Executive in Residence

September 20-21, 2018

Andres Traslavina currently serves as the Director of Global Executive Recruiting at Whole Foods Market, a "100 Best Companies to Work For." Andres leads Whole Foods Market’s Global social recruiting initiative. This endeavor includes working with twelve regions to maximize social channels to source and recruit passive candidates. His work in recruiting has taken him all over the world, including Europe, Asia and Latin America, while he is currently based in Austin, TX, home of Whole Food Market's global support office. During his long recruiting tenure, Andres has also worked as the Director of Recruiting and Institutional partnerships at Blackboard, as a consulting corporate recruiter for Microsoft retail, and as a Sr. Consultant at Talent Plus, a recruitment and assessment company based in Lincoln, NE. His portfolio of clients included fortune 500 companies such as Zappos, Cisco, Scotiabank, Komatsu, KPMG, Mercedes Benz, Loews Hotels, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, JW Marriott and Microsoft.

His recruiting approach is based on helping candidates discover their strengths and employers find and select top performers based on their talents and cultural fit.

Andres, a native of Colombia, received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Japanese (2001) and a Masters’ in Education Counseling with an emphasis in Psychology (2005), both from UNK. During his time at UNK, Andres was a member of the Tennis varsity team and served as a resident advisor, a chancellor’s ambassador, the Disney College program campus representative, and as a recruiter for the admissions office for five years.

Andres is actively involved in the International Positive Psychology Association, Society for Human Resource Management and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.

September 14 & 15, 2017

Brett Wall serves as Senior Vice President and President of the Brain Therapies division at Medtronic, which is part of the company's Restorative Therapies Group.  Brett, a seasoned medical device executive with 25 years of experience in the industry, manages a team of more than 1,000 individuals, including all business functions across all geographies.  Prior to joining Medtronic, Brett served as Covidien's President, Neurovascular and International, where he managed all commercial activities and functions of the business resulting in a doubling of revenue from 2011 tp 2015.  Previously, Brett served as Senior Vice President and President, Neurovascular and Senior Vice President and President, International at ev3, Inc.  From 2000 to 2008, Brett held positions of Vice President, Marketing for the Neurovascular and Peripheral Vascular divisions at Micro therapeutics until its merger with ev3.  Previously, Brett worked at Boston Scientific as the Director of Marketing, Cardiovascular, Asia Pacific and Marketing Manager, Japan, where he was responsible for the Interventional Cardiology product lines within the Asia-Pacific region.  Brett's career in the medical device industry has also featured position of increasing responsibility at C.R. Bard, where he was responsible for marketing the company's entire suite of urological products.

Brett currently serves on the board executive committee for OCTAN3, a group that promotes technical growth and expertise in the greater Orange County, California area.  He is also a member of the CEO Troundtable at the University of California, Irvine.  Previously, Brett served as Chairman of the Heart and Stroke Ball for the American Heart Association, Orange County Chapter.

September 22 & 23, 2016

Jeanette Wojtalewicz is the SVP and Chief Financial Officer for CHI Health serving Nebraska and Southwest Iowa.  This organization of $2 billion in net revenues is comprised of 15 hospitals, 800 employed physicians and numerous post-acute services and joint ventures.  Jeanette has worked in Healthcare Finance for 30 years.  She received her BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from UNK in 1984 and Masters in Healthcare Administration from Bellevue University in 2008.  Her work experience has been in public accounting, acute health care settings, post-acute/rehabilitation services, and children's psychiatric services.  Jeanette is a past President of HFMA in Nebraska, and serves on a number of local boards including the Nebraska Health Information Initiative, Midlands Choice and UniNET CIN.  Jeanette has been recognized by HFMA with the Gold Merit Award and was the recipient of the John C. Finegan Award from the Lincoln Family Medicine Program.  She also received the UNK Distinguished Alumni Award in 2012 and is a past mentor of the UNK Gold Torch Society.  Jeanette is married to Michael and they have 5 children.

 

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Keynote Address

September 30-October 1, 2015

President & CEO - Borsheims Fine Jewelry and Gifts

Appointed President and CEO in 2013 by Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. Karen Goracke is a long tenured associate at Borsheims.

