George Talks Business 2019

2019 Events
Explore the Archive

Couldn't attend in person or online? In this archive, you'll find detailed information — plus the full video — from every George Talks Business event in 2019.

Fall 2019

November 18, 2019 - Muriel Bowser, Mayor of the District of Columbia

On Monday, November 18, Muriel Bowser, mayor of the District of Columbia, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As Mayor of her hometown, Muriel Bowser is committed to building pathways to the middle class and making sure every Washingtonian gets a fair shot. Washington, D.C. is a growing and prospering city—now more than 700,000 residents strong. To keep up with this growth, the Bowser Administration remains focused on making DC’s prosperity more inclusive, advancing DC values, ensuring that families and workers across the income spectrum can afford to live and thrive in D.C., and building safer, stronger, and healthier neighborhoods across all eight wards of the District.

On November 6, 2018, Muriel Bowser became the first woman ever re-elected as the mayor of Washington, D.C. and the first mayor to earn a second term in 16 years. During her first term, Mayor Bowser took bold steps to expand employment opportunities, build a health care system that meets the needs of residents in every corner of D.C., drive down homelessness, and invest in programs and policies that set more families up for success. Today, Washington, D.C. is a diverse and inclusive city, a leader in tech and innovation, and a place where residents and entrepreneurs of all backgrounds can thrive.

First sworn in on January 2, 2015, Mayor Bowser pledged to bring a fresh start to the District of Columbia and foster a culture of inclusion, transparency, and action. Prior to her time as Mayor, Bowser served as the Ward 4 Councilmember on the Council of the District of Columbia – first elected in a special election in 2007, and re-elected in 2008 and 2012. As a Councilmember, Bowser served as the Chairwoman of the Committee on Economic Development which created more than 5,000 units of affordable housing, passed legislation to build a new soccer stadium and secured from the federal government the best portion of the Walter Reed campus for DC. Bowser led her colleagues to pass comprehensive ethics reform and increased transparency in government contracting.

Bowser, who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Chatham University and a Master’s degree in Public Policy from American University, entered public service as an advisory neighborhood commissioner in the Riggs Park neighborhood.

 

November 14, 2019 - Charles R. Bendit, Co-Chief Executive Officer, Taconic Investment Partners

On Thursday, November 14, Charles R. Bendit, BBA ’75, co-chief executive officer of Taconic Investment Partners, was interviewed by alumnus Brian Ray, CCAS BA '94, managing partner at Alchemy-ABR Investment Partners.

This session was sponsored by Mitchell E. Blaser, BBA ’73 and former GW parent, and Eduardo Stern, MBA ’84, former GW Parent. This session was hosted by the Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis (CREUA) at GWSB, the Alumni in Real Estate Industry Network, and the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charles Bendit is the co-chief executive officer of Taconic Investment Partners, an owner, operator and developer of commercial and residential real estate. Prior to founding Taconic in 1997, Mr. Bendit founded CBC Properties and, earlier in his career, Mr. Bendit was a managing director at Jones Lang Wootton.

A graduate of George Washington University, Charlie is actively involved in the educational community serving on The George Washington University Board of Trustees, the GW School of Business' Center for Real Estate and Urban Analysis, and has served as a Regent of the New York State Board of Education as well as a board member and Principal for a Day for PENCIL. In addition, Charlie is a member of the Board of Governors of the Real Estate Board of New York.

 

November 12, 2019 - Barry Svrluga, Sports Columnist, and Sam Fortier, Sports Staff Writer, The Washington Post

On Tuesday, November 12, Washington Post Sports Columnist Barry Svrluga and Washington Post Sports Staff Writer Sam Fortier discussed the business of baseball and the Washington Nationals' magical season with GWSB Professor Mark Hyman and Bailee Weisz, president of the GW Sports Business Association.

 

 

 

November 4, 2019 - Peter Chun, Vice President of Platform Growth, SocialCode

On Monday, November 4, Peter Chun, BBA ’00, vice president of Platform Growth at SocialCode, was interviewed by Dr. Vanessa Perry, associate dean for Faculty and Research at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Chun leads SocialCode’s platform strategy and growth to maximize client performance, innovation, and drive revenue growth. He has over 15 years of experience in digital marketing, performance advertising, and consumer mobile, working with the world’s largest consumer Internet brands. Prior to SocialCode, he was the head of solutions at Clickable (acquired by Syncapse) and was a managing director at LinkShare (acquired by Rakuten.) Most recently he was the co-founder at Swaag, the first sneaker and fashion community featured by Apple.

 

October 26, 2019 - Dr. Xinya Vivian Wang, Founding Partner, Beautiful Mind Capital and Board Trustee, Fudan University

On Saturday, October 26, Dr. Xinya Vivian Wang, founding partner of Beautiful Mind Capital (BMC), board trustee at Fudan University, board director at the School of Medical Science of Fudan University, and co-chairman of Fudan University China Financier Club, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

This George Talks Business event was held in Shanghai, China.

Dr. Vivian Wang is a founding partner of Beautiful Mind Capital (BMC) since 2018. BMC is a leveraged buy-out fund focused on acquiring European companies with synergies with China business. With Dr. Wang’s extensive China-Europe M&A and investment banking experience, most recently BMC has acquired Cordenka AG for Euro240M. Dr. Wang has previously worked at Fortis Bank, Commerzbank, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, and Credit Suisse as chief representative of Credit Suisse Shanghai. Dr. Wang earned BS in Chemistry and Ph.D. in Economics from Fudan University. She is also a board trustee at Fudan University, the board director at the School of Medical Science of Fudan University, and the co-chairman of Fudan University China Financier Club.

 

 

October 22, 2019 - Tom Cortese, Co-founder, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Product, Peloton

On Tuesday, October 22, Tom Cortese, BA ’02, co-founder, chief operating officer, and head of product at Peloton, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

This session was hosted in partnership with 1776.

