Each year hundreds of the nation’s top venture capitalists and corporate leaders assemble for the Dow Jones VentureOne Summit. This year the more than 350 attendees heard Bainbridge College (BC) speech communication professor Wynton Hall, who also teaches in Thomasville. He delivered one of four keynote speeches.
“We’ve gotten many rave reviews from attendees,” said Dow Jones Editorial Director Ken Andersen. He said Hall’s presentation Feb. 27 was “definitely one of the highlights of the event,” that took place Feb. 26-27 in Redwood City, CA.
Hall’s speech centered on how the upcoming presidential election stands to affect up-start companies, venture capital, and the general outlook for businesses and jobs.
The Dow Jones VentureOne Summit is considered one of the biggest and most important annual gatherings of venture capitalists.
“I was humbled that Dow Jones invited me to be one of their keynote speakers,” said Hall. “To get the opportunity to speak to some of the biggest leaders in business and innovation was a special honor.
“It also allowed me to live out the lessons I teach my speech students at Bainbridge College - namely, that getting up in front of audiences is a critical part of sharpening one’s public speaking skills.”
As one of four keynoters, Hall found himself in rare company. The other three speakers were Scott Anderson, vice president and senior economist of Wells Fargo & Co.; Peter H. Diamandis, chairman and chief executive officer of X PRIZE Foundation, and Andy Bechtolsheim, chief architect and senior vice president of Systems Group, Sun Microsystems.
Professor Hall has already received invitations from attendees to deliver speeches to their corporate gatherings and groups.
“A professor’s students want to know that their instructor knows what he or she is talking about,” Hall said. “As a speech professor, I know my students want to know that I’ve delivered major speeches to large audiences. I believe it’s important for students to see their professors actively practicing what they teach. It helps make learning come alive.”
