| Anita Antenucci, Senior Managing Director, Houlihan Lokey, McLean, VA. Anita has been involved in the financing and restructuring of the international security industry throughout her career, and has advised companies, investor groups and government entities on the impact of industry restructuring and procurement reform. She leads Houlihan Lokey's Aerospace Defense Government (ADG) and Transportation & Logistics investment banking groups, as well as serving as Managing Director and member of the board of directors of the firm. She was previously Co-President and Managing Director of Quarterdeck Investment Partners. In 2005, she was named Woman Dealmaker of the Year by The M&A Advisor, and was recognized in both 2008 and 2010 by Investment Dealers' Digest and in 2007 by Corporate Board Member. She is a member of the board of trustees of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, the corporate advisory board of the National Guard Youth Challenge Foundation, and the board of directors of the Space Foundation. In addition, she is an active competitor in equestrian sports. Anita holds degrees from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University and from Northwestern University, and she studied at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques. Anita is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Ricky Arriola, President and CEO, Inktel Direct Corporation, Miami Lakes, FL. Ricky is President and CEO of Miami-based Inktel Direct Corporation, an integrated direct marketing service group, and currently one of the largest minority-owned companies in the country. Inktel Direct is widely recognized as a leader in its industry as well as a progressive company-a two-time winner of the prestigious "Best Place to Work in South Florida" and the most recent winner of the "Outstanding Minority Owned Business" in Miami-Dade County in 2008. Ricky is responsible for the company's overall business development, operations and strategy, as well as over 600 employees. Prior to joining Inktel, Ricky held executive level positions in the entertainment, e-commerce, investment banking and legal industries, working for companies such as BMG Entertainment and Salomon Brothers. He is active in his community and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the National Finance Committee of President Obama's election campaign and chairman of the Young President's Organization (Miami). In August 2008, Poder 360 business magazine listed Ricky as one of the "23 under 40" shaping Florida and its perceptions around the world. He has a J.D. from St. John's University School of Law and a B.A. in Economics from Boston College. He practiced law for a few years before receiving an M.B.A. from Harvard University Graduate School of Business in 1998. Ricky is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Preeta Bansal, Former General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor, Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President, Washington, DC. Preeta D. Bansal was most recently the General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor in the White House at the Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President from 2009 to 2011. In that capacity, she was also a government member of the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, serving as Vice Chair from 2010 until 2011. Following her departure from government in 2011, President Obama appointed her as a public, nongovernmental member of the governing Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States, a public-private partnership designed to make government work better. Prior to joining the Obama Administration, Preeta was a Partner and Head of the Appellate Litigation Practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom LLP in New York City. She also served as the Solicitor General of the State of New York from 1999-2001, where she helped supervise 600 attorneys in the New York Attorney General’s office. While in private practice from 2003-2009, Preeta served as a Commissioner of the bipartisan United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, serving as Chair in 2004-2005. Raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Preeta was a Visiting Professor of constitutional law and federalism at the University of Nebraska College of Law in 2002-2003. Earlier in her career, she was a law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court, counselor in the United States Department of Justice, and a Special Counsel in the Office of the White House Counsel. Preeta received a J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where she was Supervising Editor of the Harvard Law Review, and an A.B., magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, from Harvard-Radcliffe College. