CEO Innovation, Growth & Diversity Symposium
Speakers
Alan Trefler is a visionary change-agent, innovative philanthropist, and trusted advisor to business leaders around the world. Alan founded Pegasystems three decades ago to change how the world builds software. In that time, Alan's unique vision and relentless focus on client success has positively evolved the way many of the world's leading enterprises engage with their customers.
Alan’s best-seller, Build for Change, describes a new generation of customers with unprecedented power to make or break brands and the changes businesses must embrace to succeed in today’s digital world.
Alan is the holder of multiple software patents, and the recipient of industry awards recognizing him as an innovative CEO and successful entrepreneur. In 2017, Alan was appointed to the World Economic Forum’s IT Steering Committee.
Alan holds a degree with distinction in Economics and Computer Science from Dartmouth College. There he won the John G. Kemeny prize in computing, achieved a Master rating in Chess, and was co-champion of the 1975 World Open Chess Championship.
A staunch education advocate, Alan and wife Pam established the Trefler Foundation in 1996 to improve educational outcomes. The Foundation recently sponsored Union & Fifth, an innovative non-profit that turns clothing donations into money for charities.
Amy Binder is the founder and CEO of New York City-based RF|Binder Partners Inc., an integrated communications firm, with branches in Boston, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Amy started her communications career in 1983 at the storied public relations firm of Ruder Finn, founded by her father David Finn, where she rose to become President of Ruder Finn Americas. She founded her own communications firm, RF|Binder in 2001, first as an independently run agency under the Ruder Finn Group umbrella, and then as part of a 2014 restructuring, as a separate woman-owned integrated communications agency.
RF|Binder focuses on working with major global corporations and brands on corporate reputation and brand assignments as well as with entrepreneurs and start-ups. She has embraced the use of advanced analytical tools for measuring the success of social media programs and monitoring in real time client related news and events. Over the past several years she has increased the agency’s commitment to corporate social responsibility for its clients and itself. In addition to overseeing the business direction and growth of the agency, Amy is focused on ensuring that every client receives consistent, high-quality service, has continual access to the agency’s best creative and strategic thinking, as well as ensuring that the agency is offering the most innovative use of newly emerging communications channels.
Amy’s work has been characterized by creating integrated communications programs that work across communications channels from traditional to digital. She has focused on managing the issues and challenges that emerge when the interests of the public, private sector and government converge.
Under Amy’s leadership, RF|Binder has won close to 200 industry awards since the company’ founding, including Creative Agency of the Year from Holmes Report, Best Places to Work in NYC from Crains, and from PRWeek as a finalist for Best Mid-Sized Agency.
Clients have included such diverse organizations as Ameriprise, Bank of America, Booz Allen Hamilton, Cargill, Chubb, Citibank, Dunkin’ Brands, McGraw Hill Education, Rockefeller Foundation, edX, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Schwab and PaxWorld. Amy is a board member of The Institute for Public Relations and the Media Advisory Council for Brown University. She is a member of Columbia Business School's Family Business Program Advisory Board and has been a guest lecturer in its Family Business MBA program. She has been a recent speaker at National Association of Corporate Directors events for public company directors focused on the relationship between Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) issues and corporate strategy.
Amy received her A.B. with Honors from Brown University and her M.B.A. from the Columbia Business School.
Anne P. Noonan is President and Chief Executive Officer of OMNOVA Solutions Inc.
(NYSE: OMN), an $838 million global producer of emulsion polymers, specialty
chemicals, and decorative and functional surfaces. She was appointed to this position
as of December 1, 2016.
Ms. Noonan joined OMNOVA in September 2014 as President of its Performance
Chemicals business segment. The business, reorganized under Anne’s leadership to
focus on specialty solutions, develops and produces emulsion polymers and specialty
chemicals for a variety of end use applications, including specialty coatings,
construction, nonwovens, oil & gas exploration, and elastomeric modifiers.
Prior to OMNOVA, Ms. Noonan spent 27 years at Chemtura Corporation, a global
manufacturer of specialty chemicals. She most recently served as Senior Vice
President and President of Chemtura’s Industrial Engineered Products business, which
included flame retardants, brominated performance products and organometallic
specialties. These products went into numerous applications and end markets, many of
which overlapped with OMNOVA’s. Previously, she held a dual role as Vice President of
Strategic Business Development for Chemtura and President of its Great Lakes
Solutions business. During her tenure with Chemtura, Ms. Noonan held leadership roles
across a wide range of disciplines, from strategic marketing to product development
and innovation, to mergers and acquisitions and general management.
Ms. Noonan began her career as an analytical research chemist for a joint venture
between Squibb-Linson and McNeil Specialty Chemical Company. She participated in
the development of an artificial sweetener, now known as Splenda. Through her early
roots in new product development, Ms. Noonan developed a deep understanding of the
importance of having clear insights into customer needs, and utilizing technology to
meet those needs and create a clear and compelling value proposition for the
customer.
Ms. Noonan earned her B.S. Honors degree in chemistry and her M.S. in
organometallic chemistry from University College Dublin, Ireland.
Ms. Noonan is on the boards of the American Chemistry Council, the Greater Cleveland
Partnership, and CF Industries, a global leader in nitrogen fertilizer manufacturing and
distribution.
Ben Edson is the Founder and CEO of VariQ. VariQ is one of DC Metros fastest growing IT and Cyber Security companies, with 300+ staff under management. It has successfully grown organically over the past 5 years by over 1000%. VariQ is a values-driven company that designs, integrates, and manages complex solutions in information technology systems for 10 out of 15 Federal Executive Departments as well as State and Commercial clients.
In recognition of Ben’s commitment to innovation and unparalleled client dedication, VariQ has received 20+ industry awards over the past five years.
Prior to VariQ, Ben was a Security Consultant for Symantec where he performed numerous technical implementations throughout the United States and Mexico for Fortune 100 and commercial clients. A former missionary, Ben later worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. He is passionate about all things cybersecurity, his family, and soccer.
Ben serves on SECAF’s (Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum) Board of Directors, and has most recently joined the WorkSource Montgomery Board.
Ben holds an MBA and MSITS from Johns Hopkins University. He also holds over 20 current and expired IT certifications which allows him to actively participate in customer problem solving from both business and technical perspectives.
Bill Kolb, Chairman and CEO, Commonwealth//McCann, added key responsibilities in 2016 when he was promoted to Global President, Diversified Agencies, which expanded his mandate to include driving key practice areas and disciplines, including data, analytics, health and media, as well as fostering overall growth across all Worldgroup agencies and geographies. At the same time, he continues in his top Commonwealth//McCann and MRM//McCann positions.
As a Detroit native, Bill’s focus and drive developed at a young age and continues to this day. With more than 25 years of experience marketing both large and entrepreneurial companies, his success is driven by taking risks and trying something new that will make clients, competitors and the industry stand up and take note.
Bill has worked with multinational clients such as General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, Bacardi, Intel, Kmart and Coca-Cola. He is one of McCann Worldgroup’s most experienced global marketing executives whose career has spanned multiple assignments since he first joined the company. He has been a keystone at MRM//McCann since 2003 in roles such as President, CFO, COO and CEO. Today, Bill is the Chairman and CEO of Commonwealth//McCann, the agency handling the global Chevrolet account. If that’s not enough to fill his schedule, he continues to lead the overall business of MRM//McCann as Chairman.
His vision and drive are inspirational. And his inspiration is contagious. It’s why the business and culture of MRM//McCann and Commonwealth//McCann have flourished under his stewardship. MRM//McCann has been recognized with some of the industry’s highest accolades in the last two years, including being designated two years in a row (2017 & 2018) as a “Leader” in Gartner Inc.’s Magic Quadrant for Global Digital Marketing Agencies, as Ad Age’s B-to-B Agency of the Year in 2018, as the Top Large Agency of the Year at the Digital Analytics Association’s Quanties Awards.
Porter Novelli CEO Brad MacAfee is a highly respected business and communications leader who has spent the past 25 years harnessing his expertise and insights to drive business results, competitive advantage and deeper levels of stakeholder engagement for a wide variety of brands, businesses and organizations. He is widely recognized for his strong knowledge of the real needs and challenges of small businesses and global brands and multinationals alike, as well as his practical deployment of innovative technologies to create opportunities in a changing, digitally driven business and media landscape.
MacAfee joined Porter Novelli in 2000 as partner, global technology leader and managing director of the Atlanta office, after nearly a decade of leadership positions at Alexander Communications, Copithorne & Bellows and Peachtree Software.
