Gary Sutton, 1964 ISU graduate and author, spoke Tuesday about multiple aspects of business, from Enron executives to Kmart’s potential downfall.

Nearly 200 people attended the Reiman Entrepreneurial Speaker in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union to hear Sutton discuss turning around failing businesses and bringing them back to profitability.

“Gary is an excellent businessman. He turns companies around and that is something we are all interested in,” said Bob Bauer, senior in management.

Ames business owner Steve Bell attended Sutton’s lecture.

“His background in change management, and the fact that he has turned a number of companies around – that was intriguing to me,” Bell said.

Sutton spoke in part to promote his new book “The Six Month Fix,” in which he details the elements of his career.

He decided to stay away from the details of his turnarounds, instead choosing to focus on his experience with startups.

Sutton highlighted some of the defining moments in his career, including a search for investors, one of which turned out to be Bill Gates, whom he described as “scary.”

Sutton touched on a number of topics that have been in the news recently, including Enron.

“I think people need to go to jail,” Sutton said in regard to Enron executives.

Sutton also described trips he has taken to the national headquarters of both Wal-Mart and Kmart, and said he could see a difference in the success of the two retail giants just in the wise spending on each building.

“At Kmart they have a guide who takes you to where you need to go. Their building is so big you need a guide,” he said. “At Wal-Mart they come to you. They have cardboard tables and Styrofoam cups.”

Currently he has plans for one more book related to business and two separate works of fiction.