Life with a Purpose.

Alumni Profile: Greg Beebe '92 (CETA) — Life with a Purpose

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Beebe is an executive at Sennheiser Electronics, proving the power of hard work and goal-setting.

The Hartford Scholars Program at the University of Hartford made it possible for Greg Beebe '92 to change the course of his life. He grew up poor in inner-city Hartford with no male role models, in a family where no one had graduated from high school. Beebe’s family changed apartments frequently because money was tight (they even lived in a motel for a while). Food stamps and government cheese were staples. But Beebe knew at a young age that he had goals: to earn twice his age times 1,000 at age 30, reach six figures by age 40, and become a company president by age 50. He has done all that — and more.

An entertaining outing for Beebe’s family was a trip to the grocery store followed by a picnic lunch while parked at Bradley Airport, watching planes take off and land. He loved camping, and the Boy Scouts provided opportunities for leadership and tutelage. Scouting helped Beebe to focus on his goals, with no distractions. He soon achieved the top prize: Eagle Scout.

A girlfriend recognized Beebe’s interest in electronics as he spent time building a stereo system pieced together from junk parts. She pressed him to pursue an engineering education at the University of Hartford, where she intended to study. On a visit to campus, Beebe sat in on a DC Electrical Fundamentals class at the Ward School of Technology (now the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture), talked with the dean and then his advisor, all of which helped him realize that electronic engineering technology was a good fit.

Beebe believes that attaining Eagle Scout gave him a huge edge over another candidate holding equivalent qualifications when he applied for his first job at Sennheiser Electronics, a German company specializing in the design and production of a wide range of audio electronics for consumer, professional, and business uses. Over more than 23 years at Sennheiser, Beebe learned three things: he enjoys internationalism, challenges, and building teams. His purpose in life is to nurture others so they can grow. He feels fortunate to have been in a multi-year training program at Sennheiser, which primed him for varied domestic and international leadership roles. He headed sales and marketing in four different countries simultaneously, which required frequent contact with partners in Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. His role as VP for business in Latin America not only fueled his interest in internationalism and team-building, but has lead to lifelong friendships.

Click the link at the end of this article (under "Documents") to see a summary of Beebe's career path at Sennheiser Electronics.

Beebe sees the many steps in his life as blessings. “This doesn’t happen to a person who ate government cheese,” he says. He believes that when he set his life goals at 13, somebody upstairs was listening.

Documents

Greg Beebe's Career Path at Sennheiser Electronics
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