Mike Evans founded GrubHub in his spare bedroom and grew it into the multi-billion-dollar online food delivery colossus that is a household name. After leaving GrubHub post-IPO, he punted it all to ride his bike across the United States. His book Hangry came out November 2022.
Mike founded an on-demand handyperson B-corp that trained its employees from scratch. And now he is working on a super secret new project (shhhh). Mike is passionate about holding a personal vision for success, a strong proponent of impact businesses, and that version one is never right, but make it anyway. He lives in Chicago with his wife, daughter, dog, and bike.
Founder of Grubhub and Fixer
Alexander Jekowsky is a distinguished serial entrepreneur and a Forbes 30 under 30 recipient. He has raised over $100M in venture capital in his career and has completed several M&A transactions after selling his first business at the age of 23. Currently, Alexander is the CEO and Co-Founder of Cents, the only all-in-one software, hardware, and payments solution supporting the way laundry business owners grow, manage, and understand their business. Starting in 2021, Cents has become one of the fastest-growing SMB tech companies in the USA, supporting more than 1 in 10 laundromats in the USA, with the sole mission of powering laundry day in America through garment care SMBs. Based in New York City, Alexander cares deeply about his community and building strong cultures in every organization he's a part of. He loves to work with first-time founders and dedicates his time to empowering small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the organizations that support them.
Co-Founder & CEO at Cents
(Kellogg MBA '07)
President & Chief Commercial Officer at Plus One Robotics
Avihou Barkay is an accomplished technology executive with over two decades of experience in leading and scaling global businesses in the robotics, electronics, 3D printing, and telecom industries. His career is defined by a relentless commitment to customer centricity and an execution-oriented culture. Currently, Avihou is President & Chief Commercial Officer at Plus One Robotics. He is responsible for all GTM activities as well as corporate development. He also advises US and Japanese startups. Prior to Plus One Robotics, Avihou was EVP and General Manager of North America at Caja Robotics. Previously, Avihou served as President at KLA's PCB division in Asia after KLA acquired Orbotech for $3.4B. Prior to KLA, Avihou was an executive at Stratasys - 3D printing pioneer. There, he led numerous teams helping propel Stratasys into a $6B market-cap industry leader. Earlier in his career, Avihou held strategy, product, services, and post-merger- integration positions in technology companies. He holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management.
As the Co-Founder & President of Halo Investing, Jason Barsema built the Halo platform to democratize access to protective investments. After receiving his B.A. from NIU, and M.B.A. from Northwestern, Jason spent over a decade in Private Banking, managing portfolios for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals & Institutions.
Jason Barsema is the Co-Founder and President of Halo Investing where he leads the team and product vision. With over a decade of experience managing Structured Notes, he built the Halo platform to provide all investors access to this incredible investment product. Jason previously was a Partner on a large Private Banking team at Credit Suisse, where he managed portfolios for Ultra High Net Worth Individuals &; Institutions. Jason has his B.A. in Economics from Northern Illinois University and his M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Founded in 2015, Halo Investing is an award-winning technology platform that disrupts how protective investment solutions are used worldwide. Headquartered in Chicago, with an additional office in Abu Dhabi, Halo is democratizing access to investment solutions that were previously unavailable to most investors, including Structured Notes and Annuities. Halo has received a growing number of honors and was recently named one of Fast Company's Ten Most Innovative Companies. For more information, please visit:www.haloinvesting.com.
Show More Show Less
(Kellogg MBA '14)
Co-founder & President at Halo's Investing Inc
(Kellogg MBA '90)
CRO & CMO at Nature's Fynd
Karuna is an award-winning marketer who has helped build and shape some of the world's most iconic brands. She is a brand builder at heart with the ability to create new products and channels to drive profitable brand revenue and enterprise value. From Choosy Moms choose Jif to Always #LikeaGirl campaigns, Karuna has helped some of the world's biggest brands find and express their true purpose. The common thread is her ability to build from a blank sheet of paper to do what hasn't been done before. Building new capabilities like Shopper Marketing for P&G and Shopper journeys for Leo Burnett, Karuna has led her teams and companies to new industry leading innovations and capabilities. Now as Chief Revenue Officer and Chief Marketing Officer of food tech unicorn Nature's Fynd, she is bringing her talents as a brand builder and innovator to commercialize a new-to-the-world protein that can help feed our growing population in the face of climate change. Creating a better more sustainable food system with the resiliency to feed future generations is what gets Karuna excited to work at Nature's Fynd every day.
Karuna was recently recognized as an Adweek 2024 Marketing Vanguard CMO for bravery and creativity. She was also selected by The Marketing Academy as a Fellow for 2024 along with 20 other highly accomplished U.S. CMO's. She won 14 Lions at Cannes and an Emmy for Outstanding Television Commercial for P&G's Always #LikeaGirl campaign along with numerous Effie awards and a Clio. Karuna was recognized as a Woman of Influence by Chicago Business Journal, as Forbes CMO NEXT 50 Game-changing Marketers and as a Trailblazer Mom by Adweek's Working Mothers of the Year. Karuna started her career in brand management at P&G after graduating from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management.
