The Evolving Role of the Private Company Board
May 10-12, 2017 Swissotel, Chicago
The governance conference for directors, owners, and advisors of family-owned, closely held and private equity-owned businesses of all sizes.
Featured Speakers
Cheryl Mayberry McKissack
Chief Executive Officer, Nia Enterprises, LLC; Director, PrivateBanc Corp., Deluxe Corp.
Kenneth Gorman
Senior Vice President, Power Construction Company. Chairman/CEO, Power Wellness Management LLC
Adela Cepeda
Managing Director, PFM Financial Advisors LLC; Director, UBS Funds, Mercer Mutual Funds, BMO Financial Corp.
Deborah L. DeHaas
Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte
Register Today!
Standard Registration Rates
Private company owners, shareholders, managers and investors, and public and private company board members:
- $1,895 First attendee
- $1,395 Additional attendees from the same company/board
Past attendees of the Private Company Governance Summit or the Transitions Conferences qualify for an additional discount on their registration fees:
- $1,705.50 First Attendee
- $1,255.50 Additional attendees from the same company/board
All other attendees: advisers, consultants, others allied to the field:
- $2,350 Each attendee
Cancellation Policy: All conference cancellations must be made in writing and emailed to Justine Wood, PCGS Events Director, at jwood@familybusinessmagazine.com. Registrants who cancel more than four weeks prior to the program date are entitled to a full refund of the registration fee less an administrative fee of $150 per registrant; if canceled within four weeks, but more than 10 business days prior to the conference date, 50% of the conference registration fee will be refunded less an administrative fee of $150 per registrant; within ten business days of the conference date and no shows, no refund is possible. PCGS may cancel the program if attendance does not meet required levels; in case of cancellation or rescheduling, full refunds of registration fees will be made. Travel fares and hotel deposits cannot be reimbursed.
Wednesday May 10, 2017
3-8 PM Registration Open
4-5:15 PM Preconference Session
Lessons on Starting and Building the Private Company Board
Where do you start? A special session for owners/shareholders of privately-owned companies who are at the early stages of designing, launching or building a fiduciary or advisory board. The focus will be on best practices, the role of independent directors, and will feature case studies from companies that have exhibited best practices in private company governance--how they got started, how they evolved and where they are today.
Speakers: Rajan Sheth, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Mead & Hunt Companies, Inc.; Kenneth Gorman, Senior Vice President, Power Construction Company and Chairman/CEO, Power Wellness Management LLC; Drew Everett, Chairman of the Board, Bush Brothers & Company
Moderator: Jennifer Pendergast, Senior Consultant, The Family Business Consulting Group
5:15-5:45 PM Networking Break
5:45-7:00 PM Opening Session
Getting the Composition of the Board Right
Who should be asked to serve on your board? Do you currently have the right mix of directors? How do you calibrate the board to best serve a family or closely-held business, while earning buy-in from family members and shareholders? This session will look at evaluating and expanding the skillsets and brainpower that directors bring to the private board, building collegiality without group-think, and the value that diversity (whether age, gender or ethnic) can bring.
Speakers: Michael R. Kiolbassa, President, Kiolbassa Provision Company, Inc.; Cindy Burrell, President, Diversity in Boardrooms; David W. Juday, Director, retired Chairman, IDEAL Industries Inc.
Moderator: Dottie Schindlinger, Vice President and Governance Technology Analyst, Diligent
Moderator: Dottie Schindlinger, Vice President and Governance Technology Analyst, Diligent
7:00-9:00 PM Networking Reception and Buffet Dinner
Thursday May 11, 2017
7:30-8:30 AM Breakfast
8:30-8:45 AM Conference Introduction
Speaker: Deborah DeHaas, Vice Chairman, Chief Inclusion Officer, and National Managing Partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte LLP
8:45-9:15 AM Keynote Interview
Speaker: Dennis Chookaszian, Retired Chairman and CEO, CNA Insurance Companies
Interviewed by D. Roger Nanney, Vice Chairman; National Leader, Deloitte Growth Enterprise Services, Deloitte LLP
9:15-9:30 AM Networking Break
9:30-10:30 AM Session
The Board’s Role in CEO Succession and Talent Oversight
In public companies, the board’s principal role is often to hire and fire the CEO. In family-owned and closely-held companies, a board can take the emotion and potential negative dynamics out of internal succession for the CEO or other senior roles, and help shareholders make collegial decisions on leadership change, whether within or outside the family. This session will also focus on the board’s role in general talent oversight and development within the company, and its impact on family employment policies and procedures.
Speakers: Milton Pinsky, CEO, Banner Apartments LLC; Charles E. Shepard, Director, Menasha Corporation; Margaret Pederson, Vice Chair, Xamax Industries, Director, Viad Corp.
Moderator: Damien Dwin, Co-CEO and Co-Founder, Brightwood Capital Advisors
10:30-11:00 AM Networking Break
11:00 AM-12:00 PM Session
Funding Growth and Shareholder Liquidity
A key challenge for family-owned and closely-held companies is managing cash flow to fund both growth and adequate shareholder return. The board can play a major role in helping the company think through its options--Private Equity, venture capital, other funding, or even an IPO. This session will look at options that include maintaining control of the business.
Speaker: Venita E. Fields, Partner, Pelham S2K Managers, LLC, Director, Derry Enterprises, Inc.; David Chandler, Managing Partner, Chicago Growth Partners; John Gilligan, Managing Director, BDT Capital Partners LLC.
Moderator: Sean Kramer, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis
12:00-12:15 PM Networking Break
12:15-1:30 PM Lunch and Keynote Conversation
Speaker: Cheryl Mayberry McKissack, Chief Executive Officer, Nia Enterprises, LLC; Director, PrivateBanc Corp,, Deluxe Corporation
Interviewed by Eve Tahmincioglu, Executive Editor and Digital Director, Directors & Boards Magazine
1:30-3:00 PM Expert Briefings (Repeated Twice)
• The Board's Role in Exponential Change, Innovation and Disruption: Tom Nassim, Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
• Private Board Basics--From No Board to a Board: Jim McHugh, Director, Southworth International Group, Inc., Kennebec Technologies Inc.
• Family Enterprise Governance: Sara Hamilton, Founder, Family Office Exchange
• Cybersecurity and the Board: Simone Petrella, Chief Cyberstrategy Officer, CyberVista
• The Dynamics of Family Members on the Board: Doug Baumoel, Founding Partner, Continuity LLC
3:00-3:15 PM Networking Break
3:15-3:45 PM Workshop
How to Interview a Potential Director
A live interview with a potential director, designed to show best practices in getting the right information to make a decision.
