On Friday, the Charles H. Diller Jr. Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation, the College of Business Dean’s Office, the President’s Office and Small Business Development Center collaborated for a special event featuring two entrepreneur guest speakers, Jay Sidhu and Sherrod Davis.

The event was open to students, faculty, staff, business owners and the Shippensburg community.

Before the speakers went on stage, the attendees were encouraged to enjoy a hot lunch and opportunities to network.

Once everyone was settled, Robin Burtner, director of the Diller Center and Small Business Development Center, took the stage to introduce Sidhu and Davis.

Sidhu is currently the executive chairman of Customers Bancorp, Inc. and Customers Bank. He joined Customers Bank in 2009 when it was known as New Century Bank, and the company was a $250 million asset-troubled bank. Today, it is a high-performing bank with over $21 billion in assets.

Sidhu also served as the chairman and CEO of Sovereign Bancorp Inc. and Sovereign Bank from 1989 to 2006. After he retired from Sovereign, Sidhu served as the chairman and CEO of Sidhu Advisors, LLC.

He has received various recognitions, such as Financial World’s CEO of the Year, Turnaround Entrepreneur of the Year, and Large Business Leader of the Year by the Chamber of Commerce.

Sidhu’s memoir, “Never Ever, Ever Give Up,” details his American dream journey. He touches on his experiences in banking, raising a family, leadership tips and more. Each attendee received a free book and a chance to have Sidhu sign it at the end of the event.

Sherrod Davis is the co-founder and CEO of Ecomap Technologies, where he drives AI-powered solutions that strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems. His work earned him a “Best in Tech” Executive award and “40 Under 40” recognition from the Baltimore Business Journal.

The two shared the stage throughout the interactive session and Q&A. Sidhu spoke on his inspiring true story that features values of leadership, commitment, resiliency and happiness, while Davis discussed his challenges, failures and the eventual success after working through a crisis.

“I believe two things really strongly: we can control our attitudes, and we can control our efforts,” said Davis. “Things are going to happen in life, and we have the power to decide how we are going to handle them.”

Todd Whitman, professor and faculty chair in the Counselor Education Department at Shippensburg University, gave the closing remarks on the event by recapping the highlights from the speakers.

All in all, the event proved to be an inspiring and educational session. Attendees were encouraged to dream big and never ever, ever give up their dreams.

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