Roz L. Alford is founder and now co-principal of ASAP Solutions Group, LLC (ASAP). Alford’s primary focus at ASAP is executing marketing and sales strategies by providing operations leadership and process implementation. Working closely with the ASAP team, she ensures that processes and procedures are executed above and beyond set goals. In March 2011, Alford was appointed by President Obama to the National Women’s Business Council (NWBC) for a three-year term. The NWBC is a bipartisan federal advisory council created to serve as an independent source of advice and policy recommendations to the president, Congress, and the Small Business Administration on economic issues of importance to women business owners. In addition, the Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) elected Alford to its Executive Board as secretary. Alford is active in the Alexis de Tocqueville Society, an affiliate of United Way. She was instrumental in setting up a program with the Partnership Against Domestic Violence to help battered women and also supports the American Cancer Society and other charities. Alford received a bachelor of science from the Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Institute in Frankfurt, Germany, and the University of Chicago.
Hector Barreto was appointed by George W. Bush in 2001 to serve as the Administrator of the U. S. Small Business Administration. During his five years of stewardship, the SBA exceeded all previous records in small business loans, disaster relief and procurement opportunities. Barreto is the President of Barreto Associates, a Southern California based international consulting firm, developing relationships between major corporations, government agencies and small business. Barreto has received special recognition from many groups including the U.S. Congress, County of Los Angeles and the YMCA. Most notably, in 2006, he was honored by the President Fox of Mexico with the Aguila Azteca award, the highest recognition bestowed to a citizen of another country. Barreto currently serves as the Chairman of The Latino Coalition, a national organization that represents Latino interests in both the private and public sector.
Ann M. Beauchesne is vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s National Security & Emergency Preparedness Department, which works to achieve increased national security while maintaining the openness and mobility that are critical to our economy. She is the principal spokesperson on national security and emergency preparedness issues and is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with administration and regulatory agency leaders. Beauchesne develops the Chamber’s overall national security policy strategy and fosters public-private sector partnerships. Prior to joining the Chamber, she worked for the National Governors Association (NGA) where she held a variety of positions. At NGA, Beauchesne established its Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division. Beauchesne served two terms on the Federal Emergency Management Agency National Advisory Council (FEMA-NAC) and was nominated for and completed the Joint Civilian Orientation Conference (JCOC) program at the Department of Defense. She is also a graduate of the Homeland Security Executive Leaders Program at the elite Naval Postgraduate School’s Center for Defense and Security.
After years of wearing ill-fitting button down shirts to work as a lobbyist in Washington, D.C., Rochelle Behrens developed her patented Dual Button Technology™, the design built into her button down shirts to eliminate gaping between the buttons. The company began with her innovative core product, the expertly tailored classic white button down and has expanded to include silks, premium cottons, and a prints division, in flawlessly fitting shirts. The Shirt was named Oprah’s “Must Have Fashion Item” of the year in 2011, and Behrens has been profiled in The New York Times, featured on The Today Show, and named to Inc. magazine’s “30 Coolest Entrepreneurs Under 30.” The Shirt can be found at Bloomingdales, at boutiques across North America, and at www.the-shirt.com. Behrens graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with degrees in art history and political science.
Building on a background as a public servant, university president, and teacher, the people of Missouri elected Roy Blunt to the United States Senate in 2010. Sen. Blunt is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee; the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee; the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; and the Senate Rules Committee. He serves as the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Blunt is also the ranking Republican on the Commerce Subcommittee on Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion. Shortly after he was sworn into the Senate, Blunt was chosen by his colleagues to serve as a member of the Senate leadership as vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. He also serves as a member of the Senate Republican Whip Team. Before serving in Congress, Blunt was a history teacher, a county official, and in 1984 became the first Republican elected as Missouri’s secretary of state in more than 50 years. He also served for four years as the president of his alma mater, Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri. Blunt is a member of the Smithsonian Council for American Art and a trustee of the State Historical Society of Missouri. The senator is married to Abigail Blunt and has four children and six grandchildren.
Jill Brannon is senior vice president of International Sales at FedEx. Brannon provides strategic direction for all international sales activities for the FedEx portfolio of services in more than 220 countries and territories around the world. Her scope of responsibility includes a team of more than 3,500 international sales executives, encompassing large global portfolio solutions, small company services, inside sales, and geographic and sector selling. She assumed her current role in 2006 after serving as vice president of FedEx International Sales. Prior to this position, she was vice president of FedEx Solutions, responsible for sales go-to-market strategy, analytics, compensation, technology and sales, and customer events. In addition, Brannon has served as the regional director of western region worldwide sales, focusing on global supply chain solutions for the high-tech sector. A native of North Carolina, she graduated from Lenoir-Rhyne College and earned concurrent bachelor’s degrees in international business and French. Brannon is on the boards of the US-ASEAN Business Council and the International Children’s Heart Foundation. She is a strong advocate of free trade and has testified before Congress supporting export and import legislation on behalf of small business.