Interviewer: Dale Jones, President and CEO, Diversified Search
Interviewee: Jim McHugh, Director, Southworth International Group, Inc., Kennebec Technologies Inc.
3:45-4:45 PM Session
Risk Management and The New Volatility: the Board’s Contribution
Balancing risk and reward requires a sophisticated view of what the board can do to help a company’s management and ownership navigate volatile times—with new laws, regulatory rollback, trade rules, and tax structures either here or coming. This session will also look at the board’s role in cybersecurity, disaster planning, and corporate social responsibility.
Speaker: Joanna Peters, Founding Principal, StratConGlobal; Dennis Kessler, Director, SWANK Motion Pictures, O’Neil Industries and QuesTek Innovations; Adela Cepeda, Managing Director, PFM Financial Advisors LLC; Director, UBS Funds, Mercer Mutual Funds, BMO Financial Corp.
Moderator: Simone Petrella, Chief Cyberstrategy Officer, CyberVista
6:00-9:00 PM Group Dinner and Private Company Board of the Year Award
The Signature Room at the 95th, John Hancock Tower
Friday May 12, 2017
8:00-9:00 AM Breakfast
9:00-9:45 AM Keynote Interview
Speaker: Andrew J. McKenna, Chairman Emeritus, Schwarz Supply Source and McDonald's Corporation
Interviewed by David Shaw, Editor and Publishing Director, Private Company Director Magazine
9:45-10:30 AM Workshop
Improving the Board
You have a board—make sure it’s the best it can be for the business and shareholders it serves. This workshop session will address ways in which family-owned and closely-held companies have improved their existing boards, whether through changes in board membership, better board preparation and processes, development of committees, and more.
Session Leader: Maureen Bujno, Managing Director, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte LLP
10:30-10:45 AM Networking Break
10:45-11:45 AM Session
Board Compensation: What and how much?
The biggest question on the minds of most owners and shareholders is: What do we pay directors? While there remains no national benchmark for director compensation (as there is with the filings of public companies), this session will bring together new data from Directors & Boards Magazine and other sources, to provide guidance for companies and directors on cash and non-cash compensation programs for internal and independent directors.
Speaker: Paul C. Darley, Chairman, CEO and President, W.S. Darley & Co.; Gail Lione, Senior Counsel, Dentons; Director, Badger Meter, Sargento Foods, F. Dohmen Company
Moderator: Daniel Moynihan, Partner, Korn Ferry Hay Group
11:45 AM Conference Summary and Close
About Conference
Directors & Boards, Family Business Magazine and Private Company Director invite owners, shareholders and board members of privately-held companies to the Private Company Governance Summit 2017, May 10-12, 2017 at the Swissotel, Chicago, IL..
The Private Company Governance Summit, now in its fifth year, is the only national conference focused exclusively on the unique governance challenges of privately-owned businesses, including closely-held companies, family-owned companies and private equity-owned companies.
Session topics include:
* Getting Board Composition Right
* The Board's Role in CEO Succession and Talent Oversight
* Board Compensation: What and How Much?
* CyInterviewing Potential Directors
* Risk Management and the New Volatility
* Funding Growth and Shareholder Liquidity
Featuring:
* Panel discussions with serving directors sharing real-world experiences
* Expert Briefings on:
o Dealing with Related Party Transactions/Conflicts of Interest
o Private Board Basics--From No Board to a Board
o The Family Council/Family Governance Interface
o Onboarding Independent Non-Family Directors
o Dealing with Non-Performing Directors
o Cybersecurity and the Board
o The Dynamics of Family Members on the Board
o Private Board Committees
* Maximum value for your time
* Intimate environment for networking and benchmarking
* Collaborative discussion sessions on important private company governance issues
Confirmed Speakers
Paul C. Darley
Chairman, CEO & President, W.S. Darley & Co.
Paul C. Darley is Chairman, CEO & President of W.S. Darley & Co. Under his leadership, sales have increased over 800% to over $175 million in 2016. He began in pump sales in 1985 and was named Vice President for the Fire Pump Division of W.S. Darley & Co. in 1990. In 1997, he became President and COO and was appointed President & CEO in 2003. He was named Chairman in 2011.
Founded in 1908, W.S. Darley & Co is a fourth generation family business, led by Paul and an executive team that has transformed this 108-year-old company into a world leader in the firefighting industry and defense industry distribution and manufacturing with ISO 9001 certification and an electronic catalog of more than 10,000 items. The company has recently been awarded major Department of Defense Contracts including an $85.1 million contract with the USMC in 2012. In 2010, W.S. Darley & Co was named the Loyola University Illinois Family Business of the Year and was recognized by Marquette University as Alumnus Family Business of Year in 2009.
Paul is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep in Chicago and he holds a BS Degree in Marketing and Finance from Marquette University. He earned his MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He recently earned a two year graduate certificate from the University of Illinois in Emotional Intelligence.
Paul has traveled to 80 countries in his 30-year tenure, and has made over 500 industry speaking engagements. He is involved with numerous charitable, business and service organizations. He is a former Chairman of the Chicago Windy City Chapter of Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO), and is currently a trustee for Dominican University.
He is a Past President of the Fire Apparatus Manufacturers Association (FAMA) after serving on its board for the past 5 years. He also served on the Board of Directors of Fire & Emergency Manufacturers & Services Association (FEMSA) for seven years. Paul Darley currently serves on the Board of the National Defense Industry Association (NDIA) for the Great Lakes Chapter.
Paul is married to his high school sweetheart for 28 years and together they are raising three daughters in Elmhurst, IL.
Cheryl Mayberry McKissack
Chief Executive Officer, Nia Enterprises, LLC; Director, PrivateBanc Corp., Deluxe Corp.
Cheryl Mayberry McKissack is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nia Enterprises, LLC, a Chicago based business, marketing and digital consulting firm established in 2000. Ms. McKissack previously served as CEO of Ebony Media Operations (formerly Johnson Publishing Company), the trusted and leading African American preeminent media company connecting advertisers and consumers for over 71 years. Ebony Media Operations (EMO) is best known for its flagship publication and brands, Ebony and Jet reaching over 10M African Americans monthly. Prior to assuming the CEO position, Ms. Mayberry McKissack was the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and President of Digital for Johnson Publishing Company since 2013. She was responsible for managing media operations including technology development, production, media sales, marketing, business development and all functions of the digital business unit, JPC Digital. Over the past three years she has been responsible for many of the transformational initiatives at JPC including a new, fair-market pricing model for advertising sales, and the migration of the iconic, sixty-four- year-old publishing brand, Jet, from print to digital. She has also spearheaded the construction of a digital ecosystem for future growth including Ebony Moments, Ebony Collections and the Ebony/Jet Store.
