Helen Aboah

CEO,Urban Zen

Helen Aboah is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Urban Zen, a design vision and philosophy company founded by fashion icon Donna Karan. Urban Zen defines the space where creativity, culture, and collaboration converge with retail, technology, wellness, and social impact. Helen’s cross-industry career spans fashion, health and wellness, and entertainment, with a deep foundation in the global luxury goods market across wholesale and retail (digital and physical channels).

In diverse environments — public corporations, founder-led organizations, and PE-backed companies — Helen has steered significant transformation and global expansion to position businesses for sustained success, financial health, and market leadership. She has worked side by side with iconic fashion designers to commercialize their creative vision through a sound strategic, capital-efficient operation, and winning culture, while serving as a driving force for digital innovation to differentiate the brand and accelerate growth.

Previously, Helen was a member of the executive team at the global luxury brand LVMH/Donna Karan International and Alexander Wang, where she led global merchandising and supply chain. As one of the first executives to embrace and adapt with new tech, Helen’s brands were able to maintain and excel in the marketplace, helping to future-proof the company’s position.

Helen was raised in Sonoma County, CA. She moved to NYC to study at Columbia University in NYC. Helen works with The New York City Mayor’s Office and Women. NYC on initiatives to support the city’s healthcare workers to helping women succeed, sits on the advisory board for The Lubin School of Business at Pace University, Board Director at Project Rousseau, and the Urban Zen Foundation. She lives in New York City with her husband and three daughters.

Niraj Shah

CEO & Founder, Wayfair

Niraj Shah co-founded Wayfair with Steve Conine in 2002 and the pair rapidly grew the business to become the largest online retailer of home furnishings, housewares and home improvement goods in the U.S., Wayfair generated $13.0 billion in net revenue for the twelve months ended September 30, 2020. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts with operations throughout North America and Europe, the company employs more than 16,700 people.

Before founding Wayfair, Niraj served as CEO and co-founder of Simplify Mobile, an enterprise software company which was sold in 2001. Prior to that, he served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Greylock Partners, COO and a member of the Board of iXL, and the CEO and co-founder of Spinners, which was sold to iXL in 1998.

Niraj has been included in Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40, and has won the Ernst and Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award. He also serves on the board of Massachusetts Competitive Partnership and the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.

Niraj holds a B.S. in engineering from Cornell University, and lives in Boston, Massachusetts with his wife and two children.

John Burns

CEO, TB12

John currently serves as CEO of TB12, Tom Brady’s health and wellness brand.

He has enjoyed a successful career in executive leadership and venture capital. His experience spans 25+ years, the majority of which has been in the consumer sector. With a strong passion for entrepreneurship, John has served as CEO or co-Founder of numerous businesses.

While his experience spans the consumer sector, John has a particular interest in health, wellness, sports and fitness. A sample of his brand experience includes TB12, Spartan Race, Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt, Grillo’s Pickles, Bowers & Wilkins, EverybodyFights, and Oath Pizza.

John received his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his M.B.A. from Babson college.

Larry Gulko

Brand Strategist and Executive Coach

Larry is a brand architect and strategist, executive coach, and growth advisor with a track record for positioning an eclectic range of brands to compete more effectively in today’s rapidly evolving and ever-changing business landscape.

He founded and moderates the annual CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable with the Harvard Business School Association of Boston, now celebrating its 12th year. This popular program has showcased over 50 CEOs of iconic and leading brands including Dunkin’ Brands, Keurig, Ritz- Carlton, NBC Sports, Harley-Davidson, PGA of America, Girl Scouts, Joseph Abboud, Zumba, Talbots, Newman’s Own, TaylorMade Golf, Life is good. The Fireside Chat event has featured Hall of Fame PGA Golfer and Entrepreneur Greg Norman, and Ed Bastian, CEO, Delta Air Lines.

Larry created BRAND: NEW DAY, the only one-day brand building and idea exchange retreat experience designed exclusively for an individual company’s senior leadership team looking to take a fresh look at their brand and determined to take it to the next level. This one-of-a-kind company focused program is based on a proven concept originally created in tandem with the Disney Institute. Under the BRAND: NEW DAY umbrella is Brand Dive, an immersive C-Level thought leadership roundtable emulating an open-enrollment idea exchange with peers.

He and Roger Berkowitz, CEO of Legal Sea Foods, host Name Brands, CBS Boston. This insightful and entertaining brand leadership podcast show features in-studio conversations with iconic brands and CEOs who share their insight to build best-selling brands, dominate categories, and drive brand performance and business growth.

For 20 years, Larry’s advertising and brand consultancy agency, Gulko & Company, launched over 25 brands for the Fortune 500, middle-market companies, entrepreneurial ventures, and non-profits.

A sought-after thought leader, he has delivered numerous keynotes, commencement addresses, is a MassChallenge business mentor and judge and has lectured at the Babson College Graduate School of Business and Executive Education Program.

Larry is an advisor to the C-level community and has served on boards and committees including Babson Advisory Council, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership, The American Marketing Association, Gifting Brands, The George Washington University, and Boston Children’s Hospital.

Samantha Howe

VP of Brand Marketing, Grove Collaborative

Samantha Howe is VP of Brand Marketing at Grove Collaborative, a certified B Corp that creates innovative natural products and offers a curated selection of healthy home essentials like cleaning supplies and personal care products.

Currently, Samantha is the VP of Brand Marketing where she has spent the last few years helping to build the company into a household name. In her role, she oversees all aspects of the Grove brand, including partnerships, experiential, community and social marketing. Samantha leads the company’s innovative influencer program, created Grove’s first-ever design collaboration with interior designer Jeremiah Brent, and is responsible for building the highly engaged social channels to grow Grove’s brand awareness and loyal customer following.

Prior to Grove, Samantha ran her own San Francisco-based consultancy creating digital marketing solutions for clients like Google, Acceleration Partners, Bacardi, Capital One & Hershey’s. She also spent over 7 years working in London at Mediacom and Sony Music where she created entertainment partnerships between some of the world’s biggest brands and artists.

A native of the United Kingdom, Samantha now lives in San Francisco with her husband, 3 kids and furry pup.

Blair Kellison

CEO, Traditional Medicinals

As the first non-founding CEO of Traditional Medicinals, Blair had some big shoes to fill when he took the reins from co-founder Drake Sadler in 2008.

A former CPA with Ernst & Young, Blair received his MBA from The University of Chicago in marketing and finance, and worked as a brand manager at Nestle Foods. Feeling called to apply his business talents to products he deeply believes in, he took a 70% pay cut and a huge risk in 1995 that would become the best decision of his career; leave his business development position for a mission driven, all natural food company called Fantastic Foods.

During his five-year tenure as CEO of Alternative Medicine, a multi-media publishing company, Blair transformed it into a high growth and profitable enterprise.

Blair has a history of strong leadership in companies whose mission is to bring health and wellness to our lives including co-founding Natural Snacks. Blair had been drinking Traditional Medicinal teas for many years, but it was not until a visit to the company that he realized the extent of our commitment to our employees, to our farmers and collectors around the world and to instituting sustainability and social responsibility into every aspect of its business—from field to manufacturing. Blair is excited to inherit nearly 40 years of commitment to product quality and consumer trust, and looks forward to continuing the company’s fulfillment of its mission: connecting people to the power of plants.