 

 

 

 

 

As co-founder, COO, and head of product at Peloton, Tom Cortese is responsible for driving operational cohesion against critical initiatives to drive growth and further excite Peloton’s growing and loyal member base. In addition, Tom heads up Peloton’s Product Development teams, overseeing product definition, design, engineering, and quality — all with a dedicated approach to highly addictive, user-centered experiences across all Peloton member touch-points. Prior to Peloton, Tom held product management and executive roles at IAC/InterActiveCorp and Revolution Health Group. He holds a BA in Philosophy from the George Washington University and spends his free time chasing his three children around the yard, training for races with his wife, and racing up the leaderboard on his Peloton Bike & Tread.

 

October 17, 2019 - David P. Paul, President and Chief Operating Officer, JBG SMITH

On Thursday, October 17, David P. Paul, president and chief operating officer JBG SMITH, was interviewed by Sharon Oliver, MBA '82, principal at Meany & Oliver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David P. Paul has served as president and chief operating officer at JBG SMITH since the formation transaction. Mr. Paul has over 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry and worked at JBG from September 2007 until the formation transaction, serving as a Managing Partner and member of JBG's Executive Committee, Management Committee and Investment Committee. Prior to joining JBG, Mr. Paul worked in commercial and retail real estate development and investment with several firms, including WP Commercial, Archon Group, a subsidiary of Goldman, Sachs & Co (NYSE: GS), Starwood Urban Investments, and Trammell Crow Company, and has been involved in both domestic and international real estate investment. He began his career with the consulting firm Bain & Company. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and Master of Business Administration from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

 

October 7, 2019 - Justin Bakewell and Lourdes Tiglao (GW Alumni Veterans Panel)

On Monday, October 7, Justin Bakewell, MBA '09, executive director of J.P. Morgan Private Bank, and Lourdes Tiglao, MBA '14, strategic partnerships officer of Team Rubicon Global, were interviewed by Dr. Liesl Riddle, associate dean of Graduate Programs and associate professor of International Business & International Affairs at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Justin Bakewell is an executive director and banker with the J.P. Morgan Private Bank in Baltimore. The Private Bank provides individuals, families, public and private foundations, and endowments with comprehensive wealth management strategies, ongoing guidance, and customized plans to address their balance sheet needs.

Before joining J.P. Morgan, Mr. Bakewell served as a Client Advisor at Brown Advisory where he led a number of client relationships and had a leadership role on the firm’s business development team. Prior to this, he was a Client Advisor at Bernstein Global Wealth Management. He also spent eight years in the U.S. Marine Corps serving in a variety of roles.

Mr. Bakewell serves on the Board of Advisors and as Chairman of the Finance Committee for Teach for America (D.C.), on the Board of Directors and as Treasurer for Rocketship Education (D.C.), and on the Board of Advisors of the George Washington University School of Business.

Mr. Bakewell was recognized by the Washington Business Journal as a top 40 Under 40 for both his professional and philanthropic leadership in the Washington, D.C. area. He holds an MBA from the George Washington University, a Graduate Certificate in Taxation from the Kogod School of Business at American University, and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park.

 

 

 

 

Lourdes Tiglao serves as the strategic partnerships officer for Team Rubicon Global, responsible for establishing relationships with the 50 most disaster-prone countries around the world. She is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served in the medical field as part of the 3-person USAF Critical Care Air Transport Team while also a member of the International Health Specialist Team for the US Air Force, using medicine as an approach to crossing cultural barriers. Her career in aerospace medicine deployed her to multiple countries, including Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, and the Philippines until 2007. During those years, she assisted in launching the first Critical Care Medical Attendant Team in the Pacific for the US Air Force, helped standardize the aeromedical evacuation protocol for Camp Lester Naval Hospital in Okinawa, and integrated naval personnel into the specialized 3-person teams.

After her honorable discharge, Lourdes joined Team Rubicon, deploying numerous times with the organization to include Hurricane Sandy in New York and Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and has been a staunch veteran advocate, speaking on various topics, ranging from Team Rubicon, non-profit management, medicine, veteran transition, humanitarian response, and volunteer mobilization at several venues including the Philippine Embassy in Washington, D.C., the New York and San Francisco Philippine consulates, the State Department, as a guest speaker by an international television network, universities, as well as academic and scientific conferences. Most recently, she has taught Civil-Military Coordination and preparedness to participants from 25+ countries in Germany as part of UN OCHA's facilitation team.

Ms. Tiglao has appeared on ABS-CBN News, The Loyolan, US News & World Report, Republic of the Philippines Department of Foreign Affairs, The Filipino Channel, GWToday, Stars and Stripes, Philippines News Central, CNN, The View, ChannelOne, and others.

She holds a B.S. in Psychology from the University of Maryland University College, a certificate in graduate medical education from Georgetown University, and her World Executive MBA degree from George Washington University.

October 3, 2019 - Corinne McCormack, Founder, Corinne McCormack Inc.

On Thursday, October 3, Corinne McCormack, Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumna and founder of Corinne McCormack Inc., a designer eyewear company, was interviewed by Dr. Lex McCusker, director of Student Entrepreneurship Programs at the George Washington University.

This session was organized with the generous support of Steve Ross, BBA '81.

 

 

 

 

Corinne McCormack is a seasoned executive and entrepreneur who conceived and created a brand of designer eyewear in 1993 that carved a new niche in the eyewear industry. In 2009, McCormack sold her company to Foster Grant (FGX International), the largest manufacture of popular priced reading and sunglasses. Her expertise in creating her own brand gives her a unique perspective on consulting for other businesses and professionals who want to grow their business.

Corinne developed her eponymous brand into a recognized leader in premium reading glasses. Today, Corinne McCormack Reading Glasses are sold in over 2000 stores in the U.S., including Bloomingdales, Nordstrom and Barnes & Noble.

When McCormack launched her eyewear collection, she was the first designer to see the potential in high end, optical quality reading glasses. Her prior professional background included executive positions with such best in class companies as Macy’s and Avon Products. With the start of her own company, Corinne designed a unique and fashionable line of eyewear accessories that was distinctive in the product design, quality and packaging. The packaging established her brand in retailers including LensCrafters and Sunglass Hut.

Corinne McCormack understands how to build businesses and make them profitable with limited resources. She is both creative and analytical with an intuitive understanding of future trends. Her ability to understand the needs and priorities of modern consumers has been translated into her innovative designs and also enabled her to receive 5 patents.

