2025 Executive Speaker Series

Chris Hjorth

Senior Instructor, Department of Marketing

DePaul University - Driehaus College of Business

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hjorthchristine/

Christine (Chris) Hjorth joined DePaul University as a full-time faculty member in the winter of 2020. She teaches both graduate and undergraduate students and is also the director of the part-time MBA program. ​

Hjorth's career began as a CPA with Arthur Andersen in the audit department. After several years, she decided to transition into the corporate arena, joining Kraft Foods’ corporate finance area at its global headquarters in Chicago. After earning an MBA in finance and marketing from Northwestern University, Hjorth transitioned into brand management at Kraft, where she spent the next 15 years in progressive leadership roles, leading many of Kraft’s iconic brands, including Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Kraft Singles, Kraft Natural Cheese, Jell-O, Kraft Mac and Cheese as well as large digital/social marketing programs throughout the organization.

Bob Rubin

Professor, Associate Dean Department of Management & Entrepreneurship Doctorate in Business Administration

DePaul University - Driehaus College of Business

https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertsrubin/

Professor Rubin is an award-winning teacher and scholar specializing in the areas of organizational behavior and human resource management. His current research examines leadership assessment and development, organizational citizenship behavior and graduate management education. He has been published in numerous books and leading academic journals including the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Personnel Psychology, Journal of Management, Journal of Business Ethics, Business Ethics Quarterly, Journal of Organizational Behavior, The Leadership Quarterly and Academy of Management Learning & Education.

Rubin is currently an associate editor of the Academy of Management Learning & Education and the co-director of DePaul's Business Education Insider. In 2013, Rubin co-authored a textbook (McGraw Hill) entitled Managing Organizational Behavior: What Great Managers Know and Do. Rubin's research has been profiled in national publications including BusinessWeek, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

In addition to his academic work, Rubin provides consulting services to a variety of industries serving such clients as Capsim, Discover Financial Services, IRI, Inteliquent, Fifth Third Bank, Lenze, Thyssen Krupp, Vi Living and numerous others. His consulting work spans topics such as human capital management, human resources, leadership assessment and development, managerial coaching and organization development.

Sulin Ba

Dean of the Driehaus College of Business

DePaul University - Driehaus College of Business

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sulin-ba-ba70675/

Sulin Ba joined DePaul as dean of the Driehaus College of Business in July 2022.  During her tenure, she has prioritized  initiatives that enhance the college's connections to alumni and the business community; student success and social mobility​; and student, faculty and staff engagement.

An award-winning researcher who publishes regularly in leading academic journals, Ba started her academic career at the University of Southern California. She is an honorary distinguished professor at the School of Management at Fudan University in Shanghai, China. She also previously served as a distinguished visiting professor at University of Mannheim in Germany.

Julian Francis

President & Chief Executive Officer

Beacon Building Products

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianf/

Mr. Francis has served as Beacon’s President and Chief Executive Officer since August 2019.

Prior to Beacon, Mr. Francis was the President of the Insulation Business at Owens Corning, a global leader in insulation, roofing and fiberglass composite materials, since October 2014. Mr. Francis led Owens Corning’s largest business segment, with over $2.7 billion in revenue in 2018, to significant sales and EBIT growth in each of the preceding three years. From 2012-2014, he served as Vice President and General Manager for Owens Corning’s Residential Insulation Business.

Mr. Francis also has served as Vice President and Managing Director for Owens Corning’s Glass Reinforcements, Americas, in the Composite Solutions Business. Prior to joining Owens Corning, Mr. Francis was Vice President and Publishing Director at Reed Business Information, a $2.5 billion global leader in publishing, information, and marketing services.

Prior to joining Reed, Mr. Francis spent 10 years at USG Corporation rising through the marketing, strategy, and general management ranks. He last served as Vice President, Marketing, where he created the overall strategy for USG’s manufacturing business. Mr. Francis earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics and his doctorate in materials engineering at Swansea University in the United Kingdom and earned his MBA at DePaul University.