CFO Leadership Conference: West
Marriott Phoenix Resort Tempe at the Buttes
Phoenix, AZ | October 2 – 4
“This group is the most practical and valuable investment I’ve made in my professional growth. Truly, what an honor to be affiliated.”
Margaret Fitzgerald
CFO, Allied Printing Company, Inc.
Thank you to our 2023 Speakers
Keynote

Sandra Clarke
EVP/COO,
Blue Shield of California
Sandra Clarke | EVP/COO, Blue Shield of California
Sandra Clarke is executive vice president and chief operating officer at Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan with over $24 billion in annual revenue serving 4.8 million members in the state’s commercial, individual, and government markets. She is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the health plan, implementing strategies to deliver transformational results that improve the health of Blue Shield’s members, physicians, and communities it serves. Clarke leads the company’s operations, transformation, customer experience, growth, and marketing departments. She is also responsible for corporate development, where she plays a senior role in devising and enacting Blue Shield’s strategies to support growth.
Clarke has demonstrated her ability to improve operations in global businesses, with over 25 years of experience directing worldwide organizations in an array of critical industries. Prior to joining Blue Shield in 2018, she served as senior vice president and US head of Finance of pharmaceutical company Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., and held executive finance roles at Philips Healthcare and Siemens Water Technologies Group.
She actively serves on the board of trustees at Blue Shield of California Foundation, as chairperson of Blue Venture Fund V board , as board of trustees chair of Plan Investment Fund, as a board of manager’s member of CivicaScript, and is a board member (formerly chair) of Evio Pharmacy Solutions. She previously served as a board member of Altais and as board director and audit chair at Metromile (now part of Lemonade, Inc.).
As a recognized thought leader, she has contributed articles to many publications and has spoken at forums such as the Health Evolution Summit, Quartz Network CFO Leadership Summit, CFO Leadership Council, and CFO StudioLIVE.
Clarke has a Master of Science in healthcare law from Seton Hall University School of Law, a Master of Science in accounting from Bentley University, and a Bachelor of Science in finance from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Dan Rice, US UA
President, American University Kyiv, Special Advisor to the Commander in Chief Ukraine Armed Forces
Dan Rice, US UA
Dan is a lifelong learner with multiple degrees from West Point, Northwestern and UPenn. He is the President of the American University Kyiv, the first American accredited university in Ukraine, and Co-President of Thayer Leadership based at West Point, one of the premier leader development companies in the world. He holds three masters degrees from Kellogg/Northwestern, Medill and UPenn in business, marketing and learning. He has completed all doctoral classes in leadership at the University of Pennsylvania and is taking a leave of absence from his dissertation to focus on Ukraine. He has won four literary awards as an author and publishes, and speaks regularly, as an on air journalist.
Dan is a West Point graduate and co-author of the 4-time award winning book “West Point Leadership:Profiles of Courage” and is the authorized biographer of many of West Point’s greatest graduates including Secretary Lloyd Austin, Senator Jack Reed, General Erik Kurilla, Coach K and many others. He has published many times in the Wall Street Journal, Small Wars Journal, Newsmax and Chief Executive magazine.
In 2004 Dan voluntarily re-joined the Army as an Infantry Captain to serve a year in Iraq in the Sunni Triangle based out of downtown Tikrit at FOB Danger. His military awards include the Airborne Badge, Ranger Tab, Combat Action Badge, and Purple Heart. In April 2022 he voluntarily traveled to Ukraine to serve as the unpaid Special Advisor to the Commander in Chief Ukraine Armed Forces General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi. He travels regularly between Kyiv and Washington, DC, publishing articles and making television appearances to support the objectives of General Zaluzhnyi.
He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (lifetime member), MENSA, and is a board member of the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation. He served the U.S. Congressional Project for National Security Reform (PNSR).

