Pitt Business: Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business & College of Business Administration

Press Release

September 9, 2004

Tyco CEO and Chair Ed Breen Launches 2004–05 Katz Executive Spotlight Series

PITTSBURGH—Edward Breen, chair and CEO of Tyco International Ltd., kicked off the Joseph M. Katz Executive Spotlight Series for 2004–05.

He assumed the CEO mantle in July 2002, with the daunting task of stabilizing the conglomerate's financial health and winning back investor confidence and trust in a company wracked by scandal.

Since Breen took over, Tyco's market capitalization has nearly tripled to about $55 billion, up from about $20 billion, as has its stock price—rising from about $10 when Breen arrived from his previous position as president of Motorola Inc., to over $30 most recently.

Breen spoke to roughly 125 students from the Katz programs.

“We were honored to have Ed speak to our students. The passion and compassion he possesses made his successes at Tyco an inevitable outcome,” said Dean Frederick Winter.

“We look forward to our executive speaker lineup this year,” added Winter.

The series connects current Katz MBA candidates with CEOs and high-level corporate executives of world-class companies. Observations, lessons learned, and views from the top are shared with students in these intensive sessions. The corporate realities of these executives and the theoretical experiences of the students intersect in the series. The result is a lively and candid interaction where students get insights and knowledge straight from the boardroom for debate in the classroom.

Past speakers have included executives from Emerson Electric, FreeMarkets, Ford Motor Company, the U.S. Treasury, and Bayer.

The series continues through January with the following speakers:

September 24, 2004

Kevin March, CFO of Texas Instruments

October 21, 2004

Ray Smith, chair, Rothchild North America, and president, Arlington Capital Partners

January 26, 2005

Allan Feldman, president and CEO, Midas International (tentative)