Denver's unconventional mayor, John Hickenlooper, has brought a new style and new outlook to that growing city. A successful entrepreneur who helped revitalize Lower Downtown with his Wynkoop Brewing Company, Mayor Hickenlooper is now bringing that same business savvy to running Denver.

Before being elected Denver's 43rd mayor on June 3, 2003, John Hickenlooper was a successful entrepreneur who helped revitalize Lower Downtown or LoDo with his Wynkoop Brewing Company. His restaurants now occupy so many historic buildings in Denver and other communities that Mayor Hickenlooper received a National Preservation Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

He has served on the boards of the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts, the Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Denver Art Museum, Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, Denver Civic Ventures and Volunteers For Outdoor Colorado.

He co-founded CultureHaus, the Denver Art Museum's 600-member young adult organization, as well as the Chinook Fund, a pass-through foundation that provides seed grants to community organizations that emphasize social change. He and his family live in Lower Downtown Denver.

Omar Blaik is leading the redevelopment of a city within a city. It is what's known as University City, the neighborhood surrounding the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. It's a remarkable success story, and he'll tell us what other cities and universities can learn from his experience.

Omar is Senior Vice President in charge of Facilities and Real Estate Services at the University of Pennsylvania. He came to Penn from Coopers & Lybrand Consulting, where he directed a team of professionals who assisted corporate and higher education clients with facilities management issues.

He has made Penn an environmental leader and innovator by becoming the largest retail purchaser of wind energy in the U.S. Omar is a graduate of Cairo University and holds an M.S. from USC and an M.B.A. from NYU's Stern School of Business.