Panelist Bios:
Matt Kistler
Senior Vice President
Sustainability
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Matt Kistler is the senior vice president of sustainability for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart). He is responsible for Walmart’s global sustainability strategy and the integration of sustainability into Walmart’s business strategies, encouraging the company's 100,000 suppliers to innovate, collaborate and support Walmart’s key sustainability goals and to integrate sustainability into the brand and culture of the company by engaging the more than 2.1 million Walmart associates globally.
Matt joined Walmart in November of 2003 as the director of private brands for Sam’s Club. In 2004 he became a corporate officer as the vice president of product development, private brands, packaging and quality testing. In 2006 Matt was appointed vice president of product and packaging innovation for Sam’s Club and in 2007 he was promoted to senior vice president of marketing, research and insights for Sam’s Club. In October 2007 Matt was named senior vice president, sustainability for Walmart.
Prior to joining Walmart, Matt held marketing, strategy and sales management positions with Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer and General Foods.
Matt serves on the boards of Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, Center for Responsible Business and the Foundation Board of NARTI and Hope Cancer Resources. He has a B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Eric Hespenheide serves as the Global Leader of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) member firms' Internal Audit Services Practice and Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability services group. His leadership has led to significant growth and has resulted in the practice being widely recognized as a leading provider of internal audit services among Fortune 1000 companies. In addition, he currently serves as the Lead Partner or Advisory Partner on a number of global engagements in a variety of industries.
One of Eric’s more recent challenges is to enhance the global brand of Deloitte’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Services group. In doing so, Eric will be leading efforts in marketplace research, coordinating an integrated service offering and helping clients solve complex challenges with the sustainability programs. He also frequently presents to, and meets with, client audit committees, chief audit executives and other members of executive management to understand their needs as they strive to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Eric joined the Detroit practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP in 1977. He was named global managing partner of Internal Audit Services in 2001. Prior to 2001, he served as the Assurance and Advisory managing partner for the Great Lakes Region and as an audit partner for large global manufacturing companies.
Eric has been actively involved in working with the Institute of Internal Auditors since 2001 in a variety of capacities. As a board trustee for the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Research Foundation, Eric plays an active role in contributing to and strengthening the internal auditing profession. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of internal auditing at various forums around the world.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the national board of directors of the United Cerebral Palsy Association. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at Louisiana State University. Feel free to send Eric a message.
Paul M. Murray
Director of Environmental Safety and Sustainability
Herman Miller, Inc.
Paul Murray carries the message of corporate environmental responsibility to business and academic audiences throughout the country. “The Power of One,” his presentation to the design community and other audiences affirms that each individual, company, and industry can champion environmental awareness among co-workers and clients alike, whether by promoting the use of sustainable products or through a simple commitment to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” whenever possible.
Paul grew up in Selby, a small farming community in north central South Dakota. He attended Northern State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry; he holds a Master’s in management from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, He is also a LEED accredited professional. Initially credentialed as a high school teacher, Paul taught math and chemistry, and served as a high school coach, before leaving his teaching career to work as a research chemist with PPG Industries and Boise Cascade Corporation.
Based on his experience developing wood coatings and finishes, Paul joined Herman Miller in 1988 as a production manager responsible for wood finishing operations. Long interested in environmental work, Paul felt a connection to the company’s history of environmental stewardship. However, it was not until he sought an air quality permit for a wood finishing area that Paul discovered a growing need within Herman Miller to identify and coordinate numerous “green” initiatives underway. Paul and others soon established EQAT, the Environmental Quality Action Team, and through the group’s ongoing efforts Herman Miller has earned several environmental awards, including a Presidential citation, as well as national recognition as an environmentally progressive company.
Paul was named Environmental Affairs manager in 1992 and director of Environmental Safety and Sustainability in 2006. In May 2006, Vanity Fair magazine acknowledged Paul’s efforts by including him in its special “Green” issue, in the section entitled, “The Re-Inventors: Green Architects and Designers.”