Ms. Mayberry McKissack has extensive corporate and civic board experience, with more than sixteen years of corporate board experience and a special expertise in corporate governance. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the PrivateBanc Corp (NASDAQ:PVTB), where she is the Chair of the Corporate Governance Committee and Vice Chair of the Compensation Committee. During her tenure at the PrivateBanc Corp, she has been instrumental in overhauling its Corporate Governance program which has resulted in the bank receiving consistently high scores from leading governance advisory services such as Glass, Lewis and ISS. She also serves as a Director of the Deluxe Corporation (NYSE:DLX) and currently serves on the Finance and Compensation Committees. She previously chaired the Governance Committee for six years and spent ten years as a member of the DLX Audit Committee. Ms. Mayberry McKissack is actively involved in the Chicago community and has held positions on numerous non-profit boards. She is currently a Board Member for the University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago Library Foundation, Shedd Aquarium, and the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.
Prior to founding Nia Enterprises, Ms. Mayberry McKissack enjoyed a successful 23-year corporate career in operations and technology, including serving as the Worldwide Senior Vice President and General Manager for Open Port Technology. She also served as the Vice President for the Americas, and a founding member of the Network Systems Division for 3Com (formerly U.S. Robotics). During her tenure at U.S Robotics, she was a key member of the leadership team that purchased the leading PDA (personal digital assistant; forerunner to today’s smartphones) company at the time, Palm, Inc. That acquisition was a key driver in the subsequent sale of publicly –traded U.S. Robotics to 3Com for over $8 billion, constituting one of the largest technology- company transactions in the late 1990s. Ms. Mayberry McKissack started her technology career with IBM Corporation where she enjoyed a 14- year career in sales, marketing and management positions.
Ms. Mayberry McKissack is a native of Seattle, Washington. She received her B.S. Degree from Seattle University, completing the four-year program in two-and-one-half years. Ms. Mayberry McKissack also received her MBA from the Northwestern J.L. Kellogg School of Management. In 2005, Ms. Mayberry McKissack was named an Associate Adjunct Professor of Entrepreneurship at her alma mater, the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University where she lectured for ten years.
Ms. Mayberry McKissack is an innovative business and entrepreneurial leader as evidenced by numerous awards and citations. In 2005, she was recognized as a Business Leader of Color by Chicago United, an advocacy non-profit organization. Other acknowledgements of her accomplishments include recognition as one of the 25 Influential Black Women in Business by the Network Journal Magazine (2006) and the “Leader Entrepreneurship” award (2006) from the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. She received the 2007 Kellogg Alumni "Rising Entrepreneur of the Year" award, was recognized in 2008 as a "HistoryMaker” and was a recipient of the 2009 Anti-Defamation League (ADL) Women of Achievement award. In 2012, she was recognized as one of the "17 Black Internet Pioneers" by ROOT.com, a division of the Washington Post. She was also recognized by Director’s & Board magazine as one of the 2015 “Directors to Watch”. A published author, Ms. Mayberry McKissack‘s next book, The Entrepreneurial Sell: How Selling Impacts Every Step in Start-Up Success—And How To Get It Right, is scheduled for distribution in 2017.
Rajan Sheth
CEO and Chairman of the Board, Mead & Hunt Companies, Inc.
Rajan Sheth joined Mead & Hunt in 1977 as a structural engineer. Sheth has been Chairman of the Board and CEO of the company since 1994. In the past 22 years under Sheth’s leadership, Mead & Hunt has grown from two Wisconsin offices to 31 offices nationwide and from 100 to 525 employees, while still maintaining its values, culture and profitability. The company’s billings increased from $10 million to about $90 million in the same time period. Sheth has been instrumental in fostering an environment in which every employee is encouraged to exercise his/her creative and entrepreneurial spirit. Mead & Hunt has consistently been recognized as one of the best architectural and engineering firms in the nation for which to work and has been repeatedly listed as one of the fastest growing.
Venita E. Fields
Partner, Pelham S2K Managers, LLC, and Director, Derry Enterprises, Inc.
Fields is an experienced independent corporate board director and also has served on numerous company boards as an investor. With her more than thirty-five years of financial management in banks and investment firms, her experience serving on audit committees, and her MBA from Northwestern University, she can readily serve as a financial expert when serving on boards.
Currently, she serves as an Independent Director for Derry Enterprises, Inc., a distribution company in Rockford, IL providing inventory management and supply chain services for fasteners and other Class C items in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
In her career, Ms. Fields is Partner for Pelham S2K Managers, LLC (“Pelham S2K”), providing junior capital and private equity investments for privately held middle market companies. Formed in 2016, Pelham S2K is the Manager and General Partner of Pelham S2K SBIC, a $100 million Limited Partnership. She manages the Firm’s Illinois office, where she generates investment opportunities in the Midwest.
Previously for eighteen years, Ms. Fields was a Partner with Smith Whiley & Company. She was also a senior member of Smith Whiley’s Investment Committee and oversaw the investment and commitment of 38 mezzanine and private equity transactions that the Advisor directed and managed in its three private equity funds: SW Pelham Fund, L.P., SW Pelham Fund II, LP and SW Pelham Fund III, L.P. As a leader of the Midwest offices of Smith Whiley & Company, she led a team that structured and invested over $145 million in eighteen portfolio companies throughout the country. As an investor, she has served as a Board Director of a dozen Smith Whiley portfolio companies in the food and beverage, manufacturing, retail, and business services sectors.
Prior to 1998, Ms. Fields served as Senior Vice President for seven years at Bank of America in Chicago. She led a team of originators of highly leveraged transactions throughout the Midwest. Expanding to the North, she opened Toronto Loan Production Office and initiated asset-based lending in Canada. During her eighteen year banking career, Ms. Fields has structured, closed and/or managed approximately $2 billion in investments in the automotive, aviation, environmental, food, industrial manufacturing, retail, and service sectors.