Show More Show LessPlamen Petrov is experienced business & technology leader, successful as both entrepreneur and intrapreneur, as well as Fortune 20 executive, having held various roles such as Chief Executive Officer, Chier Technology Officer, Chief Data Officer, VP for AI, spinoff & startup cofounder. Plamen is recognized as an expert in envisioning and building successful ventures in Digital Health, Artificial Intelligence and healthcare data both at early-stage startups like Healee & Hydrogen Health working with venture capital and private equity investors, as well as at premier established enterprises such as Elevance Health, BCBSA, KPMG, IBM Watson, Deloitte, Oracle, Motorola. With his rich experience as both an industry professional and university professor & academic researcher, Plamen is known for his ability to bridge complex deep technology matter with innovative business models, to define, implement and deliver products and services with unique product-market fit and sustainable financial returns.
(NU MEM '07)
Former CEO at Healee
Co-founder & CEO at Snapsheet
Brad Weisberg is the Founder and CEO of Snapsheet, a pioneering leader in virtual claims management technology that is transforming the insurance industry. With a passion for innovation and a relentless drive to improve customer experiences, Brad has built Snapsheet into a market disruptor, helping over 150 insurers, streamline their claims processes through cutting-edge automation and AI-driven solutions.
Under Brad's leadership, Snapsheet has grown from a groundbreaking idea—leveraging mobile technology for photo-based auto insurance claims—to a comprehensive platform that powers end-to-end digital claims management. His vision has enabled insurers to process claims more efficiently, reduce costs, and enhance customer satisfaction.
Brad is a recognized thought leader in the insurtech space, frequently speaking at industry conferences and contributing insights on the future of claims automation, digital transformation, and the evolving insurance landscape.
Beyond his role at Snapsheet, Brad is an advocate for fostering innovation, mentoring emerging entrepreneurs, and driving positive change through technology. His expertise and visionary leadership continue to shape the future of digital claims management and the broader insurtech ecosystem.
Show More Show LessJulie Novack is the CEO and Co-Founder of PartySlate, a premier photo-rich marketplace connecting people planning events with top-tier planners, venues, and vendors. With over 20 years of digital marketing experience working with some of the world's most renowned brands, Julie has channeled her expertise into transforming the events industry. Since founding PartySlate 9 years ago, nearly 50,000 of the nation’s leading event professionals and venues have showcased over 2.5 million event photos and videos through stunning, content-rich profiles. PartySlate has become a cornerstone of the industry, empowering professionals to highlight exceptional work across weddings, corporate events, mitzvahs, galas, and milestone celebrations.
(Kellogg MBA '93)
CEO and Co-Founder at PartySlate
(Kellogg MBA ’04)
Co-founder & CMO at Aligned Modern Healthcare
Bill Fiely founded Aligned Modern Health, an integrative medicine clinic that sees patients in person in one of their 18 locations and virtually in select states around the country. Prior to Aligned Modern Health, Bill held management roles at PepsiCo, SC Johnson and BBDO. Bill graduated from the Kellogg School of Management has a BA from Vanderbilt University.
Bill Fiely has always been an Entrepreneur at heart. Bill founded Aligned Modern Health in 2012 as a way to bring his passion for integrative medicine to a large audience in an outcome driven, evidence-based way. Starting with one location in the Southport Corridor of Chicago, Aligned Modern Health has grown to 18 clinics and throughout Chicagoland where they practice Functional Medicine and Clinical Nutrition, Acupuncture, Chiropractic and Massage Therapy. They also see patients virtually in select states through the country. Employing hundreds of providers and seeing hundreds of thousands of patient encounters every year, Aligned Modern Health has made a large impact on health in the Chicagoland area and beyond.
Prior to Aligned Modern Health, Bill worked in consumer packaged goods as PepsiCo and SC Johnson as well as advertising at BBDO. Bill is a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management and Vanderbilt University. He lives in the Suburbs of Chicago with his wife (also a Kellogg grad) and two kids. He is active in both the entrepreneurship and investment communities. During the summer months, you can also find him on golf course.
Show More Show LessVeetahl Eilat-Raichel is an award-winning Co-founder and CEO of Sorbet, a pioneering fintech platform that unlocks the value of PTO (Paid Time Off). With over 20 years of experience in multinational fintech, IT, and CPG, Veetahl has led Sorbet through three successful funding rounds, raising $52M and scaling the company across multiple markets. Prior to Sorbet, she held leadership positions at L’Oréal, Lockheed Martin, Bank Hapoalim and Isracard Group, where she developed innovative solutions and spearheaded major collaborations, including a groundbreaking partnership with Alibaba. Veetahl holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. A public speaker and subject matter expert who’s been featured in top tier publications such as: The NYT, WSJ and Forbes.
(Kellogg MBA '10)
Co-founder 7 CEO at Sorbet
Co-founder & CEO at Amper
Akshat Thirani is the CEO and co-founder of Amper Technologies, a company transforming the manufacturing industry with its innovative FactoryOS solution. Growing up in a family of manufacturers, he was immersed in the complexities of factory operations from an early age—an experience that later fueled his entrepreneurial journey. Akshat earned a degree in Computer Science from Northwestern University in 2016. During his senior year, he began developing what would become Amper at The Garage, Northwestern's startup incubator. His contributions to manufacturing innovation have earned him industry recognition, including Crain's Chicago Business "20 In Their 20s" list in 2018 and a spot on Forbes' "30 Under 30" in the SME category in 2020.