George Talks Business 2020

2020 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 2020.

Fall 2020

December 2, 2020 - Stephanie von Friedeburg, Executive Vice President and COO, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

On Wednesday, December 2, Stephanie von Friedeburg, Interim Managing Director and Executive Vice President (MD EVP) and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As the Chief Operating Officer for IFC, Ms. Stephanie von Friedeburg leads all IFC investment operations and advisory services, delivering private sector capital and solutions to create jobs, positive development outcomes, and opportunities in the world’s poorest and most fragile countries. In addition to overseeing new business, she manages IFC’s $55 billion debt and equity portfolio across 104 offices.

Ms. von Friedeburg began her World Bank Group career at IFC, spending more than two decades in IFC investment operations where she developed strong regional expertise in Africa and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in numerous industry sectors, including telecom, media, general manufacturing, and technology. With extensive experience in business development, transaction execution, and portfolio management, Ms. von Friedeburg has helped deliver significant private sector impact in emerging markets, including the growth of mobile throughout the developing world and IFC’s first large financings in Russia and Eastern Europe in the post-Soviet era.

Most recently, Ms. von Friedeburg served as IFC’s Chief Strategy and Resources Officer, where she led the development of IFC’s new strategy and aligned the organization’s resources in support of it. Prior to this, leveraging her more than ten years of experience investing in telecom and IT start-ups in emerging markets, she served as the World Bank Group Chief Information Officer, fundamentally transforming the IT organization to equip the World Bank Group to fight poverty in the 21st century.

Ms. von Friedeburg is an advocate for the advancement of women and a champion of diversity and inclusion, serving as Co-Chair of IFC‘s Diversity & Inclusion Council, and founding women’s networks at two international finance institutions.

Ms. von Friedeburg holds a seat on the Global Business Initiative External Advisory Board for Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, as well as on the CIO Advisory Board for Greylock Partners. She is Director Emeritus of the Board of the Bank Fund Staff Federal Credit Union.

In addition to an MBA from the Wharton School, Ms. von Friedeburg holds a Master of Arts from the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

 

November 5, 2020 - Sam Priyadarshi, Principal and Global Head of Portfolio Risk and Derivatives, Vanguard

On Thursday, November 5, Dr. Sam Priyadarshi, Principal and Global Head of Portfolio Risk and Derivatives at Vanguard, was interviewed by Rodney Lake, deputy chair of the Department of Finance and director of the GW Investment Institute. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Sam Priyadarshi is Principal, and Global Head of Portfolio Risk and Derivatives at Vanguard and leads a global team responsible for market risk management of active fixed income funds totaling over $158 billion and for the trading of over $1.2 trillion annually in cash and derivatives instruments. He is chair of the Technology Steering Committee, member of the Market Structure Committee and the LIBOR Steering Committee.

Prior to joining Vanguard in 2009, he worked at the Lincoln Financial Group for 12 years, where he was Vice President, Derivatives and was responsible for hedging insurance products and portfolios. He was a member of Lincoln’s Derivatives Committee, Insurance General Account Assets Committee, and Alternative Investments Screening Committee.

Dr. Priyadarshi holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi. He holds a MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and has a Ph.D. in finance from Virginia Tech. He has more than 23 years of investment experience, has spoken at several industry conferences, and has guest lectured at many universities. He is an active participant in many industry panels and working groups related to derivatives and fixed income markets. He is a member of CFTC’s Market Risk Advisory Committee and serves on the Advisory Board of UCLA Anderson School MFE program.

 

October 28, 2020 - Eric Hylton, Commissioner, Small Business/Self-Employed Division, IRS

On Wednesday, October 28, Eric Hylton, Commissioner of the Small Business/Self-Employed Division at the Internal Revenue Service, was interviewed by Dr. Vanessa Perry, associate dean for faculty and research at the GW School of Business. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eric Hylton is the commissioner of the Small Business/Self-Employed Division. He was appointed to the position in September 2019. He oversees taxpayer programs and services affecting the nation’s small business and self-employed individuals. He is responsible for providing executive leadership and direction to a nationwide staff of approximately 20,000 employees responsible for service and enforcement programs for taxpayers who file personal, corporate, flow-through, employment, excise and estate and gift tax returns.

Prior to this position, Mr. Hylton served as the deputy chief, CI. He assisted the chief, CI in directing worldwide programs for investigating potential criminal violations of the Internal Revenue Code and related financial crimes in a manner that fosters confidence in the tax system and compliance with the law. Prior to his assignment as deputy chief, Mr. Hylton was the executive director, Office of International Operations for CI. In that position, he was responsible for developing and implementing an evolving strategic vision to expand CI’s international presence in a challenging and rapidly changing global financial environment. He began his CI career as a special agent and held increasingly responsible positions including assistant director in the CI Office of Narcotics and Counterterrorism; assistant special agent in charge of the Washington Field Office; and special agent in charge of the Philadelphia Field Office.

Mr. Hylton is also the former chair for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development -Task Force for Tax Crimes and Other Financial Crimes and was based in Paris, France. As Chair, Eric led a multilateral commission of 40 international criminal tax organizations to develop methodologies and typologies on emerging global criminal tax and financial crimes threats.

Mr. Hylton completed the IRS Candidate Development Program in 2013. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in accounting from Morehouse College and is a native of Washington.

