Speaker Biographies

Speaker Biographies

Andy Mooney

Chairman, Disney Consumer Products

The Walt Disney Company

Andy Mooney was named chairman of Disney Consumer Products in May, 2003, after having served as its president since joining The Walt Disney Company in January, 2000. Mooney oversees the worldwide day-to-day operations of Disney Consumer Products, which extends the rich Disney entertainment experience to a broad selection of merchandise ranging from toys, apparel, home decor and books to interactive games, food and beverages, electronics and fine art. This is accomplished through several business lines: Toys, Fashion & Home, Stationery, Food Health & Beauty, Disney Publishing, and The Disney Store. Under Mooney's management, Disney Consumer Products' business has turned around through a variety of initiatives. He and his team have strengthened the Disney brand at the retail level & encouraged product innovation in the licensing business.

Forbes I. J. Alexander was named Chief Financial Officer in September 2004. Most recently he served as Treasurer since November 1996. Forbes joined Jabil in 1993 as Controller of our Scottish operation and was promoted to Assistant Treasurer in April 1996. Prior to joining Jabil, Forbes was Financial Controller of Tandy Electronics European Manufacturing Operations in Scotland and has held various financial positions with Hewlett Packard and Apollo Computer. Forbes is a Fellow of the Institute OfChartered Management Accountants. He holds a B.A. in Accounting from the University of Abertay Dundee formerly known as Dundee College, Scotland.

Jody is the Director of Global Sourcing - Food for H-E-B in San Antonio, Texas. In this capacity, Mr. Hall is responsible for leading a dynamic team of 13 import & export development managers in the identification, development and sourcing of both Own Brands and international brands for H-E-B stores in both Texas and Mexico. This includes setting the strategic vision for the direct imports of food and beverage products internationally for the Grocery, Produce, Bakery and Deli Departments as H-E-B finds itself a player in the global marketplace. His team is accountable for $500 million in sales. In addition, Jody serves as H-E-B’s liaison with the foreign governmental and ambassadorial contacts as it pertains to developing international trade. As the largest family owned supermarket in the USA, H-E-B was founded in 1905 and has an annual turnover of $15 billion. Jody has worked for H-E-B for past 20 years. His career has spanned store operations along the US/Mexico border, regional grocery director, advertising manager, Business Development Manager (buyer accountable for $250 million annual sales) and now five years as Director of Global Sourcing.

Michael Economou has been assisting companies with their transatlantic and global business investments for many years and currently manages a US inbound practice within PwC's international tax services group. In that role Michael assists UK and overseas companies that are setting up in the USA for the first time and he delivers a mixture of US tax and non tax assistance to help ensure a compliant and timely set up. Michael and his team have assisted over 200 businesses successfully set up and grow their new US operations. These companies operate in many different industry sectors and have established operations in all major US geographies. Michael is originally from PwC in the UK, where he spent several years advising UK companies expanding overseas. He also spent several years based at PwC in the US assisting US businesses setting up in the UK, Europe and globally. Michael was also seconded to the UK government based at the British Consulate-General in Chicago where he supported US businesses expanding into the UK. Michael is a qualified Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Advisor, and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Accounting.

Gerry Rice is a Glaswegian, originally from the Calton area, where he also served as a Community Councillor. He was awarded a first-class honours degree in History from Glasgow University on 1976 and earned his Ph.D. in 1980. He spent 1978-79 as a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard University. In 1981 he joined the World Bank in Washington DC where he has gained two decades of experience in global economic and development issues. In 1999, he returned to Scotland on a year's exchange with Scottish Enterprise where he conducted work on Scotland's role in the global economy and, also, acted as Senior Advisor to the Chief Executive. After a 25-year careeer with the World Bank, and since 2006, Gerry has served as Deputy Director for External Relations at the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC. 

Colin Burns

Director

Martach Associates

Colin runs Martach Associates, a network of leading innovation consultants. He is a pioneer in the use of Design Thinking, a methodology that harnesses user-led creativity to create new strategic business and social value. He is a Non-Executive Director of Elmwood, the international Brand Strategy agency with offices in Edinburgh, Leeds, London, New York and Melbourne. Colin has spent most of his career working at IDEO - the international design and innovation consultancy, famous for it's user-centred, interdisciplinary approach. During his 10 years at IDEO he worked in California and Germany, as well as the UK. He was the Managing Director of IDEO London until 2005. Colin has worked globally for companies such as Vodafone, Prada, Procter & Gamble, Egg, British Airways, Nokia, the BBC and the Design Council. He is currently Visiting Professor of Innovation & Design at the University of Dundee and Glasgow School of Art.

Allan Rooney

Attorney

Allan J.P Rooney, P.C

Allan J.P. Rooney received his law degree in 1999 from the University of Edinburgh Law School in Scotland. In 2007, he founded Allan J.P. Rooney, P.C., a firm specializing in corporate law with active commercial litigation, entertainment, and real estate practices. He is admitted to the New York State Bar, as well as the U.S. District Court for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. He is a member of both the New York State Bar Association, the New York City Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyers' Association (NYCLA). He serves on the Cyberspace Law and Corporation Law Committees at NYCLA, as well as the Corporation Law Committee at the NYC Bar. He is also president of the American Friends of the University of Edinburgh, Inc., the Scottish Bar Association of New York, and the Edinburgh Alumni Association of New York. The firm has extensive experience in handling international employment and taxation, as well as transactional legal matters. This positions the firm as highly qualified to assist international companies (often UK-based) with US-based legal issues, including corporate formation and related tax considerations, strategic acquisitions aimed at entering the US marketplace, commercial leasing, employment work, and other tax matters (treaty and other). We also advise foreign clients on mergers, joint ventures, and other commercial alliances, and corporate dispositions in the United States.

Russell Morris

The Conference Board

Russell joined The Conference Board in July 2007 to lead its Human Resources and Business Operations Councils. In this role, he hires, trains and coaches program directors of these 57 councils. He is also responsible for launching the online forums and for designing the evaluation system for our council program. Russell launched and currently leads one of The Conference Board's most dynamic councils, the Council of Talent Management Executives II, a community of practice for senior HR and OD executives responsible for talent management at their companies. For the past several years, as a partner in McNulty Morris Associates LLC, Russell co-produced and/or created several of The Conference Board's most popular and best-rated conferences, including the annual Talent Management Strategies, Succession Management, Leadership Development, Enterprise Learning Strategies and HR Outsourcing Conferences. Russell and his partner, Jean McNulty, led Conference Board Research Working Groups on Talent Management, Employee Engagement, Global Leadership Development and Strategic Workforce Planning. He also assisted Jean with several councils.

Allan Rooney 

Owner

Allan J.P. Rooney, P.C

Allan Rooney is the owner of Allan J.P. Rooney, P.C., a corporate law firm based in New York. Allan has extensive experience in handling international employment, taxation, and transactional legal matters. This positions the firm as highly qualified to assist international companies (often UK-based) with US-based legal issues, including corporate formation, strategic acquisitions aimed at entering the US marketplace, commercial leasing, employment work, and general tax matters (treaty and other). He also advises US and foreign clients on mergers, joint ventures, and other commercial alliances, and corporate dispositions in the United States.