Stanford MBA and eBay CEO Addresses Graduating Class: MBA News

John Donahoe, eBay's CEO and Stanford MBA alumni, has returned to the top US business school to address the graduating class.

 

"For me, creating a life and career filled with impact and meaning is about leadership," Donahoe told the 491 graduates at the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), 389 of which were receiving their MBA degrees.

 

John Donahoe graduated from the Stanford GSB with an MBA in 1986, after which he spent 20 years working at Bain, rising to president and CEO. In 2005 he joined eBay, later becoming CEO of the company in 2008.

 

“In difficult times, you get a sense of who you are, what you’re made of, and what’s really important to you," Donahoe explained at the ceremony. "It is during the difficult periods that you learn the importance of trust and teamwork. It is during the difficult periods that you learn how to persevere and have faith.”

On a similar tack to Donahoe, Stanford GSB's Dean Garth Saloner earlier told the graduates that the school had endeavoured to train them in order to help solve the world's biggest problems.

 

“At the GSB we have not just encouraged you to dream, but tried to instill in you the courage to pursue those dreams, we have surrounded you by classmates who can help you to nurture them, and we have provided you with an education that gives you the knowledge and insight to guide you in your quest.

 

"We have done this because we think that the biggest problems in the world - whether in education, global poverty, healthcare, the environment, water, governance, or business - are, at their core, business, leadership, and management problems. There are big and important challenges and the world needs change agents who are willing to tackle them with passion and with innovative ideas. There are big and important challenges, and the world needs change agents who are willing to tackle them with passion and with innovative ideas.”