Aaron Brown Bio Aaron Brown currently works as the global technical director at Stepan Company, where he supports the operating committee through the creation of next generation product strategy development and YTD ROI for R&D efforts. Aaron has over 15 patents and has invented several multi-million dollar products in the areas of surfactants, polymers and food ingredients. Aaron has extensive experience in intellectual property, B2B contractual law, joint ventures, research and development, people management and talent acquisition. Prior to his tenure at Stepan, Aaron s other industrial experience was as a Research Assistant at Motorola, Inc. Aaron obtained a B.S. in Organic Chemistry from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and a Ph.D. in Inorganic chemistry from Northwestern University. Currently, he is studying for his MBA at Kellogg School of Management. Career Development Philosophy: Find and obtain careers in which you share a passion while resisting the urge to maximize financial targets. Reflect on those experiences throughout your entire life in which you felt proud of your accomplishments and find a career which replicates those same traits. Professional Interests: - Data Analytics - Technology Scouting - Personal Care Products Council INCI Committee Member - Member of the American Oil Chemists Society - Member of the American Chemical Society Personal Interests: -Downhill skiing and snowboarding -Equality -Hockey -Mountain biking -Cuisine -Bourbon
Women s Leadership Council 2016 Brittany Hizer Brittany joined Life Fitness in July of 2004 and spent the first ten years of her career initiating and leading the strategy for commercial cardio projects. She was responsible for the development and successful launch of Elevation Series with Discover Tablet Consoles in 2012 which was groundbreaking for the fitness industry as it was the first cardio line with wired and wireless connectivity, Bluetooth and RFID capabilities. She received the ACE Performance Award for her leadership and collaboration. In 2014 Brittany transitioned to the Americas Sales Business Unit as the Technology Sales Manager to drive Elevation Series revenue and develop digital strategies for key accounts such as Equinox and Planet Fitness. In July 2015 Brittany accepted the newly created position of Category Director for Active Aging and Medical Wellness and successfully managed the integration of SCIFIT which was the first acquisition for Life Fitness since 1998 and facilitated cultural alignment. She has P&L responsibilities for this new adjacent business and is leading the growth strategy development which includes M&A, defining partnership agreements and working with the core business to drive organic growth She graduated in 2004 from DePauw University where she ran Track & Field all four years and worked for Frappier Acceleration Sports Training during the summer. She was also one of three students selected by DePauw University s President to join the Task Force for Women s Concerns. Brittany is pursuing her MBA starting this January from Northwestern University s Kellogg School of Management. She is the Business Alignment Committee Lead for the Life Fitness Women s Leadership Council. Outside of work she serves on the Young Professionals Board for Project C.U.R.E. which is the largest provider of donated medical supplies and equipment to developing countries around the world. Brittany loves traveling, reading, attending sporting events such as Notre Dame Football games and spending time with family and friends. She is from Indianapolis, IN but currently lives in Chicago, IL. She can be contacted at 847-288-3743 or via email at brittany.hizer@lifefitness.com.
