The founder of one of the largest Internet service providers in the United States will deliver Presbyterian College’s 2023 Robert M. Vance Lecture on Business Ethics.
Charles Brewer, who has launched three highly acclaimed companies in two different industries, will speak at 6:30 pm on Thursday, January 26, in Belk Auditorium.
Brewer’s first company, MindSpring Enterprises, began with a purpose – to change the way the world does business by showing what can be achieved by a company based on respect for individuals, honesty and integrity. The result was a successful, award-winning company that consistently ranked first in customer satisfaction.
Brewer founded Green Street Properties, refocusing on core values and beliefs, which transformed a blighted brownfield site into Glenwood Park, a charming and thriving neighborhood community.
Brewer is currently the founder and managing partner of Las Catalinas Holding Co. in Costa Rica. He and his team created a new sustainable and fun beach town on the coast of Guanacaste with homes, shops, restaurants, small hotels and inns, plazas, parks and recreational facilities.
A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Amherst College, Brewer earned an MBA from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business. A native of Louisville, Ky., he lives in Atlanta with his wife and three children.
The Robert M. Vance Lecture Series on Business Ethics is funded by a generous gift from the Bailey Foundation and is named after the late Robert M. Vance, a Clinton businessman and former PC trustee.
Vance considered ethics, honesty and integrity to be the most important and he lived these qualities as a business leader. The lecture series honors the late entrepreneur’s legacy and many contributions to the Clinton community. The series serves as an opportunity for prominent leaders in the business world to speak to PC students about how to run a successful business that maintains a moral code employees can be proud of and can use as a guide for their daily activities.
Past speakers include:
• Minor Shaw, chairman of the Daniel-Mickel Foundation
• Mike Baur, CEO, ScanSource
• Jim Samples, President, HGTV
• Danny Morrison, President, Carolina Panthers
• Bob McCoy, former vice president and chief financial officer, Wachovia
• John Allison, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BB&T
• Walter Alessandrini, former South Carolina Entrepreneur of the Year
• Jim Micali, President and Chief Executive Officer, Michelin NA
• Bert Gall, senior attorney, Institute for Justice
• Jim Rosenberg, President and CEO, Burroughs and Chapin
• Robin Boren, Senior Vice President, Southern Company