[407] MTSU Professor Tapped to Chair Private Equity Conference

FOR RELEASE: April 19, 2012
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

MTSU PROFESSOR TAPPED TO CHAIR PRIVATE EQUITY CONFERENCE
Entrepreneurship Expert Doug Tatum to Oversee Powerhouse Lineup of Speakers

MURFREESBORO—Doug Tatum, holder of the Wright Chair of Entrepreneurship at MTSU, will chair “Where the Middle Market Shines,” a private equity conference, April 25-27 at the Gaylord Texan Hotel in Dallas.

More than 2,000 people are slated to attend and more than $100 billion worth of capital will be represented at the gathering, which is sponsored by the Association for Corporate Growth.

Scheduled speakers and panel moderators include Dr. Condoleezza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State; Karl Rove, former deputy chief of staff and senior adviser to President George W. Bush; James Carville, political consultant and key architect of Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign; Stephen Moore, senior economics writer with the Wall Street Journal; and Nolan Ryan, former Major League Baseball pitcher and CEO and president of the Texas Rangers.

Tatum, who also is an associate professor in the Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship, was chairman and CEO of Tatum LLC for more than 17 years.

He grew the company to the largest executive-services consulting firm in the United States with more than 1,000 employees and professionals in 30 offices. He later served on the firm’s board and as chairman emeritus until the company merged with Spherion Corporation in early 2010.

In 2011, Tatum was asked to lead concentrated research for the Institute for Exceptional Growth Companies to investigate the performance of EGCs through economic cycles and how they contribute to job creation and economic prosperity.

Tatum’s 2007 book, “No Man’s Land: What to Do When Your Company is Too Big to Be Small but Too Small to Be Big,” is included in the recently updated edition of “The 100 Best Business Books of All Time.”

For more information about the conference, go to www.acg.org.

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