Bernie Marcus, co-founder and former CEO of Home Depot, spoke to a packed Cook Auditorium crowd on Friday about how he became one of the most successful entrepreneurs of the 20th century. Marcus, the son of Russian immigrants, turned Home Depot into a large, nationwide company.
"We basically changed the way America lives. People bought houses because they could go to Home Depot and figure out how to fix problems in their houses." Marcus said.
Marcus emphasized the importance hands-on attention and communication played in Home Depot's success. Before the company grew to 1,300 stores, Marcus personally trained each manager and frequently traveled the country visiting stores.
Besides running a profitable business venture, Marcus and his partner Arthur Blank also developed a culture of philanthropy within Home Depot. He shared several examples of the company's work, including the donation of two trucks full of rescue equipment to help emergency workers in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing and the supply of timber that shored up the walls of the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
Marcus also discussed his own philanthropy, which included the construction of the largest aquarium in the world in Atlanta, Ga. It holds eight million gallons of water, over 120,000 fish and two baby whale sharks that measure 20 feet in length. He said he donated money for the aquarium to give back to the people and economy of Georgia because that is where Home Depot began.
Many first year students and their families expressed their approval of the lecture, which was designed to appeal to both students interested in entrepreneurship and parents who have witnessed the growth of Home Depot and other so-called "big box" stores.
"I was already well aware of Mr. Marcus' philanthropic nature, having heard of his recent $25 million donation to Autism Speaks," Josh Mirkin '09 said. "What amazed me about Mr. Marcus was his incredible combination of wit, entrepreneurship, charisma, intelligence and moral fiber."
Andrew Samwick, director of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, said that the center hopes to continue to attract other speakers of Marcus' caliber to provide students with information on entrepreneurial careers.
"We want to bring to campus visionary leaders who have made an impact first and foremost to the world of commerce through their entrepreneurship and who have further illustrated ways in which there can be mutually beneficial public-private collaborations," Samwick said.
While on campus, Marcus also attended a luncheon with students involved with Women in Leadership, Women in Business, the Club of Dartmouth Entrepreneurs, Dartmouth Black Business Association, Consulting Club and the Dartmouth Society of Investment of Economics.
Marcus' speech was the inaugural lecture of a series funded by the Portman Entrepreneurial Leadership Fund, which was established in 2004 by William C. Portman '45 T'47, along with Robert J. Portman '78, William C. Portman III T'81 and Virginia Portman Amis.