Rosalind G. Brewer is president and CEO of Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart). Brewer joined Sam’s Club in February 2012, bringing a wealth of talent to the members-only warehouse operating segment that serves the needs of individual and smallbusiness members. She joined Walmart in 2006 as regional vice president, overseeing operations in Georgia. From 2007 to January 2012, she was division president of the Southeast. Most recently, she was executive vice president and president of Walmart East. The area includes nearly 1,600 stores in six regions—spanning from Maine to Puerto Rico—generates $110 billion in revenue, and includes more than 500,000 associates. Throughout her career, Brewer has performed as a high-impact strategist with experience in global manufacturing operations, research and development, marketing, and strategic business unit leadership. Before joining Walmart, she worked for Kimberly-Clark Corp., starting as a scientist in Nonwoven Technology and Product Development before becoming president of the Global Nonwovens Sector in 2004. Brewer earned a bachelor’s in chemistry from Spelman College. She attended the advanced management program at The Wharton School and graduated from Director’s College at the University of Chicago School of Business/Stanford School of Law. Brewer is a former director of Molson Coors Brewing Company (NYSE:TAP), where she was on the Human Resources/Compensation Committee. She currently serves on the board of directors for Lockheed Martin Corporation (NYSE:LMT) and is chair of the board of trustees for Spelman College. Her achievements include being honored by Fortune magazine in 2010 and 2011 as one of the “Fifty Most Powerful Women in Business.”
When Sam Calagione opened Dogfish Head in 1995, it was the smallest commercial brewery in America, making 10 gallons of beer at a time. Today, Dogfish Head is among the fastest-growing breweries in the country. It has focused on brewing stronger, more exotic beers since opening day with the motto “Off-centered ales for off-centered people.” Dogfish Head has grown into a 180-person company with a restaurant/brewery/distillery in Rehoboth Beach and a production brewery in Milton, Delaware, and sells beer in 27 states. Calagione is chairman of the board of directors for the Brewers Association and was a finalist in 2011 and 2012 for a James Beard Foundation Award in the Outstanding Wine & Spirits Professional category. Fast Company magazine named him one of the “100 Most Creative People in Business in 2011.” He is the author of Brewing up a Business and Extreme Brewing, and co-authored He Said Beer, She Said Wine. Calagione lives in Lewes, Delaware, with his wife, Mariah, who is Dogfish vice president. They have two children, Sammy and Grier.
James “The Ragin’ Cajun” Carville is one of America’s best-known political consultants. His electoral successes show a knack for steering overlooked campaigns to unexpected landslide victories and for remaking political underdogs into upset winners. His winning streak began in 1986 when he managed the gubernatorial victory of Robert Casey in Pennsylvania. But his most prominent victory was in 1992 when he helped William Jefferson Clinton win the presidency. In recent years, Carville has not been a paid political consultant for any domestic politicians or candidates for office, instead focusing on campaigns in more than 20 countries around the globe. Carville is a best-selling author, actor, producer, talk-show host, speaker, and restaurateur. His titles include All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President (with wife Mary Matalin); And the Horse He Rode In On: The People vs. Kenneth Starr; his children’s book, Lu and the Swamp Ghost; and his latest book, 40 More Years: How the Democrats will Rule the Next Generation. Along with pollster Stanley Greenberg, Carville founded Democracy Corps, an independent, nonprofit polling organization for making government more responsive. Carville is a frequent political commentator and contributor on CNN. He also serves as a Professor of Practice at Tulane University in New Orleans, where he lives with his wife, Mary Matalin, and their two daughters, Matty and Emma.
Paul W. Chisholm is the chief executive officer of mindSHIFT Technologies, a provider of managed IT services to small and medium-size businesses throughout the United States. Before joining mindSHIFT, Chisholm provided business and telecom consulting to various venture capital firms. From 1996 to 2001, he was president and chief executive officer of COLT Telecom Group plc headquartered in London. Chisholm started his career at COLT in 1992 as the company’s first managing director. In addition, he held various general management positions at Teleport Communications Group, Shawmut Bank, AT&T, and New England Telephone. Chisholm received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Boston College in 1971 and a Masters in Business Administration from Babson College in 1982. He is a member of the board of trustees of Babson College and Cathedral High School in Boston.
