I had the good fortune of being asked by the  Mason MBA Association to take Sabina Brady, featured guest lecturer of tonight’s MBAA Distinguished Speakers Series, to lunch Monday afternoon.

Energized by the buzz in Alan B. Miller Hall’s Boehly Café, Sabina was gracious enough to give me a one-on-one preview of her incredible work in China over the past 30 years and to offer some helpful insight on higher education in China.

On the business front, as an American woman, impacting Chinese business development and industry, it will be interesting to learn how she grew Groupe Schneider’s China automation market faster than any other foreign competitor, in a market that was surely male-dominated.

Without enticing Sabina to share too much of her upcoming lecture, we were able to discuss her commitment to the country’s emerging non-profit sector.

I was highly enthralled by her passion for philanthropy, including her service as the first China Country Director of the William J. Clinton Foundation, an organization that focuses on global issues that demand urgent action. She also demonstrated her ardent commitment to education, civil rights, public health and energy.

Our conversation was stimulating and I encourage Mason students, faculty, staff and friends to attend tonight’s event.

Sabina Brady’s discussion “Beyond Business and the Shining Seas” is a MBAA Distinguished Speakers Series presentation not to be missed.