Shannon Nash, Esq., CPA
CFO, Wing (an Alphabet Company)
Shannon Nash, Esq., CPA | CFO, Wing (an Alphabet Company)
Shannon currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Wing, a drone delivery company and subsidiary of Alphabet, Inc. She serves as an independent director on several boards, including NetScout Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: NTCT) and SoFi Bank a subsidiary of SoFi Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SOFI). She’s also on the Board and Audit Chair at Lazy Dog Restaurants. Previously, she was on the board of UserTesting (NYSE: USER), including Lead Independent Director and Chair of the Nominating & Governance Committee.
Diversity and Inclusion are cornerstones of her leadership. She serves as a Board Advisor to Black Women on Boards and an Executive Board Member to How Women Lead, and a mentor for Santa Clara University’s Black Corporate Board Readiness Program. She was also appointed to the CalCPA Diversity Equity & Inclusion Commission. Shannon was named one of the 100 most influential women in Silicon Valley by the Silicon Valley Business Journal in 2023 and on the 2023 Top 50 women in Accounting list by Ignition. She was previously named to the 2022 Top 50 Women Leaders in Finance list by Women We Admire and featured on Accounting Today’s 2020 list of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting. She was also named one of 2020’s Most Powerful Women in Accounting by the AICPA and CPA Practice Advisor and received the 2021 Trailblazer Award from CalCPA.
Shannon is an attorney, CPA and recognized as a qualified financial expert. Shannon holds an undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce and a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. She serves on the board of advisors for the University of Virginia McIntire School of Commerce. In her free time, Shannon is a fitness junkie and teaches Zumba and U-Jam Fitness. She’s also an award-winning documentary film producer with her film, Colored My Mind, winning best short at the 2013 American Pavilion in Cannes. Her latest film, OnBoard, premiered during the Tribeca Film Festival in June 2023.

Glenn Hopper
Director, Eventus Advisory Group, LLC
Author of “Deep Finance: Corporate Finance in the Information Age”
Glenn Hopper | Director, Eventus Advisory Group, LLC
Glenn is an energetic and strategic leader with two decades of experience and a proven track record of leading transformational change and integrating best-in-class technologies into finance operations and policy. His expertise spans financial leadership and strategy, finance automation, data science, and operational efficiency. With extensive experience working with private equity-backed companies and expertise in leading mergers & acquisitions, Glenn is knowledgeable in leading processes and technological implementations for organizations of all sizes.
Glenn is a member of American Mensa, The Forbes Finance Council and a volunteer for The Analytics Foundation. Recognized as a subject matter expert, he published a book on finance innovation, has been a guest speaker on over 40 podcasts and numerous conferences, and is a contributor to the AI Journal. Glenn is an avid runner and cyclist and can frequently be found running along the bank of the Mississippi River near his home in Memphis.
Session Speakers
Click a speaker’s image to view their bio

Dr. Allison Mason
Interim Dean, Colangelo College of Business
Dr. Allison Mason | Interim Dean, Colangelo College of Business
Dr. Allison Mason, DBA, joined GCU in September 2008 and currently serves as the interim dean of the Colangelo College of Business (CCOB). Previous to her current role, she was an associate dean of CCOB. She has worked in a variety of positions in higher education for over 16 years, including leading accreditation efforts for the college as the champion for the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). Dr. Mason earned a Doctor of Business Administration with an Emphasis in Management as well as an MBA with an Emphasis in Leadership from GCU. She also holds an MEd with an emphasis in Human Relations from Northern Arizona University and a BS in Communications from Winona State University. Her research efforts have focused on social media marketing in higher education.
![Klotz_Anthony_PROMOPIC[53]](https://cfoleadershipcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Klotz_Anthony_PROMOPIC53.jpg)
Dr. Anthony C. Klotz
Associate Professor of Organizational
Behavior, UCL School of Management
Dr. Anthony C. Klotz
Dr. Anthony C. Klotz is an organizational psychologist who, stemming from his research on resignations, predicted a major pandemic‐related labor shift and coined it the “Great Resignation” in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek in May of 2021. He explained the reasons behind his prediction in an op‐ed for NBC News later that month. Since then, his theory has been supported by months of record numbers of resignations in the United States and evidence that this shift is happening globally as well. Anthony has discussed The Great Resignation with multiple media outlets including CNN, CNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, BBC, The Today Show, and NPR. In addition, Anthony has discussed his insights about navigating The Great Resignation and what it means for the future of work with executive teams at numerous Fortune 100 organizations.
Anthony is also an Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior at UCL School of Management in London. His primary research involves investigating the different ways that employees resign and the causes and effects of different resignation styles, studying how and why employees balance their good deeds and bad deeds at work, and exploring how contact with the natural world affects employees. Anthony’s research has been published in Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Management, and Personnel Psychology. His has also written for the Harvard Business Review, MIT Sloan Management Review and The Wall Street Journal.
Prior to academia, Anthony worked in Operations Management for General Mills in union and nonunion manufacturing facilities across North America.

