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Finance

Edward Cooper, Jr. - Former Chief Finance and Risk Officer, Pruksa Real Estate Company Ltd. 

Edward Cooper HeadshotEd Cooper is a retired Senior Executive with broad based experience in Corporate and Retail Banking, Corporate Finance, Risk Management, and M&A.  His experiences are across multiple businesses, customer segments, industries, and countries.  Director experience at listed (Hong Kong and Thailand) and non-listed companies in multiple countries.

In 2014 Ed retired from Pruksa Real Estate PCL, Bangkok, Thailand.  During his four years there he was a Director and Chief Finance & Risk Officer.  He was a member of the Executive, Risk Management and International Investment Committees.  Pruksa is Thailand’s largest residential real estate developer and manufacturer with products including town houses, single houses, and condos.

Prior to Pruksa, Ed was President of AIG Consumer Finance Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of AIG.  The Consumer Finance Group owned and operated banks and finance companies in Hong Kong, India, China, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Poland, Mexico and Argentina.  The businesses were all sold or liquidated in 2009-10 to repay loans from the Federal Reserve.

Prior to AIG, Ed had a 30 year career at Chase Manhattan Bank, retiring in 2000 as Senior Vice President of Asia Retail Banking.  Ed held numerous positions in retail and wholesale banking and lived in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo for 16 years during his Chase career.

Skip Frantz - Founder  Triton Strategy Partners

Skip Frantz HeadshotAfter graduating with honors from Ohio State Law School, where he served on the Law Journal and was elected to the Order of the Coif, Skip started his career by joining a major law firm in Cleveland, Ohio. During the ensuing 12 years that he was affiliated with that firm, Skip specialized in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities, and business organization matters. He became a partner in 1986.

In 1990, Skip joined one of his clients, Alltel Corporation, in Little Rock, Arkansas, as general counsel. In the course of the ensuing 16 years, Skip took on a number of additional responsibilities at Alltel, including business development and mergers and acquisitions, wholesale revenue, government and regulatory affairs, corporate communications, human resources, and administrative services. He served on the board of USTelecom, a telecom trade association headquartered in Washington, DC, for a number of years and as its Chairman for two years.

In 2006, when Alltel spun off Windstream Corporation as a separate public company, Skip became Chairman of Windstream and served in that capacity until 2010. Thereafter, Skip continued to serve as a director of Windstream and as Chairman of its Audit Committee until 2014 when Skip became Chairman of Communications Sales and Leasing, Inc (NASDAQ: CSAL), a publicly-traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Little Rock, Arkansas, that Windstream spun off as a separate public company. Skip currently serves as Chairman of its Board, as Chairman of its Governance Committee, and as a member of its Audit Committee and Compensation Committee.

In 2007, Skip co-founded a community bank in Little Rock of which Skip served as Chairman from its inception until 2014 when he sold his interest in the bank. Skip and his wife moved to Ponte Vedra Beach from Little Rock in 2009. Since then, Skip has been involved as a board member of several companies and non-profit organizations in Northeast Florida. Skip has been married to his wife, Karen, since 1987. They have two adult children.

Danny Goldberger - Business Advisor and Speaker, Business Learning Institute MACPA 

Danny Goldberger HeadshotDanny L. Goldberger, CPA started his accounting career with Touche Ross in 1980 and joined Grant Thornton as a senior associate in 1983. He became a partner in 1996 and retired from the firm in 2015. During his 35 years in public accounting, Danny served clients in a wide array of industries, primarily in manufacturing, distribution, service, and technology. With a knack for making each client feel they are his number one priority, Danny has built long-standing loyal and successful business relationships.

In addition to accounting and auditing, Danny has extensive experience working with closely held companies, acting in an advisory role in connection with all aspects of business operations. Specific areas include the negotiation and structuring of mergers, acquisitions and divestitures, assistance with financing, leasing, and insurance transactions, development of the accounting and finance function, and planning for business succession and estate matters.

Danny is a teaching instructor for local and national training programs. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland and his Master of Science in Finance from Loyola University in Maryland.

David Green - Start-up Entrepreneur 

David Green HeadshotDavid has started various companies with 3 that are currently active: Ironmen LLC (early childhood education/real estate development), Beyond Homehealthcare (home healthcare), and SPLIFE (social media platform for athletes). He is currently Chairman of the Board at Beyond, as well as the founder of Ironmen and SPLIFE.

