Sunday, April 22, 2012 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm

Julie Gilbert

Founder and CEO of WOLF Means Business

Julie Gilbert has a formula that works. As the founder and CEO of WOLF Means Business, she has developed a cutting-edge innovation machine that combines smart business strategy with a strong belief in people and a passion for the possible. Julie uses these elements to strengthen and grow businesses and to simultaneously inspire individuals to contribute more than ever to their jobs, communities, others and themselves.

After spending 16 years in corporate America, Julie stepped out in 2009 to bring WOLF, her revolutionary approach to innovation, strategy and change, to companies around the world. Julie built several industry-changing businesses from ideation to scale during her very successful careers at Best Buy and at Deloitte.

She is best known for the inception and development of a progressive transformation strategy called WOLF, an innovative approach directly engaging employees and consumers to make Best Buy THE place for women to work and shop. During the time Julie led WOLF at Best Buy, the company increased female market share by more than $4.4 billion and reduced female employee turnover by more than 5% each year. In 2009, PINK magazine named Julie one of the Top 15 Women in Business in the United States.

A South Dakota native, Julie earned her master’s degree in strategy and marketing, and her bachelor’s degree in accounting, both with highest distinction, from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Business.

An avid writer, Julie regularly blogs for The WOLF Pack Den, PINK magazine and the Harvard Business School. She has been published internationally and is writing a book about the power of finding, exercising and listening to the voices of people (their ideas, knowledge and insight) at all levels of organizations to re-invent business and grow as individuals.

Monday, April 23, 2012 8:30 am - 10:00 am

Simon Sinek

Renowned leadership expert and author of Start With Why

Simon Sinek is leading a movement to find, celebrate and encourage the next generation of great leaders. He writes, consults and speaks all over the world about the concept of Why - the purpose, cause or belief that drives every one of us. He studied those leaders and companies that have made the greatest impact and achieved more lasting success, and constructed the amazingly simple idea of the Golden Circle, grounded in the biology of human decision-making and which is changing how leaders and companies think and act.

Simon’s innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention, earning him invitations to meet with an astounding array of leaders and organizations, from Microsoft, to Members of Congress, to the New York City Ballet.

Simon comments regularly for local and national press, including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Houston Chronicle, and Forbes. He’s also a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and BrandWeek.

Simon is active in the not-for-profit world, where he works with various arts organizations, including The Abraham Path and the EFE Foundation.

His book, Start With Why, was voted one of the best leadership books of 2009. Simon currently lives in New York where he also teaches graduate level strategic communications at Columbia University.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:30 am - 10:00 am

David Novak

Chairman and CEO of YUM! Brands, Inc.

David C. Novak is Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc., the world’s largest restaurant company in terms of system units with nearly 38,000 restaurants in more than 110 countries and territories. Yum! Brands is ranked #214 on the FORTUNE 500 list, with revenues of more than $11 billion in 2010.

Novak shapes the company’s overall strategic direction, including four key growth strategies: 1) build leading brands across China in every significant category; 2) drive aggressive international expansion and build strong brands everywhere; 3) dramatically improve U.S. brand positions, consistency and returns; and 4) drive industry-leading, long-term shareholder and franchisee value.

Additionally, Novak devotes much of his time each year to personally train leadership skills to the company’s management and franchisees, emphasizing teamwork and a belief in people that rewards and recognizes customer-focused behavior with his trademarked Taking People With You program.

Prior to leading Yum! Brands, Novak was President at both KFC and Pizza Hut. He also held senior management positions at Pepsi-Cola Company, including Chief Operating Officer, and Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales.

Novak has been recognized as one of the world’s “30 Best CEOs” by Barron’s, one of the “Top People in Business” by FORTUNE and one of the “100 Best-Performing CEOs in the World” by Harvard Business Review. He is also the recipient of the national 2008 Woodrow Wilson Award for Corporate Citizenship. He is also a member of The Business Council and The American Society for Corporate Executives. He devotes considerable personal support to the United Nations World Food Programme and Dare to Care Food Bank hunger relief.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012 10:00 am - 11:30 am

Jason Dorsey

Chief Strategy Officer, The Center for Generational Kinetics

Jason Ryan Dorsey is The Gen Y Guy®. You may have seen him on 60 Minutes, 20/20, The Today Show, The View, or in Fortune Magazine. His talent is teaching ready-to-use actions and creative strategies that quickly increase cross-generational performance. A bestselling author at age 18, Jason’s newest book is Y-Size® Your Business. This acclaimed book features more than 50 ways to increase Gen Y performance from day one.

The Chief Strategy Officer for The Center for Generational Kinetics, Jason constantly studies the unique dynamics created within a multigenerational workforce. He shares his insights on his entertaining What the Gen?! blog. A proud member of Gen Y, Jason won the Austin Under 40 Entrepreneur of the Year Award at age 25—one of the youngest winners ever. And, yes, he text messages his mom every day.