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| William Berkman, Managing Partner, Associated Partners, LP, New York, NY. Bill Berkman is an entrepreneur and investor in the communications, media and energy industries. Since January 2000, he has been the Managing Director at Associated Partners, LP and its predecessor partnership, Liberty Associated Partners, LP-both investment partnerships with Liberty Media Corporation. He is also the co-founder and Chairman of Current Group LLC, which focuses on delivering smart grid services to electric utilities and broadband communication services to electric consumers, where power lines are used as an integral part of a communications network. In addition, Bill co-founded several telecommunications companies, including Teligent, Inc. and Nextel Mexico. Bill recently served as a member of the board of directors for IAC/InterActiveCorp, and has also served on the boards of Liberty Satellite & Technology, Inc. and Teligent, Inc. He serves as a member of the board of advisors to New Mountain Capital, the board of directors for The Partnership for New York City, the World Economic Forum and is a trustee of The Jewish Museum in New York. Bill holds multiple patents for smart electric grid and communications systems. He has an A.B. from Harvard University, and in 1997, his family established the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. Bill is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Rebecca Blumenstein, Page One Editor and Deputy Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal, New York, NY. Rebecca Blumenstein is the Page One Editor and Deputy Managing Editor for The Wall Street Journal. She became Page One Editor in September 2011. Rebecca has been Deputy Managing Editor and International Editor since December 2009, having previously served as Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal Online. Before that, she was the China Bureau Chief, overseeing China coverage for the Journal. Prior to moving to China in the summer of 2005, Rebecca served as chief of the Journal's New York Technology Group, which covered the historic mergers and changes in technology that recast the telecommunications industry. Before that, she was the group's deputy chief and a reporter covering AT&T Corp. and WorldCom Inc. Rebecca joined the Journal in 1995 as a reporter in the Detroit bureau, where she covered General Motors. She began her journalism career at the Tampa Tribune, and then later moved to Gannett Newspapers and Newsday, where she covered breaking news and the New York State legislature. She received a 1993 New York Newswomen's Award for best deadline writing for her coverage of the aftermath of the Long Island Railroad shootings. In 2003, she was part of a team that won the Gerald Loeb Award for deadline writing for coverage of WorldCom. She oversaw the China team that won the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting in 2007. Rebecca holds a bachelor's degree in economics and social science from the University of Michigan, where she was editor in chief of the Michigan Daily. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Paul Brient, President and CEO, PatientKeeper, Inc., Waltham, MA. Paul currently heads PatientKeeper, Inc., a leading healthcare software company that automates the day in the life of a physician. The PatientKeeper Physician Information System allows physicians to review electronic patient records, write prescriptions, enter charges, dictate notes, and document encounters from any smartphone or web browser. Prior to joining PatientKeeper in 2002, Paul held senior executive-level positions at leading healthcare and consulting firms including McKesson Corporation and The Boston Consulting Group. When he was 16, Paul wrote one of the first PC-based physician-practice management systems. Shortly thereafter, he began his healthcare IT career as the founder and President of BCS, an early physician office management software company. Paul has served on the board of GetWellNetwork, Inc., the leading provider of interactive patient care solutions, and is an industry advisor to Long River Ventures. He earned his M.B.A. with high distinction from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration. He also holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science summa cum laude from Princeton. Paul is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| John Crowley, Chairman, President and CEO, Amicus Therapeutics, Inc., Cranbury, NJ. John F. Crowley is the Chairman, President and CEO of Amicus Therapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded biotechnology company focused on the development of novel treatments for human genetic diseases. John's involvement with biotechnology stems from the 1998 diagnosis of two of his children with Pompe disease-a severe and often fatal neuromuscular disorder. In his drive to find a cure for them, he left his position at Bristol-Myers Squibb and became an entrepreneur as the co-founder, president and CEO of Novazyme Pharmaceuticals, a biotech start-up conducting research on a new experimental treatment for Pompe disease (which he credits as ultimately saving his children's lives.) In 2001, Novazyme merged into Genzyme Corporation and John continued to play a lead role in the development of a drug for Pompe disease as Senior Vice President, Genzyme Therapeutics. John and his family have been profiled on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and are the subjects of a book by Pulitzer prize-winning journalist Geeta Anand, "The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million-And