Ed Grenadier - Partner, LBA Group

Ed Grenadier HeadshotEd Grenadier, CPA, has over 45 years of experience providing professional accounting consulting to businesses and individuals in Northeast Florida. After serving as Director and Managing Partner of his own firms, Ed joined The LBA Group as a partner in 2003, merging his practice into LBA’s. The LBA Group is the largest locally owned accounting, consulting and wealth advisory firm based in Northeast Florida employing over 100 employees. 

 
Ed’s extensive experience includes serving as an expert witness and consultant in numerous trial cases and consulting to corporate clients on sale and purchase issues, financing, refinancing and restructuring. He is highly knowledgeable about proactive and strategic estate and tax planning issues, as well as the valuations of businesses, estates and marital assets.

 
Ed received his bachelor’s degree from Jacksonville University and now serves on numerous local boards and committees. He is a diehard Yankees fan, and he and his wife Ann enjoy running, cycling, skiing and traveling, as well as spending time with their three children and five grandchildren.

Abel Harding - North Florida Market President, IBERIABANK-First Horizon

Abel Harding HeadshotRecent Work Experience

North Florida Market President, IBERIABANK-First Horizon (2015-Present)

  • Leads the bank's commercial, business banking, private banking and retail banking teams in the greater Jacksonville market.

Senior Private Banker, Wells Fargo (2013-2015)

  • Served as a credit advisor to high net-worth families. Developed solutions for investment real estate acquisitions and provided jumbo residential mortgages, lines of credit and other specialty credit products.

Commercial Lender/ Vice President, First Citizen Bank (2004- 2009, 2011-2013)

  • Served as a solutions provider for small and medium-sized businesses seeking to acquire real estate, equipment, or expand operations. Clients included: religious institutions, medical practices, manufacturers and professional service providers.

Director of Communications, City of Jacksonville (2011)

  • Served as senior advisor to the mayor. Developed communications strategies for the mayor of the nation's 11th largest city and managed a communications department of 15 professionals that spanned numerous city departments.

Journalist, Florida Times-Union (2009-2011)

  • Award-winning reporter, covered politics and business and investigative stories. Wrote twice-a-week columns on local and state politics and appeared regularly on First Coast News, and WJCT.

Nathaniel Herring Jr. - Area Developer, Florida Clubstore Outlet LLC

Nathaniel Herring HeadshotNathaniel Herring Jr. is a senior executive with more than twenty years of demonstrated success in commercial, private and consumer banking. Mr. Herring began his career with Wachovia (now Wells Fargo), serving in a variety of positions including Business Banking Relationship Manager, Director of Business Banking & Senior Vice President in Tampa Bay, and Director of Retail Banking & Senior Vice President for Eastern Georgia. More recently, he served as Senior Vice President and City President for Fifth Third Bank. Over the years, Mr. Herring has overseen an employee base of up to 750 and exercised P&L responsibility for up to $125MM in revenues and $3.3 BB in assets. 

 

Mr. Herring recently embarked on a new professional and entrepreneurial venture with Clubstore Outlet. He remains active in the community serving on the Governing Board of Baptist Beaches Hospital, the Business Advisory Council for the Coggin College of Business, the Board of Directors for United Way of Northeast Florida as well as involvement with Hand of Hope Missions.

Courtney Hughes-O'Connell - Vice President, HR, The Adecco Group

Courtney HeadshotCourtney specializes in optimizing organizations by aligning human capital capabilities with organizational culture and strategy. She has proven success in partnering with leaders from various industries to quickly assess and execute on organizational change.

Courtney has been recognized as a leader who takes the time to understand her client’s needs and who possesses the courage and finesse to guide leaders and teams through transformational change. Her powerful intuition blended with her practical business experience creates a valuable partnership between herself and the client. Courtney is skilled at cutting to the heart of issues and using her experience, judgment and creativity to solve them.

Courtney’s passion is around global human capital needs and challenges. Her global perspective and nearly 20 years of progressive experience at several Fortune 500 corporations gives her the unique opportunity to apply proven human capital strategies to the everchanging landscape of the global workforce.

Courtney continues to be in demand for her expertise in: strategic workforce planning, organizational design for businesses at each stage of the business cycle, leader effectiveness, team building and conflict management, and building a company culture that attracts and retains the best talent.

And, best yet, Courtney brings high energy and an element of fun to all of her projects.

Business & Organizational Leadership Experience

Courtney currently serves as the Vice President, Human Resources Business Partner at The Adecco Group, the world’s largest temporary and permanent staffing organization headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. In this role, Courtney heads up the Human Resources group for the $1B Modis brand. Her primary focus is on: organizational development, performance management, compensation design, executive development and change management.

