PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
As generative AI technologies rapidly evolve, they are transforming various business functions, including finance. This program will educate CFOs on the essentials of generative AI, covering its applications in financial forecasting, risk management, data analysis, and automation. Participants will explore how AI can enhance efficiency, improve accuracy, and drive innovation, as well as the ethical considerations and potential risks associated with its deployment in finance.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Understand the fundamentals of generative AI and its implications for the finance sector
- Identify practical applications of AI in financial operations and strategic decision-making.
- Evaluate the benefits and challenges of integrating AI technologies into finance workflows.
- Learn about the ethical considerations and manage the risks associated with AI.
- Gain insights into how to prepare your finance team for AI-driven transformation.
SPEAKERS
Emily Bennett | Senior Director of Finance & Human Resources | Loudr Agency
She is a strategic builder and operational architect with 20+ years of experience transforming professional services organizations by aligning operational infrastructure, financial discipline, and enterprise strategy to drive sustainable growth.
She specializes in applying systems thinking to complex business environments—designing and scaling the financial frameworks, governance structures, and operational infrastructure that enable organizations to grow profitably. Her expertise spans financial portfolio oversight, advanced forecasting, margin optimization, cash integrity, and operational performance.
She brings a unique ability to connect enterprise vision with execution, identifying structural gaps, eliminating cross-functional friction, and building the systems that translate strategy into measurable business outcomes. From strengthening financial visibility and accountability to architecting scalable operating models, she focuses on creating disciplined, resilient organizations equipped to sustain growth and deliver long-term value.
Her approach is simple: build the infrastructure behind the ambition, align the organization around performance, and turn strategic vision into measurable results.
Jack Holbrook | CFO | Peak Beverage | 828 Venues
Jack Holbrook is the CFO of Peak Beverage/828 Venue Mangement, a Denver-based beverage catering company with operations in Colorado and Texas, and its sister company 828 Venues, which operates event venues. Beyond finance and treasury, Jack oversees IT, HR and legal, and leads Peak’s systems and automation work. In 2026 he rolled out AI across the entire company and hired a full-time AI engineer to build agents for forecasting, reporting and back-office work. Before Peak, Jack spent more than a decade as CFO of ELCCO, an electrical contractor in Hawaii, and began his career as a financial analyst at Raytheon. He holds a degree in economics and international affairs from George Washington University.
Collin Jones | Founder | AlignCube
Collin Jones is the founder of AlignCube, based in Denver. AlignCube helps finance teams give every software and AI tool a keep, cut, review, or consolidate decision, with the cost, the owner, and a cancel-by date attached, and keeps that record so the decision still holds at the next renewal. Collin has spent his career in B2B software sales, on the vendor side of the contracts finance teams sign, which is where he saw the problem: a team can add a tool in a day, but months later nobody owns the question of whether it still earns its place. AlignCube takes no commission from any vendor it scores.
Justin Norton | Chief Financial Officer | Brekhus Tile & Stone
Justin Norton is a CPA and CFO with more than 20 years in accounting and finance across construction, manufacturing, agriculture and professional services. He has worked at companies ranging from $15 million family-owned businesses to a $2 billion-plus international contractor, including several private equity-backed platforms.
Justin is CFO of Brekhus Tile & Stone, a Denver tile and stone subcontractor. This year he rebuilt the month-end close as tested code. It ties every balance-sheet line to its supporting record, flags any line it cannot prove, and requires a person to sign off on everything that posts. At Brekhus he connected AI to the company’s accounting system through a read-only link behind a verification battery that caught $192,000 of data errors in its first hour, before any of it reached a report.
Before Brekhus, Justin was Deputy CFO of Agra Holdings, Corporate Controller and Interim CFO of GeoStabilization International, and Corporate Controller of MWH Constructors. He spent 11 years in corporate accounting and reporting at PCL Construction. He trained in KPMG audit after starting his career in forensic accounting.
Justin holds a Master of Accountancy and a B.B.A. from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, where he has guest lectured on ethics and fraud. He was a featured panelist at the 2025 Denver CFO Forum on finance in an AI world. He is a member of the CFO Alliance and CFMA, and holds a second-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Short version
Justin Norton, CPA, is CFO of Brekhus Tile & Stone. A former KPMG auditor with more than 20 years in construction, manufacturing and private equity-backed finance, he builds AI-driven close and reporting systems where tested code proves every number and a person signs off on everything that posts.
EVENT POLICIES AND RESOURCES
Please visit our Events Policies and Resources page for information about chapter leadership, support, CPE, attendance, cancelations and more.
SPONSOR PARTNERS
Thank you to our valued Sponsor Partners. This event is open to members, sponsors, and special guests.
