Keynote Speakers

davidgergen

David Gergen

CNN Analyst, 

Kennedy School of Government

A White House adviser, journalist, and teacher over the past 40 years, David Gergen has served in the administrations of Presidents Nixon and Ford; was director of communications for President Reagan, and served as counselor to President Clinton on both foreign policy and domestic affairs.  He is a professor of public service at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the director of its Center for Public Leadership.

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daymond johnA young entrepreneur, an industry pioneer, a highly regarded marketing expert, and a man who has surpassed new heights of commercial and financial success are just a few ways people have described Daymond John. Over the last 20 years, Daymond has evolved from one of the most successful fashion icons of his generation to one of the most sought after branding experts, business, and motivational speakers in the country.

Daymond’s creative vision and strong knowledge of the marketplace helped him create one of the most iconic fashion brands in recent years. FUBU, standing for “For Us By Us”, represented a lifestyle that was neglected by other clothing companies. Realizing this need in the marketplace, Daymond created the untapped urban apparel space and laid the groundwork for other companies to compete in this newly established market.

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dev patnaikDev Patnaik is the CEO of Jump Associates, a hybrid strategy firm focused on growth. Together with his teammates, Dev works with companies to create new businesses and reinvent existing ones. Jump has helped organizations define profitable growth platforms in highly ambiguous spaces, and built the systems, processes and metrics to make these platforms a reality. In recent years, Jump has become particularly well-known for its pioneering culture, and was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the best places to work in America.

Dev is a trusted advisor to senior executives at many of America’s most admired companies, including GE, Target and Hewlett-Packard. A frequent speaker at business forums, Dev was featured as a guest on the CNBC series, “The Business of Innovation.”

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ankur jainAnkur Jain is a philanthropist and entrepreneur, with a focus on leveraging innovation and entrepreneurship as a means to solve global problems.

Jain is the founder and chairman of the Kairos Society, an organization of young entrepreneurs working to create billion-dollar solutions to the world challenges. Jain is also the co-founder and CEO of Panjia Co. which helps early stage technology companies in foreign markets accelerate growth into the United States, China, and Middle East. Jain has said that he believes helping entrepreneurs work across national borders can serve as a means to “privatize diplomacy.”

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mark payne

Mark Payne

Fahrenheit 212

As the co-founder and Head of Idea Development of Fahrenheit 212, a New York-based innovation consultancy, Mark Payne draws on his twenty plus years’ experience in the creation of new businesses, brands and products, with a global perspective born of having lived and worked across Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, and a skill set fusing creative abandon and strategic discipline.

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mark albionDr. Mark Albion is a former Harvard Business School professor and co-founder of six organizations, including Net Impact. For over 30 years, Dr. Albion has been helping MBAs clarify their values, connect with like-minded leaders and successfully join or build organizations focused on creating positive social, environmental and economic impact. Dubbed the ‘Savior of Business School Souls’ by BusinessWeek, Dr. Albion has spoken on over 600 business school campuses on five continents. Profiled by 60 Minutes and the New York Times,  Dr. Albion is a New York Times best selling author who has written seven books and published over 200 articles to inspire, challenge and instruct professionals on how to turn their management skills and social values into a meaningful life and career. In 2009, Dr. Albion served in the Office of the President at Babson College, helping to integrate social values into the college.

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rickaubry

Rick Aubry

New Foundry Ventures, Tulane University

Rick Aubry, Ph.D., is the founder and CEO of New Foundry Ventures (formerly Rubicon National Social Innovations.) Rick served as the President of Rubicon Programs Inc. one of America’s pre-eminent non-profit organizations from 1986-2009 when he founded Rubicon National. His work at Rubicon has had a significant and measured impact on the lives of over 40,000 people confronting homeless, poverty and the challenges of living with mental health disabilities. Rick is a five time winner of the Fast Company Magazine “Social Capitalist Award” for its impact and innovation in addressing these issues. During Rick’s tenure at Rubicon’s from 1986, he oversaw the growth of the agency from a staff of 12 serving a handful of clients with a $980,000 annual budget to an organization serving more than 4,000 people annually with over 250 full time staff and over $16 million in annual revenues in 2009.

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charlie bakerAs an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at General Catalyst Partners, Charlie Baker focuses on investing in mid-size firms, primarily in the health care services industries.

Before joining General Catalyst, Charlie was the Republican nominee for Governor, losing a close four way race to Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick.  Before that, he spent ten years as CEO of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a $2 billion, 1 million member health benefits plan serving individuals and employers in MA, NH and ME.  Under his leadership, HPHC went from state receivership to #1 in the country for six years in a row for member satisfaction and clinical effectiveness.

