Management

Maryam Afshar - Principal, Mahoir Inc.

Dr. Maryam Afshar is the Principal at MAHOIR Inc. an innovation consulting firm. She has led new product development projects and managed teams in qualitative and quantitative research for many years. She has also taught graduate and undergraduate college courses in design and design methodology. Through consulting and coaching Dr. Afshar empowers business leaders to innovate and lead competition in their market.

Sudipto Banerjee - Vice President of HR Operations and Services, Acosta Sales and Marketing

Currently Providing solutions for strategic initiatives to transform businesses to achieve operational excellence. Accountable for the delivery of HR Services to all business that includes HR & Payroll Operations, HR Technology, Compliance, M&A and Governance leveraging technology, process and analytics.

Prior to Acosta Sudipto was the Global Director of HR Services for Campbell’s where he championed the implementation of major HR initiatives.

Prior to that he was an executive consultant with IBM / formerly PwC advisory services and was responsible for many major HR initiatives for fortune 500 clients. 

Pat Baxter - Dr. Pat Baxter & Associates LLC, Managing Consultant and Founder

As an influential thought leader and organizational consultant with a global view, Pat uses her extensive coaching and consulting experience to lead high-impact culture change while retaining valuable talent. She works with diverse leaders in financial services, IT, retail, transportation and pharmaceuticals, delivering results through targeted leadership development, assessment-based coaching, and focused team mobilization.

Jorge Bertran - Retired Partner, PURCEN, Brands & Products, LLC

Jorge is an entrepreneurial-spirited professional with more than 30 years of proven business leadership, as both a consultant and an executive, with extensive international marketing experience throughout Europe, U.S., Latin America, New Zealand and Australia. He was born in Cuba, his parents, political exiles, moved to the USA in 1960. He grew up in Miami and Puerto Rico where his parents eventually settled. He attended College Preparatory Boarding School in Puerto Rico.

Jorge holds a Master of Science MSc - International Management degree from ISCTE Business School, University of Lisbon (Lisbon, Portugal) and a Bachelor of Science, Marketing Management degree from Whitman School of Management, Syracuse University, New York. He also completed the Consultant Development Program, from the Management Centre Europe (Brussels, Belgium) and the Advanced Executive Development Program, from the London Business School, London UK. He is the author of the book, “Competencies for International Managers”.

During his early career years, he progressed through positions of increased responsibility and scope with major consumer product companies, such as Director of New Products Latin America (Coca-Cola Corporate Marketing Division, Atlanta GA), General Manager (Kraft General Foods, Argentina and Chile), Marketing & Trade Director (Colgate-Palmolive Co., Argentina, New York & San Juan PR) and Senior Product Manager, Nestle-Libby’s Company responsible for the Puerto Rican and the USA Hispanic markets.

In 1996 Jorge returned to Europe to become Managing Director of Fonterra Dairy Group (Anchor Foods), the multinational dairy cooperative owned by New Zealand dairy farmers that account for 30% of world’s dairy exports. He was based in Lisbon, Portugal, where he established and directed business operations for all non-UK consumer-branded businesses throughout Spain, France, Italy, Belgium, and the rest of Europe. In 1999 he moved to Swindon, the UK as the European Category Director, New Zealand Dairy Board. Jorge was promoted to lead the complete startup and launch of a new product line throughout several European countries while retaining full responsibility for Portuguese operations.

In 2000 Jorge returned to Portugal as Consultant and Principal of Business and Marketing Consulting Group, a private consulting practice that provided business development and marketing strategies for venture capitalists and corporations throughout Portugal, Spain, and Latin America.

In 2001 Jorge was hired as a Partner by PURCEN, Brands & Products LLC, full-service sales, and marketing agency that provide end-to-end services for clients in the consumer packaged goods industry in the Iberian Peninsula. Clients included General Mills, Palmer’s, Rapid White, and private-label companies. In that position, he was part of the team that took the organization from the ground floor and made it into a thriving distribution and marketing company with 2011 annual sales of approximately €19 million (U$25 million).

