Board of Trustees Events

Major General (Ret.) James A. “Spider” Marks is Head of Geopolitical Strategy and Academy Securities’ Senior Advisory Board Member.

General Marks is the Founder and President of The Marks Collaborative, an advisory for corporate leader development, education and training and has led entrepreneurial efforts in global primary research and national security. He served over 30 years in the Army holding every command position from infantry platoon leader to commanding general and was the senior intelligence officer in the LA Riots, the Balkans, Korea, and Operation Iraqi Freedom. He culminated his career as the Commanding General of the US Army Intelligence Center and School at Fort Huachuca, Arizona.

He has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf cluster, Bronze Star, and multiple combat, expeditionary and service ribbons. General Marks is a Master parachutist, authorized to wear Korean and Canadian Airborne wings, Air Assault qualified, and Honor Graduate of the US Army Ranger School. General Marks is a national security contributor to CNN and member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

Danny Lutkus leads Palantir's Midwest Commercial Business.  He is responsible for sales, delivery and technical success for our major customers in the Midwest private sector.  Danny has been at Palantir for 11 years — the first 5 years focused on engagements with our largest US government engagements (Department of Justice, US Special Operations, CIA and National Counterterrorism Center), the last 6 years Danny switched to the Commercial side of Palantir's business to return to his industrial midwestern roots to grow Palantir's presence in the region.  A University of Notre Dame and University of Chicago alumnus with a focus on Economics, Danny's expertise has been crucial in establishing strong partnerships in region and helping to deliver outsized value for our partners.  He resides in Chicago, IL with his wife and 4 children.

Chris Cillizza spent four years as an editor at large at CNN and regularly appeared as a political analyst on the network’s airwaves. Prior to CNN, Cillizza worked for a decade at The Washington Post, where he founded The Fix political blog and built a reputation as the authority on fast, incisive analysis of the day's events. A frequent TV guest across networks, Cillizza was an MSNBC political contributor for eight years. Prior to The Washington Post, Cillizza reported on campaign politics for Roll Call, where he served as their White House Correspondent. He also previously reported for The Cook Political Report, where he covered gubernatorial and House races. A graduate of Georgetown University, he lives in Virginia with his wife and two sons and is a diehard Hoyas basketball fan.

Jeffrey Passel is a senior demographer at Pew Research Center. He is a nationally known expert on immigration to the United States and the demography of racial and ethnic groups. Passel formerly served as principal research associate at the Urban Institute’s Labor, Human Services and Population Center. Passel has authored numerous studies on immigrant populations in America, focusing on such topics as undocumented immigration, the economic and fiscal impact of the foreign born, and the impact of welfare reform on immigrant populations. Passel regularly discusses the Center’s findings in print and broadcast media.

Jenn spent the first decade of her career with Illinois Tool Works (ITW). During that tenure, she undertook progressive business leadership roles across several divisions— including functional responsibility for sales, marketing, product management, operations, and corporate strategy.

Jenn specializes in strategy creation and execution. During the consolidation of multiple ITW operating units, she led the business segmentation into focused markets and products. She guided her team through value proposition definition and developed growth strategies. She restructured the commercial organization and built a product management function to drive the growth strategies. Using 80/20, Jenn eliminated complexity through customer and product line simplification. This resulted in cost reduction, bottom-line growth, and improved satisfaction of top customers.

Since joining Strategex, Jenn has consulted with more than 20 companies across various industries. She has helped her clients achieve profitable margin expansion and cash flow growth through revenue increases, overhead reductions, working capital reductions, and more.

She also has a track record of successfully leading turnarounds for failing manufacturing businesses. In 2021 she coached a tier 1 automotive client to overcome significant operational challenges. The results were a 25% increase in EBITDA, increased on-time delivery, and increased wallet share with the world’s largest automotive manufacturers.

Jenn has a BS in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Tech. She received her Executive MBA at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School during which she earned The Entrepreneurship Award, and The Core Value Award for Rigor, among other recognitions. She lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband and two children.

Donald R. Leavens, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association’s Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, holds a Ph.D. in economics from George Mason University.  He also received a master’s degree in economics from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia.

