Denis J. Nayden '76, '77 MBA

Managing Partner, Oak Hill Capital

Denis Nayden ’76, ’77 MBA and a member of the Board of Trustees, addresses School of Business graduates at the commencement ceremony held on May 11, 2008. Click here to view more Commencement photos.

Photo by Peter Morenus

Good morning everyone. Thank you Dean Earley for those kind words of introduction. Thanks to the School of Business and the 662 exceptional people who will receive your diplomas shortly for sharing your special day with me. And certainly, a very special thanks to all the mothers in the audience for sharing your Mother’s Day for UConn's Business School Commencement. I actually asked my wife and mother of our two children to be here this morning. We really should probably apologize for encroaching on Mother's Day so why don’t we give all the Moms out there a big hand.

As it turns out, it may be quite appropriate to share Mother's Day and Commencement. Both signify a starting point, and hopefully, both will always serve as a reminder. Many years ago, for some of us, long, long, ago, our mothers (and fathers) delivered us into this world. They literally gave me and you our start. Likewise, UConn's School of Business Commencement is another start. And with that start you are all about to commence the next exciting phase of your life. So for those important starts, I guess we should say, "Thank you Mom; thank you Dad; thank you UConn."

It has been 32 years since my UConn commencement and things sure have changed around here. Today the business school has a real business school and not a quonset hut. Gampel and Natl Championship Basketball teams – many other great changes. On my drive up this morning I was trying to remember my commencement ceremony & speaker. I couldn't remember a damn thing. That put in perspective the relative importance of my remarks this morning – pretty humbling. I do remember one vignette which occurred shortly after graduation. I was visiting the Naval Academy in my hometown of Annapolis, MD. My parents and I were at some social function and my dad introduced me to the Commandant. "This is my son Denis who just graduated from UConn." The Commandant stared down at me and said, "That's great son, congratulations, I did not know ALASKA had a university."

Thing really have changed!

As we are here together, please look around you. Take the time to absorb all your surroundings. You see your family, friends, classmates, teammates and professors. Remember how special all of them are. Remember what you have done together and learned together. Always remember, never forget. As you rush off into your new start, there will be plenty of opportunities and plenty of challenges. There will be moments of success and elation and sometimes disappointment. All those things rushing at you, with you and around you at remarkable speed. In that swirl, please always remember those people who are most important in your life. They help you keep your balance. They are the ones who will always be there for you.

As graduates of UConn's Business School you are all leaping into an exciting, challenging, changing world that certainly has a lot of issues, but most definitely has a lot of opportunities. Let's reflect on a few things going on in our world. Oil is at $120+; in the last two weeks, six airlines have declared bankruptcy; Oil prices have propelled the re-emergence of Russia as an economic power; as well as built up huge Sovereign Wealth Funds on the Middle East and Asia; the sub-prime crisis; the mortgage crisis; hundreds of billions in losses in the financial markets and Wall Street; CEO's losing their jobs; new CEO's taking their jobs.

China will be hosting the '08 Summer Olympics – they will be on the world stage as a high growth, economic power and country dealing with many issues like human rights and the environment. The global world is connected in so many ways today politically, financially and technologically. We simply must continue to find productive, equitable and peaceful ways to work together.

The US is clearly in a consumer led recession. It will take years for the housing market to recover. The US Dollar is at all time lows. Budget deficits and trade deficits keep growing. The price of gas, bread and eggs is way up. We have a tough war to resolve and the political environment is charged.

Welcome graduating class of 2008 to the real world!

How do you feel about the world today?

Are you worried? Are you scared?

Am I worried? Even as a perpetual Irish optimist, I would have to say I'm appropriately concerned.

Am I scared? (so scared I'd like to go back to school or at least just go back to sleep?) No!

Why do I have confidence? Because of all of you. UConn is about to unleash on CT, the United States and the World 662 extremely talented, thoughtful capable leaders. You all have the chance to make a difference in whatever walk of life you choose, it does not matter what job or profession you choose. You can all make a difference as long as you're willing to be a leader. And our world sure needs leadership today.

And as you embark as leaders, allow me to share a few thoughts on leadership that I've observed, experienced and developed over the last 30 years.

• First, life is all about dreams. Notice I did not say fairy tales. Dream big dreams and pursue them.
  
