Brown Advisory Presents Navigating Our World

Navigating Our World is the podcast where we seek insights about some of the most pressing questions that we face as investors and as a society. We examine the forces shaping our world, moving capital and raising the future—with the thoughtful experts across our network. These conversations help us make better decisions for our clients, and we welcome you to join us.

 

Past Episodes

 

Guests

 

Eric Norris

Eric Norris

President, Energy Storage, Albemarle

Eric Norris joined Albemarle in January 2018 as Chief Strategy Officer. In this role, he managed the company’s strategic planning, M-A, and corporate business development programs as well as its investor relations efforts. In August 2018, he was appointed President of the Lithium global business unit. Prior to joining Albemarle, Norris served as President of Health and Nutrition for FMC Corporation. Following FMC’s announcement to acquire DuPont Agricultural Chemical assets, he led the divestiture of FMC Health and Nutrition to DuPont. Previously, Norris served as Vice President and Global Business Director for FMC Health and Nutrition, and Vice President and Global Business Director for FMC Lithium. During his 16-year FMC career, he served in additional leadership roles including Investor Relations, Corporate Development and Director of FMC Healthcare Ventures. Prior to FMC, Norris founded and led an internet-based firm offering formulation and design tools to the chemical industry. He started his career in a range of leadership roles with the Rohm and Haas Company. Norris earned a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and German from Colgate University. Norris is a member of the board of directors of Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and is a member of the board of advisors of The Zero Emission Transportation Association (ZETA). 

Atul Arya, Ph.D.

Atul Arya, Ph.D.

Senior Vice President and Chief Energy Strategist, S&P Global

Dr. Atul Arya is Senior Vice President and Chief Energy Strategist at S&P Global Commodity Insights. He is responsible for integrating energy content, analysis and insights across the entire energy value chain and for c-suite client engagements. His areas of expertise include business strategy, commercial analysis, oil markets, energy technologies, climate change and renewables. He has previously led Energy Insight, Research and Analysis and Energy Research teams at IHS Markit (Now a part of S&P Global). Dr. Atul previously worked for BP for over 20 years in a number of operational, business, technical and strategic positions around the world. His career includes international leadership experience in a diverse array of energy fields spanning strategy development, business planning, field operations and technology commercialization. His experience includes leadership in solar energy development as well as oil and gas. Dr. Atul has previously served on boards of several companies and institutions and is member of the World Economic Forum's Global Future Council on Advanced Energy Technologies and is 25+ year member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. He is a sought-after speaker and moderator at public conferences, company boards and industry events and a member of the CERAWeek leadership team. He holds B.S., M.S. and Ph. D. degrees in engineering. 

allyson book

Allyson Book

Chief Sustainability Officer, Baker Hughes

Allyson Anderson Book is the Chief Sustainability Officer for Baker Hughes. In this role she oversees Baker Hughes’ energy-transition strategy by driving sustainable operations, supporting commercial energy transition solutions for customers and ensuring market creation of these solutions via stakeholder engagement and policy development. In 2021 alone, she was recognized by Petroleum Economist as among Top 10 Women Leading Energy Transition in Sustainability, by Oil & Gas Investor as among 25 Influential Women in Energy, and by Hart Energy for its ESG Champion of Year Award. Before joining Baker Hughes she served as the executive director of the American Geosciences Institute, which represents more than 250,000 geoscientists and focuses on increasing public awareness of the role geosciences play in society’s use of resources. Prior to that, she held a number of academic, policy and senior government positions, including teaching at Georgetown University, working for the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and serving as the associate director of strategic engagement of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) at the U.S. Department of the Interior. She began her career as a geoscientist for ExxonMobil. She holds bachelor’s degrees in geology and music from the University of Northern Iowa, and a master’s degree in geology from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. 

Joseph Dominguez

Joseph Dominguez

President and Chief Executive Officer, Constellation

Joseph Dominguez is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Constellation, which employs 13,000 workers, has generating capacity of more than 32,400 megawatts and serves more than 20 million homes and businesses with clean energy. With revenues of more than $17 billion and total assets of $49 billion, Constellation comprises both the nation's lowest-carbon fleet among large power producers and the largest competitive energy supplier. Together, they are America's clean energy leader, producing over 10% of the nation's clean energy and helping America transition to a clean, sustainable future. 

 

Raghu Belur

Raghu Belur

Co-founder and Chief Products Officer, Enphase

Raghu co-founded Enphase Energy with Martin Fornage in 2006. He has more than 25 years of experience in the clean energy and high technology industries, and has been at the forefront of developing Enphase’s leading integrated energy system—with solar generation, storage, monitoring, and control. Prior to Enphase, Raghu developed high-speed optical communication technology for Cerent, which was later acquired by Cisco Systems. Before Cerent, Raghu was an engineer at the Indian Institute of Science, where he played a key role in the development of an alternative energy gasification system. Raghu received an MSEE from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley. 

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Kay Firth-Butterfield

Head AI and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum

Head of Artificial Intelligence and a Member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum; one of the foremost experts in the world on the governance of artificial intelligence (AI). Barrister, former Judge and Professor, technologist and entrepreneur who has an abiding interest in how humanity can equitably benefit from new technologies, especially AI. Associate Barrister (Doughty Street Chambers), Master of the Inner Temple, London and serves on the Lord Chief Justice’s Advisory Panel on AI and Law. Co-founded AI Global and was the world’s first Chief AI Ethics officer in 2014 and created the AIEthics twitter hashtag. Vice-Chair of The IEEE Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in Artificial Intelligence and Autonomous Systems and was part of the group that met at Asilomar to create the Asilomar AI Ethical Principles. On the Polaris Council for the Government Accountability Office (USA), the Advisory Board for UNESCO International Research Centre on AI and AI4All. Advanced degrees in Law and International Relations and regularly speaks to international audiences addressing many aspects of the beneficial and challenging technical, economic and social changes arising from the use of AI. 

Aza Raskin

Aza Raskin

Co-Founder, The Center for Humane Technology

Trained as a mathematician and dark matter physicist, Aza is also the co-founder of Earth Species Project, an open-source collaborative nonprofit dedicated to decoding animal communication. He has taken three companies from founding to acquisition, is a co-chairing member of the World Economic Forum’s Global AI Counsel, helped found Mozilla Labs, was named FastCompany’s Master of Design, and listed on Forbes and Inc Magazines 30-under-30. For Aza, the problem is especially personal: his father, Jef Raskin, created the Macintosh project at Apple with the vision that 'humane' technology should help, not harm, humans. 

Arathi Sethumadhavan, Ph.D.

Arathi Sethumadhavan, Ph.D.

