EXPERT SPEAKERS FALL 2022

We are grateful to these amazing expert speakers for volunteering their valuable time to speak and interact with the participants of the Executive Certificate in Entrepreneurship.

Chris Kaufman- Keynote

A strategic, serial entrepreneur and a compassionate, creative leader, Chris Kaufman has over twenty years of experience in brand building, marketing creative, and product design. Named one of Techweek’s “100 Most Influential People in Technology in Detroit” twice, his multidisciplinary approach has led to a successful track record building world-class teams and lucrative, game-changing businesses. He’s the Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of StockX, a revolutionary, global e-commerce platform lauded as the world’s first “Stock Market of Things,” where he built a full-service, in-house creative agency from the ground up. Recently valued at $3.8 billion, StockX has created over 1,500 jobs around the world, many of which are in Detroit. Kaufman been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Forbes, earning accolades from the Webby Awards, TechCrunch, WebAward, Word of Mouth Marketing Association, and Michigan Venture Capital Association for his innovative work at the nexus of leading edge design, user experience, and current culture brands. Kaufman. Kaufman began his career at the forefront of the e-commerce revolution, a versatile designer crafting award-winning user experiences through web and app design and marketing creative. After earning a BFA in Graphic Design from Eastern Michigan University, he honed his design acumen as the Interactive Design Director at Quicken Loans, then took a position as Professor of Graphic Communication at Baker College, mentoring entrepreneurial and design students in Southeast Michigan. Over the next few years, Kaufman co-founded several successful venture-backed startups, including Quizzle, where he served as Creative Director, and UpTo, where he served as Chief Creative Officer, developing extensive entrepreneurial expertise and a keen understanding of customer behavior. He worked as Vice President of User Experience for Shift Digital before joining the Advisory Board at GameAbove, a dedicated team of notable Eastern Michigan University alumni gathering funding (over $20 million since 2019), resources, and support for EMU and the surrounding Ypsilanti community.

Joseph (Joe) Morrison- Module Four

Joseph Morrison is an attorney at Barnes & Thornburg. Morrison
represents high-growth companies in an outside general counsel
capacity. He focuses on emerging companies that leverage technology
to build their business and brand. He also represents venture capital
firms and high net worth individuals that invest in high-growth
companies. His business and technology background gives him the
ability to deftly advise ambitious entrepreneurs facing legal and
business challenges.
Before joining Barnes & Thornburg, Joe worked for Bodman Law as
general counsel for high-growth companies and for Accenture as an
information technology consultant in Washington, D.C. He also served
as corporate counsel and consulting manager for a Michigan-based IT
startup, where he helped scale the company to 50+ employees and $3
million in revenue.