  
• Once you have a dream, make it real. Run the race. Be a player. Be a doer. Be patient and confident and be willing to persevere. Don't ever give up.
  
  
• Be visible and accessible. Communicate with and be out in front of your teams all the time. Let your actions and behavior match your words and philosophy.
  
  You don't have to be a self-promoter to get ahead. Let your skills, actions and results speak for themselves. Remember quality communications goes two ways. Become a great listener. Listen before you speak. Listen before you decide. Listen before you act. Then, listen some more.
  
  
• Be willing to sign up for tough assignments. You'll learn more, faster. Be a risk taker, an informed risk taker. Don't be afraid to make mistakes and learn from them. Don't always take the easiest path or the one which you are most familiar or comfortable.
  
  
• Learn to be a change agent. In fact, embrace change. Welcome change. Learn to influence and drive change to solve problems. Drive change to get better. Be willing to break some old molds or models – even when things are going well.
  
  
• Build great teams and learn from everyone around you. All you have to do is look up at the banners hanging here in Gampel and you know what great teams can do. You've seen it, live and in person.
  
  
• As you build a great team or business be prepared to share the spotlight. Share accountability and responsibility. And when your team or teammates deliver results celebrate and share their success. It’s not about you; it's about your teammates and the team.
  
  
• To develop and grow a team, be a mentor and coach (not just a boss). Share experience and perspective. Help people adapt, learn and deliver and make sure you have your own mentors along the way. Mentor and coach. Teach and learn from each other.
  
  
• Keep in mind, great leaders do all these things and always deliver results. They deliver all the time – in good economic times, in tough economic times, in times of certainty and times of uncertainty. And great leaders manage to always deliver without ever compromising the integrity for themselves, their team or their business. It's not just what we do but how we do it as well. Find a way to contribute every day to your family, to your business or profession, to society and to your church. Don't forget to give back along the way.
  
  
• Remember that you are all UConn Huskies and with that comes a special responsibility to sustain Husky tradition. The Husky dog has some noble traits. Huskies are strong and determined. They are completely loyal and totally giving. They are fiercely protective and remarkably gentle. And let's not leave out the fact that UConn Huskies are winners. You are all winners.
  
  
• Keep a little dose of humility with you because , some days you're the top dog and that's great……but some days you're going to be the hydrant.
  
  
• Finally, be passionate about whatever you do. If you don't have the passion for what you do, you won't do it well and you won't he happy or fulfilled. If you don't have passion, your team, your colleagues, your customers just won't believe you. Pour your heart and soul and energy into everything you do. As you dream, follow your passion. It's not about title, stature and power. And it should never be just about money. All those things are fleeting. Passion can sustain you for a lifetime.

My best wishes go out to all 2008 graduates.

I hope you all have an exciting and fruitful life.

Congratulations again. Go Huskies!

---

Denis J. Nayden is a Managing Partner of Oak Hill Capital, a private equity firm in which Robert M. Bass is the lead investor. At Oak Hill Capital, Mr. Nayden heads the industry groups focused on investments in Basic Industries and co-heads the Business & Financial Services team. Currently, he represents Oak Hill Capital on the boards of directors of Accretive Healthcare, Duane Reade, Firth Rixson Ltd., Genpact, GMH Communities Trust, The Jacobson Companies, Primus International and RSC Equipment Rental.

Prior to joining Oak Hill in 2003, Mr. Nayden was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of GE Capital, where he was responsible for 20 separate businesses representing $555 billion of aggregate assets and 90,000 employees in 35 countries. During his 26-year tenure at General Electric Co. (GE), he also served as Chief Operating Officer (1994-2000); Executive Vice President (1989-1994); Senior Vice President and General Manager in the Structured Finance Group (1987-1989); Vice President and General Manager in the Corporate Finance Group (1987-1989); and Marketing Administrator for Air/Rail Financing as well as various other positions of increasing responsibility (1977-1987).

In addition to the boards of directors mentioned above, Mr. Nayden also serves on the board of directors of Cathedral Cluster Schools and Building with Books (a non-profit organization). Mr. Nayden earned a B.A. degree in English, magna cum laude, in 1976 and an M.B.A. in Finance in 1977 from the University of Connecticut, where he serves on the Board of Trustees.