As the appeal and distribution of her collections has grown, Corinne McCormack has enjoyed prominent coverage in major national and influential print and broadcast outlets including Live with Kelly, the TODAY Show, CNN and Good Morning New York. Her products have been showcased in such major vehicles as In Style, Oprah, WWD, Good Housekeeping, Glamour and important trade publications.

While running her own company, Corinne McCormack has also been active in many high visibility industry organizations. She was the President and on the national board of the OWA (Optical Woman’s Association) for over 10 years. She received the OWA’s inaugural Pinnacle Award in March 2017 for her service and contributions in the industry.

McCormack has been consistently active with The Vision Council, the leading industry association, where she was the Chair of the Marketing/Communications Committee and served for over 10 years. She is also active in the Accessories Council, a major association promoting the profile of fashion accessories globally.

In 2010, McCormack was recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Optical by Vision Monday, a leading trade publication.

A skilled presenter, McCormack is an accredited ABO (American Board of Opticianry) speaker and has developed and taught several Continuing Education courses for the Optical Industry. She has also been a speaker at Fashion Institute of Technology in NY and represented woman owned businesses at a press conference with Mayor Guilani in 1994.

Corinne holds a BS degree from George Washington University.

 

September 23, 2019 - David M. Rubenstein, Co-founder and Co-executive Chairman, The Carlyle Group

On Monday, September 23 at 6:00 p.m., David M. Rubenstein, co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business, and Rodney Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute.

This session was organized with the generous support of Steve Ross, BBA '81.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David M. Rubenstein is a co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private investment firms. Mr. Rubenstein co-founded the firm in 1987. Since then, Carlyle has grown into a firm managing $222 billion from 33 offices around the world.

Mr. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of Trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Council on Foreign Relations; a Fellow of the Harvard Corporation; a Trustee of the National Gallery of Art, the University of Chicago, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine, the Institute for Advanced Study, the Brookings Institution, and the World Economic Forum; a Director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; and President of the Economic Club of Washington.

Mr. Rubenstein is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, American Philosophical Society, Business Council, Harvard Global Advisory Council (Chairman), Madison Council of the Library of Congress (Chairman), Board of Dean’s Advisors of the Business School at Harvard, Advisory Board of the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University (former Chairman), and Board of the World Economic Forum Global Shapers Community.

Mr. Rubenstein has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Duke University and Co-Chairman of the Board of the Brookings Institution.

Mr. Rubenstein is an original signer of The Giving Pledge, a significant donor to all of the above-mentioned non-profit organizations, and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy, and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award, among other philanthropic awards.

Mr. Rubenstein has been a leader in the area of Patriotic Philanthropy, having made transformative gifts for the restoration or repair of the Washington Monument, Monticello, Montpelier, Mount Vernon, Arlington House, Iwo Jima Memorial, the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian, the National Archives, the National Zoo, the Library of Congress, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Mr. Rubenstein has also provided to the U.S. government long-term loans of his rare copies of the Magna Carta, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, the Emancipation Proclamation, the 13th Amendment, the first map of the U.S. (Abel Buell map), and the first book printed in the U.S. (Bay Psalm Book).

Mr. Rubenstein is the host of The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Bloomberg TV and PBS.

Mr. Rubenstein, a native of Baltimore, is a 1970 magna cum laude graduate of Duke University, where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa. Following Duke, Mr. Rubenstein graduated in 1973 from the University of Chicago Law School, where he was an editor of the Law Review. From 1973-1975, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in New York with Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. From 1975-1976, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Constitutional Amendments. From 1977-1981, during the Carter Administration, Mr. Rubenstein was Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. After his White House service and before co-founding Carlyle, Mr. Rubenstein practiced law in Washington with Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge (now Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman).

 

September 23, 2019 - Nelson A. Carbonell, Jr., Chair Emeritus, The George Washington University Board of Trustees

On Monday, September 23 at 12:00 p.m., Nelson A. Carbonell, Jr., chair emeritus of the George Washington University Board of Trustees, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

This session was organized with the generous support of Steve Ross, BBA '81.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nelson A. Carbonell, Jr., chairman emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the George Washington University, is an entrepreneur with more than 30 years of experience. He has founded companies including Cysive, a software engineering services company he took public in 1999; Snowbird Capital, which provided equity and mezzanine debt to middle market companies; and Nelson Carbonell and Associates, which assists companies with strategy, financing, operations and technology. Mr. Carbonell has chaired several key committees of the George Washington University Board of Trustees, most notably, the committee that led the full board to approve the construction of the Science and Engineering Hall. He serves on the board of the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, and is a former chairman of the Washington-Baltimore Young President's Organization, as well as a former member of YPO's International Board. Mr. Carbonell also serves on several corporate boards. Mr. Carbonell earned his bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from GW graduating with distinction in 1985.

Nelson was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. He is of Cuban decent and speaks fluent Spanish. He resides with his wife Michele in Great Falls, Virginia. Nelson and Michele have four adult children: Carmen, Roxy, Dylan and Sophia. Nelson spends his free time skiing, golfing, hiking and relaxing at his vacation home in Deer Valley, Utah. He enjoys fine wine, good food, and reading history and physics.

 

September 16, 2019 - Mark Lerner, Managing Principal Owner and Vice Chairman, Washington Nationals Baseball Club

On Monday, September 16, Mark Lerner, managing principal owner and vice chairman of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club, was interviewed by Lisa Delpy Neirotti, Ph.D., director of the MS in Sport Management program and associate professor of Sport Management at GWSB.

This session was organized with the generous support of Steve Ross, BBA '81.

 

 

 

 

Mark D. Lerner is a native Washingtonian and managing principal owner and vice chairman of the Washington Nationals Baseball Club. He is also a Principal of Lerner Enterprises, the largest private real estate developers in the Washington, D.C. area. The company was founded in 1952 by Mark’s father, Theodore N. Lerner, and is involved in all phases of real estate including planning, development, construction, leasing, asset and property management. The Lerner organization has developed millions of square feet of office buildings, retail centers, hotels and residential communities in the Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia area. The principals of the company include Mark’s father Ted, and his brothers-in-law, Edward L. Cohen and Robert K. Tanenbaum. He received his BBA from the George Washington University in 1975.