In the community, Ms. Fields is an active and energetic leader in several major community and business organizations in the greater Chicago area, often serving on the Audit or Nominating Committee. Currently, she serves as a Trustee for the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL and the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, IL. In addition, she is on the board as President for the Association for Corporate Growth, Chicago Chapter and she is a Founding Member, and on both the Chicago & International Boards for the Private Directors Association.
Ms. Fields has a Master of Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management and a
B.A. degree from Northwestern University. In addition, she joined the faculty at Kellogg as a Guest Lecturer teaching Entrepreneurial Finance from 2010-2012.
In recognition of her leadership and accomplishments, she was awarded 2004 YWCA Woman of Achievement and then in 2005 awarded Business Leader of Color by Chicago United. She has been featured as a business leader in Crain’s Chicago Business and she won an Award by the M&A Advisor for Consumer Deal of the Year for one of Smith Whiley’s portfolio companies. Ms. Fields was nationally recognized in the January 2017 edition of Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine as one of “The Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M & A."
Kenneth Gorman
Senior Vice President, Power Construction Company. Chairman/CEO, Power Wellness Management LLC
Kenneth Gorman is senior vice president and an owner of Power Construction Company and the chairman/chief executive officer of Power Wellness Management LLC. Power Construction Company was founded in 1926 by Kenneth’s grandfather and is recognized today as one of the Midwest’s largest construction managers, with annual revenues exceeding $700 million. Founded by Ken in 1995, Power Wellness focuses on the planning, development and management of institutional wellness centers for healthcare systems and universities. With 30+ facilities nationwide and over 2,000 team members, Power Wellness is an industry leading organization.
Born and raised in the Chicago area, Ken attended North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka and graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in finance and real estate development in 1985. Ken has been a member of YPO/WPO since 2010, and is a board member on Power Construction Company, Elgin Academy, Women in Need Growing Stronger, and College of Dupage Foundation. In the past, Ken has served on numerous professional and charitable boards, including the Good Shepherd Hospital Development Council, Illinois Facilities Fund, Roosevelt School of Real Estate, and Harper College Foundation.
Kenneth has been married for 28 years, has three children, and lives in North Barrington, Illinois. Ken enjoys golfing, skiing, and a good bottle of Chianti Classico..
Robin Letchinger
Chief Legal Officer, and former Director, Sasser Family Holdings, Inc.
Robin Letchinger is the Chief Legal Officer for Sasser Family Holdings, Inc. (SFH), a fourth-generation, family-owned transportation asset lessor and management company headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois. SFH's subsidiaries include Chicago Freight Car Leasing, Inc., Union Leasing, Inc., CF Rail Services, LLC, Xcēd Aviation Services, LLC, NxGen Rail, LLC, and CF Asia Pacific Pty Ltd.
Robin was an independent director on SFH's board for six years and the chair of its Compensation Committee before joining the Company in 2015. In her role as CLO, Robin is responsible for directing every legal aspect of the Company. She also works closely with each of SFH’s subsidiaries to provide legal support and strategy. As a member of the senior leadership team, Robin serves as a key strategic advisor, including serving on the Company’s Investment Committee. In conjunction with the Executive Chairman and the CEO, Robin also is responsible for the preparation of materials for and facilitation of Board of Director and Board Committee meetings.
Prior to joining SFH Robin was a capital partner at the law firm, Fox, Swibel, Levin & Carroll, LLP, where she co-chaired the firm's Litigation Group. While at FSLC, Robin focused her practice on commercial disputes, representing clients in a variety of business-related matters. She also acted as outside general counsel to closely-held companies and family-owned businesses.
Robin has been recognized as a Leading Lawyer in commercial litigation and alternative dispute resolution by the Law Bulletin Publishing Company—a distinction reserved for lawyers who are most often recommended by their peers in statewide surveys.
Robin also sits on the board of directors of Chicago Foundation for Women, a philanthropic organization dedicated to increasing resources and opportunities for women and girls in the greater Chicago area.
Robin earned a B.S. in Finance, with highest honors, from the University of Illinois and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.
Jim McHugh
Director, Southworth International Group Inc. and Kennebec Technologies Inc.
Jim McHugh is the Founder & CEO of McHugh & Co., a strategy and performance improvement consulting firm. Jim specializes in âfixing Stuck companiesâ. He created the 9Stucks® business diagnostic tool that identifies nine distinct yet interrelated business challenges that cause a company to underperform. His practical approach to working with the leadership of these Stuck companies has produced substantial improvements in strategic focus and alignment, operating performance, organizational clarity, profitability, cash flow, and shareholder value. Jim has worked extensively with Boards, investors, owners, CEOs and senior leadership teams of management-owned, family-owned, or private equity backed businesses in diverse industries: manufacturing, distribution, technology, business/professional services, and retail. In addition to his work as a CEO advisor and consultant, Jim has broad, senior, general management experience in middle market and emerging growth companies as an operating executive (CEO and CFO) and a member of multiple Boards of Directors. His operating roles include Chairman and CEO of Chi-Vit Corporation and President of Strategies, Inc., an information technology consulting firm. He co-founded (2005) and leads the Maine Board Forum CEO Peer Group. Jimâs current board positions include Southworth International Group, Inc. and Kennebec Technologies, Inc. In the past Jim has served on the boards of Beckwood Services, Inc., Climax Manufacturing Company, The RETEC Group, Inc., Shield Pack, Inc., Chi-Vit, Inc., Questech Metals, Inc., and the Advisory Boards of Seaman Paper Co., Inc. and Animation Technologies, Inc. He is a former Director of the Boston Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and Founder of The Concord Vine, a monthly breakfast group of operating executives, private investors, corporate development professionals, and attorneys. He writes regularly on his blog at www.9Stucks.com and for numerous business publications. Jimâs passions outside of work include family life (married 40 years with two daughters), running, reading, writing and boating. He graduated with an AB in Economics from Bowdoin College and an MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College. He earned his CPA while employed with Arthur Andersen & Co.
Michael R. Kiolbassa
President, Kiolbassa Provision Company Inc.
Michael Kiolbassa began his career in the family sausage business in 1987 after a two-year period working in the commercial banking industry as a credit analyst. Since then, he has overseen the transformation of the family meat company from a small family business to one of the largest sausage manufacturers in the U.S.
Michael holds a BBA in finance from Southern Methodist University and is a member of the Young Presidents Organization, Southwest Meat Association, Texas Association of Meat Processers, Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce and Christ Episcopal Church. He is married to his lovely wife, Nita, and has two almost grown children, Rusty and Claudia.
