Women Leaders Series: Margaret Evans, Ph.D.
Government Employees Health Association
April 6, 2010

Margaret Evans was forced to overcome great odds throughout her life, and encouragement from her family helped establish her determined character and her willingness to help the disadvantaged. She brings those life experiences to her position as HR Director for the local Government Employees Health Association (GEHA).

Dr. Evans worked full-time in the 1970s to pay tuition at UMKC, as well as for helping support her terminally ill father. Last year, she was honored by the school with its Defying the Odds Award for her achievements.

She was the first African-American woman to receive a Ford Foundation Fellowship in the Bloch School of Business and Public Administration, and was also the first to be promoted to a management position within GEHA. Dr. Evans has spent 30 years with the organization, and she was instrumental in the creation of a human resources department.

Dr. Evans is a member of the National Society for Human Resource Management, and served on the board for 5 years. She is a life member of both the NAACP and the National Forum for Blacks in Public Administration.

Available: April 8, 2010
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CEO Series with David Gentile
President-Elect and CEO, BlueCross and BlueShield of Kansas City
March 31, 2010

Next to the economic meltdown, much of the attention of the U.S. Congress over the past year has focused on health care. No company in the area has a higher stake in the discussion than Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City.

As the initial votes took place in the House and Senate, the company elevated a long-time member of management to the CEO post. David Gentile joined BCBSKC in 1991, and over his almost 20-year career has provided leadership in marketing and managed care, as well as information technology and customer service.

Gentile was named Executive Vice President of Blue KC in 2005, with responsibility for claims and customer service, operations performance improvement, and the company’s subsidiaries. He coordinates the company’s strategic planning activities, ensuring that a full array of quality and timely services are available to members of Blue KC. Gentile also is involved with the company’s e-Commerce strategic business activities as well as web development.

Available: April 2, 2010
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Customer Centered Leadership with Dan Cathy
President and COO, Chick-fil-A
March 29, 2010

Rather than leading from his Chick-fil-A corporate office, Dan Cathy prefers to spend the majority of his time traveling to the chain’s growing family of restaurants. Cathy’s actions stem from a belief that working in the field provides a clearer understanding of the ever-evolving wants and needs of Chick-fil-A customers. Leading from the front line also enables him to personally convey his servant spirit to the chain’s 50,000-plus employees.

Chick-fil-A is one of the nation’s largest family owned businesses. In 2008, BusinessWeek and J.D. Power and Associates named the company as one of the top 25 “Customer Service Champs.” Chick-fil-A was one of only two restaurant concepts listed.

Representing the next generation of leadership for the Atlanta-based quick-service chicken restaurant chain founded by his father, Dan brings his own skills and talents into the business, among them a passion for customer service.

Since 2001, Dan has served as the president and chief operating officer of the 1,490 unit chain, and has personally challenged himself with upholding Chick-fil-A’s efforts to provide genuine, heartfelt hospitality, and an exceptional dining experience. In his quest to provide customers with “second-mile” service, Dan has defined a special role for himself – humbly saying, “I work in customer service.”

Available: April 2, 2010
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CEO Series with Gerardo Lopez
AMC Entertainment Inc.
February 24, 2010

The movie business is evolving. More movies are being delivered by mail, viewed online or rented at one location and returned to another. AMC is changing with the times. Once thought of as a company with movie theaters nationwide, under new CEO Gerardo Lopez, AMC now defines itself as being in the exhibition business, with a leadership role in the entertainment arena.

Lopez is only the fourth CEO in AMC’s almost 90-year history. His understanding of brands, guests, and their experiences and interaction were paramount in his decision to join AMC in March of 2009. Previously, Lopez served as executive vice president of Starbucks Coffee Company. He was also president of its Global Consumer Products, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Foodservice divisions. In these roles, he led the strategy to support Starbucks’ growth and expansion of consumer product offerings worldwide.

In his more than 25-year career, he has served in executive management positions with Frito-Lay, Pepsi-Cola, and the Procter & Gamble Company.

