CNBC Evolve New York: Transforming Companies for the Future

In an era of rapid technological advances and demographic change, how do legacy companies adapt, innovate and evolve?

CNBC Evolve features iconic global companies and executives who are embracing change and transforming for the future.

Featuring best-in class CEOs and innovators in conversation with CNBC anchors and reporters, this half-day event series provides a forum for companies to share strategies, tactics and lessons learned in a peer-to-peer environment.

Attendees will walk away with an understanding of how businesses and brands can evolve and win in an age of disruption.

Learn more and register for our other 2019 CNBC Evolve events here

Speakers

Hubert Joly

Hubert Joly is executive chairman of Best Buy Co. Inc., the leading provider of consumer technology products and services, with approximately 125,000 employees in North America and approximately $40 billion in annual revenue. Previously, Mr. Joly was Chairman (2015-2019) and Chief Executive Officer (2012-2019).

Mr. Joly joined Best Buy in 2012 and led Best Buy through its successful customer-focused Renew Blue transformation, which delivered improved customer satisfaction, market share gains, revenue growth and improved margins, and reduced costs by $1.5 billion to fund necessary investments. Up until June 2019, he led the Company’s Best Buy 2020 growth strategy, focused on enriching people's lives through technology. During both phases, Mr. Joly pursued a purposeful leadership approach, focused on positively impacting all stakeholders. The company’s renewed success with customers has been fueled by the enhanced engagement and proficiency of its employees, investments in their compensation and benefits and a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. In addition, corporate social responsibility and sustainability efforts have been embedded in all aspects of the company’s operations, notably resulting in a reduced carbon footprint.

Prior to joining Best Buy, Mr. Joly served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Carlson, Inc., a worldwide hospitality and travel company, and President and Chief Executive Officer of Carlson Wagonlit Travel, a business travel management company. Mr. Joly currently sits on the executive committees for the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Minnesota Business Partnership.

Susan Tynan

A few years ago, Susan Tynan framed four National Parks posters. When they rang up at $1600, she funneled her sticker shock into a revolutionary idea. She felt sure that if someone made high-quality custom framing easy and affordable, people would frame a lot more—and they have. Since 2014, Tynan has grown Framebridge from the ground up. After four years of record growth, the company opened their first retail location in March 2019.

Prior to Framebridge, Tynan held product and business development roles at several consumer technology startups including LivingSocial, Taxi Magic, and Revolution Health. She began her career at Accenture and served as a management advisor on technology and customer service for the Obama White House. Tynan is a graduate of the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School.

Mark Thompson

Mark Thompson became president and chief executive officer of The New York Times Company on November 12, 2012. He is responsible for leading the company’s strategy, operations and business units.

Mr. Thompson has been instrumental in accelerating the pace of The Times’s digital transformation. Under his leadership, The Times became the first news organization in the world to pass the one million digital-only subscription mark. The company has also introduced a new era of international growth, launched an industry-leading branded content studio and invested in virtual reality, producing some of the most celebrated work in this emerging medium.

Before joining the Times Company, Mr. Thompson served as director-general of the BBC from 2004, where he reshaped the organization to meet the challenge of the digital age, ensuring that it remained a leading innovator with the launch of services such as the BBC iPlayer. He also oversaw a transformation of the BBC itself, driving productivity and efficiency through the introduction of new technologies and bold organizational redesign.

Mr. Thompson joined the BBC in 1979 as a production trainee. He helped launch “Watchdog” and “Breakfast Time,” was an output editor on “Newsnight,” and was appointed editor of the “Nine O’Clock News” in 1988 and of “Panorama” in 1990. He became controller (programming and scheduling chief) for the TV network BBC2 and director of television for the BBC before leaving the BBC in 2002 to become C.E.O. of Channel 4 Television Corporation in the United Kingdom.

In the autumn of 2012, he was a visiting professor of Rhetoric and the art of public persuasion at the University of Oxford. His book “Enough Said: What’s Gone Wrong with the Language of Politics?,” which is based on the lectures he gave at Oxford, was published in the U.K. and U.S. in September 2016.

