Chris Banakis
Moderator/Panelist, Mentor, SCORE North Cook and Lake Counties Chapter
Chris Banakis is the Managing Partner of Acuity Advisory Partners; a boutique business and technology advisory firm that provides advisory services to help North American companies penetrate the electric utility market, with focus on smart grid and distributed energy resource technologies. His clients have included Motorola Solutions, UL (Underwriters Laboratories) and Zetron.
Prior to Acuity, Chris served as Vice President and Director of Motorola Inc’s Utility Practice in North America where he led operations in sales, marketing, new business development and strategy. He also served as Managing Director of Motorola’s North Asia operation and was responsible for opening Motorola’s first sales offices in China. Based in Hong Kong he led sales, marketing and engineering organizations throughout the region including China, South Korea and Taiwan.
Ed Acuna
Panelist, Mentor, SCORE North Cook and Lake Counties Chapter
For thirty years Ed had an unusual mixture of experiences and interests. A trained electrical engineer, he worked in product management and business development at TDK, sales at Murata, and leadership at AcuServe, where he served as president. Ed recently sold his company, KMA Sales, an electronic manufacturing representation firm after 14 years.
I’m a mentor at SCORE and the SBDC, nonprofit associations dedicated to entrepreneur education and the formation, growth, and the success of small businesses nationwide. I teach MBA classes, including Innovation and Risk, at the Lake Forest Graduate School of Management and I provide corporate training in product mindset, business acumen, business models, strategy, etc. for organizations like AllState, Abbvie, Discover, the Federal Reserve, etc.
Richard Jacobsohn, Panelist, Mentor, North Cook and Lake Counties Chapter
Richard Jacobsohn is an accomplished Senior Executive and Consultant with demonstrated success spanning consumer goods, omnichannel marketing, art supplies, and retail. His broad areas of expertise include training and development, marketing, team leadership, product development, competitive analysis, customer insight, customer satisfaction, strategic partnerships, negotiations, project management, and brand development.
Throughout his executive career, Richard has held leadership positions with organizations including Jacobsohn Consulting Associates, Blick Art Materials, Sybervision Systems Inc., Pro Sports Marketing, and American Slicing Machine Company. In his current role as President of Jacobsohn Consulting Associates, Richard works with clients in the provision of services across the core business areas of budgeting, business planning, and sales optimization.