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noah alperNoah Alper is a consultant specializing in entrepreneurial strategy, and the author of Business Mensch-Timeless Wisdom for Today’s Entrepreneur.  His experience includes concept creation, marketing, retailing, food service and sales management.

A serial entrepreneur, Noah Alper is the founder of six ventures, including two mega-successful food businesses—the West Coast Noah's New York Bagels chain and Bread & Circus, once the Northeast’s largest natural foods chain and now part of Whole Foods Market. Six and a half years after founding Noah’s New York Bagels, he sold the business for $100 million. At that time, it was the largest kosher retailer in the United States.

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mary gentile

Mary C. Gentile

Giving Voice to Values

Mary C. Gentile, Ph.D., is Director of Giving Voice to Values (GVV), a business curriculum launched by Aspen Institute and Yale SOM, now based and funded at Babson College. GVV is a pioneering approach to values-driven leadership that has been featured in  Financial Times, Harvard Business Review, Stanford Social Innovation Review, McKinsey Quarterly, BizEd, etc. and piloted in over 150 business schools and organizations globally. The book  – Giving Voice To Values: How To Speak Your Mind When You Know What's Right – is out from Yale University Press (www.MaryGentile.com).

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michaelportersmile

Michael Porter

Harvard Business School

Michael E. Porter is a leading authority on competitive strategy, the competitiveness and economic development of nations, states, and regions, and the application of competitive principles to social problems such as health care, the environment, and corporate responsibility.

Professor Porter is generally recognized as the father of the modern strategy field, as has been identified in a variety of rankings and surveys as the world’s most influential thinker on management and competitiveness.

 

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Panels & Panelists

  • Adapting to the Rapidly Changing World of Technology

    • Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator)

      Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator) Babson Professor   Anirudh Dhebar has taught at the Harvard Busin…

    • David Troy

      David Troy CEO, 410Labs; Founder, Twittervision.com; Founder, Shortmail.com Dave Troy has been a…

    • Greg Rublev

      Greg Rublev Founder, LeanWagon; Director of Product Management, NetProspex Greg Rublev, a dedic…

    • Craig Bloem

      Craig Bloem Founder / CEO, FreeLogoService.com Craig Bloem is the Founder and CEO of FreeLogoSer…

  • Brand Management

  • Creating Your Own Entrepreneurial Path in a Corporation

    • Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator)

      Anirudh Dhebar (Moderator) Babson Professor   Anirudh Dhebar has taught at the Harvard Business…

    • Sharon John

      Sharon John President, Stride Rite Children's Group Sharon John joined Collective Brands, Inc. (…

    • Guy Yehiav

      Guy Yehiav CEO, Profitect Guy Yehiav brings a strong technological and marketing leadership…

  • Current Trends in Venture Capital and Private Equity

    • Josh Lerner

      Josh Lerner Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School…

  • Customization Gone Wild – Co-creation and Innovation

    • Matt Nichols

      Matt Nichols CFO & EVP Operations, Gemvara Matt Nichols joined Gemvara in February 2011 as EVP…

    • Rob Adler (Moderator)

      Rob Adler (Moderator) Babson Adjunct Lecturer Rob is a seasoned, hands-on entrepreneurial le…

    • Evan Saks

      Evan Saks Create-A-Mattress, LLC.…

    • Fan Bi

        Fan Bi Founder and Chief Shirt, Blank Label Fan Bi, Founder of Blank Label, an online custo…

    • Michelle Pearl

      Michele Pearl Chief Product Officer, Custommade.com Michele brings deep experience in both cons…

  • Emerging Consumer-driven Trends in the Food and Beverage Industry

    • Gil MacLean

      Gil MacLean Co-founder, Stirrings   Food and Beverage Entrepreneur Gil MacLean is best known…

    • Larry Gennari (Moderator)

      Larry Gennari (Moderator) Co-Founder, Gennari Aronson, LLP Lawrence Gennari co-founded Gennari…

    • Laura Kuykendall

      Laura Kuykendall Director of Marketing and R&D, Glutino Food Group, a division of Smart Balance…

    • Sara Gragnolati

      Sara Gragnolati Founder & CEO, Cocomama Foods Sara’s insight into food trends combined with the…

    • Eric Spitz

      Eric Spitz CFO, Narragansett Brewing Company Eric Spitz has spent his career launching and oper…

  • Entrepreneurship in Sales

    • Bill Starr

        Bill Starr CEO, Collaborative MarketPlaces, Inc.   Bill Starr has nearly 20 years of interna…

