Wednesday, Dec 14, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees: 100 (Public Forum Event)

Subject: Cloud Computing - What you Need To Know

Cloud computing is growing rapidly and all of us hear it is the trend of the future - however it is here now. This presentation gave us a better understanding of the concerns still surfacing regarding the security of data, competitive conflicts, lack of infrastructure control, legal issues regarding proprietary data, etc. Are the concerns real? What are the benefits - lower cost, reliability, performance, scalability, efficient resource utilization, etc? We received some answers by the people who deal with cloud computing solutions every day.

 

About the Speakers:

Mr. David Brown, President of Datotel, LLC

Datotel is a St. Louis base company which provides strategic business solutions for their customers by reducing the total cost of ownership of their IT infrastructure while ensuring that an optimal level of risk is in place for management of its mission-critical function. Founded in 2004 with the sole mission of reducing IT costs through optimal resource allocation, Datotel empowers companies with the services they need when they need it to keep their networks operational with 100% uptime. This is accomplished through expertise and service in a variety of products, one of which one is a "Cloud Computing" platform.

 

Mr. Chris Gherardini, President of Turnkey Technologies, LLC

Turnkey Technologies, LLC is the largest regional, locally owned and operated Microsoft Gold Level ERP partner servicing Microsoft Dynamics GP and Dynamics CRM. Customers are in a variety of industries; health care, financial, manufacturing, distribution, service, construction, etc. - some utilizing cloud environments.

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Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees: 35 (Workshop Event)

Subject: Peaking Behind the Curtain of Executive Recruiting & Assessment - Helpful tips to Landing  a Job

We have all been there, interviewing for a new job and told we have to go through psychological testing.  This was a chance to get an inside look at the testing process from a professional who does the testing and another professional who interprets the result.
 
Some topics which were covered:
· What happens with a job search from an executive recruiter's perspective?
· How best to interact with an executive recruiter?
· How to best position yourself with an executive recruiter?
· How to prepare for executive assessments and tests?
· Can you fake out a test?
· Why tests look like they do?   

 

About the Speakers:

 

Dr. Carl Greenburg founded Pragmatic HR Consulting after over two decades of providing talent management and organizational effectiveness solutions to his clients and employers. Throughout his career he has engaged in translating business strategy into practical HR strategy and tactics. Before opening his own company, Carl held executive positions at Spherion Corporation, Aon Consulting, SBC Communications (now AT&T) and Union Pacific Railroad. His early career was in academia, where he directed the Industrial-Organizational Psychology doctoral program at University of Nebraska at Omaha. Carl earned a Ph.D. in Social and Organizational Psychology from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan.   

 

Mr. Steve Elias serves as Executive Vice President of JobPlex Inc., a DHR International Company, based in St. Louis, MO. Steve has completed numerous global mid- level placement assignments and leads the client management, candidate development and assessment phase for Director and Manager level assignments. Prior to joining DHR International, Steve was a Sales Representative for Xerox in Chicago. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Indiana University, Kelley School of Business where he received a Degree in Marketing.

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Wednesday, Sept 14, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees: 75 (Public Forum Event)

Subject:  Social Media: How the Right Policy can help your Company avoid a "CRASH" 

The rapidly expanding world of social media is creating an evolving body of law and regulations aimed at governing how businesses and their employees use the Internet to communicate.  Social media has changed the way business is conducted and has major benefits; however, there are various associated risks which can be quite costly to a firm.  Craig Moore and Jeff Schultz, Co-Chairs of Armstrong Teasdale's Social Media Practice Group, brought us up to speed on the legal and regulatory developments relating to social media and described how Social Media policies can help your company avoid a social media "crash."

   

 

About the Speakers:

 

Mr. Craig G. Moore is Co-Chair of Armstrong Teasdale's Social Media Practice Group.  Craig is well-versed in the resources, strategy and legal aspects of social media and closely follows the evolving laws that impact its use. He has advised clients in a wide range of industries, developing employer's social media policies, addressing employees' online activities, and providing training on the use, benefits and risks of living in a technologically savvy world. Additionally, Craig has a developing focus in the area of information privacy law and how that area has an increasing interconnection with social media. Craig received his BS from Quincy University, an MBA from University of Illinois-Springfield and a JD from St. Louis University School of Law.   

