Scaling and financing growth

Whether you're leading a startup, middle market company or large corporation, scaling your organization is a fundamental challenge you will likely face. Why is it some firms are able to scale more effectively, efficiently and ultimately more profitably than others?

We will explore how organizations successfully achieve profitable growth through the lenses of culture and human capital, strategy and finance.

Financing for Growth

Session 1 / 11:00 am - 12:30 pm

Dive into the world of financing growing companies and discover how innovative finance structures have enabled growth in industries such as solar energy, tech and healthcare.

Speakers

Lisa Earnhardt '96 Executive Vice President, Medical Devices, Abbott

Lisa Earnhardt leads Intersect ENT, a medical technology company dedicated to improving the quality of life for patients with ear, nose and throat conditions. She has more than two decades of experience in healthcare, primarily in driving adoption of new medical technologies at both Boston Scientific and Guidant. Earnhardt serves on the boards of Intersect ENT and Nevro Corporation. She is a former Chair of the Kellogg Alumni Council and a member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

Scaling and Financing Growth Financing for Growth

11:00 a.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Mitchell Petersen Glen Vasel Professor of Finance / Director of the Heizer Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital

Mitchell Petersen's research is in the area of empirical corporate finance. He examines how firms evaluate potential investment projects and how they fund such projects. His recent writing focuses on the funding of small firms and how such funding has been altered by technology and changes in the financial (banking) market. He has been a member of the editorial board of various journals, including the Journal of Finance, Financial Management, Review of Financial Studies and the Journal of Financial Intermediation. He is also a research associate with the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Scaling and Financing Growth Financing for Growth

11:00 a.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Mike Sands President and CEO / Signal

Mike Sands is Chief Executive Officer at Signal. Prior to joining Signal, Mike held the positions of CMO and COO at Orbitz. While at Orbitz, Mike helped take the business from start-up to IPO, then through two acquisitions. After Orbitz, Mike joined The Pritzker Group as a partner on their private equity team. His work at General Motors led him to be named a “Marketer of the Next Generation” by Brandweek magazine. Mike holds a BS in Communications from Northwestern University and a Masters in Management degree from the J.L. Kellogg School of Management.

Scaling and Financing Growth Financing for Growth

11:00 a.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Anne Clarke Wolff '88 Head of Global Corporate Banking / Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Based in New York, Anne is responsible for the firm’s corporate banking coverage efforts globally which touch over 2,500 clients across a range of credit, financing, treasury and risk solutions, representing over $8 billion in annual revenue. Anne manages a team of 400 professionals across 30 countries who act as the firm’s relationship manager in delivering the full suite of products to our largest corporate and financial institutions clients around the world. She plays an active role in the firm’s global client selection and is the business approval for any corporate credit extension globally.

Scaling and Financing Growth Financing for Growth

11:00 a.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

Session 2 / 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Explore how organizations have defined their culture and strengthened the capabilities of their people in order to grow, overcoming the challenges posed by increasingly remote and global workforces along the way.

Speakers

Sally Anderson Head of People Development / Google

Sally Hornick Anderson is the Head of PeopleDev for the Americas Large Customer Sales Team, supporting 2300+ Googlers across Canada, US and LATAM, and the Global Clients & Agency Solutions team, supporting 400+ Googlers globally. She is responsible for onboarding, development and training for the Americas Large Customer Sales team. Prior to this role, Sally was a HR Business Partner for various Sales teams for 10 years at Google and DoubleClick.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Linda Darragh Clinical Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice / Executive Director, Entrepreneurship at Kellogg

Linda Darragh's professional and volunteer experience has focused on enhancing entrepreneurship in Chicago for three decades. Two key areas of interest have been early stage financing and teaching. Most recently, she has focused her efforts on early stage financing in the realm of for-profit social ventures - impact investing. Darragh is the Executive Director of the Levy Institute for Entrepreneurial Practice and Executive Director of the Heizer Center for Private Equity and Venture Capital. She also is an active member of the Chicago entrepreneurial community. She has been a long-time board member of the Chicagoland Entrepreneurial Center/1871.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

David Grams '94 Senior Vice President / DaVita Healthcare Partners

David Grams is a Senior Vice President at DaVita HealthCare Partners, an industry-leading provider of innovative healthcare solutions and services. Grams is responsible for all dialysis operations across the Midwest and Southeast of the US and all contracting activities with commercial payors. His previous roles included a partner with Wachovia Capital Partners (Pamlico Capital Partners) and VP of Finance and Treasurer for Quorum Health Group, Inc. David holds a BA in Economics from Northwestern University and an MBA from Kellogg.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Jeff Hesse Principal / PwC

