The contributions of a CSUF alum, an accomplished leader in a wide range of endeavors, will help to ensure that current and future Titans have the tools to become leaders themselves in their chosen professions.
During a ceremony held March 15 in the courtyard outside the CSUF College of Business and Economics, the college’s Center for Leadership was renamed the Giles-O’Malley Center for Leadership.
The center is named for 1970 CSUF graduate Terry Giles and his wife, Kalli O’Malley.
“I am feeling so humbled and so grateful and so incredibly lucky,” Giles said of the naming honor.
Owner and president of Giles Enterprises and member of CSUF’s Philanthropic Foundation Board of Governors, Giles provided a $1 million gift to further the Center for Leadership’s mission and activities.
“This is a center not just for our business school,” Cal State Fullerton President Fram Virjee said. “This is the center for the building of the future of this campus. Every student should be and will be affected by this Center for Leadership. The opportunity will be provided for them to learn what it means to be a leader.”
Along with Virjee, notables in attendance included Jay Barbuto, the center’s director and professor; Sridhar Sundaram, dean of the College of Business and Economics; Charlie Zhang, real estate developer and founder of Pick Up Stix; and many of the center’s corporate partners.
Giles, 74, grew up in an impoverished family and attended 21 schools in a 10-year period before going on to earn a debate scholarship at CSUF and a law degree from Pepperdine.
Giles’ achievements include the establishment of 35 businesses, one being a successful criminal law firm.
He owned the third-largest Canon copier distributorship and turned a failing Toyota dealership into the world’s fifth-largest.
The CSUF alum established Giles Enterprises, a holding company for his family’s array of business ventures.
Giles credited his success in large part to the…
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