09:00 AM - 10:00 AM (Pacific)
10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (Mountain)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (Central)
12:00 PM - 01:00 PM (Eastern)

Registration

$00 Member Registration Fee
$20 Non-Member Registration Fee

RegisterA Zoom link will be sent before the virtual event 

Overview 

Economic uncertainty is growing and many economists are worried about a recession in the next 12 months. Financial conditions are tightening and interest rates are seen at the highest level since the economic downturn in 2008. This is forcing businesses to reassess their corporate priorities and adopt new ones to minimize the negative economic impact and perhaps to take advantage of it to better the business.

During this session a panel will share their thoughts and ideas on dealing with this new environment offering the perspective of the executive leadership team, the board, and outside financial service providers.

Thank you to our National Sponsors! 

Speakers

Ryan Ferris,  CCIM Broker Colliers International

Ryan Ferris is a graduate of Michigan State and worked for Clear Height Properties, an owner of industrial real estate, prior to joining Colliers as a broker in 2020.  At Clear Height Properties, Ryan was responsible for managing over 1,000,000 SF and 125+ tenants. In his current role, Ryan specializes in industrial real estate, where he represents landlords, local tenants, as well as public companies.  Since joining Colliers, Ryan has completed over $35 million of transaction volume.  Ryan is a Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM).  

Dr. Donald R. James Chief Executive Officer Solero Technologies

Dr. Donald R. James is the Chief Executive Officer of Solero Technologies, which is a leading global supplier of transmission solenoids, engine solenoids, stop-start accumulators, and hydraulic control modules.

Based in the Rochester Hills headquarters, Dr. James is responsible for driving Solero’s vision and strategic direction while ensuring long-term profitable growth. Additionally, he oversees all sales, engineering, and operations for the company.

Dr. James brings 25 years of automotive industry leadership experience to the CEO role. Prior to joining Solero, he served as the President of the Americas and an executive committee member at Joyson Safety Systems. In addition, Dr. James served in a variety of global leadership positions at Continental AG and Federal-Mogul Corporation in both North America and Europe. Dr. James earned a Doctorate in Business with a focus on Sustainability & Sustainable Product Development and a Master’s in Business Administration from Lawrence Technological University, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Michigan. In addition to his role at Solero, he serves on the Board of Directors of Saia, Inc.
Dr. James lives in Troy, Michigan and enjoys reading, cycling and travel.

Maureen Eisbrenner CEO & Co-Founder Arbnco

Maureen Eisbrenner is cofounder, CEO & Chairman of arbnco. Arbnco is the leading building performance software platform for utilities, national property managers, and commercial real estate. Under her leadership, arbnco has built an exceptional team to deliver SAAS products to real estate investors, managers, and consultants to accelerate the built environment’s transition to net zero carbon.  

Arbnco, which is based in Glasgow Scotland, also has a U.S. Headquarters in Plymouth, MI.

the company’s efforts are already making visible change in the UK, and that work continues globally. However, her greatest source of pride is the people of arbnco and the culture they have created, constantly humbled by the incredible talent and dedication of her extraordinary team. 

Maureen is a seasoned executive with more than twenty years of experience helping companies and their clients to achieve results. Prior to founding arbnco, she co-founded Cadmeleon LTD which provided technology-based solutions to the public and private sectors including commercial real estate, healthcare, and financial services companies. Maureen led the successful acquisition of the scanning division of Cadmeleon LTD to a multinational firm in 2014. The engineering and technology divisions were spun-off into CO₂ Estates and rebranded in 2015 as arbnco. In addition, Maureen also cofounded Government Properties Group which is a full-service professional real estate firm with more than a decade of consulting, acquisition, asset management and property management experience in the Federal Government Agency real estate market. 

Prior to founding her companies, Maureen graduated from Michigan State University and persued a career in financial management focused in the commercial real estate sector. She now resides in Plymouth, Michigan and enjoys traveling, exploring the outdoors, and spending time with friends and family. 

Moderator

Jamal Farhat Partner Fortium Partners

Jamal Farhat is a recognized global leader with over 35 year experience in information technology, cyber security, outsourcing, system development, and technology/management consulting for many global public and private companies. He has held top management positions for manufacturing, engineering, and industrial companies in areas such as IT, Supply Chain, Purchasing, Customer Service, Program and Engineering Management.

Jamal served as a Corporate Vice President and Chief Information Officer at BorgWarner, a $14.5 billion Fortune 500 publicly traded engineering and manufacturing company with 48,000 employees in 99 global locations. Company offers propulsion products for traditional, hybrid, and electrical vehicles.

He served on the board of a BorgWarner Joint Venture company with Chinese Auto maker consortium and has served on many advisory boards of public technology companies such Cisco, AT&T, and Microsoft, as well as private tech startups such as QLIK (data analytics) and TextIQ (artificial intelligence). He was also a member of the state of Michigan CIO board. A member of the Private Director Association, the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and an NACD Governance.

Jamal holds a Bachelor and Masters of Science in Electrical Engineering from Washington University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He Holds various industry certifications including APICS CIRM and PMP. 

A proven track record in strategic planning, business digital transformation, organizational development, operational excellence, global leadership, and MD&A . He brings to the board proven executive leadership, thought and global diversity, critical thinking, and diplomacy. Areas of board contributions include business digital transformation, enterprise software and technology strategy, cyber security, data privacy, data analytics, enterprise risk management, audit and regulatory compliance.

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