A photo exhibition in the President’s Conference Room in the Administration Building pays tribute to some of the global leaders who have been honored at Menlo College commencement ceremonies over the past fifteen years. Each one of them has touched our community with personal stories of challenge, persistence, and innovation in both the public and private sectors. Collectively, these individuals have underscored the importance of helping others through contributions to business, philanthropy, and many other endeavors. They have proven the value of giving back by their positive impact across the globe.
It is a fitting occasion for Menlo College graduates to be inspired by the wisdom of such stellar role models as they begin their careers in the world of business. As President John F. Kennedy said, “True leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.”
1995 Sidney Harris, Menlo College trustee; Dean of the Peter F. Drucker Management Center – Claremont Graduate School 1996 Anna Eshoo, Representative, California’s 14th Congressional District 1997 Adam Werbach, President, Sierra Club 1998 Marc Maurer, President, National Federation of the Blind 1999 John Henry Felix, Menlo College trustee; alumnus; Vice Chair of the Honolulu City Council 2000 Earle Chiles ‘57, Earle Chiles Foundation 2000 R. Eugene Bales, Faculty, Philosophy and Music, Menlo College 2001 Jackie Speier, Congresswoman, California District 14 2002 Carol Bartz, CEO, Autodesk, Inc. 2003 Charles “Chuck” Smith, CEO, SBC West 2004 Gavin Newsom, Mayor of San Francisco 2005 Richard Pombo, Congressman, California District 11 2006 Rebecca Cohn, Assemblymember, California District 24 2007 Russell Frankel, President, Frankel Family Foundation 2007 T.J. Rodgers, Founder & CEO, Cypress Semiconductor Corporation 2008 Richard Li, Chairman, PCCW Limited 2009 Khaled Juffali, Managing Partner & Vice Chairman, E.A. Juffali & Brothers Co. 2009 Steve Westly, Founder of The Westly Group, former Controller & CFO, California 2010 Jane Shaw, Chairman of the Board, Intel Corporation 2010 Robert (Bob) Lurie ‘46, Chairman of the Board, the Lurie Company 2011 Alan Salzman, Co-Founder & CEO, VantagePoint Capital Partners 2012 Guy Kawasaki, Author & Entrepreneur 2012 K.S. “Bud” Adams, Jr., Founder, Titans/Oilers 2013 Jed York, CEO, San Francisco 49ers 2014 Anna Eshoo, Congresswoman, California District 18 2014 John Pritzker ’76, Founder, Geolo Capital 2014 Bernard Osher, Founder, the Bernard Osher Foundation 2015 Michael Weatherly ’88, Actor (Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo in NCIS) 2015 Mark Templeton, President & CEO, Citrix 2016 L. Gregory Ballard, Senior Vice President of Social Mobile and Emerging Platforms, Warner Brothers 2016 Noviolet Bulawayo, Author, We Need New Names (Menlo College 2016 Freshman Year Book) 2017 Jarl Mohn, President and CEO of NPR 2018 Mar Hershenson, Co-founder, Pear Ventures 2019 Yasunobu Kyogoku, Founding Partner, Innovation Global Capital 2020 Mary Bitterman, President, Bernard Osher Foundation 2021 Maya Soetoro-Ng, Co-founder of Ceeds of Peace (and half-sister of Barack Obama) 2022 Mark Speckman ’74, Menlo Athletics Hall of Fame Member, Nationally-Recognized Football Coach 2023 Victor Nunnemaker, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist 2024 Ian Simmons, Entrepreneur and Philanthropist