In 2015 Jorge moved with his family back to the USA. He is married to Hye Yon Pak, originally from South Korea and they have a 10-year son, Lucas.

Since 2017, Jorge is a visiting lecturer at the ISCTE Business School Graduate School, International Management Program in Lisbon, Portugal. He lectures in Cross-Cultural Management and how culture affects ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility. In 2019 Jorge was the 2019 Keynote Speaker at the 31st Annual International Academy of Business Disciplines Annual Conference in Jacksonville.

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

Ed 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.

Barbara L. Cotes - CSX Manager Learning and Development 

Barbara Cotes is an award winning Instructional Designer with a demonstrated history of innovation in the transportation and logistics industry. She currently supports CSX as a Manager of Training and Development focusing on intermodal, transportation and logistics. She has a ten year history of implementing blended learning, automation, simulation and leadership into the CSX safety and workforce strategies. Barbara Cotes is a retired Navy Veteran and holds a Master's of Aeronautical Science from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with specializations in Adult Education and Instructional Design.

Stephen De Bever - President & CEO, Standard Precast Inc.

Stephen has 20+ years in executive positions with sales, manufacturing, distribution and construction related business success, including P&L responsibility for private, public and PE held companies based in both the US and Europe. Accountable for multi-site manufacturing operations, focused on creating shareholder value through product innovation, sales growth and operational profitability.

Owned by private equity, SPI is a concrete precast manufacturing company with operations located in both Jacksonville and Tallahassee. The Company serves the North Florida area producing products for site contractors, municipalities and private developers in the applications of storm and sanitary infrastructure. The Company started in 1965, and recently sold to a private equity firm. Stephen is commissioned with the objective to grow the business organically and acquisitively for the current investment partners, and successfully transition it through a sales transaction under new ownership in the future.

Nick Doyle - Area President, Gallagher Affinity

Nick started his career as a business consultant for IBM’s Hong Kong practice supporting website optimization, attribution modeling, marketing, web analytics, and e-commerce implementations. While with IBM, he was engaged in system integration testing, business user support, client education, and consulting on the IBM WebSphere Commerce and CoreMetrics platforms. Upon joining DTPH, Nick implemented modern web analytics and reporting, and enhanced technology usage across the insurance business lines. He was responsible for the consolidation and quantification of all future IT projects, including buy or build analysis, IT project management, social media management and ongoing optimization.

Nick moved into a managing director and COO role with DTPH in 2016. In this capacity, he managed the planning and build-out of DTPH’s proprietary IP, including solutions to enhance the Company’s InsurTech business. Nick was successful in improving the site-specific conversion rate from 7.67% to 14.53% (an 89% increase).

Since March 2018, as CEO and Chief Revenue Officer Nick has primary responsibility for revenue growth through 1) deeper penetration into DTPH’s current health and wellness classes; 2) the addition of multiple new classes with similar risk profiles and similar premium levels to its current program; and 3) expansion into new higher premium classes potentially including doctors of chiropractic leveraging DTPH’s 60-year old Chiropractic Economics franchise and other similar classes (e.g., podiatry, dentistry, audiology, etc.) utilizing a content and audience acquisition or joint venture strategy. Nick has overall responsibility for setting strategy for all marketing channels including SEO, PPC, social media, email, affinity / affiliate, ad specialty, etc.

David Emanuel - Chief Human Resources Officer, APR Energy

David Emanuel is the Principal at Root to Route, LLC., and the Director of the Florida Human Resources Executive Council.  Mr. Emanuel began his corporate career at Citigroup. He has also held leadership positions for CIT, Browne and AEG, Peter Kiewit & Sons, and BCC Mechanical, Inc.

Mr. Emanuel is active in the Jacksonville Community where he serves on the Business Advisory Council of the Coggin College of Business at the University or North Florida. David graduated from Wittenberg University in Springfield OH in 1982, where he studied History and Pre-law.

Skip Frantz - Founder  Triton Strategy Partners

After 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.

Ernesto Garcia - Director Process Engineering, Crowley Maritime

Crowley Maritime Corporation is a U.S. owned and operated marine solutions, energy and logistic services company that provides services in domestic and international markets through four business units: Crowley Logistics, Crowley Shipping, Crowley Solutions and Crowley Fuels.