Annie Agle

Senior Director of Impact and Sustainability at Cotopaxi

Annie is a corporate responsibility, sustainability, and nonprofit professional passionate about economic and social equity. In her current role as Senior Director of Impact and Sustainability at Cotopaxi, Annie ensures that every aspect of Cotopaxi’s brand is leveraged to generate a positive benefit to society and the communities the company touches.

In this capacity, Annie helps oversee Cotopaxi’s supply chain and sourcing strategies to ensure that negative impacts are reduced and that sustainability is considered at every touch point.

Annie is the Director of Impact and Sustainability at Cotopaxi, and is responsible for helping to secure Cotopaxi’s Climate Neutral Certification, B Corp Certification, managing the Cotopaxi Foundation, which donates 1% of proceeds to sustainable humanitarian causes, and she’s keeping the brand on track for its pledge to be 100% Repurposed, Recycled or Responsible by 2022.

Andrei Cherny

CEO, Aspiration

As CEO, Andrei leads Aspiration, a financial partner that puts its customers, their conscience, and the planet first. Aspiration offers top-rated, sustainable, socially-conscious, fossil fuel-free banking and investing accounts. It trusts its customers to ‘Pay What Is Fair’ and gives ten percent of its profits to charity.

Andrei has partnered with Eden Reforestation Projects for a new initiative called ‘Plant for Change’ where Aspiration is committed to planting one tree for each round-up.

Andrei has been an advisor to Fortune 100 companies including some of America’s largest financial institutions, a senior fellow at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and at the Center for American Progress, a Navy reserve officer, author, a former White House aide, and a financial fraud prosecutor.

Sophie Bambuck

Chief Marketing Officer, Everlane

Sophie joined Everlane in February 2021 as the brand’s first CMO. Her first year is focused on accelerating Everlane’s mission to create change for good in the fashion industry and increasing the brand reach while keeping purpose and transparency at the forefront.

Sophie is passionate about shaping brand strategy, youth culture, and digital experiences.

Prior to Everlane, Sophie spent thirteen years at Nike in various roles, including CMO of Converse and Global VP of Brand Marketing for Nike Sportswear.

Drieke Leenknegt

Vice President, Global Marketing, Timberland

As Vice President of Global Marketing for Timberland, Drieke leads Timberland’s global brand marketing to elevate the brand’s creative vision, drive consumer engagement and experience, and fuel healthy, long-term growth.

As a member of Timberland’s Global Leadership Team, she plays a critical role in driving the brand’s efforts to be hyper-digital, retail-centric and consumer-minded across channels.

Drieke has a passion for people and community, progressive thinking in fashion and sustainability, and a deep understanding of the connectivity of cultures and her digital acumen engages consumers in meaningful and impactful ways.

Sarah Hemminger

Co-Founder and CEO, Thread

Sarah Hemminger is a social entrepreneur, scientist, and ice dancer who is the co-founder and CEO of Thread, an organization that works to harness the power of relationships to support exceptional young people who face significant opportunity and achievement gaps.

Equipped with the fundamental understanding that we all need interpersonal bonds, Sarah believes that building relationships across lines of difference in a way that makes each person feel seen, known and loved can end social isolation and weave a more equitable social fabric that improves the educational, economic and health outcomes for everyone involved.

Sarah has almost two decades of experience in the development, expansion, and replication of an innovative, paradigm-shifting model that has led to exemplary outcomes for young people and a deeply knitted and diverse community of thousands of Baltimoreans.

Sarah was awarded fellowships from Ashoka, Echoing Green, Open Society Institute, and the Albert Schweitzer Fellows Program. Her work with Thread has been covered by the New York Times, Forbes, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy and she has been a featured speaker at the Aspen Ideas Festival, the White House, the Smithsonian Symposium on American Philanthropy, TEDx Washington Square, TEDx Baltimore and Emerson Collective Demo Day.

Sarah received her undergraduate degree in 2002 and Ph.D. in 2010, both in biomedical engineering from the Johns Hopkins University. Her work focused on the role of the cerebellum and the primary motor cortex on the time scales of consolidation of motor memory and was published in the Journal of Neuroscience, Journal of Neurophysiology, and Cerebral Cortex. She received the prestigious Siebel Scholars Award for outstanding work in the field of technology and engineering.

Sarah is currently an adjunct assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University and serves as the Board Chair of Thrive, a for-profit technology company.

Joshua Lachs

CEO, Moneythink

As a former 1st-generation college student, Josh proudly serves as CEO at Moneythink, a national
education technology organization focused on providing college affordability solutions and building
long term financial wellness habits for traditionally underrepresented students. He has extensive
experience in the college and career readiness and workforce development spaces – all centered on
growing pathways to social capital and economic mobility for traditionally underserved communities.

Prior to Moneythink, Josh served as Chief Business Development Officer for Net Impact. There, he led
revenue generation and client program strategies, partnering with socially sustainable brands including
Toyota, Starbucks, Campbell’s Soup, MGM Resorts, Clif Bar, Proctor & Gamble, Nike, and Symantec.
Between 2014-2016, Josh served as the national CEO for Breakthrough Collaborative, an award-winning
national college access organization and the country’s largest pre-residency program for educators.
Under Josh’s leadership, Breakthrough increased its service reach by 60%, developed partnerships with
over 165 colleges and organizations, and helped grow the total Collaborative budget to $18M. Before
joining Breakthrough, he served as Chief Officer of Workforce Development for Goodwill Industries of
San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin counties, a nationally reputed $42M job training enterprise. During
his tenure, Josh led a robust portfolio of public and privately funded job training academies, job-readiness
programs, industry pipelines, and college partnerships that supported 8,000+ opportunity youth and
formerly incarcerated individuals, each year.

In a prior life, Josh enjoyed a 16-year career as a university dean leading continuing and extended
education divisions within multi-campus institutions. One of his proudest accomplishments was creating
the Institute of Entrepreneurial Leadership (IEL) at JFKU, a cross-sector accelerator that fostered regional
economic development and entrepreneurship in Contra Costa County, starting in 2008. In the decade it
existed, IEL helped launch more than 400 new businesses – collectively creating more than 2,000 new
jobs and producing more than $1B in gross revenues for California’s Contra Costa County.

Josh is an active member in his community serving on several Bay Area nonprofit boards, including as
Board Chair for zSharp Music, as Chair of the Governance Committee at the Center for Youth
Development through Law (CYDL), and as Co-Chair of IEL’s Board of Leaders. He also provides
executive coaching to aspiring nonprofit EDs, and has consulted for social benefit organizations in the
areas of strategic planning, talent recruitment and retention, external relations, organizational
sustainability and impact. He has appeared in several publications and has been a featured public
speaker. Josh holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and two masters degrees from Columbia University. He
and his family reside in the Bay Area, California.

Eric Dawson

CEO, Peace First

Eric Dawson is the CEO of Peace First, an organization he helped launch at 18 which now works in over 130 countries preparing young people to lead positive social action through compassion and courage. Through a digital platform, Peace First provides design tools, money and mentorship for youth to imagine and implement impactful social innovations.