Head of User Reseach for Ethics & Society, Microsoft

Dr. Arathi Sethumadhavan is a seasoned research leader, with 18 years of experience studying human-technology interaction. Currently, she leads a user research team for Microsoft’s Ethics and Society, that is focused on privacy and consent, fairness, inclusion, accountability, and transparency - as it relates to AI experiences. During the course of her career, she has led user research for several novel and complex applications (e.g., Microsoft's custom neural voice, facial recognition, Medtronic's Micra pacemaker). Arathi had been cited by the American Psychological Association and the Economist. She wear many hats, including research leader, strategist, author, mentor, editor, keynote speaker, and sometimes adjunct professor. She has a PhD in Experimental Psychology (specialization in human factors and ergonomics) and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science. 

 

dan schulman

Dan Schulman

President and CEO, PayPal

M. Sanjayan is a global conservation scientist whose work spans from genetics to wildlife migration to nature’s impacts on human well-being. He has served as Conservation International’s chief executive officer since 2017. Sanjayan joined Conservation International in 2014, overseeing its successful $1.1 billion capital campaign and its critically acclaimed brand campaign, “Nature Is Speaking,” along with its push into virtual-reality filmmaking. Sanjayan holds a master’s degree from the University of Oregon and a doctorate from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and his peer-reviewed scientific work has been published in journals including Science, Nature and Conservation Biology. He is a visiting researcher at UCLA and a distinguished professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is also a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Raised in Southeast Asia and West Africa, Sanjayan’s unique background has informed his work and he has attracted widespread media coverage, from The New York Times, Outside Magazine and CNN International. His media appearances include NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “CBS This Morning,” and “CBS Evening News,” and he has hosted more than a dozen documentaries from PBS, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery and Showtime. Most recently, he hosted the University of California and Vox Media’s Climate Lab series, which has garnered over 20 million views. Sanjayan lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughter. When able, he spends time in Montana fly-fishing, or birding and diving around the world. 

M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.

M. Sanjayan, Ph.D.

CEO, Conservation International

M. Sanjayan is a global conservation scientist whose work spans from genetics to wildlife migration to nature’s impacts on human well-being. He has served as Conservation International’s chief executive officer since 2017. Sanjayan joined Conservation International in 2014, overseeing its successful $1.1 billion capital campaign and its critically acclaimed brand campaign, “Nature Is Speaking,” along with its push into virtual-reality filmmaking. Sanjayan holds a master’s degree from the University of Oregon and a doctorate from the University of California-Santa Cruz, and his peer-reviewed scientific work has been published in journals including Science, Nature and Conservation Biology. He is a visiting researcher at UCLA and a distinguished professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is also a Catto Fellow at the Aspen Institute. Raised in Southeast Asia and West Africa, Sanjayan’s unique background has informed his work and he has attracted widespread media coverage, from The New York Times, Outside Magazine and CNN International. His media appearances include NBC’s “Today Show,” “The Late Show with David Letterman,” “CBS This Morning,” and “CBS Evening News,” and he has hosted more than a dozen documentaries from PBS, BBC, National Geographic, Discovery and Showtime. Most recently, he hosted the University of California and Vox Media’s Climate Lab series, which has garnered over 20 million views. Sanjayan lives in Washington, D.C., with his wife and daughter. When able, he spends time in Montana fly-fishing, or birding and diving around the world. 

joe lallouz

Mrinalini "Ria" Bhutoria

Principal, Castle Island Ventures

Prior to joining Castle Island Ventures, Ria was Director of Research at Fidelity Digital Assets where she worked on bitcoin and digital asset research. Before joining Fidelity, Ria held the role of Senior Research Analyst at Circle, where she built out the Circle Research platform. Ria started her career as an Equity Research Associate on the Fintech and Payments team at Credit Suisse. She holds a BS in Finance from the New York University Stern School of Business. 

joe lallouz

Ash Egan

Partner, Accomplice

Ash Egan is a Partner at Accomplice focusing on early stage blockchain and crypto investments. Previously, he was a founding Principal on the venture team at ConsenSys and began his career in venture at Converge VC. Ash has been investing in blockchain/crypto companies since 2015, leading investments in Balancer, BlockFi, Bison Trails, Chainalysis, FalconX, Near and dozens of others. Ash was selected as Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2020 for Venture Capital and received his AB in American Politics from Princeton University. 

 

joe lallouz

Joe Lallouz

CEO, Bison Trails; Partner, Ambush Capital

After extensive corporate and start-up experience in fintech, e-commerce, and infrastructure Joe Lallouz co-founded Bison Trails, a blockchain infrastructure company helping democratize access to blockchain networks. Lallouz is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor in New York City, as well as the founder and CEO of Ambush Labs and a partner at Ambush Capital. He was the Business Head for Etsy’s Innovation Group where he was responsible for new ventures such as Pattern, Etsy’s website building suite service, and Fund on Etsy, crowdfunding for Etsy sellers. Joe was a co-founder of Grand St., an online marketplace for creative technology, acquired by Etsy in 2014. During his time at Grand St, Lallouz led engineering, product, and strategy. Lallouz holds a dual BS from RPI concentrating in Electrical Computer Systems Engineering and Economics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

Fred Blackwell

Fred Blackwell

CEO, San Francisco Foundation

Fred Blackwell is the CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. The San Francisco Foundation works hand-in-hand with donors, community leaders, and both public and private partners to create thriving communities throughout the Bay Area. Since joining the foundation in 2014, Blackwell has led it in a renewed commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion. Blackwell, an Oakland native, is a nationally recognized community leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Prior to joining the foundation, he served as interim city administrator for the city of Oakland, where he previously served as the assistant city administrator. He was the executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and director of the Mayor’s Office of Community Development in San Francisco; he served as the director of the Making Connections Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland; he was a Multicultural Fellow in Neighborhood and Community Development at The San Francisco Foundation; and he subsequently managed a multiyear comprehensive community initiative for the San Francisco Foundation in West Oakland. Blackwell serves on the board of the Independent Sector, Northern California Grantmakers, the Bridgespan Group, the dean’s advisory council for UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design, and the community advisory council of the San Francisco Federal Reserve. He previously served on the boards of the California Redevelopment Association, Urban Habitat Program, LeaderSpring and Leadership Excellence. He is a visiting professor in the department of City and Regional Planning at UC Berkeley and the Co-Chair of CASA — The Committee to House the Bay Area. He holds a master’s degree in city planning from UC Berkeley and a bachelor’s degree in urban studies from Morehouse College. 