 

October 22, 2020 - Larysa Kautz, Interim President & CEO, Melwood

 

On Thursday, October 22, Larysa Kautz, Interim President & CEO of Melwood, was interviewed by Dr. Liesl Riddle, associate dean of graduate programs at the GW School of Business. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

Larysa Kautz currently serves as Melwood’s Interim President & CEO, having previously served as Melwood’s Chief of Staff and General Counsel.

After receiving her law degrees from Yale Law School (JD) and the Georgetown University Law Center (LLM), Larysa focused her career on affordable housing development, venture philanthropy, and advising national and international nonprofits. Prior to joining Melwood, Larysa was a partner at the Schaner & Lubitz law firm. Before that, she served as counsel at Bingham McCutchen (now Morgan Lewis).

Larysa currently serves on the Virginia Department for the Blind and Vision Impaired (DBVI) State Rehabilitation Council and the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Services Board. She has previously volunteered as a consultant for President Obama’s Office of White House Counsel and Virginia Governor Northam’s Transition Team on the Policy Council on Workforce Development. Larysa has also lent her expertise to the Foundation for the National Archives as pro bono general counsel. As the mother of a child on the autism spectrum, she is passionate about Melwood’s mission of inclusion.

Larysa was named one of the 2017 Leading Women in Maryland by The Daily Record, has been honored by the Association of Corporate Counsel with the 2019 In-House Innovator Award, and is an alumna of the Arlington Leadership Center for Excellence.

Outside of work, Ms. Kautz enjoys sailing and ballroom dancing. She lives in Alexandria, VA, with her husband, Ryan; their son, Symon; and their dogs, Lucky and Ziggy.

 

October 14, 2020 - A. Michael Spence, Nobel Laureate in Economics

On Wednesday, October 14, A. Michael Spence, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate in Economics and Philip H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Management at the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, was interviewed by Dr. Danny Leipziger, managing director of the Growth Dialogue and professor of international business and international affairs at GWSB. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

A. Michael Spence is an authority on growth in developing countries and on the convergence between advanced and developing economies. He is the Philip H. Knight Professor Emeritus of Management in the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University, a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution at Stanford and a Distinguished Visiting Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations. He is an Adjunct Professor at Bocconi University in Milan, and an Honorary Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford University. In 2001, Mike received the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for his path breaking work in the field of information economics.

Mike served on the Board of Directors of MercadoLibre, Inc. and a number of private companies, and formerly served on the Boards of Bank of America, General Mills, Genpact Ltd., Nike, Siebel Systems and Sun Microsystems. He was a member of the Board of the Stanford Management Company, which manages the Stanford University endowment, and the International Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation. He is a Senior Advisor to Jasper Ridge Partners and a Senior Advisor to General Atlantic Partners. Mike co-chairs (with Dr. Victor Fung) the Advisory Council of the Asia Global Institute, and was the Chairman of The Independent Commission on Growth and Development (2006-2010). He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Luohan Academy in Hangzhou. He served as Dean of the Stanford Business School from 1990 to 1999 and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University from 1984 to 1990.

Mike earned his undergraduate degree in Philosophy at Princeton summa cum laude, and was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford, where he earned an BA/MA in Mathematics. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics at Harvard. Mike taught at Stanford as an Associate Professor of Economics from 1973 to 1975. From 1975 to 1990, he served as Professor of Economics and Business Administration at Harvard, holding a joint appointment in the Business School and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. In 1983 he was named Chairman of the Economics Department and George Gund Professor of Economics and Business Administration. Mike was awarded the John Kenneth Galbraith Prize for excellence in teaching and the John Bates Clark Medal for a "significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge." The Clark Medal was awarded, at that time, every two years to an Economist under the age of 40.

 

October 8, 2020 - Baroness Joanna Shields, CEO of BenevolentAI

On Thursday, October 8, Baroness Joanna Shields, OBE, GMBA '87, CEO of BenevolentAI, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Baroness Joanna Shields is a tech industry veteran with over 25 years experience building and scaling global companies including Facebook, Bebo, Aol, Google, Real Networks and Efi. Prior to joining Benevolent AI, she served in UK Government as Under Secretary of State and Minister for Internet Safety & Security, Digital Economy Adviser and Chair and CEO of TechCityUK. Joanna is passionate about creating responsible technology that benefits humanity. She is a leading advocate for children's rights and safety online and founder of the WeProtect Global Alliance, and a Life Peer of the House of Lords.

 

October 5, 2020 - Afsaneh M. Beschloss, Founder and CEO, RockCreek

On Monday, October 5, Afsaneh M. Beschloss, Founder and CEO of RockCreek, was interviewed by Dr. Danny Leipziger, managing director of The Growth Dialogue and professor of international business and international affairs at GWSB. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

Afsaneh Mashayekhi Beschloss is the founder and CEO of RockCreek, a leading global investment firm. Previously, she was Managing Director and Partner at the Carlyle Group. She was Treasurer and Chief Investment Officer of the World Bank and worked at Shell International and J.P. Morgan.

Ms. Beschloss has advised governments, central banks, and regulatory agencies on global public policy and financial policy. She led the World Bank’s energy investments and policy work on sustainable investing in climate-related renewable energy, power, and infrastructure projects. She founded its Natural Gas Group as a transitional fuel to reduce carbon emissions. Ms. Beschloss is on the boards of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, the Council on Foreign Relations, the World Resources Institute, the American Red Cross, and is the Vice-Chair of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

She is a recipient of the Institutional Investor Lifetime Achievement Award and the Robert F. Kennedy Ripple of Hope Award. She was recognized as one of American Banker’s Most Powerful Women in Banking.

