CNBC Evolve Spotlight: The Middle Market
While middle market businesses are a critical part of our nation’s economy – accounting for roughly a third of U.S. GDP, with about $10 trillion in annual revenues – the news headlines are usually more focused on the moves of the world’s biggest companies and the fate of small business owners.
Yet in these challenging times, top-performing, midsize companies are uniquely well-positioned: strong enough to endure the current economic headwinds, and agile enough to adapt to the changing world. This Evolve Spotlight event will highlight innovative ways middle-market companies are navigating these uncertain times successfully, finding new ways to thrive using data, new marketing and sales techniques and operational flexibility.
Deanna M. Mulligan is Board Chair of Guardian Life Insurance, and former Chief Executive Officer.
She was a Principal at McKinsey & Company and has held senior positions at AXA Financial, New York Life Insurance Company, and ChannelPoint. Active across the industry and in the community, Ms. Mulligan is a Board member of The Vanguard Group, the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), the Partnership for New York City, the Economic Club of New York, the Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose (CECP), and the Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT. Ms. Mulligan was appointed to, and served on, the President’s Advisory Council on Financial Capability for Young Americans from 2014 to 2015, was Chair of the Board of the ACLI from 2015 to 2016. She is currently a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business Advisory Council, and served as a Director on the Board of Arch Capital.
Fortune named her one of the “50 Most Powerful Women in Business” and Crain’s New York Business recognized her as one of “The 50 Most Powerful Women in New York,” five times each. Ms. Mulligan graduated from the University of Nebraska with High Distinction and holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She has appeared on CNN, Bloomberg TV and Yahoo! Finance, and has participated in Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit, Forbes Women's Summit, the Peterson Fiscal Summit, the ACCT Leadership Congress, and CECP's CEO Investor Forum 8.0, among other speaking opportunities.
Lee has more than 25 years of experience working with both entrepreneurial private companies and large, multinational public companies.
As Americas EY Private Leader, Lee works with teams across the EY Americas Area — North, Central and South America and Israel — to support high-growth entrepreneurs and middle-market companies. These teams serve family enterprises, Venture Capital (VC) - and Private Equity (PE) - backed companies, privately held businesses, and pre-IPO and public companies.
Lee previously served as EY US Central Region Growth Markets Leader and Entrepreneur Of The Year® Midwest Program Director, Ernst & Young LLP. He’s spent time Ernst & Young LLP in London as the coordinating partner for a Fortune 500 technology company and served as the COO of the EY Assurance services in the UK and Ireland.
An active member in Chicago’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, Lee sits on several boards and committees including the Big Shoulders Fund; 1871, Chicago’s center for technology and entrepreneurship; and the Economic Club of Chicago.
Lee holds a BS in Accounting from California State University, Hayward.
Jeni Britton Bauer is an American ice cream maker and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the artisan ice cream movement, she introduced a modern, ingredient-driven style of ice cream making that has been widely emulated across the world but never duplicated. Jeni opened her first ice cream shop, Scream, in 1996, then founded Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams in 2002. Her first cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home, won a coveted James Beard Award in 2012 and became the de facto bible for anybody making their own ice cream or thinking about opening a new-style ice cream shop. Her second cookbook, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream Desserts (2014), took ice cream to the next level with an array of incredible plated, layered, and piled-high ice cream-centric desserts. Today, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a Certified B Corporation with more than 50 scoop shops, an online shop at jenis.com, and distribution in top grocery stores across the country. As Founder and Chief Brand Officer, Jeni remains the beating heart of the company and is in charge of all creative output—from the ice cream itself to the supporting details that enhance the experience of eating it. Jeni is a 2017 Henry Crown Fellow and has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the most creative people in business today.
Eran Zinman is the co-founder and CTO of monday.com, a leading Work OS. He has been developing and coding since the age of nine. Before co-founding monday.com, he was part of the leadership team at Conduit Mobile (now Como) where he managed R&D operations. Eran obtained a Bachelor of Science focused in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Tel Aviv University.
11:45am EDT
12:00pm EDT
Managing During Crisis: Rethink, Renew, Recover
Now more than ever, midsize firms must flex and transform at unprecedented levels of rigor and discipline. But balancing human capital is equally important. Which means companies that nurture, reskill and upskill their workforce will not only cultivate loyalty and productivity, they will future-proof their entire business structure.