Ms. Goracke holds a BS in Business Administration as well as Organizational Communication, both from the University of Nebraska at Kearney. She began her career at Borsheims in 1988 as a Sales Associate in the Gift Department. When Berkshire Hathaway acquired Borsheims in 1989, Ms. Goracke was promoted to Inventory Supervisor. She led several new initiatives in this department, including converting the inventory to a controlled system that allowed data analysis and one-on-one interaction with the merchandise buyers. Ms. Goracke continued her career path with Borsheims as the Watch Buyer until 1998, when she put her professional career on hold to tend to her growing family. She returned in 2004 as the Ladies Jewelry Buyer where she made a significant impact on the bottom line by reducing the inventory. Shortly thereafter she became Director of Merchandising, overseeing all buying functions, including the Fashion Jewelry Buyer, Diamond and Bridal Buyer, Assistant Buyer, and Gifts and Home Accessories Buyer.

Ms. Goracke is well respected for her business pragmatism. Her experience holding many different roles across the company gives her an extremely broad retail background. As a result, she has an intricate depth of knowledge not just of Borsheims, but of the worldwide jewelry industry.

As one of Omaha's most known and well-loved retailers, Borsheims has played an important role in the recognition of this city across the country and around the world.

Along with this position of prominence comes a responsibility to the community. Ms. Goracke is a Director with the Jewelers Vigilance Committee, the leading compliance organization in the jewelry and gem industry. Additionally, Ms. Goracke serves on several boards and committees within the gem and jewelry industry. Locally, Ms. Goracke currently serves as volunteer with Skutt High School, and serves as one of the school's Angel Flight fundraisers. She volunteers for her alma mater, Gross High School, and is active in the alumni chapter of her sorority, Gamma Phi Beta. Ms. Goracke has also volunteered her time to the Food Bank of the Heartland and Open Door Mission. In 2014, Ms. Goracke was named the Honorary Chair of the Fall Luncheon for the Women's fund of Omaha; an organization devoted to identifying issues, funding solutions and leading change for women and young girls.

Ms. Goracke resides in Omaha, Nebraska, with her husband Bruce, also a UNK Alum, and their three children.

October 2-3, 2014

In 1995 Richard Salmen started a small, independent financial planning practice and today he is a Senior VP and Manager of Financial Planning Service at BOK Financial in Overland Park, KS. This is a team that manages $600 million in assets for 350 clients. In 2009, as a national president of the 26,000 member Financial Planning Association, Mr. Salmen helped lawmakers draft new financial regulations after the 2008 banking crisis. He is also a former air traffic controller who retired in march 2013 after a twenty-five year career with the FAA. Mr. Salmen, a Creighton, NE native, came to Kearney State College on a three year Army ROTC scholarship in 1985 after serving as an Army private in Germany. In 1988, he graduated with a Business Administration and Airway Science degree. He holds a MBA from the University of Kansas where he was recognized as a Graduate Business Scholar.

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September 19-20, 2013

As Director of Governing Body Relations for Nike North America, JoAn manages NIKE’s negotiations and relationships with the various departments of the NCAA, National Federation of High Schools and Division I Conferences as well as NIKE’s relationships with the US Olympic Committee and select US National Governing Bodies, along with Hockey Canada and Canadian NHL Clubs. Previously, JoAn worked for NIKE Sports Entertainment, Basketball Sports Marketing and College Sports Marketing for NIKE, in Beaverton, Oregon.

The Ron Landstrom Executive in Residence program was created through the generosity of Jerry and Jeanne Taylor. Jerry Taylor is a KSC/UNK alumnus and former Senior Vice President and CFO for Applied Materials. Taylor chose to name the program after one of his favorite professor, Ron Landstrom, because of his profound respect and gratitude for the man who helped and inspired him as an undergraduate.

September 20-21, 2012

Kirk Stinson graduated from the University of Nebraska at Kearney in 1991 with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. Stinson grew up in a retail family who owned and operated a local hardware store in Superior, Nebraska. Considering his family business background, it made sense that Stinson's first job out of college was a sales position with Black and Decker in the Kansas City region. Stinson was moved to the DEWALT/BLACK and DECKER Corporate Headquarters in Baltimore, MD to assume the Vice President of Sales and Marketing role. Recently, Stinson has been promoted within the company to assume the CEO role for the Stanley Security Division based in Indianapolis, IN. Stinson's brother, Mark, is also a Business Administration graduate from UNK and currently serves as the President of Exmark Manufacturing, Inc located in Beatrice, Nebraska.