Bucked the Medical Establishment-In a Quest to Save His Children." The major motion picture, Extraordinary Measures, starring Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford, is inspired by the Crowley family journey. John is the author of a personal memoir: Chasing Miracles: The Crowley Family Journey of Strength, Hope and Joy. John is also a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, assigned to the United States Special Operations Command and is a veteran of the global war on terrorism, with service in Afghanistan. He graduated with a B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University, and earned a J.D. from the University of Notre Dame Law School and an M.B.A. from Harvard. The Crowley family was the recipient of the 2011 Family Exemplar Award from the University of Notre Dame. John is a 2009 Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife, Aileen and their three children, John, Megan and Patrick. John serves on the executive committee of the National Board of Directors of the Make A Wish Foundation of America. |
| James Currier, Founder and CEO, Ooga Labs LLC, San Francisco, CA. James is founder and CEO of Ooga Labs LLC, a Palo Alto-based technology greenhouse, where he and a small team of engineers and designers are incubating mobile/web technology companies. Recently, Ooga has one of its companies, WonderHill, a social gaming company, acquired by Kabam, a larger gaming company. Prior to Ooga Labs, James founded Tickle.com in 1999 which grew to be the largest online self-assessment company, with 80 employees and $32 million in annual revenue, selling to Monster.com in 2004. From 1994-1997, James was an associate at Battery Ventures in Boston, helping make investments in Internet and telecommunications start-ups. James has studied Mandarin at the Beijing School of Economics in China, and worked at STAR TV-a satellite television broadcaster in Hong Kong-developing digital technology for the production of localized Chinese content. In the early 1990's, he worked for GTE New Ventures in Los Angeles and participated in the creation and funding of several technology startups for the entertainment industry. He has sailed across the North Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific in a 41-foot aluminum boat. In 2000, he founded an all-male a cappella singing group called the Richter Scales, which released its first album in 2006. James is a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy (1985), Princeton (1990), and Harvard Business School (1999). He is married with 4 young boys. He is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Timothy Ferriss, Entrepreneur and Author, Alta Malbec Investments, San Francisco, CA. Tim Ferriss is a principal with Alta Malbec Investments (Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Evernote, etc.), and he is also the author of the #1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, which has been sold in 34 languages. His second book, The 4-Hour Body, also hit #1 New York Times and is (as of Sep. 2011) the #1 highlighted book of all-time on Amazon. Since 2003, Tim has been a popular guest lecturer at Princeton University, where he presents entrepreneurship as a tool for ideal lifestyle design and world change. Tim was also nominated as one of Fast Company's "Most Innovative Business People of 2007" and a Forbes' "Name You Need to Know for 2011." He speaks five languages and is an active education activist who's developed experimental social media campaigns with Donorschoose.org and Room to Read. Tim received his B.A. from Princeton University in 2000, where he studied Neuroscience and East Asian Studies. He is a 2009 Henry Crown Fellows of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. |
 Paul Gaffney | Paul Gaffney, President and CEO, AAA of Northern California, Nevada & Utah, Walnut Creek, CA. Paul is President and CEO for AAA of Northern California, Nevada & Utah in Walnut Creek, CA. He previously held the position of Chief Operating Officer with Desktone helping them to guide their product and technology development and support operations. Desktone developed the industry's first massively-scalable virtual desktop platform that hosts all layers of processing-including storage, applications, client devices, servers, and network technologies-and enabled them to be managed from a single console. He previously served as Executive Vice President at Staples, playing key roles as head of supply chain and CIO. Prior to that, he was Senior Vice President at San Francisco-based Charles Schwab & Co. where he led the re-design of the infrastructure for Schwab.com and built Schwab's active trader technology. He also pioneered Office Depot's Internet business, turning his initial idea of integrated multi-channel Internet commerce into a platform for a multi-billion-dollar eCommerce giant. In 1999, Paul launched a web-development company, Website Pros, to provide small businesses the web development services previously available only to large companies. Paul serves as an independent director on the boards of Power Reviews and ePark Systems. In 2007, CIO Magazine named him to their "Hall of Fame" in recognition of his contribution to the IT industry. Paul received an A.B. from Harvard College in Computer Science. He is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Antonio Gracias, Founder and CEO, Valor Equity Partners, Chicago, IL. Antonio has 15 years experience investing in a variety of sectors including private equity, public equity, and real estate transactions. He currently serves as CEO and Chairman of the Investment Committee for Valor Equity Partners, which he founded in 2001. Prior to Valor, he was Founder and Managing Member of MG Capital, and also served as CEO of MG Capital's electronic connector holdings-Connector Service Corporation. He managed the company through growth from $10 million to $125 million in revenue before exiting the investment in 2001. