Jack Brewer2013 Rising Alumni
After a notable Golden Gopher and NFL football career, Jack Brewer founded The Brewer Group (TBG), a diversified global advisory and banking firm. TBG's social responsibility arm is The Jack Brewer Foundation (JBF Worldwide), which focuses on the empowerment of women and children living in impoverished and underdeveloped communities through implementing initiatives that enable economic development and food security.
Employer
CEO
The Brewer Group, Inc.
CEHD Degree
B.S., Sport Management;
M.Ed., Sport Management
Who has inspired you the most during your career?
H.E. Joyce Banda, the President of the Republic of Malawi, Africa. She is the first female president of the country and is working to bring it out of an extreme economic downturn. She is an inspirational woman and a wonderful example for leaders everywhere.
What skills are important to succeed as a young professional today?
Drive: you have to work extremely hard, given competition in the global market. Discipline: you have to be extremely organized. You need to have the patience to try new things and challenge yourself to learn skills that may not come naturally.
How do you describe yourself?
My focus is on making the world a better place. I live it, I breathe it, and I believe at its core that I truly can make the world better. Everything I do in business, through our nonprofit, and in life is to give back and make an impact across the globe.
What was the impact and benefit of your experience in CEHD?
CEHD made a huge impact on my career. My advisor, Bruce Anderson, gave me the freedom to tailor my degree around specific interests, which laid the groundwork for my current business endeavors. Attending a university so large allowed me to take classes outside of sport management. I took classes that focused on philosophy to improve my critical thinking skills and business law classes from which I gained knowledge that I use on a daily basis.
What gets you excited about work?
Seeing the fruits of my foundation’s work and being able to motivate those around me to work harder and do better. Building a young company is exciting because we’re in so many different areas and countries. I've had the opportunity to experience first-hand the globalization happening right now and it is unlike any other time in history.