John Furner serves as president and chief executive officer of Walmart U.S., where he leads more than 1.5 million associates and is responsible for the strategic direction and performance of Walmart’s 4,700 stores, as well as its website, app and supply chain.

From 2017-2019, John served as president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club. During his time as CEO, Sam’s Club had 11 consecutive quarters of positive sales comps, while increasing memberships.

John started with Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, at Store 100 in Bentonville, Arkansas. He has held important roles throughout the company, including assistant store manager, store manager, district manager, buyer, regional general manager, divisional merchandising manager, VP of global sourcing, general merchandise manager, head of marketing and merchandising for Walmart China based in Shenzhen, and chief merchant for Sam’s Club.

He serves as chairman of the board of directors for the National Retail Federation.

John has a bachelor of science in marketing management from the University of Arkansas.

John Furner serves as president and chief executive officer of Walmart U.S., where he leads more than 1.5 million associates and is responsible for the strategic direction and performance of Walmart’s 4,700 stores, as well as its website, app and supply chain.

From 2017-2019, John served as president and chief executive officer of Sam’s Club. During his time as CEO, Sam’s Club had 11 consecutive quarters of positive sales comps, while increasing memberships.

John started with Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, at Store 100 in Bentonville, Arkansas. He has held important roles throughout the company, including assistant store manager, store manager, district manager, buyer, regional general manager, divisional merchandising manager, VP of global sourcing, general merchandise manager, head of marketing and merchandising for Walmart China based in Shenzhen, and chief merchant for Sam’s Club.

He serves as chairman of the board of directors for the National Retail Federation.

John has a bachelor of science in marketing management from the University of Arkansas.

Mark DesJardine is the Harvey H. Bundy III T’68 Faculty Fellow at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business and a senior fellow at Wharton’s ESG Analytics Lab. He is an expert in corporate governance and business sustainability and has published extensively on shareholder activism, including in the Harvard Business Review. His research utilizes largescale datasets and advanced econometric tools to develop applied models that inform shareholder engagements. He is a senior editor at Organization Science and a CFA Charterholder

Dana thomas is an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of fashionopolis: the price Of fast fashion and the future of clothes, gods and kings: the rise and fall of alexander Mcqueen and john galliano and deluxe: how luxury lost its luster, all published by penguin Press, and fashionopolis young readers edition, published by dial books. She is a regular Contributor to the new york times, and the host of the green dream, an award-winning podcast On sustainability, produced by talkbox studio. She wrote the screenplay for salvatore: Shoemaker of dreams, an award-winning feature documentary directed by luca guadagnino, Which premiered at the venice film festival in 2020. Distributed by sony classics, salvatore: Shoemaker of dreams was nominated for a critic’s choice doc award in 2022. Her book Deluxe was adapted for the docuseries, kingdom of dreams.

Thomas began her career writing for the style section of the washington post, and for fifteen Years she served as a cultural and fashion correspondent for newsweek in paris. Thomas has Written for the new york times magazine, the new yorker, the wall street journal, The financial times, vogue, harper’s bazaar, t: the new york times style magazine, Architectural digest, and british vogue, where she served as the european sustainability editor. She has spoken at a host of major conferences and institutions, including the aspen institute, Harvard business school, the united nations, and ted.

In 1987, thomas received the sigma delta chi foundation’s ellis haller award for outstanding Achievement in journalism. In 2016, the french minister of culture named thomas a chevalier Of the order of arts and letters. In 2017, she was a logan nonfiction fellow at the carey Institute for global good. Thomas is an ambassador for the king’s foundation, king charles Iii’s sustainability center in scotland. She lives in paris.

Ethan Mollick is the Ralph J. Roberts Distinguished Faculty Scholar and Associate Professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies the effects of artificial intelligence on work, entrepreneurship, and education. His academic research has been published in leading journals, and his work on AI is widely applied, leading him to be named one of TIME Magazine’s Most Influential People in Artificial Intelligence. Ethan also writes to a wider audience about AI, including in his book, Co-Intelligence, a New York Times bestseller.

In addition to his research and teaching, Ethan is the Co-Director of the Generative AI Labs at Wharton, which build prototypes and conduct research to discover how AI can help humans thrive while mitigating risks. Prior to his time in academia, Ethan co-founded a startup company, and he advises numerous organizations.

