Event Archives

Alfred Chuang, Co-Founder, BEA Systems & Magnet Systems
Date: Friday, February 08, 2019
Location: San Francisco

Alfred Chuang, who founded BEA Systems in early 1995 with Bill Coleman and Ed Scott, had managed just about every aspect of BEA by the time he became CEO in October 2001. Alfred served in that capacity until BEA was purchased by Oracle in April 2008.  Chuang is currently the CEO of Magnet Systems, a company he founded in 2008 to power the next generation of mobile applications with an open architecture to enable businesses and developers to create more engaging and productive enterprise-class mobile applications.

Geoffrey Moore, Managing Director, Geoffrey Moore Consulting
Date: Friday, February 01, 2019
Location: Santa Clara

Geoffrey Moore is an author, speaker, and advisor who splits his consulting time between start-up companies in the Mohr Davidow and Wildcat Venture Partners portfolios and established high-tech enterprises, most recently including Salesforce, Microsoft, Autodesk, F5Networks, Gainsight, Google, and Splunk.  Moore’s life’s work has focused on the market dynamics surrounding disruptive innovations. His first book, Crossing the Chasm, focuses on the challenges start-up companies face transitioning from early adopting to mainstream customers. It has sold more than a million copies, and its third edition has been revised such that the majority of its examples and case studies reference companies come to prominence from the past decade. Moore’s most recent work, Zone to Win, addresses the challenge large enterprises face when embracing disruptive innovations, even when it is in their best interests to do so. It’s time to stop explaining why they don’t and start explaining how they can. This has been the basis of much of his recent consulting.

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Scott McNealy, Chairman, Wayin
Date: Thursday, November 08, 2018
Location: Foster City

We were honored to welcome Scott McNealy to the Alliance of Chief Executives.  Scott, who did not have a technical background when he co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982, served as the CEO of Sun through the 1980s and 1990s.  Oracle purchased Sun Microsystems in 2010 for $7.4 billion, and since then, McNealy has invested in and advised a number of technology companies from his home-base in Silicon Valley.  He is currently the CEO of Wayin, a social intelligence company that integrates social content into new experiences for consumers and delivers greater value and control for brands, that he co-founded in 2010.  

Patrick Renvoise, Co-Founder, SalesBrain
Date: Friday, October 19, 2018
Location: San Ramon

Patrick Renvoise co-founded SalesBrain in 2002 and served as Chief Persuasion Officer. SalesBrain, the world’s first neuromarketing agency, uses neuroscience discoveries to radically transform sales and marketing performance by targeting the decision making part of a customer’s brain: their primal, unconscious brain. He has three passions in life: the science of persuasion, marketing and the human brain. Prior to starting SalesBrain, Patrick marketed complex, multi-million super-computers first with Silicon Graphics then with LinuxCare. After two years of research, he developed the first 100% science-based persuasion model NeuroMAP™. This unique, scientific yet easy to apply persuasion model was first published in Patrick’s book NeuroMarketing: Understanding the Buy Buttons in Your Customers’ Brain. Patrick’s second book: The Persuasion Code: How NeuroMarketing can help you Persuade Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime was published in September 2018.

Benno Dorer, Chairman & CEO, The Clorox Company
Date: Friday, October 12, 2018
Location: San Francisco

Benno Dorer is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Clorox Company. Benno joined Clorox in 2005 as vice president and general manager, Glad® Products.  Before joining Clorox, Benno worked for 14 years at Procter & Gamble in various marketing positions across a range of categories and countries, including laundry, home care, beauty care and paper products, in the United States and worldwide.

Curt Carlson, Founder, The Practice of Innovation
Date: Friday, October 05, 2018
Location: Santa Clara

Prior to founding the Practice of Innovation, Curt Carlson was President and CEO of SRI International. During Curt's 16-year tenure at SRI, its revenue more than tripled and SRI became a global model for the systematic creation of high-value innovations. Carlson is widely sought as a speaker and thought leader on innovation and global competitiveness. He advises U.S. governors, prime ministers, economic ministers, and education ministers around the world on innovation, competitiveness, and educational reform. His book, written with William Wilmot, called Innovation: The Five Disciplines for Creating What Customers Want was selected by BusinessWeek as one of the top 10 business books for 2006.  Curt discusseed why innovative success is a strategic imperative and why most companies' initiatives likely have no value.

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Bracken Darrell, President & CEO, Logitech
Date: Thursday, July 12, 2018
Location: San Mateo

As president and chief executive officer of Logitech, Bracken Darrell is responsible for Logitech’s strategy for growth and profitability, for the vision for the brand as well as for the company’s operations. Bracken has more than twenty years of experience in business management and brand management in successful global consumer companies, including Whirlpool, Procter & Gamble and General Electric. His broad executive management experience has spanned manufacturing, supply chain, product innovation, consumer services and marketing – targeting customers in mature and emerging markets. He has led growth and reinvention for iconic brands such as Old Spice, Gillette, Braun, KitchenAid and Whirlpool.

