November 2024 Chapter Meeting

DATE: Thursday, November 14, 2024
TIME: 1:00 PM – 7:00 PM
LOCATION:  Johnsonville Tailgate Village | Green Bay

Join us at our November Event!

Event Timeline

• 12:30 - 12:55 PM
  Event registration
  
  
• 1:00 - 2:00 PM
  Aon Professional Development Presentation
  
  
• 2:00 - 2:15 PM
  Break / Networking
  
  
• 2:15 - 3:15 PM
  Professional Development Presentation
  
  
• 3:15 - 3:45 PM
  Networking & Business Announcements
  
  
• 3:45 - 5:00 PM
  Keynote Presentation
  
  
• 5:00 - 7:00 PM
  Social / Dinner
   

Location

Lambeau Johnsonville Tailgate Village
1265 Lombardi Avenue
Green Bay, WI 54304

Keynote Presentation Time
3:45 - 5:00 PM

Keynote Summary 

The NFL Draft, a regular component of league business that began in 1936, has evolved into the NFL’s ultimate fan festival with hundreds of thousands of fans attending the three-day event in person and more than 50 million viewers via television and streaming opportunities. The NFL Draft took to the road in its current form in Chicago in 2015, with Green Bay selected to host the 2025 Draft in May of 2023. Packers VP of Marketing and Fan Engagement Gabrielle Dow and Chief Financial Officer Maureen Smith will discuss the effort to land the Draft for Green Bay as well as the ongoing preparations the team and local partners are undertaking to put on what will be the community’s largest-ever event.

Learning Objectives

1. Why the NFL Draft is coming to Wisconsin
2. Using the Packers influence to economically impact our state
3. A deeper look into the financial complexities of funding an event like the NFL Draft

Keynote Presenters & Biographies

Gabrielle Dow
Vice President of Marketing & Fan Engagement | Green Bay Packers

Gabrielle Dow, is in her 30^th year in professional sports and her 10th year as the Packers’ vice president of marketing and fan engagement. Dow oversees retail operations, broadcast, marketing, brand engagement, business research and analytics, and game presentation.

Since 2019, Dow and her team have been working with the NFL to host an NFL Draft at Lambeau Field. After four bid submissions, the state of Wisconsin, city of Green Bay and the Green Bay Packers have been awarded the 2025 NFL Draft.

Dow teaches a sports marketing MBA course at St. Norbert College. She also serves on the board of directors of Special Olympics Wisconsin, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and the Green Bay Country Club.

Born in San Francisco, Dow earned her bachelor’s, MBA and law degrees from the University of Oregon. Dow’s family includes her husband, Jeff, and her two children, Danielle and Jackson.

Maureen Smith
Chief Financial Officer | Green Bay Packers

Smith began her career as a CPA in public accounting and subsequently spent more than a decade as an independent small business consultant. From 2011-16, she worked for UnitedHealth Group as Director of Operations, overseeing finance, accounting and operations responsibilities for the company's Office of Social Responsibility and the United Health Foundation. 

In September 2016, Maureen joined Minnesota United FC as controller, and in 2018 was named executive vice president and chief operating officer, one of just a few women at the time in MLS to be named to that level. During her time there, she developed and drove all core business functions as the club rapidly grew from a minor league start-up with 50 employees to a Major League Soccer club with more than 150 full- and 300 part-time employees. She also oversaw the construction and opening of Allianz Field, a $250M soccer stadium, and facilitated collaborative relationships between the club and external clients.  

A native of Davisburg, Michigan, Smith earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan. Smith's family includes her husband, Sam, and their five children.

Aon Professional Development Presentation
Topic: The Evolution of Executive Benefits
Time: 1:00 - 2:00 PM

Presented By:

Summary & Learning Objectives

This session will cover how executive benefits in the form of retirement, life and disability benefits have changed over the past forty years in response to changes in tax laws, accounting rules and broader societal trends.  It will touch on older plans that employers may still be managing despite them not being terribly effective anymore, as well as the latest trends in addressing benefits for executives and other high earners. Attendees will learn about the following:

• Nonqualified deferred compensation plans are the most prevalent means of supplementing wealth creation and retirement savings for executives, but they may not be the best way to do it.
  
  
• Effective executive retirement planning will be materially different across different types of organizations.  The nature of the company structure will lend itself to different strategies:

• Tax-Exempt
• Pass Through Entities
• Privately Held
• Publicly Traded

• Inflation has disproportionately driven an increase in the need for employers to provide meaning executive benefits beyond core benefit programs

Presenter & Biography

Eric Wittenmyer
Executive Benefits, Senior Vice President | Aon

Eric Wittenmyer consults with employers on the plan design and financing issues related to nonqualified benefit programs including executive retirement, supplemental life, and enhanced disability plans. He has more than 35 years of extensive experience in the design, financing, implementation, administration, and communication of nonqualified benefit plans.

Before joining Aon, Eric was responsible for business development for another professional firm where he had previously managed a client services team. Eric’s thorough understanding of the dynamics of administration enables him to ensure plan designs are as efficient as they are effective. Eric’s expertise includes the design of enhanced long-term disability solutions for executives and highly compensated employees.

Additionally, Eric has unique expertise in the design, implementation, and management of deferred compensation plans and tax-favored funding strategies for these plans. Eric and the Executive Benefits team have placed and/or administer over $12 billion of tax-favored funding strategies such as trust-owned life insurance (TOLI) and company-owned life insurance (COLI).

Francis LLC Professional Development Presentation
Topic: Elections + the Markets: Looking Back & Moving Forward
Time: 2:15 - 3:15 PM

Presented By:

Summary & Learning Objectives

In this session, Ed McIlveen, the CIO at Francis LLC, will discuss the impacts of elections on the financial market. Starting with a historical perspective on market reactions to previous U.S. elections, we will explore likely paths forward based on the November 5th U.S. election results and the current economic environment. Attendees will be able to:

• Gain an historical perspective on the impact of past U.S. elections on the U.S. and global markets
• Learn about the various market implications of this year’s election
• Understand the impact of macro factors on investments and capital markets

Presenter & Biography

Edward McIlveen,CFA
Chief Investment Officer, Principal | Francis LLC

As CIO, Ed leads the firm’s investment committee, which develops strategic and tactical asset allocation and establishes the underwriting criteria for traditional and alternative investment strategies. He is the main author of the firm’s quarterly publication of investment ideas developed in collaboration with other investment professionals at Francis. Ed also assists plan sponsors and their committees by navigating matters such as plan design, investment manager selection, investment monitoring and ERISA compliance. Outside of the office, Ed is usually spending time with family, running, golfing or reading.

CPE Credit

Aon Professional Development Presentation from 1:00 - 2:00 PM = 1 credit
Francis Professional Development Presentation from 2:15 - 3:15 PM = 1 credit
Keynote Presentation = 1.5 credits

Registrations, Cancellations, or Questions?

Michelle Weiss
920.750.9110
michelle@mwcommunications.org
Register and send cancellations by noon on 11/7/24.

Register Now