Business college kicks off Executive Speaker Series
Janel Shoun |
About once a month business faculty will gather to talk with a local business executive on the latest trends in their slice of the marketplace. Freeman described to the faculty how Ingram Book Group, known as a long-time Nashville book distributor, is making waves in the area of digital technology, offering services such as print-on-demand, e-books and Website content for publishers.
The Executive Speaker Series, coordinated by Charles Frasier, Randy Steger and Steve Little, will bring in professionals with a variety of experiences, said Little. One month may be an executive from a traditional, long-standing company and the next month could be someone newer and more entrepreneurial, he said.
“The goal is to learn more about what opportunities are out there for our students,” Little said.
The series coordinators expect to sometimes invite other faculty and administrators to the talks, depending on the topic.
On Friday, Freeman described the leading edge of technology and how it is affecting the publishing and academic worlds. He described Ingram’s business strategy for wading into the new e-world: providing needed services – including technological services – for both book publishers and book retailers.
Ingram’s new services include custom publishing, the ability to print smaller batches using an electronic version of the book, hosting e-book Websites, the ability to provide an on-line electronic “peek” inside a book (as often seen on Amazon.com) and downloadable audiobooks, potentially popular in libraries in the near future.