Connect 2008 - Keynote Speakers

Jerry Greenfield

Jerry Greenfield

Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc.

"Hi there, I'm Jerry from Ben & Jerry's and I'm looking forward to seeing you all at CDC Connect 2008 in Denver. Lots of exciting business content is being planned for you, plus I'm bringing ice cream -- so what's not to love! See you there." -  Jerry Greenfield

Jerry Greenfield and his long-time friend and business partner Ben Cohen are the men behind one of the most talked-about, and least conventional, success stories in American business. Co-founder of Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc., Greenfield has helped to build a store front venture into a $300 million ice cream empire by making social responsibility and creative management strengths instead of weaknesses.

Greenfield got his first taste of the ice cream industry when he took a job as a scooper in the cafeteria at Oberlin College, where he studied pre-med.  After graduation, he worked as a lab technician in New York and lived with his school buddy Ben Cohen. In 1977, ready for a change, Jerry the friends decided to fulfill a dream they both shared: running a food business together. After a bit of research (and a $5 Penn State correspondence course in ice cream making), they opened Ben & Jerry's Homemade ice cream parlor in Burlington, Vermont in May 1978.  Greenfield began by making all the ice cream, and Ben and Jerry's soon became known throughout Vermont for their rich, unusual flavors and community-oriented approach to business. As the company expanded into new markets, Greenfield soon found himself handling everything from distribution to orientation to employee motivation.

Bringing all of this to life at the lecture podium, Greenfield's presentation delivers a rousing tribute to America's entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes, radical business philosophy, and the great sense of fun that is the company's hallmark.

Jeanne Bliss

Jeanne Bliss

Author of Chief Customer Officer, Getting past Lip Service to Passionate Action

"Success in business is most often defined in terms of revenue and profitability, but organizations with customer-centric strategies recognize that what they really need to measure is customer profitability. CDC Software has adopted the motto "the customer-driven company," and at this year's annual Users conference, we will focus on customer-centric strategies and explore real examples that quantify the benefits. I encourage you to come and be a part of this event to learn how you can take immediate steps to improve customer profitability within your organization." – Jeanne Bliss

Beloved companies earn their way into the hearts of customers because of who they are as people; not for how they are branded. Customers admire them for how they are treated; not for how they are handled.

Jeanne Bliss spent 25 years as the "Chief Customer Zealot" inside 5 major US corporations where she fought valiantly for a place on the strategic agenda; bringing in the voice of the customer to redirect priorities and drive transformational changes to the customer experience.

Jeanne was Microsoft Corporation's General Manager of Worldwide Customer & Partner Loyalty. She served as Allstate Corporation's Vice President of Customer Satisfaction & Retention. For Coldwell Banker Corporation, Jeanne was Senior Vice President of Franchise Services. At Mazda Motor of America she served as Senior Manager, Customer Satisfaction. Jeanne developed her passion for the customer at Lands' End, Inc; where she spent eight years reporting to the company's Founder and his Executive Committee as their leader for the Lands' End Customer Experience. Jeanne is credited with driving 80% increases in customer satisfaction scores, achieving 95% loyalty rates, changing customer experiences across 50,000 person organizations and convincing the staunchest curmudgeons to help push the customer rock up the hill.

During her keynote address on Tuesday, May 12, Jeanne will share examples of the companies that customers love and employees love being part of. It will give you a lens through which to compare and contrast your organization's purpose and intent for your customers.  She'll also help you examine and evaluate the fundamentals necessary for driving a customer agenda for your organization.