Seasoned senior executive delivering high-quality, strategic legal and business advice. General Counsel and CFO for high-tech companies, from start-ups to the Fortune 500. Substantive experience managing legal and financial departments. 15+ years reporting to and working with C-level executives.

Top advisor to technology companies regarding Global Data Privacy Regulations (GDPR), HIPAA, product development, enterprise software, SaaS, mobile devices, connected devices and analytics.

Strong financial leadership experience improving operational efficiency while bringing clarity to financial reporting. Expertise in ERISA, SOX, taxes, investor relations, investment analytics, auditing, M&A and fundraising.

Tina Agustiady is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt and Continuous Improvement Leader.

Her many activities and responsibilities include serving as the past Lean Division President and current Technical Vice President of Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE). She has served as a board director and chairman for the IISE annual conferences and Lean Six Sigma conferences.

Agustiady is an instructor who trains and certifies students for Lean, Six Sigma, Innovation, Design of Experiments and Business Process Management for IISE, Lean Sigma Corporation, Six Sigma Digest, and Villanova/Bisk University. She is a Subject Matter Expert, Professor and Course Designer for professional certification programs, including undergraduate and graduate degrees at Villanova University and Bisk Education.

Her accomplishments as a writer and author include serving as an editor for the International Journal of Six Sigma and Competitive Advantage. She has co-authored “Statistical Techniques for Project Control”, “Sustainability: Utilizing Lean Six Sigma Techniques”, “Total Productive Maintenance: Strategies and Implementation Guide”. She also authored “Communication for Continuous Improvement Projects” and her recently published book, “Design for Six Sigma: A Practical Approach through Innovation”. She is a series editor for CRC Press/Taylor and Francis series Continuous Improvement and Lean Innovation and Management.

She was honored to be a Feigenbaum medalist for 2016 and a Crosby medalist for 2018.

Salma Benkabbou is the Millennial Business Lawyer™ and founder of The Benkabbou Law Firm, PLLC, a boutique law firm that focuses on Helping Entrepreneurs Protect their Creative Greatness™ through legal preventative measures. The Benkabbou Law Firm, serves clients with Business Law, Intellectual Property law, and Business Immigration.

Salma is a licensed attorney in North Carolina, New Jersey, and Florida. She prides herself on being a trusted resource to her clients and to her community. She is a certified SCORE Sponsor for the Tampa Chapter, a Subject Matter Expert for Operation Start-Up on business law and Intellectual Property. You can always find her educating entrepreneurs on the importance of protecting their business either online, as a panelist or via workshops in the community. Her ability to help her clients strategize from a business perspective while protecting their ventures from a legal perspective has made her invaluable to her clients.

Bar Admissions:
North Carolina Bar, 2013
New Jersey Bar, 2013
Florida Bar, 2014
U.S. District Court Middle District of Florida, 2017

A Partner with Cherry Bekaert’s Tampa office, Eric has served clients in the technology, health and life sciences industries since 2003.

John is the Principal CEO of Authorio Digital LLC, a growth advisory, innovation foundry, and strategic consulting firm. He assists boards, investors and senior management teams in building go-to-market, turnaround, innovation and transformation strategies that restore and accelerate growth, profitability and shareholder value. From promising early-stage ventures seeking validation traction to underperforming market laggards needing a reboot, John helps companies figure out what’s next, what’s needed, and executes fast-acting growth strategies to get them there. John’s current role is as interim CEO for PE-backed lower middle-market companies, he has engineered and commercialized bold growth strategies built on innovative digital-based business models including a student readiness assessment platform for the postsecondary education market, a senior care planning, and resource marketplace to support aging in place, and an expert network to facilitate the peer-to-peer exchange and monetization of domain insights.

Bernie Borges is Co-founder and CMO of Vengreso, The Digital Sales Transformation company. Bernie is the host of the award winning Modern Marketing Engine podcast with over 250 episodes published.

Bernie’s career spans three decades with a unique background in B2B marketing roles and sales roles. He founded a leading digital marketing agency, which after 15 years merged into Vengreso in 2017.

Bernie is a frequent speaker at industry events and is the author of Marketing 2.0. He has been recognized by industry peers, including Top 50 Content Marketing Influencers 2018, Marketing Insider’s 60 Best Marketing Speakers, Top 50 Social Media Marketing Influencers and Onalytica’s Top 100 AI Influencers.

Bernie has previously taught the Content Marketing module in the University of South Florida Digital Marketing Certificate Program.

At Hyde Park Capital, Greg provides strategic financial advisory services to middle market companies. In this role, he works directly with management teams as they formulate, prepare and execute on their M&A and capital raising strategies. Expertise includes pre-transaction advisory, analytical support (e.g., financial modeling, structuring, operational analytics), deal execution and negotiation. Industry experience includes Software / Tech-Enabled Services, Transportation & Logistics, Industrial and Energy.

Prior to Hyde Park Capital, Greg worked at EDF Trading in Houston where he had a broad mandate to source and execute transactions that were complementary to EDFT’s trading, distribution and services businesses. These transactions included M&A opportunities, joint ventures, minority investments, asset-based lending and commodity distribution transactions.

Greg began his career at Morgan Stanley in its Fixed Income Trading division and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame and his MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.

G. Deon Bradley is the Principle of Bradley Coaching and Consulting. Since 1998, he has helped guide startups in a wide variety of verticals and has coached dozens of Founders from five countries. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the Operation Startup Veterans Incubator at Hillsborough Community College. There, he serves as a Business Advisor and Chairman of the Business Advisors Committee. He is a graduate of DePaul University and a nationally-Certified Executive and Business Coach with over 35 years of experience leading Sales and Business Development teams at both startups and three Fortune 100 tech companies. Deon Specializes in coaching Founders and their leadership teams to maximize their performance and build lasting and effective organizations. He has worked with leading programs like the nationally-ranked Coleman Entrepreneurship Center at DePaul University and advises entrepreneurs at 1871 Chicago, the nation’s largest startup incubator. Deon also supports Founders as an Advisor for the online and offline platform, CoFoundersLab.com, a resource to over 15,000 entrepreneurs worldwide. He can be reached at Deon@BradleyCoaching.com or 704.604.8244

Senior Financial Executive with 20+ years of CFO experience. Successfully led the value creation for 4 Private Equity portfolio companies leading to strategic exits totaling $1.6 billion. Hands on experience in strategy development, M&A (35+ acquisitions), accounting and financial operations, audit, tax, treasury management, risk management and organization development.

Technology lawyer, broad legal representation of the technology company, silicon valley veteran, MIT grad

Mr. Brunner is an Associate at Stonehenge Growth Equity Partners. He is responsible for evaluating investment opportunities, conducting due diligence, and assisting in the underwriting and execution of the firm’s growth equity investments. Additionally, Mr. Brunner supports active portfolio companies and holds board observation responsibilities for Choice Legal.

Mr. Brunner is actively involved with the Board of Counselors at the University of Tampa, the Florida Venture Forum, and is a member of the Educational Affairs Committee at the University of Tampa. He is frequent guest speaker at the University of Tampa, the University of South Florida, and the Hillsborough County Economic Development Corporation.Mr. Brunner graduated with honors from the University of Tampa with a B.S. in Finance, Economics.

30 years in technology including IBM software developer; AT&T Labs Executive Director Global VPN Services; CEO Accelerated Concepts, Inc. (purchased by Digi International)

A resourceful, innovative leader with over twenty years of experience in Digital Marketing Analytics, Sales Management, Retail Path-To-Purchase, Market Research, Shopper Marketing, Dairy Product & Packaging Innovation, and Retail Merchandising Design.

Specialties include experimenting, questioning, networking, and internally associating multiple complex projects and business ideas.

Santo Cannone has over 35 years experience in the technology industry. Focused primarily in the financial technology space, with Fortune 500 companies EDS, FIS and Fiserv, he also was involved in early-stage companies, including Tampa-based ConnectWise. Santo’s management experience includes Sales, Product Management, Operations, Product Development and General Management. Santo recently retired from Fiserv and is now providing consulting services around go-to-market strategies and product management to a select group of clients.

Jordan Casal is the founder of Ardent & Bold, a company focused on helping innovators build the future. Jordan has a passion for empowering innovators to push themselves and enjoys motivating people of all walks of life. He earned an undergraduate degree in Communication and a master’s degree in Entrepreneurship in Applied Technologies from the University Of South Florida. He also serves as chair of the USF Alumni Society of Entrepreneurs.

Jordan understands the unique challenges that confront entrepreneurs and has big plans to help grow the entrepreneurial ecosystem of Tampa Bay.

Former executive with ConnectWise who has over 20 years of experience in growing a software company from a start-up into a global company. Areas of expertise include management of software products including building technical teams and strategic planning.