Ernesto leads a group of engineers, statisticians, and information architects that perform Process transformation, improvement and innovation for the business units of the company.

John Graham - Founder, Triton Strategy Partners

John Graham is the founder of Triton Strategy Partners working with high-growth companies to maximize B2C and B2B channels. John helps clients create and align with a brand framework, channel strategy and organizational structure. Prior to founding Triton Strategy Partners, John worked as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Align Technology, Inc. He also held similar CMO positions at Glaxosmithkline Consumer Healthcare and Johnson & Johnson. 

Pamela Grey, Ed.D., Branch Manager & Financial Advisor - Raymond James

Pamela Grey serves as Branch Manager for an independent financial practice for Raymond James in Jacksonville, FL. She has a well-established practice serving individual clients, service organizations and businesses in a region spanning 10 states. Her community experiences includes non-for-profit board membership, service on area committees and she has a passion for setting up Donor Advised Funds for charitable giving locally and globally.

Pamela has a B.S. in Mass Communications and English as well as her Masters in Human Resource Economics from the University of Utah. She earned her doctorate in higher education with an emphasis in public administration at North Carolina State University. She has served as a Dean for Information Technology, a Director for Distance Learning and had the honor of becoming an Assistant Scholar for Higher Education at the University of Florida. She currently serves as Branch Manager for a Raymond James office established in 2004, has 18 years of experience in the financial services industry and holds her Series 7, Series 9 & 10, Series 63 and 66.

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

Recent 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.

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

Courtney 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

"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.

Charles Johnston - Owner, HeartWired Digital Solutions

Charles is a self-proclaimed and well earned "digital ninja". Charles after spending the last few too many decades in the IT industry started a boutique web design agency called HeartWired Digital Solutions, where they focus on putting compassion back into technology. Charles has a heart for nonprofits and small businesses that are doing good in their local or global communities. After his first of what has now been many mission trips, Charles knew that he had to use his gifts, his talents, and his passion for technology for good. Rather than just offering web design services, HeartWired provides web design and technology solutions with heart.

Hugh H. Jones, Jr. - Retired Chairman & CEO, Barnett Bank of Jacksonville

Hugh Jones is the retired chairman and CEO of the former Barnett Bank of Jacksonville. Following his retirement from Barnett Bank in 1993, he then served as the president of the Baptist Health Systems Foundation for five years.

Mr. Jones began his banking career with Chemical Bank in New York and was promoted to leadership positions with Chemical Bank before joining Barnett Bank of Jacksonville.

Mr. Jones has a long history of active volunteerism in the community. Among his many activities, he founded the Korean Heart program which arranges and provides heart surgery for Korean children with congenital heart problems and the Korean Caring Foundation that helps organize fundraising efforts to support education and medical needs for Korean children. Other beneficiaries of his time and talent include the I.M. Sulzbacher Center, the Ronald McDonald House of Jacksonville, UNF Foundation and Wolfson Children’s Hospital Center for Pediatric Cardiology. Mr. Jones holds degrees from Lafayette College and New York University and is a graduate of the Stonier School of Banking at Rutgers University.

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

Jason 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 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

Bill 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 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. 

Frank Lee- Founder and CEO, PreVisionX 

Frank Lee’s record is in the successful leadership, sales and delivery of blue chip professional services and technology businesses - including the creation of new businesses and many successful turnarounds. He has worked in many different countries including the USA, Canada, UK, Russia, India, France and Colombia. His responsibilities have included billions of dollars in sales and the management of thousands of people.

As an entrepreneur, Frank has founded several technology companies. After successfully selling his last logistics technology start-up, Frank created PreVisionX as a new cloud and smartphone-based mobility platform with the objective of transforming last mile transportation, logistics, on-demand services and supply chain collaboration. Frank also runs a global training consultancy that supports senior executives from global professional services organizations in their interactions with C-Suite clients.