A globally recognized expert on youth culture and movement-building, Mr. Dawson received his degrees from Harvard University: a specialized B.A. in economics, sociology, philosophy, anthropology, and political science; M.Ed in human development psychology; and M.Div. in pastoral care and counseling. He is an Ashoka, Echoing Green, and Pop!Tech Fellow.

Besides the odd jobs of bartending, electron microscopy, TV commercials, and serving as the driver for the author of Curious George, Eric got his professional start directing a summer camp in Boston’s public housing complexes. His book for young readers, Putting Peace First: Seven Commitments to Change the World was recently published by Viking.

Annmarie Quezada

Head of School, Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center

Annmarie Quezada joined Mother Caroline Academy and Education Center as Head of School in July 2018 as the 5th individual to lead the school in its 29 year history.

With more than 30 years in the education field, Annmarie is an exceptional school leader who brings integrity, vision and mission-driven values to the Head of School role, ensuring that MCA continues to thrive for years to come.

Mrs. Quezada taught for many years before joining St. John’s Preparatory School, where she served for 12 years from 2002 – 2014 as the AP Spanish and Literature Instructor and eventually as Chair of the World Languages Department before moving into administration, serving as principal and as Interim Head at Esperanza Academy in Lawrence.

She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and Italian from Boston College and a Masters of Art in Teaching from Salem State University.

Ann M. Fudge

Former Chairman and CEO, Young & Rubicam Brands

Ann Fudge is Former Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, a global network of pre-eminent companies across the full range of marketing communications. Young & Rubicam Brands companies include Y&R (advertising), Burson-Marsteller (public relations/public affairs), Wunderman amd VML (direct and database marketing), Landor Associates (brand consulting and creative design), and Sudler & Hennessey (strategic healthcare communications) among others.

Prior to Young & Rubicam Brands, Ms. Fudge served as President, Beverages, Desserts and Post Division – a $5 billion unit of Kraft Foods. She served on Kraft’s Management Committee and has managed many businesses including Maxwell House Coffee, Gevalia Kaffe, Post cereals, and Jell-O desserts. Before joining General Foods, she spent nine years at General Mills, where she began as a Marketing Assistant and rose to the level of Marketing Director.

She is on the Board of Directors of Northrop Grumman and Novartis. She serves as Chair of the Board of GBH Public Media. Ms. Fudge is a trustee of the Brookings Institution and served on the Boards of the Rockefeller Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Finance Committee of the Harvard University Corporation, and Chair of the U.S. Program Advisory Panel for the Gates Foundation. She has served as Vice Chair of the Harvard Board of Overseers, on the Board of Catalyst, the NY Philharmonic and the Board of Governors for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. She has also served on the Board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Liz Claiborne, Allied Signal, Honeywell, Marriott International, Infosys and General Electric.

In February, 2010 President Obama appointed Ms. Fudge to serve on the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform which issued its report in December, 2010. She also served on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board of the U.S. State Department.

Ms. Fudge was named one of Time Magazine’s Global Business Influentials. In 2019 she was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Among her other honors are the Alumni Achievement Award from Harvard Business School, a Lifetime Achievement Award from Ebony magazine, and a Legacy Award in Business from Black Enterprise magazine. She has been named by Fortune magazine as one of the 50 most powerful women in American business.

Ms. Fudge received her BA from Simmons College and her MBA from Harvard University Graduate School of Business.

Mick Ebeling

Founder & CEO, Not Impossible

Recently named by Fortune Magazine as one of the Top 50 World’s Greatest Leaders , a recipient of the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award and listed as one of the world’s most influential creative people by The Creativity 50’s, Mick Ebeling has sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation. As a career producer and filmmaker and now founder and CEO of Not Impossible, Ebeling harvests the power of technology and story to change the world.

Ebeling founded Not Impossible, a multiple award-winning social innovation lab and production company, on the premise that nothing is impossible. His mantra of “commit, then figure it out” allows him to convene a disparate team of hackers, doers, makers and thinkers to create devices that better the world by bringing accessibility for all. Working with a wide array of Fortune 500 companies, Ebeling not only pushes the bar on innovation, he also shares the emotionally resonating story of doing so.

Ebeling’s book, Not Impossible: The Art and Joy of Doing What Couldn’t Be Done, recounts the life experiences that led to the founding of Not Impossible. Published in a multitude of languages, the book was hailed as “a unique and inspiring tale of brave abandon” by Nicholas
Negroponte.

Named one of Wired’s ‘Agents of Change’, a two-time SXSW innovation of the year award winner, a two-time Tribeca Disruptor innovation winner, a fellow with The Nantucket Project, and recipient of every major creative and advertising award, Ebeling is on a mission to provide “Technology for the Sake of Humanity.”

Kathrine Kirk Muff

Vice President, Head of Social Responsibility, at the Lego Group

Kathrine Kirk Muff is the Head of Social Responsibility at the LEGO Group where she leads the Group’s effort to create social impact through Learning through Play. She is responsible for all aspects of the company’s learning through play engagement, employee engagement, local community programs, children’s rights, digital child safety and well-being and responsible sourcing.

For the past 12 years, she has held various leadership positions at the LEGO Group and KIRKBI A/S across corporate affairs such as Legal, HR and Corporate Social Responsibility. She is also a board member of the Danish Red Cross and Danish Hospital Clowns, an organisation that works to strengthen hospitalised children’s resilience and zest for life.

Kathrine holds a Masters degree in Business Administration & Management from IMD Business School and a Masters of Law from Aarhus University. In addition to this, she has also earned an Executive Education in Sustainability Leadership from Harvard University.

Doug Palladini

Global Band President, Vans

A veteran of the action sports industry with more than 25 years of leadership across marketing, sales and product, Doug Palladini was appointed to lead Vans as its Global Brand President in July 2016. In his role, Palladini oversees the strategic direction of Vans’ more than $4 billion global business, while enabling the regional teams to develop and deliver local strategies to drive continued worldwide growth.

A long-time leader within the Vans brand, Palladini has held various roles within the company. From 2004 through 2014, he served as Vans’ global marketing leader. Palladini played an integral role in Vans’ transformation into a global icon of creative expression in youth culture, becoming the largest action sports footwear and apparel brand on the planet, available in more than 84 countries.

In May 2013, Palladini was appointed as the Vice President General Manager of North America for Vans. There, Palladini was responsible for building Vans’ US, Mexico and Canada strategy leading wholesale sales, owned retail, product merchandising, and marketing for the brand’s largest region, representing more than $1.4 billion in annual business.

Palladini’s long history and deep connection in Vans’ brand pillars of music, art, street culture and action sports have led to an industry-leading marketing program at Vans. A sampling of this success includes the development and launch of House of Vans, Vans’ global hub for creative expression with permanent locations and pop-up locations around the world, Vans’ social media community, which engenders more engagement through its fans that any other brand in the sector, and the creation of Vans’ digital video platforms that provide original web series content to a global audience of millions of viewers.

