St. Louis business execs speak at SEMO

St. Louis business executive Barry Cooper's love for accounting as a college student propelled him to a successful career in the corporate world.

"The accounting bug bit me with the first class I took. I like following the cash," said Cooper, a 1981 Southeast Missouri State University graduate and now chief financial officer of Laclede Gas Co.

Cooper and Linda Decker, a 1987 Southeast graduate and now vice president of public relations and special events marketing for Macy's Midwest division, spoke at the school's Executive Forum on Monday.

About 100 people, mostly students, attended the noontime panel discussion at Dempster Hall's Glenn Auditorium.

The event was held in conjunction with the university's first Alumni Monday, a program in which 16 graduates returned to campus classrooms to speak to students about their careers. Rex Rust, co-president of Rust Communications, moderated the forum.

Decker said she started out as a theater major at Southeast before looking at a career in public speaking.

But that didn't pan out either. With a minor in marketing, she has pursued a successful career in marketing and public relations.

Still, Decker said she doesn't regret her theater background. "That theater training is coming in handy throughout life," she told students. "You have to think on your feet."

Decker's business career began humbly. She sold hosiery at Famous Barr in St. Louis and quickly moved up to help produce merchandise catalogs for the chain of retail stores.

Decker said she always looked for opportunities to advance and never turned down a task. "I always raised my hand if I found the opportunity," Decker said.

She left the department store chain for a brief career handling marketing for Southwestern Bell.

Decker then returned to the Famous Barr division of May Department Stores. Now, she's involved in a new transition involving the merger of Federated Department Stores, which owns Macy's, and the May Co.

"It's a great marriage," she said of the two retail companies. But she acknowledged it's a challenge. "There are a lot of people in new jobs."

Cooper began his career at a major accounting firm in St. Louis. Before joining the Laclede Group as CEO in September 2002, he spent seven years as vice president of finance with GenAmerica Corp. in St. Louis, a Fortune 500 provider of life and health insurance.

But the company went through a financial crisis when it had to pay off its investment contracts after receiving a poor financial rating, and wound up being sold, Cooper said.

Both Cooper and Decker said they often put in long hours at work. But, both added, they've learned to juggle their personal and professional lives.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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