The College’s David Orser Executive Speakers Forum is named for David B. Orser, a 1966 MSU graduate who started funding the program in 1988 in order to inspire MSU business students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible, and ethical business leaders.

These events are FREE and open to the public!

Upcoming Orser Executive Speakers Forum:

Mitch Thompson

Heidi Browning

SPRING 2025

Wednesday, March 26

Public Presentation: 5:00 pm
Location: Jabs Hall Forum

MSU Calendar: https://www.montana.edu/calendar/events/53357

 
About the Presentation:

Titled, "How an Education in Accounting Opened So Many Doors," Thompson will participate in a "fireside chat" with the college dean. He will share his journey from his start in the accounting world as CPA to eventually leaving that industry and making a complete shift into the Oil industry.

 

About the Speaker:

Mitch Thompson, Co-Founder & CFO of Iron Oil in Billings, MT, will discuss his career path from public accounting to the energy industry and how he uses the principles of risk management to navigate the challenges of an oil exploration and production company. He will share insights into the unconventional U.S. oil shale industry, private equity, and the recent successful sale of Iron Oil’s flagship field in the Williston Basin of North Dakota.

As CFO, Mitch oversees Iron Oil’s finance and accounting functions, and is responsible for its financial management, planning and reporting, accounting, tax, treasury, investor relations, credit facility, and commodity hedging.

Prior to co-founding Iron Oil, Mitch spent 7 years as Chief Accounting Officer and VP-Financial Reporting for two small publicly-traded oil and gas companies, where he was primarily in charge of SEC financial reporting. Prior to that, Mitch spent 5 years at Grant Thornton, an international public accounting firm, at their Minneapolis, MN and Brisbane, Australia offices.

A sixth-generation Montanan and native of Billings, MT, Mitch is a 2003 graduate of Montana State University with a BS in Accounting, a 2004 graduate of the MPAc Program and has been a licensed CPA since 2006. Over 20 years later, he still suffers from occasional nightmares of the CPA Exam and Governmental Accounting.

Past Speakers (listed chronologically, oldest to newest):

Arthur Peterson                            
David Oreck, chairman of Oreck Corporation
Joseph T. Wells, chairman and founder of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Gerald Searfoss
John Goodrich
J. Luther King
Sam McDonald
James Alderson
Martin White
Paul A. Stewart, manager of global business development for a division of Eli Lilly
Christopher Disher, vice president for Booz Allen Hamilton
Dana Lasher, owner of Get Ready Girls, Inc.
Jonathan Howlett, worldwide director of advertising for BBC Global Channels
Mary Perry, president of the promotion agency division of Ryan Partnership
Delmar Jones, president of Cindel Group, Inc. and owner of Jonesy's Classic Cleaners
Lyle Knight, president and CEO of First Interstate BancSystem, Inc.
Investment Panel (4 speakers)
Andrew Field, founder and president of PrintingForLess.com
Alan Rypinski, serial entrepreneur and the founder of ArmorAll
Ian B. Davidson, chairman of Davidson Companies and Davidson & Co.
Jeff Sundheim, account director at Google
Stu Bohart, President of Liquid Markets at Fortress Investment Group
Richard Broome, former member of the White House crisis management team
Richard "Bob" Chickering, serial entrepreneur and business executive
M.H. Elovitz, director of the Centre for Strategic Geopolitics
Ashley Jablow, challenge and client lead for OpenIDEO
Kristy Young, digital product management executive and managing partner for blaZe interactive, LLC
Marty McVey, president of McVey & Associates, LLC
Gerald Grinstein, strategic director of Madrona Venture Group and past CEO of Delta Air Lines
Tim Solso, General Motors' board director and past chairman and CEO of Cummins Inc.
Lachlan Perks, past chief operating officer of Eclipse, Inc.
Nicole Jones, senior law enforcement and security counsel at Google
Rich Barton, former Microsoft executive and a founder of the online companies Expedia, Zillow, and Glassdoor
David B. Orser, a former president of Occidental International Oil and the founder of this event series
Vu Le, a writer, speaker, blogger and executive director of Rainier Valley Corps
Behrooz Abdi, a technology entrepreneur and investor
Ben Deuling, owner of SporeAttic and Zariah Tolman, founder & executive director of Positivity Outward
Dave Stephenson, CFO and head of Employee Experience at Airbnb
Ray Sedey, Chairman & CEO of McCarthy Holdings, Inc.
Karen Rose, Managing Director of Commercial Leasing for One World Trade Center
Heidi Browning, Chief Marketing Officer of the NHL