Ms. Beschloss holds an MPhil (Honors) in Economics from the University of Oxford, where she taught international trade and economic development. She is the co-author of The Economics of Natural Gas and author of numerous journal articles on energy, finance, and impact.

 

September 30, 2020 - Sandeep Dadlani, Chief Digital Officer, Mars, Inc.

On Wednesday, September 30, Sandeep Dadlani, Chief Digital Officer of Mars, Inc., was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sandeep Dadlani joined Mars, Incorporated as Global Chief Digital Officer in September 2017, and has responsibility for working with Mars' global business segments to drive its digital transformation agenda, while delivering effectiveness and efficiency to existing business and technology platforms. In the last two years, he has driven a new wave of consumer and user centricity, unleashed the power of data, analytics, AI, and automation while driving new agile digital behaviors across the enterprise.

Prior to joining Mars, Dadlani worked at Infosys, a $10 billion global systems integration firm, where he was President, Head of Americas and Global Head of Infosys' Manufacturing, Retail, CPG and Logistic Practices. In this role, he managed a portfolio P&L worth US $3.5 billion and helped more than 300 global clients embrace digital technologies, including AI and Machine Learning. He co-incubated and eventually ran Infosys Edgeverve as Chairman, an AI and software company for Infosys.

Dadlani has 22+ years of experience in operations, consulting, business development and product management. He has been actively involved in helping organizations in the retail, CPG and logistics sectors become more competitive by embracing new emerging trends across digital consumers and emerging markets.

 

September 23, 2020 - Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, Board Chair and President, Charles Schwab Foundation

On Wednesday, September 23, Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz (MBA '87), Board Chair and President of Charles Schwab Foundation, Senior Vice President of Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., and Board Chair of Schwab Charitable, was interviewed by Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, university professor of economics and accountancy and academic director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at the GW School of Business. Opening remarks were provided by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, CFP®, is a leading advocate for financial literacy and one of America’s most trusted sources for financial advice. She has devoted her career to helping men and women from all walks of life achieve financial security. In addition, she oversees Schwab’s corporate philanthropy and employee volunteer programs, which aim to strengthen the communities where Schwab operates.

Schwab-Pomerantz has served two White House administrations on financial capability policy. In 2010, she was appointed by President Obama to the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability, where she chaired the Partnership Committee until early 2013. In that role, she led the Council’s efforts to strengthen coordination between the public and private sector. She also advised the Council on Financial Literacy under President George W. Bush. In 2017, she was appointed to the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women, which fosters the advancement of women and girls through policies and programs throughout the city.

Under her leadership, Charles Schwab Foundation has made important strides in promoting financial literacy. Through its national partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America, the Foundation created Money Matters: Make It Count, a best-in-class financial education program that has been completed by nearly one million teens nationwide. With AARP Foundation, Charles Schwab Foundation developed a program to improve financial outcomes for low- and moderate-income seniors. And most recently, the Foundation has partnered with DonorsChoose.org to support financial education in classrooms across the United States.

Schwab-Pomerantz speaks and writes extensively about personal finance. Her latest book, The Charles Schwab Guide to Finances after Fifty (Crown Business, 2014), was described by The New York Times as “overwhelmingly appealing” and “an excellent personal finance book.”  With her father, Charles R. Schwab, she co-authored It Pays to Talk: How to Have the Essential Conversations with Your Family about Money and Investing (Crown Business: 2002). She also writes a weekly column, Ask Carrie, which appears on schwab.com and schwabmoneywise.com, and is syndicated through Creators News Service and Parade. She is on Facebook and Twitter (@CarrieSchwab), and is a LinkedIn Influencer, offering insights on personal finance, leadership and philanthropy to a worldwide audience.

For more than ten years, the San Francisco Business Times named her one of the Bay Area’s 100 Most Influential Women in Business, and in 2015 included her in its “Forever Influential” Honor Roll. In 2011, Schwab-Pomerantz received the William E. Odom Visionary Leadership Award, Jump$tart Coalition’s highest recognition for contributions to financial education. And in 2015, she was nominated by the San Francisco Chronicle for its inaugural “Visionary of the Year” award, recognizing Bay Area leaders who drive social and economic change through innovation. She was also recognized by SIFMA Foundation in 2018 with its Education Champion award in recognition of her efforts to advance youth financial education.

Schwab-Pomerantz serves as director and board chair of Schwab Charitable, one of the country’s largest donor-advised funds. She is chair-elect and a member of the national board of governors of Boys & Girls Clubs of America and has chaired the board of trustees for the Pacific region.

Schwab-Pomerantz earned a BA from the University of California, Berkeley, and an MBA from the George Washington University. She holds FINRA Series 7, 23, 63 and 8 securities registrations, and is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ certificant. She lives with her husband, author Gary M. Pomerantz, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Together they have three grown children.

 

September 16, 2020 - Ellen M. Zane, CEO Emeritus, Tufts Medical Center

On Wednesday, September 16, Ellen M. Zane (CCAS '73), CEO Emeritus of Tufts Medical Center, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

Ellen Zane is a nationally renowned health care leader who retired as president and chief executive officer of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children in late 2011. She was the first woman to run the hospital in its 224-year history. Ellen remains involved at Tufts Medical Center as vice chair of the Board of Trustees. Ellen holds two faculty appointments at Tufts University School of Medicine, including assistant professor in the Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Care Research, and assistant professor of Public Health & Community Medicine. Additionally, Ellen holds a faculty appointment as adjunct assistant professor of Health Policy and Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. From 2011 to 2013, Ellen was a distinguished guest lecturer in healthcare administration at the Sawyer Business School at Suffolk University.

