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Giaudrone is guest speaker at kick-off luncheon
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (March 17, 2010) – Milligan College kicked off the beginning of its spring MBA cohort on Saturday, March 13, with a luncheon featuring Charlie Giaudrone, director of corporate strategy at Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport.
In addition to his success in business, Giaudrone was a distinguished college athlete at Wichita State University, where he pitched for the baseball team in 1989, the year it won the College World Series. He was also named Division I College Baseball Academic All-America® National Player-of-the-Year in 1992.
Giaudrone shared his inspiring story with the luncheon guests, including the 15 new students who joined Milligan’s MBA program this spring. The MBA students are working professionals who represent corporations such as AT&T, Mountain States Health Alliance, Holston Medical Group, Fifth Third Bank, US Bank, Grainger and Wolfe Development.
Giaudrone’s personal and professional life experiences provided encouragement and inspiration for the new MBA cohort. He spoke about how pitching for the College World Series champions as a freshman shaped his life. He also shared the difficult challenges he and his family have recently faced in dealing with their youngest son’s serious health issues.
Giaudrone told how his faith in God has helped him persevere and realize he will not be given more than he can handle. With the support of Eastman, Giaudrone has excelled professionally, even while raising a family under challenging circumstances. He credited his employer for recognizing the unusual demands on his time and remaining supportive during his son’s illness.
Appointed to his current position at Eastman in 2006, Giaudrone and the corporate strategy group are responsible for the development, implementation and on-going evaluation of corporate strategy for the CEO and executive team at Eastman, as well as support of business organization level strategy work and initiatives.
Giaudrone joined Eastman in 2001 as a services business development manager in the new business development group. Prior to his work at Eastman, he spent six years with Union Carbide Corporation in technical service and sales positions, and one year in sales and product management at FOB Inc., a Chicago based business-to-business eCommerce company.
He received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry/business from Wichita State in 1992. He later earned an MBA with concentrations in finance and strategy from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business in 2001.
Milligan’s Master of Business Administration is an 18-month program designed for working professionals. It meets one weekend a month, with on-going Internet-based instruction. The program features a leading-edge curriculum rooted heavily in an emphasis on business ethics from a Christian perspective.
For more information about the Milligan College MBA program, call 423.461.8306 or visitwww.milligan.edu/mba.