Available: March 31, 2010
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Social Media: Blogging for Business
February 11, 2010

Everyone’s talking about blogging for business, but how do you develop the approach, topics, and creativity to go from talking to writing a blog regularly? Join us as Mike Brown, creator of the Brainzooming strategy, innovation & creativity blog (among several others), shares lessons derived from regularly generating multiple daily blog articles. You’ll learn how to:

• Use your blog’s purpose as a foundation for topic ideas
• Innovatively develop compelling content on a regular basis
• Develop alternative approaches to creating fresh content

Available: March 31, 2010
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Career Ladder Destroyed - Welcome to Career Mountain Climbing!
February 10, 2010

If you are looking to climb that ladder to advance your career, forget it! Building a 30+ year career within a single company is largely extinct. Trends such as globalization, technology and the large influx of women in the professional workforce who desired to balance work/family; have all combined to demolish the career ladder. Instead, the career ladder has become the “career mountain climb”. This brings both challenges and opportunities, requiring us to do more risk taking and work than merely climbing a ladder. But there are rewards!!

Joni Lindquist, President KHC Executive Coaching and Certified Career Management Coach, will share with us some strategies and tactical tools to help you navigate and climb your career mountain! These tools include:

• how to identify and build your transferable skills
• determining your strengths
• a template for a Career Development Action plan
• how to map and develop your professional network

Available: March 31, 2010
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Women Leader Series with Esther George
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
February 9, 2010

With her promotion last fall to first vice president and chief operating officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Esther George became only the eighth person to hold the position since the bank opened almost a century ago. In this capacity, she directs the Bank's operations throughout the Tenth Federal Reserve District.

From 2001 through the appointment to her current position in 2009, George was senior vice president in charge of the Division of Supervision and Risk Management. That made her the top bank regulator in the region. George was responsible for the supervision and regulation of the District's 170 state-chartered member banks, as well as nearly 1,000 bank and financial holding companies.

During George’s tenure in banking supervision, she was directly involved in the Tenth District's banking supervision and discount window lending activities during the banking crisis of the 1980s and post-9/11. She is a former chair of the Federal Reserve System's Community Banking Organizations Management Group. She is also a member of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City's Management Committee, which is responsible for strategic planning and policy direction.

Available: March 31, 2010
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Social Media: New Rules for Marketing Your Brand
Friday, January 22, 2010

How to use social media and other non-traditional marketing efforts to engage customers and improve your bottom line

Have you been wondered how Twitter and Facebook can work for your business? Have you considered adding video to your marketing repertoire? Is your blog working for you? Do you know how to build your brand?

Hired by nationally known companies such as Hershey's and Coinstar to reach their target markets, top Internet blogger Jen Singer will show you how to use the latest social media tools to engage customers and increase profits. She will provide you with timely, hands-on information designed specifically to walk you through the basics of social media and the internet including how and when to use Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. She'll provide tips on how to build your brand - and what exactly that means for you and your business in 2010.

Available: January 28, 2010
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The Economic Perspective: What’s Ahead for 2010
Featuring Thomas M. Hoenig,
President, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City
Thursday, January 7, 2010

The economic shockwaves from last year’s financial tsunami are still reverberating. What will 2010 bring?

For the sixth consecutive year, Thomas M. Hoenig, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, delivers his first speech of the New Year at The CX, offering his perspective on the economy.

Hoenig has been called “one of the country's most influential and powerful bankers.” While he regards the vast stimulus package as aiding in the economic recovery, he has been a critic of the bank bailouts, arguing that they could increase cost to the taxpayer and prolong the recession.

Kansas City is the home of one of 12 regional banks of the Federal Reserve system. Hoenig, who has served as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City for more than 17 years, directs Federal Reserve activities in the seven-state Tenth Federal Reserve District, which includes Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Wyoming, the northern half of New Mexico, and the western third of Missouri. He is a member of the Federal Reserve System's Open Market Committee, the key body with authority over monetary policy.

Available: January 19, 2010
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Women Leaders Series with Jo Anne Gabbert,
President, Bicknell Family Holding Company
Wednesday, January 6, 2010

An analytical mind, an understanding of people, and an instinct for opportunity have propelled Jo Anne Gabbert in her career. After graduation from Central Missouri State University, Gabbert spent nine years as an analyst with Southwestern Bell. She accepted an offer to return to Kansas City to join Ernst and Young’s Management and Consulting group. There, she helped many Fortune 500 Companies with process improvement and customer operational excellence projects.

In 1999, Gabbert founded her own consulting firm. In the nine years that she owned Adams-Gabbert, Inc., she was personally recognized with the E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2001, 2002 and 2003, as well the Women Who Mean Business Award. In 2003, Adams-Gabbert was named one of the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Top 10 Small Businesses and the Lee’s Summit Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year. In 2005, Adams-Gabbert was honored as a “Top 25 Under 25” Company by Small Business Monthly.