Palladini has also led production of hundreds of hours of award-winning television for Fox and its networks, as well as feature films such as Pipeline Masters. He is also the executive producer of the Vans Warped Tour documentary, No Room for Rock Stars and the newly released, Los Punks: We Are All We Have. Palladini is the author of the Vans tell-all coffee table book, “Off the Wall: Stories of Sole from Vans Originals,” and wrote two new chapters to commemorate Vans’ 50th Anniversary in 2016.

Palladini, a resident of Orange County, California, enjoys traveling the world with his wife Hallie, son Max and daughter Devon.

Jan Singer

Former CEO, J.Crew

Jan Singer has built a career advocating for consumers and empowering teams to deliver results as the CEO of Global Consumer/Retail enterprises, spanning Lingerie, Beauty, Sport and Fashion. As a leader she believes in finding the highest potential and delivering the strongest results for each team, business and brand.

Jan Singer was most recently the Chief Executive Officer of J.Crew where she led the teams through transformational work including, financial restructuring, value creation planning, acceleration of ecommerce, evolving brand positioning and adding meaningful purpose. These workstreams kept J.Crew financially viable through an unprecedented time of crisis and set up the business for future growth.

Prior, Jan was Chief Executive Officer for Victoria’s Secret Lingerie, the world’s most recognized intimate apparel company. As CEO, Jan was responsible for the more than $4 billion lingerie business, which included Victoria Sport. Jan built back key core categories and dramatically accelerated performance by adding 300M through a sleep/lounge category – a move that capitalized on her ability to anticipate consumer trends and drive growth. Jan joined Victoria’s Secret in 2016 from her previous role as Chief Executive Officer of Spanx, Inc., a lingerie/lifestyle brand offering hosiery, intimate apparel and swim where she added innovation and active to accessed new consumers.

Prior to being a CEO, Jan spent a decade at Nike, Inc., where she was Corporate Vice President of Global Apparel and Corporate Vice President of Global Footwear. While at Nike, Jan managed multi-billion dollar product engines, spanning product design, merchandising, sourcing/manufacturing and innovation. Under her leadership the team delivered industry-defining products and growth with programs like FlyKnit, Lunar, Waterless Dying, and uniforms for the NFL, World Cup and the Olympics covering men, women and kids globally.

Prior to Nike, Jan served as the Vice President/General Manager of Women’s at Reebok and held executive roles in luxury beauty for Prada, Calvin Klein and CHANEL. Jan also served as the Beauty and Fitness Editorial Director for YM Magazine and was a freelance beauty and fitness writer.

Jan served as a Board Director for Kate Spade & Company from 2015 to 2017. In 2018, she was named a National Outstanding Mother honoree, an award honoring her contributions and influence as a mother, businesswoman, philanthropist, and mentor. Jan was also the 2018 recipient of the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Achievement award, recognizing her significant accomplishments in business, leadership, and service.

She is an active supporter of the Central Ohio community through her involvement with United Way, and The James Cancer Hospital. Jan grew up in Brockton, Massachusetts, and is a graduate of Ithaca College. She enjoys running, snowboarding, and time with family. She and her husband, David, live in Columbus, Ohio, with their twins, Sophie and Maxwell.

Douglas Prothero

CEO, Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection

Douglas Prothero is the Founding Partner and Chief Executive Officer at The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection.

Mr. Prothero was educated in Maritime Studies and has been a ship master since 1989. He has over 35 years of professional experience in the marine industry, including running all facets of maritime businesses involving both commercial vessels and private yachts.

An experienced entrepreneur, Mr. Prothero has founded numerous enterprises with lead responsibility for product development, ship design, construction and marine operations. Mr. Prothero established an extensive professional network through his work advising financing sources and ship owners while Partner at a boutique investment bank. Until recently he served as Chairman of the Nobel nominated organization Sail Training International and their for-profit trading companies. The position involved significant industry relations with the International Maritime Organization, Nautical Institute, the International Chamber of Shipping and ports worldwide.

Genevieve Martin

Executive Director, Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation

As the Executive Director of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, Genevieve drives creation and growth of national efforts to expand employment opportunities for people with criminal backgrounds.

On a given day you’ll find her sharing expertise with a group of hiring professionals, meeting with government agencies to advocate for hiring people with criminal backgrounds or collaborating with Second Chance Employers around the country to recruit more businesses into the fold.

In addition to producing multiple Second Chance Summits around the country, she’s participated in the Center for American Progress and Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives task forces, is a member of the Council on Criminal Justice, presented at the Inc 5000, SXSW, Sustainable Brands, International Corrections & Prisons Association, partnered with the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) to launch the Getting Talent Back to Work Toolkit, and joined hundreds of other companies across America on the Fair Chance Business Pledge and at the White House in 2016 and 2019.

Donna Gambrell

CEO, Appalachian Community Capital

As President & CEO of Appalachian Community Capital (ACC), Donna Gambrell is responsible for attracting and directing investments to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) and mission-driven lenders that are ACC members. These members, in turn, make loans to small business owners, including minority- and women-owned businesses, in underserved communities in Appalachia.

Prior to her current position, Ms. Gambrell served as the Director of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. She is the longest serving and first African American woman to be appointed to this position.

During her tenure from 2007 to 2013, the CDFI Fund experienced significant growth, more than doubling funding under its flagship program, thus enabling the CDFI industry to provide affordable capital, credit, and financial services to low-income communities across the country. Under Ms. Gambrell’s leadership, the CDFI Fund also designed and administered several new initiatives targeted to underserved markets, including the Capital Magnet Fund, the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, and the CDFI Bond Guarantee Program.

Ms. Gambrell also served in several executive positions at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), including Deputy Director for Compliance and Consumer Protection, where she was responsible for overseeing the FDIC’s national compliance bank examinations, as well as the agency’s community affairs, consumer affairs, and deposit insurance programs. She retired from federal government service in December 2013.

In addition to her current duties, Ms. Gambrell is a non-resident visiting scholar at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. She also serves as a board member for the following organizations: Southern Bancorp, Inc., in Little Rock, Arkansas, which is one of the nation’s largest CDFIs; AEO, a national membership organization and voice of microbusiness development in the United States; Low Income Investment Fund, a leading national CDFI that connects low-income communities with the capital markets; Opportunity Finance Network, which shapes policy, conducts research, and creates partnerships and programs that assist their members in investing in economically distressed communities; and Raza Development Fund, the largest Latino CDFI in the country.

Ms. Gambrell received a B.S. Degree from Towson University in Baltimore, Maryland, and an M.S. Degree from New York University.

Ivy Jack

Head of Equity Research, Northstar Asset Management

Ivy Jack is head of equity research for NorthStar Asset Management, Inc., a Boston-based progressive wealth management firm that specializes in socially responsible investing through shareholder engagement, outside investing, and selecting publicly traded securities via negative and positive screens.

Earlier in her career, Ivy worked on Wall Street where she was a vice president in the equity research department at Barclays Capital (formerly Lehman Brothers) and covered the food and drug retail industry. She was awarded honorable mention in the Institutional Investor Survey, and worked on a team that was consistently ranked #1 for its research coverage.

