The June 24, 2020 webinar has been recorded. Members of Société can view the webinar here
	Speakers: Ken O'Connor, North American Talent Acquisition Manager, Solvay
	Paul Pospisil, Senior Client Partner, Korn Ferry

Topic: “Career Options for Chemists and Chemical Engineers During the Covid-19 Downturn“  

Chemistry and chemical engineering students face an uncertain future as the Covid-19 inspired economic downturn interrupts career plans and job opportunities. Register to hear Ken O'Connor of chemical and materials firm Solvay and job recruiter Paul Pospisil talk about career strategies that chemists and chemical engineers should consider (and in particular, undergraduates and recent graduates) during these uncertain times.

Peter Young, Societe president and president of investment banking firm Young & Partners, will act as the moderator and start by briefly outlining the impact that earlier economic downturns have had on careers and earnings of different generations. He'll then start the conversation with Ken who will discuss the jobs outlook at Solvay and also provide insights on the types of hires his company is interested in. Paul will talk about his own career as an executive and investor in the life sciences space, including how he coped with an earlier economic downturn fresh out of school. As a recruiter assisting pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies at Korn Ferry, he is also prepared to offer career advice.

Fifteen minutes at the end of the hour-long webinar will be reserved for questions which attendees can submit in advance or while the webinar in underway. This webcast was organized by Marc Reisch, Societe Board Member and the Chairman of the Societe Education Committee.

About our Speakers:
Ken O'Connor has the fortunate opportunity to lead a team of customer focused recruiting professionals supporting twelve Global Business Units (GBU) and Functions for the region.  The North American Talent Acquisition Team partners with GBU's and Solvay leadership on external hiring, internal mobility, diversity initiatives, as well as short/long term workforce planning strategies.  Ken and his team are also responsible for regional projects related to US specific initiatives around Talent Acquisition such as college recruiting and university relations.

Ken holds a BS degree in International Business and Trade from Kean University and has over 15 years of experience in the TA space and is the very recent proud father of two beautiful twin girls.

Paul Pospisil, Ph.D. is a Senior Client Partner in Korn Ferry's New York office. He is a member of the Firm's Global Life Sciences Market, specializing in the Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals Sectors.

Mr. Pospisil's primary focus is to assist biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies in recruiting for positions such as chief executive officer, chief business officer, head of research and development and other key executives.

With over fifteen years in the industry as a successful executive and investor, Mr. Pospisil brings a thoughtful perspective to executive search, shaped by a breadth of experiences in new product development, business development, , financings, strategy, company building, operational leadership and board functions from start-up, growth to mature biotechnology and biopharmaceutical companies.

Prior to joining Korn Ferry, Mr. Pospisil was a co-founder and managing partner of both Aduro Capital LLC, an investment management company focused on the public healthcare sector and Aduro Partners LLC, an advisory firm focused on helping venture-backed and public life science companies assess, evaluate, partner opportunities and build businesses.

Previously, he was a partner in life science investments at Atlas Venture and earlier was with Millennium Pharmaceuticals, where his last position was director, strategy leadership. Earlier, he was a new product manager at Altus Biologics, a spin-out of Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

Mr. Pospisil holds a doctor of philosophy in organic chemistry from Harvard University and a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from New York University. He also attended Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development (PMD).

Peter Young, CEO and President, Young & Partners
Mr. Young manages Young & Partners, a leading life science and chemical industry advisory and investment banking firm. Previously, he was Global Head of Chemicals Investment Banking at Lehman Brothers and head of the Chemical Groups at Salomon Brothers and Schroders. Mr. Young has been a financial advisor providing corporate strategy, M&A, restructuring and capital raising services to leading life science and chemical companies globally since 1986. Early in his career, Mr. Young provided strategic advice to chemical and life science companies while at Bain & Co.

Mr. Young received an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School (Baker Scholar with Highest Distinction), an M.S. in Accounting from New York University and a B.A. in Economics from Yale University.  He is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.   He is President of Société de Chimie Industrielle, on the board of the Science History Institute, and on the editorial advisory board of Pharmaceutical Executive.