Today’s execs meet the future at Aurora University seminar 

Four Chicago-area business and nonprofit executives will share leadership strategies at “Connecting Today’s Leaders with the Future Leaders of Tomorrow,” a free, public panel discussion at 6 p.m. April 8, at Aurora University’s Crimi Auditorium.

The second annual panel is co-sponsored by the Dunham School of Business Vernon Haase Speaker Series and Dunham Scholars program for student business majors at AU.

Speakers scheduled are: Elton Richards, regional distribution operations manager, ComEd unit of  Chicago-based Exelon Co.; Suzanne Baugher, director, Talent Acquisition, Veolia Transportation; Ray Doherty, regional sales director, Travelers Personal Insurance–Ill.; and  Michael Meyer, chief executive officer, Fox Valley United Way in Aurora.

 “Engage with organizational leaders from business and not-for-profit settings and gain a deeper understanding of how effective leadership practices lead to sustained, reliable organizations that serve the varying needs of numerous clients, customers and employees alike,” said Shawn  Green, professor of marketing and Vernon Haase Chaired Professor of Business.

“This very special session of the executive leadership panel discussion promises to be a lively and interactive session that you will not want to miss.”

For more information call Green at (630) 844-5527 or Professor Ileana Brooks at (630) 844-4892.

Richards manages more than 175 employees who handle distribution operations for ComEd’s Southwest service area–Joliet, Bolingbrook, Streator, and Pontiac. Activities include emergent restorations, new business construction, and distribution construction.

ComEd delivers electricity to about 3.8 million residential and business customers across northern Illinois, 70 percent of the state’s population.

Exelon Corp. is one of the nation’s largest electric utilities with approximately $17 billion in annual revenues.  The company has one of the industry’s largest portfolios of electricity generation capacity, with a nationwide reach and strong positions in the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic.  

Exelon distributes electricity to about 5.4 million customers in Illinois and Pennsylvania and natural gas to approximately 485,000 customers in southeastern Pennsylvania.  

Exelon is headquartered in Chicago and trades on the NYSE under the ticker EXC.

Baugher manages all strategies and processes related to the sourcing, attraction, assessment and selection of high-caliber candidates for Veolia Transportation. 

She is accountable for strategy development and recruiting execution related to all executive, corporate positions and exempt field recruitment efforts. 

Her role also leads initiatives tied to hiring efficiencies through technology, building bench strength through talent programs, and managing the recruiting team. 

Veolia Transportation is the North American business unit of Veolia Transport—one of four subsidiaries of Paris-based Veolia Environment, a global leader in environmental services.  

In the US and Canada, Veolia Transportation operates 200 service contracts with 18,000 employees, netting revenue of 1.5 billion annually. 

Veolia TransDev manages many modes of public transportation in 30 major cities as well as rural areas, including bus, rail, paratransit, taxi and shuttle services.

Meyer has been CEO of Fox Valley United Way since April 2007.  

This local arm of the United Way of America raises resources that help to support 54 social service agencies that serve the residents of 15 communities in Kane and Kendall Counties.  

Before United Way, Meyer served as vice president of marketing and business development for Provena Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, and director of marketing and health promotions for Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village.  

He attended both Knox College in Galesburg and Columbia College in Chicago.

A lifelong resident of the Fox Valley, Michael resides with his family in St. Charles.

Doherty leads a team responsible for generating $90 million in sales.

Travelers, founded about 150 years ago, is one of the nation’s largest property casualty companies. 

A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Travelers has more than 30,000 employees, 13,000 independent agents and multiple market segments across the personal, business, financial and international insurance groups. 

Travelers has operations in the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland and a joint-venture partnership with JMalucelli, Brazil’s market leader in surety.