BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — Thanks to the generosity of the late Jack '50 and Garry Kinder '55, the IWU School of Business and Economics (SoBE) will host the inaugural Kinder Brothers Distinguished Business Speaker Series featuring Ed Rust Jr. '72 as the keynote speaker.
Rust was previously CEO of State Farm Insurance from 1985 to 2015 and was a member of the Board of Directors of S&P Global and the Caterpillar Board of Directors until 2022. He was a member of The Financial Services Roundtable and served as Vice Chair of The Business Roundtable for many years. In 2012, he was named Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, where he worked nationally to advance initiatives in education impacting communities across the United States. He is a current member of the IWU Board of Trustees.
His lecture is titled “Liberal Arts: Value from a Business Perspective.” The event will be held Monday, Sept. 22 at 11 a.m. in the Young Main Lounge, Memorial Center, followed by a reception in the Joslin Atrium at noon.
The Kinder Series will be an annual event hosted by SoBE, inviting exceptional figures in the world of business to deliver their perspectives on the present and future of American industries. The series will feature speakers from both within and beyond the IWU alumni community and be open to the entire campus.
“The Kinder Brothers Distinguished Business Speaker Series is a cornerstone of the programming at IWU’s School of Business and Economics,” said Dean of the School of Business and Economics Bryan McCannon ‘98. “The series allows students to hear directly from influential business leaders as they share their experiences and thoughts on leadership, strategy and emerging trends. It supports our distinguishing mission of focusing on experiential learning and emphasizing a business education embedded within a liberal arts environment.”
Jack and Garry Kinder were luminaries of the insurance industry who together founded Kinder Brothers & Associates, a consulting company providing sales and management training to more than 300 client companies globally. The brothers were also the authors of eight bestselling guidebooks for insurance agents, managers and executives.