craig young

Craig Young

Managing Principal, Tidewater Capital

Craig Young is the Managing Principal of Tidewater Capital. Mr. Young is responsible for long range planning and spearheading growth initiatives for the business. On a day-to-day basis, Mr. Young oversees the firm’s investment, development, asset management, and organizational functions. Since the company’s inception in 2013, Mr. Young has grown the firm’s portfolio by investing in and/or developing more than twenty projects throughout the Bay Area. These projects include vertical developmentand repositioning existing assets across a range of product typesincluding market rate, affordable, and rent-controlled housing, as well as office, retail, hotel, industrial and self-storage assets.Mr. Young also leadsthe firm’s investor relations effortsand has organized a series of discretionaryinvestment vehiclesalongside endowment, foundation, and family office partners.Before establishing Tidewater, Mr. Young was a leader within the investments group at The JBG Companies (now JBG Smith) in Washington, D.C. His previous work experience includes roles at CIM Group and Deutsche Bank. Equipped with a strong entrepreneurial zeal, Mr. Young has gained significant experience across a broad range of business building endeavors throughout his career.Mr. Young is activelyinvolvedin various philanthropic efforts aimed at promoting economic opportunityand the artsthroughout theBay Area. In 2014, Mr. Young received the Golden Brick Award;a recognition presented annually to an individual who has made an outstanding impact in their community. In 2015, Mr. Young was recognized as one of the San Francisco Business Times’40 Under 40honorees. Mr. Young has spoken on at Harvard and the Milken Institute as well as at industry events including ULI and NAIOP. A native of Central Florida with deep family roots in Northern California, Mr. Young received hisBachelor of Arts from Brown University and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Mr. Young enjoys spending his free time outdoors. 

althea erickson

Althea Erickson

VP, Global Public Policy & Impact, Etsy

Althea Erickson is the head advocacy and impact at Etsy, the global marketplace for unique and creative goods. Althea leads Etsy's efforts to advance public policies that make it easier for Etsy sellers to start and grow their creative businesses. She is responsible for developing and advancing Etsy’s position on portable benefits and economic security for the self-employed, tax and regulatory simplification, content moderation, net neutrality, and global trade, among others. Althea also guides the execution of Etsy’s broader impact strategy, including delivering on its economic, social, and environmental impact commitments and its internal and external accountability strategy. Prior to joining Etsy, Althea was the advocacy and policy director at Freelancers Union, where she led its successful campaign to repeal unfair tax laws, promoted legislation to protect freelancers from unpaid wages, and advocated for member-driven health insurance. Previously, Althea worked at the Rockefeller Foundation, where she focused on strategies to build economic security within the US workforce. She has a B.A in government and public policy from Wesleyan University. 

 

alex rosen

Alex Rosen

Director of Venture Forward, GoDaddy

Alexandra Rosen is Director of Venture Forward at GoDaddy, an initiative that helps advocate on behalf of microbusiness entrepreneurs by quantifying and communicating their impact on the economy. Alexandra has helped companies from Fortune 500 to startups bring value to customers and the market through new endeavors, authentic presence and unique programs. Prior to GoDaddy, she managed several global partnerships for Cisco, including strategy, research, and programs for the Rio 2016 Olympics and Live Nation. She began her career at Google in the early days of online marketing. Passionate about empowering people and businesses through technology and creativity, Alexandra is an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the UCLA Anderson Venture Accelerator. She completed her undergraduate degree at Stanford University and her MBA at the UCLA Anderson School of Management. 

mira mehta

Mira Mehta

Founder and CEO, Tomato Jos

Mira Mehta is the CEO and founder of Tomato Jos Farming and Processing Limited. She started Tomato Jos in 2014 on a 3-hectare farm located in Panda Development Area, Nasarawa State. She moved to Kaduna State in the second half of 2017 in order to scale her business. Prior to Tomato Jos, Mira was a staff of the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Nigeria, where she had the opportunity to travel to rural areas across the country to ensure the people had access to HIV-AIDS healthcare services. During one of her trips up north, she noticed large volumes of tomatoes spread on the roadside and wondered why this was so. After conducting some research, she realized this was a result of a seasonal tomato market glut in Nigeria - the farmers could not sell everything they had produced. This experience was a major trigger of the idea to start Tomato Jos. As she delved deeper, Ms. Mehta realized that tomatoes and tomato paste are a staple products in every Nigerian home; both are used to prepare stew, Jollof rice, and other popular foods. She decided to start a business that would provide farmers with a guaranteed market, enabling them to invest in more productive and profitable farming practices, and simultaneously reduce the country's dependence on imported tomato paste by creating her own local brand. Ms. Mehta is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Business School. 

barron segar

Barron Segar

CEO, World Food Program USA

Barron Segar is the President and CEO of WFP USA. Barron brings over 20 years of experience in growing philanthropic and cause marketing platforms. Prior to WFP USA, Barron served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer at UNICEF USA where his responsibilities included serving as an Executive Management Team member with organization-wide responsibility and decision-making authority for strategy, budget, critical operational priorities, and leading the Development Division teams’ strategic direction for $500 million in annual revenue. Prior to UNICEF USA, Barron served as the Director of Development for Georgia Public Broadcasting, where he and his team were nationally recognized for record breaking fundraising performance. Barron also has experience in the private sector working in financial services. Along with a distinguished career, Barron has held positions on multiple boards, he is a founding and current Board Member at the Elton John AIDS Foundation and he received a bachelor’s degree in history at Hampden-Sydney College. 

ezinne uzo-okuro

Ezinne Uzo-Okuro

CEO, Terraformers

Ezinne Uzo-Okoro has built, managed, reviewed 60 spaceflight programs in over 16 years representing $9.2 billion in total program value to NASA. She managed a $300M program, led national and international teams (including expeditions to Svalbard) and last served as the chief of the Small Spacecraft Mission Design Division. Observing how food innovations on earth could serve as inspiration for nutrition solutions on the Moon, she founded Terraformers.com to help people eat nutritious food at low cost through productive and networked backyard gardening. She holds a B.S. in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and two M.S. in Space Systems and Space Robotics from Johns Hopkins University (APL) and the MIT Media Lab respectively. She was a 2018 Presidential Leadership Scholar. She is currently a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an MIT Legatum Center for Development and Entrepreneurship Fellow and a Harvard Kennedy School Dubin Fellow. 

 

manuela zierau

Manuela Zierau

Global Lead, H2Grow

Manuela is the Global Project Lead of H2Grow, a World Food Programme (WFP) innovation. Based in Munich, Germany, Manuela joined the WFP Innovation Accelerator 1.5 years ago and has since focused on scaling the hydroponics venture to 21 countries and working on new ways of financing. Prior to joining WFP, Manuela was working for 3 years in Rwanda for One Acre Fund, a social enterprise based in East Africa that provides farmers with training and asset-based loans, where she built a discovery & research branch for new ideas and designed and tested service innovations for farmers. 

daniel yergin

Daniel Yergin, Ph.D.

