FEATURED GUEST SPEAKERS
Omar Al Busaidy is a Fulbright Scholar, Author, and Founder of Global Possibilities, a public affairs and investment consulting firm based in the US and UAE. Previously serving the Department for International Trade – UK to attract inward investments in the UK across several sectors, Omar facilitated business for British companies wishing to do work in the UAE, serving as one of the key advisors to the British Ambassador to strengthen and attract Emirati businesses to the UK. Omar later served as the Senior Executive, International Relations at Dubai Chamber scaling opportunities for companies entering the Dubai market to promote Dubai as a key investment destination.
In 2012, Omar joined the Department of Culture & Tourism to attract investments in Abu Dhabi particularly in the hospitality sector by identifying tourism districts that would serve the hotel operator, owner, the government and ultimately the visitor. With a master’s degree in international Affairs & Intelligence at Florida State University, Omar is also a Non-Resident fellow at Trends Research & Advisory, a geo-political think tank based in Abu Dhabi, UAE. His multiple roles have allowed him to achieve several accomplishments, from publishing his self-help book ‘Just Read It’ to investing in startups in the tech sector.
A former Global Shaper at the World Economic Forum and an alumnus of the State Department’s International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), Omar has been invited to mentor students on entrepreneurship, communication and leadership at several universities and conferences across the UAE and around the world.
OMAR AL BUSAIDY
Fulbright Scholar, Author, and Founder of Global Possibilities
Mike Duggan is the 75th mayor of the City of Detroit. He has been in office since January 2014 and currently is serving his third four-year term, which will expire at the end of 2025. Born in Detroit, Duggan has spent his entire career working in the city to solve some of the most complex issues facing Detroiters, including crime, blight, transportation, health care and access to jobs.
When he was first elected, Detroit was in the midst of bankruptcy and could not deliver the most basic services due to broken processes and loss of tax base. It also was faced with more than 40,000 abandoned homes dragging down neighborhoods. Under Mayor Duggan’s leadership so far, 35,000 of the vacant homes have been removed or renovated, City services are reliable, and the City’s strong financial stewardship has brought the City’s credit rating to within one notch of investment grade.
In recent years, the Mayor’s success in landing major employers, such as Stellantis’ new Jeep assembly -plant, GM’s Factory Zero, Ford’s Michigan Central campus and a new 4-million-square-foot Amazon fulfillment center, helped drive down Detroit’s unemployment rate to its lowest level (4.8%) in recorded history. Through Duggan’s workforce development program, Detroit At Work, and President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act, Detroiters now have access to $100 million in job readiness programs to help make them eligible for the abundant job opportunities in the city.
In his third term, Mayor Duggan has shifted the City’s focus from removing blight to creating beauty through more than 160 renovated parks, hundreds of City-sponsored public murals and the conversion of miles of largely abandoned railroad lines as part of the 26-mile recreational loop, the Joe Louis Greenway.
Mayor Duggan married Dr. Sonia Hassan in 2021 and has four adult children.
MIKE DUGGAN
Mayor of the City of Detroit
Despite today’s more regulated and enlightened business environment, we continue to witness “Enron-esque” failures of corporate governance. Enron’s former CFO will make observations about how the ambiguity and complexity of laws and regulations breeds opportunity for problematic decisions and will discuss what questions corporate directors, management, attorneys, and accountants should ask in order to ensure that their companies not only follow the rules, but uphold the principles behind them.
Andy Fastow was the Chief Financial Officer of Enron Corp. from 1998 – 2001. In 2004, he pled guilty to two counts of securities fraud, and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. He completed his sentence in 2011, and now lives with his family in Houston, Texas. Andy currently provides litigation support at a law firm, and he consults with Directors, attorneys, and hedge funds on how best to identify potentially critical finance, accounting, compensation, and cultural issues.
Andy received a BA in Economics and Chinese from Tufts University and an MBA in Finance from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Prior to joining Enron, he was a Senior Director in the Asset Securitization Group at Continental Bank N.A.
Since his release from prison, Andy has been a guest lecturer at universities and corporations, and at conferences for management, corporate directors, attorneys, accountants, and certified fraud examiners. Andy was recently keynote speaker at the United Nations’ Principles of Responsible Management Education Conference, the FBI’s Advanced Financial Crimes Seminar, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners Annual Conference, the American Accounting Association Annual Conference, and the Financial Times’ Outstanding Directors Conference.
