Ensuring Business Success in the Post-COVID-19 World
Virtual Meeting
Thursday, July 16, 2020
11:00 am – 3:30 pm EDT
Speaker Bios
Stephen Fink, Partner
Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Steve Fink is a traditional real estate lawyer who also litigates. He advises on real estate transactions, land use and zoning, eminent domain, construction, and local counsel opinions. He also represents clients in litigation involving real estate and in commercial disputes, including bankruptcy. Steve is the author of Acquiring Distressed Commercial Real Estate, and co-author of The Bankruptcy Code and Indiana’s Mechanic’s Lien Law. Steve is annually recognized on the Indiana Super Lawyers and The Best Lawyers in America lists in both bankruptcy and real estate. He has twice been named Fort Wayne Bankruptcy Lawyer of the Year by Super. He has a J.D. from Indiana University-Indianapolis and a B.S. in aviation technology from Purdue University.
Ernest Goss, Professor
Heider College of Business, Creighton University
Ernie Goss is currently the MacAllister Chair and Professor of Economics at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and Director of the Goss Institute in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Goss was a visiting scholar with the Congressional Budget Office and the National Aeronautics & Space Administration. His book, Changing Attitudes Toward Economic Reform During the Yeltsin Era, was published by Praeger Press in 2003 and his book Governing Fortune: Casino Gambling in America was published by the University of Michigan Press in 2007 (www.erniegoss.com and www.outlook-economic.com). He is editor of Economic Trends, an economics newsletter published monthly that is distributed to more than 10,000 subscribers. He is the past president of the Omaha Association of Business Economics, and the National Purchasing Management Association-Nebraska. To gauge regional economic conditions, Goss conducts a monthly survey of bank CEOs in rural areas of 10 states and a monthly survey of supply managers in 9 states. Results from the two surveys are carried in over 100 newspapers, 50-100 radio stations, and scores of other media outlets each month. Recent citations appeared in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Wall Street Journal as well as regional newspapers such as the Denver Post, the Kansas City Star, and the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Recently, Goss has appeared on CNN, Fox Business News, National Public Television, and BBC.
Bob Greene, Senior HR Industry Analyst
Ascentis
Bob Greene currently serves as Senior HR Industry Analyst at Ascentis. Bob’s 40 years in the human capital management industry have been spent in practitioner, consultant, and vendor/partner roles. As practitioner, he managed payroll for a 5,000-person bank in New Jersey. As consultant, he spent 8 years advising customers in HRMS and payroll and benefits system design as well as acquisition strategies. Bob also built a strategic HCM advisory practice for Xcelicor (later acquired by Deloitte Consulting.) As vendor/partner, he has had prominent roles in sales support, marketing, and product management at several companies and currently Ascentis. Bob has been a Contributing Editor for IHRIM’s Workforce Solutions Review journal for the past eight years and for 2020 will be Co-Managing Editor. His experience also includes two years as Adjunct Lecturer in HRIS at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois. In addition to his 40 years of experience, Bob also holds a B.A. in English from Rutgers University.
Gene Marks, CPA, President and CEO
The Marks Group PC
A past columnist for both the New York Times and The Washington Post, Gene now writes regularly for The Hill, The Washington Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Guardian, Forbes, and Entrepreneur Magazine. Gene has written 5 books on business management, specifically geared towards small and medium sized companies. His latest best-selling books are In God We Trust, Everyone Else Pays Cash, and The 2020 Small Business Book Of Lists — Volumes 1 and 2. Nationally, Gene appears regularly on MSNBC and Fox News as well as The John Batchelor Show and SiriusXM’s Wharton Business Channel where he talks about the financial, economic, and technology issues that affect business leaders today. Through his keynotes and breakout sessions, Gene helps business owners, executives, and managers understand the political, economic, and technological trends that will affect their companies and—most importantly—the actions they can take to continue to grow and profit. Gene owns and operates the Marks Group PC, a highly successful ten-person firm that provides technology and consulting services to small and medium sized businesses. Prior to starting the Marks Group PC, Gene, a Certified Public Accountant, spent nine years in the entrepreneurial services arm of the international consulting firm KPMG in Philadelphia where he was a Senior Manager.
Ken Simonson, Chief Economist
Associated General Contractors of America
Ken Simonson has been chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, the leading trade association for the construction industry, since 2001. He provides insight into the economy and what it implies for construction and related industries through frequent media interviews, presentations, and the Data DIGest, his weekly one-page e-newsletter that goes to over 50,000 subscribers. Ken has more than 40 years of experience analyzing, advocating, and communicating about economic and tax issues. He currently serves on the Census Bureau’s Scientific Advisory Committee. He is a Fellow and past president of the National Association for Business Economics and he is co-director of the Tax Economists Forum, a professional meeting group he co-founded in 1982. Ken has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Chicago, and an M.A. in Economics from Northwestern University.