Nelson Castellano joined the firm in 1992, became a Shareholder in 1999. He is a member of the firm’s Executive Board and previously co-chaired the Business Transactions Practice Group. Nelson’s practice focuses primarily on corporate and business matters, providing general business advice to emerging growth and middle market companies, capital raising transactions, including private placements of debt and equity and venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and business formation and entity selection. His practice also includes venture capital transactions, purchase and sale transactions, compensation and equity arrangements, and securities law.

Peter H. Christian is the author of the book, “What About the Vermin Problem” and is presently an independent consultant. Prior to this, he was a founding partner and president of Enterprise Systems Partners Inc. (espi), a prominent business consulting company in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley. He has worked with more than 300 clients throughout the United States in the areas of manufacturing improvements, information system selection and implementation, and project and product management.

Prior to espi, Peter was an executive director at Crayola Corporation. He held director’s positions in engineering, quality, operations, and research and development, and played an instrumental part in the company’s 15-year growth of 700 percent.

Peter’s more than 40 years of corporate experience includes a track record of accomplishments in operational strategic planning, continuous improvement, lean manufacturing, facility planning, and supply chain. Through his efforts, companies have collectively realized millions of dollars in cost reductions and profit improvements while adding and retaining thousands of jobs.

With over 37 years of expert branding and marketing experience, Damm has worked for some of the world’s most elite brands. He has created award-winning designs for NFL, Disney, Trump, HBO, National Geographic, Nickelodeon, USF, Pfizer, Time Warner, Johnson & Johnson, NPR, and JPMorgan Chase to name a few. Having lived and worked in Los Angeles, New York, and Tampa has given him a strong passion and perspective for taking companies from GOOD to GREAT!

Chandra is a senior with Saltmarsh Cleaveland & Gund and is passionate about the mission of the Tampa Bay Wave. Chandra has experience with the following industries: tech start ups, construction, aviation, and manufacturing. Chandra is a Certified Public Accountant and a QuickBooks online ProAdvisor. Chandra would love to meet with you to discuss your vision and help you to get all of the financial information in order for investors.

Kimberly is an agile human resources executive, offering her deep experience in all things people related. With a background in both municipal government and in a corporate environment, she is adept at coaching for optimal business results. Her experience includes assessment through transition of mergers & acquisitions, start ups and growth expansions.

Kimberly supports business operations beginning with recruitment and throughout the employee lifecycle.

I have worked in IT for 27 years and Security for the last 20, I have a strong technical background but my passion is producing tangible results that meet or exceed the organization’s expectations. Specifically I strive to combat this vendor driven, fear mongering industry with evidence based approach in both decision making and measurement of results. I also enjoy teaching and mentoring the next generation of cybersecurity professionals.

Madeline Dent started her career as an engineer and broadened her expertise to general management with an MBA from the Harvard Business School. Her experiences include 14 years of management in both large and small companies in a variety of industries including electronics and equipment manufacturing. Madeline retired from Intel Corporation as a Senior Technical Marketing Manager responsible for technical support of Intel branded (non-OEM) products and was involved in the integration of multiple acquisitions. Prior to that, she was Vice President and General Manager of F. T. Crowe & Company, a crane manufacturer in Kent, WA, where she was responsible for everything from competitive analyses and business strategy to sales and marketing to engineering design and manufacturing.

Tony DiBenedetto leads the strategic direction and development of Tribridge. As Chairman and CEO, he oversees corporate operations and ensures the firm’s lines of business, community relations and culture are securely positioned for greater innovation and growth. The recipient of numerous leadership awards, including the Ernst & Young Florida Entrepreneur Of The Year® Award in Technology and induction into the Florida State University College of Business Hall of Fame, Tony has dedicated his entire career to the areas of business innovation, customer advocacy and servant leadership. Tony co-founded Tribridge in 1998 and has led the firm through the successful acquisition and integration of several companies, resulting in a compounded annual growth rate of over 40 percent each year. Under his guidance, Tribridge has grown from a start-up company to one of the leading technology services providers in the United States.

Katheryne is a clinical epidemiologist and biostatistician with over 15 years of experience in all areas of research. She has a double MPH in epidemiology and biostatistics, with a focus in infectious disease and outbreak investigation and has completed two fellowships in epidemiology at NIH prior to earning my doctorate in public health. She is currently the Director of Clinical Research at FORE/FOI. She was selected by an international scientific committee as one of the top 20 medical scientists under the age of 35 in the United States. As part of this selection, she was sent to Germany as a U.S. Delegate for the Lindau Meeting of Nobel Laureates in Medicine & Physiology. During that time, Katheryne had the opportunity to attend lectures and be mentored by the current Nobel Laureates, as well as establish connections with other young scientists from around the world.

A results-driven business leader with almost 20 years experience in business development, partner development, strategy, solutions development, project management, sales and market management in the telecom infrastructure market. Successfully managed a telecommunication solutions company for 19 years driving revenue growth with smaller telecom carriers in rural USA and the Caribbean.

An entrepreneurial approach to business has developed the ability to continuously strive for optimal process improvement. Conducted business on every continent and in over 30 countries, and developed the aptitude for operating in a wide array of cultures.

Started my career in 1986 at AT&T Bell Laboratories as an Engineer and subsequently worked in Product Management and Market Management.

Possess a strong technical knowledge of telecommunication systems and a solid understanding of the business side of telecom. Education background includes a MS in Electrical Engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and a MBA from Columbia University.

Board member for CEO Council of Tampa, Tampa Bay WaVE, Computer Mentors Group and Caribbean American National Development Organization.

Passionate about helping our young people to develop the right business skills to enable them to become successful entrepreneurs.

Hal recently served as the Chief Marketing Officer of ConnectWise, a Tampa-based, highly innovative, best-in-class software company. During his eight year tenure at ConnectWise, the company grew from an entrepreneurial start-up of 50 passionate dreamers to an industry leading worldwide enterprise of 1,000 IT professionals. Simultaneously, Hal developed the marketing team from a modest group of 3 people to a highly effective department of 60+ marketing professionals delivering state of the art digital and traditional marketing solutions.

Hal has spent his diverse career in pursuit of marketing excellence both as the executive marketing leader in several Tampa-based international enterprises and as a principal executive in a number of national and regional marketing agencies. While on the agency side, Hal had the privilege of working with a wide variety of national marketing leaders including Anheuser Busch, Coca-Cola, FedEx, The Kellogg Company, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Nabisco, and Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts.

He is a passionate visionary executive leader with extensive experience in creating, building, and transforming businesses in the USA, India, and China, some at Fortune 500 companies, as well as startups. He has led organizations with over 200 employees and multi-million USD budgets. He has extensively impressive educational backgrounds with degrees from the University of Connecticut, University of Bridgeport, and the University of New Haven.

Steve Fiske is a serial entrepreneur and product leader with over 10 years of experience leading cross-functional teams and delivering products to the masses. Currently, he is the Head of Product at Hivelocity, where he leads product management and development efforts.

Prior to Hivelocity, Steve was a founding partner in several ventures, most notably UniKey Technologies, which he helped grow from 2 people to 60, with many partners worldwide, and product available at Apple, Best Buy, Target, & others. They kick started the smart lock industry by going on Shark Tank in 2012. UniKey has accepted the Governor’s Business Ambassador Award for their rapid growth and raised over $20M to date. Steve now sits on the Advisory Board.

Doug Garis has more than 10 years of strong FP&A experience in multiple industries including professional services, digital sales and marketing, logistics and recently in manufacturing as the Global Leader of FP&A at Masonite [NYSE: DOOR]. Doug currently serves as the Digital Finance Leader for Masonite and as CFO of Masonite’s newest business venture- Advisar™ where he co-founded the business, and provides strategic financial and analytical oversight to drive new customer acquisitions, platform adoption and hyper expansion efforts.

Technology executive that founded & sold two start-up companies to publicly-traded corporations and who led corporate teams responsible for launching 75 IoT/connected device SKU’s for 17 major active lifestyle and technology brands including HP, Speedo, adidas, Fossil Group, Movado Group, Titan, Microsoft, Sony Ericsson and more.

Led turnaround of Fossil’s Watch Technology Division. Led ‘corporate innovation startups’ at both Fossil and HP. International experience – has managed business units in both the US & Europe.

Cross-functional management expertise includes executive leadership; P&L responsibility; strategy; product management; sales, marketing & business development; technology scouting; new venture investment analysis, spin-offs; GTM strategy and establishing joint ventures &/or strategic partnerships. Proven track record of delivering end-to-end solutions leveraging the Cloud in conjunction with hardware solutions; establishing hybrid supply chains integrating technology into mature products; and visualizing new business/product delivery models including ODM, JVs, Spin-off’s, R&D, M&A, etc.