During his tenure as managing director, the Atlanta office became one of the most consistently profitable and recognized throughout the agency's entire global network. His passionate belief in the power of the Service Profit Chain model that puts employees first earned the office year-after-year recognition as a best place to work, while also earning the reputation as an industry leader, and model, for excellence in client service.
Caroline Beasley was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. on
January 1, 2017, previously serving as interim Chief Executive Officer from March 18, 2016
until December 31 st , 2016 and as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer
and Secretary beginning in 1994. She has served as a Director of Beasley Broadcast Group,
Inc. since she joined the Company in 1983.
Ms. Beasley currently serves as the Joint Board Chair of the National Association of
Broadcasters (NAB) Board of Directors and is a past Chairman of the NAB Radio Board. In
addition, she is a member of the BMI Board of Directors and the Broadcasters Foundation of
America Board of Directors.
In 2017, Ms. Beasley was honored by Radio Ink magazine as “Radio Executive of the Year”.
Ms. Beasley was named one of the “40 Most Powerful People in Radio” in 2011, 2012, 2016
2017 and 2018. In addition, she has been recognized in the magazine’s “Most Influential
Women in Radio” listing on an annual basis since 2003.
Ms. Beasley received the 2016 “Distinguished Service Award” from the North Carolina
Association of Broadcasters and was the 2012 recipient of the “Frances Preston Trailblazer
Award” from the Mentoring and Inspiring Women in Radio Group (MIW), a national
organization dedicated to promoting the advancement of women to senior positions in the
radio industry.
She is a member of the Board of Visitors at her alma mater, the University of North
Carolina, where Ms. Beasley earned a B.S. degree.
Dale Guidry received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Duke
University in 1978. Also, during his undergraduate tenure, Mr. Guidry was an exchange
student at New College, Oxford University, England, where he studied twentieth century British
history. Upon graduation from Duke University, Mr. Guidry pursued a Master of Science
degree in Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University where he carried out
research on the mechanical properties of amorphous metals. After completing his Masters
studies in 1980, Mr. Guidry was employed by The Timken Company in Canton, Ohio as a
Research Engineer. In this position, he developed new grades of steel for use in the
manufacture of tapered roller bearings and developed computer simulations of the steel melt
shop and rolling process which led to significant productivity improvements. At the time, the
use of computer simulation was a new and innovative approach in the analysis of steel making
processes. While at Timken, Mr. Guidry also worked on the development of an ultrasonic
gauge for the hot measurement of wall thickness of seamless tubing.
In 1987, Mr. Guidry left The Timken Company to join the Drive Systems Department of
General Electric as a Process Automation Systems Engineer. In this role, he developed,
engineered and installed computer models for the automatic control of hot and cold rolling
processes for steel and other metals. This work effort resulted in significant travel around the
world with time spent in Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Brazil and various
countries in Europe. After a number of years, Mr. Guidry became recognized as an expert in
the rolling of steel. As a result, he was a featured instructor from 1999 through 2007 for the
American Iron and Steel Technology Cold Rolling Fundamentals Training Seminar presenting
on the topic of Cold Rolling Theory.
In 2000, Mr. Guidry switched career paths and entered management as Manager, Metals
Process Models & Automation Engineering in the Industrial Systems business of GE. That
same year, the GE Metals business segment along with others became part of a joint venture
company between GE and Toshiba. In 2003, Mitsubishi Electric entered the joint venture.
This resulted in the formation of TM GE Automation Systems (also known as TMEIC GE) in
the U.S. and TMEIC in Japan. Mr. Guidry was promoted to the position of Business Unit
Leader, Metals in 2003 after the formation of the joint venture. In this role he was successful in
dramatically increasing the size and profitability of the Metals business. In late 2006, Mr.
Guidry was appointed as Chief Operating Officer of TMEIC GE. In April 2007, Mr. Guidry
became the President and CEO of TMEIC GE. In July 2011, TMEIC GE bought out the GE
holdings in the business and became TMEIC Corporation with headquarters in Roanoke,
Virginia.
In addition to his responsibilities as President and CEO of TMEIC Corporation, Mr. Guidry also
had responsibility from 2013 through 2016 to guide the TMEIC Group companies outside
Japan (TMEIC China, TMEIC India, TMEIC Asia, TMEIC Europe, and TMEIC South America)
in developing global strategies and business plans with the goal of significant Group Company
growth in established and emerging markets.
Today, Mr. Guidry holds the position of President and CEO of TMEIC Corporation. During his
tenure, the business has tripled in size while significantly improving profitability.
Dan Beem began serving as Hissho Sushi’s CEO in September 2017. Mr. Beem brings
to the company more than 20 years of experience in the restaurant and food industry,
holding CEO and President leadership positions at companies like Krispy Kreme, Cold
Stone Creamery and Kahala Brands. During his years as Krispy Kreme’s President of
International and Global Development, Dan helped significantly grow the company’s
international footprint, including Krispy Kreme’s business in Asia Pacific, Latin America,
Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is a dedicated visionary who leads based on
strong accountability and a customer-focused mindset, with a proven track record of
success in expansion, growth and brand transformation. Dan’s ability to lead, identify
new business opportunities, and create industry change will continue to help Hissho
make hand-crafted premium sushi accessible to people where they work, live and play.
As CEO, David has led Organic’s transformation from a digital agency focused on tactical output to the Interaction Agency, delivering data inspired, individually relevant, personalized interactions that engage consumers and deliver profitable results for clients. It’s his job to inspire teams and enable their best thinking for Organic’s industry leading client brands including Kimberly Clark, Frontline, HP, AT&T, and Wells Fargo. Prior to Organic, David served in leadership roles including President for Wunderman and Managing Director at Digitas. His agency experience includes heading Intercontinental Hotel Group’s Ambassador program as well as their Rewards Club, one of the industry’s largest hotel loyalty programs. David serves on numerous boards and provides strategic advice to founders and industry executives.
EXPERIENCE
Chief Executive Officer at Organic
2012 - Present
President at Wunderman
2008 - 2012
Managing Director at Digitas
1999 - 2008
Brand Strategy Manager at Jaguar Cars/Ford Motor Company
1991 - 1999
EDUCATION
M.B.A.
Amos Tuck Business School
Dartmouth College
B.A., Psychology
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
In 1998, DeeDee Towery founded Proactive Business Solutions, Inc. from the basement in her
home in Oakland, California. Today the company employees over 300 full-time and part-time
employees. Proactive is a managed service provider with three key lines of business: Outsourced
facilities management for scientific, engineering, medical or technical activities seeking staff
augmentation and technical/engineering project management; Cybersafety services for larger
organizations seeking to protect IT assets, confidentiality and privacy, and the organization’s people,
facilities and inventories; and IT Support Services for companies seeking premium levels of end-
user support, desk-help, business analysis/technical support
Recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, DeeDee Towery has
grown Proactive Business Solutions from its roots into the powerhouse consultancy it is today.
Surviving both the dot-com bubble and the Great Recession, this company continues to tackle the
challenges of modern businesses that do not have the time, resources, or knowledge to do it on their
own. Proactive commits to having the same level of service on every size project, and this model of
consistency has contributed to the firm’s growth and strengthened relationships with clientele.
DeeDee graduated Summa Cum Laude from UC Berkeley and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. A
native of Georgia, she lives in Danville, California with her husband John Gregoire.
Dick started with Restaurant Associates right out of college as back of the house steward. He eventually became General Manager of the famous “Newarker Restaurant” at Newark Airport. Over the years, Dick has held many regional and corporate operating positions. He became President of Restaurant Associates in 2003 and, under his leadership, grew the company three-fold in ten states. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Associates (a premiere division within Compass Group, the nation’s leading foodservice company), with a total volume for 2015 that exceeded 1 billion dollars.
In 2002 Dick oversaw all of the Compass food service operations at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The massive effort comprised fifteen venues spread over 5,000 square miles and served 150,000 meals per day for seventeen days. It was the first time in Olympic history that one organization was responsible for hospitality catering, concessions and athlete feeding. The following summer Dick was responsible for feeding the young Pilgrims assembled during the 2003 World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada where 200,000 meals per day were served for seven days during the visit of Pope John Paul II.
Dick was born and raised in New York City and comes from a long family tradition in the hospitality business – his father owned a hotel in Monticello, New York and his grandfather was an executive chef in New York City. Dick is a graduate of Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for seven years. He is a Fellow of The Culinary Institute of America and a former board member of the Society for Foodservice Management. He was honored with a Conti Distinguished Professor Chair at Penn State University, a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI and a Wise Professor at the University of Delaware.