 

Mr. Jeff Schultz is a business and commercial litigator and Co-Chair of Armstrong Teasdale's Social Media Practice Group. Much of his practice focuses on counseling clients in disputes involving misappropriation of trade secrets, computer tampering, non-compete agreements, commercial contracts, and social networking law. With the explosion of blogs; Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter accounts; texting; and the use of other social media, Jeff advises employers in dealing with the risks associated with the use of computers and other rapidly-developing technology.  He serves individuals, financial institutions, and private and public companies in a wide variety of industries.  Jeff received his BA from Truman State University and his JD from Washington University School of Law 

Wednesday, June 8, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees: 80 (Public Forum Event)

Subject:  Steve Lipstein of BJC Healthcare - His Views of Healthcare Reform ... and Beyond

This was a presentation on health care by one of the top executives in the Health Care Industry, Mr. Steven Lipstein. Health care is an extremely complex business which has a direct effect on all of us. Most of us are aware, and sometimes confused, regarding the impact the new health care reform legislature will have on the economy and on each of us individually. This forum gave us another perspective, that of a health care executive running a large health care business.  

About the Speaker:

Mr. Lipstein is president and chief executive officer of BJC HealthCare, one of the nation's largest health care organizations with annual net revenues of $3.5 billion representing 13 Hospitals and other health service organizations in the greater St. Louis, southern Illinois and mid-Missouri regions.
 
Mr. Lipstein serves on the St. Louis Regional Health Commission and sits on the board of the Missouri Hospital Association. At Washington University, Mr. Lipstein serves on the board of trustees, on the School of Medicine National Council, and is chair of the Institute of Public Health National Advisory Council. He is Chairman of the Board of Directors of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank and serves on the Board of Directors of Ameren. In 2010, he was appointed by the United States Comptroller General as Vice Chair of the Board of the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Mr. Lipstein's received his undergraduate degree from Emory University and graduate degree from Duke University.
Mr. Lipstein is married and has three children. He is a native of Wilmington, Delaware.

To view the presentation slides, click here:  SteveLipstein(BJC)June8.pptx
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Wednesday, April 6, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees: 45 (Workshop Event)

Subject:  Behind the Scenes:  What You May Need to Know About Private Equity

Private equity is everywhere these days.  It owns companies we work for.  It owns the sports teams we root for.  It may eliminate our jobs one day.  It may save our jobs another day.  As financial and corporate officers of public and private businesses, we should be aware of the advent or presence of private equity, how to deal with it in our companies, and how to use it to our advantage.  We should also be cognizant of the risks and dangers inherent in private equity-backed companies---companies in which we may be involved.

Some areas which were covered:

   ·  What is private equity?

   ·  How a private equity firm is organized;

   ·  The outside forces influencing the firms' behavior;

   ·  The types of deal structures used most frequently;

   ·   Introduction to the private equity "players";

   ·   How private equity firms make money or "what's a carried interest?"

Speaker:

Jim O'Donnell is Managing Director O'Donnell Capital Company, LLC with over twenty years of private equity experience.  He consults for private equity firms, private businesses, and intermediaries.  He is also an adjunct professor in the finance department at Saint Louis University where he teaches "Private Equity and Venture Capital", a course he designed.

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Wed, March 9, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  100 (A Forum Event - open to the public)

Subject:  The Economy - Where Are We Going?

Is the U.S. economy poised to shake off the doldrums in 2011, or will it continue to under-perform? What's in store for the Midwest region, and will it outperform other regions of the country?  How important are small businesses in the U.S. economy and what are some of the difficulties they face--both in good times and more recently?  This Forum event gave us some insight into the economy from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

To view this presentation, click here:  
Slides_From_Federal_Reserve_Bank_St.Louis_Mar_9_2011.pdf

About the Speaker:

Kevin L. Kliesen is a business economist in the Supervisory Policy and Risk Analysis Unit at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, which is located in the Bank Supervision and Regulation Division. He came to the Bank in 1988 after graduating from Colorado State University with an M.A. in Economics. As a business economist, the bulk of his duties comprise reporting on and analyzing current U.S. and International macroeconomic developments and trends. Previously, he was part of the Research Division. In his capacity as a business economist, he also writes the Bank's monthly Report on Economic Activity, an internal report on general economic conditions that is prepared prior to each Board of Directors meeting. He also prepares Internal reports on macroeconomic conditions and their implication for monetary and supervisory policy analysis for internal Bank officers.

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Tues, Jan 11, 2011, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  30 (Snow day) - Workshop Event

Achieving a World Class Financial Close - Running on all Cylinders

As Financial executives we continually work toward streamlining our financial closings and presenting the most accurate and meaningful financial information. This process is continually challenged by additional government, risk, and compliance pressures.  Oracle presented a workshop on practical advice to help your business implement a streamlined end-to-end financial close process. 