Jeff is a retired, US Army Special Forces Colonel, with over 30 years of incredible leadership experiences throughout the world. He continues to serve by working with business leaders and other professionals, community and government leaders, and veterans of all walks of life to help them be better leaders and have impact in their organizations. He has over a decade of expertise in strategic planning and executive leadership, and an award-winning track record of managing complex problems, integrating multi-disciplinary international teams, improving organizational effectiveness, and producing strategic solutions. His career highlights include director of strategic planning for a global strategic military command; transforming a professional university into a nationally accredited, graduate degree producing institution; city manager of a military installation with a population of 10,000 and an annual budget of $150 million, and leadership of a multi-national military task force with 3000+ people from 16 different nations. Jeff’s Special Forces experience and world travels give him a unique perspective on living and communicating with people in varied settings and cultures. With a dynamic and very engaging approach to his audience, Jeff is known as an enlightening “Edutainer”. His educational and entertaining seminars are loaded with personal anecdotes, humor, and some candid advice that provide value to professionals from start-up founders to C-Suite executives looking to be successful in the international marketplace.

Kevin leads the Global Customer Success teams at Malwarebytes a Silicon Valley tech firm. Joining in 2016, he ensures that all technology support decisions meet with company strategy and vision. Kevin successfully led his own tech start-up to a successful exit in 2014. He also has played a key role within organizations in both start-up, high-growth enterprises, and traditional corporate environments. Whether as a senior leadership role creating best-in-class service cultures or an operations expert building the most efficient customer service organization in an industry, he creates value for companies and consumers. Kevin’s business networks extend to San Francisco, Denver, Salt Lake, Tampa Bay, Ireland, Estonia, and India.

Benjamin Gordon is an entrepreneur, investor, former CTO and Co-founder of Cabinets.com, the leading e-commerce retailer of semi-custom cabinetry manufactured in the US. After Benjamin launched Cabinets.com (then Kitchen Resource Direct) on Magento 2009, the site has grown to sell over $30 million annually from a selection of over 500,000+ products. Cabinets.com has been ranked on Inc. 500, as well as Internet Retailer 1000 as one of the North America’s leading web merchants.

Over 18 years successful experience of delighting clients through cultivation and leadership of an ecosystem bonding internal teams together to eliminate obstacles and create innovative solutions within an agile framework that adds value to clients rapidly and profitably.

Dynamic, results-driven leader with a strong track record of performance in turnaround and high-paced organizations as well as M&A environments. Leverage analysis, insights, and team approach to drive organizational improvements and implementations of best practices to achieve strategic goals. Superior organizational skills, capable of resolving multiple and complex (sales, human resources, technical, innovation, and operational) issues and motivating staff to peak performance.

From combat to corporate, Lee’s diverse experience and leadership roles include risk and crisis policy development and management, cybersecurity risk policy, strategy development and strategic communications. She retired as Brigadier General with 23 years on active duty and served seven years in the Army Reserve while in corporate positions. Lee brings the discipline of military leadership for large-scale risk mitigation, life-dependent employee training, contingency planning and effective communication strategies to boardroom oversight of game-changing scenarios.

JR is the Founder and President of Red Wall Marketing, an agency he started in 2009. With over 18 years of sales and marketing experience, he’s been using his knowledge to help businesses grow. He has a passion for startups and loves to help people achieve more in both life and business.

He firmly believes marketing is everything in and to your business and has worked with businesses in a variety of industries to implement proven marketing strategies. He also serves on the marketing committee at Tampa Bay Wave and is the lead organizer of Startup Week Tampa Bay.

From an early age, Rick was immersed in retail and consumer marketing. Watching his father operate a chain of department stores sparked his ongoing fascination with business, numbers, and operations. These early experiences led him to a finance career spanning roles in technology, retail, marketing, and CPG. He has led teams in FP&A, Sales Finance and New Business Development. Startups and business valuation continue to be a recurring theme throughout his career.

Rick is the CFO of Marxent, a technology-based 3D design and visualization company aimed at simplifying the consumer buying experience. Current responsibilities include finance, HR, pricing, operations, investor relations, and fundraising. During Rick’s tenure, Marxent has raised just under $19MM of venture capital and grown from three employees to almost 70 today.

Rick describes himself as obsessed with solving puzzles. His “superhero ability” is converting ideas into numbers, thereby accelerating the ideation process by quickly digesting complex business cases into key variables, and providing a litmus test for success.

Chad started building and optimizing websites in 1996. In 2000, he co-founded trafficstrategies.com, and later became the founder and CEO of crowdsavings.com. He also worked at nCrowd, where he was CTO and sat on their Board of Directors. Chad was a finalist for Tampa Bay Business CEO of the Year in 2012 in Biz Tech, and was also listed in the Tampa Bay Business Journal Fast 50 in 2006.

Chad leads the strategy and growth of the company’s Paid Search channel. He and his team are always developing new strategies aimed at driving innovation and growth for Rakuten Marketing and its clients.

Recognized technology leader specializing in strategic and profitable growth in software and services. 20+ years of consistent financial and organizational success in high-growth, competitive technology companies. Significant sales, operations, team-building, and talent development experience, with a focus on driving meaningful cultural impact. Most recently helped to drive a profitable business from early stages in 2001 through sale to a publicly-traded company in 2017, while also leading a startup industry business unit through its evolution from services-focused to software-led maturity.

18+ year career at Tribridge, serving in a variety of roles through the company’s evolution into a $175 million, 850 team member software, services, and cloud solutions market leader. Began as a consultant, transitioning to roles with increasing responsibility as project manager, services leader, ERP and CRM business unit leader, sales and industry leader, and eventually a senior executive that contributed to Tribridge’s sale to DXC Technology in 2017.

Senior level professional with more than 15 years of progressive and diverse experience driving revenue and improving financial efficacy in environments such as management consulting, healthcare and biotech startups, professional banking, and finance with an emphasis on producing dramatic revenue growth and investor strategies as well as successfully managing the M&A process.

Proven ability to conceptualize, develop, and successfully achieve finance strategy objectives through comprehensive and cost-effective implementation strategies. This experience includes leading national sales teams, driving C-suite level strategy, overseeing comprehensive Marketing strategies, assisting in funding strategies and growth programs for tech startups.

Demonstrated success in achieving sales goals, positively impacting valuations, and beginning to end implementation of strategies. Skilled at developing sound business practices through departmental development, responsibility for budgetary oversight, and revenue-driving initiatives which have met or exceeded expectations.

OF SPECIAL NOTE:

• Current owner and founder of MarketMeGuru a marketing firm which specializes in serving start-up organizations
• Current CMO and strategic consultant for CrowdMed, a Silicon Valley Venture-Backed Startup which has raised over $4M in seed round funding participant in Y-Combinator
• Past Strategic Marketing Consultant Cognetyx (Houston based start-up and participant in TMCx)

Jon Katz most recently spent eight years as the Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for Vector Solutions, a Tampa-based provider of online education, safety, compliance, and performance-optimization solutions for the commercial, education and public sectors. There, he took the company through four private equity exits and orchestrated twelve acquisitions, while revenue grew by a factor of 7 over his tenure.

Prior to Vector Solutions, he was Director of Corporate Development and Financial Planning and Analysis with publicly-held Tech Data Corporation, the second largest high-tech distributor in the world with annual revenue in excess of $36 billion, where he led the team responsible for identifying, structuring, negotiating, and closing M&A transactions, as well as the team that ran and consolidated the worldwide strategic planning, budgeting, and forecasting process.

Previously, Mr. Katz spent seven years with Intuit Inc., the developers of Quicken, QuickBooks, and TurboTax software, where as Director of Corporate Development he executed 20 M&A transactions, totaling nearly $1 billion. Immediately prior to Intuit, he held a number of senior positions with General Electric, most recently Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at GE’s Long Term Care Insurance division. Mr. Katz holds a Master in Business Administration in Finance and Investments and a Bachelor in Business Administration in Logistics, Operations, and Materials Management from The George Washington University.

Kelly Kavanaugh currently serves as BizOps Chief Financial Officer in the Tampa, Florida Office primarily serving the nonprofit industry sector.

Prior to joining CliftonLarsonAllen, she served as Chief Financial Officer for the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Tampa Bay Partnership Research & Education Foundation. In this role, she directed the financial affairs of the organization including financial plans, accounting policies, and financial reporting. Additionally, Ms. Kavanaugh was responsible for oversight of investor development, strategic planning, human resource functions as well as the organization’s office and technology systems. Ms. Kavanaugh played a critical role in the recent organizational restructuring and transformation from an economic development agency to a public policy, advocacy and lobbying group.

Prior to the Partnership, she served as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Administration for Visit Tampa Bay. She simultaneously held the same role with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission, Inc. Previously, she was CFO and equity owner of Comprehensive Rehabilitation Services, a rehab agency serving Pasco County, and Specialized Infusion Care, Inc., a hospital based outpatient infusion. Her nonprofit industry experience exceeds 15 years serving in a CFO role. Ms. Kavanaugh has additional experience in the professional services industry having served as Assistant Controller for Fulbright & Jaworski, LLP and has served as CFO/equity owner for two privately held healthcare agencies.

I provide a full-service intellectual property practice for a wide range of technologies, including medical, surgical, and mechanical devices, electro-mechanical equipment, consumer and healthcare products, computer and software technology, and innovative business methods. I routinely assist clients with obtaining and licensing patent, trademark, and copyright rights, and litigating these rights in federal and state court. Beyond these traditional IP practices, I guide clients on emerging issues in ownership and licensing of data, social media rights, cloud computing, information technology agreements, e-commerce matters, and many more.

Prior to attending law school, I was a structural engineer for URS Corporation, an international engineering company with more than 130 offices worldwide. During this time, I gained extensive experience in the analysis and design of complex structural systems, using structural dynamics, finite element modeling, and linear, non-linear, seismic, and wind analysis techniques.

Just under 10 years of experience with the largest health insurance carrier in the state ranging from Individual to National Accounts experience. Licensed agent in Life, Health, and Annuities in the state of Florida with expert knowledge of Healthcare Insurance industry trends and Affordable Care Act. A strong results driven sales executive with a track record of connecting generation gaps in sales cycle and data analysis. An industry expert with the leader in emerging healthcare trends and sales strategies with a focus on complex sales cycles and barriers to entry. An active leader in creative sales tactics to improve sales target metrics.

Debbie Lundberg believes “how you present is how you are remembered”! As a 10-time published author, certified life coach, certified leadership coach, and certified image consultant who speaks, facilitates, trains and coaches nationally, Debbie has been recognized in the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s Best in the Biz as a Top 10 Business-oriented Speaker for 5 years consecutively, and as a BusinessWoman of the Year Finalist.

Serving as a MacDill Air Force Base Honorary Commander, Past Chairwoman of the Centre Club Board of Governors, recent 6-year Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors member, Miss America Scholarship Pageant Preliminary Judge, Leadership Tampa Alumnus, and University of Tampa Board of Fellow, Debbie captures a combination of automotive industry leadership with a Dale Carnegie Training background, followed by consulting for a national organization, prior to launching her Florida-based National firm in 2006.

Debbie earned a BA at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI, and holds an MBA from Edgewood College in Madison, WI

Sam Mallikarjunan is the Executive Strategist at HubSpot in Boston. He teaches digital marketing and innovation a Harvard University’s Division of Continuing Education and the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business, Executive Education. He’s the co-author of the book How to Sell Better Than Amazon (which, thanks to the publisher, is ironically available for purchase on Amazon).

Responsible for the newly created Flyer Digital division for The Flyer. This new division is responsible for launching and managing new digital products and services to serve our Customer base in both the Tampa Bay and South Florida markets.

Additional work experience includes serving as the Region Manager in the Americas for Mascus and being the Founder and CEO of Adalia Media.

Skip Marshall joined Tribridge in 2013 as Vice President & CTO, Human Capital Management (HCM). In this role, Skip manages the solution architecture, product strategy and overall technology strategy for the HCM business group. Skip joined the executive leadership in 2016 as CTO, responsible for product development.

Skip previously served as Vice President of Professional Services for Intelladon, a leading talent management firm that was acquired by Tribridge. Skip has extensive design, development and deployment experience in instructional programs, enterprise talent management initiatives and the technology infrastructure to support them. He has implemented courseware development processes using SCORM and AICC e-learning standards and specializes in designing technology solutions to address complex business issues within the HCM space.

Skip is a former faculty member at the University of South Florida and a teaching and technology fellow at the University of Florida. He has served as a university mentor, a member of the Academic Computing Committee and the Website Advisory Committee. Along with his university experience, Skip has written and presented in the field of education and instructional technology and is a former reviewer for the British Journal of Educational Technology.

Skip holds an MBA and a Master of Education degree with a focus in Educational Psychology, as well as a Specialist degree in Instructional Technology, all from the University of Florida. Go Gators!

Kailah Matyas is the Managing Partner of Redwood Partners, an executive search and venture firm that works with emerging technology companies. Kailah is responsible for global assignments, specifically covering Redwood’s European, US and Asia Pacific regions. Her years of experience working with international high-growth companies has made her expert at interpreting business goals into human capital needs and realizing the best people to build successful businesses. She has successfully built global executive teams for companies within the mobile, internet and digital media sectors and has particular expertise with cross border searches. Kailah opened Redwood’s London office and has been instrumental in developing the Company’s global Executive Search practice. She has been with Redwood for over twenty years and was previously with a start up where she was responsible for building and launching their web/eCommerce strategy. Kailah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from George Washington University.

Marc Matyas has a uniquely diverse professional background as both an entrepreneur and restaurateur. He has developed and refined his business skills across emerging technology, hospitality, culinary and government sectors. He has a depth of experience across all key business areas including strategic development, operations, technology, project management, marketing and government relations.

Marc has been on the ground floor of multiple technology startups including e-commerce, mobile, CRM and customer service based businesses both stateside and abroad. As well, he has successfully launched, expanded and assisted a multitude of restaurants including owning and operating his own award-winning New York City restaurant. In addition, Marc has worked in New York State Government’s Economic Development helping attract the tech sector to the State.

Marc and his family recently moved to St. Petersburg, Florida after spending over 25 years living and working in New York City. He graduated with Honors from Columbia University and was featured in Columbia Magazine’s “30 under 30.” Marc has also appeared on the Fine Living Channel’s “Radical Sabbatical” which chronicled his career transition from tech to hospitality, and he has also appeared on the Food Network and Cooking Channel.

Execution-oriented business development executive with 26 years of experience in high-growth companies. Strong history of driving dramatic revenue growth in both early stage and turnaround companies. Seasoned evaluator of new industries and markets, focusing the organization on the opportunities that will result in sustained revenue growth. Key contributor in all forms of successful financing activities – one IPO, four mergers, and many rounds of venture & angel funding. Current advisor to entrepreneurial companies, and on the Advisory Board for Vocap Ventures in Florida.

CORE STRENGTHS

• Business Development
• Driving Sustained Revenue Growth
• New Market Penetration
• M&A and Financing
• International Expansion
• Unwavering Integrity
• Strategic Partnerships
• Entrepreneurial Work Ethic

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS

• Grew revenue from $5 to $75 million in a turnaround semiconductor company (Intellon).
• Drove annual service provider revenue to over $200 million at Atheros.
• Closed in excess of $500 million in new design wins for Qualcomm.
• Ran operations and led due diligence, resulting in a successful all-cash exit for TriNet Services.

EDUCATION

• M.B.A. – University of Florida (UF), Gainesville, FL
• B.S. Industrial Engineering – UF

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Won the first annual Business Plan Competition at UF and served as finalist judge for Duke’s Start-up Challenge.
• Sit on the Advisory Board for Vocap Ventures in Vero Beach, FL
• Recently sat on Board of Directors for Verigo in Gainesville.
• Hobbies include tennis, golf, trail biking, fishing and music.

1. Worked at The Boston Consulting Group for clients in financial services, online retail, manufacturing, QSR, aerospace, consumer brand, non-profit, and public sector industries
2. Served as an Infantry officer in Iraq & Germany
3. Worked at small healthcare tech firm
4. Work at nationwide retailer on strategy, marketing, & operations
5. Chair West Point’s Leadership & Ethics Conference in Tampa Bay

Chris has been researching, designing, and creating solutions to efficiency problems for over a decade. He has been an active options trader for over eight years and has secured many winning trades. He has been a part of several technology startups in Tampa and Silicon Valley. Years of research and field experience contribute to Chris’s refined understanding of data. Throughout Chris’s education, his fields of research have spanned the studies of physics and number theory. In 2015, he helped program Flow Crpyt, the second most downloaded end to end email encryption app in the Google Play Store, with over 20,000 active users. Most recently, he worked as a Geographic Information Systems Analyst which honed his holistic view of data science. Chris’s passion for tech has led to competing in hackathons and mentoring tech startups. He is a former collegiate javelin and hammer thrower and promoter of tolerance and teamwork. His keen interest in large file transmission technologies inspired the birth of LogN and its pending patent.