Pulitzer Prize-winning Author and Vice Chair, IHS Markit

The Pulitzer prize-winning author of The New Map, The Prize and The Quest, Dr. Yergin is vice chairman of IHS Markit and founded IHS CERA (now part of IHS Markit). He is an authority on energy, international politics and economics. His awards include Lifetime Achievement from the Prime Minister of India and the United States Energy Award for lifelong achievements in energy and the promotion of international understanding. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. 

Charles Hudson

Alan Jope

CEO, Unilever

Alan Jope was appointed Chief Executive Officer in January 2019. As CEO of Unilever, Jope is responsible for leading one of the world’s largest and most geographically diverse consumer goods businesses, with presence in 190 countries. Jope joined Unilever in the UK in 1985. Before being appointed as CEO, he served as President of Unilever’s Beauty & Personal Care Division from 2014. He also worked in leadership roles in North America for 14 years and Asia for 13 years. When leading Unilever's business in China, Alan doubled its size and laid important foundations for future success. Jope is a Vice Chair of the WBCSD Executive Committee, a member of the World Economic Forum’s International Business Council, and on the Board of Directors of the Consumer Goods Forum and FCLT Global (Focusing Capital on the Long Term). He is Chair of the Generation Unlimited Board of Trustees, a Vice Chair of the Unstereotype Alliance and a private sector Steering Committee member of the UN’s Generation Equality campaign. Jope holds a BA Hons in Commerce from Edinburgh University and graduated from Harvard Business School's General Management Program in 2001. Jope is married and has three adult children. 

Charles Hudson

Kate Gordon

Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and Senior Advisor to California Governor Newsom on Climate

Kate Gordon has spent the past two decades working at the intersection of climate change, energy policy, and economic development. Gordon was appointed Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and Senior Advisor to the Governor on Climate by Governor Gavin Newsom on January 7, 2019. Trained as a community organizer, and later in law and regional economic development, her focus has long been on bringing diverse groups together to work toward a more sustainable, inclusive economy. Prior to being appointed OPR Director, Gordon was the founding director of the Risky Business Project, which focused on quantifying the economic impacts of climate change on U.S. energy demand, crop yields, and coastal infrastructure as well as on human health and mortality. As part of this work, Gordon consulted numerous investors and corporations on strategies to reduce climate risks across investments and assets, and also served as a co-author on the Fourth National Climate Assessment's chapter on “Reducing Risks Through Adaptation Actions.” Prior to her work on Risky Business, Gordon served in senior leadership positions at several nonpartisan think tanks including the Henry M. Paulson Institute, the Center for the Next Generation, the Center for American Progress, and as a nonresident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University. Gordon got her start on energy and climate issues working to craft progressive policies at the intersection of labor, business, community, and environmental interests at the national Apollo Alliance, where she ultimately served as co-Executive Director until the merger with the Blue-Green Alliance in 2011. Under her leadership, the Apollo Alliance drafted key parts of the American Recovery And Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) including the Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit and a competitive grant program for green jobs training, and also partnered with the AFL-CIO to draft the "just transition" portions of the proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act (aka the "Waxman-Markey bill"). Gordon earned a J.D. and a Masters in City and Regional Planning from the University of California-Berkeley, and an undergraduate degree from Wesleyan University. Along with her role in state government, Gordon regularly co-teaches a course at Stanford Law School entitled "Climate: Politics, Finance, and Infrastructure." 

 

Charles Hudson

Charles Hudson

Founder and Managing Partner, Precursor Ventures

Charles Hudson is the Managing Partner and Founder of Precursor Ventures, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in the first institutional round of investment for the most promising software and hardware companies. Prior to founding Precursor Ventures, Charles was a Partner at SoftTech VC. In this role, he focused on identifying investment opportunities in mobile infrastructure.

Richard Kerby

Richard Kerby

Co-founder and General Partner, Equal Ventures

Richard is Co-Founder and General Partner at Equal Ventures. Prior to co-founding Equal Ventures, Richard was an investor at Venrock, where he led seed-stage and Series A stage investments in 6Sense, Amino Apps, Beckon, Burner, Luxe Valet, and Salsify. Prior to joining Venrock, Richard was an investor at Institutional Venture Partners (IVP), where he focused on identifying and evaluating later-stage investments. While at IVP, Richard worked with IVP portfolio companies such as Dropbox, FleetMatics, PopSugar, Shazam, and Yext. Prior to joining IVP, Richard worked in the Investment Banking Division of Credit Suisse. Richard is a proud Georgetown alum and is a rabid Hoyas basketball fan. Richard is also the founder of Stealth Mode, a community of more than 1,500 African American founders, operators and investors.

Monique Woodard

Monique Woodard

Founder, Cake Ventures

Monique Woodard is the Managing Director at Cake Ventures, a venture capital fund that invests in the future of technology being driven by major demographic trends. Her investments as a venture capital and angel investor include Blavity, Encantos, Silvernest, Court Buddy, Gemist, and many others. Previously, Monique was a Venture Partner at 500 Startups where she invested in the US and Africa, a Venture Scout at Lightspeed Venture Partners, and has been a trusted advisor to foundations and venture capital firms like SoftBank. Before moving onto the investor side of the table, Monique spent 15+ years in the tech industry and she has been a startup founder, product-focused operator, and started a national community of tech entrepreneurs. Monique invests in companies with global ambitions who are creating technology products that meet the needs of tomorrow’s internet users.

Jason Kalirai, Ph.D.

Jason Kalirai, Ph.D.

Mission Area Executive for Civil Space, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dr. Jason Kalirai is the Mission Area Executive for Civil Space in the Space Exploration Sector. He joined APL in November 2018 and is leading the implementation of innovative and cost-effective solutions to critical civil space challenges by developing space science missions, instruments, and research programs. Prior to joining APL, Dr. Kalirai served as the multi-mission project scientist at NASA’s Space Telescope Science Institute. He has published over 100 research papers on topics related to stellar and galactic evolution and was won numerous awards for his achievements. Dr. Kalirai earned his Bachelor of Science in physics and astronomy, his Master of Science in astrophysics, and his PhD in astrophysics from the University of British Columbia. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship as a Hubble Fellow at the University of California at Santa Cruz. 

