FRONTIERS

Agenda

 

Thursday, October 10

8:00 AM–9:00 AM

Conference Check-In & Networking

9:00 AM–9:25 AM
Hill Ballroom

Welcome

 
SPEAKER

Lee H. Roberts

Chancellor, UNC-Chapel Hill

Overview of Grand Challenge

 
SPEAKER

Paige Ouimet

Executive Director, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise, and Professor of Finance, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
9:25 AM–10:15 AM
Hill Ballroom

Panel Discussion: Thriving Through Turbulence: Insights on Business Resilience

In an era of rapid technological shifts, supply chain instability and global uncertainty, building resilience has become essential for long-term business success. Our panel of leading academics and experienced business leaders will share real-world examples and offer practical advice for future-proofing your organization. Join us for an in-depth dialogue exploring how businesses today can enhance their capacity to anticipate, adapt and thrive amid volatility and change.

 
PANELISTS

Senator David W. Craven, Jr.

North Carolina General Assembly

Kevin Lavender

Executive Vice President, Head of Commercial Banking, Fifth Third Bank

Christian Lundblad

Richard "Dick" Levin Distinguished Professor of Finance and Senior Associate Dean for Faculty and Research, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
 
MODERATOR

Sekou Bermiss

Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
10:15 AM–10:45 AM

Networking Break

10:45 AM–11:15 AM
Hill Ballroom

Keynote: Expertise, Artificial Intelligence and the Work of the Future

Will recent advances in AI complement human expertise, thereby increasing its value, or render it increasingly unnecessary, thus reducing its value (even if jobs are not in net eliminated)? David Autor will frame this question through the lens of three technological revolutions of the last two centuries: the Industrial Revolution, the Computer Revolution, and the AI Revolution. In each, the types of expertise that were rewarded changed substantially, with vastly uneven consequences for workers in different occupations and possessing different education levels. These forces will play out differently in the AI era than in preceding decades. While the future is not a forecasting exercise –– we are collectively creating it –– Autor will discuss the opportunities that AI opens for the labor market, as well as some of the risks it poses.

 
SPEAKER

David Autor

Daniel (1972) and Gail Rubinfeld Professor, Margaret MacVicar Faculty Fellow, MIT, and 2024 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow
11:15 AM–12:00 PM
Hill Ballroom

Panel Discussion: Innovation: Disruption, Adaptation and a Reshuffle

Major innovations – think electricity or computerization – are often underestimated when introduced. Moreover, in popular imagination, disruption happens overnight, but in reality, innovation’s impacts take time. Are we at the outset of an innovation-induced disruption? Will generative AI and other technologies dominate or will mitigating forces temper these technologies’ takeover? Three experts  discuss how businesses should adapt to the potential reshuffling of the competitive landscape.

 
PANELISTS

Josh Lerner

Jacob H. Schiff Professor of Investment Banking, Harvard Business School, and 2024 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow

Heather Miller

Vice President, Digital Transformation, Smurfit Westrock

Bruce Van Saun

Chairman and CEO, Citizens Financial Group
 
MODERATOR

Gerald Cohen

Chief Economist, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
12:00 PM–1:30 PM
Chancellor's Ballroom

Luncheon: A Conversation with Derek Thompson

The Atlantic staff writer and author of its “Work in Progress” newsletter, Derek Thompson sits down for a fireside chat about a key driver in business resiliency – its workforce. He’ll speak to what data and reporting say about the age of distraction, the importance of employee autonomy, and how and when digital tools for efficiency start to undermine productivity.

 
SPEAKER

Derek Thompson

Staff Writer, The Atlantic
 
MODERATOR

Brooke Capps-Yaroni

Director of External Affairs, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
1:30 PM–1:45 PM

Networking Break

1:45 PM–2:30 PM

Breakout Sessions

Panel Discussion: Balancing Operational Efficiency and Agility in a Post-Pandemic Era

Hill Ballroom - North

Firms are increasingly facing social, economic and political risks while operating in the global economy. This panel explores strategic shifts and best practices in operations, including nearshoring, supplier diversification, planning and technology adoption. Our panel of experts will share their real-world experiences about how firms are delicately balancing their goals around operational efficiency while developing a robust and resilient execution model.

 
PANELISTS

Léa Dulin Grandbois

Vice President of Risk, Albemarle

Kristin Sjoholm

Managing Director, FTI Consulting

Martin Vilsøe

Chief Executive Officer, Implement Consulting Group
 
MODERATOR

Jayashankar Swaminathan

GlaxoSmithKline Distinguished Professor of Operations, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and 2024 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow

Panel Discussion: Are Parts of US Healthcare Too Big to Fail?