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Industrial Powder Coatings, Inc., a $65 million revenue supplier to the auto parts and appliance sectors, and was an associate with Goldman Sachs in New York in the International Equity Division. Antonio is a member of the Chicago 2016 Olympic Committee, a member of the board of the Grand Victoria Foundation and the Economic Club of Chicago, as well as a Trustee of the Field Museum. He holds joint B.S. and M.S.F.S. (honors degree) in International Finance and Economics from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service as well as a J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. Antonio is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Susan Hassan, Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, Chicago, IL. Susie Hassan is a Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP in Chicago. She has a diverse corporate practice with extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and general corporate matters. Between college and law school, she helped found an organization that mentors homeless adults, and entered law school thinking she would apply her degree toward similar public service initiatives. But the business side of law intrigued her, and she turned instead to mergers and acquisitions. Susan advises Fortune 500, middle-market and emerging companies on corporate, securities and business-related matters and in a variety of transactions, including public and private acquisitions and dispositions, strategic alliances, public and private securities offerings and venture capital financings. She has substantial experience in the financial services, telecommunications, consumer products, health care and biotechnology industries. Susie has been repeatedly selected for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America and Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. She was named one of Investment Dealers’ Digest’s “40 Under 40” and one of Chicago’s “40 Under 40” by Crain’s Chicago Business. Susie is a member of the board of directors of the Clean Energy Trust and the Chicago Public Library, and is a Trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Susan earned a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School, and a B.A. (with distinction) from the University of Michigan. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Lily Kanter, Co-Founder and CEO, Serena & Lily, Sausalito, CA. In October 2003, Lily was the owner of a baby boutique when a chance meeting brought her together with Serena Dugan, a textile designer and artist. Eight months later, they introduced Serena & Lily, the now highly successful baby bedding and furniture company. Honored by their success, the two also sought to give back to those less fortunate, and so each year 5% of company profits go to organizations that serve underprivileged and at-risk women and children. Prior to this, Lily spent 18 years in business and technology, primarily in management positions at Microsoft, Deloitte & Touche, and IBM. She created the first Microsoft flagship store in downtown San Francisco earning her the Chairman's Award from Bill Gates in July 1999. She left Microsoft in late 2000 to focus her time and energy on philanthropic causes and starting a family. Lily was featured on the cover of Time in July 2000 for the story "The New Philanthropists." She founded Social Venture Partners in the Bay area and the Serena & Lily Foundation-devoted to the mission of inspiring kids to change the world. She also co-founded the Sarosi-Kanter Charitable Foundation with her husband Marc. Lily attended the Executive M.B.A. program at Pepperdine and the Pepperdine Asia Business Program in Hong Kong, and she holds a B.A. in Accounting from Arizona State University. