NMDSI Presents Elevating and Accelerating AI Excellence in Southeast Wisconsin

This free event is offered in hybrid format with in-person or virtual registration available. 

Timothy J. Gerend is chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Northwestern Mutual. After joining Northwestern Mutual in 2002 as an  attorney, he has held a number of leadership roles across the company— including law, compliance, field compensation and campus planning. Most  recently as executive vice president and chief distribution officer, he was  responsible for the company’s go-to-market strategy, including the company’s exclusive field force of more than 20,000 advisors and team members, and their strategic communications and marketing strategies. Under his leadership, Northwestern Mutual grew the largest, most productive, and most diverse field force in the company’s history. Gerend is passionate about  supporting opportunities for young people to grow toward their potential and ensuring that the industry is prepared to meet the needs of the future. Gerend has served on many philanthropic and industry boards and currently  serves on the boards of the American Council of Life Insurers and the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. Gerend is a graduate of Butler University with a bachelor’s degree in economics and received his law degree from the University of Notre Dame.  Gerend was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2025. He serves as the chair of the Executive Committee and as a member of the Finance Committee. Gerend brings extensive knowledge of Northwestern Mutual’s business from his over 20-year career at the company and considerable leadership and  management experience to the Board of Trustees.

Timothy J. Gerend
Chairman, President, and CEO
Northwestern Mutual

Jonathan Stark has served as executive director of the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute (NMDSI) since May 2022. Since then, he has been tasked with building upon the foundation of the landmark collaboration between Northwestern Mutual, Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee by expanding data science research outcomes, talent development and community engagement. Prior to joining NMDSI, Jonathan worked for nearly two decades in higher education, specializing in student services and academic affairs. Most recently, he served as the inaugural chief administrative and operations officer for Columbia University’s Data Science Institute and was instrumental in supporting the development and launch of Columbia’s data science master’s program. Jonathan holds a B.A. in psychology from Western Connecticut State University, an M.A. in applied organizational psychology from Fairfield University, an M.A. in higher education from Teachers College of Columbia University, and an Ed.D. in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Jonathan Stark
Executive Director
Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute

Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Amy Pechacek has focused her career on public service, with an emphasis on government administration strategy, and crisis and risk management. Before joining DWD in September 2020, she served as Deputy Secretary for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and previously directed numerous public programs for Milwaukee County. Amy's early efforts at DWD turned the tide on a backlog of unemployment insurance benefit claims that arose during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, through her leadership, the department is continuing its comprehensive modernization efforts – improving customer service with tools ranging from machine learning and multi-language translation to an ongoing overhaul of a decades-old mainframe system. During her tenure, Wisconsin's economy has achieved record low unemployment, a record high number of jobs, and a labor force participation rate that has remained at least 2 percentage points above the national average. Thanks to Gov. Tony Evers' historic investment in workforce development, Amy has integrated strategic new initiatives with longstanding DWD programs to reduce employment barriers and address a worker quantity challenge arising from demographic trends that have been decades in the making. She received her master's degree in public policy and public administration from Northwestern University and her undergraduate degree from UW-Madison in sociology and criminal justice. Amy is also a graduate of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service's Senior Executive Institute at the University of Virginia.

Secretary Amy Pechacek
Department of Workforce Development
State of Wisconsin