In 2005, Dick received the Adirondack Medal of Honor for his twenty plus years of tireless work and leadership at Paul Smith’s College where he has been instrumental in taking the college from a two-year private school to a four-year college offering courses in culinary, hospitality management, liberal arts, forestry and environmental studies. In 2007 he received an honorary degree, a Doctor of Commercial Science from Paul Smith’s College and in 2009 granted the status of Trustee Emeritus.
In addition, Dick was awarded the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association 2005 Silver Plate Award, the industry’s premier accolade, for his achievements in the Foodservice Management category. In 2006 at the SFM Conference in Las Vegas, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a lifetime of contributions and service to the onsite foodservice industry.
Emil Sayegh is an early pioneer of cloud computing and is recognized as one of the industry’s true veterans. A cloud visionary, he is credited with launching and leading the cloud computing and hosting businesses for HP, Rackspace, Codero, and Hostway. Emil built the Rackspace cloud business while serving as the company’s GM of the Cloud Computing Division. Earlier at Rackspace he served as VP of the Product Group and launched the company’s private cloud. He later moved on to HP where he served as VP of Cloud Service and initiated the company’s public cloud services. In 2012, Emil joined Codero Hosting as Chairman, President, and CEO and led the next generation of cloud computing with the hybrid cloud. In 2015 he led the successful sale of Codero to a consortium of telecom companies. Since 2016, Emil has held the position of President and CEO at Hostway in Austin, Texas. Hostway Services, Inc. is the world’s most trusted managed compliant hosting provider, delivering managed cloud infrastructure and application hosting across ten geographically diverse data centers around the world.
Emil holds nine patents in the fiber optics interconnect field, and is known as one of the “fathers of OpenStack,” having developed the open source software. He earned his Bachelors from the School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin and a Masters in Technology Commercialization from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.
Erik Oberholtzer co-founded Tender Greens, a fine-casual restaurant concept with 24 locations and growing, in 2006 in Culver City, California. Himself a chef, Erik manages a growing team of talent along with some exciting new brands. He is the founder of the Tender Greens Sustainable Life Project, a program aimed to assist at-risk youth develop new skills and career intentions through structured culinary training and farm exposure. He is co-founder of P. Balistreri Salumi Company, the first of more chef legacy companies he has helped incubate and bring to market through Tender Greens. Erik did his undergraduate degrees in psychology at Temple University in Pennsylvania and culinary arts at Johnson & Wales in Providence, Rhode Island.
Federico A. Tripodi was appointed CEO of Calyxt in May 2016. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University’s Olin Business School, as well as an agronomic engineering degree from Buenos Aires University. Federico has gathered extensive experience in agricultural R&D and product development during his nearly two-decade career in the ag biotech and seed industry. Prior to joining Calyxt, he worked as General Manager for Monsanto Company’s Sugarcane Division in Brazil for three years. He held other roles for Monsanto in Saint Louis, Missouri, spanning Corporate Strategy (2011-2013), Omega-3 Program Lead (2009-2011), Oilseeds Global Quality Management Lead (2008-2009) and multiple other roles that involved managing multidisciplinary research teams in the technology organization between 2001 and 2008. During his tenure at Monsanto, Mr. Tripodi led or participated with early discovery and late commercialization phase product launches across the Americas, which included biotech consumer traits (improved composition soybean oils) and farmer traits (high yield, drought tolerance, insect protection and herbicide tolerance). Mr. Tripodi started his career in Argentina in 1998 in field research of biotechnology traits and chemistry formulations until he moved to Saint Louis in 2001. Mr. Tripodi also has experience as a director of a startup and serves on the board of directors for a not-for profit.
Gary A. Griffiths is president and chief executive officer of iPass Inc. His goal is to drive Wi-Fi adoption to accelerate the company's growth. Griffiths has been described as a natural leader with a strong operational background and a wealth of relevant experience. Previously a member of iPass' Board of Directors, Griffiths was also co-founder and CEO of Trapit, Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based applications for sales and marketing automation.
A 35-year veteran of the high-tech industry, Griffiths has led some of the Web's most innovative companies. He has held leadership positions at a number of large and prominent software companies. Prior to founding Trapit, Griffiths was president of products and operations at WebEx, acquired for $3B by Cisco Systems, Inc. Griffiths was also co-founder and chief executive officer at Everdream Corporation, a SaaS company, from 1999 to 2005, as well as chief executive officer at HEAT.net from 1996 until its acquisition by Sega, Inc. in 1999.
In addition, Griffiths has extensive experience overseeing financial and accounting matters as well as strategic initiatives at small technology companies. Griffiths currently serves on the board of directors of Silicon Graphics International Corp., (NASDAQ: SGI), and Janrain, Inc., a customer identity management SaaS company.
Griffiths holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy, as well as a Masters of Science in business administration from the George Washington University School of Business.
Geoffrey Cook is a serial entrepreneur and CEO. The Meet Group started out as a single brand, which Geoff grew to over $30 million in revenue before merging with a public company in a $100 million deal. Since then, Geoff has led the company to acquire three additional social apps -- Andreessen Horowitz backed Skout for $55 million, Tagged or $60 million, and LOVOO for $70 million.
Geoff has won a number of awards, including Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for the Philadelphia region. Geoff began his entrepreneurial journey in school, founding EssayEdge and ResumeEdge from his Harvard dorm.
When he’s not working, Geoff is writing. His debut middle-grade novel Veronica and the Volcano took First Place in the 2018 Reader Views Reviewer’s Choice Awards. It also landed a spot as Book of the Year Finalist in the Foreword Reviews literary contest. Geoff lives in Princeton, NJ, with his wife, two daughters, and son.
About The Meet Group:
The Meet Group (NASDAQ: MEET) is a portfolio of mobile social entertainment apps designed to meet the universal need for human connection. We leverage a powerful live-streaming video platform, empowering our global community to forge meaningful connections. Our primary apps, MeetMe®, LOVOO®, Skout®, and Tagged®, keep millions of mobile daily active users entertained and engaged and originate untold numbers of casual chats, friendships, dates, and marriages. Our apps, available on iPhone, iPad, and Android in multiple languages, use innovative products and sophisticated data science to let our users stream live video, send gifts, chat, and share photos. The Meet Group has a diversified revenue mix consisting of in-app purchases, subscription, and advertising, and we have offices in New Hope, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Dresden, and Berlin. For more information, visit themeetgroup.com, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.
Harry is the founder and CEO of Kargo, the leading mobile brand advertising marketplace. Named as one of EY Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2016, he is the chief architect of Kargo’s strategy. Under his leadership over the past fifteen years, Harry has transformed Kargo into one of the advertising industry’s most innovative technology companies. His experience building Kargo from the ground up has given him a deep understanding of the latest trends. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at CES, IAB, Advertising Week, Websummit, Cannes and other advertising and technology conferences, and has been featured in The NYTimes, The Today Show, AdAge, Bloomberg, Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and dozens of other media outlets. Harry graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he is now an advisor to young entrepreneurs through the Harvard Innovation Lab. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.
Heather Neary was named President of Auntie Anne’s in November 2015. Heather joined Auntie Anne’s in 2005 and has held various roles in the company in which she was responsible for the oversight of marketing, communications, the franchise business consultant team, research and development, product innovation, and the franchisee leadership team. Most recently, Heather served as Vice President, Global Marketing. Prior to joining Auntie Anne’s, Heather held roles in marketing and as a managing editor for a business magazine. Heather received a B.A. from Millersville University and an M.B.A. from Penn State University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Lancaster YMCA and the Board of Advisors for Penn State Harrisburg.
Howard M. Lorber is the Chairman of Douglas Elliman, one of the nation’s oldest and largest real estate brokerage firms with approximately $27.4 billion in annual sales volume and approximately 7,000 affiliated real estate agents. Mr. Lorber became Chairman of Douglas Elliman in 2003 and has since achieved record sales year over year. These record results are the product of Mr. Lorber’s transformational leadership and business acumen; and, under his direction, Douglas Elliman continues to display unprecedented economic might and influence in the industry.
Mr. Lorber plays an extremely active role in the company and prides himself on his ability to attract and retain the most talented sales personnel. In addition, Mr. Lorber is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Group Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary, New Valley LLC, the parent company of Douglas Elliman. Mr. Lorber has actively managed Vector Group’s and New Valley’s diversified interests since 1994, including its approximately $200 million of investments in real estate ventures that own approximately $5 billion of assets.
