The UConn School of Business and the Women’s Networking Group of Fairfield County will welcome business author and career expert Suzy Welch to UConn Stamford on Thursday, Sept. 24 for a fireside chat on purpose, values, and finding meaning in work and life.
Welch is a bestselling author, professor, and leadership expert. Her 2025 book, “Becoming You: A Proven Method for Crafting Your Authentic Life and Career,’’ offers a framework for navigating career decisions with greater clarity, purpose, and personal alignment.
“Suzy is an extraordinarily dynamic speaker, who offers perspective and guidance on career development. The resources she has created through her book ‘Becoming You,’ and her business Becoming You Labs are especially valuable for employees in this challenging and uncertain job market,’’ says Kelly Kennedy, director of transformative learning at the School of Business and the event moderator.
Welch’s presentation is open to UConn students, alumni, faculty and staff, as well as members of the community. The event, free of charge, will be in the Gen Re Auditorium, 1 University Place in Stamford. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. with networking. Welch will speak from 6 p.m. to about 7:30 p.m. Registration is available by emailing Kelly Kennedy (kelly.kennedy@uconn.edu), at WNGCT.com, or at the door.
Kennedy, who teaches a required career-education course for undergraduate business students, says recent graduates are seeking careers that are meaningful.
“To achieve that, people need to know themselves first,’’ she says. “Few people randomly land in their ideal position. Instead, they make intentional decisions and build a purposeful career based on their interests, values, and aptitudes.’’
But Welch’s presentation isn’t limited to students and recent alumni, Kennedy says. The talk will be helpful to mid-life career changers, entrepreneurs, and anyone charting a new course.
“Her ideas have the power to change people’s career trajectory and reshape what they thought work, and their future, was going to look like,’’ Kennedy says. “Helping our business students enter the workforce with more confidence, greater self-awareness, a stronger ability to pursue meaningful work, and understanding they have a voice in shaping their own future is one of the most important tools we can give them.’’
Welch began her career as a reporter for The Miami Herald and The Associated Press before earning an MBA from Harvard Business School. She then became a consultant for Bain & Co.
As editor-in-chief of the Harvard Business Review, she wrote extensively about leadership and organizational change. She co-authored several bestselling business books with her late husband, Jack Welch, the chairman and CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 2001, including “Winning” (2005) and “The Real Life MBA” (2015).
Welch now teaches in the MBA program at New York University’s Stern School of Business and hosts two podcasts, “Becoming You” and “Please Advise with Suzy Welch.” In addition to teaching and writing, Welch is a frequent media commentator, with recent appearances on CNBC and NBC’s “The Today Show.’’