Gabbert sold her company in 2008 to the Bicknell Family Holding Company (BFHC), and later assumed the role of president. She is responsible for all of the operating companies in the $400 million portfolio and assists with due diligence on private equity acquisitions and integrating acquired companies. In 2009 Gabbert was recognized as one of Midwest CEO Magazines Most Influential Women throughout Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

Available: January 19, 2010
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CEO Series with Dr. John Covington,
Superintendent, Kansas City Missouri School District
Wednesday, December 9, 2009

The challenges of leading Kansas City’s urban school district are well documented. Numerous men have held the role of superintendent with varying degrees of success.

Now, John W. Covington, Ed. D., is charged with leading the district and educating the children so they can be better prepared to contribute to society. Dr. Covington has been on the job since April, and he will detail the successes and setbacks he’s experienced in his short tenure.

Previously, Dr. Covington was superintendent of Pueblo City Schools, a 2007 state of Colorado High Performing school district. Before Pueblo, he worked in various Alabama school districts, having served as teacher, counselor, principal and superintendent.

Dr. Covington was named distinguished alumni by Alabama State University, was selected as a Japan Fulbright Scholar in 2005 and received the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO) Award in 2007. He serves on the National Board of Directors for Rural Schools and Communities Trust, and the National Board of Directors for Magnet Schools of America.

Available: January 19, 2010
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Women Leaders Series with Barb Geiger, President & CEO Worldwide Clinical Research, Inc
Wednesday, October 28

Kansas City is becoming a center for Life Sciences, and many new firms are bringing jobs to the area. One of those is Worldwide Clinical Research, which was founded in 2000 with a special focus on oncology research.

The firm was founded by Barb Geiger, the current President and CEO. Worldwide Clinical Research is a clinical research organization that manages studies for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies.

The company recently received a NOVA Award for economic growth from the Overland Park Economic Development Council. It was also recognized as one of the Best Women-Owned Companies in America by Working Mother magazine.

Geiger has more than 25 years experience in clinical research, including Marion Laboratories. She has a B.G.S. in Human Biology and a B.S. in Nursing from the University of Kansas, and also attended the Columbia University Senior Executive Program.

Available: November 3, 2009
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CEO Series with Beryl Raff, Chairman & CEO, Helzberg Diamonds
Wednesday, October 21

Helzberg Diamonds has been helping families celebrate marriages and other milestones for 90 years. The company sells fine jewelry, including diamonds, precious gems and watches.

Last April, Beryl Raff took the reins of the 90-year-old family-centered business. Prior to that, she spent more than 25 years in the retail jewelry industry. Most recently, Raff was Executive Vice President and General Merchandise Manager of fine jewelry for J.C. Penney Company, Inc. This multi-store retail experience made her a great choice for Helzberg, which sells timeless jewelry and exclusive designs from its 270 retail locations across the country, as well as from its online jewelry store.

Prior to J.C. Penney, Raff served as Chairman and CEO of Zale Corporation. She began her career with the Macy Organization, where she held numerous positions over 19 years, including senior vice president and general merchandise manager.

Raff was named to the Women’s Jewelry Association Lifetime Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2002 the American ORT Jewelry Industry presented her with their Community Achievement Award. She is a two-time recipient of the UJA—Federation of NY—Diamond, Jewelry and Watch Division’s “Leadership Award of Excellence”.

Available: October 23, 2009
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GrowthKC: Building an Advanced Energy Industry in Kansas City
Thursday, October 1

Presenters: Bryan Hansel, CEO, Smith Electric Vehicles US Corporation and Chris Gutierrez, President, KC SmartPort.

The KC area is well-positioned to compete for companies in the newly emerging advanced energy industry. In fact, in March 2009, Smith Electric Vehicles, U.S. Corporation announced it would locate its headquarters and first assembly operation for its all-electric delivery vehicles in Kansas City.

In July 2009, the company delivered its first vehicles to major national brands like Coca-Cola, Frito-Lay and our own KCP&L. Recently, Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke announced that SEV-US would receive a $10 million economic stimulus grant to further advance their product development.

Bryan Hansel is the entrepreneurial mastermind behind SEV-US and is a passionate advocate of Kansas City. Chris Gutierrez, president, KC SmartPort, will join Hansel to explain the strategy and future vision for advanced energy and SEV-US in Kansas City, as well as the expected national impact of their efforts.

Available: October 5, 2009
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CEO Series with Russ Smyth, President & CEO, H&R Block
Wednesday, September 9

H&R Block calls itself America‘s financial partner, and with good justification. The company operates more than 13,000 tax offices across the United States, and serves more than 23.5 million people around the globe.

