2022 Markel Panel Conversations

Markel C-Suite Conversation

8:30 a.m. - 9:45 a.m. Eastern time

This will be a moderated discussion with leading Markel C-suite executives followed by a Q&A session. Join this interesting conversation on navigating the unique challenges and opportunities that resulted from the pandemic. From supply chain disruptions to wage and raw material cost pressures, medical protocols, shifts in work practices, and changes in consumer behaviors, the pandemic raised the bar for corporate leadership and organizational resiliency. Through it all, the CEOs participating in this upcoming discussion proved adept at managing these challenges and embracing them as opportunities to evolve and thrive.

Panelists:

Susan Gayner, CEO of Parkland Ventures.

Susan is the CEO of Parkland Ventures, an owner-operator of manufactured housing communities in the US. A chemical engineer by training, she previously served in various capacities with the DuPont Company and Hercules, Inc. Susan currently serves on the board of directors of Constellation Software. She graduated from the University of Virginia with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a master's of chemical engineering degree.

Connect with Susan

Ting Xu, Founder of Evergreen Enterprises and CEO of Plow & Hearth.

Evergreen is a global manufacturing and wholesale company that offers one of the world’s largest selections of home and garden décor. Evergreen allows its customers to express their identities in their home. Today, Evergreen has over 500 employees and two corporate offices located in Richmond, Virginia, and Ningbo, China. Evergreen Enterprises acquired Plow & Hearth in 2010, which had been one of its customers. Ting is a Founder’s Circle member of Startup Virginia.

Learn more about Ting and Evergreen

Zack Smith, CEO of PartnerMD.

Zack’s career includes roles focused on business development, marketing, and strategy as well as leading large, international business units. Before joining PartnerMD, he spent 32 years at what is now WestRock. Zack serves on the board of directors for Sportable, a Richmond, Virginia-based not-for-profit dedicated to transforming the lives of people with physical and visual disabilities through sport. He is also a member of the board of directors for the Richmond chapter of the American Heart Association.

Learn more about Zack and PartnerMD

Tim Hathaway, Partner, CIO, Head of Institutional Business at Brown Advisory, an independent and privately-held global asset manager.

Tim has been with the firm since 1995 and has helped develop and grow Brown Advisory’s global equity, fixed income, and sustainable investing strategies. He is also responsible for investment research, portfolio management, and client service. Tim’s prior roles include director of research and institutional investment management, portfolio manager, and research analyst. He is a board member of the Middendorf Foundation and Cristo Rey Jesuit High School.

Learn more about Tim and Brown Advisory

Moderator:

Richard Coughlan is an award-winning educator and associate professor of management at the University of Richmond. 

He joined the faculty of the Robins School of Business in 1998 after completing both an MBA and a Ph.D. in judgment and decision making at the University of Arizona. Richard holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia. In 2011, he created “C-Suite Conversations,” a series of unscripted, on-stage interviews conducted live in front of audiences drawn from the business and campus communities.

Learn more about Richard