Remembering our Roots Panel, moderated by Jonathan Segal from Duane Morris. Panel will feature Michael Araten, CEO of K’Nex; Edward Satell, CEO of Progressive Business Publications; and Judith Mondre of Mondre Energy.

Jonathan Segal: Jonathan A. Segal is a partner at Duane Morris LLP in the Employment, Labor, Benefits and Immigration Practice Group. Jonathan is also the Managing Principal of the Duane Morris Institute. An accredited HRCI provider, The Duane Morris Institute provides seminars and webinars on employment, labor, immigration and benefits issues. Previously a litigator, Jonathan’s practice now focuses entirely on preventive counseling, strategic planning, management training and policy development. Areas of focus include: equal employment opportunity; wage and hour compliance; glass ceiling issues; performance; and union-free assessments and action plans. Jonathan has provided training to federal and state judges across the country on gender bias, performance management and other employment issues. Jonathan also has provided employment training to HR professionals in various intelligence agencies. Jonathan has been cited as a national authority on employment issues in articles in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, CNN, Business Week and Money, among others. Jonathan created a television special on sexual harassment, The Sexual Harassment Quiz. He is the Legislative Director for PA State Council of SHRM, Inc. Jonathan has published approximately 200 articles for various publications on employment issues. Jonathan is a contributing editor to HRMagazine and a regular contributor to Business Week. Jonathan received his B.A., summa cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania and his J.D., cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law.

Michael Aratan: Michael Araten is the President and CEO of K’NEX Brands, L.P.  K’NEX Brands has two primary business units, K’NEX, LPG (the toy manufacturing, marketing, design and distribution company) and The Rodon Group (a highly automated plastics injection molder with a focus on small parts used in over 100 industries, including food, beverage, consumer packaged goods, construction and toys). Mr. Araten joined K’NEX and the Rodon Group in May 2005 to serve as their Vice President and General Counsel.  He became President and COO in January 2006 and assumed his present position as President and CEO in January 2009. Prior to joining K’NEX and Rodon, Mr. Araten served as Senior Vice President and Corporate Counsel to O’Neill Properties Group, as well as Chief Litigation Counsel to Toll Brothers, Inc.  In those capacities, Mr. Araten was responsible for risk management, regulatory approvals, human resource issues and the management of over 100 law firms in 21 states.  Mr. Araten also formed numerous joint ventures, led due diligence and acquisition teams, and obtained land development approvals that created over one billion ($1 billion) in new home sales and land value. As President and CEO, Mr. Araten is responsible for all strategic and day to day operations of the company. Mr. Araten holds a B.A. in Political Science from Stanford University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. 

Edward Satell: A successful and innovative business entrepreneur, Ed Satell is the Founder and CEO of Malvern, PA-based Progressive Business Publications, a diversified executive information and education provider serving businesses, government and nonprofit organizations, including nearly all of the Fortune 1000.   He also founded The Satell Center for Executive Education, which provides applied executive professional development and training.  Ed employs more than 700 individuals in three states.  His companies are well-known for their strong culture of excellence, accountability and dedicated corporate citizenship coupled with a commitment to positive business values.  Inspired by his long-term vision and constant focus on the greater good, Ed established two charitable foundations – the Satell Family Foundation and the Progressive Business Publications Charitable Trust.  These help fund and develop impactful projects -- currently more than 30 selected activities with 25 institutions -- in five key philanthropic areas:  disadvantaged children, higher education and developing young people of promise, medical and energy research, community and civic initiatives, and supporting his heritage. He has written a comprehensive and highly-regarded book on effective sales techniques, The Principles of Sales Excellence.  He also contributed the foreword to The American National Tree, produced for the National Constitution Center, and wrote the final chapter for Defining New Christian-Jewish Dialogue. Ed is a proud graduate of the University of Connecticut School of Business where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Delta Fraternity, elected to student government and a leader in various campus-wide activities.  

Judith Mondre: Judith Mondre has a distinguished history of successful and innovative energy management and policy making, serving commercial, industrial, institutional, governmental and educational organizations.  Her career in the energy field spans 19 years and her efforts have resulted in energy cost savings of hundreds of millions of dollars for her clients. Her company, Mondre Energy, Inc., is a highly specialized woman-owned small business founded in 1998. MEI helps its clients identify objectives, devise strategies, implement programs and assess performance through market analysis and forecasting, load profiling, procurement strategies, demand reduction, rate and policy analysis, and strategic energy planning. In this era of changing regulation, commodity price volatility, technology advances, and sustainable solutions, MEI provides organizations with the ability to strike the proper balance between opportunity, cost and risk of their energy purchases, consumption and systems.  Prior to founding Mondre Energy, Inc. Ms. Mondre served as the first Executive Director of the City of Philadelphia’s Municipal Energy Office under former Mayor Ed Rendell, building the Office into a nationally recognized leader in reducing energy costs and improving energy efficiency in municipal government operations. Under her leadership, the City received EPA’s Partner of the Year Award and Vice President Al Gore’s “Hammer Award” for Excellence in making Government more effective. She was Chair of the Urban Consortium Energy Task Force and the Greater Philadelphia Clean Cities Program. Ms. Mondre was named one of the “Best 50 Women in Business in Pennsylvania” in 2001. She has served on mayoral and gubernatorial transitions teams on energy and has been a technical advisor to energy publications. Ms. Mondre was appointed the first female Chairperson of the Anti-Defamation League of the Philadelphia Metropolitan Region, and serves on numerous committees focused on education, corporate partnerships and “No Place for Hate” initiatives.  Ms. Mondre serves on the Board of the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, and has been a featured speaker or panelist for the Chamber and other organizations’ women-in-business events.