Local, national and international business leaders gathered together on March 27 to offer advice and inspiration to business students at the 44th annual Business Day conference.

Doug Conant, CEO of Campbell’s, S. Jane Rowe, executive vice president, Executive Offices of Scotiabank, and Gary Wadden, president and founder of M5, shared their insights into the business world and offered advice to the student attendees.

Debbie Cooper of CBC moderated the event, and Bruce Templeton, senior vice president of the St. John’s Board of Trade also spoke. The topics ranged from the funny to the heartfelt, but the underlying themes of perseverance and the importance of people were heard from all speakers.

Mr. Conant told the participants about how devastated he was when he was fired from his first job, but that a mentor challenged him to make the most of the opportunity. He reminded students that happiness is about how you choose to view a situation, and shared his twelve life lessons. These lessons include reaching high, building a networking, being humble, having fun, and making it personal.

Ms. Rowe echoed these sentiments in her remarks. She identified three things that have helped her achieve success in her career, passion, performance and people. She said it’s important to find your passion and pursue it, always be ready to give your very best performance on the job and to understand the importance of people. As she said, “It’s a cliché, but business is a team sport. Many of your best performances and greatest accomplishments will come as part of a team.”