Track Leaders

Jane Hyun, President and Founder of Hyun & Associates, is an executive coach and leadership strategist to Fortune 500 companies, universities, and non-profit organizations. In addition to coaching professionals to maximize their potential and advance their careers, she advises senior-management teams to raise awareness about the critical role that the global talent pipeline plays in today’s multicultural workplace. Previously, she was a Vice President of Human Resources at JP Morgan and Director of Recruiting at Deloitte & Touche and Resources Connection. She is a graduate of Cornell University with a degree in Economics and International Studies. Her work has received international recognition, and she has appeared in a variety of media outlets, including CNN, CNBC, National Public Radio, Time, Fortune, CEO, Working Mother, and Crains. In 2005, HarperCollins released her groundbreaking book, Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling: The Essential Guide to Getting In, Moving Up, and Reaching the Top. Jane lives in New York City with her family.

Mark Washington is the National Coordinator for MBA Ministry for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA. In this position he supports over a dozen MBA staff and multiple national and international projects. Additionally, he serves as campus minister for MBA students and faculty at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and the Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago. Formerly, he was an Associate Dean at North Park Theological Seminary. He is ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church. At North Park, Mark earned a special dual degree: MA in Theological Studies and MBA. Prior to graduate studies, Mark as a counselor to severely emotionally disturbed teenage gang youth. Currently, he serves on his church board and is heavily involved in leading the Sunday School ministry of the church. Mark and his wife Amy have been marvelously married for 13 years and live in Chicago with their three children.

Program Summary

Flourish: “To be in a period of highest productivity, excellence, or influence.” For example, the crops flourished in the rich soil.

God intends for business, in all its dimensions, to be central to the flourishing of human beings. Being made in God’s image, people need meaningful work as a way of expressing that image and human dignity. Work provides myriad opportunities to love your neighbor as yourself. Yet most businesspeople do not have an understanding of their work as a holy calling and much work can be drudgery. Issues of power, pride, money, ambition, office politics, and more can make work a life-destroying experience.

• How do business and the world of work contribute to human flourishing?
• Do Christians in business have something unique to contribute to the wellbeing and success of individuals, organizations, and the global marketplace?
• For working professionals, what are the key indicators of flourishing beyond career advancement, worldly success, and personal achievement?

These are questions the Business track at Following Christ 2008 will address.

Come join hundreds of Christian business practitioners, faculty, and students as we explore business as a force that promotes human flourishing and advances the Kingdom of God. Enjoy deep fellowship in the context of worship and Bible study. Participate in special networking opportunities. Learn about how to flourish in the marketplace while helping other individuals and communities do the same. Come for personal renewal and flourishing.

Program Details

Sunday, December 28

Bringing Mission to Business

Al Erisman, former Director of R&D for computing and mathematics at Boeing and now Executive in Residence at Seattle Pacific University’s business school and Director of the Institute for Business, Technology, and Ethics, will focus our keynote address on the mission of business, why business is a great place to work out the principles of the Kingdom of God, and what it is to be “salt and light” for our world through business. Importantly, this task is not limited to working in a “social venture” or a nonprofit. It is not limited to being the boss with a commitment to run the company by Christian principles.

Al comments, “It took awhile, but somewhere along the road of my thirty-two-year career at Boeing, I came to see that my work was important in the Kingdom of God. Doing research and building airplanes can have eternal significance, not just as a platform or a means to fund other activities in the Kingdom of God. And so can your work wherever God has placed you.”

Special Business Track Reception

Part of flourishing is connecting with other believers in various places, including your vocation. Following Dr. Erisman’s presentation we will enjoy an exclusive reception for the business track participants. To make the connecting even more fruitful, there will be hubs of connection by industry or job function with mentors at each hub. For example, there will be mentors for real estate, finance, entrepreneurship, non-profit, and almost a dozen more categories. Informal networking will allow you to connect with future friends and business associates.

Monday, December 29

Part I: Personal Leadership and Flourishing

From global Fortune 500 companies to small nonprofit entities, organizations today crave authentic leaders who can provide direction with integrity and courage. As followers of Christ, we are called to steward our gifts and opportunities for leadership, making the most of the days. Before you can positively influence others in your leadership role, you need a strong awareness of your personal capabilities as you carry out your vocational calling.

Moreover, are you communicating your core strengths in a way that your friends, colleagues, clients, teammates, and potential bosses who come from other cultural perspectives are aware of your intent? Join us as Jane Hyun, executive coach, author of Breaking the Bamboo Ceiling, and multicultural leadership strategist will lead us in an inspiring and practical session where we will 1) explore the impact of our cultural framework on our personal leadership and 2) engage in a fun, practical exercise where you will identify your core underlying strengths and practice sharing it with others clearly.

Highlights include:

• Your Personal Cultural Framework and its role in a global leadership context
• Understanding one’s cultural filters and how to work effectively with others
• Achieving fluency in the workplace

You will learn to lead with Authenticity by:

• Identifying personal skills/strengths and how to communicate them to key stakeholders
• Practicing communicating it to others
• Connecting and praying for each other in small groups

Part II: Flourishing in the Workplace

So how do you flourish at work and help others to flourishing through your work? Jane Hyun will lead a panel that will discuss the challenges and opportunities for Christians in the workplace.

Panel participants include:

• Shundrawn Thomas, Head of Corporate Strategy, The Northern Trust Company, public speaker and author
• D. Michael Lindsay, Assistant Professor of Sociology, Assistant Director for the Center on Race, Religion, and Urban Life, Rice University, and author of Faith in the Halls of Power: How Evangelicals Joined the American Elite
• Perry Bigelow, Founder of Bigelow Homes
• Benjamin Hill, Managing Director of B. W. Hill and Associates, a marketing consulting firm

Tuesday December 30th

Wrap-Up Conversation

To help you process everything you’ve been learning, Mark Washington, InterVarsity’s National MBA Ministry Coordinator, will lead a discussion of key take-aways, next steps, and new questions to be explored that Following Christ 2008 has raised. Following the panel discussion, you will have a change to share and pray with a small group.

Discussion participants include:

• Gary Ginter, Chairman/Interim CEO, VAST Power Systems, Inc., a pollution control technology start up company
• Katherine Leary, Director of the Center for Faith and Work at Redeemer Presbyterian Church (New York City)
• Lizette Williams, Assistant Marketing Manager for Quaker Snack Bars

Advisory Council

Dr. Roy Carter, Chevron’s Finance MBA Development Program

Tom Cole, co-head of Leveraged and Acquisition Finance, Americas, HSBC

Elmer H. Huh, Senior Vice President within the Enterprise Valuation Group for Lehman Brother’s Fixed Income Department

Dr. David Miller, Executive Director, Yale Center for Faith & Culture, and assistant professor (adjunct) of business ethics, Yale Divinity School

C. William Pollard, former CEO, ServiceMaster

Christopher Recktenwald, management consultant, PRTM

Steven S. Reinemund, former Chairman of the Board and CEO, PepsiCo; Dean, Calloway School of Business and Accountancy and Babcock School of Graduate Management, Wake Forest University

Lizette Williams, Assistant Marketing Manager, Quaker Snack Bars