Leadership, faith big topics at Business School’s annual Summit

Building a culture in the workplace. Leaning on faith in a business setting. Understanding the character behind success. Following your career calling.

And, of course, AI.

These were the topics of the 2026 Leadership Summit hosted Friday morning by the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business. More than 300 business leaders from around the state, Campbell business alumni, and School of Business faculty, staff and students were on hand for the morning sessions, held in the Oscar N. Harris Student Union.

Keynote speaker Rally de Leon, business broker with Transworld Business Advisors of Central North Carolina and a former Chick-fil-A owner-operator for 22 years, kicked off the Summit with a personal story of finding purpose in his career. He began with a scripture from Colossians 3:23 - "Whatever you do, work at it heartily, as unto the Lord, not mankind."

"That one scripture has grounded me for many years and is actually part of my business plan," de Leon said. "… Because as I've learned, your 'why I'm here' can change. And when your 'why' moves, you have to pivot."

De Leon shared his own big pivot - after nearly 20 years of owning and operating a Raleigh Chick-fil-A franchise, his business plan was derailed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The business model that he said he'd spent years perfecting became "irrelevant."

"The plan that I had written was worthless if I wasn't willing to change it," he said. "Don't worship the plan, because circumstances don't care whether you have a planning document.

"Purpose gives you something deeper than a plan. Purpose says, 'Here's why I'm still going.'"

His second big pivot came two years later when he left the restaurant industry to work for Transworld Business Advisors. He shared the story of two men who put "purpose over position" and who inspired him to make his career leap. The second was a Chick-fil-A owner who kept working despite losing his ability to speak or move due to ALS.

"He can't lift a finger, yet his life continues to influence people," he said. "So ask yourself, if the things you currently use to define yourself disappeared, would your purpose survive?"

Renee Green, director of leadership development and student success for the School of Business, joined Assistant Professor and Accounting and Finance Department Chair Jessica Boone to discuss "Business & the Bible" in the first group of breakout sessions Friday. Both shared how their faith inspired their career choices and ultimately "answering their calling."

"Looking over your lives that led you up to this point - whether you are in a career already or you are a student trying to figure the pieces out - God is equipping you in your story to do what He has called you to do," said Boone, who encouraged their audience to pay attention to "spiritual markers" in their life.

In the next room over, Katie Smith, CEO of PHS Restoration and a Campbell business graduate, spoke on workplace culture and how to find a culture that encourages leading with purpose. She encouraged her audience to choose a handful of values that are important to them - values that go beyond the usual, expected, ones like honesty, integrity, respect, trustworthiness, professionalism and accountability. She suggested values like gratitude, candor, intentionality and discipline, among others.

"These values are not aspirational - they're not something that you want to be one day. They're who you are. They are true always," Smith said. "And they're going to be your differentiator, especially in the workplace."

Mike Barefoot, a motivational speaker from RedZone Resources and a Campbell Business alumnus, talked of the "Pillars of Success" and shared a story of a man he vouched for in a job interview who ultimately showed lack of integrity and character in his dealings with the hiring company. Barefoot ultimately pulled his support and suggested the company pull their offer.

"The relationship I'd spent years developing with that company would have burned down and incinerated [with that hire]," he said. "That's what one action can do. You can do great things over a long period, but with one action, you can entirely ruin a relationship. That's why integrity is so important to me."

The sixth annual Leadership Summit ended with lunch and an interactive panel including Dr. Karen Mishra, department chair for Business Administration and Economics; Abby DeHaas with student-athlete support; Dr. Allison Lee from the School of Engineering; Dr. Justin Nelson from Sociology and Human Services; and Dr. Rachel Nelson, director of Hallmarks & Character Education. Mishra is editor of a book written by several School of Business Faculty & Staff, titled "Leading With Purpose," which offers advice on everything from navigating the first year of college and a career journey to mentoring, leading with integrity, "lifelong learning" and giving back.

"We're excited about the book. We are also excited about the opportunity to connect what we're doing with the larger purposes of Campbell and extend that into the business community," said Dr. Edward Fubara, interim dean of the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business. "And having our students attend this conference is important, because it's an opportunity for them to learn and network. Teaching them social skills and networking skills is just as important as what they'll learn in the classroom."

A post-conference session invited attendees to Keith Hills Golf Club for a practice clinic with PGA Golf Management Director Gabriella Story.

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