John Demsey
Group President
Estee Lauder

John Demsey was promoted to Group President, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., in July 2006.  In this role, he oversees the Estée Lauder, M•A•C, Sean John, Tom Ford Beauty and Prescriptives brands.

Throughout his career, Mr. Demsey has demonstrated a unique ability to establish a brand’s authority while continuing to respect its heritage.  By continually developing innovative products, cultivating new markets and establishing an unprecedented link between fashion, beauty and entertainment, he has led the brands in his portfolio to unparalleled growth and expansion.

From January 2005 through July 2006, Mr. Demsey served as Global Brand President of Estée Lauder and M•A•C, while also assuming responsibility for Sean John, Tom Ford Beauty and Prescriptives.  From 1998 to 2005 Mr. Demsey served as President of M•A•C where he grew the brand into a global makeup powerhouse.  From 1991 to 1998, Mr. Demsey held several positions with Estée Lauder in its New York headquarters, as well as in the field.  He was Senior Vice President, Sales and Education, Estée Lauder USA and Canada, where he was instrumental in expanding the brand’s business and increasing market share.  Prior to that, he was Vice President, Sales, in the West Coast region.

Before joining The Estée Lauder Companies Inc., he worked as Vice President of Sales at the specialty division of Revlon, which included the Borghese, Alexandra de Markoff and Lancaster brands.  He also held various executive positions with Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s, Benetton and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Mr. Demsey serves as Chairman of the M•A•C AIDS Fund, which has raised over $80 million through the sales of VIVA GLAM lipstick line and other initiatives.  He is also an active participant in several AIDS-related organizations, including the Fashion Group International Advisory Board; Advisory Council of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS; Honorary Board of Love Heals; Love Heals/The Alison Gertz Foundation for AIDS Education; Executive Advisory Board of the Children Affected by AIDS Foundation; and AIDS Project Los Angeles.  Recognized for his leadership, passion and commitment to the fight against HIV/AIDS through his role with the M?A?C AIDS Fund, Mr. Demsey has been honored by many organizations, including the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, American Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), Caron Foundation, YouthAIDS, Henry Street Settlement and United Nations Development Programme, to name a few.

Mr. Demsey earned his Master of Business Administration degree from New York University and a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University.

Edward M. Liddy
Chairman of the Board
The Allstate Corporation

Edward M. Liddy is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Allstate since January 1999. Liddy was previously President and Chief Operating Officer of Allstate. He served as Chief Operating Officer until 1999 and as President until May 2005.

Before joining Allstate in August 1994, Liddy was employed by Sears, Roebuck and Company. He joined Sears in April 1988 and served in a variety of financial and operating positions before being named chief financial officer in February 1992.

From 1986 to 1988, Liddy was executive vice president of ADT, Inc., where he was also a member of the board of directors. Previously, he served for seven years in a series of positions with G.D. Searle & Co. where his last post was senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Liddy serves on the board of directors of 3M Company and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. He is active in industry affairs, serving on the boards of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and Insurance Information Institute. He is also a member of the Financial Services Forum, The Business Roundtable and Catalyst -- the leading non-profit organization working to advance women in business.

Liddy is also involved in charitable and civic endeavors. He is chairman of Northwestern Memorial HealthCare and serves on the boards of Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Northwestern University and the Museum of Science and Industry. He also serves on the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club and the Executives' Club of Chicago.

A native of New Brunswick, New Jersey, Liddy is a 1968 graduate of Catholic University of America and, in 1972, earned a master's degree in Business Administration from George Washington University.

Michael McCallister
President and CEO
Humana

As Humana’s President and CEO, Mike McCallister has led Humana to a leadership position in the health benefits industry. During Mike’s tenure as Chief Executive Officer, Humana has gained a reputation as the industry’s leading consumer company, leveraging innovative products, processes and technology to deliver lower costs and a superior health-plan experience for Humana’s 11 million health plan members nationwide. Under Mike’s direction, Humana is defining a new world of health benefits, offering guidance and actionable information designed to empower employers and consumers to choose and use their health benefits with confidence.

Mike has an extensive history with Humana, having joined the company in 1974. For the three years prior to being named President and CEO in February 2000, he had senior management responsibility for health plan operations throughout the company.

In September 2006, Business Week magazine named Mike one of five S&P 500 CEOs whose stocks have posted the largest total returns in the past five years. In April 2006, Forbes magazine ranked Mike third among CEOs who delivered the most value to shareholders over the previous six years. For the three years prior to being named President and CEO in February 2000, he had senior management responsibility for health plan operations throughout the company.

Beyond Humana, Mike plays a leadership role in key business advocacy organizations. He is on the board of the Business Roundtable and chairman of the organization’s Health and Retirement Task Force. He is also a member of the board of directors of America’s Health Insurance Plans, the health benefits industry’s primary trade association.