Mark Thompson was educated at Stonyhurst College and Merton College, Oxford.

Mark Bertolini

Mr. Bertolini was formerly a member of the board of directors of Aetna Inc. from 2010 until the closing of the merger involving CVS Health and Aetna, when he became a director of CVS Health. Mr. Bertolini was also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna. He assumed the roles of Chairman of Aetna's board of directors on April 8, 2011 and Chief Executive Officer of Aetna on November 29, 2010. From July 2007 to December 2014, he served as President, responsible for all of Aetna's businesses and operations. Mr. Bertolini joined Aetna in 2003 as head of Aetna's Specialty Products, and subsequently served as Executive Vice President and head of Aetna's regional businesses. Before joining Aetna, Mr. Bertolini held executive positions at Cigna, NYLCare Health Plans, and SelectCare, Inc., where he was President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Bertolini also serves as a director of Verizon Communications, Inc. (communications, information and entertainment products and services), Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (insurance and investment products and services), the Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation, the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Thrive Global and the Mind & Life Institute.

Mr. Bertolini brings to the Board extensive health care industry expertise, with over 30 years in the health care business. He is a well-recognized leader in the health care industry and possesses deep insights into health care issues as well as broad knowledge and appreciation of public policy issues affecting the Company.

Ron Johnson

Ron is the CEO and Co-Founder of Enjoy, the first mobile retail store available on-demand. Enjoy delivers a product purchased on-line with a trained person to get you up and running within minutes for free.

Enjoy has partnered with premier technology companies including AT&T, Google, Apple, Sonos, and British Telecom to bring their products directly to customers. Ron founded Enjoy in 2015 and currently serves customers throughout the United States and the United Kingdom and will be launching Canada in 2019 with plans to arrive in continental Europe in 2020 and beyond.

Enjoy's unique business model provides the convenience of ordering online with the confidence you gain in a store all in the comfort of your own home. The 1500 employees who serve customers are all highly trained, full time employees who own stock in the company.

Ron is perhaps best known for the work he did creating and leading the Apple Stores during their first twelve years. Working directly for Steve Jobs, while serving as a member of Apple’s Executive team, Ron imagined the Apple Retail Store concept and oversaw its development and operations from 2000 through 2012. Under Ron’s leadership Apple opened nearly 400 stores in 13 Countries around the world and became legendary for their unique service model and incredible productivity. Apple’s stock increased 15 fold during the years Ron worked at Apple.

Prior to his time at Apple Ron was highly regarded for the work he did as the merchant leader at Target Stores, the United States leading upscale Discount Stores. He helped the 1700 store Target chain differentiate itself through design and skillful marketing. Ron spent the majority of his 15 years at Target from 1984 through 2000 in merchandising leadership positions. During Ron’s tenure as General Merchandise Manager he developed and sourced Mens, Womens, Kids and Home merchandise from countries throughout the world. Target’s stock increased 12 fold during the years Ron worked at Target.

Ron also served as the CEO of JCPenney during 2012 and 2013. Ron attempted to re-make the 110 year old moderate department store with an innovative vision that re-imagined the Department Store but was met with resistance internally and externally. He stepped down from this position after 15 months.

Ron currently is in the seventh year of a ten year term as a Trustee of Stanford University and serves as a member of several of its committees. Ron also served for nine years as Vice Chair of the Stanford Health Care System and continues to serve Co-Chair of the Campaign for Stanford Medicine: a $1 billion campaign to build the new Stanford Hospital and lead the Biomedical Revolution through investments in research, big data, and breakthroughs in clinical care.

Ron is a Board Member of several private companies in the Bay Area including Enjoy, Globality, Philz Coffee and the Melt. Ron also is a Managing Partner and Co-Owner of Stamos Capital Partners, a Bay Area investment fund that manages nearly $5 billion in assets for high net worth families.