David W. Juday
Director, and retired Chairman, IDEAL Industries Inc.
Dave was born in Sycamore, home of IDEAL INDUSTRIES INC; the family owned and controlled business since 1916. He joined the company in 1972 after college at Shimer and grad school at University of Chicago. Experience as a teacher, VISTA volunteer, and several years in a manufacturing company in Chicago proved to be important career steps prior to IDEAL.
Dave held several positions at IDEAL, from IT director, to salesman, to marketing positions, culminating with being named chairman in 1984. He held the CEO title for some portion of his 30 years as chairman, depending on who he had in operations.
The first part of his term as chairman included revising the role of the board, working with family to enhance and formalize the family governance systems to parallel corporate governance, and reevaluating markets being served. It led to a series of actions, including creating a Voting Trust and a stock redemption policy, both of which have become the backbone of future growth for the company and the family.
The middle portion led to several acquisitions that moved IDEAL into a broader reach into the data communications market, entered the environmental monitoring market, a greenfield operation in China, and novel approach to connection technology in the high current DC arena.
The final stage was focused on exiting the chairman role. He was able to recruit a very talented non-family member who heartily embraced the overall direction of the family and company, which led to a new level of involvement for the next generation of family leaders. Along with an extremely complex estate planning effort, IDEAL is well placed for growth for generations to come.
Dave has served on several boards from a community bank to an ag retailer, to a high tech HVAC startup in the private sector. He served 10 years on the Illinois State Board of Education as well as the local school board. He has been active in support of the local community college as well as NIU. Economic development has been a real interest, having served DeKalb County, Illinois as well as Vilas County Wisconsin.
Since his retirement in 2014, he keeps up with happenings at IDEAL, overseeing a major construction project, serving on its board, and driving the estate planning initiative. He also owns a manufacturing incubator operation in Vilas County where he advises, and sometimes funds startups. He has five operations currently, with several having come and gone.
Joanna Peters
Managing Principal, StratConGlobal, Inc.
Joanna Peters is the Founding Managing Principal of StratConGlobal, Inc, a strategic advisory firm based in New York City, with a proven track record of build outs and turnarounds in emerging and global markets. She has driven rollups in Asia and the United States, appointed interim COO/CFO on new private equity ventures in the offshore oil and gas sectors as well as advisor in the Australian livestock sector. She has extensive experience in Asia Pac, including India, Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Vietnam as well as Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Her industry sectors include asset management, financial services, energy and agriculture.
Joanna is a best practice industry speaker here and abroad, participates in various governmental and private sector forums including the Peterson Institute and Volker Alliance and serves on private boards. Educated in Australia where she captained the women’s ski team, as well as England, she is also admitted to the bar in New York and Australia.
Dennis Chookaszian
Retired Chairman and CEO, CNA Insurance Companies
Dennis Chookaszian is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of CNA Insurance Companies.
Mr. Chookaszian served as CNA’s chairman and chief executive officer from 1992 until 1999. He also served as chairman of the executive committee of CNA from 1999 to 2001. From 1990 to 1992, Mr. Chookaszian served as CNA’s president and chief operating officer, with responsibility for all property and casualty, life, health and investment operations. Mr. Chookaszian joined CNA in 1975 and served as chief financial officer until 1990 when he was named president. He also served as chairman and CEO of mPower Inc, an internet financial advisory service, from 1999 to 2001. Prior to joining CNA, he was a management consultant with Deloitte for eight years working on various financial and systems related assignments.
Mr. Chookaszian served as chairman of FASAC (Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council) which provides guidance to the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) on accounting matters for five years and completed his term in 2011. He is also a member of the FCAG (Financial Crisis Advisory Group) which is the international commission that was created to develop recommendations to solve the financial reporting problems associated with the current economic problems.
During his career, he has served as a director on the boards of twelve publicly traded corporations and fifty private corporations. He is currently a director of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the world’s largest derivatives exchange, Career Education, a private post-secondary education provider, Allscripts, a leading provider of software for the Health Care sector, Internet Patents Corp, a firm that licenses Internet Patents, and MacDonald Dettwiler, a space satellite technology company. He also serves as a director of a number of private corporations and has served as an arbitrator in ten diverse cases and an expert witness in five cases.
Mr. Chookaszian is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and teaches courses in Corporate Governance. He also teaches a course in International Corporate Governance at Cheung Kong University in China, Shanghai Advanced Institute of Finance in China, and at IIPM in India.
Mr. Chookaszian is a member of the national board of the Boy Scouts of America, a trustee of Northwestern University, a member of the advisory board of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and a member of the advisory board of Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He is also a director of Northwestern Memorial Hospital and president of the Foundation for Health Enhancement.
Mr. Chookaszian has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Northwestern University, a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago, and a master of science degree in economics from the London School of Economics. He is a Certified Public Accountant, a Chartered Global Management Accountant, Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter, and a Certified Management Consultant as well as a member of the directors’ table of Beta Gamma Sigma, an honorary fraternity. In 2010, Mr. Chookaszian received the Outstanding Director Award from the Financial Times Outstanding Directors Exchange.
Milton Pinsky
CEO, Banner Apartments LLC
Milton Pinsky is the CEO of Banner Real Estate Group, LLC and affiliates, which he founded in 1990 with his brother, Martin, and father, Alex. Prior to starting Banner Apartments, LLC and its affiliates (Banner), Milt practiced law for 5 years at Skadden Arps Meagher & Flom, specializing in mergers, acquisitions and leveraged buyouts. Milt received his JD and MBA from the University of Chicago. Prior to graduate school, Milt worked as an Electrical Engineer for 2 years during and after obtaining a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Illinois. Milt resides in Glencoe, Illinois and is married with three children.
When Banner started, Milt owned and controlled a majority interest and was the CEO of a company whose sole asset was a $2.5 million line of credit from Alex Pinsky. Today, Banner is an owner of and manages over 6,000 apartments and is an owner of a portfolio of self-storage properties. Banner’s main operating divisions include (i) conventional acquisitions, fundraising and investor reporting, (ii) new construction of multifamily rental properties, self-storage properties and senior housing and (iii) property management. Banner currently has approximately 250 employees. Banner’s stabilized portfolio is worth over $600 million, its development pipeline has a projected stabilized value of over $400 million and it has operations in 14 states.