In addition to his responsibilities with Herman Miller, Paul participates in several work groups with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; holds memberships with the Air and Waste Management Association, the National Association of Environmental Managers, the American Society of Interior Design, and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum; and serves on the Board of Directors for both the University of Michigan’s Corporate Environmental Management Program and the International Design Center for the Environment. Additionally, he sits on the boards of several non-profit environmental organizations.
In 2002 Paul co-founded the Sustainable Research Group (SRG), an environmental consulting service created to help other companies implement green initiatives similar to Herman Miller’s.
Paul and his family live in Hudsonville, Michigan.
James M. Modak
Chief Financial Officer, Suniva
Jim Modak is an experienced financial executive with more than 30 years experience in high growth businesses. His career has included three public offerings, four sell-side M&A transactions and more than 50 buy-side M&A transactions.
As CFO of Suniva, Jim assisted in raising $130 million in capital and led the debt financing for the company's manufacturing equipment. Jim continually focuses on efforts of constant improvement for operational cost efficiencies throughout Suniva. In addition, Jim manages the human resources aspects of Suniva, which has seen steady growth since the company was founded in 2007.
Before joining Suniva, Jim was the CFO of Datapath, a $300 million company providing mobile satellite communications. While at Datapath he led the company's private placement of $350 million in 2006. His career has included COO and CFO roles at companies such as DWL, a private enterprise software company which was grown from $5 million in revenues to over $35 million in four years, ultimately leading to the sale of the company to IBM.
Additionally, Jim was the CFO at Tradex Technologies where he helped build the business into one of the leaders in developing digital marketplaces. Jim and the executive team ultimately sold the company to Ariba in one of the largest software M&A transactions at the time of $5.6 billion.
He has held senior financial executive positions at such companies as Total System Services-NYSE, American Software and Logility-NASDAQ and FFMC-NYSE (sold to First Data in 1995). In addition to public financing experience, Jim has significant operational and business development experience.
Jim began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick where he spent 12 years after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. He currently serves on the Library Council of Notre Dame.
Matt KistlerSenior Vice President
Sustainability
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Matt Kistler is the senior vice president of sustainability for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (Walmart). He is responsible for Walmart’s global sustainability strategy and the integration of sustainability into Walmart’s business strategies, encouraging the company's 100,000 suppliers to innovate, collaborate and support Walmart’s key sustainability goals and to integrate sustainability into the brand and culture of the company by engaging the more than 2.1 million Walmart associates globally.
Matt joined Walmart in November of 2003 as the director of private brands for Sam’s Club. In 2004 he became a corporate officer as the vice president of product development, private brands, packaging and quality testing. In 2006 Matt was appointed vice president of product and packaging innovation for Sam’s Club and in 2007 he was promoted to senior vice president of marketing, research and insights for Sam’s Club. In October 2007 Matt was named senior vice president, sustainability for Walmart.
Prior to joining Walmart, Matt held marketing, strategy and sales management positions with Kraft Foods, Oscar Mayer and General Foods.
Matt serves on the boards of Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, Center for Responsible Business and the Foundation Board of NARTI and Hope Cancer Resources. He has a B.A. in Marketing from Michigan State University and an M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University.
Eric Hespenheide serves as the Global Leader of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (DTT) member firms' Internal Audit Services Practice and Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability services group. His leadership has led to significant growth and has resulted in the practice being widely recognized as a leading provider of internal audit services among Fortune 1000 companies. In addition, he currently serves as the Lead Partner or Advisory Partner on a number of global engagements in a variety of industries.One of Eric’s more recent challenges is to enhance the global brand of Deloitte’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Services group. In doing so, Eric will be leading efforts in marketplace research, coordinating an integrated service offering and helping clients solve complex challenges with the sustainability programs. He also frequently presents to, and meets with, client audit committees, chief audit executives and other members of executive management to understand their needs as they strive to meet the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Eric joined the Detroit practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP in 1977. He was named global managing partner of Internal Audit Services in 2001. Prior to 2001, he served as the Assurance and Advisory managing partner for the Great Lakes Region and as an audit partner for large global manufacturing companies.