Erin Mendez, President/CEO, Patelco Credit Union
Date: Friday, June 15, 2018
Location: San Ramon

We were pleased to have Alliance member Erin Mendez, President/CEO of Patelco Credit Union, join us for this Regional Alliance meeting to discuss her lessons learned from a very successful career in the financial services industry. Prior to joining Patelco, Erin served as executive vice president and chief operating officer at SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union Santa Ana.  Erin was recently recognized as one of the Most Respected CEOs in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times.

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Jes Pedersen, CEO, Webcor Builders
Date: Friday, June 08, 2018
Location: San Francisco

We were pleased to have Alliance member Jes Pedersen, CEO of Webcor, join us for this Regional Alliance meeting to discuss his lessons learned from a very successful career in the construction industry.  Jes joined Webcor in 2000 and was named CEO in 2012.  While with Webcor, he has overseen the construction of the Foundry Square office buildings at First and Howard Streets, as well as one of the most complex projects ever built in San Francisco, the $500 million California Academy of Sciences, a combination of an aquarium, research institute, planetarium and science museum. Pedersen spearheaded Webcor’s transition from a company focused entirely on private development to a diversified contractor with robust public, private and infrastructure divisions. Jes was recently recognized as one of the Most Respected CEOs in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times.

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Alliance Voices, South Bay Alliance Members Share Business and Life Stories
Date: Friday, June 01, 2018
Location: Santa Clara

At our June 1st South Bay Alliance Regional Meeting, in the spirit of sharing the awesome collective wisdom of our Alliance community, we were excited to have four of our Alliance members share their “Alliance Voices” presentations about topics of interest and value. We heard from Alliance members Will Anderson, CEO of Complete Solar; Victor Chapela, CEO of Suggestic; Gary Gysin, CEO of Liquid Robotics; and Navin Nagiah of Sierra Ventures.

Alliance Voices, South Bay Alliance Leaders Share Business and Life Stories
Date: Friday, March 02, 2018
Location: Santa Clara

The collective wisdom within the Alliance community of members is truly extraordinary. This was clearly evident at our March 2, 2018 South Bay Regional meeting when we were treated to the business and life “Alliance Voices” presentations of Alliance members Bill Barhydt of ABRA ("The New World of Crypto Currency"), John De Santis of HyTrust (true stories of two company exists, and a difficult personal journey), John Paul of VenueNext ("Virtual Currency - Changing the Sports Season Ticket Experience"), and Christy Wyatt of Dtex Systems ("Landing the Plane").

Cara Hale Alter, Founder & President, SpeechSkills
Date: Friday, February 09, 2018
Location: San Francisco

As Founder and President of SpeechSkills, Cara Hale Alter has provided training to some of the world’s best-known companies, including Allstate, Caterpillar, Google, Intel, PayPal, Pixar, Pinterest, Salesforce, Schwab and Wells Fargo. Cara has also been a guest lecturer at UC Berkeley, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the Hastings College of Law. She is a frequent media resource, with appearances in Forbes.com, The Globe and Mail, USA Today, and countless other media outlets. In addition to penning The Credibility Code: How to Project Confidence and Competence When It Matters Most, Cara has produced award-winning educational videos on public speaking and managing nervousness.

Alliance Voices, East Bay Alliance Leaders Share Business and Life Stories
Date: Friday, November 17, 2017
Location: San Ramon

At our November 17, 2017 East Bay Regional Meeting, we were treated to outstanding examples of the extraordinary wisdom and experience of our community of Alliance members as three members presented their “Alliance Voices." Chris Burnley of Corefact talked about "Direct Marketing in the Age of Social Media" as we learn how an integrated omni-channel marketing strategy generates superior results. Jason Petralia of Raizlabs discussed a team-based approach to company management in his talk on "In Team We Trust." Rachel Haurwitz of Caribou Biosciences discussed how the CRISPR gene editing technology is changing the future of healthcare and food, “CRISPR: Hacking the Genome.”

Alliance Voices, Top Team Alliance Members Share Business and Life Stories
Date: Thursday, November 09, 2017
Location: Santa Clara

During our November 9, 2017 Regional Meeting, four of our Top Team Alliance members shared insight and expertise into valuable and relevant topics to our members. Skip Hilton of Jobvite shared perspectives on young workers and how to embrace them for company success during his "Understanding Millennials, Our Future Workforce" presentation. Mike Batesole of Shaklee discussed how "The Tall Blade of Grass Gets Cut" and lessons learned while doing business in China. Jane Macfarlane of The Institute of Transportation Studies UC Berkeley talked about the pace of technology and its impact on our social and economic health, asking if "Technology is Driving Industries Towards a Utopia or a Dystopia." Arwed Niestroj of Mercedes-Benz R & D North America shared his Silicon Valley learnings as a car guy, and the "Automagic Success with Silicon Valley."