Milt transferred his majority control to a Board of Directors in 2005. The family member owners created a family council in 2006 and a Business Governance Committee to interact with the Board and the business in 2014. The Board of Directors consists of 4 outside directors (the Independent Directors Committee) and 2 family board seats. The Independent Directors Committee has sole discretion to fire, hire, promote or determine the annual salary and bonus of each family member working in the business, including Milt. Family members working in the business are to be held to the same standards for all such decisions as non-family members would be held. Pursuant to a Board approved plan, Banner promoted one of its long term executives (who is not a family member) to COO at the beginning of 2015 with the expectation that such individual will become CEO in August of 2017.
Milt is also on the board of two non-profits, one focusing on affordable housing (which Milt co-founded) and one focusing on people with developmental disabilities.
Charles E. Shepard
Board Member, Menasha Corp.
Menasha Corp., a family-owned company, provides niche-based packaging, logistics and marketing services through two operating units: Menasha Packaging and Orbis. The company has sales in excess of $1 billion and 4,000 employees.
Menasha is also a socially responsible business, supporting various organizations and causes through the Menasha Corporation Foundation.
Charles "Charlie" Shepard spent two decades as a journalist, reporting for the Charlotte (NC) Observer and Washington Post. His investigations led to federal convictions and prison terms for three executives at the United Way of America and four executives at the PTL television ministry, including its president, televangelist Jim Bakker. Shepard’s reporting on PTL won the Pulitzer Prize for Meritorious Public Service in 1988 for the Observer. A year later, Shepard published "Forgiven: The Rise and Fall of Jim Bakker and the PTL Ministry," a biography of Bakker.
Charlie, a 1976 graduate of Harvard University, earned an MBA from The University of Virginia Darden School of Business in 2000. For the past 10 years, he has worked in a variety of roles with Menasha Corporation, a Wisconsin-based packaging business founded by his paternal great-great-grandfather, Elisha D. Smith. Charlie, founding chairman of the Smith Family Council from 2004 to 2008, now serves on Menasha's board of directors.
Charlie is married to author Wendy Swallow, and they live in Reno, Nev., and Washington, D.C. He has two sons, Ben and Sam Shepard, and two stepsons, Joe and Geoff Williams.
Drew Everett
Chairman of the Board, Bush Brothers & Company
Drew Everett is a fourth generation member of the Bush family. A native of Dandridge, Tennessee, he received degrees in Finance and Production & Operations Management from Virginia Tech.
In the fall of 1993, Drew came to work for the family business. Drew has worn many different hats at Bush Brothers & Company from Information Services (1993- 2002) to Supply Chain Optimizer (2003-2005). As Production Manager (2005-2008), he successfully led the manufacturing population’s transition to Condon’s Plant – a new production facility at Chestnut Hill which is arguably one of America’s finest food processing plants. In 2008 he was promoted to Director of Human Resources and in 2013 he added Director of Shareholder Relations and was promoted to Vice President. Drew was elected Chairman of the Board in June 2015. He is a member of the Board of Directors, a founding member of the Bush Family Senate, and the Shoebox Private Trust Company where he is also the Chair of the Investment Committee.
Drew lives in Knoxville with his wife, Melissa, and their two sons, Bennett and Cooper.
Adela Cepeda
Managing Director, PFM Financial Advisors LLC; Director, UBS Funds, Mercer Mutual Funds, BMO Financial Corp.
Adela Cepeda is Managing Director of PFM Financial Advisors LLC. She was the founder and President of A.C. Advisory, Inc., a nationally ranked financial advisory firm which manages the structuring and execution of transactions in the capital markets. Cepeda serves on the boards of the UBS Funds, Consulting Group Capital Markets Mutual Funds, and the Mercer Mutual Funds. She is also a director of BMO Financial Corp., the U.S. holding company for BMO Harris Bank, with 15,000 employees and over 600 branches. Cepeda previously served on the board of Wyndham International and chaired its audit committee. Ms. Cepeda previously held the position of Vice President of Corporate Finance at Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Inc. She is a Director of several mutual fund families and serves on numerous non-profit boards, including the Cook County Council of Economic Advisors and the City of Chicago Community Development Commission. She also serves on the board of the Chicago Foundation for Women. Ms. Cepeda graduated cum laude with an A.B. in Economics from Harvard College and earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago School of Business.
Dennis Kessler
Director, SWANK Motion Pictures, O’Neil Industries and QuesTek Innovations
Dennis Kessler is the President and founder of Midwest Family Business Advisors a firm specializing in helping families to overcome the challenges inherent in mixing business with family. www.midwestfamilybusinessadvisors.com. He advises clients on cyber security succession planning, conflict resolution, strategic planning, employee recruitment and retention strategies, work/life benefits and Family and Business Governance structures. Dennis is the former Co-President of Fel Pro Inc., which was in his family for 80 years.
Fortune Magazine ranked Fel-Pro fourth in their list of best companies to work for in America. Fel-Pro is listed as one of the ten best companies in the book entitled, "The 100 Best Companies to Work for in America." Fel Pro was chosen as one of the 10 best employers for women in the country by "Working Mother" magazine for twelve straight years. Fel-Pro was also chosen as the "Employer of the Year" in Illinois. The Business Enterprise Trust founded by Norman Lear, awarded Fel-Pro special recognition for its programs that enhance the quality of life for employees.
Dennis earned an Industrial Engineering and a Masters degree in Engineering Administration from Washington University in St. Louis. He worked for DuPont, Union Electric and Orchard Paper prior to joining Fel Pro. At Fel Pro he held several managerial positions including: Vice President of Engineering, VP of Operations, and VP of Original Equipment Sales, as well as President of; the Ventures Group of companies, including Fel-Pro Realty Inc. and Fel-Pro Chemical Products LLP.
Dennis currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors and Advisors of three Private Company Boards: SWANK Motion Pictures, O’Neil Industries and QuesTek Innovations. He is a Founding member of the Private Directors Association. Dennis serves on the Board of Directors of several non-profit organizations including the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, and Michael Rolfe Pancreatic Cancer Foundation. He currently serves as a member of the advisory board of DePaul University’s College of Commerce, and Washington University’s Engineering School Council in St. Louis. He formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors of Fel-Pro, Loyola Family Business Center, and Ideal Industries, Inc., and as Chairman of the Workforce Development Committee of Lake County Partners, IL. The Board of Directors of the Northern Illinois Business Association and as Chairman of Northwestern University’s School of Engineering and Applied Science Advisory Council
He has served as guest lecturer for numerous organizations including: Loyola Family Business Center, Family Firm Institute, Northwestern University - Kellogg Graduate School, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania-Wharton School of Management and the Southeastern Family Office Forum. He has previously served on a volunteer basis as President of the Dystonia Medical Research Foundation, the North Suburban Housing Center and Vice President of Congregation Solel. Kessler has also received the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award from Washington University Engineering School.