From 1994 to 2004, Ellen held the position of network president for Partners HealthCare System, Inc. In this capacity, she was responsible for the development of a provider network featuring the Harvard affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham & Women's Hospital. The network encompassed 5600 physicians and represented $800+ million of managed care revenue. Today, this entity represents one of the largest physician networks in America. Prior to that, Ellen was the chief executive officer at Quincy Hospital in Quincy, Massachusetts. In this capacity, Ellen was an employee of HCA and then Quorum Health Resources.

Ellen holds an Advanced Professional Director Certification from the American College of Corporate Directors, has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (1973) and has a Master of Arts degree from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. (1975). She holds the following honorary degrees: Doctorate of Humane Letters from University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth; Doctorate of Commercial Science from Bentley University, Doctorate of Business Administration from Stonehill College; and Doctorate of Humane Letters from Curry College.

Ellen is currently a director of Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX), a director of Brooks Automation (NASDAQ: BRKS), a director of Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE: HAE) and a director of Synchrony Financial (NYSE: SYF). She is also the vice chair of the board of trustees at the George Washington University, the current chair of the Board of Wellforce (the Parent Board of Tufts Medical Center), and a member of the board of the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency.

 

Spring & Summer 2020

July 15, 2020 - GW Health, Wellness & Public Safety Panel

Wednesday, July 15 featured a panel discussion with Barbara Bass, Lynn Goldman, Pamela Jeffries and Scott Burnotes on the following health and safety topics:

• Learning and understanding the facts about COVID-19 in the context of academic and residential experience at a university
• Examining what mitigation efforts are most effective against the spread of the disease in the university setting
• Reviewing the measures for testing and contact tracing and quarantining on campus and preparations necessary for contingencies

The panel was moderated by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

Barbara L. Bass, MD, FACS

• Vice President for Health Affairs
• Dean of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences
• Chief Executive Officer of the GW Medical Faculty Associates

Lynn R. Goldman, MD, MS, MPH

• Dean of the Milken Institute School of Public Health
• Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health

Pamela R. Jeffries, PhD, RN, FAAN, ANEF, FSSH

• Dean of the George Washington University School of Nursing
• Professor of Nursing

Scott Burnotes, MS

• Vice President of the GW Division of Safety & Facilities

 

June 24, 2020 - Kenneth Gannetta, Skye Kussmann and Carrie Gannetta of People Powered Doors

On Wednesday, June 24, Kenneth Gannetta, Skye Kussmann and Carrie Gannetta of People Powered Doors, winners of the 2020 GW New Venture Competition, were interviewed by Dr. Liesl Riddle, associate dean of graduate programs at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

Kenneth Gannetta is an active duty officer in the United States Army and one of three co-founders of People Powered Products. Ken has served in various leadership positions within the Army including Platoon Leader, Company Commander, and will soon be joining the social sciences department at the US Military Academy at West Point as an Instructor of Economics. Prior to joining the Army in 2011, Ken worked as a special investigations unit analyst with Coventry Health Care from June 2009 to November 2011. He has an additional five years’ experience in the personal insurance industry having worked for Liberty Mutual Insurance Company from December 2004 to June 2009. Ken’s education includes a Master’s in Business Administration and Master’s in Human Resource Management from George Washington University, a Master’s in Engineering Management from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from the University of Connecticut.

 

 

 

Skye Kussmann is a GW class of 2020 Global MBA graduate with a concentration in strategic and financial management. At GW, Skye was a recipient of the Forte Fellowship and the Global MBA Outstanding Student Contributor award. She is a co-founder of People Powered Products, a sustainably focused start-up with a mission to implement energy conserving technology in the workplace. Skye and her team from People Powered Products received first place in the New Venture Track and the Opportune Clean Energy and Healthcare Prize in GW’s 2020 New Venture Competition. In addition to the start-up, Skye has over seven years of experience in financial management, operations and marketing across multiple industries. After graduation, Skye will be joining Liberty Mutual as a Senior Business Consultant, leading internal development at the headquarter office in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

 

 

Carrie Gannetta has a diverse portfolio of work that includes service, analytics, lean management, and sustainability. Carrie joined Liberty Mutual Insurance in 2008 working at the company’s customer response center in Springfield, MA. From there she transitioned to the local field sales offices where she focused on process improvement work. In 2012, Carrie moved into a role in analytics providing insight into the maturity and effectiveness of lean management initiatives. Earlier this year, Carrie transitioned into a Principal Sustainability Analyst role in the newly created Office of Sustainability. Her education includes a Bachelor’s of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Sociology from the University of Colorado, and a Master’s in Public Administration with a concentration in Emergency Management and Homeland Security from George Mason University.

