Former BB&T CEO Addresses Gatton College Community

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 14, 2015) — The University of Kentucky's Gatton College of Business and Economics recently welcomed Chairman of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives John Allison. More than 200 students attended his talk, titled "The Philosophic Fight for the Future of America," in the college’s brand new Kincaid Auditorium.

“I always enjoy the opportunity to talk to bright young people who will be future leaders in our society,” said Allison. “I believe this information is very important to the quality of their lives and their children’s lives.”

Currently serving as chairman of the Executive Advisory Council of the Cato Institute’s Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives, Allison is also a member of the Cato Institute’s Board of Directors. Before serving as president and CEO of the Cato Institute from 2012 to 2015, Allison was the chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation. The BB&T Program for the Study of Capitalism hosted the event.  

“A main goal of the Program for the Study of Capitalism is to gain deep, accurate, and objective understandings of capitalism or private enterprise vis-à-vis other systems of organizing the economy and society,” said John Garen, economics professor and director of the BB&T program at the University of Kentucky.

Among his many accomplishments, John Allison has received the Corning Award for Distinguished Leadership, and has been inducted into the North Carolina Business Hall of Fame. He has been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from American Banker, and was recently recognized by the Harvard Business Review as one of the top 100 most successful CEOs in the world.

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