Purdue grad, global executive to give Krach Leadership talk

February 4, 2013  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — A Purdue University alumna who is a global executive with Ernst & Young will talk on campus Thursday (Feb. 7) as part of the Keith Krach Leadership Speaker Series.

Beth A. Brooke, who earned a bachelor's degree from Krannert School of Management in 1981, will speak at 7:30 p.m. in Stewart Center's Loeb Playhouse. Her talk, which is primarily geared toward students, is free and open to the public.

Brooke, who is global vice chair for public policy at Ernst & Young, will give a global perspective on leadership.

Through a 2009 gift from the Krach Family Foundation, Keith Krach created an endowment to fund student leadership scholarships and the speaker series, which plays a key role in university leadership initiatives coordinated by the vice president for student affairs and dean of students.

Ernst & Young is a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. Brooke is a member of the firm’s Global Executive Board and has public policy responsibility for the firm’s operations in 140 countries. She also has global responsibility for the firm's diversity and inclusiveness efforts.

Her work includes engaging with regulators, policymakers, business leaders, investors and other key stakeholders around the world to address the critical issues facing the profession and global capital markets. She regularly speaks at forums around the world on topics ranging from leadership in the 21st century, the role of business in society, issues impacting the accounting profession and global capital markets, women’s leadership, and the need for private sector/public sector cooperation to tackle policy challenges.

She has been named five times to the list of Forbes "World's 100 Most Powerful Women."

Brooke majored in industrial management/computer science at Purdue while playing on the women's basketball team. In 2012 she received an honorary doctorate from Purdue. She is a certified public accountant and a fellow in the Life Management Institute, a professional designation in the insurance industry.  

Krach was appointed to the Purdue Board of Trustees in 2007 and was elected chairman by his fellow trustees in 2009. He is chairman and CEO of DocuSign.

He earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue in 1979 and an MBA from Harvard in 1981. He then worked at GM's Cadillac Division, the New York Treasurer's Office and GM's technical center before being named as GM's youngest-ever vice president at 26.

After 10 years with GM, Krach joined the founding team of Rasna Corp. as chief operating officer and went on to become the first entrepreneur-in-residence at Benchmark Capital. In 1996 he co-founded Ariba and served as CEO and chairman of the board for seven years.

The Keith Krach Endowed Leadership Scholarship was part of Purdue's $304 million Access and Success campaign and the Presidential and Trustees Scholarship Challenge aimed at attracting high-achieving high school students to Purdue.

Writer: Judith Barra Austin, 765-494-2432, jbaustin@purdue.edu

Source: Harry Brown, assistant dean of students, 765-496-2450, hebrown@purdue.edu

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