An enthusiastic sports fan since childhood, Mark also represents the Lerner, Cohen and Tanenbaum families as a partner in Monumental Sports & Entertainment – the sports investment group that owns the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals, NBA Washington Wizards, WNBA Washington Mystics, AFL Champion Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade, and the Capital One Arena. Mark holds numerous volunteer positions within the community. He is currently on the Council of Advisors of the Bender Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, a member of the Board of Directors of Hillel at the George Washington University, a member of the Advisory Board of Israel Bonds, a member of the New York University DC Center Steering Committee, a member of the board of the Washington D.C. Sports Hall of Fame, vice president of The Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Foundation, a board member of the Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy, and an officer of the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation. In 2007, he received the prestigious Chadesh Yameinu Award from the Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, where he previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and as chair of the Building & Grounds Committee. He was also co-chair of the 2004 JCC Maccabi Games of Greater Washington. In 2015, he was awarded Trendsetter of the Year in commercial real estate by Transwestern and Delta Associates. Mark also sits on Major League Baseball’s Competition Committee.

Adding to this history of community involvement in the Washington area, the Lerner family is pleased to expand their participation in the region through the Washington Nationals Dream Foundation. This includes major projects such as the state-of-the-art Washington Nationals Youth Baseball Academy in Ward 7 and the Washington Nationals Diabetes Care Complex at Children’s National Medical Center. In addition, the Lerner and Nationals charitable foundations helped to create the Washington Nationals Miracle Field in Germantown, Md., to encourage disabled children to play baseball. The team also hosts player trips to visit active military and veterans at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, and hosts and honors returning veterans at each of their home games.

Mark resides in Washington with his wife of 40 years, Judy Lenkin Lerner. They have three children and two grandchildren.

Spring & Summer 2019

June 6, 2019 - How to Help HR Deliver Business Value with Herman Aguinis and Dawn M. Cacciotti

In today’s globalized world, it is relatively easy to gain access to the competition’s technology and products. So, what is today’s key source of an organization’s competitive advantage? The answer is: people. But what should organizations do to transform people’s talent and motivation into a strategic business advantage? What is the role of top management, line managers, and the HR function? The first summer installment of George Talks Business answered these questions by combining lessons learned from science and practice on employee engagement, performance management, organizational culture, talent acquisition and development, the HR-board relationship, and total rewards, among other topics.

Dr. Herman Aguinis, Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and professor of management at GWSB, and Dawn M. Cacciotti, president and senior human resources consultant at EngageHRnow, LLC, participated in a panel moderated by Dr. James R. Bailey, Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development and professor of management at GWSB. Welcome remarks were given by Dr. Liesl Riddle, associate dean of graduate programs at GWSB.

The first 100 registered guests attending the event in person received a free copy of Professor Herman Aguinis’s new book Performance Management for Dummies .

This event was co-sponsored by the Dulles area chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Herman Aguinis is the Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Management at the George Washington University School of Business (GWSB). Prior to joining GWSB, he was the John F. Mee Chair of Management and the Founding and Managing Director of the Institute for Global Organizational Effectiveness in the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University. In addition, he has been a visiting scholar at universities in the People's Republic of China (Beijing and Hong Kong), Malaysia, Singapore, Argentina, France, Spain, Puerto Rico, Australia, and South Africa.

His research is multidisciplinary and addresses the acquisition and deployment of talent in organizations and organizational research methods. Dr. Aguinis is the recipient of the 2017 Michael R. Losey Excellence in Human Resource Research Award. The award is given for lifetime achievement in human resource research and recognizes an individual for significant past and ongoing research contributions that impact the HR management field.

Learn more about Dr. Aguinis

 

 

 

 

Dawn Cacciotti, founder of EngageHRnow, has more than 25 years of strategic HR experience. As a human resources strategist, co-author of Cultivating Culture, and passionate speaker, Dawn is an advocate for the importance of strategic HR to the success of all organizations. EngageHRnow, founded in 2014, is a human resources consulting and outsourcing firm specializing in employee engagement, organizational culture, and strategic human capital solutions for small to mid-size associations and for-profit business.

Dawn has won numerous honors for her leadership in the area of Engagement, Strategy and Well-being. In 2014, she was recognized by Employee Benefits News as the “Benefits Leadership – Judges Choice” award winner, led the strategic human capital change at the National Restaurant Association allowing them to be awarded the coveted Washington Post Top Workplace list in Washington, D.C., and was a Human Resources Strategic Alignment honoree for the HRLA awards.

Dawn has shared her strategic HR insights at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce small business summit, Association Trends events, BLR webinars, SHRM events, executive leadership retreats and has conducted numerous organizational training sessions on how to build a healthy culture and drive employee engagement. She holds certifications as a Senior Professional of Human Resources (SPHR), SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP) and Human Capital Strategist (HCS) and has her Bachelors of Science in Human Resources Management.

May 2, 2019 - Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, The International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The 15^th George Talks Business event was held on Thursday, May 2. Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), was interviewed by Danny Leipziger, managing director of The Growth Dialogue and professor of international business and international affairs at GWSB.

 

 

 

 

 

Since July 2011, Christine Lagarde has been the eleventh and first woman Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund. She was reelected to a second five-year term in 2016. A lawyer by background, Christine Lagarde practiced for 20 years with the international law firm Baker McKenzie, of which she became global Chairman in 1999. In 2005, she joined the French Government as Minister for Foreign Trade. Two years later, she became the first woman to hold the post of Finance and Economy Minister of a G7 country.

April 29, 2019 - Romero Britto, International Artist and Sculptor

The 14^th George Talks Business event was held on Monday, April 29, 2019. Brazilian-born international artist and sculptor Romero Britto was interviewed by Dr. Vivek Choudhury, associate dean for strategic initiatives at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

Brazilian-born and Miami-made, Romero Britto is an international artist who uses vibrant, bold and colorful patterns to reflect his optimistic view of the world around him. Britto has created a visual language of hope and happiness all its own that is relatable to all, inspiring millions. Self-taught at an early age, Britto painted on scraps of paper or cardboard or any medium he could find before coming into his own and traveling to Paris where he was introduced to the works of Matisse and Picasso. His appreciation of these masters influenced him to create an iconic style that, as The New York Times described, “exudes warmth, optimism and love”.