Mollick received his PhD and MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management and his bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Colie Edison serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Growth Officer for the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). A veteran strategic leader and transformative marketer, Edison became the league’s first-ever Chief Growth Officer in January 2022. She is charged with league business and strategy functions and leads efforts on all league and team revenue-generating opportunities. She is based in the WNBA’s New York office and reports directly to Commissioner Engelbert.

Prior to the WNBA, Edison was with the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), where she served as the first female Chief Executive Officer in the organization’s history. Her responsibilities included overseeing all business aspects of planning and executing key initiatives including the PBA’s groundbreaking partnership with FOX Sports.

Edison also served as Chief Customer Officer for Bowlero Corporation, leading global marketing efforts and strategic growth initiatives, for the world’s largest owner and operator of bowling centers.

Recognized by Sports Business Journal in its Game Changers class of 2021, Edison graduated Cum Laude with a BA in Communications from Tulane University and is also the recipient of the 2024 Distinguished Alumni Award from Tulane University’s School of Liberal Arts. Edison was named as one of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports Francise” by Adweek’s Champions of Change in June 2024.

Matthew Shay is president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, the world’s largest retail trade association. He serves as chief advocate and spokesman for the nation’s largest private-sector industry employer, responsible for supporting more than one in four U.S. jobs — 55 million working Americans — and generating $5.3 trillion in annual GDP. He is a frequent guest on CNBC, Fox Business Network and Bloomberg Television.

Since his arrival in 2010, Shay has transformed NRF into Washington’s most powerful voice supporting the retail industry. Under his tenure, membership and revenue have more than doubled and the organization’s influence has grown significantly in Washington, across the United States and globally. He has led the organization to new levels of effectiveness on policy issues, increasing awareness of the industry’s economic impact and expanding political engagement. Shay has also been at the forefront of shifting and framing the narrative about the current state of retail, particularly its digital evolution and vibrant, multichannel future.

Shay previously served as president and CEO of the International Franchise Association. During his time as CEO, IFA adopted an aggressive public policy agenda that led to a series of initiatives to restore much-needed credit to cash-strapped retail and other franchise businesses during the last recession.

He has been recognized by CEO Update as the 2020 Trade Association CEO of the year and by Association TRENDS as the 2019 Association Executive of the year. Shay serves as chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Association Committee of 100, and is a member of the board at the U.S. Chamber and So Others Might Eat. He also served as chairman of the ASAE Board of Directors from 2017-2018.

Shay is a graduate of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, and The Ohio State University College of Law, and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business. He also holds an honorary doctor of humane letters from Wittenberg University and an honorary degree of professional designation in merchandise marketing from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.

Shay and his wife Allison live in Arlington, Va., with their three children.

Naveen is the Head of Global Sports Marketing, Basketball, and Football at New Balance. He is responsible for the brand’s emerging presence and strategic vision in Basketball and Football. He’s been at New Balance for just over 2 years and continues to grow the brand through innovative and disruptive strategies that have resulted in New Balance’s sizable growth in the past few years. In recent years he has spearheaded partnerships with world-class athletes, including Tyrese Maxey, Kawhi Leonard, Marvin Harrison Jr., Cameron Brink, and most recently projected number 1 NBA draft pick, Cooper Flagg. In addition, Naveen has brokered strategic partnerships with the global leagues, the NBA and WNBA. Finally, in the past year, Naveen helped strategize the brand’s entry into American Football. By practicing a boutique and considered approach to sports marketing, Naveen helps achieve New Balance’s aggressive growth goals.

Prior to New Balance, Naveen spent nearly a decade at the NBA League offices, half of which was based out of the HQ in Manhattan and half in London, which oversees the NBA EMEA business. During this time, he managed some of the league’s largest commercial partnerships and worked in the business development function, growing the league’s reach and commercial business in the Middle East, Europe, and Africa.

Outside of his role at New Balance, Naveen spends his time on a cause dear to him. In 2024, Naveen joined the American Cancer Society Eastern New England Board of Directors, leading efforts to raise awareness and funds to ensure that Cancer is a winnable battle for all. In his spare time, Naveen enjoys playing tennis, doing various workouts, and traveling often with his wife, Annie.