Prior to this role, Courtney supported the IT division of Florida Blue, and spent 10-years as a Human Resources Executive with Bank of America where she formed strategic partnership with business leaders to create and enable business strategy through the most effective and efficient use of human capital. Earlier roles included HR for ADT’s customer service call center and collections group as well as a junior HR generalist at Decutsche Bank on Wall St., NYC, supporting sales and trading.

Courtney lives in Florida, USA, with her husband, two sons and their two (big!) dogs.

Michael Hume - President & Chief Executive Officer, W&O 

Michael Hume is the President and Chief Executive Officer for W&O. Before this position at W&O he served as the Chief Operating Officer. Prior to this role, Mr. Hume served as the Vice President of Business Development, where he focused on acquisitions and expansion opportunities. Mr. Hume first came to W&O in 1992, serving as the branch manager in Long Beach, CA. He left in 2000 for 7 years to pursue other interests, but returned to W&O in December of 2007.

Mr. Hume began his career as a loan officer in the banking industry, working closely with privately held business owners. Through this direct experience, the opportunity to join W&O presented itself. Michael received his Bachelor's degree in Finance from Babson College and went on to earn his MBA in International Business.

Michael has been involved as a Big Brother and a Junior Achievement mentor. He also supports the Mary Knoll Mission and is involved with the local Ronald McDonald House and the ARC of Jacksonville. Michael and Sally, his wife of over 25 years, have 4 children and stay active with their busy lives and many extracurricular activities. Michael especially enjoys playing golf and tennis and rooting for his team from Boston.

Joey Janssen - Chief Employee Benefits Specialist, Benefit Advisors

Joey Janssen Headshot"Benefit Advisors allows me to make an impact in my community. Day by day, business by business, we partner with our clients to build benefits, to engage our community, and to change lives."

Joey’s lifelong passion has been connecting people. His belief that collaboratively, our community can build something great have allowed him to flourish at Benefit Advisors. Connecting clients with the right support team is at the heart of all he does.

Born in Orlando, Joey is a rare native Floridian who may love the Red Sox, but would never trade in his flip-flops for snow boots. A graduate from the University of North Florida, Joey and his wife Adrienne live in Jacksonville while raising their two young daughters.

Dedicated to challenging the status quo, Joey can often be found on his computer scouring professional literature at all hours of the day to learn everything he can about his profession. Or he’s setting his fantasy football line-up. Sometimes it’s hard to tell.

Jason Keen, CPA, CCIF - CIO/Corporate Controller, Superior Construction Company 

Jason HeadshotJason has been in the construction industry for over ten years in both technology and accounting roles.

He obtain a bachelors of Management Information Systems from the University of Memphis, a Master of Science in Finance from Vanderbilt University, and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jason expertise is Reporting, Analysis, Data Visualization, System Implementation, and Process Change.

He has published with CFMA, ABC, and Construction Business Owner. He also does public speaking and webinars about technology and reporting in the construction industry.

Faris Kishek - McKennson, Lean Six Sigma Black Belt

Faris Kishek HeadshotFaris Kishek is a certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt at McKesson Corporation, a Fortune 500 company. McKesson distributes pharmaceuticals and provides health information technology, medical supplies and care management tools. Faris has worked high complexity, cross-functional process improvement projects which generated millions in financial savings, mentored and coached Green Belts on award-winning projects, and trained hundreds of Yellow Belt and Green Belts on Lean and Six Sigma methodologies. Also, Faris is an Adjunct Instructor at Florida State College at Jacksonville where he teaches in the areas of Project Management, Logistics, Operations Management, and Supply Chain Management. In 2013, Faris achieved a Bachelor in Business Administration degree, with a concentration in Transportation and Logistics, from the University of North Florida. He was a board member on the Transportation and Logistics Society. In 2015, Faris achieve a Master of Business Administration degree from Jacksonville University.

William Koch - Managing Partner, Northwestern Mutual

William Koch HeadshotBill Koch is Managing Partner for Northwestern Mutual in their Jacksonville, Florida office. The office’s territory has expanded from Jacksonville and Gainesville to include Savannah, Tallahassee and Pensacola, as well.

