Frederick M. Hoar (1926-2004), a long-time Silicon Valley PR and marketing executive, greatly influenced the Silicon Valley during his lifetime, and continues to influence Santa Clara University students after death.
Named one of the “Top 100 Most Influential Public Relations People of the 20th Century” by PR Week in 1999, Hoar helped many prominent tech companies develop and promote their own brands. He was a founding member of Silicon Valley private investment group, Band of Angels, and served on the boards of dozen of Silicon Valley startups. Shortly before he lost his battle with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, Hoar was awarded the Extraordinary Faculty Award, the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business, where he was the Dean’s executive professor of marketing.
While a professor of marketing in the Leavey School of Business, Fred Hoar encouraged his students to formally articulate their personal brand value statement. “Fred had wonderful experiences and insights to share with the students,” Barry Posner, former Dean of the Leavey School of Business, remarked. “He always challenged them to think about matters outside of their disciplines and to consider the perspectives of others.”
Inspired by Fred’s work, SCU Leavey School of Business professor of marketing Buford Barr adapted the Fred Hoar Brand YOU Project as part of a new initiative: the SCUBrand4U Program. Professor Barr has also compiled a personal branding sourcebook, to help students define, manage, evolve and live their personal brands. The SCUBrand4U program hosts events throughout the year to teach students the importance of their personal brand, to help them develop their personal brand value statement, and to expose them to the ways their personal brand can help or hinder them in both their lives and careers.
The next SCUBrand4U event is being hosted this Thursday, May 16 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm in the Forbes Family Conference Center in Lucas Hall. For more information and to RSVP, click here.
