Uncommon Success of CEO & Musician Judson Green '74 in Chicago Tribune's Spotlight

September 25, 2006

September 25, 2006, Greencastle, Ind. - "I wasn't sure when I started college whether I wanted to be an entrepreneur, go to law school or be in business," Judson Green, president and CEO of NAVTEQ Corporation and 1974 graduate of DePauw University, tells the Chicago Tribune. "I decided that economics would be a very good background for a lot of things. I coupled economics with music composition, which allowed me to keep both sides of my brain working," adds Green, the subject of the "Career Path" profile in the business section of today's newspaper.

The column describes how Green became fascinated with music as a 4-year-old when his older sister began taking piano lessons. "At DePauw University near Indianapolis, Green majored in economics and minored in music composition," writes the Tribune's Ann Therese Palmer. "By then a seasoned jazz pianist and musicians union member, Green went out on the road to perform every summer and on 'about 70 to 80 percent of the weekends during the school year,' he said. He toured the country playing with Chicago-based bands that were backing up big-name entertainers like Bob Hope, Pat Boone or Jim Nabors."

The text continues, "As a senior, thinking about applying to graduate music programs, his parents counseled him to go to graduate business school instead. 'They said I'd always have music,' Green said. 'But they thought I'd have a more stable life if I earned an MBA.'"

NAVTEQ, the article points out, is "the publicly held provider of digital map data for customers as diverse as MapQuest, BMW, Garmin and the U.S. Postal Service." An alumnus of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, Judson Green has also served as "chief financial officer at The Walt Disney Co. as well as chairman for all Disney theme parks and resorts."

Green tells the newspaper, "music is the essence of who I am." in the interview he also states, "My wife, Joyce ['75], and I met as students at DePauw, and we've been married for almost 31 years."

Read the complete article by clicking here.

In October 2005, DePauw University announced that a $15 million dollar lead gift by Judson and Joyce Taglauer Green will allow for a $29 million expansion and renovation of DePauw's 32-year-old Performing Arts Center (architect's rendering seen at right). The building, home to the School of Music and department of communication, will be known as the Judson and Joyce Green Center for the Performing Arts. Work is under way, and the first phase should be completed by the Fall of 2007. Learn more about the project in this previous story. You can see time lapse video of the construction project (updated regularly) by clicking here.

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