Britto’s work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in more than 100 countries, including the Salon de la Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts exhibition at the Carrousel du Louvre in 2008 and 2010. In 2013, Maria Elena and Carlos Slim Domit invited Romero to be the first living artist to exhibit at MuseoSoumaya. He has created public art installations for the 02 Dome in Berlin, New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport, Cirque Du Soleil at Super Bowl XLI, and has been credited with the largest monumental sculpture in London’s Hyde Park history. Britto served as an official artist for the 2010 World Cup, Ambassador to the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil and was recently invited to be an honorary torch bearer for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Britto’s pop sensibility has since leant itself to many collaborations with international brands such as Audi, Bentley, Coca-Cola, Walt Disney, Evian, Hublot, and Mattel to name a few.

Romero is an activist for charitable organizations worldwide and most of all an artist who believes “art is too important not to share.” Britto has donated time, art, and resources to more than 250 charitable organizations. Not a silent activist, Britto was a selected speaker for the arts at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. In addition, Romero Britto is proudly an Inaugural Founding Benefactor of the Harvard International Negotiation Program. He holds a seat on several boards such as Best Buddies International, and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, and was recently appointed to the board of HRH The Prince of Wales charity, The Prince’s Trust. A believer in the role of an artist as an agent of positive change, Romero Britto is committed to developing and supporting the role art will continue to play in world issues.

 

April 26, 2019 - Perspectives on Women's Leadership with Christine Brown-Quinn, Carrie Potter and Isabella Zhang

The 13^th George Talks Business event was held on Friday, April 26. Christine Brown-Quinn (MBA ’92), owner and founder of The Female Capitalist; Carrie Potter (MBA ’01, BBA ’99), president of The Carrie Potter Group, LLC; and Isabella Zhang (BBA ’14), senior associate at Ernst & Young, participated in a panel discussion moderated by Mr. Mitchell E. Blaser (BBA ’73 and former GW parent), COO of Ironshore Inc. and chair of the GWSB Dean's Advisory Council.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Following nearly 30 years in business, Christine Brown-Quinn embarked on a new career in 2010 as The Female Capitalist® to share with professional women practical, hands-on business strategies for career progression and work-life balance. As a former Managing Director in International Finance, Christine is well versed in what it takes to forge a thriving career in highly pressurized "alpha" environments. Through her webinars, coaching and in-person workshops, Christine unveils what really matters in getting ahead in the corporate world.

She is also a published author: Step Aside Super Woman: Career & Family is for Any Woman (2011) and Career Success: Knowing the Unwritten Rules Changes Everything (to be published in the fall of 2019). Christine has an undergraduate degree in foreign languages from Georgetown University and an MBA in International Business from the George Washington University School of Business, where she currently serves on the Dean's Board of Advisors.

 

 

 

Carrie Potter provides business consulting and financial planning services to professional athletes and small businesses. Potter advises her clients on business strategy and all areas of finance, including estate and investment management. She is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ (CFP) professional and Registered Investment Advisor in Texas. Prior to the launch of The Carrie Potter Group, LLC in 2006, she was vice president at PMG Sports in Washington DC. Carrie is also an adjunct lecturer with the Rice University Department of Sport Management.

Potter is a founding member and president of Women in Sports & Events (WISE) Houston, which is the leading voice and resource for professional women in the business of sports. She is also the Chair for the Texas Executive Women Board of Directors. From 2009-2018, Potter served on the Houston Area Women’s Center Board of Directors, including two years as Chair and five years as Finance Chair. She earned two degrees in business, B.B.A. ‘99 and M.B.A. ‘01, from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and serves on the Executive Committee of the School of Business Board of Advisors, chairing the Student Experience Committee. Carrie is a Senior Fellow from Class XXXIV of the American Leadership Forum and after participating in Class 34 of the Center for Houston’s Future, co-chaired its 2018 Leadership Campaign and serves on its Steering Committee. She was named a 2016 Woman on the Move by Texas Executive Women, a part of the Houston Business Journal’s 2017 40 Under 40 class, honored as a STEAM Role Model by the Greater Houston Women’s Chamber of Commerce in 2018 and was featured as a financial advisor on an episode of Discovery Channel’s Garage Rehab hosted by Richard Rawlings in 2019.

When not serving clients or the community, Potter enjoys visiting those in need with her golden doodle Penny, playing golf, and cooking. Carrie was the first female student government president at The George Washington University; Valedictorian of Mercy High School in Omaha, Nebraska; and a writing assistant for The Babe Book: Baseball’s Greatest Legend Remembered, which was published in 2000.

 

 

 

Isabella Zhang is a senior associate at Ernst and Young’s Transaction Support Practice in Shanghai. She serves both sell and buy side’s clients with detailed due diligence analyses, deal structuring and contract negotiations.

Isabella joined Ernst & Young US’s audit practice in 2015 and transferred to Ernst & Young China’s Transaction Support practice in October 2018. Throughout her audit practice, she has worked on multiple public trade clients across Media & Entertainment and Life Science industry including Fortune 500 companies, emerging companies, and foreign subsidiaries. At the Transaction Support practice, she has been involved in domestic and cross-border transaction in various industry sectors, including manufacturing, education, and consumer products. Isabella is a Certified Public Accountants in the US and a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Ms. Zhang graduated from GWU in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting and in 2015, she received a Master's Degree of Professional Studies in Applied Statistics from Cornell University Graduate School.

April 22, 2019 - Kristalina Georgieva, Chief Executive Officer, The World Bank

The 12^th George Talks Business event was held on Monday, April 22. Kristalina Georgieva, chief executive officer of the World Bank, was interviewed by Danny Leipziger, managing director of The Growth Dialogue and professor of international business and international affairs at GWSB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kristalina Georgieva is the Chief Executive Officer of the World Bank. Her role is to build support across the international community to mobilize resources for poor and middle-income countries and to create better opportunities for the world’s most vulnerable people.