In addition to his role at Vector Group, Mr. Lorber serves as Executive Chairman of Nathan’s Famous Inc., Vice Chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. and a director of Clipper Realty Inc. Mr. Lorber serves on the board of the 92nd Street Y, the board of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, as Chairman of Southampton Hospital Foundation, and Co-Chairman of the Silver Shield Foundation—a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance towards the educational costs of children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. In 2017, Mr. Lorber received a Presidential appointment to serve as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.
Mr. Lorber holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Science degree in Taxation and an Honorary Doctorate from Long Island University, where he is also a trustee.
Ikdeep Singh is currently the President of Maybelline, Garnier and Essie brands; a position he took over in January 2017. In his role, he oversees all aspects of business leadership on the multi-billion-dollar portfolio of brands, and is responsible for accelerating their growth in the US market.
Mr. Singh joined L’Oréal Group in 2014 and served as the President of L’Oréal Canada’s Consumer Products Division. Under Mr. Singh’s leadership, the division outpaced market growth threefold, helping L’Oréal to become the largest and fastest growing manufacturer in Canada.
Prior to joining the L’Oréal Group, Mr. Singh spent 14 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G). During his time at P&G, Mr. Singh worked on various businesses in global innovation and strategy, regional marketing, and country operating roles across North America and Asia.
Born in India and raised in Canada, Mr. Singh is a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
As a millennial innovator / entrepreneur Jason officially took over the Speedmaster reins in 2005, a typical bricks-and-mortar family business established since 1979.
Know for as a Visionary Second Generation Entrepreneur with a First Generation Work ethic
'My main focus to reinvent the offline business by growing Online footprint whilst building one of the most Innovate brands not just in the Automotive Space.' Establishing AT Racing World in 2003 with the aim to sell Automotive components on eBay.
Implementing an online business model from non existent in 2003 to a become Australia's number one online reseller of Automotive car spare parts by 2006.
Over the next 5 years the focus moved away from increasing the product offering or adding extra fluff that can't be sustained in the long run. Instead focusing on pushing the internal Eco-system to the limit, to ensure it could facilitate the growing online demand and future grow was sustainable.
With almost 10 years of proven results he had set its sites on rolling out the same business model in its Global facility in the USA, along with a strong Brand Integrity into a highly competitive automotive industry.
This instant overnight success build on years of experience lead to becoming Number 1 in 12 categories on eBay Motors and Amazon.
In 2016 ATRW has grown to become the 3rd largest aftermarket automotive online store offering over 100,000 items and shipping over 5 million products worldwide.
Growing the Brand DNA visually distinctive, that is not only visually innovative but is a blend of old and new technology. Ensuring it is a patent design and has award winning functionality. Pushing for our innovation goals, had led to us conquering 8 SEMA Awards in the last Seven Years (never achieved before) whilst competing with FORD, GM and Chrysler; Australia's Top 100 Retailers for 2016, 2017.
Officially Australia's #1 Automotive Aftermarket Brand.
Top 5 Privately Owned Automotive Aftermarket Companies.
Shipping over 5 million items worldwide.
SEMA 35 top Executives
Top 50 People in Australian e-commerce.
These Achievements have been based around the visionaries three pillar approach:
Our People, Our Products and Our Approach.
Jeremy Johnson is the CEO and co-founder of Andela, a company founded on the idea that brilliance is evenly distributed. With that as their backbone, they’ve build a network of technology leaders dedicated to advancing human potential. Andela’s core function is helping companies build high-performing engineering teams by investing in Africa’s most talented software developers. In the three years since their founding, Andela has selected the top .7% of more than 70,000 applicants from across the African continent. Based in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, Andela developers are already working as full-time engineers with companies that range from industry leaders like Viacom to venture-backed startups like Gusto and SeatGeek.
Prior to founding Andela, Jeremy co-founded 2U, one of the fastest growing education technology startups in history. 2U went public in 2014 (NASDAQ:TWOU) and continues to transform higher education by delivering the world’s best online degree programs with top tier universities. His work as an education innovator has been recognized at entrepreneurship meetings hosted by the White house and Congress as well as media outlets like NBC, ABC, FOX, and CNBC. Jeremy was named “30 Under 30” by Inc. Magazine in 2012 and Forbes in 2013 and 2014. Jeremy serves on the board of the Young Entrepreneur Council and the education non-profit PENCIL and co-authored a book for the World Economic Forum: ‘Education & Skills 2.0: New Targets & Innovative Approaches’.
Jesse Horwitz is the co-founder of Hubble – the direct-to-consumer, subscription contact lens brand that delivers affordable lenses to customers on a monthly basis.
Hubble was founded to solve a real pain point for consumers – contact lens wearers were overspending and overusing their lenses, which leads to discomfort and infection. Through a direct-to-consumer subscription-based model, Hubble changed the way consumers purchase contact lenses by offering them quality, daily disposable lenses at an affordable price – a more convenient and healthier option than what was previously available in the market.
Horwitz and his Co-Founder, Ben Cogan, have built a business that’s raised over $74 million to date making it one of the fastest growing direct-to-consumer e-commerce startups in the US.
Prior to Hubble, Horwitz studied economics and finance at Columbia University before attending Harvard Law School. He then secured an internship with Bridgewater Associates where he met Cogan.
In 2013, Horwitz joined the investment team for Columbia University’s endowment and during this time there built a strong network across the investor community, including Two River, a life sciences merchant bank that later invested in and brought together the seed round for Hubble.
Hubble is continuing to expand globally and has launched in Canada, the UK and most recently, the Netherlands.
Jill Kaplan is President of New York/New Jersey for United Airlines. In this role, she holds the
top leadership position for United in the region, and leads United's brand within the New York
metropolitan area, home to the carrier's New York/New Jersey hub at Newark Liberty
International Airport (EWR). Kaplan works closely with all integral departments including
government and community affairs, marketing, sales and more, as well as with the local airport
authority, to ensure United continues on its path to becoming the best airline for its customers,
employees and everyone it serves.
Kaplan joined United from Crain’s New York Business where she served as vice president and
publisher. In this role, she set strategy, defined the vision and branding mission, oversaw
product development and managed all aspects of the brand including sales, editorial, marketing,
digital, events, audience development, custom solutions and hosted Crain’s New York Stories
television series. Prior to Crain’s, Kaplan held management positions with The Wall Street
Journal and The Economist.
Kaplan serves on several boards in the NYC region. A graduate of Clark University, Kaplan and
her husband live with their two teenage daughters on the Upper West Side.
Joe is the CEO and Co-Manager of American Landmark. An expert in value-added and distressed real estate repositioning, and multifamily acquisitions, operations and disposals, Joe has overseen four successful multifamily portfolio builds totaling 100,000 units, with a value in excess of $7 billion, over the last 15 years. He was the original founder of Landmark Apartment Trust, which sold its portfolio in 2015 for $1.9 billion.
Joe and his partners returned to the private sector in 2015 to begin a new portfolio build under the Electra America brand. As CEO of Electra America, Joe oversees all aspects of the company’s operations, from finance to property management. An honors graduate of Cornell University, Joe holds a Juris Doctor Degree from Delaware Law School. He is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations, including AIPAC, Hillel, and The Cornell University Tower Club.
John Hartmann has 20 years of corporate experience at the senior executive level, with 16 years spent in the hardware and home improvement sector. Hartmann joined True Value in 2013 and led the company through the creation and implementation of a strategic plan focused on critical reinvestments in the business to drive growth and profitability for True Value Company and the independent retailers it serves. Most recently, he led the company through a change in ownership to unlock over $200 million of shareholders’ equity and establish True Value as the only hardlines wholesale distributor with a globally recognized brand and no stock requirement.
Previously, Hartmann led New Zealand-based cooperative Mitre 10, where members saw profitable sales increases by over 25 percent during his four year tenure as Chief Executive Officer. Hartmann joined Mitre 10 from industrial distributor HD Supply, where he held a variety of roles before being appointed Chief Operating Officer of the electrical and plumbing divisions of the private equity-owned business. Prior to this, he spent several years in strategic planning and business development roles at The Home Depot.
Hartmann also previously served as vice president of corporate services for Cardinal Health after moving into the corporate world following a decade serving as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Hartmann holds a JD from Syracuse University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Rochester Institute of Technology. He also received a certificate in the Accelerated Leadership Program from Emory University, Goizueta Business School.