The presentation included how to: 

• Orchestrate extended financial close process from sub ledgers to statutory filings 
• Improve transparency and financial governance through GRC (Government, Risk, Compliance) integration 
• Integrate XBRL to improve timeliness and accuracy of statutory reporting 
• Enable powerful analytics on consolidated financial and non-financial data 

 To view the Presentation Slides, click here:  St.Louis_World_Class_Financial_Close.pdf

About the Speaker:

John O'Rourke is Vice President of Product Marketing at Oracle Corporation, focusing on EPM products. With a background in accounting and finance, John has over 25 years of experience in the software industry, and 13 years of experience in Product Marketing at Hyperion and Oracle.  John has also held positions in strategic marketing and product marketing at Dun & Bradstreet Software, and Kenan Systems before joining Hyperion.  John has a BS degree in accounting from Bentley University and an MBA from Boston College.

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Wed, Dec 8, 2010, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  60 (A Forum Event) 

The 'Show Me' Institute - An Understanding

The recent success in passing proposition A, requiring a vote for implementation of an earnings tax reflects the effectiveness of a focused organization. The Show Me Institute was instrumental in driving this legislation.  David Stokes of the institute highlighted how this successful effort was attained and what other public policies the institute is pursuing.

The Show-Me Institute is a research and educational institute dedicated to improving the quality of life for all citizens of Missouri by advancing sensible, well-researched solutions to state and local policy issues.

The work of the institute is rooted in the American tradition of free markets and individual liberty. The institute's scholars seek to move beyond the 20th-century mindset that every problem has a government solution. Instead, they develop policies that respect the rights of the individual, encourage creativity and hard work, and nurture independence and social cooperation.

About the Speaker:

David Stokes, a Saint Louis native, is a graduate of Saint Louis University High School and Fairfield (CT) University. He spent five years as assistant to Saint Louis County Councilman, Kurt S. Odenwald, where he was closely involved with legislation including MetroLink expansion, property assessments, HVAC licensing codes, the new Cardinals ballpark, pharmacy privatization, and much more. He is currently the president of the University City Library Board. He has served on boards and committees for several area organizations: the University City Centennial, the Saint Louis County Pachyderm Club, and the Downtown Saint Louis Residents Association. He lives in University City with his wife, Jennifer, and sons, Nathaniel and Ryan.

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Tue, Oct 12, 2010, The Lodge of Des Peres Attendees:   35 (A Workshop Event)

What’s New for Officers and Directors

This FENG Workshop discussed the changes to the scope and duties of Corporate Directors and Officers. Included will be best practices as they relate to Board meetings, Board committees, Board minutes, Indemnification rights, etc.  

Presenters:

Attorneys from the law firm of Carmody MacDonald P.C. presented each of their perspectives.  

Brian C. Behrens, Principal

Areas of Practice  

   Business Law, Venture Capital, Real Estate Law, Employment Law and Counseling

   Education

   Saint Louis University, J.D., cum laude, 1995
   Staff Member, Saint Louis University 
   Public Law Review–Saint Louis University, M.B.A., 1995
   University of Missouri-Columbia, B.S.B.A., cum laude, 1991
   Professional Organizations/Community Service
   Association for Corporate Growth, Missouri Venture Forum, President of Cardinal Glennon Children’s
   Medical Center Development Board

Mark B. Hillis, Principal

  Areas of Practice 

  Banking, Closely Held Businesses, Commercial Finance, Commercial Real Estate,
  Private Equity Placement, Employment Law and Counseling

  Education

  University of Michigan Law School, Ann Arbor, Mich., Order of the Coif, 1972
  Stanford University, Stanford, Calif., B.A., Political Science and Economics, 1969

  Professional Recognition

 For more than 10 years, he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Real Estate Law) 
   Named one of St. Louis’Best Lawyers by St. Louis Magazine in 2006, 2007 and 2008 
   Missouri “Super Lawyer” from 2005 - 2010

Ronald E. Rucker, Principal 

 

 

 

  Areas of Practice

    Business Law, Estate Planning, Real Estate, Venture Capital and Private Equity

  Education
    University of Missouri School of Law, Columbia, Mo., 1984
    Phi Delta Phi, Missouri Law Review
     Certified Public Accountant certificate, 1984
     Washington University, St. Louis, Mo., B.S.B.A., Business Administration-
     Accounting and Finance, 1981

   Awards & Distinctions
    AV Peer Review Rated, Martindale Hubbell

 

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Wed, Sept 8, 2010, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  98

Forum Event:  2010 Economic Update
The economy continues to be in a dismal state, and the debate on whether we have hit the bottom continues. Here is a quote from the FENG 2008 Economic Outlook “Individuals are seeing housing prices dropping, banks failing, unemployment rising, and the stock market dropping. The media continues to accent the negative economic indicators, are there any positives?” It has been two years, what has changed?

