In this episode of The Chief’s Table, host Kim Stapleton interviews Jeff Korzenik, Chief Economist of Fifth Third Bank and award-winning author of Untapped Talent, a book that provides guidance on how second chance hiring could work for your business and the community.

During their discussion, Jeff discusses the labor problem in the United States and the gaps in the economy with the retirement of many in the Baby Boomer generation, which has led to an abundance of jobs and a smaller labor force. He highlights the strategy in Japan that has helped to rebound the country’s economy by diving deeper into their population to increase their workforce.

They also discuss his book Untapped Talent, and how the underrepresented groups, specifically those in the criminal justice realm, are overlooked in contributing to the labor pool. Jeff spells out why this sector deserves a chance but may face obstacles in maintaining employment, and how these obstacles can be overcome by companies being supportive employers and understanding the issues related to those having justice-related requirements. He also discloses that this formula is not only for those affected by the criminal justice system, but also applies to refugees, asylum seekers, and people with huge barriers to solve the nation’s business talent shortage.

Kim and Jeff talk about what industries are booming and how to work around the regulatory restrictions to incorporate this sector into the workforce. He tells us that there’s hope on the horizon with a new bipartisan re-entry task force or second chance task force in Congress, who believes the U.S. should live up to our aspiration to be the land of opportunity for all. Jeff also explains that unless businesses and the licensing industries are willing to put in the work and loosen parameters — this initiative won’t work. The fear of hiring a high-liability employee into a company is understandable, however, Jeff says there are workarounds, shifts in policy, and a change in paradigm is key in making this a viable group within the labor force.

About Jeff Korzenik

For more than 35 years, Jeff Korzenik has been a staple in the investment management industry. A guest on national news channels, his concepts and his insights into the economy, markets, manufacturing, and the workforce are frequently cited in the financial and business press. Jeff is a highly sought-after public speaker known for his skill to breakdown complex topics to common sense and approachable arguments. He is the author of the groundbreaking book, Untapped Talent.

In this episode of The Chief’s Table, Quoc Tran, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Tran Capital Management (TCM) in California joins host Kim Stapleton. Founded in 2017, Tran Capital is a boutique investment firm generating exceptional returns for a select group of clients focusing on growth strategy.

During their conversation, Quoc discusses his evolution in the industry, the transition and buyout of what is now TCM and the keys to cultivate a successful company — listening to clients and having them serve as advocates and partners — to achieve a high-performing firm. Quoc also discusses his perspective on what it takes to be an effective investor while making decisions with imperfect information.

Kim and Quoc also talk about the opportunities that have helped to enrich his life personally and professionally, as well as the variety of businesses he has been a part of and his personal ideals on giving back, and the next generation.

About Quoc Tran

Quoc Tran has more than 20 years experience in investment management across the United States. He began investing as a teen, which catapulted him into a career in finance. Raised in California and educated in New England and the Midwest, Tran has taken his professional experience and triumphs and used them to make a positive impact in his community, serving as a mentor and sitting on various non-profit boards.

Small business ownership is a proven way to build wealth, but for Black business owners, structural barriers often keep them from accessing traditional means of financing. For example, Black-owned businesses are approved for financing at one third of the rate of their White owned counterparts.

On this episode of The Chief’s Table, guest Charisse Conanan Johnson shares how her organization, Next Street, is helping to change that. Next Street supports small businesses and entrepreneurs by providing them with advice, resources and B2B solutions.

During her conversation with Kim, Charisse shares that as a Black woman who began her career in the financial industry, she realized that there were many structural impediments that kept Black Americans from accessing capital. In her role as Co-CEO and Board Member at Next Street, Charisse combines her passion for wealth creation and entrepreneurship by supporting minority-owned businesses.

Kim and Charisse also discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the importance of holding corporations accountable, especially concerning their 2020 pledges to monetarily support small, minority-owned businesses. Charisse highlights some of Next Street’s specific clients that have done a particularly good job fulfilling their racial justice pledges, such as Verizon and the Columbus Foundation.

Additionally, Charisse shares some of the statistics surrounding Black and Brown business ownership, well as a personal story that has affected the way she views life.

About Charisse Conanan Johnson

As Co-CEO and Board Member of Next Street, Charisse is responsible for executive oversight of all revenue-related and corporate activities at the firm. She also works to ensure that Next Street hits its financial and impact metrics, attracts and retains talent and remains loyal to its values. Previously, Charisse led the firm’s advisory practice, where she oversaw consulting solutions for institutional clients nationwide.