 

Kristen Roby Dimlow

Caryl Stern

Executive Director, Walton Family Foundation

Caryl M. Stern is the executive director of the Walton Family Foundation. Previously, she was president and CEO of UNICEF USA. A dynamic change-maker, Caryl has dedicated her career to helping others through education, compassion, advocacy and rolling up her sleeves. Since 2007, she has served as president and CEO of UNICEF USA, an organization that supports UNICEF’s lifesaving work to put children first. Caryl has traveled to more than 30 countries in support of UNICEF’s work and has spearheaded UNICEF USA’s emergency relief efforts for children affected by disasters, including the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the 2011 East Africa drought, the Ebola and Zika epidemics and the ongoing global refugee and migrant crisis. A sought-after public speaker on the topics of Kids Helping Kids, children and philanthropy, anti-bullying and international development, Caryl was invited to present at the White House’s inaugural summit on The United State of Women and was named one of "25 Women Changing the World in 2017" by People Magazine, “20 Most Influential Moms of 2017” by Family Circle, “25 Moms We Love” by Working Mother Magazine and “Ten Women to Watch” by Jewish Women International. She serves on the boards of directors of The Container Store and the We Are Family Foundation. In addition, Caryl is a member of the Advisory Board of Chime for Change and a trustee of The World’s Big Sleep Out. Prior to joining UNICEF USA, Caryl was an executive at the Anti-Defamation League, the founding director of its A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE® Institute, and the Dean of Students at Polytechnic University. Caryl is an activist, author, executive, public speaker, mother of three and grandmother of two. 

Kristen Roby Dimlow

J. Raymond DePaulo Jr., M.D.

Co-director, Mood Disorders Center, Johns Hopkins Medicine

J. Raymond DePaulo, Jr., M.D. is a University Distinguished Service Professor and co-director of the Mood Disorder Center in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He has been an active clinician, teacher and researcher throughout his 39 years on the Johns Hopkins faculty. He founded the Hopkins Affective Disorders Clinic in 1977 and grew it into a multifaceted program that led patient care, teaching and research on depression and bipolar disorder at Johns Hopkins. Dr. DePaulo was the Henry Phipps Professor, director of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and psychiatrist-in-chief at the Johns Hopkins Hospital from 2002 until 2016. Dr. DePaulo’s research interests focus on clinical assessment, diagnosis, causes and treatments of mood disorders. His research group led several early genetic studies of bipolar disorder and unipolar depression. He has authored over 140 peer-reviewed scientific articles and mentored outstanding clinician scientists. Dr. DePaulo worked with Dr. Karen Swartz, who leads the Adolescent Depression Awareness Program, which developed, teaches and studies a model curriculum on depression for high schools. He has partnered with Dr. Kay Jamison in research, education and advocacy efforts for patients and families. Dr. DePaulo is now the chair of the board of directors of the National Network of Depression Centers. He has served on several foundation boards of directors and scientific advisory boards related to mood disorders. Dr. DePaulo has authored two books on depressive illnesses for patients and families (Understanding Depression and How to Cope with Depression). He has won a number of national awards for clinical leadership, teaching and research in depression and bipolar disorder. He has twice been named a Forum Fellow at the World Economic Forum, held annually in Davos, Switzerland. 

Kristen Roby Dimlow

Kristen Roby Dimlow

Corporate Vice President, Human Resources, Microsoft

Kristen Roby Dimlow is responsible for Total Rewards, Performance and HR Business Insights at Microsoft, which includes broad-based global compensation, executive compensation, U.S. benefits, international benefits strategy and philosophy, global mobility and relocation, performance management, stock design and administration, M&A, and HR Business Insights which is Microsoft’s people analytics function. Roby Dimlow is a 20-plus year Microsoft veteran who spent the first half of her Microsoft career in corporate finance controller positions, including for Office, Windows, Server and Xbox. She moved to HR in 2002, leading university recruiting, and transitioned to engineering line leader roles in Windows, Platforms and Services Division, Online Services and Devices. In September 2016, Roby Dimlow returned to Microsoft after serving as chief human resources officer of F5 Networks, where she led all HR functions, including compensation and benefits, working regularly with its compensation committee and board. Prior to her first Microsoft tour, Roby Dimlow held finance leadership roles at Walt Disney Studios, most recently as VP finance for Disney TeleVentures. Prior to Disney, Roby Dimlow was a financial analyst at GE and completed the Financial Management Program. Roby Dimlow holds a B.B.A. in management from the College of William and Mary. 

Richard Frank, Ph.D.

Richard Frank, Ph.D.

Professor of Health Economics, Harvard Medical School

Richard Frank, Ph.D., is the Margaret T. Morris Professor of Health Economics. His research is focused on the economics of mental health and substance abuse care, long-term care financing policy, health care competition and implementation of health reform and disability policy. He served as the deputy assistant secretary for planning and evaluation at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), directing the Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy from 2009 to 2011. From 2014 to 2016, he served as the DHHS assistant secretary for planning and evaluation. Dr. Frank served as an editor for the Journal of Health Economics for nine years. He was awarded the Carl A. Taube Award from the American Public Health Association and the John Eisenberg Mentorship Award from the National Research Service Awards. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine. He received the AcademyHealth Distinguished Investigator Award in June 2018. He is co-author with Sherry Glied of the book Better but Not Well. Dr. Frank received his BA in economics from Bard University and his Ph.D. in economics from Boston University. 

 

lynelle cameron

Lynelle Cameron

Vice President, Sustainability; CEO, Autodesk Foundation

Lynelle Cameron has over 20 years of experience helping large and small companies capitalize on market opportunities related to sustainability and climate change. Her career reflects a demonstrated track record leading large-scale transformative work spanning the nonprofit, public and private sectors. Cameron is currently Vice President of Sustainability at Autodesk and CEO of the Autodesk Foundation. She leads a team transforming the design, manufacturing and construction industries to capitalize on the business opportunities of a low-carbon economy. Through the Autodesk Foundation, she has invested over $40 million in entrepreneurs and innovators who are designing solutions to climate change and inequality. Under her leadership, Autodesk has won numerous awards for sustainability, climate leadership and philanthropy. Cameron is proving that companies can do well by doing good – in ways that strengthen brand reputation, recruit and retain the next generation of employees, and deliver financial results to shareholders. This year, Autodesk was ranked #5 most sustainable company in the world by Corporate Knights and #10 by Barron's. A cultural anthropologist by training, Cameron has lived and worked in many parts of the world at the intersection of conservation and economic development with WWF, TMI, and NOLS. Cameron brings her expertise in strategy, governance and management to the Boards of Innovators International, CEH, UC Berkeley CRB, Biomimicry 3.0. She is also the Executive Sponsor of the Autodesk Women’s Network, an organization that aims to bring gender diversity to every decision-making table. 

