Session Descriptions

Listen to previews of SUMMIT 2008 Keynote Speakers

THE 2008 ELECTION: WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR ME?
 Joel Weisman

No need to stay home to watch the morning pundits review the 2008 elections, held the day before Summit. We will explore what the election results really mean for business and the Chicago area.

SUMMIT 2008 opens with an analysis of the 2008 elections by Chicago television commentator Joel Weisman. Joel’s analysis of the elections will explore key issues affecting business, such as health care, labor, economic policy, and immigration. There will be plenty to talk about on November 5 as we explore the business implications for the country and the Chicago area under the newly elected leadership.

Joel Weisman is Host and Senior Editor of WTTW’s Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review, winner of Chicago Emmy Awards for Outstanding Conversation Program Series and Outstanding Public Affairs Series. His name is synonymous with no-nonsense, often inside information about Chicago politics and public affairs. In the weekly program, first aired in 1978, Joel analyzes and assesses the Chicago impact of state, local, and national issues with a panel of journalists. A Chicago native, Joel has worked as a columnist, political editor and investigative reporter for several area and national newspapers. He’s won multiple awards and was twice nominated for Pulitzer Prizes for his investigative reporting. His television career includes Emmy Award-winning commentary and news analysis for WGN Television.

DESIGNING YOUR PREFERRED FUTURE
Glen Hiemstra

In today’s competitive business environment, companies must have an eye towards the future to be successful. Technologies change, markets change, human capital needs change… Do you have what it takes to lead your organization into your preferred future?

Futurist Glen Hiemstra takes us on a “Back to the Future” type journey. With his guidance, we’ll take a look back from 20 years in the future to identify what you can do today to prepare for the challenges that lie ahead. This thought-provoking session will explore the drivers of future change in the areas of business, economics, health care, demographics and technology. When thinking about the future we tend to underestimate what can be done to prepare. This presentation will go beyond a simple analysis of future trends by providing tools you can use to develop new models for thinking and shaping your future.

Glen is founder of Futurist.com, a company focused on the dissemination of information about the future and how to create it. He is the author of Turning the Future into Revenue: What Business and Individuals

Need to Know to Shape Their Futures and co-author of Strategic Leadership: Achieving Your Preferred Future. He has worked with many leading companies, including Microsoft, Boeing, Adobe, Ernst & Young, and Hewlett Packard. He has also served as a technical advisor for futuristic television programs, working with Steven Bochco Productions (creator of “LA Law” and “Hill Street Blues,”). Glen was selected as one of 30 global leaders to advise on the design of the General Motors & Shanghai Automotive Industry pavilion for the Shanghai 2010 exhibition.

CREATING A SIGNATURE EXPERIENCE FOR EXTRAORDINARY EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
Tamara Erickson

Engaging employees is not about copying another organization’s best practices. Case studies of firms that have achieved extraordinary levels of employee engagement point to a provocative conclusion: there is no single best practice. Do you know what your employees want and need?

Noted human capital researcher and author Tamara Erickson will share trends that surfaced from her research into employee engagement. She will show how world-class companies create “Signature Experiences” – distinctive elements of the employee experience that illustrate the values that make their organization unique. Tamara will explore the psychodemographic segments that describe employees’ relationship to work that will help you develop a signature experience for your teams. These insights will help you create strategies that result in high engagement, improved productivity and increased customer satisfaction.

Tamara is Executive Vice President at nGenera (formerly BSG Concours) working with senior executives throughout the world to create business value from human capital and workplace technology. Among her publishing credits are co-authorships on four Harvard Business Review articles, including the McKinsey Award winning article “It’s Time to Retire Retirement.” She is also co-author of the book Workforce Crisis: How to Beat the Coming Shortage of Skills and Talent. Tamara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biological Sciences from the University of Chicago and an MBA from the Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration where she was the recipient of the James Thomas Chirurg Fellowship.

COMMON CHALLENGES, FUTURE STRATEGIES: A CHRO PROSPECTIVE
Moderator: Tamara Erickson

Changing workforce demographics, globalization, keeping employees engaged and fierce competition for the best and the brightest talent…. Are you prepared for the challenges of
the future?

Chief human resources officers from three of the world’s most recognized companies to share their strategies for developing a talented, engaged, and committed workforce. Though representing different business sectors, they share common challenges of finding employees that fit their culture and engaging a workforce to support their respective brands. All this against a backdrop of expanding globalization, greater use of technology and increasing employee expectations.

Anne D. Sample, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, PepsiAmericas PepsiAmericas is the second largest Pepsi-Cola anchor bottler with 14,000 employees supporting operations in 15 countries. Among their core values is to create a workforce of engaged and capable employees who operate within a culture of accountability, integrity, respect, teamwork and passion.

Robb Webb, Chief Human Resources Officer, Global Hyatt Corporation Global Hyatt Corporation has 90,000 employees working in 750 hotels and resorts around the world. Their philosophy is that it’s the people that make the Hyatt experience an exceptional one. They work to attract and retain a workforce that is motivated to provide a level of service that is excellent, innovative and customer-driven, and reflects the local cultures where they do business.

THE SECRETS OF TOP PERFORMERS: BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF CHAMPIONS IN YOUR ORGANIZATION
Bonnie St. John

Are you ready for the leadership challenges of tomorrow? Do you have what it takes to overcome the obstacles you may face? Can you be an inspiration to your team?

When people stumble or fall, the difference between winning and losing is a matter of who gets up faster. That’s Bonnie St. John’s motto which you may have seen on one of the millions of Starbucks cups that featured it. An amputee since the age of five, Bonnie has used her determination not only to get up, but to reach the heights of success in athletics, business and her personal life.

In this inspirational program, Bonnie will explore some of the challenges facing today’s leaders. She will show why hard work, talent and connections are not what separates stars from superstars. You will learn how to put your stresses to work for you to gain the ultimate competitive advantage: the confidence to challenge your comfort zones and take action to get ahead. By the end of this session you will not only know how to create your own successes, but how to build a community of champions in your organization.

Bonnie was the first African-American to win Olympic medals in ski racing. She won two bronze and one silver in the 1984 Paralympics in Innsbruck. After graduating with honors from Harvard, she went on to study economics at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar. She served on the National Economic Council as a Director for Human Capital Issues under President Clinton. She is the author of several books, including Succeeding Sane: Making Room for Joy in a Crazy World and Getting Ahead at Work Without Leaving Your Family Behind.

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