Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute to Honor Michael Dell, Chairman and CEO of Dell Inc., with Leadership Award

New Haven, Conn., March 7, 2012 — Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Inc., will accept the "Legend in Leadership Award" of the Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute today at a ceremony to be held in Washington, D.C.

The award will be presented to Mr. Dell by James Turley, chairman and CEO of Ernst & Young, at the Yale CEO Caucus, a quarterly roundtable of the Chief Executive Leadership Institute that convenes business leaders, political leaders, and scholars to discuss the business implications of urgent national and global events that span economics, diplomacy, security, energy, environment, regulation, and politics.

Other conference participants include: Ashton Carter, U.S. deputy secretary of defense; Robert Hormats, undersecretary of state; James Turley, chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young; John Lundgren, chairman and CEO, Stanley Black & Decker; Nicholas Pinchuk, CEO, Snap-on Incorporated; Thomas Quinlan, CEO, R.R. Donnelley & Sons; Maurice Greenberg, chairman and CEO, C.V. Starr & Co; Michael White, chairman, president, and CEO, DIRECT TV; Lynn Tilton, CEO, Patriarch Partners; Ralph Izzo, chairman, president, and CEO, Public Service Enterprise Group; Joseph Lhota, chairman and CEO, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority; Tig Gilliam, CEO, Adecco North America; Elaine Chao, former U.S. secretary of labor; and Yale School of Management economists Robert Shiller and Geert Rouwenhorst, among other top opinion leaders across sectors.

Conference organizer Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, senior associate dean for executive programs at the Yale School of Management, commented: "Michael Dell is the ideal CEO leadership award winner, elected by peers, at a CEO forum on the nation's infrastructure challenges. Michael Dell is one of the nation's greatest titans of technology, one of our most successful entrepreneurs in history, as well as an inspiring model of leadership at the frontiers of our information economy. Unlike many great entrepreneurs who can be blinded by past visions, Michael Dell has been the first to challenge complacency from past successes as he has led his enterprise through a series of bold strategic transformations. Instead of being restrained by global infrastructure limitations, he has championed innovative systems for safe, fluid information-flow, product development, and customer service."

Since founding Dell at 19 in his college dorm room, Michael Dell has created a leading global technology company with $62 billion in revenue and 109,000 employees worldwide. Today, the company has an IT solutions and services portfolio that extends well beyond its PC start, addressing the end-to-end needs of its customers with data center, cloud, networking, storage, security, and mobile capabilities. The company is renowned for its innovations in supply chain management, customer support, electronic commerce, and customer-inspired products and services.

The conference theme is "Negotiating Around Infrastructure Snarls: From Cyberspace and Energy to Planes, Trains, and Automobiles." Distinguished global corporate leaders from across industries will engage in lively, candid discussions at this invitation-only leaders' conference hosted by the Yale School of Management.

Conference partners include: Alvarez & Marsal, Burson-Marsteller, CNBC, Ernst & Young, Korn/Ferry International, McKinsey & Company, NYSE Euronext, Patriarch Partners, Leslie & Steven Saiontz, and UPS.

The "Legend in Leadership Award" was created 20 years ago to honor current and former CEOs who serve as living legends to inspire chief executives across industries, sectors, and nations. Past winners of the award include: Ford CEO Alan Mulally; Andrew Liveris of Dow Chemical; Ken Chenault of American Express; Ratan Tata, CEO of the TATA Group; Myron Ullman, CEO, JCPenney; Infosys founder Nandan Nilekani; Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase; Robert Iger of The Walt Disney Company; Stephen Schwarzman of The Blackstone Group; Roger Enrico of PepsiCo; John Pepper of Procter & Gamble; Don Keough of The Coca-Cola Co.; McKinsey founder Marvin Bower; Jim Kelly of UPS; Vanguard founder Jack Bogle; Ivan Seidenberg of Verizon; Richard Teerlink of Harley-Davidson; Holiday Inn founder Kemmons Wilson; financier Wilbur Ross; and Lou Gerstner of IBM.

The Yale Chief Executive Leadership Institute was founded in 1989 to provide original research on top leadership and lively, current educational forums through peer-driven learning for accomplished leaders across a range of sectors. Visit the Yale CELI website for more information.

For an interview with Jeffrey Sonnenfeld please contact Tabitha Wilde, 203.432.6010, tabitha.wilde@yale.edu, or Bonnie Blake, 203.915.4783, bonnie.blake@yale.edu.