I have led a number of organizations who help financial institutions and financial technology providers maximize their performance by leveraging business acumen, best practices and best-in-class solutions to create winning outcomes for our stakeholders. Accomplished business development executive, team builder, and strategic leader with more than 30 years of experience with startup, high-growth, and Fortune 500 companies. Served in senior executive positions with Deluxe, CSI, Open Solutions, Fidelity, and Fiserv, Inc. Proven record of creating sustainable, multimillion-dollar sales channels and turning around under-performing organizations.

ACHIEVEMENTS INCLUDE:

• Led restructuring of entire customer facing side of 1,100 employee company from fragmented product group structure to cross company functional structure.
• Built a nationwide sales organization in less than one year, leading to three-year sales increase of nearly 370%.
• Increasing TCV in an underperforming channel/international sales organization from $2.2 million in 2009 to $28 million in 2011. I built a team that closed 10 unit sales within the first 6 months (compared to only 5 units over the prior 2-year period).
• Built market leading sales teams that closed more than $500 million in sales to the U.S. and Canadian credit union markets.
• Built a growth and strategy consulting practice for small-mid size businesses.
• Built a successful startup IT services firm and engineered and led sale to Fortune 1000 company (Fiserv, Inc.).

Matthew McNulty is a diversified business professional with nearly 25 years of experience across multiple industries and geographies. An innovative and strategic thinker who can lead with confidence, yet retains a hands on approach that yields significant improvement and his management style quickly establishes the loyalty of his teammates and peers.

Matthew is currently employed by Tribridge (a DXC Technology company) as the executive responsible for the $50MM consumer and industrial products industry vertical. Tribridge is a business and technology services firm with a focus on improving business outcomes through the implementation of operational change and purpose built technology solutions. Reporting to the Chief Sales and Solutions Officer, his main responsibility is to define and drive the market approach and strategy to support the growth of the vertical.

Prior to Tribridge, Matthew was a Principal in an investment syndicate focused on investing in and growing early stage software and technology companies. He was responsible for developing and implementing aggressive growth strategies, providing management oversight and building plans to ensure long term success for all portfolio companies. All holdings enjoyed significant growth and were exited with positive returns.

Kyle is a Wealth Advisor with the Private Banking & Investment Group at Merrill Lynch. A disciplined portfolio manager, he closely monitors the impact of macro-economic movements, refining strategies and tactics in light of changing market themes. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Kyle worked for a private equity and alternative investment firm in Philadelphia, focusing on growth, financial analysis and strategic initiatives for the various portfolio companies owned by the firm. Kyle has an extensive background in building business models and running scenario analysis. Kyle enjoys using his background in finance to help Wave companies any way that he can.

Troy has spent his career growing startups. With an engineering background, Troy worked in a variety of roles including Chief Technology Officer and Chief Product through the growth of healthcare startup, Sentry Data Systems in Deerfield Beach, FL. After 9 years of growth and an exit, Troy became the Chief Product Officer at Administrate, Ltd., an EdTech Startup based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Switching Industries and moving to an international company added crucial perspective to identify the common patterns in SaaS growth startups.

Troy loves building teams, building products, and building the community which can help others be successful.

José Morey, M.D., is considered the first Intergalactic Doctor, and is a leader in exponential technologies innovation by leading multidisciplinary teams that sit at the epicenter of genetic intelligence, biotechnology, precision medicine, AI and aerospace. Dr. Morey is a 2020 Eisenhower Fellow, is Chief Medical Innovation Officer for Liberty BioSecurity, was Associated Chief Health Officer for IBM Watson Health, is Chief Innovation Officer for Hyperloop Transportation Technologies and is the Medical Technology and Artificial Intelligence Adviser for NASA iTech, which is an incubator created to identify and develop novel biotechnology to meet the 2030 Mars Mission objectives and deep space colonization.

John Morrow has launched and grown a number of technology companies. In 2006, he founded Morrow Consultants, which works with clients to evaluate and implement machine intelligence technology in their systems and products.

Prior to establishing Morrow Consultants, John served as CEO of Morrow Technologies Corporation, which he cofounded in 1984. The company’s microwave division, which was acquired in 2006, was known as an innovator of RF and microwave signal analysis equipment. Included among its customers were the U.S. Army, FCC, NSA, Intelsat, Echostar and NBC. Another division, Janus Displays, is a premier supplier of networked digital signage systems. For over twenty years, and with thousands of customers worldwide, Janus has continued to be the market leader in hotels, convention centers, casinos, government facilities, and corporate headquarters.

Prior to founding Morrow Technologies Corporation, John served as president of MCED, Inc., a firm specializing in automation systems. The company was a prime contractor to Disney on the original EPCOT Center construction project at Walt Disney World in Orlando in the early 1980s.

John also serves on the executive and advisory boards for a number of companies and organizations.

Dr. Richard Munassi is the Accelerator Managing Director and brings a strong startup background focused on Healthcare Technology and early-stage business development to the mentor team.

Dr. Munassi also sits on the Accelerator Committee for the Tampa Wave.

Entrepreneur in various business sectors, currently focused on renewable energy. Working on developing a new division for Tesla Inc. involving installation of solar panels coupled with battery solutions for residential consumers on the east coast. Previously cofounded businesses ranging from data analytics in healthcare to ecommerce in fashion.

Shane has a knack for using creative ideas and technology to help businesses communicate with their customers and their community. With nearly two decades in the advertising and marketing industry, Shane has worked on brands that range from Publix and The Home Depot to Adventist Health and The Tampa Bay Lightning.

Over the past ten years, Shane has led the production team at 22squared. Client-facing and results-driven, Shane has produced work across all mediums and has helped grow a team of talented producers to be both nimble and thoughtful in their execution of creative work.

Shane’s has a formal background in production, technology and brand storytelling. He believes that connection and cultivation is the best way to convert people to customers and customers to advocates.

Shane is a native Floridian, attended St. Petersburg College and has been a part of the Tampa Bay entrepreneurial community since 2010. His team, BumperCrop took second place nationally on the StartupBus in 2012, conducted the bus in 2015 and is very proud of Mobilize, a student advertising “hackathon” competition he founded and led for five years while at 22squared.

A results driven senior financial executive and CPA with 25+ years of experience in finance and accounting who is able to apply creative solutions and teamwork to solving complex issues. Adept at converting complex accounting regulations into easy to understand, executable procedures. Able to quickly and easily translate business models into insightful financial models and budgets that can be used to drive business growth.

With a career that began in a “Big 8” accounting firm, over the past 10 years I’ve transitioned to working with startup and early-stage technology and financial services companies. I thrive under pressure and enjoy working in a fast-paced environment. I am known for consistently delivering high quality product under tight deadlines. I also pride myself on being an active listener, creative problem solver and developing interpersonal relationships with honesty, humor and respect.

I help startup, early-stage and fast-growing companies with their finance and accounting needs, from simple bookkeeping questions to complex financial modeling assistance and tax planning.

Nick is a member of the Corporate & Tax Group at Hill Ward Henderson in Tampa. His practice focuses on venture capital and other private investment transactions, along with lending transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate advice. He primarily works with companies, investors, and lenders in all phases of a company’s life cycle to help prepare for, structure, and negotiate investment and loan transactions. He also regularly advises companies on business formation, contract negotiations, and other general corporate and business law matters. Nick is active with the Florida Venture Forum and is devoted to helping grow the tech startup and venture community in Tampa Bay.

Brett Owens is an associate in the Tampa office. His practice focuses on all aspects of labor and employment law, representing clients in a broad range of industries. He defends employers in various actions brought in state and federal courts, including individual claims of discrimination, harassment, and retaliation.

Brett also assists clients with navigating the myriad of federal and state laws governing the employer-employee relationship to ensure compliance and reduce the risk of litigation. When employers are faced with litigation, Brett strategically relies upon the discovery process to position disputes for an early resolution. Through his advocacy and strategic approach, Brett’s efforts have resulted in numerous voluntary dismissals with prejudice in the early stages of litigation. When necessary, Brett has also assisted with trying several cases to verdict in state court.

Brett earned his JD, cum laude, from the University of Florida Frederic G. Levin College of Law in 2014. Brett also completed his MS in Management in 2011 and his MBA in 2014 from the University of Florida, Hough Graduate School of Business and graduated summa cum laude, with a B.S. in Advertising from the University of Florida in 2010.

While in law school, Brett was a Judicial Intern for the Honorable James S. Moody in the United States District Court, Middle District of Florida. Additionally, Brett served as President of the Association of Law and Business, Vice President of the Levin College of Law Honor Committee, and Secretary of Florida Blue Key.