Dan Bigman | Editor-In-Chief, Chief Executive & Corporate Board Member
Dan oversees content development across all CEG platforms. Prior to joining CEG in 2017, he was managing editor of Forbes and the first Business Editor of NYTimes.com, where he co-founded the popular NYT Dealbook franchise in 2001. He has a BFA from Emerson College, Boston.
Dan Bigman
Editor-In-Chief, Chief Executive & Corporate Board Member
Dan Bigman | Editor-In-Chief, Chief Executive & Corporate Board Member
Dan oversees content development across all CEG platforms. Prior to joining CEG in 2017, he was managing editor of Forbes and the first Business Editor of NYTimes.com, where he co-founded the popular NYT Dealbook franchise in 2001. He has a BFA from Emerson College, Boston.

Erik Nakamura
CFO, Orange Comet
Erik Nakamura | CFO, Orange Comet
Experienced C-Level Senior Executive that is a dynamic and inspiring leader known for a coaching and mentoring approach to building successful, cohesive teams with superior operational excellence. Expertise in growing Finance, HR, Legal, IT and Facilities teams from the ground up for public and private companies. Deep experience in equity and debt capital raising, securities offerings, FP&A, operational/technical accounting, treasury, internal controls and process implementation. Finance and Operations leader with over 22 years of broad and deep Financial, HR, Legal, IT and Facilities experience in Digital Asset, Blockchain, Web3, eCommerce, marketplaces, fin tech, prop tech, real estate, SaaS, medical device and manufacturing.

Erik Zhou
Chief Accounting Officer, Brex
Erik Zhou | Chief Accounting Officer, Brex
Erik Zhou serves as the Chief Accounting Officer for Brex, a leading financial services technology firm based in San Francisco. He concurrently holds the position of President of Brex Treasury LLC, an SEC-registered broker-dealer. In these roles, Erik directs the daily operations of Brex Business Accounts and spearheads all facets of the company’s financial operations, regulatory reporting, and tax compliance planning.
Erik started his career in PwC’s Banking and Capital Markets practice and built over 11 years of experience working with banks, broker-dealers and large multinational financial institutions, with a focus on complex financial transactions, regulations, and operational management.
Erik is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) who holds a BS in both Accounting and Finance from Georgetown University. He leverages his comprehensive financial skills and knowledge to drive Brex’s operations towards growth and success.

Emily DeNitto
Executive Editor,
Chief Executive Group
Emily DeNitto | Executive Editor, Chief Executive Group
Emily DeNitto is Executive Editor of Chief Executive Group and Editor of StrategicCFO360, StrategicCIO360 and StrategicCHRO360. Previously she was Executive Editor of Worth Media, Managing Editor of Crain’s New York Business and a restaurant reviewer for The New York Times.

Gail Feeder
CFO, SageWater
Gail Feeder | CFO, SageWater
Gail Feeder is the CFO of SageWater, a multi-family infrastructure replacement company that specializes in piping systems. Gail joined SageWater in 2021 after the Company transitioned from a 30-year founder-owned partnership to a single founder and private equity portfolio company. She previously served as CFO of Tinuum Gruop, a clean energy company based in Denver, CO, where she built the accounting department from the ground up over 9 years. Earlier in her career, Gail was a Senior Manager with Deloitte in their Audit and Assurance group. She has extensive experience with financial reporting, system implementations, tax equity financing and sell-side transactions. Gail holds a B.S. in Business Administration and a Master of Accountancy from the University of Denver. She is a licensed CPA (Colorado). Along with her business expertise, Gail plays an especially important role: Commissioner of the SageWater Fantasy Football League!

Glenn Hopper
Director, Eventus Advisory Group; Author of “Deep Finance: Corporate Finance in the
Information Age”

Isabelle Wang
CFO, Legion Technologies
Isabelle Wang | CFO, Legion Technologies
Isabelle Wang is a strategic and results-driven finance leader with 20+ years of FP&A, global operations and executive management experience across multiple industries, including public holdings, venture capital, and start-ups. She is outcome-focused and highly skilled at scaling processes to drive high performing teams.
Prior to joining Legion, Isabelle spearheaded the development and execution of growth strategies at various enterprise SaaS companies to drive aggressive scaling. Isabelle is also a founding member of FirstBoard.io, a curated group of accomplished female executives in technology, working together to increase representation of women on boards.

