Why every bigwig knows his name
Main man at lunch series is a CEO hit
Peter Rollins acts like a politician. He talks with his hands -- that is, when they aren't firmly wrapped around the grip of one of his many guests. A smile never leaves his face as he works his way through a shoulder-to-shoulder sea of suits in the Four Seasons ballroom.
"Looks like you've got a good draw," says a high-ranking executive from
Rollins is the mastermind of the Boston College Chief Executives' Club , a group that has become so noted for its ability to draw star power to its meetings that high-powered CEOs seem to trip over one another to get a crack at the podium. On the group's past roster: Ross Perot ; former Senate majority leader George Mitchell ; Ted Turner ; Walt Disney president and CEO Robert A. Iger ; and Elizabeth Dole, then president of the American Red Cross , to name a few.
Why do they all come? Simple: First, Rollins shook hands with every one of them.
"I know them all," said Rollins, who founded the group at BC in September 1992 after serving a nine-year stint at Northeastern University in a similar capacity. "I used to go all over the country and meet with them."
He doesn't need to travel anymore. As word of the meeting's speakers spread, other CEOs started calling Rollins. Then, in 2000, the club gained national prominence when the Best Practices in Corporate Communications Group in Washington, D.C., named it the nation's top CEO speaking forum. USA Today and public relations firm Burson-Marsteller soon followed suit, adding the group to their lists of the nation's most sought-after podiums.
"It used to be a tremendous amount of work to lure someone" with the stature of
Today, Rollins's black book is overflowing with eager speakers.
"There's no CEO I'm aware of that I can't get in to speak," he said.
The trick is to treat the guest with respect, Rollins said. But at this point, CEOs are so enthusiastic about speaking that they pay their own way and collect nothing for their services.
"I've never crossed one -- they know they can trust me," he said. "But when you finally develop a sterling reputation, they all want to be here."
Club members from local businesses have taken notice of the networking opportunities that the meetings provide.
"You will see more top leaders during the luncheon than almost anything else in Boston," said Patricia Smith , a vice president of New Directions, a firm specializing in job placement for top executives, who has been attending for four years. "It's a chance to be with your peers and network." The meetings, which are held eight times per year, have also become a key forum to directly address the local business community, Rollins said. Virgin announced its formation of a USA-based airline at this podium. There, too, Rupert Murdoch signaled in 1995 he was about to go head-to-head with CNN. And Procter & Gamble proclaimed its commitment to Boston after the company snatched up locally owned Gillette two years ago .
"It's a place where if you've got to get a message out, you can," Rollins said. "It's the only audience I'm aware of that is 85 percent chairmen."
Rollins claims he's more comfortable working behind the scenes than in the spotlight, but when he steps to the podium, you'd hardly know it. Almost immediately upon taking the microphone, he's got the crowd chuckling.
As with their corporate brethren, political heavyweights have noted the forum's success. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is a regular, as is Martha Coakley, now state attorney general.
At the Feb. 27 luncheon, former governor Paul Cellucci was in attendance, along with recent gubernatorial candidates Kerry Healey and Tom Reilly .
"The world of politics and the world of CEOs," said Rollins, "have a fascination for one another."
And what rings Rollins's bell?
"In my next life," he said, "I would like to be a person that someone like me would be contacting."
