Days after President Barack Obama is sworn in and begins his second term, some of the business world’s most authoritative CEOs will discuss the economic landscape and how to prepare the nation’s work force to succeed in it, during the Sixth Annual Elmhurst College Governmental Forum.
The Governmental Forum will be held on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at the Drury Lane Conference Center in Oakbrook Terrace. The topic will be Jobs, Education and the Economy. Admission is $25 per person and includes a full breakfast. Tickets may be purchased online.
The Elmhurst College Governmental Forum brings together the region’s foremost governmental leaders, business experts and policy analysts to examine Illinois’ most urgent economic and governance issues. In previous years, the Forum has welcomed former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives Michael J. Madigan, among many others.
This year, the Forum will be moderated by Business Roundtable President and former Michigan Governor John Engler. The key presenters will be Caterpillar Inc. Chairman and CEO Douglas R. Oberhelman; Johnson Publishing CEO Desiree Rogers; and TMX Group CEO Thomas A. Kloet, who also serves on the Elmhurst College Board of Trustees.
The Elmhurst College Governmental Forum is an integral part of the College’s acclaimed cultural season of public lectures and fine-arts programming. Widely regarded as a destination for mind-opening discourse, Elmhurst College welcomes thousands of people to its campus each year to hear some of the country’s most thought-provoking speakers.
Governor Edgar recently observed that “Elmhurst College has emerged as a leader among the institutions of higher learning in Illinois for its determined focus on civic engagement and service to the community.”
The Sixth Annual Governmental Forum will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2013, at the Drury Lane Conference Center, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace. The event is open to the public. For more information, call (630) 617-3783.
Leading sponsors of the Governmental Forum include AT&T, the Inland Real Estate Group of Companies, Wight & Company, BMO Harris-Chicago West Region, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, Bolin-Speers Group and Jones Lang LaSalle.
More about the presenters:
John Engler
A former three-term governor of Michigan, Engler has been heavily engaged in education and workforce issues as head of the Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers for many of the nation’s leading U.S. corporations. He has identified the pressing shortage of skilled employees as a growing threat to American competitiveness in the 21st Century’s high-tech global economy.
Douglas R. Oberhelman
Oberhelman joined Caterpillar in 1975 and has held a variety of positions there, including senior finance representative based in South America for Caterpillar Americas Co., and managing director and vice general manager for strategic planning at Caterpillar Japan Ltd., in Tokyo. He also is a director for the boards of Eli Lilly and Company, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Wetlands America Trust.
Desiree Rogers
In her first year as CEO at Johnson Publishing, Rogers recruited an entirely new senior team, secured outside financing and relaunched Ebony magazine with its first cover-to-cover redesign. Her other career milestones include turning the Illinois Lottery into a stable, reliable and popular revenue-producer; and, as president of Peoples Energy’s two natural-gas utilities, facilitating the 150-year old company’s transition into a responsive, customer-centric organization. As the country’s first African American social secretary, her office produced 350 events during her 14-month tenure and turned the Obama White House into a showcase for American art and culture.
Thomas A. Kloet
Kloet has been CEO of TMX Group Inc. since July 2008. A public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX), TMX owns and operates the principle financial markets for Canada, including the TSX, Montreal Exchange and Natural Gas Exchange, and is the majority owner of the Boston Options Exchange. Kloet has served as a trustee of Elmhurst College since 2006. He also serves on the boards of the TMX Group and its subsidiaries; and is a trustee of Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and a governor of Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.