GIC Session 5: How Are St. Louis Industries Innovating to Adapt, Discussion

VIDEO September 25, 2015

Speaker / Author

Cletus C. Coughlin

Senior Vice President and Policy Adviser to the President, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis

Cletus C. Coughlin is a senior vice president and chief of staff to the president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He is also a policy associate with the Leverhulme Centre for Research on Globalisation and Economic Policy at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, England and serves on the editorial board of the Review of Regional Studies. Mr. Coughlin joined the Bank as a senior economist in 1987 and was promoted to vice president in 1994. He served as deputy director in the Bank’s Research Division until July 2011. Mr. Coughlin has published numerous articles in leading journals ... Read More

Blair L. Fortner

Chief Economist, Monsanto Company

Blair Fortner serves as Monsanto’s chief economist and as a member of the company’s global strategy team. He directs the company’s proprietary modeling, forecasting and analysis which serve as the basis for corporate planning and evaluation of new opportunities in developed and emerging agricultural markets. He also speaks extensively on how to feed an increasingly hungry world. Prior to joining Monsanto, his career included positions at the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. House of Representatives, Smith Barney and the US Soybean Export Council. He received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Arkansas. He lives with his wife ... Read More

Ward Klein

Executive Chairman of the Board, Edgewell Personal Care

Ward Klein is executive chairman of the Board of Edgewell Personal Care. He was previously chief executive officer of Energizer Holdings, Inc., a position he had held since January 2005. Mr. Klein obtained a Bachelor of Arts (magna cum laude) in economics from St. Olaf College and a master’s in management from Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He joined Energizer’s former parent, Ralston Purina Company, in 1979 and transferred to its newly acquired battery division in 1986 as director of new products. He assumed positions of increasing responsibility, including serving as director of marketing; vice president and ... Read More

Kevin Krosley

Chief of Staff, Sigma-Aldrich

Kevin Krosley joined Sigma-Aldrich Corporation in 1993. During his time with the company, he has held various line and staff roles in research and development, operations, business development, strategic planning, process improvement and new ventures. He has served as the chief of staff for the CEO since 2012. Krosley received a Ph.D. in physical organic chemistry from Oregon State University and conducted postdoctoral research at The University of Texas at Austin. He also is certified as an executive coach, trainer and speaker through the John Maxwell Company. ... Read More