Jenny Klinger, CPA Jenny Klinger currently works as an associate director in US and Global forecasting at Sanofi Genzyme, where she works directly with executives on successfully launching immunology drugs (recently Kevzara ), analytics, new product planning and marketing strategy. Previously, she was responsible for annual budgeting, long range planning, strategic planning and valuation models and reported to the executive team while in small biotech at Epizyme and FORUM Pharmaceuticals. With her extensive US experience in pricing, reimbursement strategy, gross-to-net revenue and government pricing, Jenny built the commercial finance group at FORUM. She started in biotech at Biogen, where she was the US commercial finance lead and launched Tecfidera ($1B US sales in first year), Alprolix, Eloctate and Plegridy. At Partners Healthcare, she reported to the CFO and CAO as the accounting lead for annual budgeting, long range planning and strategic acquisitions. She managed the financial strategy and implementation of the Affordable Care Act and Pioneer Accountable Care Organization standards and led the due diligence, purchase accounting and integration for the acquisition of Neighborhood Health Plan, a transaction providing Partners a health insurance license. Prior to her start in biotech and healthcare, she structured derivatives for Goldman Sachs life insurance portfolio. She started her career in M&A advisory at KPMG, working with Fortune 200 executives on transactions ranging from $1 to $15B. Jenny is a CPA and holds a degree in economics, cum laude, from Providence College, a master's in accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is pursuing her MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Jenny is active with the Human Rights Campaign, chairing the Diversity Committee for the New England Gala, and sits on Cristo Rey Boston s Leadership Advisory Council. Career development philosophy: mentorship, networking and self-awareness are vital to a successful career. Initiate meeting with mentors, schedule recurring meetings and establish your personal board of directors from various aspects of your life and career. Quality of professional relationships supersedes quantity and identifying brokers (plug for Uzzi s class) is efficient. Most importantly, devote time for reflection regarding your: dollar to shit ratio (financial gains aren t everything in life), passion(s), current skills, skills you would like and/or need to develop to further your career and ability to make an impact in your organization and society. Professional interests: drug launches, new product planning, commercial assessment, corporate development, disruption in biotech (drug pricing, US contracting and technology), behavioral economics, mentoring and women and LGBTQ diversity efforts. Personal interests: improving the US educational system, poverty economics, self-taught cook, supper club host, K9 nosework for her two shelties, Pilates practitioner, cyclist, amateur photographer and world explorer.
Mike Calabro Mike Calabro currently works as the Director of National Sales for the Consumer and Appliance Care division of Whirlpool Corporation, where he is responsible for the aftermarket sales of parts, accessories, and service contracts. In this role he has developed the management operating system to increase operating profit through strategic pricing, market disruption, and redeployment of the go to market and distribution strategy for Whirlpool. He spends time with senior leadership in managing and negotiating strategic partnerships, including Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, and Best Buy for aftermarket support. Previously at Whirlpool Mike has been responsible for Global Part and Accessory Logistics and Distribution, Refrigeration Quality, and various operations at Whirlpool s largest refrigeration facility. The majority of time at Whirlpool has been spent in organizational turn around and development. Before joining Whirlpool, he worked for Mueller Industries where he was responsible for Operations of their primary Plastics and Copper manufacturing facility, major project management including shut down, design, and consolidation of three facilities, and process, product, and tool design. He also spent four years with ZF Lemforder Corporation, Tier 1 Automotive supplier of Chassis Components, where he was responsible for process development and product launches in the automotive sector, including the Ford GT-40, Hummer H2, Hummer H3, GM s Heavy Duty Truck line, and the 2006 Dodge Ram. Mike has a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Kettering University and is currently pursuing his EMBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Career Development Philosophy: Career development is key to the success of any organization, by engaging and developing employees you will increase retention, boost engagement, drive extraordinary results, and develop proper succession plans. Professional Interests: Talent Development, Professional Mentoring, Whirlpool Women s Network Career Coach, Organizational Development, Management Operating System Development, Go to Market Development, Supply Chain and Logistics turn around, and Manufacturing Systems Improvement. Personal Interests: Biking, Hunting, Golf, Football, Baseball, Cooking, and traveling with his family.
Tejas Kheradiya Tejas Kheradiya currently works as a Director of Finance Strategy at Baxter Healthcare, based in Deerfield, IL. In his current role works directly with the CFO and CEO of Baxter, in charge of Total Shareholder Return, profitability, finance business transformation, capital management and financial related support of business development. Previously, he was the Financial Planning & Analysis (FP&A) head for Southeast Asia and India, based out of Singapore, in charge of the short and long term strategy for the region. Tejas started his professional career at Johnson & Johnson (J&J) within the Financial Leadership Development Program (FLDP). After 2 years at J&J, Tejas moved on to Huron Consulting Group, where he worked with various clients on corporate restructuring, fraud investigations and healthcare related optimization for organizations within the US. In 2008, Tejas joined Baxter Healthcare and has had roles in Global FP&A, Investor Relations and finance commercial leadership positions prior to moving to Singapore. Tejas holds a degree in Business from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University and is currently pursuing his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is married with 2 boys, Sohan (6) and Aarav (2). Career Development Philosophy: Be mindful about your personal brand within an organization. Keep challenging yourself and develop relationships as you move into new roles and opportunities.