Jeff Raider

As co-founder of both Harry’s and Warby Parker, Jeff Raider aims to build companies and brands that people like more. Harry’s ambition is to create exceptional shaving and personal care products that better meet the needs of modern men. Prior to Harry's, Jeff co-founded Warby Parker, the transformative lifestyle brand that offers designer eyewear at a revolutionary price while leading the way for socially-conscious businesses. In May 2019, Harry's Inc. announced a combination with Edgewell Personal Care to create a next-generation consumer products platform. Jeff will serve as Co-President of U.S. Operations at Edgewell upon the transaction closing.

Before starting his own companies, Jeff worked at Charlesbank Capital Partners and Bain & Company. Jeff graduated from The Johns Hopkins University with a BA in International Studies, earned a Masters in International Affairs from The Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He also earned an MBA from Wharton Business School. Jeff currently lives in lower Manhattan with his wife and three children.

Admiral James Stavridis

Admiral James Stavridis is an Operating Executive of The Carlyle Group, following five years as the 12th Dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. A retired 4-star officer in the U.S. Navy, he led the NATO Alliance in global operations from 2009 to 2013 as Supreme Allied Commander with responsibility for Afghanistan, Libya, the Balkans, Syria, counter piracy, and cyber security. He also served as Commander of U.S. Southern Command, with responsibility for all military operations in Latin America from 2006-2009. He earned more than 50 medals, including 28 from foreign nations in his 37-year military career.

Earlier in his military career he commanded the top ship in the Atlantic Fleet, winning the Battenberg Cup, as well as a squadron of destroyers and a carrier strike group – all in combat. In 2016, he was vetted for Vice President by Hillary Clinton and subsequently invited to Trump Tower to discuss a cabinet position in the Trump Administration.
Admiral Stavridis earned a PhD in international relations and has published eight books and hundreds of articles in leading journals around the world. His 2012 TED talk on global security has over one million views. Admiral Stavridis is a monthly columnist for TIME Magazine and Chief International Security Analyst for NBC News, and has tens of thousands of connections on the social networks. Follow him on Twitter @stavridisj.

Dov Seidman

Dov Seidman’s professional career has focused on how companies and their people can operate in both a principled and profitable way.

Dov is the founder and CEO of LRN. Since 1994, LRN has helped hundreds of companies simultaneously navigate complex legal and regulatory environments and foster ethical cultures.

Today, LRN operates globally and reaches, works with, and helps shape winning organizational cultures inspired by sustainable values in hundreds of companies with over 20 million people working in more than 100 countries around the world. Dov is the author of HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything recently published by Wiley & Sons in an expanded edition with a foreword by President Bill Clinton and a new preface from Dov on why how we behave, lead, govern and relate to others matters more than ever and in ways it never has before.

Fortune called Dov the “hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit” and Economic Times named him a “Top 60 Global Thinker of the Last Decade.” Dov became the exclusive corporate sponsor of the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity Prize in Ethics in 2008. He is a Harvard Law School graduate who also earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in moral philosophy from UCLA and a BA with honors in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University. Follow him on Twitter @DovSeidman

Hal Gregersen

As executive director of the MIT Leadership Center, and Senior Lecturer in Leadership and Innovation at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Hal Gregersen has created a methodology by which corporate leaders can raise their companies’ levels of creative inquiry, unleash the potential of their employees, and make a meaningful impact on their industries and on the world.

The crux of Gregersen’s argument, spelled out in his latest book “Questions Are the Answer: A Breakthrough Approach to Your Most Vexing Problems at Work and in Life” (Harper Collins, November 2018), is while most people are pre-programmed to look for answers, the real catalyst for innovative change is questioning. Gregersen is also founder of The 4-24 Project, an initiative dedicated to rekindling the provocative power of asking the right questions in adults so they can pass this crucial creativity skill onto the next generation in order to improve organizations, communities and global society. Putting his insight into practice, he is co-creator (with Sam Abell) of Leadership and the Lens, a unique executive education experience through MIT Sloan Executive Education in association with Santa Fe Photographic Workshops.