Jack McCullough
President, CFO Leadership Council
Jack McCullough| President, The CFO Leadership Council
With the vision of providing world class professional development programs and networking events for chief financial officers, Jack founded The CFO Leadership Council in 2006. Under his leadership, the organization achieved national recognition. Formerly, Jack was the Director of KPMG’s Global Innovation Center, where he worked with early-stage investors, entrepreneurs, CFOs, and other members of the venture community. Prior to KPMG, he served as a CFO for 26 startups, raising more than $200 million in capital. In addition, Jack is the visionary behind the MIT Sloan CFO Summit, which has been recognized as the world’s most influential conference for financial leaders.
As a former chief financial officer, entrepreneur, and recognized expert on financial matters, Jack can empathize with the challenges that corporate leaders face in growing today’s businesses. In addition to developing a venture capital course for Harvard Business School and MIT Sloan MBA candidates, he has been interviewed by Bloomberg, CNN, and Fox Business Network and quoted by the Wall Street Journal, CFO Magazine, Treasury and Risk Management, the Boston Business Journal, and Business Finance Magazine.
Jack holds an undergraduate degree from Suffolk University and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. He was a Great Dome Award recipient from MIT in 2018.

Jacque Davis
CFO, 24 Home Health Care
Jacque Davis | CFO, 24 Home Health Care
Jacqueline Davis, CPA is the COO & CFO of rapidly growing TEAM24, a 13,000+-employee provider of non-medical homecare to clients in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Arizona. She oversees all aspects of finance & accounting, business intelligence, legal, compliance, IT, implementations, and integrations.
Her career spans more than 27 years of experience in business leadership, financial management, process transformation, and operations excellence. Ms. Davis has established a reputation for building world-class teams, as well as aligning business and financial metrics to support company strategy and rapid growth.
Prior to joining 24HrHomeCare, she spent several years leading finance, accounting, and technology implementation teams for start-ups, global and Fortune 500 companies, such as Snapchat, MySpace, Mattel, Toyota Financial Services, and KPMG.
Ms. Davis is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Loyola Marymount University.

John Ames
Head of Capital Markets, Rho
John Ames | Head of Capital Markets, Rho
John Ames is Head of Capital Markets at Rho, overseeing underwriting and credit strategy for the all-in-one finance platform’s client portfolio. Previously, John led real assets and structured credit investments at Wafra, Inc. after beginning his career in proprietary investments at Barclays Capital and Lehman Brothers. He is a seasoned infrastructure and real assets investor and capital markets expert with over 15 years of experience in various private and public investment roles.

Keith Andersen
Vice President, Travelers
Keith Andersen | Vice President, Travelers
Keith Andersen has 30 years of property casualty insurance industry experience across multiple lines of insurance business. He currently leads the Claim General Liability product area and through close collaboration with Claim’s field management teams and business areas, is responsible for the group’s operational and resolution excellence, innovation initiatives and advancing its severity and litigation strategies.

Keith Apton
Managing Director – Private Wealth Management, UBS

Kevin Galloway
Sales Enablement and Communications Advisor, Oracle/NetSuite
Kevin Galloway | Sales Enablement and Communications Advisor, Oracle/NetSuite
As an Actor, Writer, Director, Educator, and Professional Presenter, Kevin uses his creative background to inspire and empower others to create and deliver unique, engaging, and compelling presentations. He is passionate about Storytelling and the power of communicating to audiences throughout his career.
Kevin joined Oracle in April of 2015 after having worked with Oracle as a supplier for 10 years. Prior to joining Oracle, Kevin founded imPROvise which offered workshops teaching Presentation and Communication Skills by using acting and improv techniques. Kevin is currently the program owner for communication skills for Oracle + NetSuite. He lives in Atlanta, GA and is a self-proclaimed movie and music geek and is a true fan of the Atlanta Falcons and Braves as well as the FSU Seminoles.

