Winter 2012 — Positive Business: Views from the Firing Line
Generative Leadership in a Positive Enterprise — January 23, 2012
Bill Robertson, Enabler, Enterprise Effectiveness
“We have Stone Age Emotions, Medieval Institutions, and Godlike Technology.”
—E. O. Wilson
About 15 years ago, Don Clifton, my life mentor and former Chairman of Gallup, Inc., and I were considering this question, “If we could affect a 1% positive change in the leadership effectiveness of 1 million emerging leaders, what would we have them do differently?” As I reflect on the moments-that-mattered in the five different careers I have been exposed to over 40 years, I now have a tentative answer: “They should practice Generative Leadership in a Positive Enterprise.”
Let’s discuss what this means and how I came to this perspective, as I review some of the life-lessons that have impacted the arc of my personal and professional growth.
Bill Robertson
Enabler, Enterprise Effectiveness
Former Chairman and Chief Executive, Weston Solutions, Inc.
Former President, Global Environment & Technology Foundation
Former Associate Chief of Engineers, US Army, Corps of Engineers
Former Trial Attorney, Managing Attorney, & Senior Executive, DOD
Saving Private Ryan: Hard-Fought Lessons in Creating a Positively Deviant Organization — February 20, 2012
James Mallozzi, President, Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America, Inc.
Join Jim Mallozzi for a candid discussion of practical ideas in applying the principles of positive organizational scholarship to a turn-around business situation. Jim will take you on his journey, as Chairman and CEO of one of the largest real estate and relocation companies in North America coming out of the worst recession in decades, from the first days of "hitting the beach on D Day" through cultural and strategic transformation. Be ready for a frank and humorous discussion of how real-life challenges are made manageable by applying a "positively deviant" approach toward organizational excellence.
Bio
Jim Mallozzi served as chairman and chief executive officer for Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services (PRERS) from October 2009 to December 2011. In this role, he oversaw the development and implementation of the strategy and vision for this leading homeownership and mobility company. Prudential Real Estate is the leading real estate brokerage franchise organization in the US and Prudential Relocation is the second largest mobility company in the country. In early December 2011, PRERS was sold to Brookfield Residential Properties Services. Mallozzi currently serves as President of Prudential Real Estate Financial Services of America, Inc. (PREFSA).
Mallozzi has also served as senior vice president and head of Prudential Retirement’s Institutional Solutions group where he led the $80 billion dollar Guaranteed Products, Structured Settlement, Retirement Income and Defined Benefits Acquisition Groups. Prior to that he oversaw all Marketing, Product and Advisory Services activities where they were awarded the prestigious Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange Award for Interactive Technology.
Before joining Prudential in 2004, Jim served in a number of senior level management positions at the Hartford Life Insurance Company. He held senior positions in the US and overseas at Aetna Inc., including head of international mergers and acquisitions, head of Annuity products and head of Pension Sales & Marketing for Aetna Financial Services, and CEO of Aetna Investment Management LTD in London.
Jim has an MBA in Finance and a B.A. in Finance & Banking from Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts and is a patented inventor. He has been a frequent speaker on organizational transformation and strategic business issues and is a platinum award winner from the League of American Communication Professionals.
Your Career: Engaging Passion and Reality — March 19, 2012
A panel discussion convened by Dean Eisner, Ross MBA 1982
We invite you to a conversation fitting for these times: discussing the roles of passion and self-
fulfillment in constructing our careers and our lives, while also recognizing the economic, market,
and personal realities we are all facing. In this session, we will engage a panel of experts, each with
a different take on these issues, and dig deeper into these questions with all present to think more
about our careers, our contributions, and our impacts on others. Join Dean Eisner, Blair Miller, Shirli
Kopelman, Leslie Mulder and Matteo Dominianni.
Biographies
Dean Eisner (convenor): Dean Eisner is the recently-retired President and Chief Executive Officer
of Manheim, a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises, Inc., one of the nation’s leading media companies and
providers of automotive services. Prior to his role at Manheim, he served as vice president of business
development for Cox Enterprises, Inc., for five years, and was responsible for strategic planning, mergers
and acquisitions, new media, and corporate marketing.
