NAA Careers: Young Professional Series (Chicago) -- Wildcat Entrepreneurship (2009)

Join fellow alumni for an evening of networking and a panel discussion moderated by Professor Bill White featuring three Wildcat entrepreneurs.

Registration here

Event Details

Cost
$15 (includes appetizers and two drink tickets (cash bar also available) )

Panelists for the evening include:

Dee Farrell
Neat-Oh! International, LLC
Senior Vice President
Farrell is senior vice president ofh Neat-Oh! International, LLC., a nearly four-year-old start-up toy and household products company founded by a fellow Kellogg alum. She manages a team of sales and marketing account executives and is responsible for building the brand and growing the revenue. She began her career at a startup software company, and spent 20 years with them as they were acquired by Open Text Corporation, a global enterprise software company, went public, and then grew to over $1B. Prior to leaving, she was director of corporate performance in the office of president, where she was responsible for corporate strategy and acquisitions integration initiatives. Experienced with both start-up trenches and executive-level strategy, she is able to drive NOI up the growth curve.

Sarah Levy
Founder
Sarah’s Candies and Pastries
Chicago native Levy developed a passion for all things sweet at an early age. Inspired by the joy that delicious food can bring to peoples' lives, Levy founded Sarah’s Candies and Pastries. She started her company in March 2004 by making chocolate candies out of her mom’s kitchen. After a year, she had built up a wholesale business that included Whole Foods Markets in the Midwest, and smaller gourmet grocery shops. Levy launched her first retail store at 11  E. Oak Street in September 2005, and expanded her line to include morning pastries, cakes, tarts, chocolate gift baskets, espresso drinks, and other delectable pastries. She has since moved to a larger location at 70 E. Oak Street and opened a second location inside of the Macy’s on State Street (street level) in November 2007. Levy has been the dining editor for Today’s Chicago Woman since April, 2005, and was the recipient of the the 2007 YWCA Promise Award. She also recently completed her first cookbook, Sweetness, due out in the fall of 2009. Levy has trained at several of the country's top restaurants and bakeries, including Spago Beverly Hills (where she apprenticed under the James Beard Award winning pastry chef Sherry Yard) and Bittersweet Bakery in Chicago. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and of the French Pastry School of Chicago.

Nat Kreamer
Interim President
Acro Technologies
Kreamer is the interim president of Acro Energy Technologies (TSX: ART) and member of the board of directors. Acro is a consolidator of solar integration companies. He was a founder, president, and chief operating officer of SunRun, a leading provider of residential solar power purchase agreements. Kreamer has also worked in power industry consulting, clean energy investing, and energy trading. He graduated from Rice University and Northwestern University. An officer in the US Navy (Reserves), Kreamer is an Afghanistan war veteran and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal. He specializes in renewable power development and finance, clean technology investing, as well as wholesale power and energy commodity markets.

Posted September 3, 2009.