Roz Burgess accepts the 2025 CEO Chapter President of the Year award, selected from 250+ chapters worldwide.
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Roz Burgess didn't pick East Carolina University by default. He had options. But ECU offered a combination he couldn't find anywhere else: a full-ride academic scholarship through the Brinkley-Lane Scholars program, the ECU Honors College, ECU College of Business and the Miller School of Entrepreneurship, one of the top-ranked entrepreneurship programs in the country. He chose ECU because it gave him both the education and the freedom to go all in.
Two years later, he's been named the 2025 CEO Chapter President of the Year out of more than 250 chapters worldwide. The chapter he inherited needed work. The chapter he's built is one of the strongest in the organization.
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From "Needs Attention" to National Recognition
When Burgess joined ECU's CEO chapter, it was an organization with potential but not much momentum. He saw that gap as an opportunity rather than a problem. "I wanted to create a space where students from every major could see entrepreneurship as something they're capable of," he says.
The results speak for themselves. Under his leadership, the chapter grew membership by roughly 40%. But the numbers only tell part of the story. What changed was the culture: the caliber of programming, the reach of the speaker lineup and the way students across campus started taking the chapter seriously.
Burgess tabling for CEO on ECU's campus, part of the outreach strategy that drove 40% membership growth.
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By the numbers
40% membership growth. Guest speakers from New York, Atlanta and as far as Norway. ECU Board of Trustees members in attendance. Partnerships built with AIS, AMA and FMA on campus. 100+ attendees at the Blueprint to Success Panel alone. |
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Programming That Pulls a Crowd
Burgess didn't settle for the standard guest-speaker-in-a-classroom format. He brought in entrepreneurs and executives from across the country, hosted ECU Board of Trustees members and built cross-campus partnerships with organizations like AIS, AMA and FMA that expanded the chapter's reach beyond the business school.
The signature event was the Blueprint to Success Panel at ECU's Isley Innovation Hub, which drew more than 100 attendees. Burgess moderated the panel himself, a role that combined his instincts for sales, storytelling and audience engagement.
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Burgess moderating the Blueprint to Success Panel at ECU's Isley Innovation Hub, which drew 100+ attendees.
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From Campus Leader to Tech Sales
Burgess with Fielding Miller, CEO and founder of CAPTRUST and namesake of ECU's Miller School of Entrepreneurship.
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Last summer, Burgess interned directly for Fielding Miller, the CEO and founder of CAPTRUST and the person whose name is on ECU's Miller School of Entrepreneurship. Getting to learn from the person whose vision shaped his own education was, as Burgess puts it, "a full circle moment I'll never forget."
This summer, he's at Oracle in Austin, TX, working as a Sales Development Representative intern. The through line from CEO chapter president to tech sales is clearer than it might seem. "The entrepreneurial mindset transfers almost directly," Burgess says. "Spotting a need, building trust, telling a compelling story, and closing the gap between an idea and a 'yes.'"
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On intrapreneurship
"Running this chapter has taught me more about sales than any classroom could, and in a lot of ways I've been practicing intrapreneurship all along, bringing an entrepreneur's drive to building something within an organization. That's the mindset I'll carry into my career." |
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A National Network That Sticks
Burgess points to the friendships formed through CEO's national conference as proof that the organization goes well beyond campus programming. At the 2024 CEO Conference, he met Shohina Sultonova, president of the CEO chapter at the University of Nebraska Omaha. "She taught me so much about what it means to lead by example and be a great chapter president," he says. "We're still close friends today."
He also became friends with Bolu Ojo, who won the 2025 conference pitch competition. "Watching everything she's accomplished with her business this past year has been incredible to witness."
Burgess (left) with the CEO ECU executive board. "The chapter went from needing extra attention to becoming one of the strongest in the country."
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What he's proudest of
"The part that means the most to me is watching a student walk into our chapter unsure of whether they belong, then light up when they realize entrepreneurship is more than just owning a business. It's a mindset that can be applied to any industry." |
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What Chapter Presidents Can Take from Roz's Playbook
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Treat the chapter like a startup. Burgess applied an entrepreneur's mindset to a student organization: identifying gaps, building partnerships and measuring growth. That framing turned routine meetings into real programming. |
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Bring in speakers who stretch your members. ECU's chapter hosted founders and executives from across the country and internationally. High-caliber speakers signal that the chapter is serious, and students show up accordingly. |
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Build cross-campus partnerships. CEO ECU partnered with AIS, AMA and FMA, pulling in students from outside the typical entrepreneurship pipeline. More perspectives made for stronger events and broader membership. |
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Use the national conference. The relationships Burgess built at the 2024 conference shaped how he ran his chapter. Those connections are available to every president who attends. |
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The 2026 CEO Global Conference is coming.
November 5-7 at the Wyndham Grand Clearwater Beach, FL. Connect with chapter presidents, attend keynotes and compete in the Global Pitch Competition.
Register for the Conference
This spotlight is based on an interview with Roz Burgess, 2025 CEO Chapter President of the Year. Roz is a rising junior at East Carolina University studying at the Miller School of Entrepreneurship. Photos courtesy of CEO ECU and Roz Burgess.