Frank moved from the UK to Jacksonville in 2015

Samuel Lopez, Surface Warfare Officer - United States Navy 

A Bronx, New York native, LT Lopez enlisted in the Navy in August 1995 as an Electronics Technician reporting onboard USS John F. Kennedy CV-67 in April 1997 completing two deployments in support of Operation Southern Watch as a Link 11/16 and Communications Technician. In August 2001, he reported to Southeast Regional Calibration Center in NAS Jacksonville calibrating and repairing test equipment. As a First Class Petty Officer, he applied for and was selected to the Seaman -to-Admiral 21 program in April 2004. He attended University of North Florida and graduated with a Bachelor in Business Administration. He also received a Bachelor from Florida A&M University in Electronics Engineering Technology, both graduating with honors.

Kevin C. Mackiewicz – SVP | Sr. Client Partner Financial Services Group, Merkle

Jerry Macnamara - CEO, JerryMacnamara.com 

For over twenty years, Jerry Macnamara has a proven track record of executing strategies that drive growth. His passion for understanding the business of business, adhering to a strong value system and living the social compact to serve the community are fundamental to fulfillment.

As Vice President of Operations at Soccer Post, a soccer specialty retailer, he helped grow the business from a local player with 1 location to a national scope with 35 stores in thirteen states. He wrote the 220 page Operations Manual, developed and conducted training programs and implemented systems to control the development when sales accelerated from $5.9MM to $15MM in 18 months. Entrepreneur magazine recognized the company as a Franchise 500.

As a Senior Sales and Marketing Consultant to an international apparel company, Jerry lived and worked abroad where he was certified as an expert in the US retail soccer market. During those two years, he expanded distribution and executed marketing programs to increase sales by 31%.

At the dawn of the Internet, Jerry developed a handful of custom sports uniform websites designed to penetrate niche markets. While operating at the edge of this new frontier, Jerry accrued a massive vault of dynamic information and processes to accelerate a website's success and utilize it as a tool to seamlessly transition companies from offline to online.

After selling his Internet business, he was recruited to NFFS General Contractors as CEO. NFFS is a leader in the distressed residential repair market servicing Banks, Asset Managers, Hedge Funds and Equity Funds. From this platform, the company quadrupled revenues in two years and was nationally recognized twice by Inc as one of the Fastest Growing Private companies.

Today, Jerry consults to businesses in need of culture, systems and structure. His mission is to help motivated people and businesses succeed.

Dan Martin, Senior Finance Executive - KPMG

Strategic 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.

George Morrison - Vice President Supply Chain Management, The Mosaic Company

George Morrison is a contemporary business transformation and information technology leader with expertise leading business teams in diverse industries such as consumer products, life sciences and performance materials to profitably grow their business. George’s career reflects a demonstrated track record leading large scale cross-functional transformations, improving integrated systems, capabilities of international supply chains, operations and logistics. He brings a deep understanding of technology, risk management, profitability levers and their impact on customer experience and growth. As a hands-on leader and change agent, he has led diverse teams to deliver double digit improvements in customer service, inventory turns and YOY cost reductions.

George has deep background and understanding of corporate governance through his roles at Mallinckrodt, IPS/PE and through experience as a voluntary board member of the St. Louis University Center for Supply Chain Excellence.

George was most recently a Senior Vice President, Global Supply Chain Planning and Logistics at Mattel, a fortune 500 global children’s entertainment company with over $4.5B in sales and over 50% of its business outside the US. He was accountable for all aspects of global demand and supply planning, sales and operations planning, customer service, distribution and logistics. George re-aligned the global organization, and significantly reduced logistics costs and improved customer service for all of Mattel customers’ globally, by leading cross-functional teams in a demand driven supply network and logistics transformation. Employee engagement scores also exceeded benchmarks as a result of this enterprise wide effort. He was a key member of Global Product Development and Supply, Sustainability and information Technology committees.

George was the Vice President Global Supply Chain and Centers of Excellence, at Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals LLC, a $3.5B global Generics and Specialty pharmaceutical Company. He was accountable for all core supply chain and logistics performance metrics. George led several enterprise-wide initiatives which transformed the complex international supply chains to increase agility and reduce costs delivering top quartile supply chain results on all key performance metrics. George was a member/participant of internal committee’s including the Operating Committee and the Digital Innovation Center of Excellence.