Gregersen co-authored, with Clay Christensen and Jeff Dyer, “The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators” (Harvard Business Review Press, 2011), a guide to cultivating the personal skills embodied by the most successful CEOs and entrepreneurs. Having deeply researched and interviewed ground-breaking leaders like Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and P&G’s A.G. Laffey, Gregersen draws on personal experience and rigorous research and analysis to successfully advise the world’s largest corporations. His framework for redesigning a company culture around constructive questioning has been implemented by Chanel, Danone, Disney, Ernst & Young, Fidelity, Genentech and Salesforce, among others.

Ranked one of the world’s most influential management thinkers by Thinkers50 and winner of the 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award for leadership, Gregersen regularly delivers inspirational keynote speeches, motivational executive seminars and transformational coaching experiences. Along with ten books, Gregersen is the author of more than 50 articles, book chapters, and cases on leading innovation and change (with more than 10,000 citations by other scholars). His research has been highlighted in global media such as BBC, CNN, The Economist, Fast Company, Financial Times, Forbes, Fortune, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Gregersen’s tenure at MIT is the culmination of an illustrious academic journey that has included teaching posts at INSEAD, London Business School, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, Brigham Young University, and a Fulbright Fellowship in Finland. Prior to his academic career, Gregersen was an advisory board member at Pharmascience, a Montreal-based pharmaceutical company, and he remains a senior fellow at the global innovation consulting firm Innosight.

Sara Eisen

Sara Eisen is co-anchor of the 10AM hour of CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” (M-F, 9AM-11AM ET) and co-anchor of “Money Movers” (M-F, 11AM-12PM ET), which both broadcast from Post 9 at the New York Stock Exchange. She is known for her deep expertise in financial markets and the global economy as well as regular news making interviews with some of the most prominent names in the financial world, including Phil Knight, Janet Yellen and Christine Lagarde, among others.

Previously, Eisen anchored CNBC’s “Closing Bell,” “Squawk on the Street,” “Power Lunch” and “Worldwide Exchange.” She also reported on the one-hour documentary, “Inside Track: The Business of Formula 1,” that explores the world’s most prestigious racing series, what is fueling its popularity and who is profiting. Eisen joined CNBC in December 2013 as a correspondent, focusing on the global consumer.

Prior to CNBC, Eisen was co-anchor of “Bloomberg Surveillance” as well as a correspondent for Bloomberg Television, where she covered global macroeconomics, policy and business. During that time, she covered the European debt crisis, the tsunami aftermath and Fukushima nuclear crisis in Japan. Eisen also hosted the Bloomberg Radio program, “On the Economy.”

She is the editor of “Currencies After the Crash: The Uncertain Future of the Global Paper-Based Currency System” published by McGraw-Hill in Jan. 2013.

Eisen holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism with a concentration in business reporting from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Courtney Reagan

Courtney Reagan is CNBC's Retail Reporter. In 2011, Reagan was named general assignment reporter for CNBC's Business Day programming. She also contributes to NBC's "TODAY," "NBC Nightly News" and "Nightly Business Report" on public television. Reagan also regularly contributes to CNBC.com.

Previously, Reagan anchored the daily business headline reports for CNBC, the NBC affiliate stations, MSNBC and CNBC world. She also worked on CNBC's planning team and was a segment producer for CNBC's "On the Money," where she pitched, wrote and produced feature and news stories and packages for the program. Reagan began her career at CNBC in 2006 on the News Desk.

Prior to CNBC, Reagan participated in the NBC Page program, where she held positions at "Dateline NBC" and "Weekend Today," and also worked in guest relations for the network. Reagan also held positions at ESPN Networks and Merrill Lynch.

She holds bachelor's degrees in finance and mass communication from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Reagan graduated with distinction from NYU's Stern School of Business with a MBA with specializations in economics, luxury marketing and entertainment/media/technology. She was her class recipient of the "Excellence in Economics" for academic achievement in economics while at NYU.

