A crowd of about 50 students and faculty attended the dedication of the new Asper Suite for entrepreneurial studies on Wednesday. The suite was inaugurated with a series of lectures addressing the emerging role of entrepreneurship in today's business world.

The lectures, part of the second annual Asper Forum on Global Entrepreneurship hosted by the International Business School, brought Leonard Asper '86, the CEO of CanWest Global Communications, and David Saperstein, the CEO of Five S Capital.

IBS dean Peter Petri spoke about the importance of the new suite and its role in encouraging entrepreneurship on the Brandeis campus.

"We're dedicating [this suite] to create a place where students and faculty can celebrate the act of entrepreneurship at Brandeis," Petri said. "This is a space that is making a big difference to Brandeis, the United States and the world."

Asper, who currently heads Canada's largest media company, spoke about the connection between entrepreneurship, marketing and the media, emphasizing the perseverance and dedication necessary to succeed.

"The best entrepreneurs just don't get how bad it is," he said. "They're eternal optimists-they just keep trying."

Asper also spoke about the general nature of entrepreneurship and the difficulties it presents in keeping with emerging trends in the business world.

"You can't keep up with all people, especially in the media," Asper said. "You're never going to have all the good ideas. You have to catch them."

The forum highlighted the importance of the connection between Brandeis and its alumni.

"We have such strong alumni that can come back and give to the community," IBS student Debbie Stewart '05 said. "It's a great opportunity."

Asper's speech was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony where guests sipped champagne and nibbled on chocolate fondue.

Saperstein, who founded the Houston-based Five S Capital, discussed his own business achievements.

Saperstein began enterprises in several industries, including automobiles, publishing, cosmetics and the container-tree business.

He said that the common factor that these industries share is that they are "off everybody's radar screen" and "not glamorous," making them unique and easy to initiate.

Saperstein likened the business to baseball in that though failures exist, "the home runs have been great."

He said his businesses succeeded because he strove to personally connect with ordinary employees, who are the "number one asset" of any business.

Saperstein also said that business is a straightforward process that should not be perceived as difficult.

"I never saw business as being complicated," he said.