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Join us here for our Summer Intern Update from Jack Quirk, Rich Chakejian and Eric Edmunds! Jack, Rich and Eric will be chronicling their summer with The Safegard Group by detailing what they are learning and their experience with our insurance sales organization. This week, we cover a leadership panel Rich attended.
Intern Update #3: Leadership Panel
As I begin to finish up my third week as an intern for the Safegard Group, Michael Hermansen, Director of Operations, presented myself with a great opportunity. He extended an invitation to a Panel Interview with four successful Philadelphia business leaders. This event was held before the workday, from 7:30AM – 9:30AM at the Hard Rock Café in Philadelphia. The four speakers included, Stan Silverman, H. Edward Hanway, Emily Bittenbender, and Nick Bayer. Each of these individuals have paved roads of success while conducting business in leadership roles. After learning of the presentation, I had to the opportunity to listen to, I knew I had the chance to walk away from with important life lessons in business.
The moderator of the Panel Interview Stan Silverman, current Vice Chairman of Drexel University, spearheaded the direction of the presentation. He opened by speaking about leadership, culture, and the importance of honoring the values one sets forth for themselves and their company. Stan has been able to cultivate a number of different leadership skills through his various roles and experiences during his career in business. Most notably, Stan is the former President and Chief Executive Office (CEO) of PG Corporation, a global company operating in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. He has served as Chairman on numerous boards, providing insight and guidance to lead organizations to success. After achieving great success corporately, he has refocused his time and effort in giving back valuable advice to the business community.
The second member of the Panel Interview was H. Edward Hanway, current Chairman of the organization Faith in the Future. Prior to assuming his position of Chairman for Faith in the Future, Hanway served as CEO of CIGNA Corp., a global health insurance corporation. H. Edward Hanway was very successful in his role for CIGNA as he led them as CEO for about 10 years. Similar to Stan, Edward credits his success as a leader to the leadership model he created and lived by, VCP; vision, communication, and people, each component being equally important. He is very passionate about his current role for Faith in the Future, as this organization serves strives to provide the opportunity to an education for those whom may not be able to obtain on their own. The assistance they offer has been able to help many young men and women obtain valuable educations which will spark their path to success.
The third member of the presentation this morning included Emily Bittenbeder, Managing Partner of Bittenbender Construction, LP. As the theme continued to grow stronger, Emily enhanced it further when she explained her model that brought her success. Emily emphasized the point that her company, Bittenbender Construction, took culture very seriously. She credited the cultural environment she created in her workplace as the number one driver for success. Other values that she supports and implements in her company are humor, honor, transparency, and honesty. Emily is not of the majority in her industry, as she stands alone as a very successful female contractor in the Philadelphia area.
The fourth and final member that participated in the Panel Interview was Nick Bayer, founder and CEO of Saxby’s Coffee. Nick explained to the audience his background and path that led him to become the owner of Saxby’s. His driving motivation was his intent to “Make Life Better”, and Nick continuously reinforced he is in the “People” business, not the Coffee business. Saxby’s has found great success, despite only existing since 2005, starting as a local neighborhood café before expanding across nine different states. Nick credits his business’ success to its culture, as he said, “Great success is a byproduct of great culture”. In addition to currently running and expanding his business, Nick also teaches an entrepreneurial class at Drexel, helping inspire young men and women to follow their dream and create their own business.
Overall, the driving theme each of these successful businessmen and woman was culture, attitude, and emotional intelligence. Each individual shared personal stories and experiences that they have encountered during their careers or lifetime. This was a very valuable presentation as some of the most successful people in the Philadelphia region were made accessible and shared their steps and methods to success, while answering any questions the audience may have posed. Despite it still being early in my internship program with Safegard, I am sure this will be one of the experiences I look back and draw from in the future due to the important lessons conveyed in the presentation.
About Rich Chakejian
Rich Chakejian is joining the Safegard Group as a summer intern for the duration of June 2017 – August 2017. While not having any prior experience in the insurance industry, Rich is eager to join the Safegard team and learn more about the business of insurance, as he has identified it as a possible career path upon graduation. Rich is an upcoming senior at the Pennsylvania State University in State College, PA. Rich has declared his major as Business Management, in the Smeal College of Business. He is involved on campus as a member of the Delta Sigma Phi fraternity where he is heavily involved and serves as a THON and Recruitment chairman. Prior to choosing Penn State for his college education, Rich graduated from the Malvern Preparatory School where he played on the football team for four years and was involved in the Speak Up program.
Rich’s prior work experience includes spending summers as an intern with the accounting firm Stephano Slack LLC, as a server at Manco & Manco Pizza, and as a cook at Back Bay BBQ. Rich often enjoys working at Manco & Manco Pizza in Ocean City, NJ when presented with free time. Other hobbies of his include participating in intramural and recreational sports leagues and attending Philadelphia sporting events with his friends. Rich also has interest in pursuing law school after his undergraduate studies, as he is preparing to take the LSAT in the fall.
Lastly, Rich’s most recent experience was his semester studying abroad in Barcelona, Spain, where he lived for four months and had the opportunity to travel throughout Europe. This proved to be an experience of a lifetime for him, which included traveling to about 10 different European countries. A typical week would consist of attending school in Barcelona from Monday – Thursday, then filling up a backpack for the weekend to explore Europe. One of the more notable experiences Rich had while abroad, was visiting the poor Italian village outside of Naples his great-grandfather emigrated from at a young age to establish a better life for his family. Rich did not know any of these family members prior to getting off the plane, as he was greeted by his aunt and cousin with a sign that read his name. His cousin was the only family member that spoke decent English and translated for Rich and his family the entire weekend. Rich stayed in the house his great-grandfather grew up in, that has been in his family since 1775. These four months were an experience that Rich would not trade for anything and he hopes to make it back to Europe some day.
Rich is looking forward to being a member of The Safegard Group this summer and learning the business of insurance.
Thanks for reading this week’s Summer Intern Update! Find out more about Rich here: safegardgroup.com/blog/2017/06/08/summer-intern-rich-chakejian.