Mike holds an MBA degree from Pepperdine University in Malibu, Calif., and a bachelor’s degree from Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, La.

Charles "Chip" McClure
Chief Executive Officer
ArvinMeritor

Charles G. “Chip” McClure is chairman of the Board, CEO and president of ArvinMeritor, Inc. McClure, who has more than 25 years of diverse leadership experience in the motor vehicle industry, most recently served as CEO, president and a member of the Board of Federal-Mogul Corp., a global supplier of automotive components.

McClure joined Federal-Mogul in 2001 as president, COO and a member of the Board. He was promoted to CEO in July 2003. As the leader of Federal-Mogul’s $5.5 billion global business, McClure helped drive significant improvements in business results, strengthened customer relationships and developed strategic plans to enhance the company’s competitiveness. He was also instrumental in creating an aggressive plan to resolve challenging issues related to the company’s reorganization and planned emergence from Chapter 11.

Prior to joining Federal-Mogul, McClure served as president, CEO and a member of the Board of Detroit Diesel, a major designer and manufacturer of diesel engines and related products. He joined Detroit Diesel in 1997, after 14 years in a variety of management positions with Johnson Controls, a Milwaukee-based global automotive supplier. In his last role with Johnson Controls, McClure served as president of the company’s Americas region, with management responsibility for a $3 billion group of 50 manufacturing plants. Before that, he was vice president and managing director of the Johnson Control’s $1 billion European operations. McClure also served as vice president and general manager of the company’s joint venture activities, as well as its business with Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Corp.

From 1983 to 1985, McClure worked at Hoover Universal, which was acquired by Johnson Controls in 1985. He was operations director of material handling products for the newly formed business. Before that, McClure spent four years at Ford as a heavy-duty truck sales engineer and field service engineer. From 1975 until 1979, he served as a lieutenant (jg) on a U.S. Navy destroyer.

With a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan, McClure also holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University. He is a member of the President’s Advisory Group of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Business Roundtable, and is active on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce, R.L. Polk and Company, Detroit Renaissance, the Motor & Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA), Horizons Upward Bound and the Detroit Investment Fund. In addition, he is a member of the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP). McClure also serves on the executive committee of A World in Motion, an SAE Foundation that focuses on science education.

ArvinMeritor, Inc. is a premier global supplier of a broad range of integrated systems, modules and components to the motor vehicle industry. The company serves light vehicle, commercial truck, trailer and specialty original equipment manufacturers and certain aftermarkets.

Steve Odland
Chairman and CEO
Office Depot

Steve Odland is Chairman and CEO of Office Depot, Inc. a position he has held since 2005.

Prior to joining Office Depot, he was Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of AutoZone, from 2001 until 2005. Previously he was an executive with Ahold USA from 1998 to 2000. Odland was president of the Foodservice Division of Sara Lee Bakery from 1997 to 1998. He was employed by The Quaker Oats Company from 1981 to 1996 in various executive positions.

Odland is a Director of General Mills, a member of the Business Roundtable, a commissioner on the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission, a member of the Committee on Capital Markets Regulation, and a member of the Florida Council of 100.

Jeffrey M. Peek
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
CIT Group Inc

Jeffrey M. Peek is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading global commercial and consumer finance company.  He joined CIT in 2003 as President and Chief Operating Officer. 

Prior to CIT, Peek was Vice Chairman of Credit Suisse First Boston LLC (CSFB) and was responsible for the firm’s Financial Services Division, including Credit Suisse Asset Management, Pershing, and Private Client Services. He was on the Group Executive Board of Credit Suisse Group as well as a member of CSFB’s Executive Board and Operating Committee. 

Before joining CSFB in 2002, Peek was with Merrill Lynch for nearly 20 years. While there he rose to the level of Executive Vice President of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. and was President of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. He also served on the Executive Management Committee of Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. 

Peek is a graduate of the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University, where he received a BA in International Affairs.  He also received an MBA from Harvard Business School. 

Peek is a trustee of Teachers College at Columbia University and Treasurer of the New York City Ballet. He is Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Bendheim Center for Finance at Princeton University and serves as a member of the New York Public Library President’s Council.   He is also on the Board of Directors for the Partnership for New York City.  His other affiliations include the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Mark Penn
Worldwide President and CEO
Burson-Marsteller

Mark Penn is worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller and President of Penn, Schoen and Berland.  As CEO of Burson-Marsteller, Mr. Penn oversees a global network of 94 offices and 1600 employees that brings world-class public relations to companies around the world.  As President of PSB, a position he has held since 1975 when he was an undergraduate at Harvard, Mr. Penn focuses on providing research-based communications strategy to political figures, corporations and crisis situations.  He is also the author of Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes, which was released by Warner12 in September 2007.

