Jillian Madocs ’19
At the final School of Business lecture for the fall semester, Mike Marusic ’88 discussed the technological advances that his company, Sharp, is making, as well as how important technology is becoming in the business world.
Mentored as a student by Len Cutler, Ph.D., professor of political science, Marusic learned that in order to succeed in the world, no matter what field you enter, you must be prepared, learn how to learn and always think about the other person’s point of view. He realized from early on that the future is dependent on what needs to be learned and understood, whether that be from new technology, or the people that surround us.
Marusic transitioned from his political science degree into the world of accounting, eventually taking on his current role as Chief Operating Officer of Sharp Electronic. In this position, he is responsible for directing all functions related to operations, corporate marketing, services, information technology, human resources, facilities and purchasing, while also overseeing the marketing strategies for B2B operations.
In other words, Marusic is a busy man. While staying on the cutting edge of things such as artificial intelligence, big data and other technologies, he also recognizes the importance of dedicating time towards forming strong relationships.
“People do business with people they know, like trust and value,” said Marusic.
As for the future of tech, he thinks that, “things we weren’t interested in doing will start to go away.” But, he believes that there has never been a group more well-positioned for the business world – stressing to those in attendance that the most important skill to have as a professional is flexibility.
“Technology and artificial intelligence are making jobs easier, but people like us are what is needed to put them to good use,” said business major Sofia Brasileiro ’19.
