Terry College of Business - Fall 2008 - (Page 43) t was only two and a half minutes, but it felt like an eternity to Kevin Killips. Like 103 other students from 53 schools in the same competitive situation, the Terry marketing major had only 20 minutes to pitch his product. But six minutes into his presentation, the buyer got up and briefly left the room. As Killips sat there with a camera trained on him from the corner of the office, only one thing came to mind: Don’t look stupid. Killips knew that the sudden exit and subsequent return of his would-be buyer was a curve ball thrown at him by the judges. But unbeknownst to him, a National Collegiate Sales Competition audience of 500 was watching his reaction to this scenario on closed circuit TV — and they were both amused and impressed with his composure. Many of these judges and professional recruiters paid upwards of $25,000 to see some of the best marketing students in the country sell NetSuite’s software management tool in elaborate role-playing sessions. Thanks to the counsel of Terry marketing professor Kevin Ellis, who prepped his students for the rigors of the NCSC through hours of practice — the Terry College senior laughed all the way to the bank. He walked out of Kennesaw State University that night with a $1500 suit, a new laptop computer, and — for coming within decimal points of winning the whole thing — a third-place check for $1000. “Kevin is intense. He is results oriented. He’s a competitor who is involved in every aspect of his life,” says Ellis, who admires Killips for his performance not only in class, but also as a member of both the LEAD program and UGA’s prestigious Arch Society, a select group of 36 students who serve as goodwill ambassadors for the university. Ellis knows a thing or two about competition himself; the New Jersey native’s Brooks Hall office is home to a pair of steer horns — a memento of his days as a professional bull rider. “The rodeo came in the late 1940s to early 50s. It was something I wanted to do. So I sent my money to Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, and next thing you know I got a permit,” says Ellis, who understands that a New Jersey native riding bulls professionally seems odd. But he loved it from the get-go. “I paid my money and went down there jOSH WeiSS Ellis (left) stresses action-based learning in the classroom, and a Terry sales tournament helped prepare killips (right) for the rigors of the National Collegiate Sales Competition. He placed third at NCSC, winning $1,000, a laptop computer — and a $1500 business suit. and bought my stuff. I rode home on a subway with a bull rope and a bareback rig.” Being a subway cowboy is just one of many colorful tales that Ellis weaves together with the ease he exhibited when breaking the ice with a client during his high-profile career as a brand manager. Before that, Ellis worked on a New York City construction crew pouring concrete on the floor of the J.C. Penny Building — the same locale where he would later accept his first corporate job with Shell Oil. Ellis also held high-level positions with Volkswagen and Porsche-Audi at the height of those companies’ popularity. He dodged gunfire as an E&J Gallo executive during the Chavez boycotts in Chicago. He had successful tours of duty with Avon and M&M Mars. And during his days in the beer business, he developed a relationship with the legendary Chicago White Sox owner and promoter extraordinaire Bill Veeck. “Kevin Ellis has done everything from serving in the military to being a professional bull rider to helping establish one of the Fall 2008 • 43 Terry College oF Business
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