How many CEOs are willing to be publicly identified as gay?
In April 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook told the world, “I’m proud to be gay.”
How many other CEOs can you name saying the same?
Join the Bernstein Student Leadership and Ethics Board and Cluster Q for:
“And then there were two:”
Where are all the gay CEOs?
Thursday, February 12th
12:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Warren Room 310
Lunch will be provided
Register Here
For more background about LGBTQ issues in the business world, please read this New York Times article HERE
On August 14, 2014, C1 Financial CEO Trevor Burgess rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange to celebrate his company’s first day of trading. A short time later, he received a message from Jason Grenfell Gardner, the CEO of pharmaceutical company IGI Laboratories. It read: “And then there were two.”
There are over 5,000 publicly traded companies in the US. But Grenfell-Gardner and Burgess remain two of only three CEOs who are willing to be publicly identified as gay.
So where are all the others?
Come listen to author and New York Times business columnist, James B. Stewart, Trevor Burgess and Jason Grenfell-Gardner share their experiences and give their views on one of the most powerful, lingering taboos of the American C-suite.
James B. Stewart, Bloomberg Professor of Journalism, Columbia Graduate School of Journalist; Author and New York Times Columnist
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and bestselling author James B. Stewart combines the skills of an investigative reporter with the style and sensibility of a novelist, examining events in finance, law, and politics that shape American society. The San Francisco Examiner called him “the journalist every journalist would like to be” and The Daily Beast named him one of the 15 “most important writers on business and economics.” Stewart’s New York Times column, “Common Sense,” appears weekly in the Business Day section. He provides skillful coverage of corporate America and Wall Street, often exploring the use and abuse of power at the highest levels of business and government. The author of 11 books, Stewart’s New York Times bestseller, DisneyWar, about Michael Eisner’s reign at the company, won the Gerald Loeb Award for Best Business Book. His other bestsellers include Blood Sport and Den of Thieves, the definitive account of 1980s Wall Street insider trading scandals. A Harvard-educated lawyer, Stewart is the Bloomberg Professor of Business Journalism at the Columbia Journalism School.
Jason Grenfell-Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer of IGI Laboratories, Inc.
Mr. Grenfell-Gardner is the President and Chief Executive Officer of IGI Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IG), where he is transforming the organization into a leading specialty generic pharmaceutical company. Prior to joining IGI, Mr. Grenfell-Gardner spent over eight years at Hikma Pharmaceuticals, PLC, and its subsidiaries including West-Ward Pharmaceuticals in the United States. He served in a number of roles, most recently as SVP of Sales and Marketing. Before joining Hikma, Mr. Grenfell-Gardner worked throughout Central and Eastern Europe as a partner at Trigon Capital, a boutique investment bank, focused on mergers and acquisitions. During his time in that region, Mr. Grenfell-Gardner served as Chairman of the Board of Sanitas Pharmaceuticals, as well as other board positions. He holds an MA (Hons) in Economics from the University of St Andrews in Scotland and an MBA from INSEAD.
Trevor R. Burgess, President & Chief Executive Officer of C1 Bank
Mr. Burgess is the President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of C1 Bank and its parent C1 Financial (NYSE: BNK) having founded its predecessor in 2009. In 2013, he was named the Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur of the Year in the Financial Services Category and in 2014 was named American Banker’s Community Banker of the Year. Mr. Burgess is a co-inventor of the technology for which C1 Bank has filed seven patent applications. Prior to joining the Bank, Mr. Burgess worked as a Managing Director for Morgan Stanley, where, among other responsibilities, he executed initial public offerings as an investment banker in the Equity Capital Markets division. Prior to his nearly ten years at Morgan Stanley, Mr. Burgess worked as a management consultant at Monitor Company. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College in 1994. Trevor and his husband Gary live in St Petersburg, Florida with their daughter Logan.
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The purpose of the Bernstein Student Leadership and Ethics Board is to foster a culture and safeguard a tradition of principled leadership throughout the Columbia Business School community. The Board fulfills its purpose by developing, implementing and monitoring programs that cultivate leadership, build character, and promote ethical decision making, which, in turn, enable Columbia Business School students to become productive, moral, and caring participants in their companies and communities.
Cluster Q is Columbia Business School’s LGBTQ association. As a proactive and dynamic student group on campus, Cluster Q strives to foster a positive learning environment and build a professional network for all students, faculty, administrators, alumni, and significant others regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Cluster Q hosts Ally Week bi-annually to educate the Columbia Business School Community on LGBTQ issues and to support an inclusive environment. Cluster Q also leads a variety of events and workshops, attends conferences, and fosters connections with professionals throughout the business and LGBTQ community.