Eric has been actively involved in working with the Institute of Internal Auditors since 2001 in a variety of capacities. As a board trustee for the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Research Foundation, Eric plays an active role in contributing to and strengthening the internal auditing profession. He is a frequent speaker on the topic of internal auditing at various forums around the world.
He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the national board of directors of the United Cerebral Palsy Association. He also serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at Louisiana State University. Feel free to send Eric a message.
Paul M. Murray
Director of Environmental Safety and Sustainability
Herman Miller, Inc.
Paul Murray carries the message of corporate environmental responsibility to business and academic audiences throughout the country. “The Power of One,” his presentation to the design community and other audiences affirms that each individual, company, and industry can champion environmental awareness among co-workers and clients alike, whether by promoting the use of sustainable products or through a simple commitment to “reduce, reuse, and recycle” whenever possible.
Paul grew up in Selby, a small farming community in north central South Dakota. He attended Northern State College in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry; he holds a Master’s in management from Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, He is also a LEED accredited professional. Initially credentialed as a high school teacher, Paul taught math and chemistry, and served as a high school coach, before leaving his teaching career to work as a research chemist with PPG Industries and Boise Cascade Corporation.
Based on his experience developing wood coatings and finishes, Paul joined Herman Miller in 1988 as a production manager responsible for wood finishing operations. Long interested in environmental work, Paul felt a connection to the company’s history of environmental stewardship. However, it was not until he sought an air quality permit for a wood finishing area that Paul discovered a growing need within Herman Miller to identify and coordinate numerous “green” initiatives underway. Paul and others soon established EQAT, the Environmental Quality Action Team, and through the group’s ongoing efforts Herman Miller has earned several environmental awards, including a Presidential citation, as well as national recognition as an environmentally progressive company.
Paul was named Environmental Affairs manager in 1992 and director of Environmental Safety and Sustainability in 2006. In May 2006, Vanity Fair magazine acknowledged Paul’s efforts by including him in its special “Green” issue, in the section entitled, “The Re-Inventors: Green Architects and Designers.”
In addition to his responsibilities with Herman Miller, Paul participates in several work groups with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality; holds memberships with the Air and Waste Management Association, the National Association of Environmental Managers, the American Society of Interior Design, and the West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum; and serves on the Board of Directors for both the University of Michigan’s Corporate Environmental Management Program and the International Design Center for the Environment. Additionally, he sits on the boards of several non-profit environmental organizations.
In 2002 Paul co-founded the Sustainable Research Group (SRG), an environmental consulting service created to help other companies implement green initiatives similar to Herman Miller’s.
Paul and his family live in Hudsonville, Michigan.
James M. Modak Chief Financial Officer, Suniva
Jim Modak is an experienced financial executive with more than 30 years experience in high growth businesses. His career has included three public offerings, four sell-side M&A transactions and more than 50 buy-side M&A transactions.
As CFO of Suniva, Jim assisted in raising $130 million in capital and led the debt financing for the company's manufacturing equipment. Jim continually focuses on efforts of constant improvement for operational cost efficiencies throughout Suniva. In addition, Jim manages the human resources aspects of Suniva, which has seen steady growth since the company was founded in 2007.
Before joining Suniva, Jim was the CFO of Datapath, a $300 million company providing mobile satellite communications. While at Datapath he led the company's private placement of $350 million in 2006. His career has included COO and CFO roles at companies such as DWL, a private enterprise software company which was grown from $5 million in revenues to over $35 million in four years, ultimately leading to the sale of the company to IBM.
Additionally, Jim was the CFO at Tradex Technologies where he helped build the business into one of the leaders in developing digital marketplaces. Jim and the executive team ultimately sold the company to Ariba in one of the largest software M&A transactions at the time of $5.6 billion.
He has held senior financial executive positions at such companies as Total System Services-NYSE, American Software and Logility-NASDAQ and FFMC-NYSE (sold to First Data in 1995). In addition to public financing experience, Jim has significant operational and business development experience.
Jim began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick where he spent 12 years after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. He currently serves on the Library Council of Notre Dame.