Eisner joined Cox Enterprises in February 1992 as managing director of Cox International, where he
was responsible for evaluating, developing, and directing Cox investments in foreign markets for the
company's cable, broadcasting, newspaper, and auto auction businesses.
In 1993, Eisner was named treasurer of Cox Enterprises, where he was responsible for management
of the company's investment assets, pension funds, debt, cash management, foreign exchange, and
banking relationships, as well as the travel and fleet departments. Prior to Cox, Eisner served in various
executive management positions at AGB Market Information in London; Sony; CBS; and General Electric
in New York.
Eisner currently serves on several company boards, as well as on the advisory board of two New York-
based private equity firms (CVC and Compass Partners), is a member of the Southeast Venture Capital
group, and advises several small-to-medium-sized growth companies.
Eisner is a former chairman of EXODUS/Atlanta Cities in Schools and currently serves on the boards of
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Woodruff Arts Center, Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Auto Hall
of Fame, and the Ringling College of Art & Design.
Eisner holds a bachelor's degree in accounting and computer science from Purdue University and a
master’s degree in business administration from the University of Michigan.
Matteo Dominianni: Matteo Dominianni is a second-year MBA student and a career counselor at the
Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Matteo grew up in Italy, and moved to the United
States to pursue his MBA after working for four years in Europe. He holds Bachelor’s and Master’s
degrees in Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Bologna, and he has been awarded
an international patent for his Master’s thesis. He worked for two years for Telecom Italia, the largest
telecom operator in Italy, in their Mergers & Acquisitions department in Milan. He then moved to
Amsterdam, where he spent two years in the Financial Planning, Reporting and Analysis department of
Liberty Global, one of the largest cable TV operators in the world. After graduating from Ross, Matteo
will be joining Citigroup in New York City in their investment banking Mergers & Acquisition group.
Matteo has studied, lived in, and travelled to more than 35 countries in the world.
Shirli Kopelman: Shirli Kopelman is an assistant professor at the Ross School of Business at the
University of Michigan. She holds a Ph.D. in Management and Organizations and an M.S. in Organization
Behavior from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, and a B.A. in Psychology
from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Her research of decision-making focuses on strategic and
mindful display of and response to emotions, factors promoting cooperation in the context of global
resource management, and the influence of culture on social dilemmas and negotiation strategy
Blair Miller: Blair Miller is the chief architect for Acumen Fund's work in leadership. In this role, she
leads the design, development, and expansion of Acumen's leadership initiatives including the Global
Fellows Program, the Regional Fellows Programs, + Acumen, and University programming. Previous to
Acumen Fund, Blair worked at Ashoka where she led the efforts to build a partnership between a health
insurance company and a microfinance bank to deliver micro-health insurance in India, supported the
development of a fund to invest in small-and-medium size enterprises for Care in Central America, and
spearheaded youth centered policies at the United Nations. She has been featured in the New York
Times, Financial Times, Top MBA, Leader to Leader, and ForaTV. She is an Aspen Ideas Fest Scholar, an
African Leadership Network Fellow, on the Board of Alumni at the University of Michigan's Ross School
of Business, and on the Executive Board of Venture for America. She has traveled and worked in over 30
countries holds an MBA from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of Virginia where
she was a varsity volleyball player.
Leslie Mulder: As Associate Director of Career Counseling at the Ross School of Business, Leslie
Mulder provides career coaching and job search skills programming for international students and
students interested in careers with social and environmental impact. Leslie counsels and educates all
Ross students on many aspects of career development, but has particular interest in self-assessment,
strengths-based professional development, intercultural communication, and off-campus job search
strategy. She believes that self-understanding is the root of strong career decision making and
particularly enjoys helping students deepen their awareness of their unique constellation of personality
characteristics, career interests, values, and strengths. Prior to her current position, she worked as a
corporate staffing specialist, an advisor for low-income and first generation college students, and a
career counselor for both undergraduate and graduate students. Leslie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Social
Work and Management Studies from St. Olaf College and a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology
from the University of Minnesota.
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