Since his appointment in August 2008, Russ Smyth has focused on leading the company‘s efforts to improve the performance of its core tax business. Under Smyth‘s leadership, H&R Block is implementing a new vision and business strategy to grow its client base, while continuing to lead the initiatives underway to improve overall efficiency.

Before joining H&R Block, Smyth spent more than 20 years at McDonald‘s Corp., helping grow that business not just in the U.S., but in Latin America, Asia and Europe. Most recently, he served as President of McDonald‘s Europe, that company‘s second largest territory, overseeing 6,200 restaurants.

During his time at McDonald‘s, Smyth received the President‘s Award, which is given to the company‘s top-performing employees each year.

Available: September 14, 2009
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Leadership in Uncertain Times – A Futurist’s View
Bob Johansen
Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Some leadership skills are enduring. But to guarantee success in our uncertain future, leaders need an emerging set of skills uniquely suited to dealing with the challenges of the volatile, ambiguous and complex decade we are about to enter.

Join us to meet Bob Johansen, futurist and fellow with the Institute for the Future, an independent, nonprofit research group with over 40 years of experience in identifying emerging trends -- and the only futures group ever to outlive its forecasts.. He suggests that many current leaders are not attuned to the changes that are upon us, and are even in denial that the current order is in transition to a new, different world. What has been regarded as stability, and a familiar set of rules, are about to be changed forever. Johansen poses that failure to address the new and rapidly changing future will lead to failure of the organization and of the community as a whole.

Johansen shares insights from his latest book, Leaders Make the Future, which explores the vital new skills that that leaders must learn to meet the challenges that their organizations, our society, and the world are about to face.

Available: August 28, 2009
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Professional Development Series: Motivating Gen Y
Wednesday, July 15, 2009

If you haven't already interacted with Millennials, also known as Gen Y-ers, get ready. They're coming to an office near you. Contrary to popular belief, Millennials can be your greatest assets.

Presenter Clara Miller, from Morningstar Communications, offers new research specific to Midwestern Millennials, and identifies strategies for motivating and communicating with Gen Y-ers - whether they're your employees or your customers.

Available: July 20, 2009
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Women Leaders Series with Cynthia Siebert,
Founder & Executive Director, Friends of Chamber Music
June 18, 2009

The name Cynthia Siebert is music to the ears of all Kansas Citians, especially those who enjoy chamber music. Almost 35 years ago, Siebert founded the Friends of Chamber Music to stage performances for solo piano, trios, quartets and quintets. Trained as a professional pianist and chamber musician, Siebert performed for many years before turning all of her energy to arts administration.

Friends of Chamber Music looks to bring both established talent and up-and-coming musicians to our city. Siebert has served as executive director and president of that entity since 1975, and handles both the artistic and administrative aspects of the organization. Her goal is to increase the organization’s endowment from $1.8 million to $5 million, which would allow her to devote herself to artistic programming.

Available: June 23, 2009
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Professional Development Series:
Giving Effective Feedback
June 10, 2009

More than 77% of managers admit they have difficulty giving feedback to underperforming employees.

Giving effective feedback to those we manage, our peers and our boss is an important skill to develop. It can have significant impact on your career and your ability to lead, and it’s a key factor in building healthy relationships.

At this presentation, you will learn guidelines for giving feedback successfully. You will also uncover the hidden reasons why so many people struggle with this issue and explore strategies for becoming more empowered and skilled.

Our presenter is Executive Coach Lidia Young, LSCSW, who has worked with groups and individuals for more than 20 years. Since 1995, she has focused on coaching business leaders, management teams and entrepreneurs.

Available: June 11, 2009
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CEO Series with Julie Quirin,
St. Luke’s Hospital
Tuesday, May 21, 2009

With rising costs and an increasing number of uninsured patients, all hospitals face similar challenges. As former CEO of St. Luke’s South in Overland Park, Julie Quirin addressed those issues, as well as patient care, physician relations and contracting.

In December 2008, Quirin took on additional responsibilities when she accepted the position of CEO of St. Luke’s Hospital of Kansas City. These challenges include a much larger facility and a different patient base with more serious illnesses. In addition, the midtown hospital is undergoing a $330 million expansion and renovation, including a new home for the Mid America Heart Institute.

Quirin had been CEO of St. Luke’s South for six years before taking this position. Prior to that, she served as vice president of marketing and strategic planning for the hospital.

Available: May 27, 2009
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