R. David Edelman, Ph.D.

Brian Rice

Portfolio Manager, CalSTRS

Brian Rice is a portfolio manager in the CalSTRS Sustainable Investment and Stewardship Strategies unit and has been leading sustainability efforts at CalSTRS for over 15 years. He is responsible for the CalSTRS sustainable manager portfolio, a $2.2 billion externally managed public equity strategy that employs fund managers incorporating ESG factors into their investment portfolio construction and management. Rice also leads the CalSTRS Transition to a Low Carbon Economy initiative, a cross-asset class effort focused on managing physical and transitional investment risks, and implementing investment opportunities associated with climate change. Rice serves on the advisory board of the Climate Bonds Initiative and the Strategic Investor Initiative, and on the advisory committee of the Ceres Water Hub. He received an M.B.A. from the U.C. Davis Graduate School of Management and a bachelor’s degree in economics-business from UCLA. 

R. David Edelman, Ph.D.

R. David Edelman, Ph.D.

MIT Scholar and Former White House Tech Adviser

MIT scholar, Presidential advisor, and leading technologist R. David Edelman is one of the nation's foremost authorities on how new innovations are changing life and business around the globe. Dubbed the nation’s “Chief Cyber Diplomat,” his insights on issues like artificial intelligence (A.I.), cybersecurity, data ethics, and the geopolitics of technology have shaped national and international policy at the highest levels. Dr. Edelman served in the Bush and Obama Administrations, rising to become the youngest­ever Director named to the U.S. National Security Council. As Special Assistant to the President, he led the White House economic team’s work on technology, media, and telecom policy. He currently teaches at MIT and leads its Project on Technology, the Economy, & National Security. A sought­after counselor to CEOs and Boards on managing technological disruption, Dr. Edelman has a unique ability to clearly communicate these complex topics, making them both accessible and engaging. His insights and analysis have appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, WIRED, Forbes, Fortune, and on CNBC, MSNBC, and numerous international outlets. At MIT, Dr. Edelman leads an interdisciplinary team of researchers, students, and policymakers to address the challenges created by technological disruption – from the international concern of cyberattacks to the economic and regulatory consequences of A.I. and autonomous vehicles. He holds joint appointments in the Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) and the Center for International Studies (CIS). At the White House, Dr. Edelman led the development of and co­authored over a dozen legislative proposals, national strategies, Executive Orders, and Presidential policy reviews. As Director for Cybersecurity and International Cyber Policy at the National Security Council, he penned the government’s principal doctrine on cybersecurity and Internet issues within U.S. foreign policy. As chief architect of the President’s ConnectED initiative, Edelman managed the $10 billion effort that brought broadband to over 30 million American students in their classrooms. As Special Assistant to the President, he led White House engagement with top executives at over 100 companies in the technology, media, and telecom sectors and managed the Administration’s policy development on issues like net neutrality, consumer privacy, and patent reform. Prior to his time at the White House, Edelman served at the State Department’s Office of Cyber Affairs, and as the United States’ lead negotiator on Internet issues at the United Nations, where he received the Department’s Superior Honor Award and twice received its Meritorious Honor Award. He was named one of Forbes’ “30 Under 30” leaders in Law & Policy. He holds a B.A. from Yale University in History, and a Master’s and Doctorate in International Relations at Oxford University. His groundbreaking dissertation, “Cyberattacks in International Relations,” examined which forces might restrain state use of cyberattacks.

doug baker

Carla Hayden, Ph.D.

Librarian of Congress

Carla Hayden, Ph.D., was sworn in as the 14th librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Dr. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on July 13. Prior to her latest post, she served, since 1993, as CEO of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. Dr. Hayden was nominated by President Obama to be a member of the National Museum and Library Services Board in January 2010 and was confirmed to that post by the Senate in June 2010. Prior to joining the Pratt Library, Dr. Hayden was deputy commissioner and chief librarian of the Chicago Public Library from 1991 to 1993. She was an assistant professor for library and information science at the University of Pittsburgh from 1987 to 1991. Dr. Hayden was library services coordinator for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago from 1982 to 1987. She began her career with the Chicago Public Library as the young adult services coordinator from 1979 to 1982 and as a library associate and children’s librarian from 1973 to 1979. Dr. Hayden was president of the American Library Association from 2003 to 2004. In 1995, she was the first African American to receive Library Journal’s Librarian of the Year Award in recognition of her outreach services at the Pratt Library, which included an after-school center for Baltimore teens offering homework assistance and college and career counseling. Dr. Hayden received a B.A. from Roosevelt University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago.

 

doug baker

Ziad Ahmed

Founder and CEO, JUV Consulting

Ziad Ahmed is an 20-year-old junior at Yale University. He is an unapologetic American-Muslim-Bangladeshi student activist, entrepreneur, and speaker. He is the CEO/Co-founder of JUV Consulting (www.juvconsulting.com), a Generation Z consultancy that works with clients to help them reach young people. The company has worked with over 20 Fortune 500 companies, has been profiled by The New York Times, and has established full-time offices in Times Square. As a result of JUV, Ahmed was named to the 2019 Forbes #30Under30 list at 19-years-old. Ahmed started the company in 2016 (while in high school), and JUV keeps growing as the need to better understand young folks is just getting greater. Ahmed also founded a nonproift, Redefy (www.redefy.org), committed to furthering equality in 2013. Redefy has reached hundreds of thousands of young people digitally, has established chapters in 10+ countries around the world, and has been honored as a part of the Facebook Community Leadership Program. Through Redefy, Ahmed has been recognized as a 2017 Global Teen Leader, a High School Trailblazer by MTV, and a Top 15 Young Prodigy Changing the World by Business Insider. Additionally, he has given four TEDxTalks, has spoken at forums such as the Council on Foreign Relations, has commentated for networks such as CNN, has written for publications such as Teen Vogue, and serves on boards such as the Marketing Advisory Board for DoSomething.org. He tries to use his voice wherever helpful to push the envelope -- and tries to pass the mic as often as possible.

doug baker

Joel Flory

Co-founder and CEO, VSCO

As the co-founder and CEO of VSCO, Joel Flory leads the company on its mission to help everybody fall in love with their own creativity. Flory and his co-founder, Greg Lutze, combined their passions for photography and technology to build VSCO in 2011. Prior to founding VSCO, Flory was a successful commercial and wedding photographer. A Bay Area native, Flory is deeply involved in the local Oakland community. He graduated from California Polytechnic State University with a degree in industrial technology.

doug baker

Denise Villa, Ph.D.

