Join us on July 23rd at the unique office of Threadless for our Past Winners Showcase, where past award winners will discuss how failures played into their successes.
PANELIST BIOS
Michael Krauss
Michael Krauss is a veteran management consultant, business advisor, investor and entrepreneur. At Market Strategy Group, a boutique strategy consultancy he co-founded in 2004, Mr. Krauss serves clients ranging from large global organizations, mid-cap firms and start-ups. Prior to his work with Market Strategy Group, he was a partner at Diamond Technology Partners and OmniTech Consulting, which was acquired by Diamond in 1999. Mr. Krauss also held leadership roles at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).Mr. Krauss served on the board of directors and chaired the audit committee of the board of Ellerbe Becket, the global architecture and engineering firm. He serves on the board of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship.Mr. Krauss was Co-Chair of Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley’s Council of Technology Advisors. He is a past President of the Chicago Chapter of the Business Marketing Association. He is a frequent speaker on business strategy and technology topics. His editorial columns have appeared in the Chicago SunTimes and Marketing News where he is the @ C-Level columnist. Mr. Krauss is a member of the Economic Club of Chicago where he is 2nd Vice Chair of the Board and a member of the Executive Committee. He is a judge of the Chicago Innovation Awards and a member of the Chicago Club and the University Club of Chicago. Mr. Krauss holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He earned a CPA in the State of Illinois.
Gerry Kern
Since becoming editor, Kern has focused the newspaper and its website on investigative reporting to expose political corruption, government mismanagement and consumer safety issues. This emphasis on “watchdog” reporting has helped drive political reform in Illinois and changed the way consumer health and safety is regulated. Kern also emphasized the importance of opinion leadership through the work of the Tribune’s editorial board and opinion pages.
Kern also directed a wide range of innovations that are extending the Tribune’s audience reach in digital, print and live-programming.
In 2013, the Chicago Tribune launched several new digital content verticals, including Blue Sky Innovation, Chicago’s hub for news, information and networking about innovation and the region’s start-up scene. The Tribune also launched The Theater Loop with Chris Jones, featuring news, reviews, commentary and video about theater and other live performance arts in Chicago. The Tribune’s Digital Copy, a replica edition for mobile devices, now features two new digital-only weekday news magazines, Digital Plus Magazine and O.T. Magazine.
Under Kern’s leadership, the newspaper has won numerous journalism awards, including the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for commentary awarded to columnist Mary Schmich. Since he became editor, the Tribune has been a Pulitzer finalist 7 times including the past two years in investigative reporting. Kern was named 2012 Illinois Journalist of the Year by Northern Illinois University.
Robert Metz
Robert Metz joined Horizon Pharma in 2009 as the senior vice president, business operations, advocacy and government affairs. He is responsible for the administration of global business operations including information technology, facilities, project management and external affairs. Mr. Metz has over 20 years of commercial, finance and administration experience in both small and large pharmaceutical and biotechnology organizations. Prior to joining Horizon Pharma, Mr. Metz’s most recent position was vice president, commercial operations for IDM Pharma, where he played a key role in the turnaround and eventual sale of IDM Pharma to Takeda Pharmaceuticals in June 2009. He led sales and marketing efforts, including development of key opinion leader and institution center outreach and pricing and reimbursement programs throughout the European markets. Prior to joining IDM Pharma, Mr.Metz led commercial operations for NeoPharm, a public oncology biotechnology company. For nearly 13 years, Mr. Metz worked in areas of increasing responsibility at Searle prior to and following its merger with Pharmacia in 2003 on several products, including Celebrex®, Arthrotec®, Daypro® and Detrol® LA. His experience encompassed sales, business analysis, business development, commercial operations, human resources, project management and government affairs. In his sales management roles, Mr. Metz directed multifunctional, operational and performance aspects of the company’s Midwest sales organization spanning over 650 sales and support employees with overall sales totaling over $2 billion. Mr. Metz has also held sales and marketing positions at Medpointe Pharma and Reliable Biopharmaceuticals.
