2009 Fall Conference Keynoters
Afternoon Keynote - Lisa Lorimer
Lisa Lorimer is the former CEO / President and majority owner of Vermont Bread Company in Brattleboro, VT. In 2005 she sold a majority of the business to Charterhouse Group, one of the oldest private equity firms in the U.S. She continues to work with Charter Baking Company with a focus on acquisitions as she helps to execute her vision of creating a national all-natural and certified organic wholesale bakery to serve supermarkets and natural product stores. The company produces breads, rolls, English muffins and granola under the brands of Vermont Bread, Rudi’s Organic, The Baker, and Matthew’s All-Natural as well as private label products for Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Markets and other grocery store chains and national baking companies.
Lisa is a graduate of the Owner-President Management Program at Harvard Business School and currently serves as a member of the board of directors of Charter Baking Company, Union Institute and University / Vermont College (chair), and The White House Project. Her other board service has included The Snelling Center for Government, Women’s Crisis Center, Vermont Community Foundation, and Chittenden Bank. Her book Dealing With the Tough Stuff: Practical Wisdom for Running a Values Based Business is co-authored with Margot Fraser the founder of Birkenstock USA.
Dealing With the Tough Stuff offers personal insights and advice from of some of the most successful socially conscious entrepreneurs in the country; features dozens of true stories revealing what it’s really like to run a values-driven business—the good, the bad and the ugly; and includes tested tools, techniques and coping strategies for overcoming common and not-so-common challenges. Each chapter of the book tackles a particular challenge. How open and honest can you really be with your employees and still run an efficient business? At what point do you seek outside expertise? What do you do when things go terribly wrong? When is it time to leave? The authors and the members of their “advisory board” share their experiences—not just what worked, but sometimes what spectacularly didn’t. Some of these stories are harrowing: a worker getting killed by factory equipment, a supplier embezzling funds, a false accusation of intellectual property theft. Others are simply day-to-day conundrums: meeting payroll when you’re always in debt, deciding when and how to expand in a responsible way, balancing business needs with your commitment to the triple bottom line. At the end of each chapter, Lorimer and Frasier draw on the stories to offer practical "survival suggestions" that can guide readers through similar situations.
This is a book that readers can look to for affirmation, hope and tools. Others have been through what you’re going through, if not worse. They made it and so can you—because they’re going to show you how they did it. No book can cover every challenge that might arise, but if you learn from the attitudes, techniques and coping mechanisms these seasoned leaders offer, you’ll get through the tough stuff with your sanity and your business intact.
