Join us for the first installment of the Booth Entrepreneurs Series highlighting the stories of successful Booth entrepreneurs and the companies they have created.
Event Details
The Booth Entrepreneurs Series highlights the stories of successful Booth entrepreneurs. Join Joe Cortese, '10, Co-President of the Booth Alumni Club of Chicago and Principal, Senior Consultant with DiMeo Schneider & Associates, for a discussion with Ben Kovler, '11, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Green Thumb Industries, Inc. We will discuss Ben's experiences founding and leading GTI, a national cannabis consumer packaged goods and retailer. Attendees will also have the opportunity to ask questions throughout the program.
Registration
Register Online
Zoom information will be shared after registration.
Deadline: 3/25/2021
Speaker Profiles
Ben Kovler (Speaker) '11
Founder, CEO, Chairman, Green Thumb Industries, Inc.
https://www.gtigrows.com/
Ben Kovler brings his extensive experience managing complex operating companies and his deep commitment to philanthropy as Founder, CEO and Chairman of Green Thumb. Ben founded Green Thumb in 2014 and has successfully grown it into a national cannabis consumer packaged goods company and retailer that manufactures and distributes a portfolio of branded cannabis products including Rythm, Dogwalkers, The Feel Collection, and Beboe, among others. The company also owns and operates a rapidly growing national chain of retail cannabis stores called Rise™. Ben is frequently featured as an industry thought leader in media outlets such as Bloomberg, Barron's, Business Insider, CNBC and Forbes. He is also co-founder and CEO of Invest For Kids (IFK), an annual forum bringing together portfolio managers, family offices and analysts to share investment ideas to benefit children in Illinois. In its first twelve years, IFK generated more than $16 million benefiting 65 nonprofit organizations serving Chicago area youth. Ben is also on the board of the Providence St. Mel School and the Academy for Global Citizenship. Ben earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, politics and economics from Pomona College and an M.B.A. in accounting and finance from The University of Chicago. Ben and his wife, Amy, enjoy living in Chicago with their two children.
Joe Cortese (Moderator) '10
Principal, Senior Consultant, DiMeo Schneider & Associates, LLC
www.dimeoschneider.com
Joe joined DiMeo Schneider in 2008. He provides investment consulting services to family offices, nonprofit organizations, high net worth investors and other financial institutions as part of the firm's Financial Institutions Outsourcing Practice. Joe gives advice and expertise on all facets of effective investment program design including establishing investment objectives, asset allocation and portfolio design, investment research and due diligence and overall practice management. Joe is also a member of the firm's Private Markets Research Team. Prior to joining the firm, Joe worked for Morgan Stanley's Private Wealth Management Office and as a Managing Director for an investment management firm implementing a value-focused, long/short equity strategy based on University of Chicago Booth research. Joe earned his MBA with concentrations in Analytic Finance and Accounting from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a BBA with a Certification in Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Iowa. Joe is a member of UNICEF's NextGen Junior Board as well as Co-Founder of the Hawkeye Business Development Group of Chicago. Joe is currently serving as the Co-President of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business Alumni Club and is a frequent contributor to a number financial media outlets.
Questions
Joe Cortese, '10
Principal, Senior Consultant