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Peter Karabatsos, Senior Director, Intellectual Property Strategy, Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, IL. Pete joined Abbott, a leading health care company, in 2004 as a manager in the Business Development and Licensing department of Abbott's molecular diagnostics business. In 2007, he was promoted to Senior Director of Intellectual Property Strategy, where he is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive IP strategy for Abbott's three diagnostics divisions. In his current position, Pete is also responsible for Abbott Diagnostics Global Licensing, new technology acquisitions and strategic alliances. As part of his role at Abbott, Pete has worked with leading academic institutions to bring innovative diagnostic technologies to developing countries where health care resources are limited. Prior to joining Abbott, he worked in the Office of Technology and Intellectual Property at the University of Chicago (The ARCH Development Corporation) where he became a recognized expert in early-stage technology generation and commercialization. Pete began his professional career as a biologist working for G.D. Searle Pharmaceuticals (Monsanto), but went back to school to obtain a law degree. During his studies, he served as an intern for the Honorable Charles P. Kocoras in Chicago. Pete volunteers his time with the Chicago Public Schools "After School Matters" Program, Misericordia Heart of Mercy Church and Saints Peter and Paul Greek Orthodox Church. He earned a B.S. in Biological Sciences from the University of Illinois at Urbana, and a J.D. from DePaul University College of Law. Pete is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Daniel Kinder, Managing Partner, Great Ocean Investment Group, Beijing, China. Daniel Kinder is managing partner of Great Ocean Investment Group, with offices in Beijing and London. Daniel was formerly Co-Managing Partner of Park Avenue Equity Partners, a New York-based leveraged buyout investment fund. He served on the board of directors of each of the Fund's control investments and oversaw the Fund's transactions and operations. Prior to that, Dan worked in Credit Suisse First Boston's Financial Institutions Group. He worked on the 1996 Nicholson for U.S. Senate (Michigan) campaign and the 1997 British general election campaign. He is Co-Founder and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Charity:Water. Dan received his B.A., with Honors, from The School of Politics at the University of Liverpool in Great Britain. He is a 2009 Henry Crown Fellow of The Aspen Institute and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. |
| Michelle Kydd Lee, Executive Director, Creative Artists Agency Foundation, Los Angeles, CA. Michelle Kydd Lee founded and directs the Foundation for the Creative Artists Agency (CAA), a talent and literary agency based in Los Angeles, with offices in New York, Nashville, St. Louis, London, and Beijing. The CAA Foundation, since 1995, has used the natural resources of the entertainment community to create positive social change. In her role, Michelle serves as a consultant to clients, executives and corporations on their philanthropic and pro-social initiatives. Additionally, Michelle holds the title of Director of Culture at CAA, supervising several other divisions of the agency. Michelle serves on the national board of Project Rebirth, a cinematic landmark chronicling the rebirth of Ground Zero in New York City as well as the national board of The LEAGUE-a non-profit organization dedicated to encouraging youth service. Michelle received a B.A. in Communications from the University of Maine. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Jeffrey Mendelsohn, Founder and Chairman, New Leaf Paper, San Francisco, CA. Jeff initially launched New York Recycled Paper in 1991 in an effort to "take on one of the most polluting industries in the world". He was so successful that in 1998, he moved the company's headquarters to California, bought out Dancing Tree (a small recycled paper company), and renamed the whole works New Leaf Paper. Since then, sales have grown to $29 million in ten years-without any outside investment. New Leaf is now a national supplier with employees across the U.S., and they have become the exclusive printer of the Harry Potter series in Canada. Jeff is active in the socially responsible business community and is a member of Social Venture Network (which he founded) and Business for Social Responsibility. He is also a board member for Amazon Watch and an advisory board member for the Environmental Non-Profit Network and the As You Sow Foundation. In March 2004, Fast Company magazine named New Leaf one of its "Fast Fifty" top growing companies. They also won Fast Company magazine's Inaugural Social Enterprise Award in 2008. Jeff earned a B.A. in Government with a concentration in International Relations and US/Latin American Relations in 1990 from Cornell University. He also studied Dependency Theory at the Universidad de Buenos Aires in 1988. Jeff is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Eric Reeves, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, The Duchossois Group, Inc., Elmhurst, IL. As Vice-President and General Counsel, Eric provides legal and business counsel to The Duchossois Group, Inc., a privately held, family-owned company with investments in the consumer products, technology and service sector. Eric was previously a partner at the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery and was a key part of their commercial finance practice group. He serves on the board of directors for Family Focus (Englewood)-a non-profit whose mission is to promote the well-being of children by supporting and strengthening their families, and the Advocate Illinois Masonic Charitable Foundation. Eric is a member of