Special Events
UPCOMING
Guest Speaker: Nick Vlahos: March 27, 2020
Nick Vlahos is the Chief Executive Officer of The Honest Company, which was launched in 2012 with a mission to inspire and empower people to live a happy and healthy life. He is also a member of The Honest Company’s board of directors, responsible for overseeing the company’s continuing accelerated growth agenda with a focus on innovation, retail distribution, digital marketing and global expansion.
Prior to joining The Honest Company, Vlahos served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of The Clorox Company, where he was responsible for Household and LIfestyle segment, as well as sales, marketing, R & D, IT, and product supply.
He was instrumental in driving domestic and international growth at Clorox for major portfolio brands such as Burt's Bees, which he built into a global leader in the natural personal care industry with a presence in 40 countries. He also previously held the role of Vice President – General Manager of Laundry, Brita and Green Works.
Vlahos has served as a guest lecturer on Consumer Products Strategy and Operations at Harvard Business School, The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University and The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. He is currently a Board Advisor for Tillamook Dairy and has previously served on the board of the Natural Products Association.
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Guest Speaker: Jossy Chacko
In September, Institute of Global Leadership students were privileged to hear from Jossy Chacko, founder and president of Empart, a global ministry that exists to ignite holistic community transformation among the unreached and needy people of Asia. Empart’s primary goal is to see 100,000 communities transformed by 2030.
Chacko left South India at the age of 17, with $20 in his pocket, a one way ticket to Australia and a big dream to become a business success. Life in Australia started in total disaster with no job, no money and no friends or family. Depressed and at the brink of suicide, he had a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Soon after, he became part of a small logistics company which later grew to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Busy climbing the business ladder and chasing success, his plan was for early retirement on a hobby farm. This dream was changed forever by an encounter with an eight year old homeless boy while honeymooning in North India with his Australian wife, Jenni. This encounter was the catalyst for Chacko to begin developing some deep, life-changing convictions to fulfill the Great Commission. His convictions culminated in the establishment of Empart in 1998, movement impacting about 6.5 million people each month.
His conviction that “none should perish” compels him to many nations, inspiring business and spiritual leaders to capture a God-vision. Over the years he has invested into significant leaders with great results, particularly across Europe and Asia. He also serves on the board of several business and non-profit organizations.
Guest Speaker: Cynthia Renaud
Cynthia Renaud, Chief of Police of Santa Monica Police Department, was the featured guest speaker in January.
Chief Renaud was sworn in as the Santa Monica Chief of Police in May 2018 and leads a department of 224 sworn officers and 212 support staff. She brings 27 of experience having served two, previous communities. Hired as a police recruit in 1991, Chief Renaud spent many years working uniformed patrol assignments and special investigations positions. Her supervisory positions included Internal Affairs, the Field Training Program, Academy Director, Patrol Watch Commander,
Communications Division Commander and and Investigations Division Commander.
Chief Renaud is a native of Long Beach. She attended California State University, Long Beach, where she completed a bachelor's degree in English Literature in 1996 and a master's in English Literature in 2000. In 2010, she completed a second master's in national security studies at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey. Chief Renaud is a graduate of the 214th Session of the FBI National Academy. She writes professionally, and has published articles in the Homeland Security Affairs Journal, the Journal of Leadership Studies, and Tactical Edge magazine as well as the FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin.