Microsoft Executive to Speak at RIT College of Business’ Gasser Lecture

Free public talk will focus on performance excellence, April 1


Technology offers a growing array of opportunities for businesses to better serve their customers. But how can companies and other organizations use it to the fullest advantage?

Mike Adams, director of Global Performance Xcellence, World Services Division at Microsoft, will share his insights as Rochester Institute of Technology’s College of Business presents the William D. Gasser Distinguished Lecture Series in Business. The event, 3 p.m. on Monday, April 1, will be held in Webb Auditorium, James E. Booth Building, on RIT’s Henrietta campus.

Adams’ presentation, Integrating Technology for Performance Xcellence, will examine Microsoft’s entrepreneurial spirit and illustrate how "cool" technology helps the company improve quality and management systems. The customer experience, performance measures, planning, communication and organizational goals are all influenced by ever-changing technology.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2000, Adams was president and CEO of Mike Adams & Co., a performance management and creative services practice—where his services ranged from conducting strategic and business planning sessions to writing theme songs and jingles. He also served as the head of quality at Florida Power & Light and FPL Group Inc. Adams speaks worldwide on topics such as benchmarking, customer satisfaction, business performance and strategic planning.

The Gasser Lecture is hosted annually by RIT’s College of Business to advance interaction and dialogue between business and academic communities. The lecture series is made possible by a gift from the late John Wiley Jones, former honorary member of the RIT Board of Trustees and founder of Jones Chemicals Inc., in memory of William D. Gasser. Gasser taught accounting at RIT from 1967 until his death in 1977.

A reception will immediately follow the Gasser Lecture, which is free and open to the public. To register for the event, contact Donna Slavin at 475-2199 or dlsbbu@rit.edu.