Athens, Ga. – Peter N. Foss, a senior executive with GE who oversees the corporate giant’s sales force effectiveness, as well as GE’s Olympic sponsorship deal, is the next guest lecturer for the Terry Leadership Speaker Series on Friday, Nov. 20, at 10 a.m. in room 148 of the University of Georgia Miller Learning Center. Foss’ presentation, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Institute for Leadership Advancement at UGA’s Terry College of Business.
Foss has served as president of GE’s Olympic sponsorship since 2003. In 2008, he took on additional responsibilities for sales force effectiveness and corporate sales. Foss is responsible for coordinating GE’s global sponsorship with the International Olympic Committee, as well as serving as GE’s liaison with the NFL. In addition, he leads a team whose goal is to develop and implement growth strategies with a select group of GE’s largest global customers.
A 31-year GE veteran, Foss previously served for six years as the president of GE Polymerland, which is the commercial organization representing GE Plastics and was an early adopter and leader in e-commerce. Prior to that, he was a regional general manager for four of the GE Plastics regions, including leading the GE Plastics effort in Mexico in the mid-1990s.
He is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, where he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, and lives in Charlotte, N.C.
Foss is the second of four senior executives scheduled to address students this school year through the expanded Terry Leadership Speaker Series. Michele Burns, chairman and CEO of Mercer LLC, spoke Oct. 2. Al Koch, CEO of Motors Liquidation Co., formerly known as General Motors Corp., and Jim Reese, president and CEO of Atlanta Union Mission, are scheduled to speak Feb. 25 and April 2, respectively.
The Institute for Leadership Advancement is a leadership development unit housed in the Terry College of Business. Its programs stress the importance of principled leadership based on core values and emphasize leadership as a collaborative process and not as a position. The institute’s ultimate aim is to create a new class of leaders who are well trained and ready for responsibility, committed to stewardship and pursuers of excellence, characterized by integrity and defined by purpose.