Mr. Penn has been called “Master of the Message” by Time Magazine; “The king of polls” by the London Times; and an “incandescent intellect” by the New York Times.  On his wall are notes saying “you were brilliant” from Tony Blair after his historic third win and “thanks” from Bill Clinton after his impeachment acquittal, along with photos of Penn working with CEOs including Bill Gates and Bill Ford, Jr.  The Washington Post, in “Politics and Policy by the Numbers,” summed up his influence in the White House and the corporate boardroom as a “unique vantage point: adviser to the preeminent innovator of the past decade in the realm of politics, Bill Clinton, and the preeminent innovator in the realm of business and technology, Bill Gates.”

The techniques applied to these political and corporate battles were honed from early major corporate experiences with AT&T, Texaco and others.  In the “Guru of Small Things,” the New York Times explains how he has combined innovative techniques of micro-targeting, issue-based messaging and visual message testing to win major corporate, marketing and political battles.

Today, Mr. Penn serves as strategic consultant to several Fortune 500 companies and CEOs on a wide range of image, branding and corporate reputation issues.  His client relationships include Ford Motor Company, Merck, Verizon, BP, McDonald’s and Microsoft.  He has been a key adviser to Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer since 1998, helping Microsoft affect a complete corporate turnaround from anti-trust scandal to Most Trusted Company (Wall Street Journal).

Mr. Penn has helped to elect over 25 leaders in the United States, Asia, Latin America and Europe.  Currently, he serves as Chief Strategist to Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.  About his work for her the Washington Post writes, “Penn also has everything that Clinton would want in a senior consultant: undisputed brilliance and experience.”  He has worked with Senator Clinton for years, including the polling and messaging for both of her successful U.S. Senate campaigns.  Previously, he was as advisor to Prime Minister Tony Blair, helping achieve an unprecedented third term win for Labour in the United Kingdom.  He is also well known for serving as President Clinton’s pollster and political adviser for the 1996 re-election campaign and throughout the second term of the administration.

Mr. Penn won the Pollster of the Year awards, given every 4 years, in both 1996 and 2000, the top honor in his profession, from the American Association of Political Consultants.  Mr. Penn has written for publications including the New York Times and the Washington Post, and has appeared frequently on networks including CNN and Fox News.

Samuel Zell
President and Chairman
Equity Group Investments, L.L.C.

A native Chicagoan, Samuel Zell is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Michigan Law School.  Mr. Zell began his career in real estate while an undergraduate at the University by managing apartment buildings throughout southeast Michigan.  He continued his interests in real estate, and subsequently, non-real estate investments, with the founding of Equity Group Investments, L.L.C. (formerly known as Equity Financial and Management Company), an entrepreneurial investment firm based in Chicago where he currently serves as President and Chairman.

Mr. Zell maintains substantial interests in and serves as Chairman of the Board of various publicly traded companies which include Anixter International (AXE), a value-added provider of integrated networking and cabling solutions that support business information and network infrastructure requirements; Equity Lifestyle Properties, Inc. (ELS), an equity real estate investment trust which owns and operates manufactured home communities in 26 states; Equity Residential (EQR), the largest apartment real estate investment trust in the United States; Capital Trust (CT), a specialized real estate finance company; and Covanta Holding Corp. (CVA), a multinational owner and operator of modern waste to energy facilities.  Mr. Zell also served as Chairman of the Board of Equity Office Properties Trust (EOP), a real estate investment trust which held the largest office portfolio of any publicly traded, full-service office company in the United States.  EOP was sold to Blackstone in February 2007.  Mr. Zell is also Chairman of Equity International, a privately-held, leading investor in real estate-related businesses outside of the United States.

Mr. Zell served a two-year term as Chairman of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (NAREIT) from 1998-2000.  He serves on the JPMorgan National Advisory Board, the Eurohypo International Advisory Board, the President’s Advisory Board at the University of Michigan, the Visitor’s Committee at the University of Michigan Law School, and with the combined efforts of the University of Michigan Business School, established the Zell/Lurie Entrepreneurial Center.  Mr. Zell’s continual assistance to Michigan’s MBA program has also enhanced the Business School’s Polish Studies Program. He was appointed a DeRoy Visiting Professor in Honors at the College of Literature, Science and the Arts at the University of Michigan.  He is a long standing supporter of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton Real Estate Center and has endowed the Samuel Zell/Robert Lurie Real Estate Center at Wharton.  Mr. Zell has also endowed the Northwestern University Center for Risk Management.

Mr. Zell is an avid skier, racquetball player and enjoys riding motorcycles.  He is a frequent contributor of articles to various publications and is often heard as keynote speaker throughout the United States and Europe.