“There is a powerful new force that is changing business and the world. That force is a group of people – the Net Generation,” best-selling author, business executive and Trent University alumnus Don Tapscott told an audience of 300 people during the Tapscott-Lopes Business and Society Lecture held at Trent on February 25.

Mr. Tapscott’s dynamic presentation, which engaged and inspired Trent students, faculty, staff and members of the local community alike, was based on his highly acclaimed new book, Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World. Over the span of about two-hours, Mr. Tapscott demonstrated how today’s youth - the first Net Generation - are reshaping the form and functions of business, school, work, and even democracy.

“It is so great to know that there are people, like Don Tapscott, who have confidence in our generation. On top of recognizing what skills young people have, individuals like Don Tapscott are setting us up for success by demonstrating how technology and Net Generation thinking can be incorporated into the business world,” said fourth-year Business student Erica Robinson, who attended the lecture with her Management Thought class. “The lecture helped me realize that there is a chance for me to make a huge difference in the future. Mr. Tapscott made it clear that there are enough people our age, and we are smart enough, that our decisions will really influence the world.”

For Mr. Tapscott, returning to his alma mater presented an opportunity to reconnect with the place he credits for his success. “I love this place,” he said to open his presentation. “Whatever successes I have had in life, I attribute, in part, to the time I spent here as an undergraduate.”

Mr. Tapscott graduated from Trent in 1966 with a degree in Psychology and Statistics. Today, he is one of the world’s leading authorities on business strategy. He is also the author or co-author of 13 widely-read books, including Wikinomics, which was the bestselling management book in the United States in 2007 and is now translated into 22 languages. As chairman of nGenera Insight, a global business innovation company, Mr. Tapscott directs several research and education programs, which serve a marquee list of Global 2000 customers. He is also an adjunct professor at the J.L. Rotman School of Business at the University of Toronto.

In 1992, Mr. Tapscott and his wife, Ana Lopes, a communications expert and former member of Trent’s Board of Governors, created the Tapscott-Lopes Business and Society Lecture. Their generous gift supports an annual lecture to bring prominent speakers to the Trent community to address issues of values and ethics as they pertain to business and society. Past speakers include: David Suzuki, environmentalist and host of CBC’s The Nature of Things, Jim Griffen, CEO of Cherry Hill Digital, internationally renowned author Joel Bakan, the brains behind the book The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and its award-winning documentary, and John Elkington, a leading authority on sustainable development and triple bottom line business strategy.

For more information about the Tapscott-Lopes Business and Society Lecture at Trent University, visit the website.