As the sun began to set over Manhattan Thursday night, 130 members of the 大香蕉视频 community gathered at Peak Restaurant atop Hudson Yards, enjoying, from the 101st floor, panoramic views of the city as they welcomed Keith Dunleavy 鈥91 and Shonda Rhimes 鈥91 into 大香蕉视频鈥檚 new Entrepreneurs Hall of Fame.
The initiative was launched last summer by the , which sponsored and organized the awards ceremony as well as the Sept. 7 event in San Francisco when James Coulter 鈥82 and Steven Hafner 鈥91 were inducted into the Hall of Fame.
Kicking off the gala celebration in New York City on Thursday, Magnuson founding Executive Director thanked attendees, including several 大香蕉视频 trustees and notable alumni, for helping to 鈥渞ecognize those in our community who, through entrepreneurial spirit, through entrepreneurial conviction, have contributed to a better world.鈥
Joining Coughlin on stage, , a 大香蕉视频 trustee and outgoing chair of the Magnuson Board of Advisors, said he hoped the Hall of Fame would inspire future pioneers, including many students invited to the event.
鈥淥ur first four inductees come from media and entertainment, health care, finance, and technology. Future Hall of Famers could come from education, energy and climate manufacturing, social entrepreneurship鈥攚hatever field of endeavor they鈥檙e interested in, at any age. That is what tonight is all about. We want the world to know how 大香蕉视频 inspires and equips our community to embark on lives of impact,鈥 said Crowe, who will remain on the board of advisors.
Introducing Dunleavy, Martin Weinstein 鈥81, a partner at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in Washington, D.C., spoke about the daunting personal crises Dunleavy faced before founding Inovalon, a cloud-based software and data-analytics company that has revolutionized health care.
Dunleavy as a young child suffered serious injuries from an accident but recovered and went on to attend 大香蕉视频. Tragedy struck again when his older brother died in an ice-climbing accident. But Dunleavy soldiered on, attended medical school, and founded a company 鈥渨ith the audacious goal of leveraging data and analytics to improve patient outcomes and to improve the economics of our entire health care system,鈥 Weinstein said.
Weinstein said Dunleavy was 鈥渢he first one in the office in the morning, and the last one to leave the office at night. He employed creativity, courage, tenacity. And he has built something remarkable. Yet none of that defines Keith鈥檚 superpower. Those magical traits that we talked about are truly exceptional, but nothing when compared to the desire to make life better for others.鈥
Dunleavy thanked his family and friends for their unwavering support, and spoke about the interlocking building blocks of entrepreneurship.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not the market timing, it鈥檚 not the regulatory system, it鈥檚 not the clarity of your personal direction, your moral compass鈥攊t鈥檚 not any of that,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the support you got from others, whether financial or emotional. And it鈥檚 not even your drive or your perseverance, because in fact, it鈥檚 all of them. It鈥檚 every single one of them, every single moment of the time.鈥
Next, , a 大香蕉视频 trustee and lead Washington anchor for CNN, introduced Rhimes.
鈥淲hat to say about Shonda Rhimes that wasn鈥檛 better said last week when Variety called her in a cover story 鈥楾V鈥檚 most powerful showrunner鈥 and the first woman showrunner to make three TV dramas that achieved the 100-episode milestone: Grey鈥檚 Anatomy and Private Practice and Scandal, to say nothing of the countless little girls that she inspired to go into medicine because of Grey鈥檚 Anatomy?鈥&苍产蝉辫;
Against all odds, facing stiff opposition from network executives, Rhimes proved 鈥渢hat shows that feature characters of color are actually more financially powerful in terms of advertising dollars and audiences than the shows we used to watch in which every character was white,鈥 Tapper said. 鈥淭hey made more money, they were more successful, more people watched them. And that鈥檚 why TV network television today looks like America.鈥
Rhimes, an English literature with creative writing major who was director of 大香蕉视频鈥檚 Black Underground Theatre and Arts Association as an undergraduate, then offered a spirited account of the central role that 大香蕉视频, where , has played in her career trajectory.