 

June 1, 2020 - Jane Mosbacher Morris, Founder and CEO, TO THE MARKET

On Monday, June 1, Jane Mosbacher Morris, founder and CEO of TO THE MARKET, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Mosbacher Morris is the founder and CEO of TO THE MARKET. Most recently, Morris was named as one of the World's 25 Greatest Leaders: Heroes of the Pandemic by Fortune magazine. She previously served as the director of humanitarian action for the McCain Institute for International Leadership, and currently serves on the institute's Human Trafficking Advisory Council. Prior to joining the McCain Institute, she worked in the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Counterterrorism and in the Secretary's Office of Global Women's Issues. Morris is a member of VF Corporation's Advisory Council on Responsible Sourcing. She is also a term member at the Council on Foreign Relations. Morris is the author of the Penguin Random House/Tarcher Perigee book, Buy the Change You Want to See: Use Your Purchasing Power to Make the World a Better Place. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

 

May 20, 2020 - Stephen J. Yalof, President and COO, Tanger Factory Outlet Centers

On Wednesday, May 20, Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business, interviewed Stephen J. Yalof, BBA '85, president and chief operating officer of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, on the future of retail real estate.

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen J. Yalof joined Tanger Factory Outlet Centers in April 2020 as president and chief operating officer, and in January 2021, he will succeed Mr. Tanger as chief executive officer. Prior to joining the company, Mr. Yalof served as the chief executive officer of Simon Premium Outlets from September 2014 to April 2020. Mr. Yalof has more than 20 years of experience in the retail industry, previously serving as senior vice president of real estate for Ralph Lauren Corporation and senior director of real estate for The Gap, Inc. His responsibilities include the oversight of the senior officers responsible for Tanger Outlets operations, construction and development, leasing and marketing functions. Mr. Yalof is a graduate of the George Washington University, where he earned a B.S. in Business Administration.

 

April 29, 2020 - Thomas J. LeBlanc, President, The George Washington University

On Wednesday, April 29, Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business, interviewed Dr. Thomas J. LeBlanc, president of the George Washington University, on the topic of higher education leadership during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

 

 

 

 

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.

April 8, 2020 - Ashley Goodall, Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence, Cisco

On Wednesday, April 8, Ashley Goodall, Senior Vice President of Leadership and Team Intelligence at Cisco, was interviewed online by James Bailey, Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development and professor of management at the GW School of Business. Dean Anuj Mehrotra provided an introduction.

 

 

 

 

Ashley Goodall is an executive, leadership expert and author, and has spent his career exploring large organizations from the inside. He looks for the lessons from the real world that help people and teams thrive and that make work a more human place for all of the humans in it.

His first experiences of teams and leadership were as a student musician and conductor. He was fascinated by the unspoken understanding between people playing together and carried this fascination into the corporate world. He currently serves as the senior vice president of Leadership and Team Intelligence (LTI) at Cisco, a new organization he has built to focus entirely on serving teams and team leaders and which aims to reveal the answers to some of the most challenging questions about work: What is special about the best teams? Why do we follow one leader and not another? How can we make more teams like our best teams, and more leaders like our best leaders?

The new approaches he has pioneered address everything from performance management to feedback, from team activation technology to real-time team intelligence, and from social network mapping to strengths-based leadership — and, together, these challenge much of the conventional wisdom of work today.

Ashley is the co-author, with Marcus Buckingham, of Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World (Harvard Business Review Press, April 2019), which was selected as the best management book of 2019 by Strategy + Business and is one of Amazon’s best-selling business and leadership books of 2019. He is also the author of two cover stories in the Harvard Business Review: The Feedback Fallacy (March/April 2019), which was Harvard Business Review’s most popular article of 2019, and Reinventing Performance Management (April 2015).

March 9, 2020 - Women Entrepreneurs Panel with Kathy Korman Frey, Jade Root and Anna Stewart

Monday, March 9 featured a Women Entrepreneurs Panel with Kathy Korman Frey, founder and CEO of the Hot Mommas Project, U.S. Army Major Jade Root, MBA '17, and Anna Stewart, MBA '14, founder and owner of Gaucha Chica, LLC.

 

 

 

 

Kathy Korman Frey teaches Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership, a USASBE Excellence in Entrepreneurship Education national award-winning course, at the GW School of Business.

In 2010, Frey’s women’s leadership research venture, the Hot Mommas Project, became the world’s largest women’s case library. The project takes the stories of women in our lives and makes those stories teachable. The project fills a gap that exists in educational publishing: exposure to female mentors and role models. Such access is shown to increase self-efficacy, or the ability to set personal goals and control outcomes. The project has directly reached women from 138 countries with its Women’s Leadership Academies, is the winner of a Coleman Foundation Case Award, and measurably increases confidence from 21 to 300 percent (depending on length of class).

Frey's background is in the merger and acquisition and venture-funded start up field. She served as managing director for a strategic planning consulting firm and as COO for a venture arm of a major aging nonprofit. She recently served as special advisor to the U.S. Small Business Administration around a women's entrepreneurship learning platform set to launch in 2020. Frey earned her BA from the University of Virginia and MBA from Harvard Business School.

 

 

 

 

Major Jade Root graduated from the United States Military Academy in 2008, earning degrees in Civil Engineering and General Psychology as well as her commission in the U.S. Army as a human resources officer. Jade also graduated from the George Washington University in 2017, earning a Master's in Business Administration. She also holds a Master's of Military Studies degree.

Throughout her military career, Jade has served in various military organizations at several echelons. Maj. Root served as a platoon leader in the 18th Human Resources Company, 82d Sustainment Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Later, she served as the Essential Personnel Services chief as well as Rear Detachment G1 for the 82d Airborne Division. During her tenure with the 82d Airborne Division, Maj. Root deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in Bagram, Afghanistan, as the Military Mail Terminal supervisor, providing mail services for the entire Combined Joint Operations Area - Afghanistan. Following her deployment, Jade went on to serve as the senior human resources manager with prestigious organizations such as the 81st Civil Affairs Battalion and the 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade out of Fort Hood, Texas, as well as the Joint Interagency Task Force – National Capital Region, where she currently serves as the human resources director in Arlington, Virginia.