Suzy Welch

Suzy Welch is a noted business journalist, bestselling author, entrepreneur, board member, and impact investor. With her husband, the late Jack Welch, Suzy co-authored WINNING and THE REAL-LIFE MBA, two of the best-selling business books of all time, and on her own, wrote the NYT and WSJ best-seller 10-10-10, about values-based decision making. Suzy is a frequent contributor on CNBC and The Today Show, and an adjunct professor at NYU Stern School of Business. In 2018, Suzy helped launch and lead the music tech company Quadio, and currently serves on several public and nonprofit boards.

AGENDA

8:15am - 9:00am

Registration

9:00am - 10:30am

Sessions

The Evolving Workforce
Driven by personal experience, Mark Bertolini set out to change his company’s business model and reinvent the employer-employee relationship. In the process, he helped transform a whole industry and demonstrated how a positive culture and a strong focus on employee experience can drive bottom-line success.
Mark Bertolini, “Mission-Driven Leadership: My Journey as a Radical Capitalist” Author; Fmr. Chairman and CEO, Aetna; Board Director, CVS Health
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, “Squawk on the Street” Co-Anchor & “Closing Bell” Co-Anchor, CNBC

 

The Evolving Consumer
Big changes in consumer behavior and technology have upended ‘traditional’ B2C businesses, creating white space for upstarts to take market share. What can we learn from their successes, and how can leaders encourage such innovation in their own companies?
Ron Johnson, CEO, Enjoy; Fmr. SVP, Apple Retail; Fmr. CEO, JCPenney
Jeff Raider, Co-founder and Co-CEO, Harry’s; Co-founder, Warby Parker
Susan Tynan, Founder and CEO, Framebridge
Interviewer: Courtney Reagan, Retail Reporter, CNBC

 

Evolving Ideas: Asking the Right Questions
From Chanel to IBM to Coca-Cola, Hal Gregersen has worked with big businesses in transformation. In this interactive session, the management and innovation guru will share his unique methods to solve thorny problems, inspire new ideas and unleash creativity.
Interactive Presentation:
Hal Gregersen,
Executive Director, MIT Leadership Center; “Questions Are the Answer” Author; “The Innovator’s DNA” Co-author

10:30am - 10:50am

Networking Break

10:50am - 12:15pm

Sessions Continue

Evolving with The Times
Print journalism was left for dead years ago. But the “Grey Lady” has found new life in a new age of media. We’ll talk to Mark Thompson about balancing bold risks while servicing a legacy business and reinventing a venerable brand.
Mark Thompson, CEO, The New York Times Company
Interviewer: Sara Eisen, Co-anchor “Squawk on the Street” and “Closing Bell”, CNBC

 

The Evolving Leader
One’s a former admiral who motivated and inspired thousands of sailors amid shifting tides; the other is an entrepreneur and ‘CEO whisperer’ who teaches the ‘how’ of innovation. We’ll hear from both about what makes great leaders, and what new skills are needed in today’s dynamic business environment.
Dov Seidman, Founder and CEO, LRN; “HOW: Why HOW We Do Anything Means Everything” Author
Admiral James Stavridis (USN Ret.), Operating Executive, The Carlyle Group; Fmr. Supreme Allied Commander, NATO
Interviewer: Suzy Welch, Contributor, CNBC

 

Evolving Strategy: How Best Buy Was Saved
When Hubert Joly took over Best Buy, many believed it would go the way of Circuit City and Sears, another victim of “the Amazon Effect.” Now it has returned to top and bottom-line growth, and its stock is up 258%. We’ll find out what he believes is the key to turning around a big organization under pressure.
Hubert Joly, Executive Chairman and Fmr. CEO, Best Buy
Interviewer: Courtney Reagan, Retail Reporter, CNBC

12:15pm

Program Concludes

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WHO SHOULD ATTEND

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WHO SHOULD SPEAK

Leading CEOs from disrupted industries now playing offense.

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