President & CEO/ Levi Strauss & Co.

Chip Bergh participated in a fireside chat with Club chair Mary Dillon, executive chair, Ulta Beauty. Bergh discussed his path to Levi’s, reinvigorating the iconic 168-year-old brand, and more. Highlighting Levi’s “Profits Through Principles” model, Bergh also shared reasons why they continue to take a firm stand on gun and voting rights, climate change, family leave and human rights. 

President & CEO/ Levi Strauss & Co.

Chip Bergh is the president & chief executive officer of Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.). He is also on the company’s board of directors.

Levi Strauss & Co. is one of the world’s largest brand-name apparel companies and a global leader in jeanswear. The company designs and markets jeans, casual wear and related accessories for men, women and children under the Levi’s®, Dockers®, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co.™ and Denizen® brands. Our products are sold in more than 110 countries worldwide through a combination of chain retailers, department stores, online sites and a global footprint of approximately 3,000 retail stores and shop-in-shops.

Prior to joining Levi Strauss & Co. in September 2011, Chip had a 28-year career at Procter & Gamble (P&G). Chip “grew up” in brand management and served in a number of leadership positions with increasing levels of complexity and scope. His last assignment before joining LS&Co. was group president for global male grooming. He was the first P&G employee assigned to the Gillette business following P&G’s $57 billion acquisition of Gillette in 2005. He led the integration and then ran the Gillette Blades & Razors business along with all of P&G’s male grooming brands (Gillette, Old Spice and The Art of Shaving). Prior to that, Chip led all of P&G’s business in India, Southeast Asia and Australasia.

Executive Chair/ Ulta Beauty

Mary Dillon is a Chicago-based business executive with more than 35 years of experience leading consumer-driven businesses in a diverse range of industries, from consumer pack-aged goods to restaurants to telecom to beauty and retail. The common thread across all has been Mary’s passion for leveraging customer insights, leading through the lens of culture and removing barriers to inclusion to build brand engagement and drive results. 

Mary currently serves as Executive Chair of the Ulta Beauty Board of Directors, following her successful eight-year run as the company’s Chief Executive Officer. During her tenure as CEO, Mary and her team tripled Ulta Beauty’s market capitalization to more than $18 billion, doubled revenues and transformed the company to become a leading Fortune 500 retailer. She also evolved Ulta Beauty’s Board of Directors to become one of the most gender diverse of any large public company in the nation, and championed the establishment of the Ulta Beauty Charitable Foundation to support women and families.

A well-respected business, civic and philanthropic leader, Mary serves on the Board of Directors for Starbucks Corporation, KKR, Inc., and Save the Children. She is the Chairperson for the Retail Industry Leaders Association, Chair of The Economic Club of Chicago, and an executive committee member of The Business Council.

A proud Chicago native, Mary earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and Asian studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Founder & CEO / Citadel

Kenneth C. Griffin addressed the Club on October 4, 2021, for an in-person luncheon. Griffin shared his perspective on topics including the future of finance, the current political landscape, the role of philanthropy, American competitiveness and the biggest challenges facing our global economy. The conversation was moderated by Bloomberg TV Correspondent Erik Schatzker. 

Kenneth C. Griffin is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Citadel. Founded in 1990, Citadel is recognized as one of the most successful and respected alternative investment firms in the world.

In 2002, Ken and his partners established Citadel Securities. Citadel Securities is one of the largest global markers, providing liquidity to institutional and retail investors in more than 35 countries around the world. Over the past two decades, Citadel Securities has transformed global financial markets, making them more open, transparent and resilient.

In addition to appearing on Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful people, Ken was an inaugural inductee into Institutional Investor’s Hedge Fund Hall of Fame and has received lifetime achievement awards from both Institutional Investor and Risk magazine. Ken is committed to driving upward mobility through economic and educational opportunities. He is particularly focused on the challenges of urban education and has dramatically increased internet accessibility for students in the United States through groundbreaking initiatives to bridge the digital divide. In Chicago, Ken serves on the Board of Trustees for the University of Chicago and the Board of Directors of the Chicago Public Education Fund.

TV Correspondent / Bloomberg

Erik Schatzker is a New York based correspondent focused on high-profile events and interviews including for Bloomberg’s “Front Row.”

Over two decades Schatzker has covered everything from technology to commodities in postings and on assignments around the world. Today his main focus is on Wall Street, and he speaks regularly with the most powerful executives in banking and top money managers inclduing BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Morgan Stanley’s James Gorman, Carlyle Group’s David Rubenstein and Citigroup’s Michael Corbat. Schatzker also reports live from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles.