Jacqueline Novogratz is the Founder and CEO of the Acumen Fund. In this role, Jacqueline Novogratz is responsible for the vision behind Acumen Fund's unique approach to using philanthropic capital to invest in scalable businesses that serve the poor with life-changing goods and services.
She has led the Acumen Fund team since its launch in 2001, and under her leadership Acumen Fund has invested $40 million in over 35 companies serving 25 million low-income customers in the developing world (as of April 2009). Prior to Acumen Fund, Jacqueline Novogratz founded and directed The Philanthropy Workshop and The Next Generation Leadership program at the Rockefeller Foundation. She began her career in international banking with Chase Manhattan Bank and she founded Duterimbere, a micro-finance institution in Rwanda.
Jacqueline currently serves on the Board of the Aspen Institute as well as the advisory councils of Stanford Graduate School of Business and MIT's Legatum Center. She is an Aspen Institute Henry Crown Fellow, a Synergos Institute Senior Fellow and has received honors including Ernst & Young's 2008 Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the 2009 CASE Leadership in Social Entrepreneurship Award and AWNY's 2009 Changing the Game Award.
Jacqueline Novogratz has an MBA from Stanford and a BA in Economics/International Relations from the University of Virginia. She is the author of the bestselling memoir, The Blue Sweater: Bridging the Gap Between Rich and Poor in an Interconnected World, published in early 2009.
Eli Zabar is the founder of an ever-evolving gourmet food empire in New York City. His empire includes a marketplace, bakery, cafe and wine bars.
The youngest son of Louis and Lillian Zabar, founders of the landmark delicatessen on New York's Upper West Side, Eli Zabar has made a career for himself by pursuing what interests him and following his instincts and passions. He has let his business evolve organically, finding inspiration in the food halls and open-air markets of Europe and in simply prepared dishes that use the finest ingredients available. Although he tried his hand at teaching and real estate, his first love has always been the world of gourmet food.
Beginning with a small shop on Madison Avenue, selling pots, pans, and packaged foods, Zabar's world has evolved over the course of 35 years to include E.A.T, a gourmet deli, café, and caterer; Eli's Bread, one of the largest artisanal wholesale bakeries in the United States; Eli's Vinegar Factory, an ever-changing food hall that serves a weekend brunch New Yorker's have come to call "the best"; and Eli's Manhattan, his 20,000 sq. ft. flagship store.
In 2002, he opened TASTE, a restaurant and wine bar, which was followed by W.I.N.E., a boutique wine store that reflects Zabar's preference for affordable wines from lesser-known producers. In August 2008, he partnered with the Peconic Land Trust to reopen the historic Amagansett Farmers Market on Long Island.
Eli Zabar is a graduate of Columbia University.
Andrew (Andy) J. Dolce founded Dolce International in 1981. Dolce turned the company into the world's leading conference center company in the hospitality industry, with 21 properties throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe.
Dolce began his career in the meetings and hospitality industry while working for the American Management Association, where he managed 600 conferences a year, throughout the U.S. While there, Dolce recognized the need for both outstanding hotel facilities and a well-orchestrated meeting experience.
Dolce went on to become executive vice president for Harrison Conference Services. From there he moved to Houston and was responsible for the development and operation of the Houstonian, the first integrated hotel, conference center, spa and fitness center. After the successful completion of this project, Dolce made the final and decisive move to the meetings segment of the hospitality industry and started his own company.
Andrew Dolce studied Economics at Iona College. He earned a Master's Degree from Cornell University where he wrote and published a book on economics for the food industry. Dolce served in the U.S. Marine Corps, earning the rank of Captain.
Charles Hamilton has led the commercial development of Novomer's technology since 2006. He has been involved in the creation of several companies based on Cornell technologies and worked previously for Microsoft, POP, and other high tech firms.
Charles Hamilton graduated with honors from Cornell in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Resources. In 2004 he received an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management where he was a Park Leadership Fellow and winner of the Global Social Venture Competition in London.
Chester Elton is an author, motivational speaker, trainer, and employee engagement expert. He is the New York Times best-selling author of several books on leadership and organizational management, including The Carrot Principle (co-written with Adrian Gostick), The 24-Carrot Manager and The Invisible Employee. Elton's books have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold more than 1,000,000 copies worldwide. Chester is Senior Vice President of the Carrot Culture division with the O.C. Tanner Recognition Company.
Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick's flagship book, The Carrot Principle, was based on a 200,000 person study from 1996-2006. The second edition published in 2009 included a 2008 global survey of 10,000 people in 13 countries. The results of these studies revealed the surprising advantages of recognition on employee performance, including its effects on morale, productivity and return on equity. Their collaboration, The Orange Revolution (publish date September 2010), is a follow up based on a 350,000 manager and employee survey on the power of teamwork.
Chester was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and grew up in Vancouver, British Columbia. He earned a Bachelor's Degree in Communications from Brigham Young University.
Skip Besthoff is a General Partner at Castile Ventures.
Besthoff has an investment focus in software-as-a-service, Internet commerce, and digital media. He led Castile's investment in Enquisite and serves on its board of directors. Castile Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm that provides backing and strategic guidance to help exceptional entrepreneurs build successful technology businesses.
Prior to Castile, Besthoff was a principal at Rho Ventures. Prior to Rho, he spent seven years in a variety of strategic and technology consulting roles service emerging technology companies and Fortune 500 clients. Besthoff had a five-year tenure with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) where as a manager he led large-scale systems development and integration projects.
Skip Besthoff received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College and his MBA from Cornell University.
Jeff Broadhurst is the President and CEO of Eat'n Park.
Jeff Broadhurst joined Eat'n Park Hospitality Group as Director of Business Development for Parkhurst Dining Services in 1996, following a 5 year career with Federated Investors in their Chicago and Kentucky markets. In 2002, he was promoted to President of Parkhurst Dining Services, and in 2006, took over the responsibilities of President of Eat'n Park Restaurants. In 2008, Jeff became President and CEO of Eat'n Park Hospitality Group.
Jeff received his undergraduate degree at the Cornell University Hotel and Restaurant School in 1991 and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh Katz School of Business in 1992.
In 2004, Mark Broadhurst joined Eat'n Park Hospitality Group as director of concept development to design, develop, and open an exciting new restaurant concept for the company. Today, he oversees all new concept development and is involved in new initiatives and concept evolution across all Eat'n Park Hospitality Group brands.
Prior to that role, Mark served as director of operations for Kahunaville, an award-winning casual-themed restaurant, nightclub, and bar concept with nine locations throughout North America and two in Southeast Asia. There he was responsible for developing the chain's bar and beverage menu and program, which Cheers magazine recognized as being the Best Beverage Program in the chain restaurant industry in 2001.
Mark Broadhurst graduated from the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration. After Cornell, Mark attended Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, France.
Hugh Mitchell became Chief Human Resources and Corporate Officer at Shell on July 1, 2009.
Hugh graduated from Edinburgh University, Scotland, with an MA (Hons) in Modern History in 1979. Later that year he joined Human Resources in Shell Exploration & Production in Aberdeen. Further HR and business roles followed across the UK and Brunei in both the upstream and downstream businesses.
In 1997 he became HR Vice President for the Global Oil Products business. Hugh moved to Shell headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, in 2003 as Director International. His responsibilities included coordinating the company's worldwide government relations activities.
In March 2005, Hugh was appointed Human Resources Director of Royal Dutch Shell. He became a member of the Executive Committee in October 2007.