Thomas J. Donohue is president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Since assuming his position in 1997, Donohue has built the Chamber into a lobbying and political powerhouse with expanded influence across the globe. He has advanced a competitiveness agenda that includes doubling U.S. exports in five years, strengthening capital markets, forging a national energy strategy, reforming health care and education, and protecting intellectual property rights. In addition, he spearheaded the creation of the American Free Enterprise. Dream Big. campaign, a long-term program to defend, protect, and advance a free enterprise system based on individual initiative, hard work, and personal responsibility. Donohue established the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform, which has won significant legal reforms in the courts, at the state and federal levels, and in elections for state attorneys general and Supreme Court judges. He served for 13 years as president and chief executive officer of the American Trucking Associations, the national organization of the trucking industry. Donohue and his wife, Liz, live in Potomac, Maryland. They have three sons and five grandchildren.
Colonel Greg Gadson has survived the very worst of war, but this highly decorated American soldier has not been defeated by an unfortunate circumstance. Instead, his life is a portrait of courage in the face of adversity. Gadson understands that hard work and determination are key to overcoming life-altering setbacks. His biggest challenge happened in Iraq when an IED attack led to both of his legs being amputated above the knees. For anyone else, this might have been a defining moment, but he refused to be defined by the proverbial “hail of bullets.” Gadson speaks with fervor about the role teamwork and camaraderie play when facing life’s obstacles. He applies his story to every level of an organization, showing how every team depends on each player. A highly decorated colonel, Gadson commanded the 2nd Battalion, 32nd Field Artillery in Iraq. He’s served in every major conflict of the last two decades, including Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq). His awards include the Meritorious Service Medal and the Army Commendation Medal. Still an active officer in the U.S. Army, Gadson completed a master’s in policy management from Georgetown University and is a fellow at the Institute of World Politics. Gadson’s football career ended at West Point, but his impact on the sport has reached new heights. In 2008, he played a behind-the-scenes role in the New York Giants’ Super Bowl victory. At the behest of the head coach, Gadson talked to the team about service, duty, perseverance, and adversity. As a starting linebacker on the Army football team at West Point, Gadson learned the fundamentals of organization—pride, poise, team—a lesson he applies to his life, career, and family.
William Haynes founded Sabai Technology in 2010. Haynes, a lifelong “networking geekm,” started working on computers in 1978 and continues his passion to this day. He is a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE), a Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA®), a Cisco Certified Design Associate (CCDA®), and has acquired many subspecialty certifications in the wireless area for Cisco. Haynes began modifying Linksys routers when working with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in Northern Thailand and used these modified routers to provide Internet to the missions community there. Sabai Technology focuses on developing and selling of wireless network equipment based on a customized OS, with a goal to aid the average home and business user in accessing the power of this network equipment. The company has shipped to more than 90 countries and has been a proud partner with FedEx since mid-2010.
Jeanne A. Hulit was named the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s) acting associate administrator for the Office of Capital Access in December 2011. She manages and oversees the agency’s programs and operations that are designed to expand access to capital for the nation’s entrepreneurs and small business owners. Hulit is responsible for the agency’s loan, microloan, and investment programs, credit risk management, secondary market activity, and financial operations centers. Previously, she served as SBA’s New England regional administrator. Before joining SBA, Hulit was senior vice president for commercial lending at Citizens Bank since 2002. Hulit also worked for KeyBank, N.A., where she served as a middle market lender. She also managed Key’s International Banking Division for five years.
Naveen Jain is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and technology pioneer. He is a founder of World Innovation Institute, Moon Express, Intelius, and InfoSpace. Jain believes that entrepreneurial innovation has the power to change the world. He serves as a Trustee of the boards of Singularity University and X PRIZE Foundation, where he is also a co-chairman of global development and education. Jain was named 2011’s “Top 20 Entrepreneurs” by Red Herring, “Most Admired Serial Entrepreneurs” by Silicon India and received the “Light of India” Business Leadership Award by Times Group India. Red Herring presented him with a “Lifetime Achievement Award” for his continued leadership in the technology industry and his ongoing support of other entrepreneurs.
Randel K. Johnson joined the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on December 1, 1997. As senior vice president, he is responsible for labor, immigration, and employee benefits issues pending before Congress and the federal agencies. Consulting with the Chamber’s member policy committees and his staff, Johnson determines the Chamber’s position and sets strategy on a variety of issues that fall within the jurisdiction of his division. These include union-driven initiatives such as card check legislation, ergonomics, and blacklisting regulations; pension funding reform and health care; civil rights and wage and hour; and comprehensive immigration reform, including visa and border policy. Johnson regularly testifies before Congress and is quoted in the media on employment and immigration issues as a recognized expert. Johnson serves on the board of directors of the National Immigration Forum and the Lutheran Immigration Refugee Services agency and on the Quality Alliance Steering Committee. Johnson is a graduate of Denison University and the University of Maryland School of Law and earned his Master of Laws in labor relations from the Georgetown University Law Center. He received a graduate certificate from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government for Senior Managers in Government and is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.
