Opening Session Keynote Speaker: Mike Ditka
Thursday, September 13 at 8am
As an NFL player, coach, commentator, restauranteur, or speaker, Mike Ditka brings deep conviction and street smart confidence to everything he does. He is one of only two people to win a Super Bowl title as a player (Dallas Cowboys 1971), an assistant coach (Dallas Cowboys 1974) and a head coach (Chicago Bears 1985). In his 11 years as Head Coach of the Chicago Bears, his teams collected six NFC Central titles, three NFC championship game appearances and the Super Bowl XX title (1986) for which he was named Coach of the Year.
In 1988, he became the first tight end ever selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, compiling 427 receptions in his 12-year career - a record for tight ends at the time. In addition to his ESPN and radio broadcasting, Ditka owns and operates "Ditka's" restaurants with locations in Chicago and Pittsburgh. He also continues to generously devote himself to varied charitable endeavors including Misericordia, a residential facility for mentally and physically challenged youths.
General Session Keynote Speaker: John Carpenter
Friday, September 14 at 9:15am
John T. Carpenter joined Caterpillar in 1984, starting his career in Peoria based Product Support marketing program. From 1985 to 1990, John's assignments consisted of several financial marketing positions including Product Specialist, Finance Analyst and Sr. Project Analyst. In 1990, John moved to Caterpillar's Santiago, Chili office to work on South American distribution development as a Finance Marketing Representative. Upon returning to the states in 1993, John spent the next three years based out of Lafayette, Indiana; Large Engine Center. In Lafayette, he worked on creating an organization to build, own and operate power plants around the world as a Project Manager and then as a Commercial Manager.
In 1996, John moved to Singapore to manage Caterpillar's Southeast Asia and India Power Systems Divisions. As part of the Cat Asia management team, John was involved in market strategy development for Malaysian, Thai and Indonesian forestry industries. John returned to Peoria in late 2000 to lead the North American Power Systems sales forced followed by a move to North American Commercial Division's Central Region Manager Position in 2002. John was named the President of Caterpillar Forest Products Inc. in 2005 and currently resides in Caterpillar's Forest Products Center of Excellence in LaGrange, Georgia.
John graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1984 with a B.S. in Finance. He completed the Caterpillar Advanced Management Program in 1999 and completed the Northwestern University-Kellogg Advanced Executive Program in 2000.
General Session Keynote Speaker: Kevin O'Connor
Saturday, September 15 at 9:15am
Nominated for an "Outstanding Service Show Host" Emmy Award in his debut season in 2001, Kevin O'Connor now enters his sixth season as host of the Emmy Award-winning series, This Old House, and the Emmy-nominated series, Ask This Old House.
Kevin, along with his four brothers and two sisters, grew up on various job sites led by his father, a civil engineer. Years later he remains an avid home enthusiast who is in the midst of renovating his first home, a Victorian fixer-upper. When Kevin, a lifelong fan of This Old House, and his wife Kathleen became overwhelmed by their long to-do list, they sent an email seeking help from the Ask This Old House experts. To their surprise and delight, the House call served as Kevin's first screen test to serve as the new host (the third host in the history of the pioneer home improvement series). The rest is history.
Kevin received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from the College of Holy Cross in 1990 and a Master's of Business Administration degree from Boston University in 1999. Originally from New Jersey and an avid traveler, Kevin lives with his wife and son in an 1894 Queen Anne Victorian home north of Boston.