Hartmann currently serves on the board of directors and audit committee of AmeriGas [NYSE: APU] and is a National Trustee for Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
JuE Wong, Global CEO of Moroccanoil has a robust track record of propelling emerging brands to the mainstream while globalizing established brands in the USA and internationally, working with such brands as Cargill Inc., PepsiCo, Dial Corp., Murad Inc., NV Perricone MD Ltd., ZO Skin Health by Dr. Obagi, Astral Health and Beauty, and StriVectin. Most recently, Wong served as President at Elizabeth Arden.
Wong’s unconventional business background from Commodities Trading, where she led a $2.5 billion trading portfolio with trading reports spanning global time zones and working with diverse cultures, to working with a start-up right at the beginning of the economic collapse in 2008, are key contributing factors and testament to her success.
A proven global senior executive with experience and exposure in four continents and seven countries, Wong is considered as one of the ‘go-to’ progressive executives in driving intrinsic change to increase portfolio value through both traditional and emerging channels and mediums of commerce. Her latest success is captured in the Glossy Award for Best in Show and the most watched YouTube beauty video in May 2017, “From the desk of Liz Arden”. This video generated 90 million global views and $1.6 million in revenue with a $354,000 in total investment.
Originally from Singapore, JuE is an Honors graduate of The Australian National University where she was recognized with the International Alumnus Award of the Year in 2014. She was an exchange scholar at UCLA. In 2004, she was a Wall Street Journal nominee for the prestigious publication’s “Top 50 Women to Watch.” In 2015 she was The Stevie Award winner for Female Executive of the Year. In 2012 she was the Top 3 Finalists of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, an Honoree of WWAAC (Who's Who in the Asian American Communities), and recognised by The Little Pink Book as the Top 10 Women in Business.
JuE serves on the Boards of the NY Chapter of the YMCA and CEW. She is also a member of C200 and Women’s Forum of NY where membership is by invitation only.
Justin Rosenberg is the Founder and CEO of honeygrow, a wholesome-casual restaurant concept focused on vibrant, healthy, and dynamic foods through its stirfry and salad programs. Justin opened the first honeygrow in June 2012 and has since opened 12 locations, with four more opening by early 2017.
When creating the concept, Rosenberg sought to utilize technology as an agent to streamline the ordering process via its touchscreen platform. Since then, honeygrow continues to leverage useful tech to subtly enhance the concept in areas ranging from training, operations, development, branding, and accounting.
Rosenberg founded honeygrow after working at Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) as a Manager of Energy Services and as an Asset Manager where he oversaw a portfolio of approximately 25 regional shopping malls. Tired of sitting in a cubicle and with a passion to create a sustainable, long-term company modeled after some of his favorites (Starbucks, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Whole Foods), Justin combined his interests in plant-based eating with that of music, design, and business to create a business plan in hopes of raising capital for the first location. After 2.5 years of looking for investors and pitching 94 people, Rosenberg acquired the capital and subsequently opened the first store in 2012. Since then, honeygrow has raised over $25MM in equity financing to foster growth and technology driven projects.
Previous leadership roles include leading an acquisition team in purchasing multifamily apartments in Baltimore, MD and Denver, CO markets and successfully leading an Israeli-based tech firm in identifying its niche demographic and penetrating the North American market. While developing honeygrow, Justin spent his weekends working in the kitchen of a fine-dining restaurant located in the Washington DC area in an effort to gain a solid foundation to properly run his own restaurant (still then a pipedream!).
Justin resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife, two (2) daughters, and son.
Kate was promoted to Global President of MRM//McCann in December 2017. In her previous role as
Global Chief Operating Officer for MRM//McCann, Kate was responsible for spearheading all operations
strategy and policies, as well as overseeing daily operations across all of our departments and regions
globally. She also was a key leader on McCann Worldgroup’s global Chevrolet business. Kate’s success
comes from more than 20 years of marketing communications experience throughout a wide spectrum
of categories. She knows how to build strong brands and deliver award-winning work, and is uniquely
skilled at providing the vision necessary to ensure global efficiency, consistency and excellence.
MRM//McCann has been recognized with some of the industry’s highest accolades in the last two years,
including being designated two years in a row (2017 and 2018) as a “Leader” in Gartner Inc.’s
Magic Quadrant for Global Digital Marketing Agencies, as Ad Age’s B-to-B Agency of the Year in
2018, as the Top Large Agency of the Year at the Digital Analytics Association’s Quanties
Awards.
Kate began her career in 1992 in her native Canada working on the Procter & Gamble account at Grey
Canada. In 1994 she moved to Cossette Communications Marketing Toronto, where she developed
integrated communications solutions for accounts across diverse sectors such as retail, financial services
and telecom. It also led to her entry into automotive marketing. In 2004, she was promoted at Cossette
to VP, National Business Leader with responsibility for a range of accounts, including General Motors of
Canada Ltd, Shoppers Drug Mart, the Ontario Lottery Corporation and Petro-Canada.
In 2006, she joined MacLaren McCann in Toronto, rising in 2009 to become General Manager in charge
of the GM Canada business. In the spring of 2012, the Commonwealth//McCann agency was created to
handle the consolidated global Chevrolet account, with Kate joining the newly formed Detroit-based
unit as Director of Global Operations. In 2014, Kate was promoted to EVP, Executive Director of Global
Operations. She was named Global COO for MRM//McCann in 2016.
Kate’s drive and passion are always evident, she brings a unique level of commitment to everything she
does.
Keith Angell is a business leader who focuses on optimizing value for customers, employees
and stakeholders. Keith has been a C-Level executive in 6 successful VC/PE backed, high
growth tech companies (2 IPO, 4 Acq). Currently, as CEO of Velocity, Keith directs the leading
global cloud managed services company, specializing in moving complex enterprise IT/ERP+ to
the private, public & hybrid cloud. Keith is an experienced CEO, Board Director, Advisor, and
Consultant.
Prior to Velocity, Keith was President, Global Services at Virtustream, where he was responsible
for IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, & Managed Cloud Services as well as Cloud Professional Services.
Virtustream was acquired by EMC for $1.2B in 2015. Before Virtustream, Keith spent 9 years as
an executive in IBM's Global Cloud & Technology Services, including Vice President, Cloud
Managed Services, and Chief Revenue Officer at SoftLayer. Angell managed much of IBM’s
services portfolio and had key technology experiences in public and private cloud, mobility,
analytics, and networking. Keith held executive positions in US & Europe, including business
development, sales, & product offering activities in the managed services and cloud spaces.
Keith came to IBM through the acquisition of Corio, an applications services provider, where
Keith was SVP, Worldwide Sales.
Over the previous 14 years, Keith held CEO, COO, President, SVP of Operations & Sales roles
at 4 software/services technology & consulting firms. He started his career in the management
development program at Exxon Corp. Keith holds BS Engineering magna cum laude (Duke),
MS Engineering (Northeastern) & MBA Finance (LSU) degrees.
Kelly Roddy was named President of Schlotzsky's in December 2007,
and since then he has built a strong management team, introduced
new programs and launched a systemwide rebranding effort, all of
which have helped to accomplish over a decade of consecutive sales
growth. He joined the company from H-E-B ® , a century old retailer
with more than 315 locations throughout Texas and Mexico. While at
H-E-B, Kelly served as Director of Sales and Marketing and later
became Director of Retail Operations. Before his tenure at H-E-B, he
was Vice President and Executive Director of New Business
Development for Scholastic Corporation, the renowned national book
publisher, distributor and retailer. Prior to that, he spent eight years
with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in a variety of positions. In 2011, Kelly
received his Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation from the
Institute of Certified Franchise Executives and is also a member of the
International Franchise Association (IFA). Kelly currently serves as a
director on several boards, including Baylor's Marketing Board,
Hankamer School of Business Board and the Caritas Board, among
others.
Krish leads BlueJeans strategy and innovation, redefining the way organizations communicate, and brings more than 25 years of successful leadership and innovation to BlueJeans Network. Krish has been founder and CEO of several successful startup ventures, including Topspin, a datacenter virtualization player (acquired by Cisco in 2005) and Internet Junction (acquired by Cisco in 1995). Prior to BlueJeans, Krish was Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) at Accel Partners, where he explored HD video technologies including the current idea behind BlueJeans and the GM for the Server Virtualization business unit at Cisco Systems, responsible for architecting Cisco's datacenter and desktop virtualization solutions.
Lisa Ingram is President and CEO of White Castle System, Inc. Lisa is the fourth Ingram family member to serve as President of the iconic company – the nation’s first fast food chain founded in 1921. Lisa is also a member of the White Castle Board of
Directors.
