Kirk Landon: A Business Success Story

Kirk Landon: A Business Success StoryR. Kirk Landon (1928-2015) wanted FIU’s College of Business to grow – and he was certainly a man who knew what business growth was all about.

Landon was born in New York City, served in the U.S. Navy, and graduated from Georgia Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management.

His nearly 50-year career was a study in business excellence, as he turned American Bankers Insurance Group from a small family-owned business started by his father into a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Landon pioneered innovative ideas in employee benefits, such as providing childcare and an elementary school right at the company. He served as chairman until 1999 when he sold the business to Fortis, now Assurant.

“He was a phenomenal leader,” said Landon Fellow Nancy Rauseo, a senior lecturer in the Department of Marketing and a former employee of American Bankers Insurance. “Every day at 3:00, Mr. Landon would walk through the halls of the entire company, saying hello to everyone. He knew just about everyone’s name and there were over 1,000 employees then!”

It was that genuine concern for people, combined with a passion for education, that fueled Landon’s remarkable legacy as a donor, friend and champion of FIU and its College of Business.

The incredible influence of R. Kirk Landon

Kirk Landon: A Business Success StoryWhen a person is as generous as R. Kirk Landon was to Florida International University, you can see some pretty amazing examples of his philanthropy. Landon’s $5 million gift to the College of Business, the largest in the College’s history, was instrumental in creating a new building complex for the undergraduate school, now named for him. The FIU Stadium’s fieldhouse also bears Landon’s name, in appreciation of his $1 million donation to Panthers football.

His generosity to Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity at FIU resulted in the construction of the R. Kirk Landon FIJI House. Landon, who passed away in 2015, was also a founder of the FIU College of Medicine.

But beyond buildings and generous gifts, Landon’s influence lives on in hundreds of other significant ways, as students and faculty continue to benefit from this remarkable man’s support of the university. His legacy looms large, particularly in FIU’s College of Business.

“Kirk noticed that many business leaders in South Florida are FIU grads. He knew the future of Miami was coming out of FIU,” said Rosa Santiago, president of The Kirk Foundation, established in 1998. “Kirk always believed in strengthening Miami and in the power of education, so helping FIU’s business school fit his goals in many ways.” “I’ve used money from my R. Kirk Landon Teaching and Student Engagement Fellowship in Undergraduate Education to offset the cost of students attending the annual AMA International Conference in New Orleans,” reports Senior Instructor Tim Birrittella, faculty advisor of the American Marketing Association (AMA) at FIU, which has ranked as a top 10 chapter for 14 years. “These undergraduate students get to attend the first professional conference of their careers, thanks to Mr. Landon.”

When Pia Celestino (BA ’13) was taking a Social Entrepreneurship class in 2012, she and three teammates were able to travel to a competition at the University of Washington to present their invention: EyeTalk, eye glasses that read what a blind person is holding. “I had never done anything like that before, presenting a business plan, and it was thanks to the generosity of Mr. Landon,” said Celestino, who now herself gives back as a member of the Awesome Foundation chapter in Miami.

Katherine Grau, capital markets lab manager, makes sure new students participating in the Student Managed Investment Fund (SMIF) know it was Landon, along with donor Danny Garcia, who provided $100,000 for the fund. “The SMIF gives students a remarkable hands-on experience with equity analysis and portfolio management,” she said.

Beloved Friend

Kirk Landon: A Business Success StoryFIU President Mark B. Rosenberg calls R. Kirk Landon a “beloved friend” to the university community. “Through the years, in addition to the very generous gifts, he also gave freely of himself,” said Rosenberg. “He advocated. He pushed. He guided and mentored. He made us all better.”

“Mr. Landon would invite the fellowship recipients to his office to tell him what we were doing with the funding,” said Landon Fellow Seema Pissaris, clinical professor of management. “He really listened. He truly wanted us to be better so our students would be better.”

Landon, with his easy-going style, got to know students, often taking presidents of student organizations to lunch and mentoring many business students over the years.

Joyce Elam, dean emeritus of the College of Business, remembers how strongly Landon believed in the business school. She recalls the dinner party at her house when she asked him to be a lead donor in funding the business school complex. “He really didn’t take that much convincing,” she said with a smile. “Kirk was a ‘big picture’ guy who wanted to build a better Miami. He was one of the most generous and genuine people I’ve ever met.” Elam adds that she is grateful that Landon also was a mentor to her.

Landon gave freely of his time to the College of Business and to FIU. He served on the College of Business Dean’s Council, on the FIU Board of Trustees, the University Advisory Board, University Founders Council and the FIU Foundation Board. Each gathering was better because of his insight and enthusiasm.

In 2007, Landon was inducted into FIU’s Torch Society, a prestigious giving society and donor recognition program that honors the university’s most generous benefactors. In 2014, at the College of Business Hall of Fame event, cheers and a standing ovation occurred when Landon was given a Lifetime Achievement Award.

“R. Kirk Landon’s belief in the College of Business strengthened our school at a critical period in our growth, and his influence continues to be felt on this campus every day,” said Acting Dean Jose Aldrich.

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