ANDREW FASTOW
Former Chief Financial Officer of Enron Corporation
Rebecca Fitts has worked in retail and real estate for over 20 years. Her experiences range from creating and running her own branded pop-up shops and unique roles at major landlords such as Brookfield and Westfield. She also worked for direct-to-consumer brand Warby Parker on their real estate team. Rebecca is currently the Director of Real Estate at Leap, a retail platform for growing brands.
REBECCA FITTS
SVP Business Strategy, Alvarez & Marsal Property Solutions
Dan Gilbert is the Founder and Chairman of Rocket Companies (NYSE: RKT), which includes Rocket Mortgage, the nation’s largest retail mortgage lender Dan is also the majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Gilbert also serves as the Founder and Chairman of ROCK and real estate development firm Bedrock Detroit.
Through his “For More Than Profit” philosophy, the Rocket Community Fund and the Gilbert Family Foundation committed $500 million over 10 years to Detroit through investments in organizations and programming to support housing stability, educational attainment, and economic mobility. Additionally, Gilbert and the Family of Companies have committed more than $1 billion to medical research and community initiatives around the country.
Gilbert moved his businesses to Detroit’s urban core in 2010. His investment in the revitalization of downtown led to the creation of Bedrock. Since its founding in 2011, Bedrock and its affiliates have invested and committed more than $7.5 billion to acquire, develop and operate more than 140 properties in Detroit and Cleveland.
Gilbert is an active investor in fintech, sports-related and consumer-direct companies. He founded Detroit Venture Partners (DVP) to fund startup and early-stage technology companies. In 2016, he co-founded Detroit-based StockX, the world’s first ‘stock market of things’, combining the visible, liquid, anonymous and transparent benefits of a stock market with the online consumer secondary market.
Gilbert is a fourth generation Detroiter and a graduate of Michigan State University. He obtained his Juris Doctor from Wayne State University in Detroit.
DAN GILBERT
Founder and Chairman of Rocket Companies (NYSE:RKT), Majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Founder and Chairman of the ROCK Family of Companies and real estate development firm Bedrock Detroit
Susan Hennike is the Chief Brand Officer at Carhartt. In this role, she oversees and collaborates with the Product, Brand, and Strategy teams to deliver the ultimate product and brand experience for our consumers. Her team leads the development of Carhartt's long-range plans and ultimately helps the company identify new opportunities and product solutions in service to our consumers, to advance the brand and preserve our heritage.
Prior to joining Carhartt in 2022, Susan worked with Bombas, where she led the next evolution of the apparel brand’s multi-category strategy and vision as chief product officer. Prior to that, she spent 12 years at Hanesbrands, serving in many roles, including president of Champion North America. During her tenure at Champion, she led the athletic brand to double-digit growth, oversaw the development of its direct-to-consumer platform and drove all creative content and storytelling for the brand. She has worked with many other notable apparel brands throughout her career, including Victoria’s Secret, Nike, and Adidas International.
Susan earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Ohio. Susan grew up in Hudson, Ohio, and with her career moves, she has lived in Portland, Oregon, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, with her husband and their two dogs.
Photo Credit: Sarah Pierce
SUSAN HENNIKE
Chief Brand Officer for Carhartt
Rachelle Hruska MacPherson is the Founder of Lingua Franca, a company founded on starting meaningful conversations. Their first collections feature a line of sustainably-sourced, fair trade luxury cashmere sweaters, all hand-stitched by women in NYC. She is also the founder and CEO of Guest of a Guest, a NYC based website that covers events, people, and places. She has been featured in The New Yorker, The New York Times, WWD, W and Vogue. Hruska was named 13 under 30 by the NYPost, and the Most Influential Women In Technology in 2011 by Fast Company.
RACHELLE HRUSKA MACPHERSON
Founder of Lingua Franca and Guest of a Guest
Detroit-area native Tom Lewand joined Shinola as CEO in 2016 where he helps guide the strategic direction and business operations of the company. Lewand is active in the community, acting as Past Chairman of the Detroit Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau and serving on the Board of Directors of the Detroit Zoological Society, the Downtown Detroit Partnership, the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation, and the Parade Company. Lewand also is on the Corporate Advisory Board for the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the Detroit Mayor’s Workforce Development Board.
TOM LEWAND
Former CEO of Shinola
Rosie O’Neill is a newbie entrepreneur with a major sweet tooth. In August 2012, she launched her first company, Sugarfina, a luxury candy boutique. Inspired by a third-date screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Rosie and Josh dreamed up a “candy boutique for grown-ups,” featuring the finest sweets from artisan candy makers around the world.
ROSIE O’NEILL
Founder of Sugarfina
Alison Roede is the Vice President of Store Planning and Construction, Americas at Christian Dior. She joined Dior in 2017 and over the past 20+ years has held leadership positions in store design and planning at J.Crew, Coach and Equinox Fitness.