Deanna Mulligan, Board Chair, Guardian Life Insurance, Author, “Hire Purpose”
Lee Henderson, Private Leader, Americas EY
Interviewer: Kate Rogers, Reporter, CNBC
Ramping Up the Auto Industry
Revving Up the Auto Industry with a Big Shift To Digital: ACV Auctions, Buffalo’s #1 tech company, is revolutionizing the way 40 million used vehicles are bought and sold each year, thanks to digital-first retail strategy that is disrupting archaic models.
George Chamoun, CEO, ACV Auctions
Interviewer: Brian Sullivan, “Worldwide Exchange” Anchor and Senior National Correspondent, CNBC
CONCURRENT SESSIONS
Cybersecurity – Industry Trends and Enhanced Prevention During a Pandemic
Sponsored and Programmed by City National Bank
Social engineering, data loss, ransomware, and security breaches are risks that must be managed every day. We all know that a lack of Cybersecurity can have a massive financial impact on your business or personal life. But how does living and working through a pandemic enhance the risk of a cyber-attack, and what preventative measures should we be taking to always stay one step ahead of a disaster? This session will address the paramount importance of cybersecurity, industry trends in security breaches during a pandemic, and the precautionary steps we all can take to protect ourselves and our businesses.
Brian Fricke, SVP & Chief Information Security Officer, City National Bank
Interviewer: Shibani Joshi, Technology Journalist
Punching Above Your Weight in the Data Age
Sponsored and Programmed by Splunk
Data can be the great equalizer, but only if your organization has the processes, people and partners necessary to unlock its full value. Learn how midsize organizations are thriving in the Data Age by getting the most out of their data and their technology partners.
John Sabino, Chief Customer Officer, Splunk
Todd Weber, Chief Technology Officer – Americas, Optiv
Moderator: Guy Adami, Director of Advisor Advocacy, Private Advisor Group
Team Collaboration: Keeping Remote Workers Productive and On-Task, 24/7
Thanks to its highly flexible and intuitive workflow platform, medium sized businesses of all verticals are turning to Monday.com to meet the bulk of their management projects.
Eran Zinman, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Monday.com
Interviewer: Bertha Coombs, Reporter, CNBC
The Mighty Middle: Finding Sweet Success in the Heartland. How Cool Is That?
Middle West Whiskey. Raspberry Rose Jelly Donut. Fluffernutter Pie. Just a sample of the ingenious and delicious ice cream flavors from the mind of artisanal dessert pioneer Jeni Britton Bauer. Started in 1996 from her Ohio kitchen, today, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams is a Certified B Corp. with 34 scoop shops, a best-selling online empire and some very high profile and loyal fans. Pretty cool!
Jeni Britton Bauer, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams
Interviewer: Tyler Mathisen, Co-anchor, “Power Lunch”; Vice President, Events Strategy, CNBC
1:30pm EDT
Highlight your company's strategic leadership, innovation and iconic legacy.
Senior business decision makers seeking to innovate and drive change.
Leading CEOs from disrupted industries now playing offense.
Accenture is a leading global professional services company, providing a broad range of services in strategy and consulting, interactive, technology and operations, with digital capabilities across all of these services. We combine unmatched experience and specialized capabilities across more than 40 industries — powered by the world’s largest network of Advanced Technology and Intelligent Operations centers. With 513,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries, Accenture brings continuous innovation to help clients improve their performance and create lasting value across their enterprises. Visit us at www.accenture.com.
With $91.5 billion in assets, City National Bank provides banking, investment and trust services through 73 branches, including 19 full-service regional centers, in Southern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Nevada, New York City, Nashville, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Miami*. In addition, the company and its investment affiliates manage or administer $96.2 billion in client investment assets.
City National is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), one of the world’s leading diversified financial services companies. RBC serves more than 17 million personal, business, public sector and institutional clients through offices in Canada, the United States and 27 other countries.
For more information about City National, visit the company’s website at cnb.com.
*City National Bank does business in Miami and the state of Florida as CN Bank.
