James Bennett - Speakers

Jim Bennett was named senior vice president of Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. and assumed leadership of the Global Center for Health Innovation and the Cleveland Convention Center in April, 2012. In his current role, Bennett oversees the sales, marketing, leasing, and operations efforts for the Global Center and the Convention Center. This adds to a four-decade career that includes 30 years with McKinsey & Company in a number of leadership positions, three years as senior executive vice president with KeyCorp, and the past decade serving as a senior management consultant for major corporations and as a director and CEO for several early stage internet businesses.

Bennett also currently serves as Director at Within3, an internet firm he helped launch in 2005, and Managing Director of the Bennett Group LLC, a senior management consulting firm with practices in strategy development, organizational effectiveness, and board governance.

During his 30 years with McKinsey, 13 of which were in Canada, Bennett served as Managing Director for the Firm’s Canadian and Midwest practices, chair of the Clientele and Professional Development Committee, and as a member of the Executive Committee and Shareholders Committee. After joining the firm in 1968, he was elected Principal in 1974 and Director in 1980 and his work spanned strategy, operations, and organizational effectiveness across a wide range of countries, functions, and industries ranging from energy and automotive, through to health care, consumer products, financial services, and professional service firms. In the healthcare industry, Bennett was a leader of the Firm’s payer and provider practice, first in Canada and later the United States. From his base in Cleveland, he worked extensively with the management and physician leadership of the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals in addition to the leading integrated systems in Indianapolis and Dayton.

As a Senior Executive Vice President at KeyCorp, Bennett was a member of the Executive Committee and Chair of Retail Banking, along with heading several bank wide functions. He also served on the board of Progressive Corporation.

For the past decade, Bennett helped develop several innovative start-up companies, including EmployOn, a human capital management business, NextMed Systems, an internet-based revenue cycle management firm for physician practices, and Within3, the world leader in building custom Web 2.0 healthcare professional communities for pharmaceutical companies, medical associations, and hospital systems. Since 2007, Bennett has focused on the introduction and development of industry clients, and Within3 now serves 10 of the 20 largest global pharmaceutical companies. He is a well-known lecturer at industry conferences on the impact of social media technology on health care.

Bennett has also continued his senior level consulting work through Bennett Group LLC, a firm he founded in 2002, focusing on overall corporate strategy development, organizational transformation, and top team effectiveness. He is core faculty member for McKinsey & Company's client leadership workshops, a personal development and coaching program for the Firm's newly elected partners.

The Youngstown, Ohio native has been deeply involved in the nonprofit sector, working in the fields of economic development, social services, healthcare delivery, education, and the arts. He has been a Board member for dozens of organizations and has served as Chair of the Cleveland San Jose Ballet, the Cleveland Initiative for Education, the Visiting Committee of the Weatherhead School of Management, and the Grant Making Committee of the Cleveland Foundation.

Bennett graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy before earning his bachelor’s degree from Cornell in 1965 and his JD from Harvard Law School in 1968 with selected courses at Harvard Business School.