The Milligan Leaders in Business Lecture Series was created in 1992 through a generous endowment established by Robert L. "Bill" Milligan '22 and his wife Mary. Bill Milligan was a long time OWU Trustee and had a distinguished career in the Pure Oil Company where he became President in 1954 and Chairman from 1965 until his retirement in 1971.
The Milligan Lecture Series has brought the following distinguished leaders in business and academia to campus:
Wandia Chiuri '05
Founder and CEO of Reactionpower
October 1, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
Hamilton Williams Campus Center – Benes Rooms
Lecture Title: Your Human Advantage in the Age of AI. How judgment, creativity, and relationships help leaders turn change into opportunity.
No RSVP required to attend.
Wandia Chiuri is an entrepreneur, global marketing executive, speaker, and founder and CEO of Reactionpower, where she advises senior leaders and organizations on executive authority, market influence, and growth.
An Ohio Wesleyan University alumna, Wandia has built a career spanning some of the world's most influential companies and brands, including Google, Samsung, Johnson & Johnson, Disney, Nike, and Apple. Her work has taken her across industries, markets, and continents, but her commitment to leadership and creating meaningful impact began at OWU.
As a student, Wandia was named Most Outstanding Student Leader and received the Olive E. Day Award for her contributions to minority student life, vision, initiative, and leadership. She was also recognized for leadership and academic achievement through the Estephen McNell Award, Dean's List, Phi Eta Sigma, and Phi Sigma Tau. She also received Ohio Wesleyan's Golden Bishop Meek Award.
Today, Wandia returns to Ohio Wesleyan to share what she has learned about ambition, leadership, reinvention, and building a life that matters.
| 10/27/2025 |
sCOTT mILLIGAN '90, Group Vice President, Thrive Pet Healthcare, "The Entrepreneurial Journey: Flexibility, Tenacity and Luck" |
| 10/15/2024 |
Michael Tiedemann '93, Chief Executive Officer, AlTi Tiedemann Global, "The Building of a Global Wealth Management Firm" |
| 12/6/2023 | Blair Kisker, Vice President of Finance & Accounting at FC Cincinnati, "Following Passion to Career: From Accounting to the World of Soccer" |
| 10/4/2022 | Dawn Dickson, Founder & CEO of PopCom, "Entrepreneurship: Are YOU built to scale?" |
| 3/24/2022 | Pete Watson, Executive Chairman, Board of Directors Greif, Inc. "Creating a Culture of Servant Leadership" |
| 10/1/2019 | Dave Kaufman '81, CEO of Encova Insurance, "Integrated Leadership" |
| 10/4/2018 | Shadman Zafar '94, Head of Digital, Citi, "The Rules of Engagement - How to Succeed in Corporate America" |
| 10/19/2017 | Daymond John, Founder and CEO of FUBU, Branding Expert and Investor on ABC's hit show, Shark Tank, "5 Shark Points" |
| 11/3/2016 | Jim Dicke II, honorary degree, Chairman & CEO of Crown Equipment Corporation, "Leadership in Business and in the Wider World" |
| 10/23/2014 | Tracie Winbigler '87, Chief Operations Officer for the National Geographic Society, "The Media Industry and the Digital Transition." |
| 10/3/2013 | Louis A. Simpson '58, Chairman of SQ Advisors, LLC, "Corporate America - to rent of to own?" |
| 09/28/2012 | Clark Winter '73, Founder of Clark Winter Enterprises, a global Investment research and strategy firm. "The Global Economy Going Forward: Making Sense of Apparent Nonsense" |
| 09/22/2011 | Andres Duarte '62, Managing Director of Duarte Vivas y Asociados, C.A. "Survival Management in a Distorted Economy: the Venezuelan Model" |
| 11/17/2009 | John F. Milligan '83, President & CEO of Gilead Sciences, Inc. "The Story of Gilead Sciences – Building a Business that Transformed a Disease" |
| 10/23/2008 | George S. Carpenter '78, Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. "Changing the Marketing Game" |
| 10/25/2007 | David M. Cromwell '66, Retired President & CEO JPMorgan Capital Corporation and Adjunct Professor at the Yale School of Management. "Are You an Entrepreneur?" |
| 10/03/2006 | Toshi Amino, Retired Executive Vice President, Honda of America Manufacturing. "China's Automobile Industry" |
| 09/29/2005 | Louis A. Simpson '58, President and Chief Executive Officer, Capital Operations GEICO Corporation. "Creating Shareholder Value" |
| 10/13/2004 | Dragan Filipovic, Senior Principal Scientist, Kraft Foods and Global Research Technology Strategy. "Creativity & Productivity in a Manufacturing Environment" |
| 11/06/2003 | Frederick A. Manske, Jr. '61, Retired CEO from Purolator Courier and formerly Senior Vice President, Federal Express. "The Leadership Challenge – Opportunity Knocks – Are You Ready?" |
| 09/12/2002 | Charles M. Berger, Woltemade Center Executive-In-Residence, Chairman and Retired CEO, Scotts Company, Marysville, Ohio. "Making Good Companies Great" |
| 04/04/2000 | Al '64, Nationally Recognized Expert in Supply Chain Management. "The Missing Link – Bringing Supply Chain Management to the Forefront of Business" |
| 09/29/1999 | David Wetherell, President and CEO, CMGI, Inc. (Sagan National Colloquium Address). "The Internet in a Global Society" |
| 10/08/1998 | James Becher '61, President and CEO, The Geneva Group. "Investment Strategies for the 21st Century: The Private Equity Fund" |
| 04/20/1995 | Donald Jacobs, Dean, J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University. "Management Education for the 21st Century" |
| 10/21/1994 | Thomas G. Murdough, Jr., President of the STEP 2 Corporation, Streetsboro, Ohio. "Ethics and Entrepreneurship" |
| 04/20/1994 | Thomas M. Hout, Vice President, Boston Consulting. "Do We Have Anything to Learn from the Japanese?" |
| 11/04/1993 | Elmer W. Johnson, Partner of the Kirkland & Ellis Law firm, Chicago, and former Executive Vice President of General Motors. "The Large Corporation: An Endangered Species?" |
| 03/24/1993 | Louis A. Simpson '58, Vice Chairman, GEICO Corporation. "Investing in a Global Market" |