For Dior, Alison oversees the internal Store Planning and Construction team and outsourced project management consultants in the development of all boutiques, food + beverage, and spa projects throughout the United States, Canada, LATAM and the Caribbean. She is also serves as a member of the management committee for Dior Americas.
The responsibilities of her department primarily entail creating new project proformas, project due diligence, lease and contract review, oversite of all consultants, bid process, procurement, and construction oversite through to the spectacular store openings for which the Dior brand is known.
Before being recruited in house, Alison was principal in Roede + Martin Architects which specialized in retail tenant improvement projects as well as commercial and residential design projects.
Alison was born and raised in Philadelphia and earned a B ARCH from the University of Kentucky and an M ARCH from the University of Pennsylvania. When she is not traveling to Dior locations around the Americas, she splits her time between New York City and a “mini farm” in Rhode Island where she spends weekends developing her skills as a budding flower farmer.
ALISON ROEDE
VP Store Planning & Construction, Americas for Christian Dior
Steve Rouman is Senior Vice President, Real Estate at luxury home furnishings retailer RH (NYSE: RH) (formerly Restoration Hardware). In his role, Mr. Rouman leads strategy, site selection, and deal and lease negotiation for all company real estate assets, including retail, distribution, and office. Prior to RH, Mr. Rouman held senior level positions at some of the most well-known brands in the world, including Head of Real Estate – Specialty Retail Stores for Amazon; Senior Director Real Estate, Americas for Apple; Vice President, Global Real Estate & Construction for Levi Strauss & Co.; and Vice President Real Estate North America and Europe for Gap Inc. Mr. Rouman began his career on the landlord side of the business with JMB/Urban Retail Properties and the Westfield Corporation.
Mr. Rouman received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from the University of Michigan (Go Blue!) and is an active member of ICSC, currently as a member of the Board of Trustees, and previously serving on the NY ICSC Planning Committee, as an emeritus member of the OAC Planning Committee, and as a former State Retail Chair for Northern California. Mr. Rouman resides in suburban San Francisco with his wife and four children.
STEVE ROUMAN
SVP of Real Estate for RH
Rick Snyder was sworn in as governor of Michigan on January 1, 2011, and was sworn in for his second term on January 1, 2015.
Snyder earned his bachelor’s degree, MBA and law degree from the University of Michigan – all by the age of 23. He chose to start his career in Michigan as a tax accountant with the Detroit office of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) and, within six years, he made partner.
Snyder previously served as chairman and CEO of the computer company, Gateway. He also founded Ann Arbor, Michigan-based venture capital and investment firms and an online health and wellness company. He has been actively involved in economic development as well, having served as the first chair of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Snyder is the first certified public accountant to be elected governor of Michigan. He and his wife, Sue, have one son and two daughters.
RICK SNYDER
Former Governor of the State of Michigan
Justin Stewart is the co-founder and president of Industrious, the largest premium flexible workspace provider in the U.S. with over 140 locations across more than 55 cities. He started the company in 2013 with his childhood best friend and stands at the helm of the Industrious real estate division. Justin has been instrumental in expanding the company’s workspace offerings from traditional office buildings to more innovative mixed-use settings with partners including Macerich, Seritage Growth Properties, Equinox, The Taubman Company, Shopcore, EQ, and more. Prior to Industrious, Justin worked at the real estate investment firm Windham China and Madison Realty Capital, but his career highlight will forever be the time he worked for the writing team at the Late Show with his childhood idol, David Letterman. Justin lives with his wife and two daughters in Dumbo, Brooklyn along with their dog, confusingly named Chicken.
JUSTIN STEWART
Co-Founder & President of Industrious
William S. Taubman is president and chief operating officer of The Taubman Company. He is responsible for development, operations and leasing. Mr. Taubman joined the company in 1986 from Oppenheimer & Co., Inc. in New York, where he was a financial analyst specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He is a graduate of Brown University where he received a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies, Philosophy and Russian Studies. He also holds a master’s degree in Philosophy from Corpus Christi College of Cambridge University, Cambridge, England.
WILLIAM TAUBMAN
President & COO of The Taubman Company
SPIRO TSAPARAS
Principal of M Development
Ron White is one of the top memory experts in the world, and the author of Memory Improvement: How To Improve Your Memory In Just 30 Days.
A two-time national memory champion, Ron held the record for the fastest person to memorize a deck of shuffled cards in one minute and 27 seconds. He has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS Evening News, FOX, and NBC.
RON WHITE
2x National Memory Champion