Douglas T. Breeden - Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

uilt to last
In Indiana, the Breeden family were known as entrepreneurs—and
as leaders—so it comes as no surprise that their
son would take on those characteristics, as well. They built
a chicken business and restaurants, and Breeden’s father,
Russell, was mayor of Leavenworth for twenty years, as
well as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives.
“We were always people who ran the largest businesses
and employed people while doing great things for the
community,” Breeden said of his family. “I suppose that
it was in my blood to be a leader.”
Of course, there was something else, another reason why
Breeden founded a money-management firm and owns
almost ten businesses, including three banks, a golf course,
two restaurants, and an inn: “I’ve always been a little bit
uncomfortable having a boss who could fire me,” he joked.
“If I own the place, that doesn’t happen.”
20 exchange
“We’re likely to go on for centuries, and over the
centuries, we can build a network, and we can
touch almost every part of the globe.” —Dean Breeden
Dean Breeden presents a Duke basketball to Board of Visitors member
Malvinder Singh and wife, Japna, in Mumbai.
Mainly, though, Breeden liked the feeling of developing
new products or services, employing others, and contributing
to the economy in a positive way. That spirit of entrepreneurship
and leadership was one he felt Duke must elevate
to be a major business school. To that end, Breeden
captained the start of the Center for the Advancement of
Social Entrepreneurship in 2001, the Fuqua/Coach K
Center of Leadership and Ethics in 2002, and the Center
for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at Fuqua in 2005,
which collaborates with the engineering, medical, and law
schools at Duke, among others, to help facilitate the transfer
of knowledge to other entities—especially businesses in
the technology-rich Research Triangle Park.
Breeden’s own experience as an entrepreneur and businessman
made his time as Dean more successful. One of his
staple business strategies comes from James Collins’ and
Jerry Porras’ book, Built to Last: “Try a lot of stuff, and see what
Dean Breeden is miked for an MBN TV interview in Seoul.