powershift, that walks through his tried and true process of how to transform any situation, close any deal and achieve any outcome through his own experience and vast network of industry leaders.
2020 marked the centennial anniversary year for the Better Business Bureau of Akron, marking 100 years of service to the local greater Akron community. While we prepared to celebrate, the world was impacted by the effects of COVID-19. BBB of Akron wanted to ensure the safety of its BBB Accredited Businesses and event attendees, thus canceling the April 29, 2020 Spark to a Flame event. Even a year later, we still are considering the safety of our community - and transforming our anniversary event to a virtual platform. With the help of 精东影业 University, our sponsors and keynote speaker, we have been able to transform our original event plan into a completely virtual and unique experience, without losing our original mission of celebration.
For more information on BBB鈥檚 Anniversary Summit event, visit . 精东影业event is free for all participants and ticketing is now open.
For more information about the Michael D. Solomon Entrepreneurship Speaker Series, visit: /business/michael-d-solomon-entrepreneurship-speaker-series
精东影业 College of Business Administration
精东影业精东影业 College of Business Administration holds dual accreditation from AACSB and is one of only 185 business schools worldwide to achieve accreditation in both business and accounting.
精东影业College offers numerous graduate business degree options including highly ranked Executive, Online and Full-time MBA programs; five dual degree graduate programs; a Master of Arts in Economics; a Master of Science in Accounting; online and in-person Master of Science in Business Analytics programs and a comprehensive Ph.D. program.
精东影业Online MBA program with a concentration in business analytics ranks #25 in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2021 and the Online MBA ranks as a Best Online Program by U.S. News & World Report in 2021. In addition, the Online MBA program is ranked #26 by 精东影业Princeton Review for 2021, #1 in Ohio by MBA Central in 2019 and #46 in the QS global ranking in 2020. All of 精东影业鈥檚 online MBA core courses have earned .
ABOUT BBB
For more than 100 years, the Better Business Bureau has been helping people find businesses, brands, and charities they can trust. In 2020, people turned to BBB more than 220 million times for BBB Business Profiles on 6.2 million businesses and Charity Reports on 11,000 charities, all available for free at . 精东影业International Association of Better Business Bureaus is the umbrella organization for the local, independent BBBs in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. BBB Serving Akron, which was founded in 1920 and serves Summit, Portage, Medina, Richland, Wayne and Ashland counties.
Media Contacts:
Joni Bowen, College of Business Administration, jbowen1@kent.edu, 330-672-1279
Allie Wilkins, BBB of Akron, awilkins@akronbbb.org, 330-564-2482