Lisa’s career has been focused on creating value for her family business through strategic planning, revitalizing an iconic brand, balancing team member contributions while delivering on results, and injecting innovation into the daily culture.
In her role as President and CEO, Lisa oversees the entire company strategic and P&L execution. The company has 380 company owned restaurants in the Midwest and East Coast as well as a retail products division that sells White Castle burgers in grocery stores, club stores and convenience stores nationwide. In addition, the company has 5 manufacturing plants that supply all the meat and buns to the restaurant and retail divisions to ensure quality production and food safety.
Prior to joining White Castle in 2000, Lisa worked for a computer supplies wholesale
distributor doing purchasing, new product development and marketing management. Lisa also worked for US Senator John Glenn during a college internship and for Hewlett Packard on a European Channel strategy during her MBA internship.
Lisa is active in the Columbus community and currently serves as Chair of the United
Way of Central Ohio Board and serves on the OhioHealth Board as Chair of Quality of Care Committee. Lisa is also a board member/advisory board member of several smaller companies including Homage, Hot Chicken Takeover, Acre, and Common Cider Company. In addition, Lisa served on the board of the National Restaurant Association for 4 years and is currently a member of the Columbus Partnership.
Lisa received her BBA degree from Southern Methodist University and her MBA
from The Ohio State University. In 2004, Lisa was named by Business First for their
“40 under 40 award”. In 2014, Lisa received the Go Beyond Award from the Fisher
College of Business at the Ohio State University for her contributions to the community. In addition, Lisa was a member of the 2014 Smart50 class honored by
Smart Business Magazine where she also won the Innovation Award. In 2016, Lisa
received the CHART Commitment to People Award, and was honored by Columbus CEO magazine as the 2016 CEO of the Year for large for-profit companies.
In 2017, Lisa received the Honorary Eagle Scout Award and the Golden Chain Award.
Marc Jourlait was appointed CEO of Kodak Alaris in January 2017.
Prior to Kodak Alaris, Marc was Deputy CEO at Navico, the global leader in Marine Electronics, a Private Equity (Altor) owned portfolio company bought by Goldman Sachs in 2016. Before Navico, he was Vice President and General Manager of Bose Europe, where he ran the entire European operations, sales and marketing, retail and distribution across all of Europe for Bose. Previously Marc held senior general management, product and marketing positions over the course of his 3 decade career in some of the world's leading companies including Apple, HP, Seagate and Technicolor.
With triple citizenship (France, USA, Canada), he has lived and worked around the world, including France, the United States both in Silicon Valley and New York City, Japan and Canada.
Marc D. Lebovitz serves as President of Romark Logistics and has been
actively involved in all facets of the business as employee and owner
since 1991. Romark Logistics focuses on supply chain logistics solutions
for small to multi-national companies, primarily servicing the food &
beverage industry.
Romark owns and operates over 4 million square feet of warehousing with
locations in NJ, PA, TX, GA and CA. Romark, and its affiliated companies,
are national in scope with origins dating back to 1954.
As President, Marc oversees all strategic and daily facets of the Company
and it’s 400+employees. His efforts include a variety of responsibilities
from client development, real estate procurement and planning to
environmental initiatives, corporate acquisition and contract negotiations.
Marc currently serves as a Principal of Woodmont Industrial Partners. Woodmont Industrial Partners owns and manages a portfolio of industrial buildings to include warehousing, distribution and flex properties totaling over 2.5 million square feet. Woodmont Industrial Partner investments include select, high barrier to entry and globally oriented seaport and inland port markets in the Eastern United States.
Marc holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Wagner College where he currently serves on the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, Athletics Committee, Business & Finance Committee and Chair of Buildings & Grounds Committee.
He was also member of the 1987 Division III National Champion Wagner College Football Team.
In addition to his considerable community involvement, Marc is an active member of the NJ Chapter of YPO (Young Presidents Organization).
Marc and his wife, Amy, are the proud parents of four children: Zachary, Emily, Jeremy and Natalie residing in Bernardsville, NJ. Hobbies include golf, skiing, football, tennis and travel with his family.
Marianne Kirkegaard leads CSM's overall business performance and operations while also guiding the company's long-term strategic direction.
Marianne was named President and CEO in 2016. Since joining CSM in 2011, she has served in senior marketing, sales and commercial roles, including senior vice president, products and marketing, and senior vice president, markets and chief commercial officer.
In these senior leadership positions, she spearheaded the globalization and digitization of the company's sales and marketing capabilities and led the development of new category and channel strategies as well as the optimization of the company's product portfolio. She was instrumental in building CSM’s key relationships with customers and suppliers across all regions.
Prior to joining CSM, Marianne spent 20 years at Unilever, she held various sales, product and general management roles of increasing seniority, including general manager of Unilever Ice Cream in Central and Eastern Europe, and commercial director of Central and Eastern Europe.
Kirkegaard is a member of the board of directors of AAK, a Swedish-Danish company producing high value-added vegetable oils and fats, and of Dansk Supermarked Group, the market leader in retail in Denmark.
She holds an Executive M.B.A. from the Scandinavian International Management Institute and a Master's degree from the Aarhus School of Business.
Mr. Flinker is a co-founder and President of FLS. He has served in his position since the Company was founded in 1987. Together with Mr. Di Girolamo, Mr. Flinker manages the firm's day-to-day operations and is actively involved in commercial activities with key customers.
In addition to his responsibilities in the Company and as a member of the Board of Directors of PROCURE, Mr. Flinker sits on the board of the Jewish General Hospital, on the Board of Mount Sinai Hospital and has sat on the boards of Solomon Schechter Academy and the Israel Cancer Research Foundation. He has also been actively involved in the Federation of Combined Jewish Appeal.
Mr. Flinker graduated from Concordia University in 1977 with a B.Comm., majoring in accounting. Mr. Flinker currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his wife and four children.
Michael is a seasoned leader within the world of global management and innovation consulting, with years of experience designing and implementing solutions for early-stage, growth, and Fortune-size companies spanning a multitude of industry and solution domains.
Michael's passion is for seeing great ideas make it into rapidly scaling, commercially successful ventures.
Myles Peacock, the CEO of CreativeDrive, a leading global content creation and production studio network, is a recognized leader and innovator of industry processes, technology and cost management.
Myles heads CreativeDrive’s global executive team’s strategy, client service and performance offerings, continuously seeking to simplify the content creation cycle for the benefit of clients and brands.
Under Myles’s leadership, CreativeDrive has gained industry recognition as a new business model that is challenging the advertising agency status quo with content ideation, creation, and production that is best of class yet easy, agile and affordable. CreativeDrive ideates, produces and delivers high-quality content quickly, at a massive scale, in any language across any channel or trend.
CreativeDrive’s collective of artists has quickly grown to include over 1,000 talented photographers, filmmakers, motion graphic designers, app developers and many other makers, creators and doers. Located in 100 studios across the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia, the company is strategically based in economically and culturally smart cities that inspire a fresh, creative point of view for unmatched content in any format.
Myles joined CreativeDrive from eg+ Wordwide, Omnicom's global implementation and production agency, where he was President, Americas, Global Brand Leader and original Worldwide COO and Co-Founder. He has more than 20 years of marketing communications experience across Asia, Europe and North Amer
Najeeb Ghauri is the founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of NetSol Technologies, Inc. "NetSol", a U.S. corporation providing global business services and enterprise application solutions to private and public sector organizations worldwide. In the early years of the Company, Mr. Ghauri was responsible for restructuring the company's business model into that of an IT company and was instrumental in the completion of the NetSol Technologies IPO in 1998, at that time NetSol was the first IT Company with operations in Pakistan to be listed on NASDAQ. He also spearheaded the successful listing of NetSol (NTWK) on the NASDAQ Capital Market (formerly known as Mirage Holdings, Inc.) in December 1999.
NetSol grew from just five people to 1,800 employees worldwide. NetSol Pakistan Ltd., a subsidiary of NetSol Technologies, Inc. has over 1500 programmers and engineers in Lahore and Karachi offices. NetSol revenue grew $100K revenue in 1998 to $65MN in 2016 and tracking $100MN by 2017. NetSol has a global footprint with subsidiaries in Pakistan, US, UK, China, Thailand, Germany, Australia and Saudi Arabia. Today, NetSol has nearly 300 plus customers worldwide mostly fortune 500 companies.
Mr. Ghauri was also instrumental in listing NetSol’s Pakistani subsidiary on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). In addition, Mr. Ghauri helped establish the first U.S. company listed on both NASDAQ Capital Market (NASDAQ CM: NTWK) and (NASDAQ DUBAI: NTWK).
