BOZEMAN - Montana State University will host Steve Krenzer, co-founder and president of the Tennessee-based private equity firm Works Capital, for the fall 2026 Orser Executive Speakers forum.

The Orser lecture is presented each fall and spring semester by the Jake Jabs College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Krenzer will speak on Monday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. in the Strand Union Building's Procrastinator Theater. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Krenzer's talk is called "The Customer is Never Wrong, But They Are Unpredictable," and he will discuss his 35 years of experience fixing, building and scaling companies.

Brian Gillespie, dean of the business college, said that Krenzer's insights are sure to be helpful for Jabs students who are interested in learning best practices in marketing and entrepreneurship from a highly respected expert who has spent his career in those industries.

In addition to co-founding Works Capital, Krenzer also founded and oversees California-based financial advising company Trabuco Canyon Advisors and is the president of Thinkific Labs, a software company that enables businesses to build, market and sell online courses and digital products.

Krenzer's past experience also includes serving as the chief financial officer for Alkuri Global Acquisition Corporation, which oversaw a large corporate merger, and leading e-commerce platform Groupon as its chief operating officer.

Krenzer has also overseen and grown digital marketing efforts for various businesses, including as CEO of Core Digital Media and as president of Experian Interactive Media.

He currently lives in California. He has a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

MSU's David Orser Executive Speakers Forum is named for David B. Orser, a 1966 MSU graduate who started the program in 1988 in order to inspire MSU business students to pursue careers as innovative, responsible and ethical business leaders.

Past speakers include Leonardo Marra, the former treasury curator of the Papal Sacristy within the Sistine Chapel and MSU's executive events planner; Bill Hilf, the board chair of both the Allen Institute for AI and American Prairie; and Mitch Thompson, co-founder and chief financial officer of Iron Oil.

More information about Krenzer's lecture and the Orser speakers forum is available at https://www.montana.edu/business/orser/.