John Brown University and The Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics welcome Don Soderquist and Gabe Lyons for Leadership Week 2014. Soderquist will speak during chapel services in the Cathedral of the Ozarks on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 10:30 a.m. and Lyons will speak on Thursday, Feb. 27 at 10:30 a.m.
“The theme for both talks is, ‘Which Hill?’ It comes from the common expression for life and leadership, know which hill you’re willing to die on. The battle analogy is a guide for leaders in tension and challenges us to consider what’s most important,” said Chuck Hyde, Soderquist Center chief executive officer.
Don Soderquist served more than 20 years as a leader at Walmart and became known as “the keeper of the culture” after the passing of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Soderquist served as Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice Chairman during a period of exponential growth for Walmart, as the company became the largest in the world with sales of more than $200 billion. Soderquist served on the JBU board of trustees from 1982 until 2009, and served as the board’s chairman from 1991 until 2002. He is currently trustee emeriti. He was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2010. He is the founding executive of the Soderquist Center for Leadership and Ethics at John Brown University and also the namesake of the University’s College of Business.
Gabe Lyons is the founder of Q Ideas—a learning community that mobilizes Christians to advance the common good in society and author of The Next Christians: Seven Ways You Can Live the Gospel and Restore the World (Multnomah, 2012). Additionally, he is the co-author of UnChristian: What a New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity and Why It Matters, a bestselling book based on original research that revealed the pervasiveness of pop culture’s negative perceptions of Christians. Gabe’s work represents the perspectives of a new generation of Christians and has been featured by CNN, the New York Times, Fox News and USA Today. Gabe, his wife Rebekah, and their three children reside in Manhattan, New York.
This year, The Soderquist Center celebrates 15 years of service to organizations in Northwest Arkansas and leaders from around the country.
The Soderquist Center is a premier provider of values-based leadership, organizational, and team development for organizations of all sizes, including several Fortune 500 companies. Located on the campus of John Brown University in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, the Center was founded in 1998 by Don Soderquist, former COO and Senior Vice-Chairman of Walmart Stores, Inc. For more information visit www.soderquist.org.
John Brown University is a private Christian university, ranked No. 2 overall and No. 1 Best Value among Southern regional colleges by U.S. News and World Report. JBU enrolls more than 2,500 students from 42 states and 44 countries in its traditional undergraduate, graduate, degree completion and concurrent education programs. JBU is a member of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities and a founding member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.