The Bentley Buzz

As President Chrite begins to meet more of the people who make Bentley special, let's take a minute to learn more about our ninth president. How did he get into education? What's the best advice he ever received? What does he do on a day off? Get to know President Chrite in his "icebreaker" Q&A below!

You’ve traveled around the world. What was the most interesting place?
There are two that stand out: Rwanda and Afghanistan. I was in Rwanda in 1998 on behalf of the World Bank Group, four years after the end of the genocide. The Afghanistan project was on behalf of the Department of State from 2016 to 2018. Both of these countries had to recover – with differing levels of success – from profound and consequential levels of strife and violence. In Afghanistan, war and national trauma have regretfully been part of the landscape and national psyche since the start of the 20th century. In Rwanda, the 1994 genocide was a much more “bounded” but nonetheless cataclysmic event in the nation’s history. What struck me about each of these countries is that their citizens demonstrated a strength, resilience and generosity largely defined by their ability to forgive that belies their national condition. These countries also stick out to me because they represent opposite ends of the spectrum as to how a sound policy environment and emerging market economy when embraced can transform a society (in Rwanda) and how the absence of such an environment can so profoundly mitigate its growth (Afghanistan).

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I was educated in Detroit public schools. There were a lot of challenges back then and while I worked hard, I was not a great student. I will never forget my social studies teacher telling me at age 15 that it was time for me to begin developing my own personal philosophies at that stage of my development. Those words resonated deeply with me and served as a catalyst. I still think of them to this day.

Is there a business you wish you'd started? 
That has never been my passion. My passion is in creating entrepreneurial ecosystems, experiences and enabling environments that support students and others in the creation of their own enterprises.  

Read the Full Q&A

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