    • Andrew Quinn

      Andrew Quinn Director of Sales Training, HubSpot Andrew Quinn, otherwise know as "The Sales Doc…

    • Mike McClurg

      Mike McClurg Vice President, Global Mid Market Sales - IBM  Michael McClurg leads IBM's Global…

    • Michael Brooks

      Michael Brooks Regional Sales Manager for New England & Ontario, Violin Memory Michael Brooks i…

  • Family Enterprising: Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Family Business

    • Matthew Allen (Moderator)

      Matthew Allen (Moderator) Babson Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship; Director of Research STEP…

    • Matthew Boyd

      Matthew Boyd VP Business Development, Boyd Technologies Matthew Boyd is a managing partner and…

    • Bodo Liesenfeld

      Bodo Liesenfeld Founder/ Managing Partner, Liesenfeld International GmbH; Chamber of Commerce, Ham…

  • Funding Your Startup

    • Richard T. Bliss (Moderator)

      Richard T. Bliss Associate Professor, Babson College …

    • Avak Kahvejian

        Avak Kahvejian Vice President, Development Partner - Venture Labs, Flagship Ventures Avak Kahv…

    • Peter Aransky

      Peter Aransky President/Partner, Business Capital Resources NA Peter Aransky is a seasoned busine…

    • Dan Allred

      Dan Allred Senior Relationship Manager, Silicon Valley Bank Dan Allred is a Senior Relationship…

    • Lucinda Linde

      Lucinda Linde Partner, Walnut Ventures Lucinda invests in and consult to early stage informatio…

  • Growing an International Company

    • Nand Chaudhary

      Nand Chaudhary Founder, Jaipur Rugs (India) 32 years ago, Mr Chaudhary started the carpet busi…

  • Hot Young Companies

    • Bob Caspe (Moderator)

      Bob Caspe Babson Part-Time Lecturer Bob Caspe has been teaching at Babson College's MBA program…

    • John Goscha

      John Goscha Founder, Idea Paint John Goscha holds a B.S. in Economics and Entrepreneurship from…

    • Jeremy Andrus

      Jeremy Andrus President & CEO, Skull Candy Jeremy Andrus joined Skull Candy in March 2005 and c…

  • How to Construct an Advisory Board

  • How to Make the Internet Squeal like a Pig, 5 Secrets to Bringin' Home the Bacon

    • Hugh MacLeod

      Hugh MacLeod Head Creative gapingvoid ltd.; Cartoonist; Author Hugh MacLeod, best selling autho…

    • Jason Korman

      Jason Korman CEO, gapingvoid ltd. Jason Korman is a serial entrepreneur, having founded his…

    • Len Schlesinger (Moderator)

      Len Schlesinger (Moderator) President, Babson College  The 12th president of Babson College, Le…

  • International Start-ups – Business in China, Africa, and Across the Globe

    • Vuyo Dunjwa

      Vuyo Dunjwa Executive Chairman of the Board of the Sub-Saharan Africa Chamber of Commerce Mr. D…

    • Robert Eng (Moderator)

      Robert Eng (Moderator) Babson Associate Professor   Dr. Eng has been with Babson College since…

    • Elizabeth Perelstein

      Elizabeth Perelstein President, School Choice International Elizabeth Perelstein, President…

    • Cherry Wu

      Cherry Wu Founder and General Manager, Dalian LongSheng Fashion Co, LTD (China) With the love f…

  • Lessons Learned by Serial Entrepreneurs

    • Rob Adler (Moderator)

      Rob Adler (Moderator) Babson Adjunct Lecturer   Rob is a seasoned, hands-on entrepreneurial lea…

    • Elizabeth Perelstein

      Elizabeth Perelstein President, School Choice International Elizabeth Perelstein, President of…

    • Chris Jacobs

      Chris Jacobs Chief Cardgiver, Honest Discounts While most kids were playing hide-n-go seek, Ch…

    • Bill Keefe

      Bill Keefe President, Julianna Rae Mr. Keefe has over 15 years of business and marketing leader…

  • Preparing the Next Generation to Become the Innovative & Entrepreneurial Leaders of Tomorrow.

    • Ron Guerriero (Moderator)

        Ron Guerriero (Moderator) Ron has extensive experience as a CEO and senior executive in softwar…

    • Susan Musinsky

      Susan Musinsky Director, Root Cause's Social Innovation Forum Susan has dedicated her career to…

    • Joshua Biber

      Joshua Biber Executive Director, Teach For America of Greater Boston Josh Biber is the founding…

    • Jennifer Green

      Jennifer Green Executive Director, NFTE New England Jennifer is the Executive Director for the…

  • Product Design and Development

  • Sales Training

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