MRS. FIELDS COOKIES FOUNDER TO TALK WITH STUDENTS AS "EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE" FEB. 18

Debbi Fields, founder of Mrs. Fields Cookies, will be the next speaker for Old Dominion University's Landmark Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Sponsored by the College of Business and Public Administration, the series brings accomplished business leaders to campus to share firsthand experiences with students. Fields will speak at 12:30 p.m. in room 1005 of Constant Hall. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis and the talk is open to the public.

In 1977 at the age of 20, Fields opened Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery in Palo Alto, Calif. Since then, Mrs. Fields Cookies has grown to more than 600 company-owned and franchise stores around the United States and in 10 other countries.

The $450 million company is the market leader among fresh-baked cookie stores and was among the first companies to utilize computer technology in operations and production schedules. The program is used as a model for business efficiency at Harvard Business School.

Having sold the business, Fields currently serves on the board of Outback Steakhouse, among other public and private organizationss boards. She is the author of three cookbooks, one of which sold more than 1.8 million copies and was the first cookbook to top The New York Times bestseller list.

For more information about the Executive-in-Residence Speaker Series call 683-3520 or visit the Web site http://web.odu.edu/execspeakers.