Dennis and his wife, Barbara, live in Highland Park, Illinois, and have 3 grown children.
Gail Lione
Senior Counsel, Dentons; Director, Badger Meter, Sargento Foods, F. Dohmen Company
Gail Lione is a senior counsel at Dentons. For more than 23 years, Lione served as General Counsel of three companies in three different industries: global marketing/manufacturing; publishing, printing and digital imaging; and insurance, banking and financial services. Most recently, she was the Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of Harley-Davidson, Inc. She also served as President of The Harley-Davidson Foundation until she retired from the company. For the seven years prior to joining Harley-Davidson, Lione was General Counsel and Secretary of US News & World Report and its affiliates, The Atlantic Monthly Company, Applied Graphics Technologies, Inc. and Applied Printing Technologies. Her first General Counsel position was with Sun Life Group of America in Atlanta, where she managed the legal affairs and all regulatory activities of five insurance companies licensed in 50 states.
Lione is a sought-after board member for corporations as well. She currently serves on three corporate boards including Badger Meter, Inc. (NYSE: BMI) where she is the lead director and a member of the Corporate Governance and Compensation Committees; The F. Dohmen Co. where she is a member of the Audit Committee; and Sargento Foods, Inc., where she is a member of the Compensation Committee. Lione also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Governance Center of The Conference Board.
Lione is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where she teaches intellectual property law, drawing on her experience in the strategic management and protection of intellectual property portfolios. In January 2015, she was elected as a member of the American Law Institute.
Andrew J. McKenna
Chairman Emeritus, Schwarz Supply Source, McDonald's Corporation
Andrew J. McKenna is Chairman Emeritus of Schwarz Supply Source, a printer, converter, producer and distributor of packaging and promotional materials. He is Chairman Emeritus of McDonald’s Corporation and served as non-Executive Chairman of from April 2004 to May 2016. Mr. McKenna serves as a director of Ryan Specialty Group. He has served over the years on many civic, community and philanthropic boards and currently serves as a trustee of Ronald McDonald House Charities, Museum of Science and Industry (Chairman Emeritus) and University of Notre Dame (Chairman Emeritus), and as a director of Big Shoulders Fund of the Archdiocese of Chicago, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Ireland Economic Advisory Board, Lyric Opera of Chicago and United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, among others. Mr. McKenna is also the Founding Chairman of Metropolis Strategies.
Andrew is a 1951 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a bachelor of science degree in business administration and marketing. McKenna is also a graduate of DePaul University Law School where he received a Doctor of Jurisprudence. He has been the recipient of many industry, business and civic awards. He and his wife, Joan, have seven children, 24 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Margaret Pederson
President, Amirexx, Vice Chair, Xamax Industries, Director, Viad Corp.
Margaret Pederson is a strategist, innovator and business operator who serves as a Board Director and Chair of Innovation and Strategy Committees and member of Compensation & Nominating/Governance committees for public and private companies. Her current board assignments are: Viad (NYSE: VVI), Chairman of Innovation and Marketing Strategy Committee, Member of Compensation and Nominating and Governance Committees; Xamax Industries, Chair Strategy Committee; TextureMedia Inc, Member Compensation Committee; National Association of Corporate Directors, President Connecticut Chapter and Women Corporate Directors Advisory Board. Margaret was President of Penton Exhibitions, Primedia Exhibitions (NYSE: Primedia) and Prism Exhibitions over a period of nine years. She held operating and senior management roles at Reed Exhibition Groups (Reed-Elsevier). Her early career included preparing Board material for Corning Glass and PepsiCo. She now runs Amirexx, a boutique consulting group that focus on innovation, business development and strategy for middle market and private equity companies and governments. She works in early stage investing with Golden Seeds with a focus on Media and Technology and a functional expertise in marketing. Margaret has both domestic and international operating and business development experience in stand-alone as well as large multidivisional companies. She has led operations in Canada and led development in Europe and Asia having lived in London, Paris, Tokyo and Manila. Margaret has demonstrated professional experience in strategy, business development, M&A, innovation and marketing for a wide range of industry sectors. She is a frequent speaker and writer on Innovation in the Boardroom. Margaret combines judgment, experience and knowledge in a collaborative manner that adds value to board matters. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the Honors Program at University of Virginia,, an MBA from Harvard Graduate School of Business and studied international law and business at The London School of Economics. She enjoys adventure travel, trekking, home renovation, reading and writing.
David Chandler
Managing Partner, Chicago Growth Partners
David Chandler entered the private equity business upon joining William Blair & Company from Morgan Stanley’s Investment Banking Division in 1987. At William Blair, he partnered with other team members to build the firm’s merchant banking capabilities, which were ultimately known as William Blair Capital Partners. Prior to graduate school, David was an analyst in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group at The First Boston Corp. (Credit Suisse) from 1980 to 1982.
While at William Blair, David and his colleagues raised, invested and managed four private equity funds totaling $934 million in committed capital over a 17-year period. In 2004, the team leading William Blair Capital Partners established Chicago Growth Partners to pursue its growth-oriented buyout strategy on an independent basis. Since 2004, David has served as Managing Partner and Co-Founder of CGP. In 2015, David and several other CGP team members established ParkerGale Capital, a private equity firm focused exclusively on investing in small, profitable, founder-owned technology services businesses.
Over the past 30 years, David has served as a board member of more than 25 privately held companies, primarily in the education, healthcare and technology services markets.
David received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in 1984 and a BA in History from Princeton University in 1980.
He is currently Immediate Past Board Chair of The Golden Apple Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to recruiting, developing, supporting and recognizing teachers and teaching excellence in schools of need throughout Illinois. He is also a board and executive committee member of the Academy for Urban School Leadership (AUSL) a Chicago non-profit organization that creates schools of excellence by developing highly effective teachers and transforming education outcomes in Chicago’s lowest performing schools. AUSL manages 31 Chicago Public Schools serving nearly 18,000 students.
