Event Agenda:

1:00 - 1:20: Welcome from President Joseph Aoun, Northeastern University, and
Senator Karen Spilka, L '80, Massachusetts State Senate

1:20 - 2:00: Fireside Chat with Tory Burch

2:00 - 2:30: Panel on the role the community plays in supporting entrepreneurs

• Dave Balter, Founder & CEO at BzzAgent
• John Harthorne, Founder & CEO at MassChallenge
• Karen-Michelle Mirko, Director of Customer Advocacy at American Express OPEN
• Daphne Zohar, BA '92, Founder & Managing Partner at PureTech Ventures
• Moderated by: Kathleen Warner, Chief of Staff at the Startup America Partnership

Tory Burch is CEO and CCO of the global luxury lifestyle brand Tory Burch. She grew up in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in art history. Tory then moved to New York to pursue a career in fashion and worked for some of the most influential American designers including Ralph Lauren, Vera Wang and Narciso Rodriguez.

After years of working in fashion, Tory noticed a void in the market for a collection with a designer aesthetic at a more attainable price point. In 2004, she launched Tory Burch, a lifestyle brand rooted in classic American sportswear with multiple categories, including ready-to-wear, bags, shoes, jewelry and accessories. The collection is available at 53 boutiques across the U.S., Europe and Asia, www.toryburch.com and over 500 select department and specialty stores worldwide.

Tory Burch has received recognition from the fashion industry, including the 2008 CFDA for Accessory Designer of the Year; 2007 Accessory Brand Launch of the Year from the Accessories Council of Excellence; and the 2005 Rising Star award from Fashion Group International. In 2010, Tory was named one of Forbes’ Most Powerful Women in the World, and in 2011 she was chosen as one of New York’s 50 Most Powerful Women by Crain’s New York Business.

An avid philanthropist, Tory works with several charitable organizations and holds positions on the board of the CFDA and the Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. In 2009, Tory launched the Tory Burch Foundation, which supports women entrepreneurs in the United States through microfinance and mentoring. For more information please visit www.toryburchfoundation.org.

Panelists:

Dave Balter is the founder and CEO of BzzAgent, Inc., which he founded in 2001 and was sold in 2011 to dunnhumby, a division of Tesco PLC (LSE: TSCO). In addition to BzzAgent CEO duties, Dave now serves on the Global Executive Team for dunnhumby.

Dave co-founded the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA), and he currently serves on its Board of Directors and as Chair of the Association's International Committee. The author of two books on the subject, Grapevine and The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II, Dave lectures around the world on trends in word of mouth and social media.

In 2007, Harvard University dubbed him one of Boston's "Hottest Technology CEOs." In 2008, Dave was recognized as a Future Legend by the AdClub and he was named to the "40 under 40" list by The Boston Business Journal and Advertising Specialty Institute. Dave also sits on the advisory boards of the Wharton Future of Advertising Project the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange and the Boston Boys & Girls Club Marketing and Communications Committee, is a mentor with Tech Stars, is Executive Chair of Smarterer and is an investor and/or advisor to a dozen startups including FitnessKeeper, Promoboxx, Relay Rides, eLaCarte, ProctorCam and HelpScout.

John Harthorne has more than 10 years of top-tier strategy, technology and startup experience. Before joining Bain & Company as a Strategy Consultant, John received an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, graduating with a 4.9/5.0 GPA. While at school, John received Grand Prize in the 2007 MIT $100K Business Plan Competition as the sole MBA student working with two MIT engineers to commercialize a medical device that facilitates the early detection and treatment of lung cancer. Previously that year, John led the 10th annual MIT Global Startup Workshop (GSW) held in Trondheim, Norway. The MIT GSW is the world's premier conference on how to foster entrepreneurship via supportive infrastructure and catalytic events. Keynote speakers in 2007 included Dean Kamen, Gururaj "Desh" Deshpande, Anil Gupta and Ken Morse. Later that year, MIT President Susan Hockfield presented John the 2007 Patrick J. McGovern Award for impact on quality and visibility of entrepreneurship at MIT. John is a life-long Massachusetts resident and an avid Red Sox fan. He currently lives in Somerville with his wife Natalia, their 5-year old son Max and their baby girl Yulia.

Karen-Michelle Mirko joined American Express as Director of Customer Advocacy Marketing in 2010. In this role, Karen-Michelle manages a variety of educational and outreach initiatives to help support the growth of small business owners and oversees community-based marketing efforts and strategic alliances with leading business associations, including Count Me In, SCORE, Women President’s Organization, and Women Impacting Public Policy.

Karen-Michelle manages American Express OPEN's Women Business Initiative. In partnership with Make Mine a Million $ Business®, and Women’s President’s Organization, OPEN is working to inspire and provide tools for women business owners growing their business. Additionally, Karen-Michelle oversees the OPEN for Government Contracts: Victory in Procurement for Small Business program in partnership with Women Impacting Public Policy to give small business owners the education and connections needed to tap business opportunities available through government contracts.

Daphne Zohar is the founder and managing partner of PureTech Ventures, a Boston-based venture creation firm specializing in translating breakthrough research from top tier academic institutions into products that will impact human health and well-being. PureTech's senior partners include entrepreneurs and leaders from the highest echelon of pharma, biotech and academia. In 2010, Ms. Zohar was recognized by Fierce Biotech as one of the "Top 10 Women in Biotech," BioWorld as one of 28 leaders predicted to be the "movers and shakers" of the biotechnology industry over the next twenty years, and by the Boston Globe as one of the "Top 15 Innovators." A successful entrepreneur, Ms. Zohar created PureTech and assembled a leading team to help implement her vision for the firm. She sits on the Boards of Directors of PureTech Ventures, Enlight Biosciences (a technology development company whose backers include leading pharmaceutical companies), Follica Inc., Vedanta Bioscience, Mandara Sciences (where she is Founding CEO), Karuna Pharmaceuticals, Tal Medical, and Satori Pharmaceuticals. She also sits on the Technology Development Fund Advisory Board at Children's Hospital Boston and is an Editorial Advisor to Xconomy, a national technology news blog.