the Hearing Board for the Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission of the Supreme Court of Illinois and an active member of the American Bar Association. He is a graduate Fellow of Leadership of Greater Chicago and was selected as a member of Mayor Daley's 21st Century Leadership Council. Eric earned a B.A. in History at the University of Michigan in 1994 and his Juris Doctor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law in 1998. He is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Rosa Scarcelli, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Stanford Management LLC, Portland, ME. Since 1992, Rosa has had a passion for real estate and land development, seeking out investments that incorporate provisions for quality affordable housing, restore and reuse historically significant properties, and that assist in revitalizing neighborhoods and reinvest in local communities. Through Stanford Management, she currently owns and manages 80+ affordable housing complexes in Connecticut, Maine, Mississippi and Pennsylvania and continues to grow their portfolio. From 1999-2005, Rosa was owner and President of DE Property Management LLC. Prior to that she was Development Director for Landmark America LLC, an industry leading multi-family real estate development company, as well as Development Coordinator for Gleichman & Company, an affordable housing development company in Portland, Maine. She has served as an intern in the U.S. Senate and the New York City Council, New England Finance Committee for Barack Obama. She is a member of YPO, the Women's International Network of YPO, the International Women's Forum, the Maine Women's Forum, and is a member of the Steering Committee for the Portland Museum of Art. Due to her aspirations for public service in her native Maine, Rosa ran for Governor of Maine in the Democratic Primary in 2010. Rosa graduated from Bowdoin College with a B.A. in Art and Art History. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Tamsin Spencer Smith, Founder and President, SlipStreamStrategy, San Francisco, CA. Tamsin founded SlipStreamStrategy in early 2009, with the vision of helping good people turn good ideas into realities that matter to the world. SlipStreamStrategy works with philanthropists, corporate executives, international organizations, non-profits and innovative thinkers to form creative coalitions that impact society's collective challenges. She was previously the president of (RED), which produces specially branded products in partnership with iconic global brands-including Apple, Emporio Armani, Converse, Gap, Dell, and Starbucks-to activate the buying power of the public in the fight against AIDS in Africa. She was recruited in early 2006, by (RED) founders Bono and Bobby Shriver to launch and build the program internationally. At the time of her departure, (RED) had generated nearly $120 million-100% of which is invested in HIV and AIDS programs on the ground in Africa. Prior to joining (RED), she shepherded Gap Inc.'s public policy strategy and engagement. Before moving to California, she spent six years on Capitol Hill as senior legislative assistant to two members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Tamsin holds an M.A. in International Law and Diplomacy from Tufts University and a B.A. in English Literature from Kenyon College, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
| Carla Vernón, Business Unit Director- Family Favorite Cereals, General Mills, Golden Valley, MN. Carla is the Business Unit Director for a portfolio of Family Favorite Cereals within the largest operating division at General Mills. She has overall management responsibility for a $1.5 billion group of products that includes iconic brands like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Chex, Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs, and Kix. Her role also includes leadership of the overall health and wellness strategy for all of the General Mills Big G Cereals. Prior to her current role, she was in the Corporate Development group of General Mills supporting the CEO and his executive team in developing long-term company strategy and evaluating targets for mergers or acquisitions. Carla's career has also included leading business turnarounds and establishing category leadership on Honey Nut Cheerios, Fruit Roll-Ups, and Small Planet Foods. Beyond her role at General Mills, Carla and her husband Jason get to enjoy lots of hugs and kisses from their son Quincy and daughter Charley (ages 6 and 4). Prior to joining General Mills, Carla worked for The Nature Conservancy, City Year, and for U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun. She serves on the national board of directors for the Make-a-Wish Foundation, is an alumni class officer for Princeton University, volunteers at her church as a Sunday school teacher, and plays an active role as a volunteer at school for her children. Carla received her AB in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Princeton University and an MBA from the University of Texas, Austin (as a Consortium Fellow). She is a member of the 2009 class of Henry Crown Fellows at the Aspen Institute. |
Leadership Programs