He began his career in financial services in 1986 as a Financial Representative with Northwestern Mutual in Indianapolis, Indiana.  He held several positions within the Company before he was appointed as a Managing Partner in 1998; he has overseen the growth and development of a field force from 47 Financial Representatives to 90 Financial Representatives and Financial Advisors.  His territory serves over 40,000 clients with $3 billion in assets under management and $17 billion of life insurance in force.

Mr. Koch holds a bachelor’s degree in Business from Indiana University.

Laurie Lee - The Legal Department For Service Professionals, PA CEO/Attorney 

Laurie Lee HeadshotLaurie started her law firm in 2015 recognizing the need for a different kind of law firm; she wanted to share knowledge and create long-term relationships with clients as their trusted advisor changing the narrative of attorney-client relationships. Laurie’s deep understanding that relationships are essential to the success of the business owner; whether it’s relationships between owners, clients and customers, or community partners, a business must develop and adopt good business practices. In 2019, Elevate Business Law, PA was rebranded as The Legal Department for Service Professionals, PA. The new identity capitalizes on Laurie’s desire to serve others through the exchange of information and relationship building. 

 
Focusing on this type of client drives her continued pursuit of innovative ways to educate and serve her clients. The SBA selected Laurie as the 2019 North Florida Woman Owned Business of the Year by the SBA; an award recognizing her work supporting and advocating for small businesses. Laurie is married to her college sweetheart, Andy. Andy is a yacht broker with St. Barts Yachts and owns a yacht management company called Guardianship. They have two daughters who keep them very busy! Simany is 13 years old and attends LaVilla School of the Arts studying vocal and piano. Faeryn is 15 and attends The Bolles School. Both girls are year-round swimmers on the Bolles Sharks Swim Team and their parents just love all day swim meets that start at 7:00 am on weekends. They have a miniature dapple dachshund named Tootsie who rules the house.

Dan Martin, Senior Finance Executive - KPMG

Dan Martin HeadshotStrategic and forward-thinking Senior Finance Executive with extensive experience leveraging advanced accounting acumen to enhance financial operations and drive business growth across a dynamic roster of client industries. Proven track record of evaluating and responding to rapidly changing financial and regulatory environments through work with SEC reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. Possesses diverse subject-matter expertise in all aspects of accounting and auditing services needed to achieve firm goals for financial reporting and auditing. Sterling history of achievement at two of the Big Four auditors, leading public-accounting projects that received optimal reviews from PCAOB. Noted leader adept at recruiting and mentoring cross-functional teams to ensure successful operations. Certified Public Accountant in the State of Florida with MBA from the University of North Florida.

Areas of Expertise
Strategic Planning – Executive Communications – Financial Modeling – Internal Controls – P&L -SEC Reporting - GAAP – GAAS Risk Management – Forecasting & Budgeting-Sarbanes-Oxley Internal Controls - Project Management - Audit Compliance Financial Reporting – Cash-Flow Analysis - Corporate Taxation – Team-Building & Leadership

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

SENIOR MANAGER – AUDIT & ASSURANCE
Recruited to direct audit engagements for dynamic roster of clients across multimillion-dollar enterprises. Collaborate with C-level executives to identify client needs in order to design and implement service offerings and solutions. Lead multiple audit teams in-parallel, ensuring accuracy and timeliness of client engagements. Generate detailed audit reports citing potential performance improvements, technical accounting solutions, internal controls, and operational challenges, presenting all findings to audit committees and external Boards of Directors. Recommend improvements to public-filings including 10K, 10Q, S-1, and S-8 in compliance with GAAP and SEC reporting standards. Counsel internal-audit directors in opportunities for improvement to risk-based audit plans, identifying service gaps and recommended changes to internal- control processes. Prepare accurate GAAP financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, equity statements, cash-flow statements, and additional footnotes. Research and analyze complex accounting and auditing issues related to Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, IFRS standards, internal controls, stock-based compensation, equity transactions, revenue recognition, and inventory costing to determine resolutions that mitigate procedural problems.

  • Nominated and served over six years as team member of National Audit Quality Review Team which is part of KPMG National Office, rating peer KPMG audit engagements for quality and compliance with firm standards and best practices.
  • Spearheaded KPMG recruiting efforts as Recruiting Manager at the University of North Florida, interviewing students, delivering presentations, and serving as on-site representative for recruiting events.
  • Served as Audit Team Leader during PCAOB and KPMG peer reviews of client engagements, consistently resulting in no material findings and top-flight review scores from PCAOB and KPMG National Quality Review Teams.
  • Improved financial-statement audit results by designing internal process that tracked engagement progress against forecasted budgets and project pipelines.
  • Awarded Jacksonville office Community Service Award for two consecutive years.
  • Selected as KPMG National Educational Instructor, instructed courses for over four years as part of KPMG National Office.
  • Representative client list includes: Publix Supermarkets (fortune 100 Company), Fanatics, Fidelity National Financial, Citi Trends, Tree of Life, Winn-Dixie, Lender Processing Systems & Consolidated Tomoka.