Mr. Ghauri represented NetSol as he presided over ringing of the bell ceremonies several times on the NASDAQ Exchange platform in New York City. He has been twice nominated in the United States for the Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year', once in 2001 and again in 2008.
Prior to launching NetSol in the U.S., Mr. Ghauri had over 15 years of combined marketing and management experience with Fortune 500 companies such as Unilever and Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO). He received his bachelor's degree from Forman Christian College, a B.S from Eastern Illinois University and earned an MBA in marketing from the Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California.
Mr. Ghauri is also active in various charitable and educational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide. He is a founding board member of the Pakistan Human Development Fund, which provides educational tools to children in underdeveloped areas of Pakistan. He is also a founding board member and is a former Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Pakistan Business Council in Washington, D.C., a U.S. Chamber of Commerce body and the leading private sector association in the United States promoting trade and investment between the United States and Pakistan.
Mr. Ghauri is a Pakistan born US citizen. He is based in NetSol Technologies Headquarters in Los Angeles, California and Lahore, Pakistan simultaneously.
Neale S. Godfrey is a financial voice for women and a pioneer for the topic of "kids and money." Neale is a 27-time author with a #1 New York Times Best Seller, Money Doesn't Grow On Trees: A Parent's Guide to Raising Financially Responsible Children. Additionally, she is a contributor to Kiplinger and enjoys regular discussions on her newly launched web platform. Join the conversation at www.NealeGodfrey.com
Starting her journey in the financial industry with The Chase Manhattan Bank in 1972, Neale joined as one of the first female executives, and later became President of The First Women's Bank and founder of The First Children's Bank. In 1989, Neale formed her own company, Children's Financial Network, Inc., whose mission is to educate children and their parents about money.
After founding her company, Neale became the first to develop money curricula for children and young adults, Pre-K through High School, entitled The One and Only Common Sense/Cents Series, as well as a CD-ROM called MoneyTown. She currently has three iOS video gaming apps, GreenStreets: Unleash The Loot! and GreenStreets: Shmootz Happens!, which both hit #1 in the Education Gaming Category; as well as her latest app, GreenStreets: Heifer International, a wonderful collaboration with Heifer International teaching kids and parents how to connect the virtual and real worlds.
Neale has served as a National Spokesperson for such companies as: Aetna, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Fidelity, while appearing as a financial expert on programs, such as; The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, and The Today Show as well as in the PBS special Your Money, Your Children, Your Life. Neale was also a former Nationally Syndicated Columnist for the Associated Press.
Neale has served on White House and Governor's Task Forces, as well as on the Board of Directors of The NY Board of Trade, UNICEF, University of Charleston, Morris County Chamber of Commerce, UN Women, and YPO. She also serves on NJ's State Employment and Training Commission Council on Gender Parity in Labor and Education as well as NJ's Science and Technology Workforce Subcommittee.
Neale helped found a YPO global entity called RISE, an international social and ecological movement and incorporated into WorldMerit (WM). WM connects Millennials in 160 countries to address global issues. She is also a faculty member of the Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) and VWise, Veteran Women Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship, operated by The Institute for Veterans and Military Families, The Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University. Neale has been honored with awards such as "Woman of the Year," "Banker of the Year," "Child Advocate of the Year," and the Femme Award from the United Nations. Neale was recognized as one of New Jersey's "50 Best Women in Business," was National Winner of w2wlink's Ascendancy Awards for Business Women, and has been awarded Garden State Woman of the Year fro 2011. She was the recipient of UNCF's Outstanding Community Service Award in 2012 and received the 2013 Women of Influence Award from the Commerce and Industry Association of New Jersey. Also in 2013, Neale was extremely honored to graduate from The National Security Seminar at the U.S. Army War College.
More recently, Neale earned the Muriel Siebert Lifetime Achievement Award for her trailblazing work on financial literacy, and achieved the National Honoree designation from WomenInBusiness.org. She currently serves on the Board of Advisors for DriveWealth, a registered broker/dealer with a low cost, mobile investing platform, and Greenlight, a permission-based spending card for children, giving parents the ability to "greenlight" transactions. She is also an Executive in Residence at the Columbia Graduate School of Business. Despite these achievements, what her kids really think is cool is that she was a question on Jeopardy! and an answer in The New York Times crossword puzzle.
Pam Wasserstein has been the chief executive officer of New York Media since May 2016, leading the premium content company on an ambitious expansion in several areas, including video, branded content, live events and e-commerce, while growing audience and revenue at core brands New York Magazine, nymag.com, Vulture, the Cut, Daily Intelligencer, Grub Street, Select All and the Strategist. Before becoming chief executive officer, Wasserstein served as co-chair and head of strategy.
Prior to joining New York Media, Wasserstein worked at Tribeca Enterprises, most recently as vice-president, corporate development, spearheading new business initiatives. Before that she worked at Apollo Global Management, the private equity firm, where she evaluated potential investments and managed existing portfolio companies. She also worked for several years as a corporate lawyer at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz LLP.
Patrick J. Brosnan is the founder and CEO of Brosnan Risk Consultants. Mr. Brosnan is a former NYPD detective with extensive field experience in the Robbery/Gun Squad and the Organized Crime Control Bureau.
Mr. Brosnan was selected as the New York State Police Officer of the Year for investigative skills that led to the arrests of over 900 violent criminals and the seizure of over 300 loaded handguns during his career and was heralded by the Governor as a “one-man war on crime in New York City.” He was injured in a line-of-duty shooting and retired from the NYPD as one of the most highly-decorated detectives in the history of the department.
Mr. Brosnan has honed his extensive government experience in fraud detection and prosecution into a unique investigative resource for the private sector. As the CEO of Brosnan Risk Consultants, he oversees all protective and investigative operations for Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, large law firms and high-net worth individuals.
He founded The Brosnan Group in 1996 and the firm transitioned into Brosnan Risk Consultants in 1999 as the client demand for risk mitigation services grew. As Chief Executive Officer of Brosnan Risk Consultants, he has provided a wide range of collaborative consulting, leadership, management and public safety network services to both the public and private sector in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has grown from a local detective agency into a full-service investigative, protective and intelligence firm with a global network of clients. As part of Pat’s vision of creating a truly unique risk mitigation company, he staffed the firm with not just law enforcement veterans but also with experienced investigators from diverse fields including legal, finance, banking and journalism.
Mr. Brosnan holds a Bachelors Degree in English and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. Pat joined Fox News in 2004 as an analyst specializing in criminal justice policy and practice, domestic intelligence gathering and the role of local law enforcement in counter-terrorism. His analyses have appeared across the various platforms of Fox News and their digital properties. He presently serves as a frequent guest analyst and subject matter expert on several other news programs including CNN, MSNBC and Inside Edition and has authored numerous articles in the national media on a wide range of public safety subjects.
Paul Lombardo is CEO of Ness Digital Engineering, whose customer experience designers, software engineers and data experts partner with clients to design and build digital platforms that help their organizations engage customers, differentiate their brands, and drive revenue growth.
Paul has more than thirty years of IT services and entrepreneurial experience across business management, delivery, and sales. He has a long and successful track record driving IT-enabled business transformation for clients, working for Tier 1 global companies such as Andersen Consulting, Logica and EDS/Mphasis, as well as early stage, venture-capital backed pursuits. He has also served on the client side, having been head of software development for a leading Insurance industry information company.
Paul has worked and lived across North America, Europe and Asia and considers Ness' truly multi-cultural environment to be one of its greatest strengths. Paul has been with Ness since 2009, growing the European business ten-fold prior to taking on the CEO role for the global business. As Chief Executive, Paul holds end-to-end strategic and operational responsibility for Ness Digital Engineering.
Peter co-founded SH Franchising with Tony Bonacuse in 2002 and is the current CEO for Senior Helpers. He has led the organization to become a national leader in non-medical in-home care for seniors. He also serves as the President of the Home Care Association of America’s board of directors. He has devoted his career to helping in-home care excel and to improve service at all levels.
Currently:
CEO and Co-Founder of Senior Helpers
President of the Home Care Association of America (HCAOA)
CEO Member of the Healthcare Leadership Council (HLC)
Prior:
CEO of Doctors Express Franchising
VP of Sales – Intuit
Division President and Chief Marketing Officer of Interpro Medical Solutions / Prolease
CEO and President of Professional Staff Management
Marketing Executive at Ernst & Young
VP of Marketing and Sales at ADP
SHELLY FIREMAN is well- known as an accomplished restaurateur with nine restaurants, seven in New York City and two in National Harbor, Maryland. What is less well-known is that Fireman has been a sculptor for many years .
