Former Virginia Gov. Mark Warner visited the University Friday, giving advice to incoming Darden School students and discussing his career plans for the immediate future.?
Warner was an unscheduled guest speaker at Friday's annual Career Discovery Forum at the Darden School. The event featured Warner and other speakers invited to share their knowledge of finance, management and marketing with students.
Warner discussed his background, explaining how previous successes and failures have led him to his current position of planning to run for public office again.
Warner told students he entered the business world via an unusual route after being the only member of his Harvard Law School class to "clerk at two different firms and not get a job offer."
Though his early legal career did not succeed, Warner cites this failure, subsequent business failures and his first run for a Senate seat as critical to his eventual success.
"The most valuable lessons in my life have come from failure," Warner said. "Our society is so focused on success that we don't put enough value in failure."
Addressing what his next professional move will be, Warner said he wants to continue his career as a public servant, noting his intention to begin pursuing either a second gubernatorial term or U.S. Senate seat within the next week.
"I hope and expect that within the next week that I will be in the race for one of the two," Warner said.
As far as future pursuits of the White House are concerned, Warner, who announced in October 2006 that he would not pursue the presidency in 2008, said he is undecided.
"I would like to serve as governor or [in the] Senate and take it from that," Warner said.
In addition to discussing his background and future plans, Warner also offered advice for Darden students seeking to become successful leaders.?
According to the former governor, the energy market and non-profit organizations are currently two sectors in which Darden students should consider becoming involved.
"Our current policy [for energy] is borrowing from China and using it to buy oil from countries that don't like us," Warner said. "We may be the only country in the world to fund both sides of the war."
He added that the "lack of American leadership" begs for intelligent, driven people to step up and find a way to provide an energy solution for the United States. He compared the emerging market to the "beginnings of the telecommunication revolution."
Darden students awarded Warner with a standing ovation at the end of his speech. First-year Darden student Kerrin McKillop said he was impressed by Warner's presentation.
"I feel like he provides a case example of someone who has had a successful business career and used it to shape public policy in a positive way," McKillop said. "I think that other business executives could learn from his example"
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