Mr. Paul Christopher of Wells Fargo Advisors. shared his thoughts on the economy today and where it is headed in the near future.

About the Speaker:
Paul Christopher, CFA is senior international investment strategist and a member of the investment strategy committee at Wells Fargo Advisors.

Prior to his position at Wells Fargo Advisors Paul was an economist and portfolio manager with Eclipse Capital Management, Inc.  During his career he has researched, forecasted, and commented on U.S. and International economic and market conditions.  In previous positions, he advised brokers at A.G. Edwards on the U.S. economy and institutional clients on the oil-based economies of the Caucasus and Central Asia.  Paul also spent four years as an economic consultant under various contracts to provide monetary policy advice, forecasts and training to the governments of Hong Kong, Egypt, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.  He is a St. Louis University graduate, earned a masters degree in economics from the University of Rochester, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst(r) designation.

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Wed, Jun 9, 2010, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:   45

Forum Event:  How to Work With the Press
This FENG Forum will address the delicate subject of how to work with the press to get a company’s story to the public. Up to the minute news information spreads so fast that the story, whether positive or negative, usually hits the public media before the company can respond. What should a company’s executives do? This and other media topics will be addressed by our speaker.

Presenter:
Ellen Sherberg has been publisher of the St. Louis Business Journal since 1990. She joined the local business newspaper in 1980 and has served as reporter, managing editor and editor. Before joining the Business Journal, Ellen worked as a reporter for KMOX and for the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.

Under Ellen’s leadership, the Business Journal has received the award for Best Weekly Newspaper in the state of Missouri, the American City Eagle Award for best performing newspaper in its company, and numerous other journalism awards.

Ellen serves on the executive boards of United Way as well as on the board of directors of Teach for America, Regional Business Council, RCGA, and many others. She is the founder of the Women’s Leadership Initiative for United Way that has raised more than $40 million dollars for the community.

Ellen was elected to the Academy of Leaders of the YWCA and was presented the prestigious Trailblazer Award by St.Louis Women’s Forum.

Ellen is a native St. Louisan, a graduate of Vassar College and Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010,  The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  38 (Members Only)

Topic:  How to Better Utilize Linked-In

In business today, the buzz is social networking and how to utilize various sites. The FENG Forum in December highlighted various sites and the issues which may arise in their usage.  This workshop has taken the next step and presented an in-depth view into the power of the social media site "LinkIn". The presenter walked thru the basic steps in setting up a LinkIn site as well as learning how to utilize the site to its full potential.

Presenter:

•  Mr. Kevin Hogarty - Vice President, Director of Professional Services, Lee Hecht Harrison. Lee Hecht Harrison is a global talent management solutions company with over 240 offices worldwide providing expertise in Career Transition, Leadership Consulting and Workforce Solutions. Kevin directs the Career Transition practice in St. Louis and has presented numerous skill enhancement presentations for his cliental.

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Thur, Mar 18, 2010, The Lodge of Des Peres

Attendees:  106

Forum Event:  Economic Value Added- EVA Momentum

Not all Financial Ratios are the same and many are actually misleading when measuring the value of a company. EVA Dimensions LLC has been instrumental in offering a broad range of solutions for the corporation, taking corporate value-based management, benchmarking analysis and business valuation to a new level. Bennett Stewart introduced a new performance metric that represents a true innovation in financial management and analysis. The metric is called EVA Momentum. It is the ratio of the change in a company's economic profit in one period to its sales in the prior period. Mr. Stewart discussed this performance ratio and how it can be used intelligently for measuring and maximizing value of a firm.

The Speaker:

Bennett Stewart was a co-founder with Joel Stern in 1982 of Stern Stewart & Co., the global consulting firm that pioneered the development and corporate applications of the EVA financial management framework. He currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of EVA Dimensions, a firm he formed in March 2006 to acquire the EVA brand and related technologies to provide services in the fields of financial benchmark data, performance management and valuation software, and investment research and funds management.

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Tuesday, January 12, 2010,  Lodge of Des Peres 

 

 Attendees:  31 (Members Only)

 

Topic:  Introduction to the Crossroads Career Network

 

Whether you're searching for a new position or currently working, this presentation was of interest to you. Our presenter gave an overview of the steps you should take during the process of searching for employment. This was a summary introduction to the Crossroads Career Program. A point to note is that the Crossroad program is Christian based ,,, of course everyone was welcome.