Splunk turns data into doing with the Data-to-Everything Platform. Splunk technology is designed to investigate, monitor, analyze and act on data at any scale. Our powerful platform and unique approach to data have empowered companies to improve service levels, reduce operations costs, mitigate risk, enhance DevOps collaboration and create new product and service offerings. Learn more at www.splunk.com
Chip Bergh is the president & chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.). He is also on the company’s board of directors.
Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world's largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi's®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ and Denizen® brands. Our products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites and a global footprint of approximately 3,000 retail stores and shop-in-shops.
Prior to joining Levi Strauss & Co. in September 2011, Chip had a 28-year career at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Chip “grew up” in brand management and served in a number of leadership positions with increasing levels of complexity and scope. His last assignment before joining LS&Co. was group president for global male grooming. He was the first P&G employee assigned to the Gillette business following P&G’s $57 billion acquisition of Gillette in 2005. He led the integration and then ran the Gillette Blades & Razors business along with all of P&G’s male grooming brands (Gillette, Old Spice and The Art of Shaving). Prior to that, Chip led all of P&G’s business in India, Southeast Asia and Australasia.
Chip has led many iconic brands during his career including the creation and launch of Swiffer (P&G’s most successful new brand in the last three decades), the turnaround and growth of Old Spice, in addition to Gillette, Folgers coffee and Jif Peanut Butter. He has lived and worked in the United States, Asia and Europe and has run large global businesses and brands.
In July 2017, Chip was named non-executive chairman of the board of HP Inc. (HPQ), the market-leading printing and personal systems company. He has served as lead independent director of the HP board since March 2017 and as a board member since the company’s separation in 2015. Chip has also previously served on the board of directors for VF Corporation and the Economic Development Board of Singapore.
In April 2019, Chip was named one of the World’s Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, coming in at No. 16, and has been widely recognized for his position on values-driven leadership.
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.
Micky Onvural is the CEO of Bonobos, the men’s e-commerce brand known for pioneering the
digitally-native vertical brand movement by offering exceptional-fitting menswear and a
personalized approach to service. As CEO, Onvural is responsible for evolving, innovating and
driving growth in all facets of the business from customers experience, to omni-channel
strategy, to product expansion and more.
Prior to her role as CEO, Onvural serves as the Co-President of Bonobos, where she was
responsible for evolving and innovating on the end-to-end customer experience including e-
Commerce, Guideshops, Ninjas (Customer Service), Marketing and Creative. Before her time
as Co-President, she held the title of Chief Marketing Officer at Bonobos, responsible for
relaunching the brand, internally championing Walmart’s acquisition of the company, and driving
business results across owned, earned and paid media channels. Before Bonobos, she served
at the Vice President of Consumer Marketing at Trulia, establishing it as a household name.
Before Trulia, she held marketing leadership roles at companies including L’Oreal, Kellogg’s,
TokBox and eBay.
Onvural graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Cambridge in the UK.
She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and three children.
Oscar Munoz is chief executive officer of United Airlines. He brings to this position deep and broad experience in both the transportation industry and large consumer brands.
Previously, Oscar served as president and chief operating officer of CSX Corporation, a premier freight transportation company. He also served as a director at CSX. During his tenure, CSX transformed itself into an industry leader in customer focus, reliability and financial performance. CSX was named one of Institutional Investor’s Most Honored Companies for a decade of excellent financial performance, including increasing its operating income by nearly 600%.
Additionally, Oscar served in various financial and strategic capacities at some of the world’s most recognized consumer brands, including AT&T, Coca-Cola Enterprises, and PepsiCo. Before joining CSX, Oscar held the position of chief financial officer and vice president of consumer services at AT&T Corporation. Prior to joining AT&T, he served as senior vice president of finance and administration for U.S. West, regional vice president of finance and administration for Coca-Cola Enterprises and held various financial positions at PepsiCo.
Oscar has served on the board of directors of United since 2010 and served on the board of directors of Continental Airlines, Inc. from 2004 to 2010. He is active in several industry coalitions and philanthropic and educational organizations including the University of North Florida’s Board of Trustees and the PAFA advisory board of Vanderbilt University.
Oscar graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in business administration, and he received an MBA from Pepperdine University. He has been named one of the “100 Most Influential Hispanics” by Hispanic Business magazine. He is married and has four children.