Mr. Palumbo is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of the Global Sage Group, LLC. He sets the vision, direction and the strategy for the enterprise. He specializes in the delivery of enterprise-wide business transformation strategy. He has been instrumental in the delivery of leadership business consulting, intended to improve performance. He has more than 45 years of business experience, with emphasis on improving business performance.

Prior to founding GSG, Mr. Palumbo was a member of the founders group of Answerthink, where he served as the Director of IT Strategy. Mr. Palumbo was the Director of World Class IT in the Northeast geography and the Nolan Norton practice at KPMG Peat Marwick, LLP. Mr. Palumbo was employed at Digital for nineteen years in a variety of very senior assignments, such as the Director of IT Strategy Consulting, where he lead the delivery of cutting edge consulting methodology and services globally. He led the introduction of the object paradigm into IT transformation-consulting services. Mr. Palumbo also served on the leadership teams at Marshall’s Department Stores and Raytheon Company.
Mr. Palumbo holds a BA in Management and an MBA from Southern Hampshire University. He is also the Managing Director of a non-profit organization focused on children and play therapy products and services.

Tom holds a thirty-year entrepreneurial career as cofounder of two successful direct marketing companies. As a result, he can give a true perspective on starting and running a small business. His practical approach to business concepts and leadership is grounded in the belief that success is the result of a commitment to embracing risk as a way to ensure opportunity.

In 1983 Tom cofounded Direct Mail Express (DME) in Daytona Beach, Florida, with his siblings Mike and Kathy. DME has always been on the leading edge of marketing technology and is still recognized as an industry leader in personalized digital marketing.

As CEO of spin-off RME in Tampa, Florida, he headed a company that created the most effective lead-generation program in the financial services industry. RME revolutionized financial services marketing with its Seminar Success program, a marketing system that has created billions in sales for our clients.

Dennis Panos is a Senior Relationship Manager with Bank of America Merrill Lynch. He works with middle-market companies across Tampa Bay in serving as an advisor across traditional commercial banking service as well as strategic investment banking activities.

Before joining Bank of America, Dennis worked at McKinsey & Company advising corporate clients across strategy, operations, digital and business transformation topics. While at McKinsey, he lead several McKinsey Digital engagements focused on developing MVP software solutions for clients in financial services and manufacturing.

Prior to McKinsey & Company, Dennis served as an officer in the United States Navy. His experiences ranged from developing a special capability technology program for the U.S. Navy SEALS to leading pirate hunting missions onboard the USS Gettysburg in the Gulf of Aden.

Dennis graduated from the United States Naval Academy and Princeton University with degrees in finance and mathematics. A highlight of his educational journey was learning from a young Tim Ferriss in an entrepreneur seminar.

He lives in Tampa with his wife, Rachel and one young son, Jack.

• Expert leader and manager in global, complex, competitive and changing environments
• Leader of organizations in both the new and the old economy environments
• Manager of operations and technology for large global corporations
• Mergers and Acquisitions Pre and Post Integration
• Builder of start-up companies for investors and spinoffs for corporations
• Leader and Consultant on Turn arounds of troubled operations
• Developer and implementer of corporate strategies in the areas of Operations, Technology, Outsourcing, Risk Management, Logistics, Marketing, and Quality Management
• Experienced in the business segments of Medical Services, Logistics, Telecommunications, Consulting, Financial Services, Employer Services, and Transaction Processing
• Consultant and contract executive for Fortune 1000 companies on Corporate Strategy, Turn-Arounds, Mergers and Acquisitions, Partnerships and Alliances, Technology Implementations, and Global Outsourcing.

Attorney Kalpesh Patel earned degrees in Business Management and Business Administration at University of Illinois Springfield before earning a Juris Doctor with pro bono honors from Florida Coastal School of Law. He also studied international sales and international civil dispute resolution with University of Miami School of Law.

Patel’s diverse background in law and business development aided in the launch of his firm, FL Patel Law PLLC, a Florida-based law firm offering services in business and corporate law. He began his career in Illinois in where he was a 711 licensed law clerk with the Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation. During that time, he appeared before county courts in Central Illinois helping senior citizens and victims of domestic violence. From there, he worked as a civil defense attorney with a prominent downtown Chicago law firm where he worked closely with Fortune 500 corporations. He gained the skills to become a top litigator which he took with him to start his first law firm, Wallock | Patel, in Chicago where he provided legal counsel for start-up companies.

Andrea Paul, MD, is a physician-turned-entrepreneur and the Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of BoardVitals, a health and medical education company that helps healthcare professionals prepare for certification exams and meet maintenance of certification, and continuing education requirements. Named one of the ‘Top 10 Disruptive Women in Life Sciences,’ Dr. Paul founded BoardVitals which has trained more than 100,000 health professionals and is used by more than 400 institutions. BoardVitals was named #251 on the Inc. 500 and #14 on Crain’s Fast 50 in 2018. Andrea also spends her time as a venture partner in a health care VC fund (SpringTide Investments), on the executive committee of Springboard’s Women’s Health Accelerator, doing public speaking, and advises and mentors many female entrepreneurs and physician entrepreneurs. Dr. Paul grew up in Canada then attended Michigan State Medical School and did her residency years at Yale University and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Founder and CEO at Blitz Sales and Marketing. International experience includes projects with multinational companies, specifically developing market entry and channel strategies. Currently working on multi-channel sales and marketing projects for SAP, Lexmark, HP, Cisco, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Samsung, Qualcomm, Westcon, Ingram, Tech Data, Eaton and others. He frequently contributes with business articles related to Technology and IT Channels in various magazines, blogs and newspapers.

Arnie has a Bachelor degree in Philosophy from Gregorian University of Rome, Italy. Also a Business Administration degree from Tec de Monterrey in Mexico. And an MBA from University of Dallas. Arnie is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

A 25-year technology visionary, Greg Pierce is one of the foremost experts on cloud computing trends, systems integration, security, scale computing, and emerging technology strategies. Greg co-founded Concerto Cloud Services in 2011, a cloud services provider, where he has since served as Chief Cloud Officer responsible for developing the company’s strategic direction, vision and product offerings. In 2017, he helped lead Concerto’s strategic acquisition by DXC Technology Company.

Greg led the development of the Concerto Private Cloud from inception, and late added Microsoft Azure and Amazon AWS offerings. Under Greg’s leadership, Concerto grew from a line-of-business startup within Tribridge to a spun-off entity annually recognized as a “top 15 cloud services provider” and “coolest cloud vendor in the country,” with more than $30 million in revenue, over 400 direct customers and 70 transacting channel partners.

Prior to launching Concerto, Greg held senior executive positions within Tribridge focused on infrastructure, security, and managed services. Before joining Tribridge, Greg owned and operated two companies that provided a variety of IT services, managed services, and cloud computing solutions for customers throughout the U.S., including platforms for the delivery of core business applications via cloud. Both companies were successfully sold after substantial growth.

Greg holds an MBA from USF and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Eckerd College.

In his free time Greg spends time with his two children, Gregory & Marah, loves to travel, & frequently mentors entrepreneurs and business startups.

A Partner with Cherry Bekaert’s Tampa office, Eric has served clients in the technology, health and life sciences industries since 2003.

Public and private companies depend on Eric to provide proactive tax planning for individuals, corporations and partnerships. He ensures companies are compliant with federal, state and local taxes while working with his clients to identify tax-saving opportunities through credits and incentives, cost segregation studies, state income tax consulting and other tax planning projects. He also assists clients with transaction structuring to maximize value while minimizing tax implications.

With over 20 years of professional Marketing and Communications experience, I help businesses enhance, promote, and sustain their brand to facilitate increased sales and build stronger customer and employee relationships.

I can help with brand development, roll out, and mobilization across diverse audiences and locations. This includes: – Large scale, personalized direct mail projects and back-end fulfillment for B2B and direct-to-consumer marketing programs
– Creating, producing, and distributing B2B and consumer direct sales and marketing collateral
– Coordinating local, regional, and national trade advertising campaigns
– Eanaging regional and national trade show participation, including display design and production, promotional items, direct mail campaigns and follow-up initiatives
– Employee communications, rewards, and incentive programs

Specialties:

• Outstanding Communication Skills
• Brand Identity Development and Implementation
• Corporate Marketing Communications Experience for Fortune 100 Firm
• Marketing and Sales Support
• Vendor/Resource Management
• Project Management

Founder and CEO at JazzMedia, a privately held company that owns, develops and invests in domain names and internet web ventures. Successful entrepreneur and business executive who is a board member at the Tampa Bay Wave.

Emmanuel Ramos is currently the Senior Vice President of Operations at Trellance a company that is the leading data analytics company for credit unions serving over 4000 credit unions nationwide. He has in the past been an executive at large organizations like Fiserv and Nielsen, at startups like Aptitude and running his own businesses. He graduated with an MBA from Purdue University and a BA from the University of Massachusetts. He is a goal-oriented Business Technology Executive with a versatile blend of professional services, technology management, sales, operations, and P&L experience.

