“Change Management: Best Practices for Communicating Significant Changes”

John Rumpf oversees Baird's internal and external communications, including public relations. Prior to joining Baird in 1999, he was Vice President/Director of Marketing of a marketing communications consulting firm, serving a wide variety of professional service, financial, consumer, real estate and health care clients (including numerous FORTUNE 500 companies) over the course of 20 years. John has more than 30 years’ experience serving on various arts-oriented and other non-profit boards and is a currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Milwaukee Ballet and trustee emeritus of the Public Policy Forum. He graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin School of Journalism, where he earned the Harry J. Grant and Wallace Meyer scholarships.

Courtney Reynolds is vice president of communications and corporate affairs. As department head and a corporate executive officer, she leads a team responsible for strengthening the company’s reputation by bringing to life Northwestern Mutual’s character and relevance internally and externally. Reynolds, who joined Northwestern Mutual in August 2015, has more than two decades of experience as a communications counselor within several industries. She came to Northwestern Mutual from Harris Corp., a Fortune 500 aerospace and defense company, where she oversaw public relations, advertising, marketing communications, internal communications and digital/social media. Prior to Harris, Reynolds served as director of employee engagement communications for ITT Corporation, where she was responsible for engaging ITT's 40,000 employees around the globe in achieving the company's business goals. She also served as manager of communications and market intelligence for ITT's Night Vision Division, where she strengthened the brand, led the strategic and operating planning process and was in charge of business development for the homeland security market. Earlier in her career, Reynolds spent several years counseling clients in both external and internal communications at Carter Ryley Thomas Public Relations (now Padilla), ultimately leading the agency’s “Reputation*Change*Culture” practice area. Reynolds holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, with a minor in French, from the University of Virginia, and she has an Executive Master of Business Administration from Stevens Institute of Technology. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa and a certified Six Sigma Green Belt. Reynolds is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, past chair of the Public Relations Society of America’s Corporate Communications Section, and currently a board member of Big Brothers Big Sisters in Milwaukee. Reynolds and her husband, John, have two daughters.

Barb Bolens is a senior finance executive with both corporate finance and sales/marketing experience with publicly traded multinational Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. She currently serves as the Vice President Corporate Strategy, Investor Relations and Communications at Actuant Corporation. Prior to joining Actuant, Barb spent over 6 years at Joy Global Inc/Komatsu Mining Corporation as its VP and Treasurer. Responsible for Treasury operations at both Komatsu America/Komatsu Mining Corp and Joy Global (its predecessor), she led several significant treasury and risk management initiatives including integration & merger activities, development of an enterprise risk management structure and implementing effective strategies to manage the Company’s capital structure. Prior to Komatsu Mining/Joy Global, Barb held financial leadership positions at several other multinational corporations as well as early career leadership roles in sales and marketing. Barb has a deep understanding of both OEM as well as distribution business models and has worked to create cohesive strategies, efficient capital and liquidity structures and impactful financial communications within the companies in which she has worked.

Jody Lowe is President and Managing Director of The Lowe Group. She founded the Lowe Group in 2003 to help asset managers and other financial services firms create greater awareness of their products and services to attract and retain business. Her team of nine experienced professionals specialize in communications strategy, strategic communications, investor relations, media outreach and media training. Prior to launching The Lowe Group, Jody spent 16 years with Strong Financial Corporation, investment advisor to the Strong Funds, where she directed media relations and corporate communications. A graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Phi Beta Kappa), Jody serves on the corporate board of Waukesha State Bank. In the community, she serves on the Wauwatosa Plan Commission and the boards of the Wisconsin Philharmonic, TEMPO Milwaukee and the Wauwatosa Public Library Foundation (past president).