A Native New Yorker; he studied briefly at the Sculpture Center and the Art Students League for his first formal training. Following that, Fireman began the process of self-education approaching sculpting with the same artistry and intense commitment he brings to his restaurants.
Fireman’s sculptures are bold, witty and liberated– often dealing with Fireman’s ironic sense of life and keen observation of the world around him.
For the past few years, Fireman has been honing his skills in sculpting, creating pieces in his home / studio in Camaiore, Italy, where he is surrounded by artist friends and acquaintances. Inspired by the natural beauty of his surroundings, he works closely with the local foundries to create his pieces of art.
Fireman’s first sculpture is on display in the National Harbor and is one of the most photographed pieces of art in Maryland. His newly created, playful, spirited site- specific sculptures can be seen in his new restaurant, Florian in New York City.
Fireman is also a collector with a large art collection which includes pieces from Andy Warhol, Francis Bacon, Julian Schnabel, Red Grooms, Leroy Neiman, Elizabeth Murray, Peter Max, Mark Kostabi, Jean-Michel Folon, etc.
Timothy G. Biltz currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Lumos Networks and Spirit Communications, a role he assumed in April 2018 when Lumos and Spirit were brought under the same ownership group. Mr. Biltz was named President and CEO of Lumos Networks in April 2012, and was named a director in May 2012. Previously, Mr. Biltz served as director for NTELOS Holdings Corp. from 2006 to May 1, 2014. He also served as a director for iPCS, Inc., a wireless service provider from 2004 to 2009 and served as Chairman of the iPCS Inc. Board starting in 2006. From 1999 to 2005, Mr. Biltz was the Chief Operating Officer of SpectraSite, Inc., a publicly-traded wireless and broadcast signal tower company. From 1989 to 1999 Mr. Biltz was employed by Vanguard Cellular Systems, Inc. in a number of posts of increasing responsibility ultimately serving as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.
Moderators
After 23 years of leading and building Peppercomm into one of the industry’s most trusted communications firms, that’s exactly what Ed did. In response to the transformative changes sweeping across the marketing and communications fields, Ed launched Hot Paper Lantern in 2018, a consultancy that fuses marketing and communications with business consulting and technology solutions to help brands thrive in a digital economy.
At HPL, Ed is responsible for overall agency leadership. He leads the firm’s business strategy and provides overall direction to operations, finances, new services development, client service, new business and overall agency strategy.
Throughout his career, Ed has been recognized as an industry leader; he was named to B2B Magazine’s Who’s Who list and was a finalist for EY’s prestigious Entrepreneur of the Year award.
He currently serves as a trustee for Drew University, and has played board and advisory roles with numerous organizations including the Council of PR Firms, YJP, the Montclair Art Museum, Little Kids Rock and MyGoodDeed.org.
Kirsten Bay is redefining what it means to be a fearless leader in the technology industry. She is an accomplished, bilingual executive, transforming the cyber security space. As President and CEO of Cyber adAPT, she leveraged more than 25 years of experience, leading her team with risk intelligence, information management, and policy expertise across a variety of sectors.
Throughout her career, Kirsten has been appointed to a congressional committee developing cyber policies, initiatives and recommendations for the intelligence community. She has developed recommendations in partnership with the Center for North American Studies (CNAS) and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) for The White House energy policy, and collaborated on information studies for MIT-Harvard and several federal agencies. She has gone before a parliamentary subcommittee on recreating trust in the global economy, presented national security and critical infrastructure concepts at conferences such as Black Hat, Secured Americas, Enterprise Architecture Institute, SC World Congress, and the Eurim Information Management Committee. She has also spoken on applied economics and its relationship to both cyber and national security around the world.
Kirsten is a self-proclaimed ‘serial student’. Her current membership of the Alliance of Chief Executives feeds her perpetual drive to learn and share insight with peers; an inspirational trait she models for her Cyber adAPT team.
In previous executive roles for ISC8, Attensity Group, and iSIGHT Partners, she has led companies through corporate restructuring, risk and corporate intelligence product launches, and company turnarounds, respectively.
With a BA in English and German from the University of Oregon, let’s just say she will correct your grammar in multiple languages.
Paul Witkay is the Founder & CEO of the Alliance of Chief Executives. Paul carefully designed the Alliance to
bring CEOs together to enable them to learn faster, make better decisions and move forward with more
confidence.
Paul’s diverse experience ranges from ownership of a highly successful executive search and consulting firm to
senior executive positions for a $7 billion international manufacturing organization. His personal experience in
strategic planning and business management with companies of all sizes has helped to create an incredibly
diverse organization.
Paul began his career in the process industries for Amoco Oil Corporation and Dow Chemical. In 1979, Paul
founded Witkay Associates. Witkay Associates provided professional support to key executives in their search
for a correct match between individual goals and business opportunities.
Subsequent to his development of Witkay Associates, Paul joined Air Liquide Corporation, the world’s leading
producer of industrial gases, where he served in a variety of executive positions. Among Paul’s numerous
responsibilities was the leadership of VitalAire Corporation in the United States. Under Paul’s leadership, the
VitalAire organization was recognized for achieving the highest standards of quality in the industry.
Paul’s undergraduate education was in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois. He later received his
MBA from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. In addition, he is a graduate of the INSEAD Executive
Management program in Fontainebleau, France.
Over the years, Paul’s community activities have included:
Board of Directors, Junior Achievement
Board of Directors, Bay Area Council
Board of Advisors, The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund; “Partners for Profit”
Board of Trustees, Jurika & Voyles Mutual Fund Group
Chairman, Private Industry Council for Contra Costa County
Adaptive Business Leaders Organization
Rich Cohen is President and General Counsel of Corporate Creations International Inc., the 3rd largest Registered Agent. Rich has more than 30 years of legal, business and consulting experience focused on providing the most efficient legal services to clients. Prior to joining Corporate Creations, Rich served as a Managing Director of Duff & Phelps and President of RenewData Corp. He has also held senior positions with The Garden City Group and LexisNexis, and he has served as General Counsel of Ohio Power and Columbus Southern Power.
Rich has been recognized as an AV Preeminent rated attorney every year since
1998. Rich serves on the Corporate Counsel Advisory Board of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel and as Editor in Chief of The Electricity Journal. He is a recipient of the Corporate Legal Times Distinguished Legal Service Award. He has served as President of Association of Corporate Counsel Central Ohio, on the Board of Advisors for Bryan University, and as Co-Chair of the Mass Tort Subcommittee of American Bankruptcy Institute and is currently President of B’nai Aviv Synagogue in Weston, Florida.
Rich is a member of Ohio State Bar and Authorized House Counsel in Florida. He graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo and from University of Akron School of Law. Rich and his family reside in Weston, Florida.
Union Square, New York
This event starts on January 16th at 4:30 PM.
Agenda
About
In today’s fast-paced and competitive world, the job of CEO can be daunting. Any CEO knows that running a company -- regardless of size and industry -- requires incredibly long hours under stressful conditions with ever-increasing pressure from all sides to succeed and grow. To address these challenges, YJP is convening business thought-leaders and experts for the CEO Innovation, Growth & Diversity Symposium.
The symposium will bring together CEOs from across the country and representing a variety of professional sectors to provide a leadership platform in order to cultivate the forging of new relationships and encourage discussion and debate on topics and challenges that are of universal concern to all CEOs.
This is more than just a typical leadership conference -- it is a dynamic event designed to foster a productive and innovative environment in which candid, in-depth conversations can take place. The intimate and confidential setting will provide participants the opportunity to ask industry leaders difficult questions, identify new avenues for collaboration, brainstorm on best practices and explore potential solutions to challenges.
In today’s ever-evolving business landscape, a company’s success is contingent on high levels of innovation and the establishment of strong relationships and networks. YJP’s CEO Innovation, Growth & Diversity Symposium will serve as a powerful catalyst to develop new strategies and ideas, solutions to challenges and fuel collaborations so that participants can return to the companies they lead better equipped to ensure success. The Young Jewish Presidents is an exclusive network dedicated to connecting the world's top Jewish business leaders with each other. Our forum opens its doors for CEOs to forge long-lasting, sincere relationships in upscale, comfortable, small group settings with top talent, and executive peers.
*In order to be considered a member, applicants must be a CEO, president or a recognized authority in their given industry*
Interested in speaking or sponsoring? Please contact Rebekah - rebekah@yjpnewyork.com.