Successful leaders not only make a positive and significant impact on the world, but they encourage and enable others to do the same.

That was the message delivered by speaker Greg Goff at the 2019 Spencer Fox Eccles Convocation, hosted Thursday by the David Eccles School of Business. Goff, Executive Vice Chairman of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, encouraged students to focus on three fundamental words that have proved key to his success: imagine, purpose and together.

“Nothing is more important than a purpose,” Goff told the assembled crowd, which included members of the Eccles family, University of Utah President Ruth V. Watkins and Eccles School Dean Taylor Randall, as well as many of the school’s donors, faculty, staff and students. “It brings meaning to our existence.”

Goff shared memories of his time at the Eccles School, from which he received both his bachelor’s degree and an MBA, recounting the times he would drive up Parley’s Canyon to find his “special place” where he could imagine his future. “The magical blue skies of Utah can free up your mind to dream, imagine and wonder at what is possible.”

Goff has certainly found success in his career, taking Andeavor from a valuation of $3 billion to more than $36 billion before merging with Marathon Petroleum Corp. to become the largest oil refining and marketing company in the United States. Goff has always been happy to share that success with his alma mater, donating both time and money generously, most notably to found the Goff Strategic Leadership Center and Goff Scholars program at the Eccles School.

About the Spencer Fox Eccles Convocation

Each year the David Eccles School of Business holds the Spencer Fox Eccles Convocation at the start of the academic year. It salutes Mr. Eccles (BS ’56 Banking & Finance) for decades of unparalleled commitment to his alma mater and his vital role in working with his aunt, Emma Eccles Jones, to establish a $15 million endowment for the David Eccles School of Business.

About the David Eccles School of Business

The Eccles School is synonymous with ‘doing.’ The Eccles experience provides a world-class business education with a unique, entrepreneurial focus on real-world scenarios where students put what they learn into practice long before graduation. Founded in 1917 and educating more than 6,000 students annually, the University of Utah David Eccles School of Business offers nine undergraduate majors, four MBAs, nine other graduate programs, a Ph.D. in seven areas and executive education curricula. The Eccles School is also home to 12 institutes, centers and initiatives that deliver academic research and support an ecosystem of entrepreneurship and innovation. For more information, visit Eccles.Utah.edu or call 801-581-7676.