Newswise — William P. Kupper Jr., president and chief executive officer of BusinessWeek group, a leading global business and media organization, will speak at the University of Delaware's 158th Commencement, scheduled at 9 a.m., Saturday, May 26, in Delaware Stadium. "William Kupper has had an exceptionally distinguished career in publishing and is in a unique position as a leading executive in the rapidly changing world of the media," Sharon H. Dorr, director of alumni and University relations, said. "We look forward to the insights he will have to share with our graduates and their families at Commencement."
Commencement will be a particularly special day for the speaker, whose son, Tyler Kupper, is a University of Delaware senior sport management major. He visited campus last fall to address more than 150 business students, including his son, about the transformation under way in the media.
Kupper was named publisher of BusinessWeek in 1999, and president in 2000. As president of BusinessWeek, he is responsible for overseeing worldwide operations for the magazine's North American and international editions and for leading the continued expansion of the franchise including BusinessWeek Online and BusinessWeek Television.
He joined BusinessWeek in 1995 as the U.S. sales director and was promoted to associate publisher and worldwide sales director in 1998. Also in 1998, Kupper was awarded the Excellence in Management Award from BusinessWeek's parent company, the McGraw-Hill Companies. Presenting the award, CEO Terry McGraw acknowledged Kupper's contribution to the company's global growth, his team effort and his enthusiasm for BusinessWeek's success.
Kupper has had a distinguished career in publishing, having spent 24 years at Time Inc., where he held a number of senior sales management positions, including advertising sales manager for Sports Illustrated, advertising director for Life magazine, and international advertising director for Time magazine. He was also publisher of Health Magazine, part of Time Inc.'s Publishing Venture Group.
Kupper started his career as a media planner at Dancer Fitzgerald Sample in 1969 after serving in the U.S. Army for two years. He spent 10 months in Vietnam, where he was awarded the Bronze Star and Air Medal with the First Cavalry.
He holds a bachelor's degree in business administration from Upsala College in New Jersey. He is also a graduate of Concordia Preparatory School in New York, where he is the corporate adviser to the International Management Program. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, Jackie, and their two children.
Kupper also is on the executive committee of the Board of Directors for the Magazine Publishers Association and on the board of directors for the National Organization of Disability. He is also a member of the Great Point Circle Nantucket, a founder of Harbour Bank in Southport, Conn., and board member of Turnstile Publications.
Founded in 1888, the McGraw-Hill Companies is a leading global information services provider meeting worldwide needs with brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education.
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