Many leadership articles and talent management trainings have now begun to focus on inspirational leadership. It is believed that companies/teams are more engaged and function more effectively with inspiring leaders (with or without official titles). In the process, employees become more engaged, a trait that transcends other areas of their lives including community involvement.

For the past five years, Mike Haddad, president and CEO of Schreiber Foods, has been inspiring 7,000+ partners by abiding by principles of inspirational leadership. He will share his experience of inspiring others and the journey he’s taken to become an inspiration leader not only in the corporate world but also in the community.

Mike Haddad is president and chief executive officer of Schreiber Foods and a member of Schreiber’s board of directors. He was named to this position in December 2008. 

Mike joined Schreiber in 1995 as a business sales manager for Northeast Retail after spending eight years as a perishable food broker for Haddad Enterprises, a family owned business.  He was named national sales director- distributors in 2002, a vice president in 2004 and a senior vice president in 2005. In 2006, he was named president and COO and elected to the Schreiber board of directors.

In the community, Mike is a former director for the Make-A-Wish Foundation-Wisconsin Chapter. His involvement with Make-A-Wish began in 2000 as a wish grantor and continues today.  Mike is also on the board of trustees for St. Norbert College and board of directors for Bellin Health Systems.

Mike is also a veteran having served four years in the United States Marine Corp Reserves. 

He and his wife Leanne have two grown children; a son, Nicholas, and a daughter, Kelly.  Mike is originally from Massachusetts and is a fan of all sports, especially his beloved Boston Red Sox. Growing up in New England, he was an All-State baseball player and played ice hockey. He is also an avid guitar player and has been playing and performing for more than 30 years.

Headquartered in Green Bay, Wis., Schreiber is the largest employee-owned dairy company in the world, with annual sales of $5 billion. Schreiber sells its products – which include cream cheese, natural cheese, process cheese and yogurt – to leading retailers, restaurants, distributors and food manufacturers around the world. Schreiber has 35 manufacturing and distribution facilities globally in the United States, Austria, Brazil, Germany, India, Mexico and Uruguay.

Tramp art and hobo whimsies were uniquely born of an independent spirit. Hobos whittle. Tramps carve. Both craft amazing objects from discarded cigar boxes and found materials. One man, Adolph Vandertie – Grand Duke of the Hobos – created more than 4,000 rare and beautiful pieces of this distinctive folk art form. Using the trash of an economy that became too arrogant to care, Vandertie transforms the refuse.

Westbound is a candid portrait of 96-year-old Adolph Vandertie and his final confessions of a life filled with joy, heartache and addiction. Sweeping through the Great Depression, the film chronicles America’s downfall and return to being the strongest nation in the world. It’s an iconic tale that explores Adolph’s journey to achieve personal redemption by creating an astonishing collection – beautiful in their minute details and the cleverness of their design. This simple act of whittling found objects becomes a beacon of hope for one man while capturing the true spirit of America.

Rivett has forged a broadly successful career in advertising, graphic design and fine art, leveraging his talents in illustration, design, art direction and photo direction. Today he is president and creative director of Arketype Inc., a 30-person advertising and design agency based in Green Bay.

In 2007, at the invitation of Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, Rivett was asked to serve on the newly formed Wisconsin Task Force on Arts and Creativity in Education. The group’s mission is to ensure that a creative workforce and entrepreneurial talent is cultivated throughout the state to compete in a 21^st century global economy (www.creative.wisconsin.gov).

All along with his passion for painting, drawing and graphic design was a love of film and the goal to create dynamic, compelling work in animation, live action and documentary film. In 2005 he began work on fulfilling this passion by forming Arketype Entertainment – a division of Arketype Inc – and bringing together an ensemble of video producers, animators, editors and musicians. The full-length feature documentary film project WESTBOUND began in 2006 and is the culmination of the team’s work (www.catchwestbound.com).

In a very recent development and almost simultaneous to the completion of WESTBOUND, Arketype was selected to The BCA Ten – 2009, an exclusive group of 10 companies selected by the Business Committee for the Arts (BCA) that  recognizes businesses for exceptional involvement with the arts (www.americansforthearts.org). The BCA, founded in 1967 by David Rockefeller, is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to ensure that the arts flourish in America by encouraging, inspiring and stimulating businesses to support the arts in the workplace, in education, and in the community.

Prior to joining Arketype full-time, Young had worked independently, partnering with Arketype to produce several award-winning video projects for both clients of industry and not-for-profit organizations. She also served as a producer with Wisconsin Public Television – PBS from 1992 until 2002.

Another of Young’s passions is writing. She co-wrote a screenplay based on the true story of the Wyandot Tribe of Kansas, currently under contract with Sir Ben Kingsley and SBK Pictures.

Recognized with over 30 national and international awards including the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (EMMY®), Young has produced a wide range of broadcast programs including children’s series, social issue documentaries, performance specials, live television, public service announcements and television advertising.