ANN ARBOR –  Jerry Greenfield, co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s, will keynote Entrepalooza 2016 on Sept. 23 to help explore the power of creative thinking – solving issues and challenges that entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial members of large companies face.

Entrepalooza, at the Michigan League, is presented by The Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.

Greenfield will bring his business acumen and passion for creative and responsible business practices to life at the podium. His presentation will deliver an inspiring tribute to America’s entrepreneurial spirit, full of anecdotes and radical business philosophy. Amid politically charged puns and campaigns promoting social responsibility in business, he has effectively used his thriving business platform to raise awareness about important issues including fair trade, social justice, environment and sustainability. His talk will truly embody the great sense of fun that is the company’s hallmark.

Following Greenfield’s 9 a.m. keynote—and free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for all attendees—the symposium will channel attendees’ creative energies into a series of workshops designed to help them explore new ways of thinking outside of the box. The workshops will be led by members of the U-M entrepreneurial community:

  • Jeremy Peters, Music Publishing Director at Ghostly International, co-founder of Quite Scientific Records, and lecturer at U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will lead a discussion of how to work the arts into your startup idea
  • Eric Fretz, U-M lecturer in Psychology, Education, and Entrepreneurship, will discuss the psychology of creativity as individual inspiration and as group innovation
  • Tom Frank, executive director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and adjunct professor at the College of Engineering, will cover strategies for fostering a collaborative team while establishing yourself as a leader
  • Debra Mexicotte, associate director of U-M’s ArtsEngine, will show how creativity is a process that can be learned and employed, not a character trait or event.
  • Co-founders of CHISL Design Michelle Belbroad, BBA ’18, and Lakin Vitton, BBA ’18, will discuss why branding is important but what is more deserving of your attention than your logo

Co-hosted by the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the Center for Entrepreneurship at the College of Engineering, the School of Public Health’s Innovation & Social Entrepreneurship program, the School of Information’s Entrepreneurship Program, the School of Music Theatre and Dance’s EXCEL Program, and Innovate Blue, the University’s campus-wide entrepreneurship initiative, Entrepalooza is an annual event that  brings entrepreneurial leaders together to share their insights and experiences with students, alumni, faculty and members of the broader business community.

For more information, including a full schedule, or to register to attend the event, please visit http://entrepalooza.umich.edu/.