At NEMA, he heads a quantitative analysis division known as NEMA Business Intelligence, which provides econometric modeling, macroeconomic forecasting, market research, economic analysis, and industry data collection services to a wide range of businesses including many of the world’s largest companies.  He is a frequent speaker at industry and company events where he focuses on the economic outlook and business trends.

In addition, he serves as an observer on the board of the Industry Data Exchange Association, IDEA, which operates an industry data warehouse and EDI services for the electrical industry.

Prior to joining NEMA, he served as Director Tax Policy Research for the National Association of Realtors and Director Federal Budget Policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and has held academic appointments at George Mason University and Virginia Tech. He has also written articles on public choice and public finance economics that have appeared in academic journals and has contributed articles to several books.  In addition, he has served as a member of the Governor of Virginia’s Advisory Board of Economists.

Dr. Shawn DuBravac is author of the New York Times Best Seller Digital Destiny: How the New Age of Data Will Transform the Way We Work, Live, and Communicate (Regnery, 2015), which explores how the world’s mass adoption of digital technologies portends the beginning of a new era for humanity in the realms of business, healthcare, finance, transportation and culture.

DuBravac is a well-regarded futurist and trendcaster who writes frequently on disruptive technological shifts. He advises companies and C-level executives on market opportunities and industry strategy. He is president and founder of Avrio Institute which provides consulting, research and advisory services to CxOs on a myriad of topics including digital transformation strategies, business model disruptions, the pace of technological change and overcoming myopic thinking.

For over a dozen years DuBravac served as chief economist for the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the U.S. trade association representing more than 2,000 consumer tech companies and owner and producer of CES.

Founder, Mehlman Consulting; formerly Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy; Policy Director and General Counsel to the House Republican Conference under Rep. J.C. Watts (R-OK); and General Counsel to the National Republican Congressional

With nearly three decades experience in public policy, business and the law, Bruce helps leaders and organizations understand, anticipate and navigate political risk.

Mehlman is a highly sought-after keynote speaker on policy and political trends, regularly headlining business conferences and strategic planning sessions. His quarterly infographic analyses are consistently picked-up by national media and eagerly consumed by tens of thousands of readers around the world. Television networks and shows including Showtime’s The Circus, CNBC, Fox News, Fox Business and Hearst often ask Bruce to appear to discuss trends and their implications.

Bruce previously served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy under President George W. Bush. He also worked as a senior leadership aide in the House of Representatives, general counsel to a national political party committee and policy counsel to Cisco Systems.

Bruce is widely-regarded as an expert in running coalitions, quarterbacking issue campaigns and managing C-suite associations, bringing innovative approaches and determined execution to achieve impactful outcomes. An Adjunct Professor and Board Member of The Washington Campus, Bruce frequently lectures MBA candidates on “effective business-government relations.” He was a 2021 fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership. Bruce serves on the advisory boards of start-up companies including FiscalNote, iLearningEngines and Virtru, in addition to serving on the Boards of The Center for Democracy & Technology, The Washington Campus and the State Science & Technology Institute.

Bruce earned a BA degree from Princeton University and a JD from the University of Virginia Law School where he served on the Virginia Law Review.

Matthias Bolling, based in Boston, supports industrial, technology, and private equity clients and organizations with a global manufacturing footprint. He is active in Egon Zehnder’s Industrial and Technology practices, with particular expertise in digital transformation. Matthias guides recruitment for CEOs, general management leaders expanding into commercial and operational functions. He also provides a range of leadership development services, including management appraisal and accelerated integration of transitioning executives.

Prior to joining Egon Zehnder, Matthias was COO North America for TUV Rheinland, a global leader in the testing, inspection and certification services market. Previously, Matthias held global leadership roles at Danaher Corporation in industrial and consumer product businesses. Earlier, Matthias held positions at Lucent Technologies and was responsible for Business Development at Bosch Telecom in Eastern European markets. Matthias began his professional career at a start-up technology company in Germany.

Matthias has an M.Eng in electrical engineering from the University of Applied Sciences in Esslingen, Germany, and an MBA from Columbia University. He is passionate about cycling, soccer, and disruptive technology.