MANAGER – AUDIT & ASSURANCE, SENIOR AUDITOR, SENIOR ASSISTANT 
Engaged through a rapid series of promotions to manage audit and assurance engagements. Reviewed, researched, and generated narratives and resolutions for reporting and disclosure issues related to 10K and 10Q reports. Led presentations with C-level executives and Boards of Directors to communicate technical accounting and audit issues, as well as solutions needed to improve processes and mitigate further escalations. Supported SAS 70 internal-control review engagements focused on detailed documentation and recommendations for financial- and computer-control improvements. Orchestrated due diligence on several engagements, overseeing comprehensive acquisition activities and directing purchase-price reviews. Delivered performance reviews of audit staff, identifying professional-development needs and counseling career- development action plans.

  • Selected as Jacksonville Learning Advisory Coordinator for two consecutive years, leading national accounting and auditing training, as well as coordinating multiple learning seminars for internal staff.
  • Reduced volume of audit hours necessary per engagement by reprioritizing audit events to focus on key risk areas, dramatically improving overall efficiency.
  • Improved comprehensive audit activities by optimizing budget-forecast procedures, staff scheduling, and client relationships.
  • Representative client list includes: Rayonier, Handy Way & Lil’ Champ Food Stores, Ring Power Corporation, Ryan’s Steakhouses, Florida Rock and King & Prince Seafood.

Samuel Peluso, Retired Director, Risk Manager - Merrill Lynch and Co.

Samuel Peluso HeadshotExperience:

Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation • Director/Manager of Securities Based Lending Department, Jacksonville, FL

Responsible for managing and leading the loan pledge process for MLCC's mortgage customers.

Director, Risk Manager

Secondary Marketing Department, Merrill Lynch Credit Corp, Jacksonville, FL

Designed and executed hedging strategies for mortgage pipeline and warehouse.

  • Created new Risk Management function within Merrill Lynch Credit Corporation. Responsible for developing a risk plan and trading limits.
  • Successfully managed one billion dollar long and short hedge position.
  • Achieved zero trading errors for years consecutively.

Director BCC, Head of Trading

Broadcort Capital Corp., Fixed Income & Equity Trading Desk, New York, NY

Coordinated and executed orders for BCC's introducing Firms, as well as Citation soft dollar accounts.

  • Recognized as one of the top three soft dollar firms on Wall Street.

Vice President, Head of Trading

Government Retail Trading Desk, New York, NY

Managed short and long position limits and Profit and Loss for Trading Desk.

  • Managed and trained six traders.
  • Never had a year where the desk lost money.

Vice President, National Product Manager

Corporate, Government, and Mortgage Bonds, New York, NY

Responsible for coordinating each of the trading desks with the institutional sales force.

  • Staffed, managed, and trained 18 specialists to market desk inventory to Merrill's accounts.

Vice President, National Sales/Marketing Manager

Federal Financing Department, New York, NY

Directed the national sales/marketing and origination effort for all Federal Financing Programs, including SBA, Farm Credit, and Title XI Ship Financing.

Assistant Vice President

Government Securities Trading, New York, NY

As a Market Specialist, key area of responsibility was to expand government coverage nationally.

  • Developed and conducted a 5-day Bond Seminar for Merrill Fixed Income sales force and clients.
  • Trained over 2000 portfolio managers representing Banks, Savings &Loans, Money Managers, Insurance Companies and International Governments.
  • Created a highly effective 15-minute training tape for Ginny Mae securities for sales force and clients.

Retail Sales Department, Newark, NJ

Responsible for successfully developing and maintaining accounts at the retail level.

  • Ranked in top quintile for both production and opening new accounts.

