NATIONAL BLACK MBA ASSOCIATION
2009 Leadership Breakfast Series
The National Black MBA Association Cleveland Northeast Ohio Chapter is pleased to announce that the Chapter will continue its successful Leadership Breakfast Series for the fourth consecutive year. The Leadership Breakfast Series is held from January to June of each year from 7:30am to 9:00am at the Union Club located at 1211 Euclid Avenue. The theme for the Leadership Breakfast Series is "Leadership Lessons". The leadership breakfast is geared towards mid to senior level members as well as anyone interested in learning from some of our distinguished speakers.
We are pleased to have the following Northeast Ohio Executives confirmed to be our speaker for our 2009 Leadership Breakfast Series:
Date: Thursday, January 22
Cathy Kilbane
Senior Vice President & General Counsel
American Greetings Corporation
Cathy Kilbane has been Senior Vice President and General Counsel since joining the company in October 2003. She oversees domestic and international legal affairs and corporate governance activities, advises management on legal matters, and supervises the company’s Legal department and outside counsel
Prior to joining American Greetings, Cathy was a partner with Baker and Hostetler’s General Business Group, where she practiced a broad range of corporate law.
Cathy earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (cum laude) from Case Western Reserve University and is a cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve’s School of Law. She lives in Bay Village, Ohio, with her husband, Don Bullock, and daughters Celia and Josephine. She is a member of the board of trustees for United Way Services of Greater Cleveland, Leadership Cleveland, and the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation. She also serves on the board of directors of The Andersons, Inc., where she chairs the Compensation Committee.
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Date: Thursday, February 19
Sandra Pianalto
President
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
As president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, Sandra Pianalto has both national and local leadership responsibilities. She participates in the formulation of U.S. monetary policy, and she oversees 1,600 employees in Cleveland, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh who conduct economic research, supervise financial institutions, and provide payment services to commercial banks and the U.S. government.
Ms. Pianalto’s tenure with the Bank spans 25 years. She joined the Bank in 1983 as an economist in the Research Department. She was appointed assistant vice president of public affairs in 1984, vice president and secretary to the board of directors in 1988, and first vice president and chief operating officer in 1993. She assumed her position as president in 2003.
Before joining the Bank, Ms. Pianalto was an economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and served on the staff of the Budget Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives.
Ms. Pianalto is active in the Fourth District’s civic community. She is chairman of the board of United Way of Greater Cleveland and serves on the boards of a number of other community organizations, including The Cleveland Foundation, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, University Hospitals, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, and the Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy.
Ms. Pianalto earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from The University of Akron and a master’s degree in economics from The George Washington University. She is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and holds honorary degrees from The University of Akron, Baldwin-Wallace College, Kent State University, Ursuline College, Notre Dame College, Cleveland State University, and John Carroll University.
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Date: Wednesday, March 25
Barbara Snyder
President
Case Western Reserve University
Barbara R. Snyder, who began her academic career in higher education in the Case Western Reserve University School of Law, was elected president of Case Western Reserve in December 2006 and began her tenure as the first woman to hold the office on July 1, 2007.
Snyder previously served as the executive vice president and provost of The Ohio State University. She succeeded Gregory L. Eastwood, M.D., who had been serving as interim president since June 1, 2006.
As executive vice president and provost at Ohio State, Snyder was responsible for all facets of the academic programs of the university. She served in that role in an interim capacity from 2003-2004, and was permanently named provost in 2004. Snyder also spent two years as vice provost for academic policy and human resources, during which time she also served for eight months as the interim vice president for university relations.
During her tenure as a senior administrator, Ohio State improved its rank among public universities, and its annual research expenditures climbed from $496 million to $652 million. Under her leadership, Ohio State addressed quality of life issues for faculty and staff, improved benefits for graduate associates and developed an initiative designed to raise the university academic stature in which 10 faculty-created programs of excellence and impact received central investment.
While at Ohio State, Snyder held the Joanne Wharton Murphy/Classes of 1965 and 1973 Professorship in the Moritz College of Law. She served as the Moritz College's associate dean of academic affairs and had been the director of the college's former Center for Socio-Legal Studies, now known as the Center for Interdisciplinary Law and Policy Studies.
Snyder was an assistant professor in the Case Western Reserve School of Law from 1983 until 1986. In 1986, she was promoted to associate professor and taught at the university until 1988, when she joined the Moritz College of Law faculty.
In August 2007, Snyder was elected to The American Law Institute. A specialist in rules of evidence, she received the Moritz College of Law Outstanding Professor Award in 1997. Along with Paul C. Giannelli, Weatherhead Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve, Snyder is the co-author of Ohio Evidence and the Ohio Rules of Evidence Handbook.
Snyder received the B.A. in Sociology from The Ohio State University and the J.D. from the University of Chicago Law School. She is married to Michael, who received his M.B.A. from the Weatherhead School of Management. They have three children, Adam, Ben, and Elizabeth.
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Date: Thursday, April 23
Andre Thornton
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
ASW Global
André is Chairman and CEO of ASW Global, a Supply Management Company offering lead and third-party logistics, warehousing and distribution, contract packaging, transloading and transportation management.
André has twenty years of experience in Executive Leadership Development, Organizational Change and Training. Other credentials include being one of founding Principals in Apple Partners, a highly successful restaurant management group that was sold to Applebee’s International.
