Photo of Kristy Young, the 2014 Fall Orser SpeakerKristy Young, a digital product management executive with expertise in sports media, digital marketing, mobile and new business spinoffs, will give a public presentation, "Thinking Big, Starting Small," on Tuesday, December 2 from 4:10-5:00 p.m. in Reid Hall 108, for the fall Montana State University (MSU) Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship (JJCBE)'s David Orser Executive Speakers Forum.

The best business advice also applies to the personal journey your career can take. Students from small schools and small towns have just as much chance to make it big as anyone else, in fact—better. Learn how to leverage your education and experience to set yourself apart.

Kristy will share her lessons learned from a career that started at the University of Wyoming and ultimately took her to New York City to work for big brands and exciting new products. She'll provide her perspective on jobs, internships, networking and how to position yourself to achieve your goals.

Kristy recently moved to Bozeman, Mont., where she is the managing partner for blaZe interactive, LLC which partners with a diverse group of businesses to provide guidance through new product development, business transformations and digital expansion.

Prior to relocation, Kristy spent 11 years in New York City in the Sports Media industry, most recently as vice president, product management for USA TODAY Sports Media Group where she lead the digital product initiatives for this newly formed LLC across three divisions: USA TODAY (sports interests for USA TODAY flagship property and 105 local print/broadcast sites), USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties (10 Owned & Operated sites, including For The Win and 400 affiliate publisher sites) and USA TODAY High School Sports.

Before moving to USA TODAY Sports, Kristy served as director of product management for ESPN Mobile. There she led product management for ESPN's mobile products including Alerts, Mobile Web, Apps and on-air Fan engagement including SportsCenter, X Games, Sports Nation and others. She also worked for US WEST (which became Qwest, which is now CenturyLink) in Denver on various new ventures including Sales Edge, Your Value Card and Qwest Wireless.

Kristy received her B.S. in marketing at the University of Wyoming and her MBA at the University of Denver. She served on the North American Board of Directors for the Mobile Marketing Association from 2010-2012 and was Mobile Marketer's inaugural "Mobile Women to Watch" in 2010.

The MSU JJCBE's David Orser Executive Speakers Forum is named for David B. Orser, a 1966 MSU graduate who started funding the program in 1988 in order to inspire MSU business students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible and ethical business leaders. For more information about the forum, contact Audrey Capp at 406-994-7026 or audrey.lee@montana.edu.