Pickard will speak at 2 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Haworth College of Business in 2000 Schneider Hall. His presentation, titled "The 7 Principles of Entrepreneurship," is free and open to the public. It will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
You may register and request parking information by contacting Cyntia Dawson at cyntia.dawson@wmich.edu or (269) 387-5069. Free parking is available near Schneider Hall.
Dr. William Pickard
Pickard is the chairman of Global Automotive Alliance, co-managing partner of MGM Grand Detroit Casino, CEO of Bearwood Management Company and the co-owner of five black-owned newspapers.
His 35-year entrepreneurial career began as a McDonald’s franchisee in Detroit, Michigan. In 1989, he founded an automotive manufacturing company and grew it into Global Automotive Alliance, logistics and manufacturing companies with more than one half billion dollars in sales and eight plants in the U.S. and Canada.
Pickard has served on numerous business and non-profit boards including Asset Acceptance Capital Corporation, Michigan National Bank, LaSalle Bank, Business Leaders for Michigan, National Urban League, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Detroit Black Chamber of Commerce. He is also a life member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.
In 2001, Pickard was awarded Michiganian of the Year for his business success, civic leadership and philanthropy. Pickard was also the first chairman of the African Development Foundation, appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1982. Under President George H.W. Bush he was appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Trade Policy Negotiations in 1990 and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis board in Indiana in 1991. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder appointed Pickard to the WMU Board of Trustees in June 2016.
Pickard holds a bachelor’s degree from Western Michigan University, a master’s degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.