Prior to Next Street, Charisse served as CEO of Smarteys, Inc., a small business that provided financial planning tools to recent college grads. Charisse has also served a vice president at JPMorgan Asset Management, where she made investment decisions for a $10 billion mid cap equity portfolio. Charisse is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Charisse is also a chartered financial analyst (CFA) charter holder and author of A Wealthy Girl: 7 Steps to Prosperity, Peace, and Personal Power.

About Kim Stapleton

Kim Stapleton is the host of The Chief’s Table and a sales manager in Ice Miller's Chicago office, where she matches attorney skillsets with the needs of existing and prospective clients.

Prior to transitioning her role in client services, Kim was a firm consultant for five years. In that role, she helped attorneys develop their networks and expand their business development capabilities. Kim has previously worked with several other law and accounting firms to identify key targets, perform business intelligence and prioritize business development.

In this episode of The Chief’s Table, host Kim Stapleton is joined by Cathy Landman, Chief Legal and Human Resources Officer of Instant Brands. Known for products such as Instant Pot, Pyrex and Chicago Cutlery, Instant Brands is a global company with offices in North America, Asia, the United Kingdom and Australia.

During her conversation with Kim, Cathy explains how Instant Brand’s executive team operates and provides background on the company’s new sustainable development initiative. In addition to increasing sustainability, Cathy says Instant Brands is looking internally to promote diversity and inclusion.

As a global company, Cathy highlights the importance of staying connected with Instant Brand’s international offices. Through visits abroad, networking across departments and forming strong business relationships, Cathy says she can incorporate different ideas and perspectives in her work.

Kim and Cathy also discuss the importance of being a constant learner. In serving as in-house legal counsel and an HR professional, Cathy navigates two ever-changing important areas for the business, but she reveals that her continual desire to study new areas of the law as well as her passion for networking have helped her succeed in both roles.

About Cathy Landman

Cathy Landman has more than 30 years of experience navigating risk and providing strategic legal advice to global business teams at consumer product companies, including Pampered Chef, Jostens and Mary Kay. Her broad experience also includes leading human resources, compliance, licensing, risk and EHS.

About Kim Stapleton

Kim Stapleton is the host of The Chief’s Table and a sales manager in Ice Miller's Chicago office, where she matches attorney skillsets with the needs of existing and prospective clients.

Prior, Kim was a firm consultant for five years. In that role, she helped attorneys develop their networks and expand their business development capabilities. Kim has previously worked with several other law and accounting firms to identify key targets, perform business intelligence, and prioritize business development.

Throughout life, we all have foundational experiences that shape who we are. Sometimes, those experiences can even change our career trajectories or instill a deeper sense of purpose within us.

For Brian Floriani, the death of his father was such an experience. It was not only an emotional turning point, but it also gave him the inspiration and courage to change careers. As a result, Brian founded Bernie’s Book Bank, a nonprofit that sources, processes and distributes free children’s books to under-resourced children. Originally having served the greater Chicago area, but now going beyond.

In this episode of The Chief’s Table, Kim and Brian discuss how grief can be manifested in positive ways, as well as the importance of increasing book ownership and literacy in America.

They also discuss Brian’s new venture to support literacy, Freadom Promotions, a for profit company which dedicates 100% of it’s profits back to bold literacy initiatives throughout America, Bernie’s Book Bank included.  Freadom Promotions takes its cues from the “consumerism as activism” trend made popular by brands such as TOMS, Bombas, Newman’s Own Dressing and others. 

While factors such as the rise of corporate social responsibility will likely continue to play a vital role in the future of Bernie’s Book Bank and Freadom Promotions, Brian also highlights the importance of living a purpose-driven life. Through his work, Brian says he hopes to help others find their purpose as well.

About Brian Floriani

Prior to founding Bernie’s Book Bank, Brian was a lead instructor for Golf Digest Schools in Lake Tahoe and West Palm Beach. After leaving his job in the golf industry, Brian began working with struggling readers. He then started to envision a business that would distribute children’s books to under-served families. He first collected children’s books in his garage and distributed them in age-appropriate bags to local children.

Since then, Bernie’s Book Bank has distributed over 23 million books to children and families in Chicago. The nonprofit aims to increase book ownership and improve literacy among those it serves.

Brian served as executive director of Bernie’s Book Bank until 2018 when he transitioned into the role of chief advancement officer. In his current role he supports Bernie’s Book Bank by cultivating strategic relationships with partners across various industries.

About Kim Stapleton

Kim Stapleton is the host of The Chief’s Table and a sales manager in Ice Miller's Chicago office, where she matches attorney skillsets with the needs of existing and prospective clients.

Prior to transitioning into her role in client services, Kim was a firm consultant for five years. In that role, she helped attorneys develop their networks and expand their business development capabilities. Kim has previously worked with several other law and accounting firms to identify key targets, perform business intelligence and prioritize business development.