Jade’s awards and decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Parachutist Badge. Outside of her military career, Jade dedicates her time to her business as a health and wellness coach, fulfilling her passion to empower women and cultivate their self-worth by living healthy and balanced lives. Jade is married to Kevin Mumaw, a retired Army officer, and is the proud mother of three children, Jayla, Jason and Bryson.

 

 

Anna Stewart is the founder and owner of Gaucha Chica, LLC, a specialized product import initiative whose goal is to identify highly skilled artisans in Argentina to design and craft modern accessories and home products that reflect the native cultural traditions of the country while also providing a positive social and economic benefit to the native craftspeople and their communities. Gaucha Chica sources adventurous styles and exclusive designs made with the world’s highest quality leather and organic pieces to bring them into homes in the U.S.A.

Anna provides over 18 years of collective fundraising, strategic partnerships, cause marketing and Board management expertise from health focused non-profit organizations. Prior to her entrepreneurial ventures, Anna served as the Senior Director for Development at the Cancer Support Community (CSC) - the largest worldwide provider of free psychosocial and emotional support for cancer patients and their families - where she led the direction, planning, execution and evaluation of fundraising strategies for the organization.

Before joining the CSC team, Anna helped lead the development efforts for the nation's largest public health foundation dedicated to tobacco prevention and cessation, the American Legacy Foundation (currently the Truth Initiative). There she served as an integral part of the planning and implementation of a newly created Development component and subsequently helped manage the development strategic priorities for the organization. During the start-up years at Truth Initiative, Anna served as the primary liaison to external & internal partners on behalf of the CEO and Board of Directors, strategically managing these relationships to enhance partner relations and extend mission visibility.

Anna holds an MBA with a focus on strategy and organizational behavior from the George Washington University and a BS in Business Management and Marketing from George Mason University.

March 4, 2020 - W. Russell (Russ) Ramsey, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Ramsey Asset Management

On Wednesday, March 4, W. Russell (Russ) Ramsey, BBA ’81, founder, chairman and CEO of Ramsey Asset Management, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business, and Rodney Lake, director of the GW Investment Institute and deputy chair of the Department of Finance at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

W. Russell (Russ) Ramsey is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Ramsey Asset Management (RAM), an alternative asset management firm with aggregate assets in excess of $500MM. Founded in 2001, RAM is an institutional firm which has a range of directional equity-hedging products which leverage a common research platform, fundamental analysis, and a proprietary approach to identifying investment opportunities. Key to the firm's approach is identifying those companies that exhibit either improving or declining business prospects for which the firm believes its view is sufficiently divergent from that of Wall Street.

Russ is also known for his role as Co-founder, President, and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey Group (NYSE: FBR) and its sister company FBR Capital Markets (NASDAQ: FBCM). After co-founding FBR in 1989, Russ helped the firm capitalize on the broad institutionalization of the capital markets, particularly during the downturn of the late 1980's and early 1990's by correctly analyzing the troubles and solutions faced by both the financial services and real estate industries at that time. Russ co-founded FBR's investment banking division, helping the firm become one of the nation's premier underwriters, and co-founded FBR's first venture capital fund focused on the Internet, e-commerce, and software, and simultaneously launching FBR's Technology Investment Banking and Research practices. Under his leadership, FBR completed tens of billions of initial public offerings, secondary offerings, private placements, and mergers and acquisitions.

Newsweek magazine has recognized Russ for his successes by naming him one of the four "people to see" in the Washington financial community. Russ sits on the National Geographic Society's Council of Advisors and serves as the Chairman Emeritus of The George Washington University's Board of Trustees. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served on the Governor's Commission on Information Technology, was a Trustee for the Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges, and is a founding member of One Virginia.

Mr. Ramsey is a native Washingtonian and has been an active philanthropist through the Ramsey Foundation, which has funded many causes including Knock Out Abuse Against Women, the innovative Venture Philanthropy Partners, four-year scholarships for the DC Capital Area's Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, Potomac School, Fight Night, Fight for Children, and the Inova Fairfax Hospital System.

Russ received a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the George Washington University and was named to the GWU All-Century Baseball Team and Athletic Hall of Fame.

 

February 28, 2020 - Roger Ferguson, President and CEO, TIAA

On Friday, February 28, Roger Ferguson, president and CEO of TIAA, was interviewed by Dr. Annamaria Lusardi, endowed chair of Economics & Accountancy and academic director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC) at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roger W. Ferguson, Jr. is president and chief executive officer of TIAA, the leading provider of retirement services in the academic, research, medical, and cultural fields and a Fortune 100 financial services organization.

Mr. Ferguson is the former Vice Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S. Federal Reserve System. He represented the Federal Reserve on several international policy groups and served on key Federal Reserve System committees, including Payment System Oversight, Reserve Bank Operations, and Supervision and Regulation. As the only Governor in Washington, D.C. on 9/11, he led the Fed’s initial response to the terrorist attacks, taking actions that kept the U.S. financial system functioning while reassuring the global financial community that the U.S. economy would not be paralyzed.