Ivy currently sits on the Board of Governors for the Harvard Business School Club of Boston and the Harvard Business School African American Alumni Association. She is a member of the finance committee of YW Boston and serves on the Board of Directors for Brookview House, Inc.

Ivy graduated summa cum laude from Spelman College with a B.A. in Economics and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa academic honor society. She received an M.B.A from Harvard Business School where she was a Robert F. Toigo Fellow, and an M.P.A. from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where she was a Fellow for the Institute for International Public Policy. She enjoys reading and has traveled extensively, having lived and studied on three different continents. She is a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Omar Blayton

CFO, Sunwealth

Omar Blayton is CFO of Sunwealth, a clean energy investment firm helping investors put their money to work in community-based solar projects that deliver renewable energy, savings and green jobs to underserved markets.

Prior to joining Sunwealth, he served as Managing Director of Project Finance at Innova Energy Partners and Vice President of Structured Finance at Greenskies Renewable Energy. Earlier in his career, Omar was a Vice President with Reznick Capital Markets Securities and an associate in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Leveraged Finance Group. Before entering finance, Omar was an attorney with Reed Smith LLP in its Investment Management group.

Omar is on the Board and serves as Treasurer of the Solar Business Association of New England (SEBANE), whose membership includes the best small- and medium-sized solar installers in the Northeast. He also serves on the Finance Committee for the Friends of the Public Garden. Omar holds a JD from Columbia Law School, an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, and a BA from Cornell University.

Stacey Boyd

Founder and CEO, Olivela

Educator and entrepreneur Stacey Boyd founded Olivela, a luxury retailer with doing good built into every transaction, in 2017. The idea came to her after a trip with Malala Yousafzai to the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya, where she met girls who were risking their lives for the opportunity to get an education.

Upon her return, Stacey met with many of the world’s finest luxury brands and explored the creation of a site harnessing their artistry and craftsmanship and our collective purchasing power to support girls’ education internationally. Over 200 luxury brands are now a part of Olivela. Twenty percent of every purchase made on the site goes toward making sure girls who might otherwise be denied schooling have access to this life-changing opportunity.

Boyd earned her MBA and Masters in Public Policy from Harvard. Boyd has launched a number of successful ventures including the Academy of Pacific Rim, Project Achieve and Schoola, an online retailer that sells gently- worn clothing to support schools in need. She serves on the National Council on Teacher Quality, advises PBS on educational programming and was named one of World Economic Forum’s 100 Global Leaders of Tomorrow. Boyd’s work has been featured by CNN, PBS, The TODAY Show, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Wired, USA TODAY, The Washington Post and numerous other publications.

Geryn Evans

CEO and Founder, Project Blu

Geryn is the CEO and Founder of Project Blu, a revolutionary pet brand that is driving positive change within the pet industry.

Project Blu converts a range of polluting materials into top-quality pet accessories including pet beds, collars, leashes and harnesses. The raw materials include ocean-bound plastic, discarded fishing nets, recycled leather and textiles.

Most recently the team has developed the first range of ‘eco-leather’ pet products that are made by converting discarded apple skins into a super strong and resilient material. The leather industry is one of the most harmful industries on our plant and Project Blu is on a mission to deliver positive change for pets, people and the planet.

Since officially launching in May 2019, Project Blu has sold over 80,000 products across the globe. Their work has converted over 6 million plastic bottles into sustainable designs.

The company was recently named the ‘Best Start-up in Wales’ 2020 and has received the backing from Mars inc as part of the LEAP Ventures Studio.

After COVID related delays Project Blu will be launching in the US in January 2021 alongside our strategic partners Metamorphosis.

Dan Letchinger

Senior Vice President, Dave’s Killer Bread

A marketing leader with over a decade of experience in the organic and natural food space, Dan started at Dave’s Killer Bread in 2009 as a bread slicer, two years after the brand debuted at the Portland Farmers Market.

Dan worked closely with the founding family to grow the business with killer products and a powerful purpose: employing people with criminal backgrounds who are ready to turn their lives around for the better.

Since Dave’s Killer Bread was acquired by Flowers Foods (NYSE: FLO) in 2015, Dan has worked in various positions of marketing leadership while the brand has grown to be recognized as the #1 organic bread in the United States and one of the fastest growing brands in the entire category.

Today Dan is senior vice president of Flowers Foods’ growth brands, including Dave’s Killer Bread and Canyon Bakehouse Gluten Free. He is a board member of the Dave’s Killer Bread Foundation, which inspires other businesses to be Second Chance Employers.

A graduate of Grinnell College, Dan received an executive certificate in project management from UC Berkeley in 2014. He lives with his family in Portland, Oregon.

Ajay Relan

Co-Creator of #HashtagLunchbag

Ajay Relan – Los Angeles raised Entrepreneur, Investor – Co-creator of #HashtagLunchbag, a grassroots, social-media based movement that brings diverse groups of people together and leverages the power of community to address food insecurity and bring awareness to homelessess in independently organized party driven atmospheres in over 150 cities around the world to date.

Founding General Partner of Queensbridge Venture Partners and currently buliding Slauson & Co, a South Los Angeles based venture firm focused on deploying capital in early stage entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds.

Serial entrepreneur with branding, marketing, and entertainment background. Most recently co-founded Hilltop Coffee + Kitchen, a mission driven retail coffee concept that empowers local entrepreneurs and creators in South Los Angeles.

#HastagLunchbag

hashtaglunchbag.org

#HashtagLunchbag, a grassroots, social-media based movement that brings diverse groups of people together and leverages the power of community to address food insecurity and bring awareness to homelessess in independently organized party driven atmospheres in over 150 cities around the world to date.

Aidan Reilly

Co-Founder, FarmLink

Aidan Reilly is a rising senior at Brown University studying Political Science with a concentration in comparative politics. Born in Los Angeles, California, Aidan’s primary interests have largely centered around documentary filmmaking. As reflected in his past work covering the 2018 Nicaraguan Civil Crisis and the ongoing Syrian Refugee Crisis, Aidan has a passion for finding ways the everyday person can resonate with seemingly vast and unsolvable problems.

This interest manifested at the onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic with his co-creation of the FarmLink Project, an initiative aiming to motivate everyday Americans to fight both food waste and food insecurity in the United States.

Since its beginnings in April of 2020, Farmlink has grown from a small network of college students to a nationwide movement to fix the broken food system in the United States. In the last 6 months, the project has utilized the help of 200 full-time volunteers (average age: 21) to save 13 million lbs of produce from going to waste, and instead get it to communities in need across 40 states.

In addition, the project has been able to pay nearly 1 million dollars in wages to farm workers. The ultimate goal of Farmlink is to democratize access to fresh produce to underserved communities for years to come.

FarmLink

farmlinkproject.org

The FarmLink Project is an initiative aiming to motivate everyday Americans to fight both food waste and food insecurity in the United States.

The Food Project

thefoodproject.org

The Food Project’s mission is to create a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system.

Our community produces healthy food for residents of the city and suburbs, provides youth leadership opportunities, and inspires and supports others to create change in their own communities.