Learn more at www.icemiller.com

In recent years, the topic of wellness has become increasingly important, both to individuals and corporate entities alike. Many business leaders have begun to incorporate wellness curriculums of some form or other into their everyday operations, and some have even instituted a new executive role: the Chief Wellness Officer.

In this episode of The Chief’s Table, Kim Stapleton talks with Erin Coupe, founder of Authentically EC, about what exactly the role of a Chief Wellness Officer entails. They explore some key wellness concepts that Erin uses to help business executives optimize their own wellbeing so they can become more resilient, empathetic and effective leaders.

Erin explains that the concept of wellness goes far beyond what is offered in an employee benefits package. It’s less about tangible perks or the physical office space. Instead, it is about how employees feel in the presence of their leaders.

Erin says that once she provides business leaders with the tools they need to effectively manage their own mental and physical wellbeing, they then have the capacity to treat both themselves and their employees in a healthier way.

About Erin Coupe

Erin Coupe is founder of Authentically EC. She counsels corporate clients in the areas of wellbeing, mindset, emotional regulation, authenticity and resilience.

A former corporate executive, international thought leader and keynote speaker, Erin delivers pragmatic guidance and actionable insights to enrich lives, shift mindsets and energize wellbeing. A majority of Erin’s work includes partnering with organizations to facilitate leadership development programs, interactive training and workshops, group coaching and team consulting, wellbeing advisory services and more.

Learn more about Erin and Authentically EC here: https://www.erincoupe.com/.

On this episode of The Chief’s Table, Kristina Paschall, Executive Vice President and Chief Information and Digital Officer of JBT, joins host Kim Stapleton for a conversation about motivation, gratitude, life lessons, and more. In her role at JBT, Kristina is responsible for the company’s global IT team, which includes everything from IT security to infrastructure applications. Her responsibilities also include building the digital capabilities for all JBT machines and products.

During her conversation with Kim, Kristina shares that her primary motivation at work is being at a place that operates with a high degree of integrity and working with other ambitious professionals. She describes how her calm demeanor allows her to move quickly through the change management cycle but warns that “every good trait has a downside when it's used in excess,” and explains that she tries not to let her desire for consensus cloud her judgement when making executive decisions.

Kristina also discusses some of the important lessons she has learned over the course of her career, the importance of relationship building at work and advice for young professionals. Particularly, as working mothers, Kim and Kristina talk about societal expectations for women in the workplace and how they weigh those expectations against their own needs and desires, as well as the needs of their families.

About Kristina Paschall

Kristina was appointed Vice President & Chief Information Officer of JBT Corporation in 2017, and became Executive Vice President, Chief Information and Digital Officer in October 2020. Prior to joining JBT, Kristina served as CIO of Ferrara Candy Company. Previously, she held progressive senior IT leadership roles at Ingredion and GATX, as well as management roles at consulting organizations.

In the first episode of Ice Miller’s new podcast series, “The Chief’s Table,” host Kim Stapleton interviews Epic Burger CEO and President David Grossman. David walks listeners through his path to success, from his high school job at a local pizzeria, to his experience franchising Subway branches, to his current role at Epic Burger.

Kim and David discuss some of the lessons David has learned throughout his career, as well as how he has successfully led Epic Burger through recent industry changes. Further, David explains the concept behind the brand’s “a more mindful burger” tagline and shares how the restaurant chain manages to keep its french-fries hot and crispy, whether customers are ordering dine-in or delivery.

As President and CEO of Epic Burger, David directly oversees the chain’s operations, marketing and finances. David also develops growth strategies to promote the brand’s expansion in the Chicago area.

David graduated from the University of Kansas in 1989, and afterward he held developmental roles with national brands, including Subway and General Growth Properties.

A Chicago native, David worked for many years as the Chicagoland area developer for the emerging healthy casual brand Freshii. In this role, David not only opened the brand’s first franchise location in the U.S., but he also developed Freshii’s largest territory in the country, which constituted 39 locations in multiple states.

While David Grossman began his role at Epic Burger in early 2021, the brand’s seven Chicagoland locations have been serving hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes since 2008. Epic Burger believes that non-processed, all-natural food at a reasonable price is the foundation for a better burger, and its fresh beef and grilled chicken are humanely raised and halal certified. For more information about the Epic Burger menu or brand, visit epicburger.com.

Kim Stapleton is the host of The Chief’s Table and a sales manager in Ice Miller's Chicago office, where she matches attorney skillsets with the needs of existing and prospective clients.

Prior to transitioning her role in client services, Kim was a firm consultant for five years. In that role, she helped attorneys develop their networks and expand their business development capabilities. Kim has previously worked with several other law and accounting firms to identify key targets, perform business intelligence and prioritize business development.