Innovating for Social Equity: The Intersection of Religion and Business

In the broader conversation about diversity in business, what is the context for religion? Join Chicago Booth’s Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation and the University of Chicago Divinity School to answer this question and more during the next session of the Innovating for Social Equity series. David Nirenberg, dean of the Divinity School and Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Distinguished Service Professor, will be joined in conversation with prominent business leaders whose business strategies take religious diversity into account.

Panelists will examine the progress that business has made relative to faith in the workplace and explore how all faith backgrounds might be reflected in the economy. They'll answer questions like:

• How can leaders create a culture of religious inclusion in their companies?
• How is business strategy sharpened when religion is taken into account in an increasingly globalized world?
• How has product and service design evolved to be more accessible to all faith communities, and what’s next?

Moderator:

• David Nirenberg, Dean of the Divinity School and Deborah R. and Edgar D. Jannotta Distinguished Service Professor

Panelists:

• Charisse Conanan Johnson, MBA '10, Managing Partner, Next Street
• Hilary Krane, JD '94, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel, Nike
• Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Youth Core
• Emmanuel Roman, MBA '87, Chief Executive Officer, PIMCO

About the Event Series:

From a global pandemic, economic devastation, and social unrest sparked by systemic racism, the past year has laid bare the deep disparities that persist in this country. These multilayered crises have not only moved segments of American society from complacency to action, but have also raised questions about the progress that the social sector has and has not made toward a more just society. With billions spent by the public, private, and philanthropic sectors, why do profound disparities persist? The Innovating for Social Equity event series will examine this question and more.

You can check out the previous sessions in the series below:

• Innovating for Social Equity: The Responsibility of the Business Community
• Innovating for Social Equity: How Private Market Investors Affect Change
• Innovating for Social Equity: New Approaches in Philanthropy

 

About the speakers:

Charisse Conanan Johnson, MBA '10

Managing Partner, Next Street ; Author of A Wealthy Girl

Charisse Conanan Johnson, MBA '10, is responsible for overseeing all elements of Next Street's Advisory Practice, including driving business development, managing profitability and operations, and delivering client solutions. Prior to serving at Head of the Advisory Practice, Conanan Johnson was head of the firm’s Chicago market, a position she assumed upon her arrival at the firm in December of 2015. Over her tenure, Conanan Johnson has delivered small business and community investment ecosystem assessments and strategies in Chicago, Columbus, Dallas, and Houston as well as offered tailored financial and investment solutions to clients nationwide. Finally, Conanan Johnson has expertise in developing client solutions through a racial equity and inclusive lens. Prior to Next Street, Conanan Johnson was CEO of Smarteys, Inc., a small business that provided financial planning tools for college grads. Prior to Smarteys, Conanan Johnson was a vice president at JPMorgan Asset Management, where she made investment decisions for a $10 billion mid cap equity portfolio. Conanan Johnson is a graduate of Yale University and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is also a chartered financial analyst (CFA) charter holder.

Hilary Krane, JD '89

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, and General Counsel, Nike

Hilary Krane, JD '89, brings global expertise in corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, brand protection, and government affairs to her role as EVP, chief administrative officer, and general counsel for NIKE, Inc. Krane joined the company from Levi Strauss & Company, where she held various roles, including SVP, general counsel and corporate affairs. Prior to joining Levi Strauss, she was partner and assistant general counsel for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Krane serves on the board of directors of Restoration Hardware and the Portland Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. She is also a trustee of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Hilary earned a JD from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in Slavic Languages and Literature from Stanford University.

Eboo Patel

Founder and President, Interfaith Youth Core (IFYC)

Eboo Patel founded Interfaith Youth Core on the idea that religion should be a bridge of cooperation rather than a barrier of division. He is inspired to build this bridge by his identity as an American Muslim navigating a religiously diverse social landscape. For more than15 years, he has worked with governments, social sector organizations, and college and university campuses to help make interfaith cooperation a social norm. Named by U.S. News & World Report as one of America’s Best Leaders of 2009, Patel served on President Obama’s Inaugural Faith Council and is the author of Acts of Faith, Sacred Ground, Interfaith Leadership: A Primer, and Out of Many Faiths: Religious Diversity and the American Promise. He earned a doctorate in the sociology of religion from Oxford University, where he studied on a Rhodes scholarship.

Emmanuel Roman, MBA '87

Chief Executive Officer, PIMCO

Emmanuel Roman, MBA '87, is PIMCO's chief executive officer and a managing director of the firm. As CEO, he serves on PIMCO’s Executive Committee and has executive oversight of the firm’s client and business areas, including broad strategy-setting and resource management. Prior to joining PIMCO in 2016, Roman was CEO at Man Group PLC, one of the world’s largest publicly traded alternative asset managers and a leader in liquid, high-alpha investment strategies. Previously, he was chief operating officer at Man Group from 2010–2013, and co-chief executive officer at GLG Partners, Inc., prior to the firm’s acquisition by Man Group in 2010. Earlier in his career, he was with Goldman Sachs for 18 years, serving as co-head of worldwide global securities and co-head of the European services division. He has served as a trustee of the Hedge Fund Standards Board Ltd. as well as a trustee of the Paris Review of Books, the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, the Tate Foundation and the University of Chicago. He has 32 years of investment experience and earned an MBA in finance and econometrics from the University of Chicago and a bachelor's degree from the University of Paris IX Dauphine.