Previously, Georgieva, a Bulgarian national, played a leading role in shaping the agenda of the European Union, first as Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, and later as Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, in charge of the European Union's €161 billion budget and 33,000 staff around the world.

Before joining the European Commission, Georgieva held multiple positions at the World Bank, including, most recently, Vice President and Corporate Secretary (2008-2010), and from 2007 to 2008, Director for Sustainable Development in charge of 60 percent of the World Bank’s policy and lending operations.

 

April 15, 2019 (6:00 p.m.) - Jon Miller, Major League Baseball Broadcaster and National Baseball Hall of Fame Award-winner

 

 

The 11th George Talks Business event was held on Monday, April 15. Jon Miller, pre-eminent Major League Baseball broadcaster and National Baseball Hall of Fame 2010 Ford C. Frick award-winner, was interviewed by GWSB Professor Mark Hyman and Ryan Delaney (BBA '19), President, Sports Business Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jon Miller, honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame as the 2010 Ford C. Frick award winner for baseball broadcasting excellence, the “Voice of the Giants”, enters his 22nd season in the broadcast booth on KNBR Radio, NBC Bay Area and NBC Sports Bay Area. Miller was thrilled to broadcast his 16th World Series in 2014 as the Giants won it all for the third time in five years. Miller was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2014.

In 1990, when ESPN TV first began its coverage of Major League Baseball, Miller was chosen as the first play-by-play commentator on the award-winning ESPN Sunday Night Baseball game of the week broadcast. Miller and his Hall of Fame partner, Joe Morgan, teamed up on the prime time telecast for 21 seasons. During his tenure at ESPN, he was nominated twice for a national Emmy Award, and broadcast 13 consecutive World Series on ESPN Radio. He has broadcast 16 World Series overall. He was also nominated six times for an “ACE” award, emblematic of cable television excellence, and won the award in 1991 - the first ESPN play-by-play announcer to win the award, and 1996.

Miller was named National Sportscaster of the Year by the American Sportscasters Association (ASA) in 1998. That same year, Miller was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association of America (NSSAA). In 2016, Miller received a Northern California Emmy Award, the third local Emmy for his Giants television work. Prior to his work on ESPN, Miller broadcast an occasional game on NBC-TV with either Tony Kubek or Joe Garagaiola.

Miller spent 14 years with the Baltimore Orioles before coming to the Giants. Prior to joining Baltimore in 1983, the talented broadcaster spent two seasons with the Texas Rangers (1978-79) and three seasons with the Boston Red Sox (1980-82). Miller got his first baseball play-by-play job in 1974 at age 22 calling radio and TV for that year’s World Series Champion Oakland Athletics.

The Bay Area native has also broadcast NHL hockey, NBA basketball and championship soccer games on national television in his distinguished career. In 2018, Miller was inducted into the College of San Mateo (CA) Hall of Fame. Miller began his broadcasting career as a student at CSM and broadcast baseball, football and basketball games on KCSM, the college’s radio and TV stations.

Jon and his wife, Janine, reside in Moss Beach. They are parents to three daughters, Misha, Holly (married to Paul Gallagher) and Emilie, and a son, Alexander.

April 15, 2019 (12:00 p.m.) - Doug Zarkin, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Pearle Vision Luxottica

 

 

The 10th George Talks Business event was held on Monday, April 15. Doug Zarkin (BBA '92), vice president and chief marketing officer of Pearle Vision Luxottica, was interviewed by GW School of Business Dean Anuj Mehrotra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recognized as a global strategic retail and brand marketing expert, as the vice president and chief marketing officer for Luxottica’s Pearle Vision Business, Doug has led the transformation of the brands global strategic marketing, e-commerce, visual merchandising, product promotion, and store design functions. His work with Pearle Vision is currently the subject of a Harvard Business case study on brand rejuvenation.

Doug has earned an impressive array of honors for his marketing and brand building work, including The Innovation Award from The CMO Club, a Silver Clio Award, El Sol Award, Effie Award for Health Care Services Marketing (twice), WWD’s Best Executed Launch Strategy Award, the American Legacy’s Silver Halo Award for Cause Related Marketing, and the Bulldog Drummond Social Media Award for Best Social Media Platform.

He’s also been named “Marketer of the Next Generation” by Brandweek and “One of the 15 to Watch” by The Youth Marketing Newsletter.

His public presence includes appearances on all of the major broadcast networks; in Forbes, The Economist, The New York Times, and The Huffington Post; and as a guest lecturer at many top universities, such as Harvard, NYU, Duke, Xavier, Miami of Ohio, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

April 9, 2019 - Manoj Saxena, Executive Chairman, CognitiveScale and Former First General Manager, IBM Watson

 

 

The ninth George Talks Business event was held on Tuesday, April 9. Manoj Saxena, executive chairman of CognitiveScale and former first general manager of IBM Watson, was interviewed by GW School of Business Dean Anuj Mehrotra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manoj Saxena is the executive chairman of CognitiveScale and a founding managing director of The Entrepreneurs' Fund IV, a seed fund focused on the B2B AI market with nine active investments.

Previously, he served as the first General Manager of IBM Watson, where his team built the first cognitive systems. Prior to IBM, Saxena successfully founded and sold two venture-backed software companies within a five-year span.

He currently serves on the boards of AI Global, a non-profit dedicated to promoting practical and responsible applications of AI, and the Saxena Family Foundation.

Saxena holds a post graduate degree in business administration from Michigan State University, and a graduate degree in management sciences from the Birla Institute of Technology in Pilani, India. He is also the holder of nine software patents.