Prior to joining TIAA in April 2008, Mr. Ferguson was head of financial services for Swiss Re, Chairman of Swiss Re America Holding Corporation, and a member of the company’s executive committee. From 1984 to 1997, he was an Associate and Partner at McKinsey & Company. He began his career as an attorney at the New York City office of Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Mr. Ferguson is a member of the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents and serves on the New York State Insurance Advisory Board. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and co-chairs its Commission on the Future of Undergraduate Education. He serves on the boards of Alphabet, Inc.; General Mills, Inc.; and International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.

He is chairman of the conference board and serves on the boards of the American Council of Life Insurers, the Institute for Advanced Study and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is a fellow of the American Philosophical Society and a member of the Economic Club of New York, the Council on Foreign Relations, the Group of Thirty and the National Association for Business Economics.

Mr. Ferguson served on President Barack Obama’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness as well as its predecessor, the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and he co-chaired the National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on the Long-Run Macro-Economic Effects of the Aging U.S. Population.

Mr. Ferguson holds a B.A., J.D., and a Ph.D. in economics, all from Harvard University.

 

February 24, 2020 - David Brickman, CEO, Freddie Mac

On Monday, February 24, David Brickman, CEO of Freddie Mac, was interviewed by Dr. Vanessa Perry, associate dean for Faculty and Research at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David Brickman is chief executive officer of Freddie Mac, one of the largest providers of mortgage financing in the United States. He is also a member of the company’s board of directors.

Previously, Brickman served as president of Freddie Mac and was responsible for all three of Freddie Mac's business lines – Single-Family, Multifamily and Capital Markets – as well as the information technology and operations areas that support these business lines. Prior to this role, he was the head of Freddie Mac Multifamily, where he presided over a remarkable period of growth – raising annual production from $16 billion in 2010 to almost $80 billion in 2018 and increasing the organization from 300 staff members in four offices to approximately 1000 employees in a dozen locations across the country.

He also firmly established the company's flagship K-Deal Securitization program as one of the leading securitized products in the structured finance markets. Brickman also drove significant innovation and an expansion in Freddie Mac's products and offerings – particularly those that serve the growing need for affordable and workforce housing.

Before serving as head of Multifamily, Brickman served as senior vice president and vice president in charge of the Multifamily Capital Markets business area. In these positions, he oversaw all functions relating to Freddie Mac's multifamily and CMBS investment and capital markets activities. He is the key architect behind several of Freddie Mac's innovative multifamily financing products, including the Capital Markets Execution and K-Deal program, Reference Bill ARM, fixed-to-float suite of products, and Performance-Based PC, for which he holds a U.S. patent.

Prior to joining Freddie Mac in 1999, Brickman co-led the Mortgage Finance and Credit Analysis consulting group at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Brickman completed all doctoral coursework for his Ph.D. in economics and real estate at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He holds a master's degree in public policy from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. He has held appointments as a professorial lecturer of finance at the George Washington University and as an adjunct professor of finance at Johns Hopkins University.

 

February 10, 2020 - Andy Walker, Senior Managing Director and North America Leader for CMT Industry, Accenture Strategy

On Monday, February 10, Andy Walker, MBA ’98, senior managing director and North America leader for CMT Industry at Accenture Strategy, was interviewed by Dr. Liesl Riddle, associate dean of Graduate Programs and associate professor of International Business & International Affairs at the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andy Walker has consulted to communications, media and high tech companies for the past 20 years, focusing on helping them develop the strategies, operating models and roadmaps needed for them to make measurable strategic and financial improvements to their businesses.

His particular area of focus involves supporting companies as they establish and launch new businesses or substantially transform their existing ones. He has developed and launched multiple businesses for Global 100 CMT clients, and has helped a number of others make transformational pivots toward new products and services.

Prior to his career in consulting, Andy spent four years serving as a policy advisor to several Members of Congress. He is a frequent speaker at conferences, and has published in the M&A Journal, the Journal of Telecommunications, CFO.com and WSJ.com.

 

February 7, 2020 - Kwasi Mitchell, Principal and Inclusion Leader, Deloitte Consulting, LLP

On Friday, February 7, Kwasi Mitchell, principal and inclusion leader at Deloitte Consulting, LLP, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. Mitchell is principal in Deloitte Consulting LLP’s Government and Public Services Practice (GPS) with more than 15 years of consulting experience. Throughout his tenure, Dr. Mitchell has demonstrated experience guiding security and law enforcement executives through strategic and operational transformations to address emerging security threats. Previously Dr. Mitchell also served as the Strategy Offering Lead within Deloitte GPS’s Strategy & Analytics Offering Portfolio.

As a leader, Dr. Mitchell is passionate about mentoring and developing the next generation of diverse leaders. Dr. Mitchell served in several talent leadership roles, including Diversity & Inclusion Leader for Deloitte Consulting, Federal Inclusion Leader, National Champion for Pro Bono and Skills-Based Volunteering programs, and is actively involved in campus recruiting efforts.

Dr. Mitchell served over 40 clients across Deloitte’s Federal and Commercial practices. More specifically, he has supported mission programs within the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Justice, Department of Defense, & Financial Services, Telecommunications, Technology & Energy.

Kwasi holds a Ph.D. in inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University, an MBA from Drexel University, and B.A. from Kalamazoo College.

 

January 29, 2020 - Andre Chen, Global CEO, Denham - Trendy International Group

On Wednesday, January 29, Andre Chen, MBA ’93, global CEO of Denham - Trendy International Group, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andre Chen is Global CEO at Denham – Trendy International Group, a fashion and lifestyle retail corporation that provides leisure, jeans, luxury, and other fashion styles. Previously, Mr. Chen served as CEO at Miss Sixty and Superdry China at Trendy International Group and CEO at Pengda Sports.