Hill Ballroom - South

Increased consolidation in US healthcare is under scrutiny as regulators and competitors label some companies “too big to fail.” Mergers across the provider market and the healthcare supply chain –— from corporate buyers to private equity and larger systems –— have driven prices higher, but new fears around industry resilience and risk -management have emerged in the wake of an industry-halting cyberattack. This panel will explore how regulatory frameworks and corporate risk management strategies can evolve after such events.

 
PANELISTS

Adam Brown

Founder, ABIG Health

Lisa Grabert

Research Professor, Georgetown University and Visiting Research Professor, Marquette University

Frances Nahas

Chief Strategy & Administrative Officer, RedSail Technologies
 
MODERATOR

Bradley Staats

Senior Associate Dean for Strategy and Academics and Ellison Distinguished Professor of Operations; Faculty Director, Center for the Business of Health, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
2:30 PM–2:45 PM

Networking Break

2:45 PM–3:30 PM

Breakout Sessions

Panel Discussion: Resilience and Small Firms: Challenges and Advantages of Small Firms in a World of Change

Hill Ballroom - North

What are the unique advantages and challenges faced by small firms in a world of constant change and disruption? Small firms can be agile and can change course quickly to take advantage of new opportunities. But their access to capital or other resources may be limited, relative to larger firms, making it difficult to withstand bad shocks. We will discuss how small firms build resilience, from building supply chain networks to tapping new markets.

 
PANELISTS

Kristen Fanarakis

Associate Director, Small Business Policy, Entrepreneurship & Innovation, Milken Institute

Kevin McGahren

President and General Manager, Greyston Bakery

William Toole

Deputy, North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State
 
MODERATOR

Bernard Bell

Executive Director, UNC Shuford Program

Panel Discussion: Building a Resilient Workforce: How to Turn Volatility Into Opportunity

Hill Ballroom - South

All companies face unexpected shocks and disruptions, threatening job security and organizational order. This panel explores the key aspects of organizational and workforce resilience, and how businesses and their employees can adapt to unexpected changes. Our panel of experts will share their real-world experiences with workforce volatility and how they cultivated an environment that could withstand unforeseen challenges.

 
PANELISTS

DeLisa Alexander

Executive Coach and Board Director, Qlik, Sophos, and Synechron

Representative Stephen M. Ross

North Carolina General Assembly

Tammy Samuels

Associate Dean of Talent and Administration, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
 
MODERATOR

David Hofmann

Hugh L. McColl, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Senior Associate Dean of UNC Executive Development, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
3:30 PM–3:45 PM

Networking Break

3:45 PM–4:15 PM
Chancellor's Ballroom

Keynote: Fundamentals of Resilience

With the unexpected becoming a bigger part of the everyday, understanding how to build resilience cannot be more timely or more important. Resilience enables individuals, teams, organizations and institutions to weather various grand challenges such as crises, pandemics, workforce disruptions and economic surprises that arise seemingly without warning. In this presentation, Sutcliffe highlights some fundamentals of resilience and how you can build your own and that of your team and your organization.

 
SPEAKER

Kathleen M. Sutcliffe

Bloomberg Distinguished Professor, Johns Hopkins University, and 2024 Kenan Institute Distinguished Fellow
4:15 PM–5:00 PM
Chancellor's Ballroom

Risk, Uncertainty, and Adaptive Resilience: A Fireside Chat with UNC Kenan-Flagler Dean Mary Margaret Frank

Join Dean Mary Margaret Frank for a discussion about the challenges inherent in a rapidly changing and increasingly complex world. This executive briefing is part of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Dean’s Speaker Series and is made possible through the generous support of the Archie K. Davis Endowment.

 
SPEAKERS

Steve Malik

Chairman and Owner, NC Courage

The Honorable Sarah Bloom Raskin

Partner, Kaya Partners; Colin W. Brown Distinguished Professor of the Practice of Law, Duke University; Former Deputy Secretary, US Department of the Treasury
 
MODERATOR

Mary Margaret Frank

Dean, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School
5:00 PM–5:10 PM
Chancellor's Ballroom

Closing Remarks

 
SPEAKER

David Knowles

Managing Director, Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise
5:10 PM–6:30 PM
Old Well Room

Reception

 
 

Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise

Leveraging the Private Sector for the Public Good

Established in 1985 by Frank Hawkins Kenan, the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise is a nonpartisan business policy think tank affiliated with the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. The nonprofit institute and its affiliated centers convene leaders from business, academia and government to better understand how the private sector can work for the public good. The institute leverages best-in-class research to develop market-based solutions to today’s most complex economic challenges. In doing so, the institute aims to support businesses and policies that better the lives of people in North Carolina, across the country and around the world.

www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu

A Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise Event