Anne Hayes

Executive Director, The Food Project

Anne joined The Food Project as its Executive Director in February 2019. Her engagement with The Food Project goes back to 2009-2011, when she participated in two pro bono consulting projects for The Food Project through HBS Community Action Partners. Anne later joined the HBS-CAP board and her daughter ,Cassi, joined The Food Project. Cassi is an alumna of the youth programs and a former Crew Leader, who worked with The Food Project from 2011 to 2015.

Prior to joining The Food Project, Anne was the Chief Operating Officer at Trinity Boston Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to unlock opportunity and change the odds for youth of color in Boston. Over the course of her four years there, Anne supervised all aspects of the organization from youth development programs to organizational consulting, from finance and operations to development and communications. In addition, she led the process to develop the 2016-2020 strategic plan and was the Interim Executive Director in the summer of 2018.

Anne received her BA from Dartmouth College and her MBA from Harvard Business School. She worked in strategy consulting and brand management before shifting her focus to nonprofits.

In her spare time, Anne loves to garden and cook with veggies from her CSA share.

Thomas Tierney

Chairman and Co-founder, The Bridgespan Group

Tom Tierney’s personal mission is to serve exceptional individuals and organizations to help them achieve breakthrough social impact. His professional experience spans a wide range: CEO, social entrepreneur, author, teacher, philanthropic advisor, and consultant. Over the past few decades, Tom’s work has generally focused in the areas of philanthropy and leadership, with a naturally strategic and intensely pragmatic orientation. He remains a creative, curious and avid learner.

Tom joined Bain & Company in 1980, and became partner three years later. From 1987 to 1992, he served as the Managing Director of Bain’s San Francisco office. In 1992, as the firm completed a management buyout, Tom became Bain’s president, reporting directly to acting CEO Mitt Romney. In 1993, Tom assumed full leadership responsibilities as Bain’s first Worldwide Managing Director. Under his leadership, Bain grew its revenues six-fold, while significantly expanding its global operations.

In 2000, Tom left his position as Bain’s CEO to co-found The Bridgespan Group, an independent nonprofit focused on helping philanthropists and nonprofit leaders achieve breakthrough results—while simultaneously generating practical knowledge shared freely across the social sector. In addition to nurturing Bridgespan’s growth and innovation, Tom concentrates on building platforms that will further enhance the flow and effectiveness of philanthropic funding. He also privately advises a select number of extraordinary philanthropists and nonprofit leaders.

Tom has co-authored two books, Aligning the Stars, published in April 2002 by Harvard Business School Press and Give Smart: Philanthropy That Gets Results, published in March 2011 by Public Affairs. He has written numerous articles, delivered countless speeches and been privileged to lecture at many fine universities, including Harvard and Stanford. Tom led the production of Conversations with Remarkable Givers, an unprecedented collection of insightful videos, drawn from dozens of interviews with philanthropists and foundation leaders.

Thomas Tierney was born in San Francisco, California. He received his BA in Economics with highest distinction from the University of California at Davis, where he worked his way through school. Upon graduation, he worked as bus driver, before landing a job as a field engineer for Bechtel in North Africa. He subsequently earned an MBA with distinction from the Harvard Business School. Tom was the fifth person to hold the class of 1951 Chair for the Study of Leadership at West Point; honorably following Jim Collins and coach “K” (Krzyzewski) in service of this outstanding institution. In 2016, he was the recipient of Harvard Business School’s esteemed Alumni Achievement Award.

Tom currently serves as Chair of eBay, Inc. as well as Chair of the Harvard Business School Social Enterprise Initiative. He has served on the boards of many accomplished nonprofit organizations, most recently as Chair of The Nature Conservancy, and Chair of Stanford’s Hoover Institution.

Tom is the proud father of two sons, Colin and Braden, and considers his wife of 36 years, Karen, his best friend and closest advisor.

Kenny Dichter

Wheels Up Founder & CEO

Kenny Dichter is the Founder and CEO of Wheels Up, a leading membership-based private aviation company. Started in 2013, Wheels Up has become the fastest-growing brand in the space, delivering a total aviation solution with three membership options—as well as renowned events and benefits. The Company reduces the cost to fly privately while offering unparalleled safety, service, and flexibility to over 6,000 members across North America.

Having now combined with Delta Private Jets and entered into a groundbreaking partnership with Delta Air Lines, Wheels Up offers one of the world’s largest owned and managed fleets of private aircraft, standing at nearly 200 planes. Members benefit from availability up to 365 days a year, with as little as 24 hours’ notice. Through the Exclusive Fleet, Core and Business Members receive guaranteed access to the King Air 350i with dynamic pricing backed by capped hourly rates, plus as-available access to the Citation Excel and Citation X with dynamic pricing. Via the Program Fleet, they have guaranteed access to 1,250+ safety-vetted partner operator jets—with dynamic pricing and capped hourly rates. Connect Members have as-available access to both fleets. Members also enjoy benefits such as Delta SkyMiles, Medallion Status, and the ability to use Wheels Up Fund Programs to pay for both Wheels Up private flights and Delta commercial flights.

In 2001, Dichter founded Marquis Jet, introducing the first-ever fractional jet card program, which revitalized and democratized private aviation. Led by Dichter, Marquis generated over $4 billion in revenue, culminating in its 2010 sale to NetJets, owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. Dichter was named Vice Chairman of NetJets and significantly contributed to its development, leveraging relationships with CEOs, entrepreneurs, athletes, and tastemakers.

Dichter has played an active role and invested in Juice Press, a grab-and-go, organic food and juice company that grew from 1 Manhattan store to 86 U.S. locations. In 2010, he co-founded Tequila Avion, an ultra-premium brand acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2014 for over $100 million.

Dichter also founded Tour GCX Partners, Inc., a golf membership program providing client entertainment solutions, which was sold to Century Golf in 2018. In 1996, he co-founded Alphabet City, a sports marketing and music company acquired by SFX Entertainment in 1998. A regular on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” Dichter is sought after by media outlets for his perspectives on aviation, consumer brands, and luxury goods and services.

Dichter chairs the Council of Advocates at New York’s Mount Sinai Hospital, working with Dr. Ken Davis, Mount Sinai’s Chairman and CEO, and serves on the Board of the Jack Martin Fund, working with the pediatric oncology department. Dichter is a major supporter of his alma mater, University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is married and is the proud father of three daughters.

Kara Goldin

Founder & CEO, Hint, Inc.

Kara Goldin is the Founder and CEO of Hint, Inc., best known for its award-winning Hint® water, the leading unsweetened flavored water.

She has received numerous accolades, including being named EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2017 Northern California, one of InStyle’s 2019 Badass 50, Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, WWD Beauty Inc.’s Feel Good Force and Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs. The Huffington Post listed her as one of six disruptors in business, alongside Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg.

Previously, Kara was VP of Shopping and Ecommerce at America Online where she helped lead the growth of its shopping and ecommerce business to over a $1 billion in revenue.

She is an active speaker and writer and, in 2017, she launched Unstoppable with Kara Goldin, a podcast where she interviews founders, entrepreneurs and disruptors across various industries. Kara’s first book, Undaunted, published by Harper Leadership, will be released in October 2020.

Kara lives in the Bay Area with her family.