Alliance Voices, San Francisco Alliance Leaders Share Business and Life Stories
Date: Friday, October 13, 2017
Location: San Francisco

During our October 13, 2017 Regional Meeting, in the spirit of sharing the awesome collective wisdom of our Alliance community, we were treated to hard-earned insights and expertise. Neil Chaudhari of Propane Studio discussed “The Transformative Power of Platforms” as he showcased how psychology, data and digital platforms can elevate community engagement and benefit any brand, including one that Neil is particularly passionate about, motorcycles. Ted Elliott of Jobscience discussed the “Population Bomb!” and how it will impact our labor force. Everett Harper of Truss explained how to “Move to the Edge, Declare it Center” by sharing a new framework for leading and solving complex problems. Ben Davis of Phizzle talked about “Data and Social Change” as he questioned what would happen if we collectively put the same effort into eliminating social injustices as we do using data to create and disrupt industries. Alliance Director Marion McGovern shed light on the “Myths and Misunderstandings About the Gig Economy,” and offered insights into how to capitalize on this important trend.

Behnam Tabrizi, Managing Partner, Rapid Transformation
Date: Friday, October 06, 2017
Location: Santa Clara

Behnam Tabrizi is a leading global business consultant, bestselling author, award-winning teacher, and a respected scholar. As an advisor to many Fortune 500 companies, he has worked with CEOs and senior executives in leading change and achieving breakthrough results.  Behnam has advised over thousands of leaders in over 20 industries on their organizational transformations, including IBM, GE, Aramark, Ciba Geigy, Hewlett Packard, Gap, Intel, LexisNexis, Honeywell, Genentech, Oracle, Starbucks, Applied Material, Gymboree, Cisco, Li & Fung, Haier, China Mobile, and Li Ning. He has also served as a senior advisor to the U.S. President’s transition team, and the President’s health and technology initiatives.  He is the author of four books on corporate transformation – the latest one, Rapid Transformation: A 90-day Plan for Fast and Effective Change.

Alfred Chuang, Co-Founder BEA Systems & Magnet Systems
Date: Thursday, July 13, 2017
Location: Santa Clara

Alfred Chuang, who founded BEA Systems in early 1995 with Bill Coleman and Ed Scott, had managed just about every aspect of BEA by the time he became CEO in October 2001. Alfred served in that capacity until BEA was purchased by Oracle in April 2008.  Chuang is currently the CEO of Magnet Systems, a company he founded in 2008 to power the next generation of mobile applications with an open architecture to enable businesses and developers to create more engaging and productive enterprise-class mobile applications.

Thom Shea, CEO, Adamantine Alliance
Date: Friday, June 16, 2017
Location: San Ramon

Thom Shea served 23 years with distinguished Valor as a Navy SEAL and is the author of the best-selling book UNBREAKABLE: A Navy SEAL’s Way of Life.  During his military career, Thom served in three wars, ultimately leading a team of Navy SEALs into Afghanistan in 2009 where he earned numerous commendations.  He served as Officer-in-Charge of the famed SEAL Sniper course and, in his final tour of duty, Thom served as Chairman for R&D on 11 separate optics and weapons boards maturing, funding and fielding five technologies.  He is currently the CEO of Adamantine Alliance, an exclusive private executive performance organization. Click here for Thom's podcast.

Madhavan Ramanujam, Partner, Simon-Kucher & Partners
Date: Friday, June 09, 2017
Location: San Francisco

Madhavan Ramanujam is partner at Simon-Kucher & Partners, the world’s largest pricing consultancy, and co-author of Monetizing Innovation: How Smart Companies Design the Product Around the Price.  Madhavan spoke about what’s arguably the most important question in business, but one that’s often overlooked by CEOs and their teams, "will customers actually pay for our products?" Madhavan says CEOs spend time designing “perfect” products and not enough time monetizing them. They slap on a price at the end of product development and expect the product to sell -- and then it doesn’t. Madhavan has led more than 125 monetization projects for startups, internet, software and technology clients.

Jorge Titinger, Former CEO of SGI
Date: Friday, June 02, 2017
Location: Santa Clara

We were pleased to have Alliance member, Jorge Titinger, join us for this Regional Alliance meeting to discuss his lessons learned from a very successful career leading Silicon Valley companies.  Most recently, Jorge was the CEO of SGI which he sold to HPE in 2016.  Jorge joined SGI and executed a successful turnaround by transitioning the company from high-performance computing to big data analytics.  Prior to joining SGI in 2012 as CEO, Jorge was CEO of Verigy which he led to a very successful acquisition by Avantest. Earlier, Jorge held executive leadership positions with FormFactor, KLA-Tencor, Applied Materials and HP.

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