Page 4 - NABCA 79th Annual Conference - Registration Brochure
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Keynote Speakers
Bob Schieffer Mike Abrashoff
General Session I: General Session II:
“Politics and Getting “Get Your Ship
Things Done” Together”
Emmy-winning Bob Schieffer is one of the nation's most As the youngest commanding officer in the Pacific
revered journalists of all time. With 58 years as a reporter Fleet, Mike Abrashoff turned the USS Benfold
and 46 years at CBS News, the former moderator of Face from a ship with poor performance evaluations
the Nation served as a steady on-air presence while other to the top performing ship in the fleet within
television personalities came and went. Before joining 12 months – using the same crew. People were
CBS News, Bob was a reporter at the Fort Worth Star- amazed and the lesson was clear – leadership
Telegram and became the first reporter from a Texas matters and culture is everything. Mike’s solution
newspaper to report from Vietnam in 1965. was to establish a set of management principles
Bob is one of the few journalists to have covered all four that he calls The Leadership Roadmap. At the
major beats in the nation’s capital – the White House, core of his leadership approach on Benfold was
the Pentagon, the State Department, and Capitol Hill. a process of replacing command and control
He has interviewed every president since Richard Nixon with commitment and cohesion, and engaging
and moderated the 2004, 2008, and 2012 presidential the hearts, minds, and loyalties of workers with
debates. He offers an insightful look at today’s political conviction and humility.
climate told through insider stories about the most This experience led to the first of his three
fascinating aspects of politics – how politicians operate books, the million-copy-selling It’s Your Ship.
behind the scenes. Mike’s additional military experience includes
Among his many accomplishments, Bob has authored serving as the Military Assistant to Defense
three books; was named a “Living Legend” by the Secretary William Perry and assisting in the air
Library of Congress; and has won virtually every award defense plan for naval forces during the 1990
in broadcast journalism, including eight Emmys, the Persian Gulf conflict. He is also the founder of
Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence, and the Edward Aegis Performance Group, a consulting firm
R. Murrow Award. He received an Emmy for lifetime which works with and supports leaders and the
achievement and was named“Broadcaster of the Year”by challenges facing them and their organizations.
the National Press Foundation. He was also inducted into Mike and his team prompt leaders at all levels
the Broadcasting/Cable Hall of Fame and the National to re-imagine their leadership thinking and
Academy of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. He feels create new ways to elevate individual, team and
his greatest honor was creating the Schieffer School of organizational performance.
Journalism at his alma mater, Texas Christian University.
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