Dan Michelson
Dan is the CEO of Strata Decision Technology, a pioneer and leader in the development cloud-based financial analytics and performance tools for financial planning, decision support and continuous cost improvement for healthcare providers. Founded in 1996, the Company's customer base includes 1,000 hospitals and many of the largest and most influential healthcare delivery systems in the U.S. The Company’s StrataJazz® application is a single integrated software platform that includes modules for capital planning, contract modeling, cost accounting, cost management, decision support, financial forecasting, management reporting, operational budgeting and performance improvement and strategic planning.
With over 22 years of healthcare experience, Dan’s focus as CEO is to ensure the company delivers on its passion - helping hospitals and health networks drive margin to fuel their mission.
Over the last decade, Dan has become one of the industry’s high impact thought leaders in developing the healthcare information technology market. He has been a central player in bringing electronic health records mainstream and has been instrumental in driving standards by serving as one of the original members of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology and helping to start the EHR Vendor Trade Association. He has been a frequent speaker at industry conferences.
Prior to joining Strata Decision Technology, Dan served as Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer for Allscripts Healthcare Solutions. In his 12 years at Allscripts, he was one of the executive leaders responsible for growing the company from 100 to over 6,000 employees and from $26 million to over $1.4 billion in annual revenue.
Prior to joining Allscripts, he provided strategy and process redesign consulting for many of the leading hospitals and health systems in the U.S. He also served in leadership roles for Baxter International, a leading medical supply company, and AstraZeneca, one the world's largest pharmaceutical companies.
Barbara VanSomeren
Barbara VanSomeren serves as Vice President of Marketing for Beltone. VanSomeren is responsible for the strategic positioning of the Beltone brand and its competitive value proposition for consumers and hearing care providers. VanSomeren leads a team that focuses on practice building marketing support to enhance the brand and drive a premier hearing care experience across 1500 North American Beltone locations.
In her role VanSomeren leads Beltone’s commercial functions of Marketing, Customer Care and Product Management, which provides the latest technology in hearing care. VanSomeren also is responsible for Commercial Business Systems, which provides patient and practice management software for the Beltone Network.
Prior to joining Beltone, VanSomeren spent 12 years working in a variety of advertising and marketing firms, including BBDO Worldwide and has managed accounts for numerous marquee products, including Coca-Cola, Midas International, Sizzler Restaurants, Pizza Hut and Anheuser-Busch.
Beltone is a leader in the hearing care industry, producing advanced technology hearing instruments and providing outstanding service and support for Beltone hearing care practitioners, audiologists and Beltone hearing instrument patients worldwide.
Lily Yeung
Lily Yeung is Director of Corporate Strategic Business Development at Molex Incorporated headquartered in Lisle, Illinois. Blending expertise in finance, research and analysis, and emerging technologies, she serves on the frontline fostering innovation at Molex and within the electronics industry.
Lily is responsible for overseeing Molex acquisition integration. Under the auspices of the Molex CEO and Global Leadership Team, she manages internal and external resources for global acquisition projects. She shares responsibility for the company’s venture investment pipeline and assists to evaluate investment opportunities where they align with the Molex corporate strategy. Lily spearheads both Molex Venture and the Molex Innovation Challenge, an internal program designed to develop new business ideas and foster organic growth. She recently completed a rewarding stint mentoring and incubating a Molex Innovation Challenge winning team through first-year launch.
In 2007, Lily joined Molex as a Senior Financial Analyst in the Commercial Products Division before serving as Finance Manager, Global Sales and Marketing Division, with responsibility for managing the Molex global divisional reporting and commissions review for the Americas region and Asia Pacific South region. Prior to her Molex tenure, Lily was a Financial Analyst with Newell Rubbermaid Inc. and a Senior Accountant at a regional CPA firm where she obtained her CPA license.
A Chicago native and resident, Lily holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Michigan State University and a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Phoenix. She can write Chinese and is fluent in both Mandarin and Cantonese.
© Illinois Science and Technology Coalition
Illustration by Dieter Braun
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