Jeff Hesse is a Principal in PwC’s advisory practice based in Chicago. Hesse leads PwC’s US human capital consulting business, helping some of the best companies in the world transform their people and human capital functions. Prior to joining PwC, he was managing partner of Diamond’s financial services practice and a member of the firm’s Leadership Committee. Hesse also serves as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Sacred Heart Schools and as a Governing Member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture and Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Crane Kenney President of Business Operations / Chicago Cubs

As the principal executive in charge of Cubs operations for the previous eight seasons, Crane has helped Chicago welcome over three million fans through Wrigley Field’s turnstiles each season since 2004, including a record mark of 3,300,200 fans in 2008. Crane Co-founded Comcast SportsNet Chicago, the Cubs cable partner, with Jerry Reinsdorf in 2003 and has served on the Board of Directors since its formation. Kenney holds a law degree from the University of Michigan and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Dan Weinfurter Adjunct Lecturer of Management & Organizations / Kellogg School of Management

Dan Weinfurter is currently the CEO of GrowthPlay, an integrated sales effectiveness business backed by Driehaus Private Equity. GrowthPlay’s focus is helping organizations drive profitable growth by assessing and improving the capability and skill of client facing teams. Weinfurter is a serial entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience. He has been the founder and CEO of three private equity-backed businesses and was the number two executive for a fourth. The three previous companies achieved high rankings on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies, with Parson Group landing the coveted #1 spot.

Scaling and Financing Growth Organizing for Growth: Culture & Human Capital

1:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

Session 3 / 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Learn about the strategies companies have designed and executed to successfully grow in markets where incumbent goliaths pose significant barriers to entry.

Speakers

Kevin Culley Senior Director of Business Development and Innovation / Under Armour

Kevin Culley is the Senior Director of Business Development and Innovation at Under Armour. As a result of his long experience in brand building, sports marketing, product creation, licensing, international development and innovation, Culley has developed a wide range of skills including team building, contract negotiation and conflict resolution.

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Andy Hung '10 General Manager / Uber

Andy Hung is a General Manager at Uber. Prior to joining Uber, Andy did a tour of duty in strategy consulting and had a stint as a drummer in a rock band. He studied Economics at Yale University and received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management, where he wrote for the Merger and was a founding member of the Captains of Industry. Andy is particularly interested in mobile behavioral economics, or why having a supercomputer in our pockets is fundamentally changing the way we think.

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Paul Leinwand '98 Principal / PwC

Paul Leinwand is a U.S. principal with Strategy&, PwC's global strategy consulting business, based in Chicago. He advises clients in the areas of strategy, growth and capability building, with a focus on the consumer product and retail sectors. Leinwand has co-Authored two books, The Essential Advantage: How to Win with a Capabilities-Driven Strategy and Cut Costs and Grow Stronger, as well as several articles in the Harvard Business Review and strategy+business. Before joining PwC, Leinwand worked for Booz & Company and Federated Department Stores/Macy’s. He currently teaches at Kellogg as an Adjunct Professor of Strategy.

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Mike Mazzeo Associate Professor of Strategy / Kellogg School of Management

Mike Mazzeo teaches Kellogg's core class in Business Strategy in the MBA and EMBA programs. His research focuses on empirical industrial organization, in particular the role of differentiation and endogenous product choice in firm strategy and market competition. His work has focused on developing new statistical methodologies for examining the role of product differentiation in markets, and quantifying these effects in industry studies. Mazzeo has published papers based on research in the airline, banking, health care, lodging, retail and telecommunications industries. He is also o-author of, "Roadside MBA: Backroad Lessons for Entreprenuers, Executives and Small Business Owners."

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Michael Treacy President and Founder / Treacy & Company

Michael Treacy’s ideas on growth and innovation have been shaped by his rich experiences as an academic, an advisor to corporations and an entrepreneur. Formerly a Professor of Management at the Sloan School of Management at MIT, he has served as a board member for several leveraged buyouts and new ventures. He is the author of two books, The Discipline of Market Leaders — a New York Times bestseller — and Double Digit Growth.

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall

Manny Valdes '93 CEO / Frontera Foods

Manny Valdes has always been passionate about food. After 7 years in consulting, Valdez first became established in the food business as Associate Brand Manager for Kraft, which opened the door to working with acclaimed chef Rick Bayless. He approached Bayless with the concept for a packaged food line. Today, Frontera products are on grocery store shelves nationwide. Valdez has his undergraduate degree from Illinois State University and his MBA from Kellogg.

Scaling and Financing Growth Designing Strategies for Scaling in a Competitive Market

3:30 p.m. Pick-Staiger Concert Hall