R. Bruce Josten, executive vice president for Government Affairs at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is the second ranking officer at the Chamber and the organization’s senior government and political affairs executive. He manages six major divisions: Congressional and Public Affairs; Economic Policy; Environment, Technology and Regulatory Affairs; Labor, Immigration, and Employee Benefits; National Security & Emergency Preparedness; and Political and Federation Relations. Josten is the key architect of the U.S. Chamber’s resurgent position as leader of the business community’s policy and grassroots activities in the 104th through the 112th Congresses. Josten is a frequent commentator on national legislative, political, and economic issues affecting the business community, its employees, and the economy. He is quoted regularly by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, Business Week, FORTUNE, and National Journal and is often interviewed by the major television networks, including Meet the Press and talk radio. Josten has been recognized by Roll Call, the newspaper of Capitol Hill, as one of the 50 most influential Washingtonians in electing congressional candidates.
Janet F. Kavinoky is executive director of Transportation and Infrastructure in the Congressional and Public Affairs Division at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She is the Chamber’s senior lobbyist and policy director on all transportation issues and leads the Chamber’s Let’s Rebuild America (LRA) initiative to raise the profile of infrastructure issues, broaden stakeholder engagement, and create new opportunities for businesses to influence public policy. She is also vice president of the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) coalition, an effort by business, labor, and transportation to advocate for improved and increased federal investment in the nation’s aging and overburdened transportation system. Kavinoky has a bachelor’s degree in political economy from the University of Wyoming and an M.B.A. from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. She is a resident of Washington, D.C., living on Capitol Hill.
Matt Kennedy is director of the Strategic Partnerships Program in the U.S. Commercial Service, where he helps lead the New Market Export Initiative (NMEI) and build new partnerships to support the National Export Initiative (NEI). Before joining the International Trade Administration (ITA), Kennedy served in the Obama administration as special assistant to the deputy secretary of theTreasury Department and director of operations for the White House counsel. Prior to government service, he managed the MoneySite, a nonprofit financial services initiative that leverages tax preparation as a vehicle to create personal financial plans for low-income households. Kennedy graduated from Stanford University with a B.S. in management science and engineering and holds an M.B.A. from Harvard.
Jennifer Kushell is president of Young & Successful Media and founder of YSN.com (Your Success Network), a leading destination for career exploration, professional development, and resources for young professionals and entrepreneurs around the world. Author New York Times best-seller Secrets of the Young & Successful and The Young Entrepreneur's Edge, Kushell started her entrepreneurial career at 13. Today she works with a wide range of corporations, trade associations, and universities. In addition, she is a speaker and strategic consultant and a recognized thought leader on the emerging global workforce. Called “The Career Doctor” by Cosmopolitan and a “guru” of her generation’s entrepreneurial movement by U.S. News & World Report, Kushell has appeared in front of more than 300 million people via major media such as CNN, CNBC, BBC, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BusinessWeek, Entrepreneur, and Seventeen.
Bill Lovell is director of global supply chain for OtterBox, a Fort Collins, Colorado-based maker of protective solutions for mobile technology. Lovell’s decades of experience in global supply chain were needed when he joined the fast-growing company in April 2010. OtterBox has increased its revenue more than 3,000% over the last three years, which put a major strain on the supply chain. Lovell and his team were challenged to improve the global supply structure to support the company’s rapid growth. He reduced the tooling process from 70 days to 18–28 days and reduced time to market 75% while launching more than 200 new products in 2011. His team continues to innovate and challenge suppliers to meet the launch dates and quality expectations that OtterBox and its customers demand. Lovell earned a degree in biology from Hastings College in Hastings, Nebraska. Upon graduation, he joined data storage company StorageTek, where he developed his passion for global supply chain. Almost 30 years later, Lovell brought his expertise to OtterBox. He lives in Longmont, with his wife, Peggy.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) was sworn into the Senate on November 15, 2010, to fill the seat left vacant by the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. Born and raised in the small coal mining town of Farmington, West Virginia, Manchin grew up learning the values that West Virginians share— family, fairness, and hard work. As a small businessman, he learned firsthand from his grandfather, Papa Joe, an Italian immigrant and the town grocer, the importance of serving the public. As a young man, his beloved grandmother, Mama Kay, inspired Manchin’s belief in public service through her compassion and desire to help those less fortunate. Manchin has always been committed to his philosophy of “retail government”—in other words, connecting with all of his constituents and making service to them his top priority. Throughout his public life, he has never let politics or ideology stand in the way of commonsense solutions. Instead, he believes that only by putting politics aside and working hard to bring people together can we do what is right for West Virginia and the nation.
