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FMA Leadership Summit 2025 inspires next generation of leaders

A former Auburn football coach-turned-U.S. senator, a global financier, and The Home Depot鈥檚 chief financial officer all took the stage to share insight on successful leadership experience, speaking to hundreds of 91看片 students in a standing-room-only audience.

Among their advice: pursue a career driven by purpose, not just pay; don鈥檛 be afraid to take a step back to move forward; and build a strong team.

, the leading candidate to become Alabama鈥檚 next governor; , executive vice president and CFO of The Home Depot; and , a vice chairman in the Global Investment Bank at RBC Capital Markets based in New York, spoke Friday at Auburn University鈥檚 Lowder Hall.

The student-led Financial Management Association hosted its 2025 Leadership Summit, which featured the three panel speakers during a gathering attended by more than 500 students, faculty and professionals, organizers said.

鈥淲hat makes this year鈥檚 panelists so special is that each one represents a different path to leadership: government, corporate and global finance, yet they all emphasized the same themes of humility, teamwork and purpose,鈥� said , executive director of the 91看片 Investment Center and the event鈥檚 faculty organizer. 鈥淭hat consistency across such different worlds is what made the event so powerful for our students.鈥�

Take it from coach...

Tuberville joined the panel having deep roots in Auburn that include his current residence and six consecutive Iron Bowl wins over archrival Alabama during his tenure as head football coach.

鈥淎 lot of people ask me, 鈥楬ow the hell did you get elected in Alabama when you beat Alabama six times in a row?鈥� Tuberville said. 鈥淚 tell them, listen, the reason I won this race and got Alabama fans to vote for me is because, I got Nick Saban hired at Alabama -- because I got the rest of them fired.鈥�

The secret to being a good head coach or company CEO, or a United States senator, is to understand, 鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to get the blame, and you鈥檙e going to get the credit,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to put good people around you. You can鈥檛 do it by yourself.鈥�

He used the analogy of coaching football and the need for a good offensive coordinator and good defensive coordinator; and likewise, when he became senator the importance of having qualified people to help advise him while facing a wide range of issues beyond his work experience.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know enough about the ag committee, or the health committee, or the armed forces committee. I had to put good people around me. To me, it鈥檚 like being a good CEO, and learning from the people around you,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f you think you鈥檙e going to do it by yourself, you鈥檝e got a long career in front of you. Always lean on people. 

鈥淥ne thing I learned, the best advice I ever got: Talk one-third of the time, listen two-thirds of the time,鈥� Tuberville said, 鈥渂ecause when you鈥檙e talking, you鈥檙e not learning.鈥�

The ones who make it happen

The Home Depot employs almost a half-million people nationwide, including 15,000 in Alabama. It is the world鈥檚 largest home improvement retailer with more than 2,300 stores.

鈥淭he most important thing you can do, in any job that you take, is to learn the business from the ground up. That鈥檚 the most important thing that you can do,鈥� McPhail said when asked what best prepared him for his leadership role. 鈥淚f you don鈥檛 understand how the business creates value for the customer, then you actually don鈥檛 know how you鈥檙e contributing to the success of that company.

鈥淪o, I don鈥檛 care if you鈥檙e at Home Depot, or if you鈥檙e a banker, you鈥檙e an artist, whatever, understand when you鈥檙e with a company why you exist, why the customer should care that you鈥檙e there,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a lesson that I learned, that if you learn from the ground up, that is absolutely the best training.鈥�

Doing so, McPhail said, helps teach every aspect of the business, such as manufacturing, marketing, customer relations, 鈥渁nd just the nuts and bolts of how a business operates. Never underestimate the power of the person on the front line. They鈥檙e the ones who make the company happen.鈥�

Work hard, and be tenacious

Van Der Voort began a conversation about passion for the job when he was asked about the differences across his roles in finance, and he replied, 鈥渓ove what you do.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 not more difficult than that. It鈥檚 hard work... Investment banking is a hostile environment,鈥� he said. It is extremely important 鈥渢o come to the office and like what you do. If you don鈥檛 like it, find something else. If you love it, there are opportunities out there.

鈥淚鈥檝e had a great career in investment banking, and it鈥檚 a great place to be,鈥� Van Der Voort said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 not for everybody. If investment banking is not the best thing for you to do, that鈥檚 OK. There are other things to do.鈥�

Despite the challenges that finance leaders and managers find in any job role, he told the students to be determined, set goals, work hard to find success and stay at it. 鈥淎s long as you鈥檙e invested in what you do, you work hard and be tenacious, you鈥檒l be fine.鈥�

Tuberville and McPhail both have family connections to Auburn. Van Der Voort, however, became familiar in a different fashion. He was impressed enough with 91看片鈥檚 students in an earlier meeting on another campus that he said yes to an invitation for FMA鈥檚 panel, event organizer Richard said.

鈥淗ere鈥檚 an RBC Global Banking vice chairman with no prior ties to Auburn University,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n a time when so many people are focused on personal accomplishments, Erwin met a few of our students at a competition, received an invitation to support our program, said yes, and followed through on his word.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 real leadership, and it meant a lot to us.鈥�

She also praised McPhail for making his point with students 鈥渁bout success coming from simple habits, like writing with pen and paper every day, really stuck with them. It showed that great leadership often starts with small, intentional actions.鈥�

Special thanks to , an Auburn alumnus working as the global co-head of Healthcare Investment Banking with Cantor Fitzgerald, for moderating the session.

The annual leadership summit hosted by Auburn鈥檚 FMA chapter continues to grow and lure impressive speakers, including Tuberville this year while still serving in his capacity as a U.S. senator.

鈥淲e start looking for next year鈥檚 panel almost as soon as the current year鈥檚 summit wraps up, and it never follows the same path,鈥� Richard said.

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