Education and Licensure and Military Service:

Xavier University, Cincinnati, OH

  • Bachelor of Science; Economic Major, Accounting Minor

Licenses

  • Series 7, Series 63, Series 66, Series 24 General Principal

United States Naval Officer

Professional Associations:

  • Member Merrill's Quarter Century Club
  • Member of Board of FINRA Arbitrators
  • Member of the Navy League of the U.S.
  • Past Member of Foster Care Citizen Review Panel in Jacksonville

Robert Riva - Holland & Knights LLP, Partner 

Robert E. Riva, Jr., Esq. is a partner at the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP where he is a member of the Real Estate, Corporate and Sustainable Development practice groups in the firm's Jacksonville office. Mr. Riva practices in the areas of real estate financing and restructuring, development, leasing, acquisitions and dispositions. He also represents clients in complex finance transactions, including loans guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. In addition, Mr. Riva has experience assisting clients in a variety of corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions, asset sales and corporate governance.

Sean Shapiro - CEO, Reliant Roofing

Sean HeadshotSean grew up in South Florida and went to the University of Florida, where he majored in Real Estate. He’s honored to be a recent recipient of the Gator 100 Award, which honors UF Alumni’s fastest growing businesses. He has vast experience in real estate development and worked for one of the leading acquisition firms in Northeast Florida. Ever the entrepreneur, Sean’s first successful business was in residential renovations, and his business managed over 200 projects. Through this experience he met Cameron, and they decided it was time to fill a void in the roofing industry and begin a business that would provide premium quality and service.


It’s Sean’s goal to provide Reliant Roofing’s customers with the utmost in professionalism, from the first consultation all the way to the finished product. He strives daily to make Reliant Roofing the gold standard in the industry.

Sean and his wife Natalie, a teacher, live in Jacksonville Beach with their black lab. He enjoys spending time at the beach, boating and playing sports such as flag football, basketball and softball. He’s also a craft beer aficionado who can sometimes be found brewing his own batch.

Tara Showalter 

Tara Showalter Headshot

Liza Wrobel - Internship Development Office and Director of Training, Northwestern Mutual

Northwestern Mutual offers a personalized approach to uncovering financial solutions tailored to each client's individual needs. 

Liza oversees the internship program and training program, and identifies and selects students for Northwestern Mutual’s internship program. For the past 20 years, Vaultguide has recognized Northwestern Mutual as having a Top 10 internship program. Recently the Jacksonville office had 3 students from UNF ranked in the Top 10 in the Southern Region and Top 100 across the nation. 

Liza’s 15 years’ experience also includes, Director of Special Events at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and a Child Life Specialist at Wolfson Children’s Hospital. Ms. Wrobel has a BS in Human Development & Family Studies from Auburn University.

Mike Zaccardi - RTO Resource Specialist and Trader, The Energy Authority (TEA)

Zaccardi HeadshotMike Zaccardi is an RTO Resource Specialist and Energy Trader at The Energy Authority (TEA) in Jacksonville, Florida. TEA provides public power utilities access to dedicated resources and advanced technology systems, allowing them to respond competitively in the changing power marketplace. TEA has offices in Bellevue, WA and Portland, OR in additional to its Jacksonville headquarters. Mr. Zaccardi interned for TEA in 2011 as an undergraduate student, then began his full-time position with TEA in 2014.

Mr. Zaccardi has a BBA in Finance a BBA in Financial Services from the University of North Florida as well as an MBA completed in 2016 at UNF. He also holds the Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designated from the Market Technicians Association. He has partnered with UNF Professors Dr. Oliver Schnusenberg and Dr. Reinhold Lamb for finance research papers. Mr. Zaccardi has been a guest presenter to Dr. Lamb’s Security Analysis and Portfolio Management class on the topic of Technical Analysis since 2010.

Jim Simak, Harris Computer

Jim Simak HeadshotAs Senior Executive Vice President, Jim is responsible for Harris Computer’s Innovation Strategy and Organic Growth Initiatives. Jim works closely with over 40 business units to deliver new innovative products and services in diverse software markets.

Jim brings more than 25 years of experience in commercial software development, innovation, business development and strategy. He joined Harris Computer in 2008 as CEO of System Innovators Inc. Jim continued his leadership role as General Manager within the acquired System Innovators business unit. In 2011, he added responsibility for the Harris’ local government ERP and CAMA business lines. In 2014, Jim led M&A and growth for Harris’ public safety business portfolio as Senior Executive Vice President.

Jim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh and continued graduate studies in Artificial Intelligence at the University of Texas at Arlington. He earned his MBA from Jacksonville University in 2007 and his Doctorate in Business Administration in 2018 with concentrations in Economics and Entrepreneurship. Prior to joining Harris, he held leadership positions in several startups as well as Fortune 500 companies including IBM, Computer Science Corporation, ECI Telecom and General Dynamics.