Beatriz (Betty) Manetta is president and CEO of Argent Associates, a certified minority and female-owned company that she founded in 1998. Argent is a supply-chain managed services company providing technology advanced supply chains. Argent‘s technology platforms track assets and monitor the environment of assets and shipments across the world with a customer base of government, enterprise, and telecommunications sectors. Previously, Manetta worked 20 years with AT&T and Lucent Technologies. She has a bachelor of science degree in marketing and accounting from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in international studies from Seton Hall University. She also attended Thunderbird University’s Corporate Education International Consortium program. Argent has been named the No. 1 fastest-growing woman-owned business by the Women’s Presidents’ Organization (WPO), Inc 500 fastest-growing company (#351), and the Top 50 Woman-owned business in New Jersey by Amex OPEN. Argent has been rated in the Top 500 largest Hispanic-owned companies from 2006 to 2011; 2007, was rated No. 22 of the top 100 largest Hispanic-owned companies.
Mary Matalin is one of the most celebrated and popular conservative voices in America. As an author, television and radio host, and sought after political contributor, pundit, and public speaker, she is noted for her straightforward manner and insightful political repartee. Among her accomplishments, she served under President Ronald Reagan and made her mark as George H.W. Bush’s campaign director, assistant to President George W. Bush, and assistant and counselor to Vice President Dick Cheney, making her the first White House official to hold that double title. Matalin was a founding co-host of the Washington-based political talk show Equal Time on CNBC and has made many appearances on NBC’s Meet the Press and the HBO series K-Street. Currently, she is a CNN political contributor and co-hosts the nationally syndicated radio program Both Sides Now. Matalin is editor at large for Threshold Editions, a conservative publishing imprint at Simon & Schuster. She and her husband, James Carville, authored the best-selling political campaign book All’s Fair: Love, War, and Running for President. She makes regular appearances as a public speaker and sits on the boards of numerous institutions, including Tulane University’s President’s Council and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. Matalin is a visiting distinguished lecturer in political science at Loyola University New Orleans. She and her husband live in New Orleans with their two teenage daughters, Matty and Emma.
Phyllis Meyer is assistant vice president of Global Marketing Partnerships and Small Business Alliances at Dun & Bradstreet. Meyer has worked at D&B for more than 25 years in the areas of finance, operations, sales, and marketing. In her current position, she provides strategic direction for new partnerships and alliances to expand the D&B brand and to educate small businesses. Within D&B, Meyer is known as the small business ambassador, advocating for small businesses on every front. In addition, Meyer is a frequent speaker at presentations, on panels, and at workshops for small businesses across the United States. Her presentations focus on helping small businesses do business with the federal government and large corporations, manage cash flow, and understanding financial statements, among other things. Meyer holds degrees in economics and accounting from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Karen Gordon Mills was sworn in on April 6, 2009, as the 23rd administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). On January 13, 2012, she was elevated to serve in the president’s Cabinet. She leads a team of 3,000 employees whose mission is to help entrepreneurs and small business owners grow and create jobs by providing greater access to capital, counseling, federal contracting opportunities, disaster assistance, and more. Among its priorities, SBA has a portfolio of more than $90 billion in loan guarantees. Each year, the agency helps leverage nearly $100 billion in federal contracts to small businesses and supports free counseling and technical assistance to more than 1 million entrepreneurs. Throughout her career, Mills has owned, managed, mentored, and invested in small and growing businesses. As an investor and owner, she helped small manufacturers improve their competitiveness and ultimately survive the downturn of the early 1990s. In her current position, Mills has helped expand access to capital through SBA lending, increase small business’ share of federal contracts, strengthen SBA’s network of more than 14,000 affiliated counselors, and oversee critical disaster assistance operations across the country. Mills earned an A.B. in economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School where she was a Baker Scholar. Additionally, she served as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and was vice chairman of the Harvard Overseers. She and her husband, Barry, president of Bowdoin College, live in Brunswick, Maine. They have three sons.
Vanessa O’Connell is The Wall Street Journal’s small business editor, an integrated position for the print Journal and the online Journal. Her responsibilities include overseeing small business coverage and developing new features that appeal to entrepreneurial readers. O’Connell has worked in the New York bureau of The Wall Street Journal since 1995. In addition to editing, she often writes for all sections of the paper. In 2010, she co-authored a series of news and feature stories on the doping scandal in professional cycling, including “Blood Brothers,” which won a 2011 New York Press Club Award. In 2010, she also contributed to “There Was ‘Nobody in Charge,’” part of the Journal’s series on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig that won a 2011 Loeb Award, a New York News Publishers Association Award, and a National Headliner Award. The series was a finalist in the national affairs category for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize. Other recent coverage as a reporter included a page-one series on the downside of the productivity movement sweeping the retail industry and a two-year project writing about guns and the gun industry. O’Connell has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and lives in New York City with her husband and daughters.