Please follow Kara on her website at www.karagoldin.com and on all social channels @KaraGoldin

For more information, images, interviews, please contact press@drinkhint.com

David Wagner

Executive Vice President, Global Strategy & Growth Platforms

David Wagner is Executive Vice President, Global Strategy and Growth Platforms at VF Corporation. He has more than 15 years of experience in a variety of strategy positions.

In his current role, David is responsible for leading VF’s Strategy, Consumer Insights and Innovation functions. He and his team work closely with VF’s business unit leaders and Senior Leadership Team to activate new consumer and market insights, to articulate and drive progress against VF’s strategy, and to support VF brand revenue growth across multiple innovation platforms.

Prior to his role, David served as Vice President, Corporate Strategy from 2017 to
2018 and as Vice President, Strategy and Integrated Planning from 2013 to 2017.
From 2010 to 2014, he was Vice President of Strategy for VF International in the
company’s Lugano, Switzerland office. In Europe, he established the strategy and
insights functions for VF EMEA and supported the development of VF’s Asia strategy capability. David has been with the company since 2006 in a variety of strategy positions with increasing responsibilities.

Prior to joining VF, David worked in private equity for Banc of America Capital
Investors and as a consultant for McKinsey and Co.
He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of North Caroline at Chapel Hill, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with Highest Distinction, and a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.

Bob Lord

SVP Cognitive Applications, Blockchain and Ecosystems, IBM

Bob Lord is one of the world’s leading authorities on emerging technologies and open platforms to transform how businesses engage with customers.

Bob is Senior Vice President, Cognitive Applications, Blockchain, and Ecosystems at IBM, where he is responsible for infusing emerging and open technologies across the business. He oversees IBM’s market-leading blockchain business and drives the company’s key partner ecosystems across developers, global systems integrators and independent software vendors, which help clients accelerate their journey to the cloud and gain competitive advantage.

He was appointed in 2016 by IBM's ninth CEO Ginni Rometty as the company’s first Chief Digital Officer with a mission to change how IBM innovation is delivered and consumed by the world’s leading organizations.

Bob rebuilt IBM’s digital platforms on Red Hat OpenShift to make it more efficient for clients and partners to innovate and deploy solutions at scale. He focuses on breaking down silos, establishing agile practices and instilling a startup mentality throughout the 109-year-old company while transforming how IBM engages with clients.

At the center of this work is a commitment to the developers and data scientists of the open source community. Bob oversees IBM’s leadership and participation in dozens of open source communities, contribution and donation of open source code, and overall industry advocacy.

In 2018 Bob launched Call for Code, a major initiative to give developers and data scientists access to IBM tools and technologies as a means to solve global, societal challenges. In collaboration with the United Nations Human Rights and The Linux Foundation, IBM helps the world’s 24 million developers use these technologies to address society’s most pressing concerns: the growing threat of climate change and mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Since launch, over 300,000 developers and problem solvers from over 168 nations built solutions for an immediate and lasting impact in society.

In collaboration with leading relief organizations, the winning solutions are further developed through IBM Code and Response, a four-year initiative to build, fortify, test and deploy open technology to serve communities in need of critical aid.

Prior to IBM, Bob served as President of AOL, leading the company through its evolution into a leading, global advertising platform. He also served as CEO of Razorfish, a pioneering digital transformation consultancy helping companies like Cisco, Condé Nast, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and Pfizer redefine their brands for the digital age. He captured his experiences at Razorfish in the book he co-authored, Converge: Transforming Businesses at the Intersection of Marketing and Technology.

Bob’s experience and passion made him an active member of the TED community, board member for Aqua Finance, a Blackstone Company, and former board member for Williams-Sonoma and Screen Vision Media.

He began his career as an engineer, graduating from Syracuse University with a BS in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, before graduating with an MBA from Harvard University.

He shares his passion for discovery with his wife and three children, and competitively participates in a number of outdoor activities and sports.

Virginie Helias

P&G Chief Sustainability Officer & VP Global Sustainability

With 29 years of experience at Procter & Gamble in Brand Management and
Innovation, Virginie has a broad experience across multiple categories and
global to local brand management expertise across several of P&G multi-
billion dollar brands (Pantene, Ariel/Tide, Pampers). She has international
experience (France, UK, Switzerland and the United States).

Prior to her current position, she was the Western Europe Franchise Leader
for Ariel, one of P&G largest brands, where she turned Ariel into the leader in
Sustainability through the launch of the highly successful “Cool Clean/Turn to
30” campaign and the most sustainable laundry product (Excel Gel).

Beyond her brand and innovation expertise, she is also recognized for her
visioning, change management and leadership development skills. She is a
certified coach.

In July 2011, she recommended the creation of a new position — Global
Sustainability Brand Director, working across all P&G business units and
regions. Her mission was to embed sustainability into the innovation, brand-
building and everyday business practices at P&G. In July 2016, she was
promoted to Vice President of Global Sustainability, in recognition of the
work she has led to make sustainability a core business strategy, an
innovation driver and a catalyst for a more resilient organization.

Virginie lives in Geneva, Switzerland, with her husband and 3 children. She is a
marathon runner.

Ed Bastian

CEO Delta Airlines

As CEO of Delta Air Lines, Ed Bastian leads a team of 90,000 global professionals that is building the world’s premier international airline, powered by a people-driven, customer-focused culture and spirit of innovation.

A 20-year Delta veteran, Ed has been a critical leader in Delta’s long-term strategy and champion of putting Delta’s shared values of honesty, integrity, respect, perseverance and servant leadership at the core of every decision.

Since being named Delta’s CEO in May 2016, Ed has expanded Delta’s leading position as the world’s most reliable airline while growing its global footprint and enhancing the customer experience in the air and on the ground. During his tenure as CEO, Delta has become the world’s most awarded airline, having been named the Wall Street Journal’s top U.S. airline; Fortune’s most admired airline worldwide; the most on-time global airline by FlightGlobal; a Glassdoor Employee’s Choice company and more. Delta has returned to sustained profitability, regaining its investment-grade credit rating with all three major ratings agencies and paying out more than $1 billion in profit-sharing to employees every year over the past four years. In 2018, Fortune magazine named Ed among “The World’s 50 Greatest Leaders,” and in 2019, he was elected to the membership of the Council on Foreign Relations.

When asked to sum up his job in five words, Ed’s response is: “Taking care of our people.” The answer reflects his leadership philosophy, which is based on the “virtuous circle” – if you take care of your people, they take care of your customers, whose business and loyalty allows you to reward your investors.

Ed joined Delta in 1998 as Vice President – Finance and Controller and was promoted to Senior Vice President in 2000. He left Delta in 2005 and became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Acuity Brands. He returned to Delta six months later to become Chief Financial Officer, and in 2007 was appointed to serve as Delta’s President.

Prior to joining Delta, Ed held senior finance positions at Frito-Lay International and Pepsi-Cola International. Ed started his career with Price Waterhouse where he became an audit partner in its New York practice.

Ed grew up in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and graduated from St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration. He lives in Atlanta, and is deeply involved in his faith, family and community.

Follow Ed on LinkedIn and Instagram for his thoughts on leadership, culture, aviation and more.