 

Some areas that were covered:

 

 

• Career Direction
• Networking Hints
• Interview Preparation
• Resume Writing

Speaker:  Ken Best from the Crossroads Career Network

 

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Wed, Dec 9, 2009   The Lodge of Des Peres

Workshop:  Social Networking / Personal Branding

This FENG Forum was a panel presentation relating to the utilization of various avenues of social media and why you should utilize this powerful media as an individual. The program format included a panel of diversified users of web based networking sites explaining how they utilize these sites to enhance their businesses. Also included on the panel was a lawyer's perspective highlighting potential issues and concerns. The diversification of the panel ensured there was a meaningful discussion of this growing topic.

Panel Members:

• Mr. Jeff Seeney - Director of Accounting and Operations Division at Fast Search, a St. Louis based employment search firm. Jeff specializes in Accounting, Finance and Operations recruitment.

• Mr. Kevin Hogarty - Vice President, Director of Professional Services, Lee Hecht Harrison. Lee Hecht Harrison is a global talent management solutions company with over 240 offices worldwide providing expertise in Career Transition, Leadership Consulting and Workforce Solutions. Kevin directs the Career Transition practice in St. Louis.

• Mr. James Durbin -Vice President, Durbin Media. Durbin Media is a full service social media company and interactive marketing firm located in St. Louis.

• Mr. Anthony Martin - Partner, Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP.  Anthony specializes in the area of information privacy and data protection law in the St. Louis office.

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Wed, Sept 9, 2009, The Lodge of Des Peres

Forum Event: 2009-10 Economic & Market Outlook 

Has the economy turned the corner, stabilized, or will we continue to experience the up one day down the next syndrome? The complexity of the current economic condition has everyone searching for answers to these questions. Depending on the time of the day or which news media you utilize, the answers vary. Although a crystal ball does not exist, we received an educated economic update from Mr. Paul Christopher of Eclipse Capital Management, Inc. Mr. Christopher highlighted the past economic performance and shared his thoughts on where the economy maybe headed in the near future.

About the Speaker:

Paul Christopher, CFA is an economist and portfolio manager with Eclipse Capital Management, Inc.  During his career he has researched, forecasted, and commented on U.S. and International economic and market conditions.  In previous positions, he advised brokers at A.G. Edwards on the U.S. economy and institutional clients on the oil-based economies of the Caucasus and Central Asia.  Paul also spent four years as an economic consultant under various contracts to provide monetary policy advice, forecasts and training to the governments of Hong Kong, Egypt, Russia, Kazakhstan and the Kyrgyz Republic.  He is a St. Louis University graduate, earned a masters degree in economics from the University of Rochester, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst(r) designation.

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Wed, June 10, 2009,  The Lodge of Des Peres 

Topic:  The Future of Financial Reporting

The recent economic turmoil, coupled with increasing globalization, and a new political regime has created an environment that is ripe for major change in accounting, financial reporting and governance. This presentation highlighted some of the more significant recent changes and proposed changes from a legislative, regulatory and standard setting perspective that are in effect or will be in effect in the near term.  These changes including newly passed and proposed legislation, several new accounting proposals (financial statement presentation, revenue recognition and lease accounting, in particular) will impact both private and public companies.  Additionally, the trend towards one global set of accounting standards has gained momentum, as the US is currently the only large capital market that has not implemented a formal plan to adopt IFRS.  This session also discussed the potential timeline for public companies in the US, as well as the potential impact for private entities, as IFRS recently issued a proposal for "non publicly accountable" entities.

About the Speaker:

Colleen Cunningham is an internationally recognized expert on corporate financial reporting and accounting, as well as former advisor to the FASB and the IASB. Colleen served as CEO of Financial Executives International (FEI) for nearly four years, during which time she had significant influence in legislative and regulatory matters including Sarbanes-Oxley, pension reform and financial accounting standards.  Colleen currently leads Resources Global Professionals' Accounting and Finance practice which provides financial reporting expertise to Fortune 1000 companies through over 85 offices around the world. She speaks and writes frequently on a variety of finance and accounting issues both in the US and internationally.

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March 11, 2009 FENG Forum:

 Topic:  Debt & Liquidity in Volatile Times

Panel Moderator:  Rick Hargadine, Sr. VP Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo

Panelists: 

• David Wilsdorf, Regional VP Commercial Banking, Wells Fargo
• Kevin Sullivan, Managing Director Investment Banking, Wells Fargo Securities
• Jack Sturm, Senior Vice President, U.S. Bank
• Andrew Hereford, President and Co-Founder of Parkside Financial Bank & Trust

(View a Brochure on the Presentation)

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