CEO, Center for Generational Kinetics

Denise Villa, Ph.D., is the CEO of The Center for Generational Kinetics. She leads CGK's global research, speaking, and consulting services, which now serves over 700 clients worldwide. Dr. Villa has delivered CGK’s research findings to audiences across the U.S., from HR Summits to global media companies. She has served as a Gen Z and Millennial expert on corporate panels and presented research at SXSW Interactive and at events in industries including student housing, real estate, technology, and financial services. Her Gen Z research led to a feature story in The Washington Post, and she’s been quoted as a generational expert in The Wall Street Journal. Dr. Villa has led several organizations, served on non-profit boards, actively advises startups, and was recognized as a Profiles of Power and Women’s Way finalist. Dr. Villa began her career as a middle school science teacher before becoming a middle school and high school administrator. She worked in urban, rural, and suburban schools. She continues to follower her passion for education by serving on the Women @ Austin Advisory Council, Philanthropitch Advisory Board, and as the incoming President of Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) Austin. A first-generation college student, Dr. Villa completed her undergraduate work at The University of Texas at Austin and her graduate work at Texas State University. She enjoys running marathons, adventure races, and attending sporting events, especially UT football. Dr. Villa is passionate about Gen Z and how they will change the world. Her forthcoming book, Zconomy: How Gen Z Will Change the Future of Business—and What To Do About It, will be released by HarperCollins in September 2020.

doug baker

Doug Baker

Chairman and CEO, Ecolab Inc.

Doug Baker is chairman of the board and CEO of Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. Ecolab recently ranked #2 on Newsweek's annual Green Rankings list, #8 on Corporate Responsibility's list of Best Corporate Citizens and #26 on Barron's list of Most Sustainable Companies. The company regularly appears on Fortune's list of the World's Most Admired Companies and has been named to Ethisphere's list of the World's Most Ethical Companies for 13 consecutive years. Baker joined Ecolab in 1989, following seven years in brand management at Procter & Gamble. At Ecolab, he held a number of marketing and general management roles in the U.S. and Europe before becoming president and CEO in July 2004. In May 2006, Baker added chairman of the board to his duties. In addition to his Ecolab responsibilities, Baker serves on the board of directors of Target Corporation. He is trustee emeritus of the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and, a member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy, and is involved in a number of community initiatives in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Baker received a bachelor's degree in English from College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, and serves on the college's board of trustees.

 

Jon Meacham

Andy Rothman

Investment Strategist, Matthews Asia

Andy Rothman is an investment strategist at Matthews Asia. He is principally responsible for developing research focused on China’s ongoing economic and political developments while also complementing the broader investment team with in-depth analysis on Asia. In addition, Rothman plays a key role in communicating to clients and the media the firm’s perspectives and latest insights into China and the greater Asia region. Prior to joining Matthews Asia in 2014, Rothman spent 14 years as CLSA’s China macroeconomic strategist, where he conducted analysis into China and delivered his insights to its clients. Previously, Rothman spent 17 years in the U.S. Foreign Service, with a diplomatic career focused on China, including as head of the macroeconomics and domestic policy office of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. In total, Rothman has lived and worked in China for more than 20 years. He earned an M.A. in public administration from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs and a B.A. from Colgate University. He is a proficient Mandarin speaker.

linda yueh

Linda Yueh, Ph.D.

Fellow in Economics, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford; Adjunct Professor of Economics, London Business School

Dr. Yueh is Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University and Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School. She is Visiting Professor at LSE IDEAS, London School of Economics and Political Science's foreign policy centre, and Associate Fellow (Global Economy and Finance Department & U.S. and the Americas Programme) at Chatham House. Professor Yueh is Chair of the LSE Economic Diplomacy Commission. She was Visiting Professor of Economics at Peking University. She is a TV and radio presenter, including for BBC Radio 4 and the World Service, as well as having fronted BBC TV series, such as The New Middle Class, Next Billionaires, and Working Lives. Dr. Yueh is Chair of the Royal Commonwealth Society and Trustee of the Coutts Foundation and Malaria No More UK. She is a Non-Executive Director of the following publicly listed companies on the London Stock Exchange: Rentokil Initial, a FTSE 100 company, Fidelity China Special Situations PLC, a FTSE 250 investment trust, and Chair of Baillie Gifford's The Schiehallion Fund, listed on the Specialist Fund Segment of the Main Market. She serves on the Advisory Board of LSE IDEAS and on the Policy Committee of the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), both at the London School of Economics. She is a Fellow (FRSA) of the Royal Society of Arts. She is a widely published author and Editor of the Routledge Economic Growth and Development book series. Her latest book, The Great Economists: How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today is published by Viking/ Penguin Random House (The Times's Best Business Books of the Year) and What Would the Great Economists Do? How Twelve Brilliant Minds Would Solve Today's Biggest Problems (Newsweek's Best Books of the Year) published by Picador/ Macmillan in the U.S. She is represented by Janklow & Nesbit. She was Chief Business Correspondent for BBC News and presenter of Talking Business with Linda Yueh for BBC World TV and BBC News Channel based in Singapore. She had been Economics Editor and anchor at Bloomberg TV in London. Previously, she was an attorney at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison in New York. Professor Yueh has advised the World Bank, European Commission, Asian Development Bank, World Economic Forum in Davos, among others. She was a Non-Executive Director of the LSE-listed companies: JPMorgan Asian Investment Trust and Baillie Gifford's Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. She was previously Co-Chair of the Global Cities Business Alliance (GCBA) of London First; Board Member of London & Partners; Advisory Board Member of The Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF); advisor to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC); and Advisory Board member of the Huxley Summit 2019.

Jon Meacham

Yascha Mounk, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Practice, International Affairs, Johns Hopkins University

Yascha Mounk, Ph.D., is a writer, academic and public speaker known for his work on the rise of populism and the crisis of liberal democracy. Born in Germany to Polish parents, Dr. Mounk received his B.A. in history from Trinity College, Cambridge, and his Ph.D. in government from Harvard University. He is now an associate professor of the Practice of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins University, where he holds appointments in both the School of Advanced International Studies and the Agora Institute. Dr. Mounk is also a senior advisor at Protect Democracy, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Fund, a senior fellow at Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance, a senior fellow at New York University's Reiss Center on Law and Security, and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Mounk has written three books: Stranger in My Own Country: A Jewish Family in Modern Germany, a memoir about Germany’s fraught attempts to deal with its past; The Age of Responsibility: Luck, Choice and the Welfare State, which argues that a growing obsession with the concept of individual responsibility has transformed Western welfare states; and The People versus Democracy: Why Our Freedom Is in Danger and How to Save It, which explains the causes of the populist rise and investigates how to renew liberal democracy. His latest book has been translated into 11 languages and hailed as one of 2018's best books of the year by multiple publications, including the Financial Times. A contributing editor at The Atlantic, Dr. Mounk regularly writes for newspapers and magazines, including The New York Times, The New Yorker and Foreign Affairs. He is also is also a regular columnist or contributor for major international publications, including Die Zeit, La Repubblica l'Express, Folha de Sao Paolo, Kultura Liberalna and Letras Libres.

