Kinko’s Founder Paul Orfalea to Speak at CLU’s Corporate Leaders Breakfast
(THOUSAND OAKS, CA – October 2006) – Paul Orfalea, founder of Kinko’s and the Orfalea Family Foundation, will speak at the Corporate Leaders Breakfast on Friday, Nov. 17, in the Lundring Events Center at California Lutheran University. Orfalea is one of the speakers in a stellar line-up of corporate executives from internationally recognized companies who will speak at CLU’s 2006-2007 Corporate Leaders Breakfast Series.
With a unique business philosophy based on free-thinking and entrepreneurial creativity, Orfalea's theories on how to operate a successful business are grounded in his insistence on taking care of his co-workers and customers and his sharp eye for taking on the right opportunities.
In 1970, Orfalea founded Kinko's near the University of California at Santa Barbara. After 30 years overseeing the business, there were more than 1,200 Kinko's worldwide known for a variety of business services and technology. Four years after Orfalea’s retirement in 2000, Kinko’s Inc. was acquired by the FedEx Corporation.
Orfalea refers to his retirement as a “repurpose” since he is involved in a range of activities including West Coast Asset Management Inc., Stone Canyon Venture Partners LP along with the Orfalea Family Foundation and the Orfalea Fund which support educational philanthropic initiatives.
A champion of entrepreneurial endeavors, the USC graduate was awarded an honorary doctorate from Babson College in 2004. The following year his book Copy This! Lessons from a hyperactive dyslexic who turned a bright idea into one of America’s best was published. The book reveals how Orfalea succeeded in using his learning differences (ADD and Dyslexia) and his unorthodox approach, to mold a compassionate, partner-driven culture that allowed Kinko’s to thrive.
The Corporate Breakfast Series, which is open to invited guests and members of the media, brings the region’s civic and business leaders together, giving them the opportunity to get acquainted and to hear from prominent business leaders in the community. Past speakers include James D. Power IV, Executive Vice President of J.D. Power and Associates, and Chris Denove, Vice President and Partner of J.D. Power and Associates; Duke Blackwood, Director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, Ron Kripalani, President and Chief Executive Officer of Countrywide Capital Marketing Inc.; Denny Weinberg, Executive Vice President of WellPoint Health Networks; and Duke Potts, Executive Vice President of Technicolor. The series is sponsored by Merrill Lynch of Westlake Village.
2006-2007 Corporate Leaders Breakfast Series
Friday, Nov. 17, 2006
Paul Orfalea –Kinko’s Founder, Orfalea Family Foundation
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007
T. Michael Murray – St. John’s Regional Medical Center
Jim Sherman – Los Robles Hospital & Medical Center
Gary Wilde – Community Memorial Hospital
Panel moderated by Barbara Bronson-Gray, R.N.
MEDIA NOTE: If you are interested in attending the Corporate Leaders Breakfast as a member of the press, please e-mail jmjaureg@callutheran.edu An electronic photo of Paul Orfalea is available.