April 1, 2019 - Tony Saldanha, President, Transformant

 

 

The eighth George Talks Business event was held on Monday, April 1. Tony Saldanha, president of Transformant, was interviewed by Dr. Vivek Choudhury, associate dean for strategic initiatives at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tony Saldanha is a globally recognized and versatile Fortune 25 company Global Business Services (GBS) and Information Technology executive with a rich blend of business and technology leadership expertise. Tony has over three decades of international business expertise in the US, Europe, and Asia. He was named on Computerworld’s Premier 100 IT Professionals list in 2013. Tony brings a proven track record of GBS design and operations, CIO positions, acquisitions and divestitures, outsourcing, disruptive innovation, and experiences in creating new business models during a 27-year career at Procter & Gamble. Tony has board experience in industry organizations, in client advisory boards and in non-profit organizations. Tony is a recognized thought leader in the IT industry and is currently working on a book on digital transformation that is aimed at providing practical advice to boards and CEOs on executing sustainable transformation.

During his latest role at Procter & Gamble, Tony took on the challenge of disrupting the already best-in-class $2.5 billion Global Business Services operation, after having run most aspects of it over the previous decade. This quickly became an undertaking to disrupt the global IT and shared services industry, given P&G’s leadership position in the area. Tony brought together peer Fortune 50 companies, the top global IT companies and venture capitalists to deliver this effort.

Prior to this, Tony ran Global Business Services and IT for all P&G’s business units and 75 countries, as well as the Business Intelligence and Analytics function for P&G. As the leader of Global Business Services and IT for all units, he was responsible for creating new business models using technology in the business, in addition to delivering cost and service targets. As part of the latter position, Tony created new award-winning analytics and algorithm driven business models for selling, marketing, manufacturing and finance.

In 2005, Tony served as CIO for the $10Bn Gillette company, after P&G had acquired it. In this role, Tony delivered a highly complex integration of all commercial areas within 18 months to help create one the most successful acquisition integration success stories in the industry.

In 2003, Tony successfully program-managed the $8Bn outsourcing of IT and Shared Services for P&G. This was the largest outsourcing deal in the industry at the time.

March 25, 2019 - Jennifer Vey, Senior Fellow, The Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution

 

 

The seventh George Talks Business event was held on Monday, March 25. Jennifer Vey, senior fellow with the Metropolitan Policy Program at the Brookings Institution and director of the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking, was interviewed by Christopher B. Leinberger, Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar and Research Professor and chair of the Center for Real Estate & Urban Analysis at GWSB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jennifer S. Vey is a senior fellow and the Director of the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Center for Transformative Placemaking at the Brookings Institution. Jennifer’s work primarily focuses on the connection between placemaking and inclusive economic development in the digital economy. She is the author or co-author of numerous Brookings publications, including “Why we need to invest in transformative placemaking,” “Assessing your innovation district: A how-to guide,” and “Building from strength: Creating opportunity in Greater Baltimore’s next economy.” She also co-edited Retooling for Growth:  Building a 21^st Century Economy in America’s Older Industrial Areas, published by the American Assembly and Brookings Institution Press.

Prior to joining Brookings in June, 2001, Jennifer was a Community Planning and Development Specialist at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. She earned a Master of Planning degree from the University of Virginia, and holds a B.A. in Geography from Bucknell University. She lives with her family in Baltimore.

March 18, 2019 - Gabriel Galvan, Executive Director, The MITRE Corporation

 

 

The sixth George Talks Business event was held on Monday, March 18. Gabriel Galvan (GWSB MBA '10), executive director of the MITRE Corporation, was interviewed by Christopher B. Leinberger, Charles Bendit Distinguished Scholar and Research Professor and chair of the Center for Real Estate & Urban Analysis at GWSB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriel (Gabe) Galvan is an executive director at the MITRE Corporation. As a member of MITRE’s executive team, he works across the company to help promote safety in the United States and with governments across the world. He concentrates on MITRE’s cyber outreach and partnerships. Engaging across the globe on issues of security, his overseas efforts often include the themes of smart cities, cyber security and resilience, research and development.

Today he leads an effort to launch a public-private partnership to increase cyber defense and to share valuable actionable information for its members in industry and the region. He is active in the Commonwealth Cyber Initiative, a Virginia-based effort to help align cyber and related technologies investments with activities of research, education and economic development in the region.

Gabe has held executive roles and international assignments in a variety of companies including the IBM Corporation, BMC Software and HP. His experience in business, management consulting, sales, services and public policy has been used to launch new businesses and help transform governments and organizations across the world.

Gabe graduated with highest honors as valedictorian in his MBA studies from the George Washington University. He is a native Washingtonian and earned a BS in Business Administration from George Mason University and has additional studies in International Transactions from George Mason’s School of Public Policy. He remains active supporting the local university community and serves as a Board of Trustee to Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia.

He is a member of the Atlantic Council and the Greater Washington Board of Trade, and he currently chairs the NVTC Committee on Cybersecurity and Privacy.

March 4, 2019 - Frank Sesno, Director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs

 

 

The fifth George Talks Business event was held on Monday, March 4. Frank Sesno, director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, was interviewed by GW School of Business Dean Anuj Mehrotra.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank Sesno currently serves as director of the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs, where he leads a faculty of nearly two dozen world-class faculty who research and teach journalism, political communication and the impact of digital media in international affairs.

Sesno is an internationally recognized journalist with more than 30 years of experience reporting from around the world. He joined CNN in 1984 and for seven years was White House Correspondent, after which he moved to the anchor chair for the main domestic and global international newscasts. From 1996 through 2001, he served as the Washington Bureau chief and senior vice president. In this capacity, he oversaw the bureau’s editorial direction and supervised the network’s largest newsgathering operation — including its White House, Congressional, and Pentagon coverage, as well as its political reporting. For seven years, he hosted Late Edition with Frank Sesno, CNN’s flagship weekend interview program.

He has interviewed five U.S. Presidents as well as numerous Nobel prize-winning scientists, renowned economists, Hollywood celebrities, CEOs, best-selling authors and leaders including Hillary Clinton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and broadcast legend Walter Cronkite.

Sesno continues to conduct interviews and moderate conversations with political leaders and decision-makers, including through The Conversation Series at GW. He is the creator of Planet Forward at GW, a user-driven web and television project that highlights innovations in sustainability. Sesno hosts and facilitates the Planet Forward Salon Series focusing on topics such as energy policy, green jobs and food production.