David and his wife have four children and live in the Chicago suburbs
Deborah L. DeHaas
Vice Chairman and National Managing Partner, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte
Deb DeHaas is responsible for Deloitte’s boardroom programs that support corporate boards and directors in fulfilling their governance-related responsibilities. She recently completed a six-year term as the chief inclusion officer for Deloitte US, where she drove Deloitte’s strategy to recruit, develop, and promote a diverse workforce and foster an inclusive environment where leaders thrive. She was named to Accounting Today’s “Top 100 Most Influential” list in 2013 and 2014, and to the 2015, 2016, and 2017 NACD Directorship 100, which recognizes influential leaders in corporate governance. Deb is a noted community leader, serving as Trustee at Northwestern University, Trustee at University of Denver, Vice Chair for United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and a Director for World Business Chicago. Deb serves as a Lead Client Service Partner or Advisory Partner on a number of Deloitte’s most significant clients. She previously served on the Deloitte LLP Board of Directors, represented the US Firms on the Deloitte Canada Board of Directors, was a member of the Deloitte US Executive Committee, and was Deloitte’s managing partner for the central region.Influential” list in 2013 and 2014, and to the 2015, 2016, and 2017 NACD Directorship 100, which recognizes influential leaders in corporate governance. Deb is a noted community leader, serving as Trustee at Northwestern University, Trustee at University of Denver, Vice Chair for United Way of Metropolitan Chicago and a Director for World Business Chicago. Deb serves as a Lead Client Service Partner or Advisory Partner on a number of Deloitte’s most significant clients. She previously served on the Deloitte LLP Board of Directors, represented the US Firms on the Deloitte Canada Board of Directors, was a member of the Deloitte US Executive Committee, and was Deloitte’s managing partner for the central region.
D. Roger Nanney
Vice Chairman; National Leader, Deloitte Growth Enterprise Services, Deloitte LLP
D. Roger Nanney is a vice chairman of Deloitte LLP and the national leader of Deloitte Growth Enterprise Services (DGES), where he is responsible for the delivery of services to the firm’s mid-market and privately held clients. Roger also serves as the leader for the Audit Services organization of DGES and is the advisory partner for several of Deloitte’s largest clients.
Since joining Deloitte in 1982, and as a partner for nearly 27 years, Roger has held a number of leadership positions, including the operations leader for Deloitte’s U.S. Clients & Industries initiatives and the U.S. industry program; marketing and business development; and the Office of the CEO program. Roger also was a member of the U.S. and Americas operating committees, and previously served as the Mid-America regional managing partner.
Throughout his career, Roger has worked with clients across a number of industries and geographies. His extensive experience serving both mid-size and private companies and multinational public organizations and has provided him with a broad and in-depth understanding of the challenges clients face in today’s ever-changing business environment.
Roger is active in his community and serves a number of civic organizations. He is Immediate Past Chair of the AT&T Performing Arts Center in Dallas, Texas, National Trustee of PGA REACH, the charitable foundation of the PGA of America, and Trustee of the University of South Carolina Business Partnership Foundation.
A CPA, Roger received his bachelor of business administration and master of accountancy from the University of South Carolina. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Institute of Management Accountants.
Maureen Bujno
Managing Director, Center for Board Effectiveness, Deloitte LLP
Maureen Bujno is a managing director in the Center for Board Effectiveness for Deloitte LLP. As a subject matter resource on a variety of corporate governance topics, Maureen works closely with boards, committees and executives on governance challenges, rule developments and leading practices. She addresses timely topics such as emerging board governance topics, the board’s role in risk oversight, strategic risks assessment, boardroom agenda items, and audit committee leading practices.
Maureen is the governance liaison to several Deloitte clients, and provides education for boards and audit committees. She leads client board labs for new board and audit committee members, as well as transitioning board members taking on board or committee leadership roles. In 2016, Maureen was recognized by NACD Directorship magazine as one of the top 100 influential professionals in corporate governance and in the boardroom. Maureen has over 26 years of business experience with Deloitte including work with the Mergers and Acquisitions Services group and the Audit practice.
Maureen is former President and ex-officio member of the Fairfield University Alumni Association and board of directors. She is also a former member of the board of directors of the YMCA, West Side, New York City. Maureen is a CPA in New York and a member of the AICPA.
Tom Nassim
Senior Manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP
Tom Nassim is a leader in the Deloitte Consulting Innovation practice, the unit of Deloitte Consulting responsible for driving innovation within Deloitte, and developing an external ecosystem of strategic alliances.
Tom has over 15 years of consulting experience, working across the domains of strategy and innovation, with a particular area of focus on building innovation capabilities in large, complex organizations. He spent seven years working with Deloitte’s Doblin Group, bringing leading edge design methodologies to help companies envision and implement transformative innovation.
Tom manages Deloitte’s relationship with Singularity University, a leading organization dedicated to educating society on exponentially trending technological developments. He works with clients to build their awareness of the disruptive threats and opportunities associated with exponential technological change in the fields of artificial intelligence, robotics, networks and sensors, and digital biology.
Tom brings a broad cross-industry perspective to clients, with significant experience in consumer products, health care, financial services, and industrial markets.
Tom holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Amherst College and a Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School.
He lives in New York City with his wife and two young daughters.
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Standard Registration Rates
Private company owners, shareholders, managers and investors, and public and private company board members:
- $1,895 First attendee
- $1,395 Additional attendees from the same company/board
Past attendees of the Private Company Governance Summit or the Transitions Conferences qualify for an additional discount on their registration fees:
- $1,705.50 First Attendee
- $1,255.50 Additional attendees from the same company/board
All other attendees: advisers, consultants, others allied to the field:
- $2,350 Each attendee
Cancellation Policy: All conference cancellations must be made in writing and emailed to Justine Wood, PCGS Events Director, at jwood@familybusinessmagazine.com. Registrants who cancel more than four weeks prior to the program date are entitled to a full refund of the registration fee less an administrative fee of $150 per registrant; if canceled within four weeks, but more than 10 business days prior to the conference date, 50% of the conference registration fee will be refunded less an administrative fee of $150 per registrant; within ten business days of the conference date and no shows, no refund is possible. PCGS may cancel the program if attendance does not meet required levels; in case of cancellation or rescheduling, full refunds of registration fees will be made. Travel fares and hotel deposits cannot be reimbursed.
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Conference Hosts
David Shaw
Editor and Publishing Director
Robert H. Rock
Chairman
Peter Begalla
Director-Education and Conferences
Barbara Spector
Editor, Family Business Magazine