Prior to joining Apple Partners in 1988, André played professional baseball for 21 years with five different teams, joining the Cleveland Indians Team in December of 1976. In his 11 years with the Indians, he compiled some very impressive statistics. André is one of the top home run hitters in Cleveland Indian history with 214, was twice chosen for the American League All Star Team, and received the Silver Bat Award for being the best player at his position in 1984. André also has received the Golden Tomahawk Award four times, the Cleveland Indian’s Man of the Year Award, the Roberto Clemente Award, and is a member of the Cleveland Indians, Ohio Baseball Hall of Fame and the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.
André obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Capital University, Magna Cum Laude and served on the Board of Trustees of Nyack College, the Cleveland Council on World Affairs, the Cleveland Zoological Society, the Cuyahoga Community College Foundation, The Great Lakes Science Center, The First Tee of Cleveland; The President’s Council, Team NEO Advisory Board and is a member/graduate of Leadership Cleveland 1997. He is the current chair for the Ohio Chapter of the International Warehouse and Logistics Association.
André is co-author of the book Triumph Born of Tragedy and is a well-known business and motivational speaker throughout the country, having engagements with well over one thousand groups and businesses.
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Date: Wednesday, May 13
Frank C. Sullivan
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
RPM International Inc.
Frank C. Sullivan was elected as RPM’s chairman and chief executive officer in October 2008. Previously, he held various positions at RPM, starting in 1987 as regional sales manager at the company’s joint-venture AGR Company and then progressing to his election as RPM’s vice president of corporate development in 1991, chief financial officer in 1993, executive vice president in 1995, president in 1999, chief operating officer in 2001 and president and chief executive officer in 2002.
Prior to Mr. Sullivan’s employment at RPM, he held various positions in the areas of commercial lending and corporate finance at Harris Bank and First Union National Bank from 1983 to 1987. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina as a Morehead Scholar in 1983.
Mr. Sullivan serves on the boards of RPM International Inc., The Timken Company, The Cleveland Foundation, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, National Paint & Coatings Association, the Army War College Foundation, the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Greater Cleveland Partnership, and the Medina County Bluecoats Chapter.
Grandson of the late Frank C. Sullivan, founder of RPM, and son of Thomas C. Sullivan, RPM’s chairman emeritus and retired chief executive officer, Frank and his wife Barbara and their four sons reside in Bay Village, Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan support many charitable and civic organizations, and especially appreciate organizations and charities that focus on the educational development and support of children in Northeastern Ohio.
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Date: Tuesday, June 23
James W. Griffith
President and Chief Executive Officer
The Timken Company
James W. Griffith is president and chief executive officer of The Timken Company and a member of the company’s board of directors.
Since being named president in 1999, Griffith has led a transformation of The Timken Company focused on creating ever-increasing levels of value for customers and shareholders. By harnessing its legendary quality and industry-leading innovation, Timken has pushed beyond its historic leadership in the tapered roller bearing market into a vast global market for technologies to manage the friction generated by moving parts and improve the transmission of power in a wide array of machines.
Griffith joined The Timken Company in 1984 and has held positions as plant manager, vice president of manufacturing in North America and managing director of the company’s business in Australia. From 1996 to 1999, he led Timken’s automotive business in North America and the company’s bearing business activities in Asia and Latin America. He was elected president, chief operating officer and director in 1999 and was named chief executive officer in 2002.
Griffith is vice president of the World Bearing Association. He is a member of the Management Executives’ Society and serves on the boards of directors of the Goodrich Corporation (NYSE: GR) and the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET). He also serves on the board of Mount Union College.
Griffith holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Stanford University.
Speakers for 2008
- John Zenty II, President and CEO, Univeristy Hospitals: Wed, January 16
- Peter Goldberg, President, AmTrust Bank: Wed, February 20
- Brian Hall, Chairman and CEO, Industrial Transport: Tues, March 25
- John Stropki, Chairman and CEO, Lincoln Electric: Thurs, April 10
- Wendy Edgar, Director, Ernst & Young, Thurs, May 29
- Peter Raskin, President, CEO and Chairman, National City Corporation: Tues, June 17
Speakers for 2007
- Alexander "Sandy" Cutler, Chairman and CEO, Eaton Corporation: Wed, Jan 10, 2007
- Dr. Eugene Sanders, CEO, Cleveland Municipal School District: Thurs, Feb 1, 2007
- John Sideras, CEO, MetroHealth Systems: Wed, Mar 28, 2007
- Chuck Ratner, CEO, Forest City Enterprises Thurs, Apr 12, 2007
- Nick Gonnella, Regional Deputy Director, Deloitte, Wed May 9, 2007
- Dr. Telos (Toby) Cosgrove, Chairman and CEO, Cleveland Clinic Jun 2007
Speakers for 2006
- Henry Meyer III, Chairman and CEO, KeyCorp Wed, Jan 11, 2006
- Idelle Wolf, President of Barnes Distribution North America Wed Feb 22, 2006
- Chris Connor, Chairman and CEO, Sherwin Williams Tue Mar 7, 2006
- Sam Johnson, Managing Partner, Ernst and Young Tue Apr 4, 2006
- Stephanie McHenry, President Shorebank, Wed May 17, 2006
- Dave Daberko, Chairman and CEO, National City Bank Tue Jun 13, 2006