Sesno graduated cum laude with a B.A. in American History from Middlebury College. He was conferred an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters in 1995 by the Monterrey Institute of International Studies in California and two Honorary Doctorates by his alma mater, Middlebury, in 2009 and Eckerd College in 2017.

February 25, 2019 - Donna Hoffman, Louis Rosenfeld Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Marketing at GWSB

 

 

The fourth George Talks Business event was held on Monday, February 25. Dr. Donna Hoffman, Louis Rosenfeld Distinguished Scholar, Professor of Marketing, and Co-Director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the GW School of Business (GWSB), was interviewed by Dr. Vanessa Perry, associate dean for faculty and chair of the Department of Marketing at GWSB.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donna L. Hoffman is the Louis Rosenfeld Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Marketing and Co-Director of the Center for the Connected Consumer at the George Washington School of Business in Washington, D.C. Professor Hoffman is an internationally recognized academic expert and sought-after industry speaker focused on consumer experience with AI devices, services, and systems.  She has worked with major corporations on the topics of online consumer behavior and digital marketing strategy, including Procter & Gamble, Intel, Microsoft, FedEx.com, Land’s End/Sears, Walmart.com, and many others. She served as an Academic Trustee of the Marketing Science Institute and as a member of the Procter & Gamble Digital Advisory Board.

She co-founded and co-directed the first academic center for electronic commerce in the United States. The New York Times calls her pioneering effort “one of the premiere research centers in the world for the study of electronic commerce” and the Wall Street Journal recognizes the effort as the “electronic commerce pioneer among business schools.”

Professor Hoffman publishes widely on the topics of consumer behavior in online environments and Internet marketing strategy in many of the top academic and managerial journals. Her research has been funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the National Science Foundation and the Marketing Science Institute. Professor Hoffman’s work enjoys wide impact: she has over 26,000 Google Scholar citations and an H-index of 40 and has been awarded many of the field’s most prestigious research awards, including the Robert B. Clarke Educator of the Year Award from the DMEF, the Sheth Foundation/Journal of Marketing Award for long-term contributions to the discipline of marketing, the Stellner Distinguished Scholar Award from the University of Illinois, the William O’Dell/Journal of Marketing Research Award for long-term research impact and the Robert D. Buzzell Marketing Science Institute Best Paper Award Honorable Mention. She is also an MSI “Challenges of Communications and Branding in a Digital Era” research proposal competition winner and was recently named a finalist for the Paul D. Converse Award, for her lasting contributions to the marketing field.

Her Ph.D. is from the L.L. Thurstone Psychometric Laboratory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and she was a faculty member at Columbia University, the University of Texas, Vanderbilt University and the University of California before joining George Washington University. She has also served as a visiting professor at UCLA, Stanford and USC. She was named a Distinguished Graduate Alumnus of UNC in 2002.

February 11, 2019 - Dan Simons, Founder and Co-Owner, Farmers Restaurant Group

 

 

The third George Talks Business event was held on Monday, February 11, 2019. Dan Simons (GWSB BBA '92), founder and co-owner of Farmers Restaurant Group, was interviewed by Dr. Vivek Choudhury, associate dean for strategic initiatives at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Within the industry and among his own team, Dan Simons is known for his energetic leadership style and passion for hospitality. An impressive career in the management ranks at several large, high-volume restaurants helped propel him toward starting his own firm, VSAG, which he founded in 2004 with mentor Michael Vucurevich. The two form a well-balanced partnership based on mutual respect and a shared vision, which proved critical in their formation of Farmers Restaurant Group (FRG) in 2011.

As co-owner and skilled communicator, Dan is frequently called upon to serve as the voice of FRG’s growing group of restaurants. Whether inspiring potential investors, accepting multiple awards for the socially conscious ways of the restaurants or sharing his knowledge at hospitality and educational events, Dan is a champion for responsible industry standards and takes great pride in being able to continually incorporate sustainability methods and local initiatives that give back to the environment and the community.

February 4, 2019 - Dave Zilko, CEO, Fuel Leadership; Founder and Former Vice Chairman, Garden Fresh Gourmet

 

 

The second George Talks Business event was held on Monday, February 4 in Duquès Hall, Room 651. Dave Zilko (GWSB MBA '87), CEO of Fuel Leadership and former Vice Chairman of Garden Fresh Gourmet, was interviewed by Dr. Lex McCusker, director of Student Entrepreneurship Programs at GW.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dave Zilko founded his first specialty food company more than 20 years ago with a $2,500 credit card loan. While today Dave remains an equity partner in several food-oriented enterprises, he recently exited active involvement in the industry when he engineered the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet, makers of the number one brand of fresh salsa in North America, to the Campbell’s Soup Company for $231 million. Dave was a partner at Garden Fresh for 13 years, serving as Vice Chairman with primary responsibility for strategy and sales.

In 2016, Dave published a book, via Wiley & Sons nationwide, detailing his experience as an entrepreneur in general and his experiences with Garden Fresh in particular. The book, “Irrational Persistence: Seven Secrets That Turned a Bankrupt Startup Into a $231,000,000 Business,” has become a national bestseller.

Today Dave has invested in and assumed the role of CEO at FUEL Leadership, a digital media property that also organizes exclusive business events. He is an operating partner at Huron Capital, a Detroit-based private equity firm with over $1 billion under management, and serves on the boards of the $60 million Grow Michigan venture fund; Jimmy Buffett's charitable foundation, Singing for Change; and the executive board of the largest food rescue organization in the country, Forgotten Harvest. Dave graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in finance and earned a Master of Business Administration in Marketing from the George Washington University.

January 28, 2019 - Thomas LeBlanc, Former President, The George Washington University

 

 

The inaugural George Talks Business event was held on Monday, January 28, 2019 in the 1^st Floor Auditorium (Room 108) of Funger Hall. GWSB Dean Anuj Mehrotra interviewed Former GW President Thomas LeBlanc, and the event was followed by a reception in the lobby of Funger Hall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Board of Trustees of the George Washington University unanimously elected Thomas J. LeBlanc as the university's 17th President on January 6, 2017. Dr. LeBlanc is an accomplished academic leader, who previously served as the executive vice president, provost and professor of computer science and electrical and computer engineering at the University of Miami.