Admiral William H. McRaven, a retired U.S. Navy Four-Star admiral, will give the keynote on Nov. 4, 2022 at the 96th Western Growers Annual Meeting at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas.
During his time in the military, McRaven commanded special operations forces at every level, eventually taking charge of the U.S. Special Operations Command. His career included combat during Desert Storm and both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He commanded the troops that captured Saddam Hussein and rescued Captain Richard Phillips. McRaven also is credited with developing the plan and leading the Osama bin Laden mission in 2011.
McRaven is a recognized national authority on U.S. foreign policy and has advised Presidents George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and other U.S. leaders on defense issues.
In addition, McRaven served as the Chancellor of the University of Texas System. McRaven oversaw 14 institutions that educated 220,000 students and employed 20,000 faculty and more than 80,000 health care professionals, researchers, and staff.
He currently serves on the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), the National Football Foundation, and the Board of Directors of CoconoPhilips.
McRaven is the author of four books, including “SPEC OPS: Case Studies in Special Operations Warfare” and “Make Your Bed: Little Things That Can Change Your Life and Maybe the World,” based on his 2014 University of Texas Commencement Speech that received worldwide attention. His third book, “Sea Stories: My Life in Special Operations,” released in 2019, is a remarkable memoir full of inspiring and action-packed stories from McRaven’s life in the special operations world. His most recent book, “The Hero Code: Lessons Learned from Lives Well Lived,” released in April 2021, is a tribute to the real, everyday heroes from battlefields to hospitals to college campuses, who are doing their part to save the world.
McRaven graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1977 with a degree in journalism and received his master’s degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey in 1991. He met his wife, Georgeann, while they were students at UT Austin, and they have three grown children.
The 2022 Western Growers Annual Meeting will be held from Nov. 2-5, 2022. For more information about registration or to take advantage of sponsorship opportunities, please contact Assistant Vice President, Membership Kim Sherman at [email protected]. Early bird registration pricing is available through August 15, 2022.