George’s career spans roles of increasing responsibility with Avery Dennison, Johnson & Johnson, Honeywell International and IPS Corporation where he served as Vice President Global Supply Chain and Information Technology, and participated regularly in board meetings.

George has received several awards during his career including standards of leadership for business results, supply chain innovation and business process improvement.

George received Master of Science degrees in Management & Public Policy, Civil Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from MIT, Cambridge, MA.

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

Experience:

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

Dave Reed- Expert in Production and Hospitality 

Dave Reed is an expert in high profile production and hospitality services. He has held top positions with A&M Records and The Jim Henson Company in Hollywood, as well as in a Los Angeles company startup with Kiefer Sutherland. His clients included artists such as Paul McCartney, Bon Jovi, the Eagles, Dr. Dre, and Mariah Carey. Dave has 11 Gold and Platinum album credits of his own for engineering with Bruce Springsteen, KISS, Michael Bolton, and Stone Temple Pilots among others.

Dave also worked with companies such as ESPN on major events including multiple Super Bowls, X Games, US Snowboarding Championships, and the US Pro Ski Tour. Most recently Dave started two businesses in his hometown of Jacksonville, Fla., with the first providing high resolution, large format printing services to regional and national clientele. His current project is a specialty firm for high-end, contemporary home renovations, showcasing his unique problem solving and creative design skills. In 2014, Dave was named to Northeast Florida’s Top 50 Business Influencers.

Dave received an MBA from the University of Florida, and the honor of speaking at commencement. His bachelor degrees are from North Carolina State University in Management and in Communication. He also holds Six Sigma and Manager of Quality/Organizational Excellence certifications from the American Society for Quality with whom he served in several leadership posts. Dave resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., where he enjoys surfing, volunteering in the community, and spreading his passion for World Class Excellence. He soon hopes to begin a PhD program in which to further his own research in leadership and integrity across individuals and organizations.

Tony Rummans, Former Vice President of Global Sales - ProQuest 

Tony Rummans was most recently Vice President of Global Sales at ProQuest. He leads the Global Sales organization and assists in driving the strategic transformation of ProQuest’s integrated go-to-market approach. In addition, Mr. Rummans serves on the Sales, Marketing and Customer Experience leadership team. 

Zachary Schwartz - Founder & CEO, intoGo

With 14+ years creating and developing businesses, Zachary holds a BS in International Business from the University of Cincinnati's College of Business, ranked top 50 in the nation.

Upon validating the need for his latest venture by winning most votes in the Technology category at the world's largest crowd-funding festival, One Spark 2015, Zachary is now set on changing the world through intoGo - What you're into. Where to Go.

Using Data Science, Machine Learning and Predictive Modeling, intoGo is going to shift the entire foundation upon how our world finds fun. intoGo is available on both the Google Play and Apple App store today!

Sean Shapiro - CEO, Reliant Roofing

Sean 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.

Kelley Shaw - Client Executive, Hylant

INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE
A proven professional, Kelley delivers competitive and strategic employee benefit solutions for her clients. With 13 years in the healthcare and insurance industry, Kelley is recognized for her business acumen and industry knowledge. As a client executive, she provides personalized service that exceeds her clients’ expectations.
Prior to joining Hylant, Kelley represented St. Vincent’s HealthCare where she was responsible for employer relations including designing and implementing population health management programs to manage corporate health risks and healthcare costs. She also worked for Baptist Health System and Wolfson Children’s Hospital as the Regional Manager for Outreach and Development where she acquired the knowledge and skills needed to build enduring and effective partnerships in her current role with Hylant. 

INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS
Kelley is a member of The Rotary Club of Jacksonville. Kelley is a member of the LifeWork Leadership 2017-2018 Class. She is the Programs Officer for the Board of Directors for the Jacksonville Chamber Health Council. Kelley was asked to serve on the 2017 Board of Governors for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce. She has also served on the Executive Board for the Women's Board of Wolfson Children's Hospital for the last six years. 