Mark Oliver is director for the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. Oliver has more than 26 years of experience in the areas of small business administration, education, community relations, and congressional liaison. He has conceptualized, developed, and deployed multiple strategic initiatives that have achieved funding objectives and has processed improvements to exceed bottom-line needs. Over the last five years, he has worked with officials in his department to ensure that at least 50% of all contracting dollars be awarded to small businesses. Oliver was elected chair of the Interagency Council for fiscal year 2012. He holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Morgan State University in Baltimore and a master’s in public administration from Southeastern University in Washington, D.C.
Dina H. Powell is president of the Goldman Sachs Foundation and global head of corporate engagement. The Goldman Sachs Foundation fosters economic growth and opportunity globally. It also supports strategic programs that include 10,000 Women, a five-year initiative to offer business and management education to women entrepreneurs around the world and 10,000 Small Businesses, an effort to provide U.S. small business with access to capital, business education, and mentors and networks. Prior to Goldman Sachs, she served as assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs and as deputy undersecretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs. Before being confirmed as assistant secretary, she was assistant to the president for presidential personnel in the White House.
Rhys Powell, a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses graduate, is president & founder of Red Rabbit. Powell has always been interested in good food, good nutrition, and good health. When friends asked him to help search out healthy options for their school-age children, he was surprised to find that such options did not exist. In 2005, the idea for Red Rabbit was born. Powell is proud to be at the center of today’s food revolution and at the helm of an innovative young company that is trying to solve a critical problem—how to get kids to eat healthy at school. From its kitchens in New York City, Red Rabbit delivers thousands of farm-fresh meals—breakfasts, lunches, and snacks—to school children across the Greater New York Area and has an active educational program that brings the healthy eating message to kids and parents alike.
Dr. Martin Regalia is senior vice president for economic and tax policy and chief economist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Before coming to the Chamber in 1993, Regalia served as the director of research for the Savings and Community Bankers of America. Before that, Regalia was executive vice president of policy development and chief economist for the National Council of Community Bankers. Regalia also served as a principal analyst in the Fiscal Analysis Division at the Congressional Budget Office, as an economist for the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System in both the Banking and Capital Markets Sections, and as a financial economist for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Regalia appears regularly on national television news and debate programs, testifies before congressional committees, authors articles and publications on a variety of economic topics, and speaks to many groups across the country. USA Today named Regalia one of the top 10 economists in the nation, based on the accuracy of his 2008 forecasts and his predictions for 2009. Regalia has a B.A. with honors in economics from the University of Santa Clara as well as an M.A. in economics and a Ph.D. in monetary economics from the University of Wisconsin.
Edward H. Rensi is the retired president and CEO of McDonald’s USA, and the founder and owner, along with Tom Dentice and Vince Naccarato, of Tom & Eddie’s, the gourmet burger restaurant that originated in Lombard in 2010 and then expanded. Both Rensi and Dentice had 30+ year careers with McDonald’s and from that learned the hundreds of steps that take place before a burger is sizzling on the grill. Rensi joined McDonald’s in 1966 as a grill man earning 85 cents an hour, and in 1991, he was named CEO. During his 14-year term as president, McDonald’s experienced phenomenal growth. U.S. sales doubled to more than $16 billion, the number of U.S. restaurants grew from 6,600 to more than 12,000, and the number of U.S. franchisees grew from 1,600 to more than 2,700. Throughout his career, Rensi never lost sight of the fact that the success of a $32 billion corporation is driven by satisfying millions of customers at the front counter. In 1988, he received the distinguished President’s Volunteer Award from President Ronald Reagan for his extensive volunteer efforts with Ronald McDonald Children’s Charities and Ronald McDonald House which he co-founded. A graduate of The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, Rensi holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education. He is on the boards of directors of Snap-on Tools, Great Wolf Resorts, Spin Fresh Technology, and the International Speedway Corporation.
