CEO Glenn Meakem shares life and entreprenurial lessons
Glenn Meakem has worn many hats throughout his career. He served as an officer in the United States Army, worked on the marketing team for the Jell-O gelatin and pudding division of Kraft Foods Inc., and provided consultation to an energy company.
Through all of his experiences, Meakem never lost sight of an ideal that guided his professional life.
“You need to know yourself to be successful. You have to keep learning because the journey never stops. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” said Meakem, with a smile.
Meakem, radio host and founder, chairman and CEO of FreeMarkets Inc., shared his experiences and life lessons Wednesday at the second session of the fall 2011 CEO Conversations at Penn State Fayette, The Eberly Campus.
During his sophomore year at Harvard University, Meakem decided to follow one of his dreams and serve in the military.
Through the experience, Meakem said he learned valuable leadership skills which were able to be applied to business.
After serving in the army reserves and active duty for the Gulf War, Meakem discovered the role of military officer was not for him.
“The only way you can find out (your professional calling) is to jump in and try different things,” he said.
While at Kraft Foods, Meakem learned the structure of a large company did not fulfill what he wanted to do with his professional life.
“I didn’t want to be part of a huge bureaucracy. I had to go to work everyday and make a difference,” said Meakem.
As a consultant for an electric utility company in Texas, Meakem used his entrepreneurial spirit to create a network system that would update the bidding process and make it a more competitive marketplace for the suppliers of the electric company.
His idea saved the company $4 million annually.
Additionally, the newly devised system was revolutionary because it occurred before the Internet boom.
“Trying to create a new idea in a large company was hard,” Meakem said about imbedding the new bidding system into the company’s established infrastructure.
It was this experience that propelled Meakem to start FreeMarkets in 1995. The purpose of the company was to work with businesses to improve their purchasing functions.
In 1999, FreeMarkets went public and in 2004, the company was sold. In 2005, Meakem founded Meakem Becker Venture Capital, a leading Pittsburgh based, early-stage venture capital firm.
After Meakem concluded his presentation, he was joined on stage by a panel of Penn State Fayette students who had the opportunity to ask Meakem questions.
The panel included Brent Lint, senior business major; Malvika Mathur, sophomore electrical engineering major; Jerome Stafford, senior English major; and Heather Hunchuck, sophomore veterinary and biomedical sciences major.
When Lint asked Meakem what prepared him for the world of business Meakem stressed the importance of “to thine own self be true.”
“To be successful you need to know yourself, not what will just make you happy, but what will make you successful,” he said.
“What is my skill set? What am I good at? When it is time to compete you want to be on solid ground.”
Before Meakem concluded the panel discussion, he wanted to share a few words of wisdom for students who were gathered in the audience.
“You need to find an idea. An idea doesn’t come from sitting on a couch watching TV,” he said.
“I think maybe in your generation, too many people have their iPods on with music blaring and don’t see the world around them.”
Meakem says he continues to learn and try new experiences.
Besides his endeavors in the business world, Meakem hosts a conservative radio talk show “Glen Meakem on the Weekend” which is broadcast Saturday and Sunday mornings in Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia.
CEO Conversations is an initiative of the late Dr. Emmanuel I. Osagie, chancellor of Penn State Fayette from 2007 to March 2010.
The program is designed to give students the opportunity to hear from and talk with key individuals in the local, regional and national business communities about business, entrepreneurship and leadership.
The next speaker in the CEO Conversations series is Jeff Bergman, international business consultant and founder and CEO of former SMT Health Services.
He will speak at noon Nov. 16 at Penn State Fayette.