 
EDUCATION
Kelley received her bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.
She is a licensed Health and Life Agent.

Jim Simak, Harris Computer

As 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.

Contact Jim. jsimak@harriscomputer.com

Jim Stallings - Managing Partner, PS 27 Ventures 

Jim Stallings is a globally recognized entrepreneur and business leader with extensive experience transforming companies and teams for sales and profit growth. He is the Managing Partner of PS 27 Ventures, a private investment group focused on SaaS, FinTech and MedTech companies. He has been involved in dozens of startups and actively mentors CEOs and founders of early stage companies. Jim serves as a director on two public company boards, Fidelity Information Systems and UGI Corporation. Jim's career includes work at IBM, GE and ROLM, and service as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. He has a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy.

Rick Thomas - Senior Vice President, CEVA Logistics

Rick Thomas is Senior Vice President, Automotive Operations for CEVA Logistics and he is based in its Jacksonville, Florida office. CEVA is one of the world’s leading logistics companies, providing end-to-end design, implementation and operational capabilities in freight forwarding, contract logistics, transportation management and distribution management.

Mr. Thomas began his career with Customized Transportation, Inc., a CEVA predecessor, in 1993 as a dock supervisor in Memphis, Tennessee working with just-in-time transportation to all of General Motors North America assembly plants.   He continued to take on growing responsibilities within the Company.  Some of the many customers he has served include Verizon, Honda, Rolls Royce Aerospace, Andersen Windows, HP and Caterpillar.

Mr. Thomas grew up in Jacksonville, graduating from Terry Parker High School and graduated from Florida State University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Management. 

Joseph W. Trance - Vice President, Retail for GuideWell Connect at Florida Blue 

Joseph Trance is a retail marketing and operational executive with experience in leading and managing diverse large-scale functional teams in the healthcare industry.  As the Vice President of retail for GuideWell Connect, Mr. trance leads the strategic plan, geographic expansion, day-to-day operations, budgement 

management and financial net contribution performance of 15 retail centers throughout the state of Florida. 

Mr. Trance began his career with Florida Blue in 1994 and has held various positions within the company, including Vice President of Enrollment Maintenance and Billing, Vice President of Claims Operations and Vice President of Consumer Service.

Mr. Trance graduated from the SUNY Empire State College with his B.S. in Business Administration and from the University of Phoenix with his M.B.A. 

Robert Urwiler - Retired Chief Information Officer

Robert a retired Chief Information Officer with over 30 years of experience building high-functioning teams and driving technology innovation. He was most recently CIO of Vail Resorts, a publicly-traded mountain resort company operating 37 resorts across 15 states and 3 countries. Prior to Vail Resorts, Robert was CIO at Macromedia, a San Francisco software company acquired by Adobe. Prior to Macromedia, he was CIO at Peregrine Systems, a San Diego software company acquired by HP. Robert started his career as a software developer. 

In 2016, Robert was inducted into the CIO Hall of Fame. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Northeast Florida Community Action Agency in Jacksonville.

Kirk Williams - President & CEO, Proficient Auto Transport 

Kirk Williams has worked in the transportation and logistics industry for 35 years. He was instrumental in putting together the acquisition of Proficient Auto Transport in 2004. The company has successfully grown nearly 700% during the past 10 years and is now one of the 15 largest auto haul trucking companies in America. Mr. Williams was the most recent Chairman of the Auto Haulers Association of America, and a Vice President of the Florida Trucking Association Representing the State of Florida at the national level of the American Trucking Association. 

 
He has worked for and managed several of the largest logistics operations, engineering, and marketing departments for companies such as Carolina Freight Corp, now ABF Freight Systems, Exel Logistics, Burlington Northern Railroad, GATX and APL Logistics. He earned a B.S. in Transportation and Logistics Management from Kent State University, and served on advisory councils for Stanford and MIT. Kirk currently serves as a member of the selection committee for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation’s including its Student Leaders Program, and serves as a member of the Business Advisory Council for the Coggin College of Business.