John Ruan III is chairman and CEO of Ruan Transportation Management Systems and chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of the Chamber’s Executive Committee. In addition to the transportation business, Ruan provides oversight to several Ruan organizations. He serves as chairman of the Iowa Export-Import Trading Company and the World Food Prize Foundation, chairman and president of City Center Corporation, a trustee of the John Ruan Foundation Trust, and chairman and CEO of Ruan Center Corporation and Ruan Inc. Ruan is also chairman, president, and CEO of bank holding company BTC Financial Corporation and serves as chairman for the bank subsidiary Bankers Trust Company NA. Ruan is a member of the boards of the Hubbell Realty Company, the Iowa Business Council, the Greater Des Moines Partnership, the Downtown Community Alliance, Chief Executives Organization, and Castle Pines Golf Club. He is a trustee of Culver Educational Foundation and past chairman of the Des Moines Metropolitan Planning Organization and the Greater Des Moines YMCA. Ruan received his B.S. in business administration from Northwestern University and is a graduate of the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Dr. Rick Serola is the inventor and manufacturer of the state-of-the-art back pain solution, the Serola Sacroiliac Belt. He graduated summa cum laude from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1983 and was a member of the Chiropractic Honor Society. During his more than 24 years of clinical research, he has developed his own theories on biomechanics, which led to the production of unique products that are now sold in approximately 40 countries. His company was the first involved in the Northern Illinois Trade Initiative, which was formed as a collaborative effort between FedEx and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Experts were brought in who helped evaluate and retain a logistics center in The Netherlands to serve his expanding European customer base. Since then, he has won the State Line World Trade Association’s Exporter of the Year Award in 2009. The Rock River Valley Entrepreneurship Center awarded Serola Biomechanics a grant from the State of Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity meant for companies with the potential for rapid, sustainable growth. Serola has been highlighted in the local newspaper, television and government articles, as well as FedEx’s Road Map to World Markets.
Frederick W. Smith is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of FedEx Corporation, a $39 billion global transportation, business services, and logistics company. Smith is responsible for providing strategic direction for all FedEx Corporation operating companies, including FedEx Services, FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, and FedEx Freight. FedEx serves more than 220 countries and territories and has more than 290,000 team members worldwide who handle more than 8.5 million shipments each business day. Since founding FedEx in 1971, Smith has been an active proponent of regulatory reform, free trade, and “open skies agreements” for aviation around the world. Most recently, Smith has advocated for vehicle energy-efficiency standards and a national energy policy. FedEx has consistently been ranked on Fortune magazine’s industry lists, including “World’s Most Admired Companies,” “100 Best Companies to Work For,” and is on Fortune’s “Blue Ribbon Companies List.” Smith was named among the world’s best CEOs by Barron’s magazine and was Chief Executive magazine’s 2004 “CEO of the Year.” In addition, he served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps from 1966 to 1970. Smith has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University.
Sarah Smith is director of Online Operations-Austin for Facebook. She is responsible for the performance of the Austin office and also manages the SMB Growth Team for North America. Smith joined Facebook in 2008 and has worked on a variety of initiatives, including the opening of the Dublin, Ireland, office; building operational models for future business lines; and starting the North America account management team for midmarket advertisers. In 2010, she moved to Austin to lead the company’s new sales and operations office, the first major U.S. expansion outside of Palo Alto, which staffs more than 180 people. Prior to Facebook, Smith was director of New Business at Swish Marketing, a startup specializing in online lead generation for the financial sector. She also held positions with the Sylvan Learning Centers, the Boston Consulting Group, and the Madison Metropolitan School District. Smith has an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and an undergraduate degree in music education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an avid Settlers of Catan player, collects vintage pottery, and loves tacos.
Margaret Spellings is a senior adviser to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of its Forum for Policy Innovation. As president, Spellings oversees the Chamber’s three nonprofit foundations: the National Chamber Foundation (NCF), the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC), and the Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW). She also serves as president and CEO of Margaret Spellings and Company and provides strategic guidance to some of the most recognized philanthropic and private sector organizations in the world. Spellings was U.S. secretary of education from 2005 to 2009. As a member of the president’s Cabinet, she led the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), a historic national initiative to provide enhanced accountability for the education of U.S. public school students. In higher education, Spellings launched a national policy debate and action plan to improve accessibility, affordability, and accountability in our nation’s colleges and universities. She has appeared on major network and cable broadcast stations, including NBC’s Meet the Press and The Today Show, as well as Celebrity Jeopardy, the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, and the Colbert Report. Her writings have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, and other publications.
Glen Swanson is senior vice president, business customer group, for Best Buy, Co., Inc., a multinational retailer of technology and entertainment products and services. His responsibilities include responding to the needs of small businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions. Prior to his current role, Swanson was a territory general manager for U.S. Best Buy stores in parts of the Midwest. He has held a number of other roles in the organization since joining in 1989, including senior product specialist, assistant manager, general manager and district manager. He was a pioneer on the early Customer Centricity teams and has been an active supporter of the Women’s Leadership Forum (Wolf) at Best Buy. Swanson, who grew up in Chicago and attended Illinois State University. He is a Habitat for Humanity volunteer.
