Speakers
John Rogers
Co-CEO, Ariel Investments
Vice Chairman, University of Chicago
Kevin Churchwell M.D.
President and CEO, Boston Children’s Hospital
Moderator
Ron Homer
President and Chief Strategist, RBC Global Asset Management
Click here to watch the event recording
SUGGESTED READING & RESOURCES
Following our April 2021 panel, “Promoting Racial Equity in Business & Dismantling Structural Racism,” our speakers have suggested resources for further learning.
Books
May we suggest you consider ordering from your local Black-owned bookstore, such as Frugal Bookstore in Boston, MA.
The Black Tax: The Cost of Being Black in America, by Shawn D. Rochester (2018).
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America, by Richard Rothstein, Liveright Publishing Corporation (2017).
The Color of Money: Black Banks and the Racial Wealth Gap, by Mehrsa Baradaran,
Belknap Press (2019).
Partner/Business Diversity
Established in 2009, The University of Chicago’s annual Professional Services Symposium creates contract opportunities for BIPOC and women-owned businesses. This 10th Anniversary video highlights the University’s successful initiative to hire BIPOC and women-owned money managers for its $8.6B endowment.
University of Chicago Business Diversity Case Study
Deborah L. Shelton, “UChicago event examines ways to foster greater diversity in
business,” UChicago News, Dec 8, 2020.
Healthcare
Boston Children’s Hospital’s Declaration on Equity, Diversity and Inclusivity (2020).
Boston Children’s Hospital Office of Health Equity and Inclusion 2019-2020 Annual Report.
Katherine R. Peeler, et al, Equity Metrics Should Be An Essential Component Of Hospital Rankings, Health Affairs (March 21, 2021).
SPEAKER BIOS
John W. Rogers, Jr. is Founder, Chairman, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer of Ariel Investments. Headquartered in Chicago, the firm offers five no-load mutual funds for individual investors and defined contribution plans as well as separately managed accounts for institutions and high net worth individuals.
After working for 21⁄2 years at William Blair & Company, LLC, John founded Ariel Investments in 1983 to focus on undervalued small and medium-sized companies. Patience served as the cornerstone of a disciplined approach that still drives the firm today.
John’s passion for investing started when he was 12 years old when his father bought him stocks, instead of toys, for every birthday and Christmas. His interest grew while majoring in Economics at Princeton University. In addition to following stocks as a college student, John also played basketball under Hall of Fame coach Pete Carril.
He was captain of Princeton’s Varsity Basketball Team his senior year. There, Carril’s courtside lessons on teamwork profoundly shaped his views of entrepreneurship and investing.
Early in his career, John’s investment expertise brought him to the forefront of media attention, including being selected as Co-Mutual Fund Manager of the Year by Sylvia Porter’s Personal Finance magazine as well as an All- Star Mutual Fund Manager by USA TO DAY.
Ariel Fund, which John started over 30 years ago and still manages today—is the number-one ranked fund among its peer group since the market bottom which followed the Great Financial Crisis. It’s a testament to John’s “slow and steady” patient investment approach, staying focused, remaining true to his convictions, having a contrarian view and investing in great companies that have fallen out of favor. A disciple of Warren Buffett, John believes in
being, “Fearful when others are greedy and greedy when others are fearful.” It’s also why John has been highlighted alongside legendary investors Warren Buffett, Sir John Templeton and Ben Graham in the distinguished book: The World’s 99 Greatest Investors by Magnus Angenfelt.
A sought after market commentator and speaker, John is regularly featured and quoted in a wide variety of financial broadcast and print publications.
Beyond Ariel, John is a board member of McDonald’s, NIKE, The New York Times Company and serves as vice chair of the board of trustees of the University of Chicago. Nationally, John is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a director of the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights.
In 2008, John was awarded Princeton University’s highest honor, the Woodrow Wilson Award, presented each year to the alumnus or alumna whose career embodies a commitment to national service. Following the election of President Barack Obama, he served as co-chair for the Presidential Inaugural Committee 2009, and more recently, he joined the Barack Obama Foundation’s Board of Directors.
Kevin B. Churchwell, MD, is the President and Chief Operating Officer at Boston Children’s Hospital. He provides leadership, direction, integration and oversight for the medical delivery system, while partnering with the Chief Executive Officer on a full range of research, clinical, academic, operational and strategic issues. Effective April 1, 2021, he will take on the role of Boston Children’s next Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to joining Boston Children’s Dr. Churchwell was Chief Executive Officer for Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, DE.
Dr. Churchwell also served as the CEO and Executive Director for the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital, part of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN.
A graduate of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt Medical School in Nashville, Dr. Churchwell completed his pediatric residency and a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Critical Care at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is currently an Associate Professor of Pediatric Anesthesia at Harvard Medical School and Dr. Churchwell is the Robert and Dana Smith Associate Professor of Anesthesia at the Harvard Medical School.