Although now among the nation's most prominent business leaders, Gilmartin originally trained to be an engineer, receiving a B.S. in electrical engineering from Union College in 1963.

"I did well in math and science while in high school," he says. "Engineering was my logical choice."

The first in his family to go to college, Gilmartin went on to work for Eastman Kodak for two years before heeding the fateful advice of a friend who had been accepted to HBS on a full-tuition fellowship.

His friend's success inspired Gilmartin to apply. Gilmartin also received a full-tuition fellowship, which made business school possible. Gilmartin praises HBS, "...and not because of brand name," he adds. He says the case-study system at HBS taught him to solve real-life problems without clear-cut answers.

He calls his HBS education "directly relevant to what I'm doing today" and contrasts it with his engineering experience, in which "the answers are often in the book."

But Gilmartin says he also values his engineering degree. "[It] turned out to be just a strong basic educational experience," he said. "Education in any undergraduate field leaves open all the options. I never felt that my choice at the undergraduate level precluded my options down the road."

Today, Gilmartin plans to speak about his business school experiences. In addition, the CEO plans to discuss his philosophy of leadership. In business, he says, results matter, but so do the means one takes to achieve the end.

A business leader "should approach situations with ideas on how to make contributions without thinking of reward. I try to treat everybody around me with dignity and respect, especially those who work for me," he says. Regarding his management team, he adds, "If you strive to do the right thing, if you think about how to contribute and inspire confidence and trust, then they will help you succeed."