Jon Meacham

Josh Silverman

CEO, Etsy

Josh Silverman is Etsy's Chief Executive Officer, leading the company as it builds a platform that empowers creative entrepreneurs around the world. He is also a member of Etsy's board of directors. Silverman’s two decades of leadership experience include growing consumer technology companies and scaling global marketplaces. He previously served as president of Consumer Products and Services at American Express, CEO of Skype, and CEO of shopping.com, and he held various executive roles at eBay. Earlier in his career, Josh co-founded Evite, Inc. where he also served as the company's CEO. He is currently on the board of directors of Shake Shack. Silverman has a deep commitment to community and civic engagement. He currently serves as Chairman of Code Nation, a nonprofit that equips students in under-resourced schools with both fundamental coding skills and professional experiences. He's also a member of the Stanford Business School Management board and was previously on the board of the Lincoln Center Theater.

 

Jon Meacham

Tamara Lundgren

Chairman, President and CEO,
Schnitzer Steel

Tamara Lundgren is the chairman, president and CEO of Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc. SSI is one of the largest publicly traded (Nasdaq: SCHN) manufacturers and exporters of recycled metals in North America, operating 100 facilities throughout North America, including seven deep-water ports located on both coasts of the U.S. and Puerto Rico and a retail auto parts business with over five million annual retail visits. SSI’s vertically integrated operating platform also includes its steel manufacturing business, which manufactures finished steel products used in infrastructure and commercial projects. Lundgren joined SSI in 2005 as chief strategy officer and held positions of increasing responsibility, including executive vice president and COO. Lundgren was appointed president and CEO in 2008. Prior to joining SSI, Lundgren was an investment banker and lawyer with 25 years of experience in the U.S. and Europe. Lundgren was a managing director at JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank in London and New York. Earlier, she was a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Hogan Lovells (then Hogan & Hartson, LLP). Lundgren is a member of the board of directors of Ryder System Inc., Parsons Corporation and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, and the executive committee of the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She has served as the chair of the board of directors of the U.S. Chamber and has been a frequent speaker on infrastructure and trade policy. Lundgren serves on the president’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations, having been appointed by President Obama in 2016 and reappointed by President Trump. Lundgren is also a member of the Business Roundtable and the President’s Advisory Council of Wellesley College. Lundgren earned a B.A. from Wellesley College and a J.D. from the Northwestern University School of Law.

Jon Meacham

Jon Meacham

Historian and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Author

Jon Meacham is one of Americas most prominent public intellectuals. A contributor to TIME and The New York Times Book Review, Meacham is a highly sought-after commentator, regularly appearing on CNN and MSNBC. Known as a skilled orator with a depth of knowledge about politics, religion, and current affairs, Meacham brings historical context to the issues and events impacting our daily lives. His latest #1 New York Times best-seller, The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, examines the present moment in American politics and life by looking back at critical times in U.S. history when hope overcame division and fear. Meacham is a co-author of the recently released book Impeachment: An American History, which reveals the complicated motives behind the three impeachments in U.S. history. Meacham’s presidential biography, Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, debuted at #1 on the New York Times' best-sellers list. The New York Times said, “Destiny and Power reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.” Meacham delivered eulogies for both President George H.W. Bush and First Lady Barbara Bush. Meacham's #1 New York Times best-seller, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power, was hailed as "masterful and intimate" by Fortune magazine. His other national bestsellers include Franklin and Winston, American Gospel, and American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2009. A contributing editor at TIME, Meacham writes for the magazine’s Ideas section. He also pens “The Long View” column in The New York Times Book Review, in which he “looks back at books that speak to our current historical and cultural moment.” He served as Newsweek's managing editor from 1998 to 2006 and editor from 2006 to 2010. The New York Times called him “one of the most influential editors in the news magazine business.” Meacham is a frequent guest on Morning Joe, Real Time with Bill Maher and The 11th Hour, and was featured in Ken Burns’ documentary series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. Fox News produced an hour long special about Meacham’s Destiny and Power in November 2015. Named a “Global Leader for Tomorrow” by the World Economic Forum, he is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a fellow of the Society of American Historians and chairs the National Advisory Board of the John C. Danforth Center on Religion and Politics at Washington University. Meacham is a distinguished visiting professor of history at The University of the South and a visiting distinguished professor at Vanderbilt. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.

 

 

About NOW

We launched Navigating Our World in 2008 to mark our 10th anniversary as an independent firm. Each NOW conference is meant to embody our commitment to seeking fresh and diverse views, learning from experts across disciplines, and challenging conventional assumptions. While we have shifted our conference format to a podcast series due to the pandemic, we remain steadfast in our belief that thoughtful inquiry, encompassing varied perspectives, helps us make better decisions for clients and makes us more effective contributors to our communities. As a firm, we aspire to raise the future—and NOW helps us get there.

LISTEN TO MIKE HANKIN'S FOREWORD PAST NOW CONFERENCES

The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the speaker(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of Brown Advisory. These views are not intended to be and should not be relied upon as investment advice and are not intended to be a forecast of future events or a guarantee of future results. The information provided in this podcast is not intended to be and should not be considered a recommendation or suggestion to engage in or refrain from a particular course of action or to make or hold a particular investment or pursue a particular investment strategy, including whether or not to buy, sell, or hold any of the securities mentioned. It should not be assumed that investments in such securities have been or will be profitable. There is a risk that some or all of the capital invested in any such securities may be lost. This piece is intended solely for our clients and prospective clients, is for informational purposes only, and is not individually tailored for or directed to any particular client or prospective client.

ESG considerations are one of multiple informational inputs into the investment process, alongside data on traditional financial factors, and so are not the sole driver of decision-making. ESG analysis may not be performed for every holding in every strategy. ESG considerations that are material will vary by investment style, sector/industry, market trends and client objectives. Certain strategies seek to identify issuers that they believe may have desirable ESG outcomes, but investors may differ in their views of what constitutes positive or negative ESG outcomes. As a result, certain strategies may invest in issuers that do not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. Certain strategies may also invest in companies that would otherwise be screened out of other ESG oriented portfolios. Security selection will be impacted by the combined focus on ESG assessments and forecasts of return and risk.