Diane Leneghan Tomb, president & CEO of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO®), advocates on behalf of women business owners in our nation’s capital and across the country. She is responsible for developing programs that navigate women entrepreneurs through various stages of business growth. Founded in 1975, NAWBO is the country’s largest organization representing the more than 10 million women business owners with more than 6,000 members in 70 chapters. Before joining NAWBO, Tomb ran a public affairs and strategic communications firm that she founded in 2003. She has served in senior roles in the federal government, nonprofits, and private sector. Tomb serves as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and is a member of the Enterprising Women Magazine Advisory Board and the Chief Council’s Leadership Group within the Small Business Administration’s Office of Advocacy. She also serves on the board for the Foundation for Social and Cultural Advancement & Terwilliger Center at the Urban Land Institute.
Patty Tuttle, senior vice president at Wells Fargo’s Mid-Atlantic small business segment, provides strategic direction. Tuttle also serves as the field subject expert for credit management for the region. She develops and leads regional strategies to support the success of small business owners in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. Previously, Tuttle served as community bank president where she was responsible for 48 banking stores and more than $3 billion in deposits. She is a 20-year veteran and has served in a variety of leadership positions.
Gary Vaynerchuk (VAY NER CHUK) is a successful entrepreneur and social media guru. As director of operations at Wine Library in Springfield, N.J., Vaynerchuk’s roots in wine tasting come honestly—his Russian immigrant parents owned a liquor store when he was growing up. Bored at the cash register, he began reading Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate and realized collecting wine offered an allure. With a wealth of knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit, Vaynerchuk spent every weekend of his college years at his parents' store, rebranding the family business and establishing himself as a respected expert. In just five years, he grew the business from $4 million to $60 million. In Vaynerchuk’s second New York Times best-seller The Thank You Economy, he discusses the shift in culture that businesses have seen, how everything has changed except human nature, and why smart people dismiss social media (and why they shouldn't). In his first New York Times and Wall Street Journal best-selling book CRUSH IT! Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In On Your Passion (HarperStudio) he shares how business owners can boost sales using the Internet. Vaynerchuk appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Ellen DeGeneres, NBC’s Today Show, and CNBC’s Mad Money with Jim Cramer and was featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today. He is a consultant for Fortune 100 companies. A sought after speaker, Vaynerchuk gives keynote speeches to organizations, including NIKE, ReMax, the Digital Marketing Mixer, Boston Wine Expo, DeGustibus Cooking School, and the Disney Food and Wine Festival. He lives in New York City.
Leticia “Letty” Vélez is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses participant and president & CEO of Chicago Mini Bus Travel, a company that provides transportation for corporate groups, government, sports teams, and individuals. Her entrepreneurial vision began at an early age as she enjoyed the satisfaction of a job well done and embraced a passion for customer service. At 19 Vélez became a retail store manager and has applied her hands-on experience throughout her career. Chicago Mini Bus Travel now has 15 buses, 30 employees, a strong management team, and a strategic plan for growth. It is the only bus company in Chicago owned and operated by a Latina. Vélez’s honors and recognitions include 2010 Enterprising Women Magazine “Woman of the Year” Honoree and 2010 Honoree of Latina Social Magazines “Six Latina Entrepreneurs of the Year Who Make a Difference.” In 2011, Vélez was featured in Walmart’s 2011 Global Sustainability Report.
Christina Villena, a field manager with Travelers Risk Control, leads a team of safety and health professionals who provide consultation services for Property and Casualty customers in the Commercial Accounts Division. With 15 years of safety and health consulting experience, she has worked with a variety of clients, from family-owned small businesses to Fortune 100 companies to help implement successful Risk Control solutions to reduce the potential for loss. Villena earned a Bachelor of Science in safety and environmental management from Slippery Rock University and a Masters of Business with a finance emphasis from Pepperdine University. She holds a Certified Safety Professional designation (CSP) and an Associate in Risk Management (ARM) certification.
W. Kenneth Yancey Jr. serves as CEO of the SCORE Association, a position he has held since 1993. At SCORE, Yancey is responsible for developing the organization into one of the most effective job creation and business formation engines in the nation. SCORE has served more than 9.5 million existing and aspiring small business owners since inception and helps create more than 58,000 new businesses and more than 71,000 new jobs annually. Yancey leads 364 SCORE Chapters and 13,000 volunteer mentors across the United States. Prior to joining SCORE, Yancey was executive director for the National Business Association. Yancey, recognized as one of the leading advocates for small business, represents SCORE nationally before the media, industry leaders, and in congressional testimony. He serves on the Small Business Advisory Council of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
View our 2011 speakers.