For nearly a decade, Candice has been supporting early and growth stage entrepreneurs with experience working for startups, growth stage companies, accelerators, and investment funds.

As an early team member at Village Capital, Candice sourced, trained, and invested in early stage companies participating in VilCap accelerator programs. She managed all deal flow for more than 10,000 companies, developed program content, hired and trained twenty associates and analysts, and sourced investors and corporate sponsors. At Endeavor, she aided in opening their second US-based office in Louisville, KY where she developed a mentor network of Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 CEOs, Executives, and Founders to support growth stage company founders who also received access to Endeavor’s talent, networks, and capital. Most recently, Candice worked for a family office impact investment fund, Radicle Capital, where she managed and deployed capital across multiple assets classes and supported a portfolio of twenty early to growth stage startups.

Candice attended the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey Bay, CA where she studied Impact Investing and Social Entrepreneurship Management. Additionally, she has two degrees in Biology and Communication with an emphasis in Corporate Marketing and Advertising from the University of Louisville.

Retired from the U.S. Army after 20 years of service (March 1988- July 2008) as an Airborne Sapper, Medic, Senior Small Group Leader, and Observer Controller.

Was the Safety, Compliance, Training and Development Manager for PODS, Inc. for five years before starting the Military Transitioning Employment Program at CareerSource Tampa Bay. Now serve as the Military Family Employment Advocate on MacDill AFB for CareerSource Tampa Bay.

Earned a Master Degree in Business with focus on International Business, a Master Degree in Project Management and studying for the Senior Professional Human Resource certification through the Veteran Career Transition Program sponsored by Syracuse University.

I have worked in the Talent Acquisition Business for more than 20 years. This is my passion, it’s in my blood! My career in recruiting spans out among Agency Perm Placement, Technology Consulting and Corporate Environments both small and large centered around one niche; helping Information Technology Talent find a career path that they are passionate about!

I have spent 20+ years in Talent Acquisition hiring and placing individuals into critical Business & Technology roles specific to for some of the top Fortune 500 Organizations in the world GM, Ford, Blue Cross, Federal Government, Cisco, VMware and BAE Systems.

Klaus translates competitive and customer insights into actionable strategy.

He is a sales and marketing expert with a 25+ year progressive track record in fast-paced, dynamic, and resource-constrained environments. He has profitably grown the products he managed through P&L management, strategic planning and product development.

Klaus creates value through strategic market assessment and market analysis, competitive analysis, positioning and messaging, and market modeling.

He also specializes in market and budget planning based on competitive and customer insights, policy and process development to increase transparency, grass-roots initiatives with patient support groups, and pricing strategies.

Shoaib has several years of experience from industry, academia and entrepreneurship. He’s an expert in artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive systems, having developed mission-critical AI systems for defense contractors such as Northrop Grumman, L3Harris and Lockheed Martin. He’s also worked with multiple hedge fund startups in the FinTech space for developing and deploying predictive trading algorithms. While in academia, Dr. Shaikh conducted research on autonomous vehicles (AVs), smart infrastructure and optimal highway utilization with AVs. He also mentored several engineering and technology teams, several of which have won entrepreneurship awards.
His current research interests include quantum and neuromorphic computing, AI governance and safety, and human/ethical-centered system design. He holds a doctorate in Operations Research from Florida Institute of Technology, where he also received his master’s degree in System Engineering. Dr. Shaikh is fluent in English, Urdu and Hindi.

Steve Simmons is the EVP of Compliance Services at A-LIGN. Steve’s responsibilities includes overseeing the SOC, ISO and HITRUST practices at A-LIGN. Steve has extensive experience performing SOC 1, SOC 2, SOC 3 (SysTrust), ISO 27001, ISO 22301, ISO 9001, ISO 22301 Lead Auditor, PCI DSS, SOX, NIST, FISMA, HITRUST, and HIPAA/HITECH engagements. Prior to his role at A-LIGN, Steve was responsible for providing a variety of internal audit and IT consulting engagements for Protiviti, a global business consulting and internal audit firm. Steve has provided services to clients in several industries including technology, healthcare, insurance, financial services, transportation and telecommunications. Steve has also provided professional services to companies of all sizes during his career, including multiple Global 1000, Fortune 500 and regional companies. Steve has also been a member of the HITRUST Assessor Council and the HITRUST Quality Council.

He is Employee #3 at Via/ViaVan (ride-sharing co.) – helped scale business to a global team of 800+, with consumer and B2B/SaaS services now operational in over 125 cities and 22 countries. Via has raised over $500M to date.

He moved to London to execute operations for new market launch, transitioned over to strategic partnerships/BD function, post-launch. He has been a veteran operator with additional experience in Client Management, Customer Success, Growth, Expansion, Talent, Product, and Communications.

Jane Sadd Smalec is an independent consultant and also a faculty member at two universities: American University where she teaches graduate level classes in strategic thinking and in management consulting, and at the University of Maryland Global Campus where she teaches a graduate class in Financial Decision Making.

Earlier in her career Jane was the Chief Administrative Officer or Chief Financial Officer for a number of for-profit higher education businesses and was part of the management team that scaled Kaplan University from 20 students to 20,000 students over four years. Jane began her career in the United States as a consultant with McKinsey & Company and has worked in several different industries including data communications and information services. Her expertise lies in strategic planning, financial management, market research, and in scaling business operations. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a Doctor of Management degree from the University of Maryland University College.

Robyn is founder and president of SpotOn Digital Media and offers strategy and leadership for all SpotOn clients. Robyn is an entrepreneur and experienced digital marketer and digital advertising sales specialist. Prior to starting SpotOn, she co-founded the MamaBear App and led its launch for the first two years with international media coverage and global use proving market acceptance. MamaBear was successfully acquired in 2016. During her career, she led the digital marketing team at the Florida Communications Group (TBO.com, The Tampa Tribune and WFLA), where all properties ranked #1 as Tampa Bay’s top preferences for news and information on web and mobile platforms. A proud Tampa native, Robyn holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communication with a specialization in advertising from the University of South Florida. She earned her MBA from the University of Tampa. She currently serves Tampa Bay Wave as an Entrepreneur in Residence leading the women’s vertical.

Stanton IP Law Firm is a Tampa based law firm focusing on protecting, enforcing, and monetizing Intellectual Property rights for their clients by obtaining patents both in the US and abroad, trademarks at both the federal and state levels, copyrights on works of art, and keeping trade secrets confidential.

Kim has 35+ years of U.S. medical device sales, marketing and operational experience in multi-national and start-up companies. She spent 16 years with Boehringer Mannheim/Roche where she held multiple positions in sales/ marketing including P&L responsibility for a $100 million diabetes care diagnostics business. The balance of her career has been dedicated to leading start-up medical device organizations with game-changing technologies including BioStar, a diagnostics company sold to Thermo Electron (NYSE:TMO), Medingo, an Israeli insulin patch pump company acquired by Roche (ROG.VX), Anodyne Therapy, a pain management company and GlycoMark, a start-up subsidiary of Toyota. Kim retired in May 2017 as U.S. President of DYSIS Medical, Inc., where she built the U.S. business to a team of 20 with revenues exceeding $1.2 MM in the first year. She was also integrally involved in managing a 7500 patient study, and the study publications and reimbursement strategy. Under her guidance, her team built a national network of DYSIS Cervical Centers of Excellence offering this transformational imaging system that improves accuracy in detecting pre-cancers in women with abnormal Pap smears.

Kim was Director of Mentoring for the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, a member of Vistage, and in 2015, earned recognition as the Tampa Bay Businesswoman of the Year in the Health and Wellness category. She currently consults with DYSIS and mentors a number of entrepreneurs at the Florida-Israeli Business Accelerator (www.fiba.io), and University of Tampa’s Entrepreneurship Program.

12 years of real estate experience in Florida. The last 10 years have been focused in Tampa Bay and the I-4 Corridor, with over 10 million SF of transactions closed, and many thousands of acres of land sold in Central and SW Florida.

Prior to starting Fortress Commercial Real Estate, Kostas was Senior Associate at CBRE, Associate Director of Industrial Sales and Leasing for Cushman & Wakefield and Sales Associate at Grubb & Ellis in Tampa.

MBA from the University of Tampa
MS in Management/Technology from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
BS in Management Information Systems from The Florida State University

Active on committees and boards including the Bay Area Advisors, Tampa Bay WaVE, and Professional Philanthropic Network helping raise millions of dollars for local non-profits and charities.

