Elmhurst College Panel Discussion will Shed Light on Navigating Our New Economy

Elmhurst College will present Jobs, Education and the Economy, its sixth annual Governmental Forum, at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 30, at Drury Lane Conference Center, 100 Drury Lane, Oakbrook Terrace.

The forum brings together governmental leaders, business experts and policy analysts to examine Illinois’ most urgent issues. This year, four of the region’s foremost corporate leaders will discuss the economic landscape and how our workforce can succeed in it.

Moderating the event will be John Engler, a former three-term governor of Michigan and president of the Business Roundtable CEO association. The key presenters at the Forum will be Caterpillar Inc. Chairman and CEO Douglas Oberhelman, Johnson Publishing CEO Desiree Rogers and Toronto Stock Exchange CEO Thomas Kloet.

John Engler has been heavily engaged in education and workforce issues as head of the Business Roundtable, whose member companies generate $6 trillion in annual revenues and employ 13 million people. During Engler’s tenure as governor of Michigan, from 1991 to 2003, he signed 32 tax cuts into law and helped create more than 800,000 new jobs. He has identified the pressing shortage of skilled employees as a growing threat to American competitiveness in the 21st Century’s high-tech global economy.

Douglas Oberhelman joined Caterpillar in 1975 and has held a variety of key positions there, including senior finance representative based in South America for Caterpillar Americas Co., and managing director and vice general manager for strategic planning at Caterpillar Japan Ltd., in Tokyo. He also is a director for the boards of Eli Lilly and Company, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Wetlands America Trust. He is active with The Nature Conservancy, serving on the Latin American Conservation Council and on the board of the Illinois Chapter.

In her first year as CEO at Johnson Publishing, Desiree Rogers recruited a new senior team, secured outside financing and relaunched Ebony magazine with its first cover-to-cover redesign. She also turned the Illinois Lottery into a stable, reliable and popular revenue-producer; and, as president of Peoples Energy’s two natural-gas utilities, facilitated the 150-year-old company’s transition into a responsive, customer-centric organization. As the country’s first African American social secretary, Rogers’ office produced 350 events during her 14-month tenure and turned the Obama White House into a showcase for American art and culture.

Thomas Kloet has been CEO of TMX Group Inc. since July 2008. A public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, TMX owns and operates the principle financial markets for Canada, including the TSX, Montreal Exchange and Natural Gas Exchange, and is the majority owner of the Boston Options Exchange. Kloet has served as a trustee of Elmhurst College since 2006. He also serves on the boards of the TMX Group and its subsidiaries; and is a trustee of Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare and a governor of Elmhurst Memorial Hospital.

Admission to the forum is $25 and includes a full breakfast. For tickets, go to www.elmhurst.edu/tix. For more information, call (630) 617-3783.