Simon Mainwaring

CEO, We First

Simon Mainwaring is the founder and CEO of We First, a strategic consultancy that accelerates growth and impact for purpose-driven brands. He is a member of the Advisory Council of Conscious Capitalism LA, the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands, The Forbes Business Council, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in London.

As a global keynote speaker, New York Times bestselling author, and highly-awarded brand futurist, he works with leading CEO’s, CMOs, and entrepreneurs to define their business strategy, company culture, and brand communications.

Simon was a finalist for Global Australian of the Year in 2015 and interim CMO at TOMS, received the MAKE CHANGE, ‘Conscious Leadership’ Award for 2016, a finalist for the Conscious Company Leadership Awards in 2017, and a Real Leaders Top 100 Visionary Leader in 2018. His company We First was included in Real Leaders list for the Top 100 Impact Companies in the US for 2018 and We First was a B Corps ‘Best for The World’ Honoree in 2019. He is a Jury Member of PRWeek’s ‘Purpose Awards’ in 2020 and a Jury Member at the Cannes Lions Festival for the Sustainable Development Goals in 2021.

Christina Thirkell

Director of Strategic Programs and Initiatives

Christina is an accomplished business, marketing and nonprofit executive with over 25 years of experience. She currently works as Director of Strategic Programs at Harvard Business School Association of Boston where for the past five years has developed programs and corporate partners for organizational growth. Prior to joining Harvard Business School Association of Boston, she spent 9 years as Executive Director at Expect Miracles Foundation – Financial Services Against Cancer. At the Foundation, Christina led the overall strategy, programs, operations, strategic and corporate sponsorships with over 100 top financial firms and C-Suite executives in the country. She developed and launched the first Executive Giving Program that today generates significant funds to support its national grants program. Her expertise in integrated corporate communications, public relations, business development, brand marketing and fundraising was instrumental in taking a local Boston based charity golf event in 2004 with one employee, to a national, nonprofit organization, growing the Foundation 450% in revenue and expanded to over 5 national events a year throughout her tenure.

Prior to Expect Miracles Foundation, Christina was Director of Global Public Relations at Giga Information Group where she worked for over 5 years. She was responsible for all global media relations, public relations and investor relations for the analyst firm where she reported to the CEO and other key executives before the firm was acquired by Forrester Research in 2003. Shortly after Christina was recruited to assist in the development of the first Diversity & Inclusion Initiative at Massport.

In her earlier career, Christina worked in the advertising agency industry in both Account Management and Research & Planning where she had a strong focus on consumer brands in the sporting goods industry.

She has been involved with several nonprofit organizations, board positions and committees at MSPCA, The Zakim Center at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, NY Wild Film Festival, 100 Women Who Care, and relief efforts in Haiti.

John Stephans

CEO, Avedis Zildjian Company

John joined Zildjian in 2017 and is responsible for the overall strategic direction and performance of the company’s worldwide operations.

The Zildjian Company has been synonymous with setting the standard for the development and manufacture of high performance musical instruments since 1623.

As the world’s leading maker of cymbals, drum sticks and percussion mallets, Zildjian products are sold across the globe, under the Zildjian, Vic Firth and Balter brands, and are the standard to which all other cymbals, drumsticks and mallets are measured. From the beginner to the world’s greatest rock stars, jazz performers and concert percussionists, amateurs and pros alike chose Zildjian products to allow them to experience and share the joy of music.

Zildjian Company he world’s largest producer of cymbals and drumsticks and the oldest family business in the United States. Founded in 1623, the company is currently owned by the 14^thand 15^th generations of Zildjian family.

In addition, John works closely with the Zildjian family to ensure alignment of the company’s goals with that of ownership. Under John’s leadership the company fully integrated operations from its acquisition of the Vic Firth Company, strengthened its leadership team and has driven increased new product activity which has resulted in the company exceeding current industry growth trends.

Prior to joining Zildjian, John was CEO of IdeaPaint, the inventor of the dry erase paint category, where he and his team reversed negative sales trends to grow the business over 50%. Prior to IdeaPaint, John held senior management positions at Ocean Spray and at Gillette. Prior to embarking on a business career, John spent time on athletic fields across the northeast as college lacrosse coach.

John received his BA from Clark University and his MBA from Babson College. He lives in eastern Massachusetts with his wife Kate and two boys.

David Kahan

CEO, Birkenstock Americas

Kahan joined Birkenstock in 2013 and has led the resurgence of the brand in the U.S. market. The U.S. business has grown 10x under his management and Birkenstock was named Brand of the Year by Footwear News in 2013 and 2017 and Company of the year by the AAFA in 2019. He is responsible for all business operations throughout the Americas region.

Kahan brings over 25 years of experience in the footwear industry to Birkenstock. He began his career on the shoe floor at Macy’s and became the department store’s first ever Athletic Footwear Buyer. He then spent 12 years at Nike and rose in their sales organization eventually managing the Strategic Accounts group.

After Nike, Kahan became Head of North America at Reebok and was part of the management group that led Reebok to be acquired by Adidas.

He has also held senior leadership roles at Fila and Rockport. Prior to joining Birkenstock, he served as President of the footwear division for ENK International – a leader in fashion events and trade shows.

Scott Uzzell

President & CEO, Converse, Inc.

Scott leads all aspects of the business, globally and has recently overseen the company’s successful return to the Basketball category across product, marketplace and sponsorships, after a 10-year hiatus from the sport.

Scott joined Converse, Inc. from The Coca-Cola Company where he previously served as President, Venturing & Emerging Brands Group (VEB) and led the development of a portfolio of high-growth brands, including Honest Tea, ZICO Coconut Water, Fairlife Milk and Suja Juice.

Scott began his career within sales and marketing for elite consumer goods companies, such as Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola, and Nabisco, before returning to Coca-Cola in 2000 to hold a number of leadership positions across its business including McDonald’s U.S. Division, Global New Business Development, Global Marketing, ZICO and VEB.

In addition, Scott serves on several boards including State Bank and Trust Company; and Suja Juice Company. Scott is also a member of the Florida A&M University Foundation Board as well as a member of the Executive Leadership Council (ELC).

Scott received his B.S. in business from Florida A&M University and his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Scott has a personal passion for sports like skiing, golf, basketball and cycling as well as spending time with his family. Scott and wife Sunda have two children – a son, Tanner and daughter, Sawyer.

13th Annual CEO Brand Leadership Roundtable

March 25, 2021
5:00PM – 6:30PM ET

Main Panel Discussion | Audience Q&A

Virtual Presentation

Learn how each CEO successfully built their brand and continues to drive remarkable growth in today’s evolving and competitive landscape.

CEOs Share Insights On:

Embracing Bold and Disruptive Innovation
Creating an Authentic “Brand Voice”
Building Brand Leadership
Dominating Product Categories
Emotionally Connecting with Customers to Enhance Loyalty and Drive Growth

Moderator

Larry Gulko

Brand Strategist | Strategic Growth Advisor

View Bio

Ticket Pricing & Information

HBS Association of Boston Members: Complimentary
Non-Members: $20

Tickets & Registration