Correction appended: Jan. 28, 2013.
As part of the Executive Insight Series at Smeal College of Business on Feb. 1, students and faculty will be able to receive insight on the current business world from someone with more than 35 years of experience.
John Veihmeyer, chairman and CEO of KPMG in the United States and across the Americas, will visit Penn State to talk to Smeal and IST students and faculty. During his visit, he will discuss career opportunities, the current business climate and the status of the American economy, among other related topics.
“I hope I can share some insight to help prepare students at Penn State to enter the professions they are entering,” Veihmeyer said.
Veihmeyer will have a fireside chat with Dean Charles Whiteman of Smeal and a forum with students, faculty, administration and Information, Science and Technology students. He said he will have roundtable discussions with groups of students about their futures in business and IST.
Ichiro Kawasaki, corporate communications official for KPMG, also said Veihmeyer will meet with the deans of both Smeal and IST, as well as the administration.
Meg Brower, assistant director of corporate outreach at Smeal, said Veihmeyer’s visit is part of the signature speaker series of the Executive Insight Series. She also said he will attend various accounting classes while at Penn State.
“It gives students a good look into the business world and students’ future careers,” Brower said.
Brower said Smeal brings in one to three speakers a semester to talk with students about career insight and experiences.
During discussions, Veihmeyer will share information about what he does and what is going on across the country in the business world.
“I have a personal account on what the economy and business are doing,” he said.
Because he has had interesting career experience, including in accounting, he said he can help students with what to do in the current job environment. In addition to helping students with career advice and information, he said he will also talk about the economy currently in the United States.
“[The economy] is certainly not the robust economy that we’d all like to see at this point,” he said. “I’m optimistic that we’ll be in better shape as we get down the road in a year or so.”
With its current stance, Veihmeyer said businesses have been stable and “flat” in hiring practices, which affects recent college graduates searching for employment.
He also said that businesses are “cautiously optimistic” with hiring, as the economy is slowly moving in the right direction.
Because KPMG, an accounting firm, focuses on three main areas of business — audit, tax and advisory — Veihmeyer said he hopes to also share KPMG career possibilities with students.
He said Penn State is KPMG’s number one source of talent in the 2011-12 hiring cycle, and that he will be meeting with students who have accepted job offers for 2013.
“We want students to know how important they are to KPMG,” he said.
Brower said listening to speakers come to Smeal is an excellent opportunity and allows students to gain an idea of what they want to do in the future.
“Everyone has unique experiences and a unique past to get where they are today,” Brower said. “And [students] can take what [the speakers] say and apply it to their own lives to help them grow professionally.”
An earlier version of this article stated incorrect information regarding an executive’s planned visit to campus. John Veihmeyer is chairman and CEO of KPMG in the United States and across the Americas, and Penn State is KPMG’s No. 1 source of talent in the 2011-12 hiring cycle. The above article reflects the correct information. The Daily Collegian apologizes for this error.
