Mark Miller has a twenty-year track record with expertise in business strategy, business development, fund raising, and middle-market M&A. Miller's area of focus includes the full spectrum of the higher education marketplace: educational, custom and on-demand publishing, and publishing technology, new media and online communities. Miller's greatest strengths include his faith in a long-developed gut instinct; his ability to connect with Boards and other C-level executives, helping them through the complexities and ups and downs of the M&A process; and his drive to get deals to the goal line.
Miller has been a serial entrepreneur since winning Cornell University's Johnson School Business Plan Competition for TakeNote. Miller founded and has served as president and executive chairman of a number of outsourced service and technology companies. Miller was founder and CEO of TakeNote; The Custom Publishing Group; NetPaper; PowerProse; The Daily Jolt; and CollegiateLink. Miller is currently the founder and CEO of markmillers LLC, a middle-market M&A advisory services company. Miller served as the sole advisor on the sale of Xplana Learning to MBS Textbooks/Barnes & Noble College Stores. Miller has provided consulting services and served on boards of for-profits and non-profit companies, including O'Reilly Media, Harvard Business School Publishing, Tizra, Course Advisor, Textbook Revolution and Freeload Press.
Stuart Flack is the Executive Director of the Chicago Humanities Festival. He joined the Chicago Humanities Festival as executive director in October 2007.
He was a partner at McKinsey & Company, where he provided consulting services in the areas of public affairs and marketing and, as its publisher and editor-in-chief, he built The McKinsey Quarterly into a leading international journal of business, economics and public policy. During his 25 years as a playwright, he has written "Homeland Security," "Sydney Bechet Killed a Man," "Jonathan Wild," "Floaters" and "American Life and Casualty." His plays have been produced at some of the leading theatres in the US including Victory Gardens (in Chicago), Southcoast Repertory Company (Costa Mesa, CA), Culture Project (New York, NY), Contemporary American Theatre Festival (Washington, DC) and Interact Theatre (Philadelphia, PA). His honors as a playwright include a McDowell Foundation Grant, a Joseph Jefferson Award Nomination, and a Los Angeles Dramalogue Award.
Stuart Flack earned a Master of Fine Arts in playwrighting from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Cornell University.
Linda Choong is Senior VP, Global Retail Development for the National Basketball Association.
As senior vice president of the NBA's global retail development group, Linda Choong manages the global multi-channel retail businesses for the NBA, WNBA, and NBA Development League. Choong oversees the strategy and execution for league-branded retail, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer channels. Her areas of responsibility include merchandising, traditional and digital marketing, operations and international expansion. Choong joined the NBA in 1998 to help establish and open the flagship NBA Store on Fifth Avenue, the first retail store to be owned and operated by a North American professional sports league. Choong has also been responsible for the completion of the league's e-commerce partnerships and has overseen several site launches and redesigns.
In July 2008, Choong oversaw the opening of the NBA Store's first retail locations outside the U.S., with two stores in Beijing, China. She also introduced a new global retail design with a new store in Shanghai, China during the 2010 Shanghai Expo. Choong has held several positions at the NBA, including vice president of retail, senior director of retail, and director of e-commerce business operations.
Prior to joining the NBA, Choong was the director of planning at A|X Armani Exchange, where she was responsible for merchandise planning for the U.S. business and served as the primary lead for four Asian buying offices. Before that, she held various planning positions at Ann Taylor.
Choong received a bachelor's degree in design and environmental analysis from Cornell University.
Nancy Taber Richards is the owner/cheesemaker at Finger Lakes Farmstead Cheese Co. LLC, located between Ithaca and Watkins Glen, NY. All the milk comes from Taber Hill Farms' 50-head Holstein cowherd belonging to her parents and brothers. Nancy's business partner, an experienced Dutch cheesemaker, helped establish the cheesemaking process. Previously, she was a reporter at the Bar Harbor Times. Nancy Richards is a graduate of Cornell University
Bruce George is a visionary, executive producer, writer, poet and activist. He was born and raised in New York City. He has written poetry and prose for over 25 years. His work has been published in major magazines, anthologies and literary publications.
Bruce George has won multiple literary and talent contests including a Peabody Award for "Russell Simmons Presents, Def Poetry (HBO)"
Bruce George is a co-founder of "Russell Simmons Def Poetry Jam". He is also the founder/managing editor of "The Bandana Republic, an Anthology of Poetry and Prose by Gang Members and Their Affiliates".
Bruce George is a graduate of Niagara University where he earned a BA in Psychology.
Richard Edwards is the Director of Planeterra. In this role, he oversees the direction and development of our Foundation with the purpose of ensuring sustainable community development through travel. The company's aim is to create lasting memories and meaningful relationships between travelers and local communities by providing all generations of travelers with ways to connect and give back to our valuable projects around the world.
Edwards has over 20 years of experience in the ecotourism industry, integrated resource management and international community development.
Richard Edwards received his undergraduate degree from Linfield College and his Masters degree from Washington State University.
Haroldo Torres, formerly a managing partner of Data Popular, is CEO for "Plano CDE", a research and consulting company dedicated to inclusive business initiatives and base of the pyramid (BOP) markets. (www.planocde.com.br)
Torres also serves a Senior Research Associate at the Brazilian Center for Analysis and Planning (CEBRAP) and has worked as Coordinator for Knowledge Transfer at the Center for Metropolitan Studies (CEM) (2000-2007), as a David E. Bell Research Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies (1996-97), as a Senior Research Associate and Project Leader for various organizations in the NGO and Public Sector (1990-2001), and as Economic Analyst for the Sao Paulo Chamber of Commerce (1989-90).
Haroldo Torres holds a BA in economics from UFMG, a MA in Demography from CEDEPLAR, and a Doctoral degree in Social Sciences from UNICAMP in Brazil.
Eduardo Soares is the CEO of Biominas Foundation in Brazil and has over 15 years of work experience in the biotechnology sector. He is a board member of several biotechnology companies and has an active role in several initiatives to strengthen the Brazilian biotechnology sector, such as the Biotech Competitiveness Forum of the Ministry of Development (MDIC) and the Brazilian Association of Biotechnology Companies (ABRABI).
Eduardo Soares holds a BS in Biology from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), Brazil and did his graduate studies in finance (Dom Cabral Foundation, FDC) and in business administration at the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV), São Paulo, Brazil.
Bruce McNamer is the President and CEO of TechnoServe.
Before joining TechnoServe in 2004, McNamer's career spanned the public and private sectors. McNamer was COO of Verified Identity Pass, Inc., CFO of Appfluent Technology, and VP of Business Development at Varsity Group. He has also worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and as a management consultant at McKinsey & Company.
McNamer was a White House Fellow and a Director at the National Economic Council from 1998-1999, and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Paraguay.
Bruce McNamer has an AB from Harvard and a JD/MBA from Stanford University.