Provided Information Technology and Cyber Security solutions to regional, national and international organizations for over thirty-five years. He has helped government, middle market and Fortune 500 companies utilize technology and innovation to streamline operations, improve customer service and drive revenue.

Served as Chief Information Officer at three rapidly growing publicly-traded entities where he designed technology platforms to support multi-year growth in excess of 30% CAGR.

Experience leading technology for smaller regional organizations as well as global organizations covering thousands of employees in multiple countries.

Extensive M&A experience including merging multiple companies, performing due diligence and integrating disparate technology platforms and systems.

Founded a security focused consulting and Value-Added Reseller business which was later acquired by a regional professional services organization. After selling the business, Andy oversaw professional services teams focusing on technology projects including security, network design, implementation and ongoing support.

Serves on the Board of Directors for the Tampa Chapter of Infragard, the Tampa Bay Chapter of ISSA, the advisory board for The University of Tampa’s IT program and the advisor board of FairWarning Software.

Chris is the founder of eWorkSuccess and offers strategy and leadership for eWS clients. Prior to starting eWS, he was the CIO of Fast-teks and Fast-Teks Pro national franchise organization. Chris led the launch of Fast-teks IT services from a logo sketch on a piece of paper to over 200 franchise locations. Fast-teks was a Top Ranked company on the Entrepreneur Franchise 500 list and achieved the #1 spot in the tech category in 2011 and received the Best Business award in 2012. Fast-Teks Pro was developed to align with B2B managed IT services, add new revenue streams and strengthen the company position with branded IT solutions. Chris has a business management and marketing background with over 15 years of business development experience. He is a business strategist and likes to connect with like-minded professionals to solve real-world problems.

Tania Tawil is a dynamic, results-oriented executive with over 22 years of achievement and commitment to excellence launching and growing new business units from inception to profitability. Tania has spent her career in media and technology, most recently as VP of Partner Development, Strategic Alliances at Vibes, a global mobile marketing and technology company based in Chicago. She spent over 11 years in the fast-paced world of mobile marketing, delivering strategic guidance and building strong relationships with partners around the world to help them drive revenue by leveraging Vibes’ SaaS-based mobile engagement platform.

In previous roles, Tania ran both business development and customer success teams working with Fortune 50 and 100 clients like The Home Depot, Polo Factory Stores, Hudson’s Bay Company, Pep Boys and CBS Radio and also mobile advertising partners. She built a new media client vertical from scratch and collaborated with several hundred retail, television, radio, sports, and entertainment clients to deliver mobile strategies that continue to grow their businesses.

He is a versatile professional with the ability to lead sales, business development, product management and customer service operations. He combines excellent customer skills with strong analytical skills to uncover and assess opportunities and challenges.

Gwen is VP of Strategy and Business Operations at Corestream, a Tampa-based benefits technology company. She leads new product and sales strategy, company KPI goal-setting, business analytics, and operational process improvement initiatives across the company. She also leads the vendor relations team and the discount shopping product team. Prior to Corestream, Gwen was Director of Product Operations at Stride Health, a San Francisco-based digital health company. Prior to that, Gwen started Footstep Labs, a physical therapy telehealth startup. Gwen began her career in private equity investing and management consulting at Goldman Sachs, Golden Gate Capital, and Bain & Company. She has both an BS and MBA from Stanford University.

Tampa Electric Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of TECO Energy, Inc. (TECO), which is a subsidiary of Emera Inc., a geographically diverse energy and services company headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

He is responsible for the development and execution of corporate and asset acquisition and divestiture transactions for Tampa Electric and its affiliated companies. Significant transactions that he has supported include the $6.5 billion sale of TECO to Emera Inc. in 2016, the sale of TECO Coal in 2015, the $950 million acquisition of New Mexico Gas Company in 2014, the $228 million sale of TECO’s Guatemalan generation assets in 2012 and the $405 million sale of TECO Transport in 2007.

Prior to joining the Business Strategy, Policy and Analysis department at TECO, he worked at TECO’s independent power subsidiary, TECO Power Services, Inc., arranging over $1.875 billion in non-recourse financing for power projects and TECO’s Treasury department on a variety of corporate finance activities. Prior to joining TECO, he worked in the investment banking department at Kidder, Peabody & Co. Incorporated in New York.

He has an M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School and a B.A. in Economics and Environmental Studies from the University of Vermont.

I am a former member of the United States Air Force with service time beginning in 2008 with termination of service in 2014. I served one deployment in Iraq between 2009 and 2010 where I served in operations protecting 1.5 Billion in assets. Upon return, I studied psychology with a focus in biopsychology at The University of Tampa from 2011 – 2014 while finishing my time in the military. I then attended the Univesity of Louisville to go on and receive my masters in public health while focused in biostatistics. My first role was as a consultant with Imperium health management in analytics to identify health care trends in the medicare markets and evaluate the new value based policies and rules coming from the Center of Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS). l returned to Tampa to take a role with Baycare Health System as a Population health analyst which eventually led to my position with Florida Blue for over the last year and a half. I work in their Medical Economics department aiding in value based health care analytics along with evaluating health care contracts with business partners and providing quarterly financial updates.

Jason is an experienced senior executive with over 2 decades in the various aspects of business and technology consulting, outsourcing and operations. He currently leads Digital Enterprise Services within Accenture’s internal IT leadership team which is made up of IT’s support of the Corporate Functions like Marketing, Legal, Workplace, Geographic Services, and Local Application Development. He is also responsible Social Enterprise Strategy where he’s responsible for the strategy and enablement of Accenture’s 450K+ people with technologies and capabilities required for engaging in the work that they do in a social and collaborative way. This area includes Content, Social, Search, Publishing and Collaboration Applications; Video/Broadcast Services and Digital Workplaces.

Prior to his current role, Jason was a part of the leadership team for its North American Utilities practice, representing its Application Outsourcing practice. Most recently, he was the lead for North American Sales for Application Outsourcing for this industry group. Jason’s career began in large-scale system implementations and Application Outsourcing.

SPECIALTIES

• Social Enterprise
• Social Collaboration
• Unified Communications
• Innovation
• Broadcast Applications Outsourcing
• Utilities Industry
• Utilities Deregulation
• Project/Program Management
• Global IT Delivery

David Whelan has 50 years of experience in the healthcare and related industries as an entrepreneur, senior manager, and consultant. He is experienced in working with senior management and boards to create and implement a strategic vision. During his career, David has been a senior officer of several public healthcare companies, including serving as President of a public hospital company and as Chairman of a public hospital REIT. Over the last 30 years, David has managed consulting firms providing advisory services to not for profit healthcare organizations, including large health systems and small rural hospitals. David is skilled in strategic planning; corporate finance; mergers, acquisitions and affiliations; facilities development; and general management.

Eric Williams is the Principal at E2 Innovation Group which provides Advisory Services to startup and established companies in the Retail Technology, Consumer Promotion, and Retail Advertising space. His focus includes some key areas such as mobile & location-based solutions, electronic payments, and loyalty executions with specific skills in the area of technology selection & implementation, large data base selection & utilization, as well as the use of consumer analytics.

Williams spent over 35 years in the area of Retail Technology development and retired after almost 20 years with Catalina Marketing Corporation. While at Catalina he served as the executive vice president and chief information officer responsible for directing strategic technology, research and development, and new applications. Williams also served as the Chief Privacy Officer (CPO) for Catalina Marketing and was responsible for the overall consumer privacy activity for the company.

He is an accomplished inventor with a number of US and International patents. In 2007, he was named CIO of the year by the Tampa Bay Technology Forum and in 2011, Information Week ranked Catalina Marketing as one of the top five most innovative technology organizations in the nation according to their Information Week 500 study. He was also one of Information Week’s featured CIOs in 2011 and both Catalina and Williams were featured in the cover article on Big Data that same year.

An innovative executive with a bias for action with a track record of producing breakthrough results in ambiguous complex change environments. Skilled in creating consensus, advising senior executives, turning around troubled operations, and providing overall operational direction to increase revenue, enhance employee performance, and improve customer experience. Certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt Specialties: Corporate Strategy, Operational Excellence, Lean Six Sigma, Operational Management, Business Intelligence, Scorecards / Dashboards And Performance Management, Project Execution, Strategic Sourcing, Change Management, Building Teams, Turing Around Troubled Operations, And Leading In Ambiguous Environments.

Over 20-year hands-on experience in all facets of product launch activities and building quality compliance organizations for seed-funded startups to billion-dollar companies. Develop regulatory strategies and catalyze organizational changes to support accelerated growth. Deliver multi-million-dollar improvements with highest efficiency and lowest cost. In-depth understanding of how to orient business processes to provide excellent customer care and retention.