Prior to this, Mr. Chen spent 18 years at NIKE where he held a number of positions, including Commercial Director at NIKE Greater China, General Manager at NIKE South East Asia (Singapore), Apparel Business Director at NIKE China, New Business (Golf/Equipment/Outdoors) at NIKE Taiwan, Sport Marketing Manager at NIKE Asia Pacific Headquarters (Hong Kong), and Sport Marketing at NIKE Taiwan.

Mr. Chen received an MBA from The George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from National Taiwan University.

 

January 27, 2020 - Mauricio Ortiz, President, Latin American Operations at Boston Scientific Corporation

On Monday, January 27, Mauricio Ortiz, president of Latin American Operations at Boston Scientific Corporation, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

 

Mauricio Ortiz is the president of Latin American Operations at Boston Scientific Corporation and has under his responsibility all Latin American countries, divided into five regions: Brazil, the Southern Cone, the Andean Region, Mexico & Central America, and the Caribbean.

Mauricio joined Boston Scientific in 1997 and has held several positions since then, such as country manager of Colombia, country manager of Brazil, vice president of Brazil, and vice president and general manager of Latin America.

Prior to joining Boston Scientific, he was employed by Tyco International as the general manager of Andean Countries and by Abbott Laboratories as the director of Sales & Marketing.

Mauricio has a bachelor's degree in Economics from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana of Bogota.

 

January 22, 2020 - George Cristian Maior, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States

On Wednesday, January 22, His Excellency George Cristian Maior, LL.M. ’92, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States, was interviewed by Dr. Anuj Mehrotra, dean of the GW School of Business.

 

 

 

 

George Cristian Maior has been accredited as Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Romania to the United States, as per Decree no 583 of June 29th, 2015, signed by the President of Romania. He has officially commenced his mandate on September 17th, 2015, upon presenting his Letters of Credence to the Honorable Barack Obama, President of the United States of America.

Between 1992 and 1997, he was a diplomat in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, within the Department of Treaties and Department of Strategic Affairs. Between 1997 and 1999, he was Chargé D’affaires at the Romanian Embassy in Dublin, Ireland. In 2004, he was conferred the rank of Ambassador.

Between 2000 and 2004, he held the position of State Secretary and head of the Department for Euro-Atlantic Integration and Defense Policy within the Ministry of National Defense. In November 2004, Mr. Maior was elected Senator in the Romanian Parliament, where he held various positions, including Chairman of the Committee for Defense, Public Order and National Security; member of Joint Committee for the Parliamentary Oversight on the Foreign Intelligence Service Activity, and member of the Senate Committee for Human Rights, Cults and Minorities.

Following his nomination by the President of Romania and the vote received from the Romanian Parliament, on October 4th, 2006, George Cristian Maior was appointed the 4th Director of the Romanian Intelligence Service.

A Law graduate, Mr. Maior received in 1992 his LL.M. in International and Comparative Law at the George Washington University, Washington DC. In 1997, he was conferred a Ph.D. in International Law at the “Babeş Bolyai” University in Cluj Napoca. He is a university professor and Ph.D. coordinator at the Department of International Relations and European Integration within the National School of Political Studies and Public Administration in Bucharest.

The President of Romania awarded George Cristian Maior the National Order of “Faithful Service” in rank of Knight, the National Order “Star of Romania” in rank of Knight and the National Order “Star of Romania” in rank of Officer. In April 2014, he became a Knight of the “Legion of Honor” order, a title conferred by the President of France. In 2017, The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) awarded George Cristian Maior the “Earl Warren Medallion” for the outstanding partnership with the United States and exceptional leadership during his tenure as Director of Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI). Additionally, he is a Doctor Honoris Causa of the Military Technical Academy in Bucharest, of the “Andrei Saguna” University in Constanta, and of the West University in Timisoara.

He was born on November 16, 1967, in Cluj-Napoca. He is married to Anamaria Maior and has two children.

 

The George Talks Business Special Mini Series

New for Spring 2020, the George Talks Business Special Mini Series featured students, faculty, and alumni sharing quick insights on current events.

Dr. James Bailey on Leadership

In our first episode, James Bailey, Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development and professor of management at GWSB, talks about what it takes to be an effective leader.

 

 

Dr. Robert Van Order on the New Recession

In our second episode, Robert A. Van Order, Oliver Carr Chair of the Department of Finance and professor of finance and economics at GWSB, talks about the economic implications of the recession and what’s likely to come next.

 

 

Dr. Annamaria Lusardi on Crisis Money Management

In our third episode, Annamaria Lusardi, university professor of economics and accountancy and academic director of the Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center (GFLEC), offers helpful suggestions on how to manage money in a time of crisis.

 

 

Dan Simons on Pivoting Business in the COVID-19 Age

In our fourth episode, restauranteur Dan Simons, founder and co-owner of Farmers Restaurant Group, offers lessons from an entrepreneur's perspective on how to pivot your business in response to COVID-19.

 

 

Charles Bendit on the NYC Real Estate Market During COVID-19

In these two episodes, Charles Bendit, BBA ‘75, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Taconic Investment Partners, discusses the business lessons learned about the NYC real estate market during COVID-19, including the pandemic's impact on leasing and sales, development projects, and the ability to pay debt.