The Ron Landstrom Executive in Residence program was created through the generosity of Jerry and Jeanne Taylor. Jerry Taylor is a KSC/UNK alumnus and former Senior Vice President and CFO for Applied Materials. Taylor chose to name the program after one of his favorite professor, Ron Landstrom, because of his profound respect and gratitude for the man who helped and inspired him as an undergraduate.

October 14-15, 2009

Bill Bauhard is an executive with experience in the financial services and telecommunications industries. His responsibilities included financial reporting and analysis, planning and forecasting, acquisitions, strategic planning, accounting operations, budgeting, financial systems, treasury, taxes, investments, internal auditing and debt and equity financing. Mr. Bauhard's profession experience includes: Omnium Worldwide, Inc. (Chief Financial Officer); The Guarantee Life Companies, Inc (Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer); US West Communications (Executive Director of Finance, Executive Direct of Finance & Treasury); US West Enterprises (President & Chief Executive Officer, Assistant Treasurer, Director of Finance, Manager of Finance & Treasury). Mr. Bauhard hold a B.S. degree from the University of Nebraska at Kearney and a M.S. in Management from MIT.

April 22-23, 2008

Larry D. Hall was born in Hastings, Nebraska before moving to Kearney where he attended Kearney State College. After graduating in 1964 with a degree in business, Hall attended the University of Nebraska College of Law where he received a juris doctor degree with honors in 1967. Prior to joining KN Energy, Inc. 1971, Hall was a partner in the law firm of Wright, Simmons, Hancock and Hall.

Larry D. Hall joined K N Energy, Inc. in 1971 as an attorney and assistant treasurer and served in the capacity of vice president; executive vice president, president and chief operating officer, and chief executive officer and chairman. During his tenure as president and CEO, the Company grew from $300 million in assets to over $9 billion. The Company served two of the largest natural gas markets in the U.S. and was the second largest producer of natural gas liquids in the U.S.

Hall institutionalized new vision, values and leadership principles in the Company and was recognized by Fortune magazine for his leadership of one of the four Most Admired Fortune 500 Companies in its industry.

After retiring from the Company, Mr. Hall started CPS Investments, LLC in Denver, Colorado with two former executives of the Company. In 2001, CPS purchased four city blocks adjacent to the 380 acre Denver City Park including two hospital buildings and a parking garage. The hospital complex was demolished, and over 1 million square feet of condominium, townhome and apartment space has been constructed. The $150 million project offers spectacular views of the front range and the park.

Today, Hall is a partner of a real estate development group that is seeking new opportunities in commercial and residential real estate development in the United States and Mexico.

Hall has served as chairman of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America and the Natural Gas Supply Association of America. He has testified on behalf of the energy industry before the U.S. House and Senate energy committees and provided counsel to the Clinton and Bush administrations and to the governors of Colorado. Hall has also served on the board of directors of the Colorado Alliance of Business; the Greater Denver Chamber of Commerce Leadership Roundtable; Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry; St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation; Hospice and Pallative Care of Western Colorado; and Small Business Development Center.

Hall was a member of the Kearney State Foundation Board of Directors. He is currently a Trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation.

October 26-27, 2006

Ronald W. Williams is President and Chief Executive Officer of Gary-Williams Energy Corporation, a Denver based private company. He is responsible for policy development, planning and overall management of all operations which include refining, wholesale marketing and oil and gas exploration activities.

Mr. Williams is a member and past Chairman of the Board of Directors of Children’s Hospital and a member of the Board of The Children’s Hospital Foundation. Currently Mr. Williams is serving as Co-Chair of the Imagine the Miracles Campaign for The Children’s Hospital. He is on the Board and Executive Committee of the National Western Association, Vice-Chairman of The Piton Foundation and is also on the Board of the Denver Public Schools Foundation.

He is married to Cille and has a daughter and two sons.