Lynn Blake
Independent Board Director,
Audit Committee Chair, The tru Shrimp Company
Lynn Blake | Independent Board Director, Audit Committe Chair, The tru Shrimp Company
Lynn L. Blake, MBA, CPA (inactive), currently serves as a board director, advisor, and management consultant providing CFO advisory services. Lynn is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and most recently was CFO of Nuwellis, Inc. until September 2023. Prior to Nuwellis, Lynn was a Managing Director with Growth Operators Advisory Services, LLC from 2020-2022. She is a senior financial professional with a strong track record in public and private equity-owned companies ranging from start-up to Fortune 500 and led the successful IPO of Tactile Medical in 2016. Prior to Tactile Medical, Lynn served as Chief Financial Officer of Taylor-Wharton International from 2014-2015 and as Chief Financial Officer of Analysts International Corporation from 2012-2013, preceded by senior financial leadership roles at Entegris, Inc. and MTS Systems Corporation.
Lynn currently serves as an independent director and Audit Committee Chair of The trū Shrimp Companies, an advisory board member for Elire, Inc., Treasurer and Operating Affairs Committee Chair of Volunteers of America-MN/WI, and a founding Steering Committee and Board member of the Twin Cities chapter of the CFO Leadership Council.
Lynn’s broad industry experience includes medical device/healthcare, global manufacturing, consumer products, media, and IT services. She possesses strong executive leadership skills, including board/investor relations, strategic planning, IPO execution, M&A, restructuring, global controllership, HR, IT, legal, business development, SEC reporting, Sarbanes-Oxley, financial planning and analysis, audit, financial systems, operations, pricing, and significant international business experience in Europe and Asia.
Lynn has a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a MBA from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management. In her free time, Lynn enjoys traveling, hiking, and visiting her two daughters at their respective college campuses – especially enjoying Notre Dame football games. Lynn is an avid runner and has run 19 marathons, most recently the 2022 Berlin Marathon.

Marshall Cooper
CEO, Chief Executive Group
Marshall Cooper | CEO, Chief Executive Group
Marshall is CEO of Chief Executive Group. He has been successfully turning around and building companies for almost 20 years. Marshall previously worked for KKR’s media roll-up (Primedia) and The New York Times Co. and served as a White House aide from 1989-1991. Marshall earned a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth College.

Michael Bayer | CFO, Wasabi
Michael joined the Wasabi team after spending 25+ years in various finance, operations, technology and business development roles primarily for venture-backed technology and clean tech companies. His most recent role was at iZotope Inc. where he served as the CFO. Prior to that he managed the IPO for MotherNature.com and acquisitions for LightChip and Revivio. Michael co-founded RPM Communications, where he led the launch of a 100,000 user mobile social network. A chartered financial analyst, Michael is on the Steering Committee of The CFO Leadership Council and a frequent speaker and organizer of panels for CFOs. He was honored as a 2018 BBJ CFO of the Year.
As an adjunct lecturer at Babson College, Michael teaches corporate finance to both graduate and undergraduate students. Michael holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Babson College (finance and investments), and he previously studied computer science and economics at Brandeis University.
Michael Bayer
CFO, Wasabi Technologies
Michael Bayer | CFO, Wasabi
Michael joined the Wasabi team after spending 25+ years in various finance, operations, technology and business development roles primarily for venture-backed technology and clean tech companies. His most recent role was at iZotope Inc. where he served as the CFO. Prior to that he managed the IPO for MotherNature.com and acquisitions for LightChip and Revivio. Michael co-founded RPM Communications, where he led the launch of a 100,000 user mobile social network. A chartered financial analyst, Michael is on the Steering Committee of The CFO Leadership Council and a frequent speaker and organizer of panels for CFOs. He was honored as a 2018 BBJ CFO of the Year.
As an adjunct lecturer at Babson College, Michael teaches corporate finance to both graduate and undergraduate students. Michael holds an MBA from Cornell University and a BS from Babson College (finance and investments), and he previously studied computer science and economics at Brandeis University.

Milosh Nedic
SVP, Finance & Strategy, Avalara

Nick Francia
Managing Director – Private Wealth Management, UBS

Rowan Tonkin
CMO, Planful
Rowan Tonkin | CMO, Planful
Bio coming soon.

Stacy Hall
California Regional Director,
The CFO Leadership Council
Stacy Hall | California Regional Director, The CFO Leadership Council
With over two decades of marketing and management experience, Stacy joined The CFO Leadership Council to facilitate the opening of chapters in California eight years ago. Today, she oversees five California chapters including Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley. As the Regional Director, Stacy works closely with the advisory boards, and thought leaders to provide timely and relevant programming for CFOLC’s senior financial leaders.
Prior to the CFO Leadership Council, Stacy served in a variety of marketing, and brand management roles developing demand generation and ABM marketing for consumer products industry leaders such as McKesson, HBO, Domino’s Pizza, Murad Skincare, and Jakks Pacific Toys.
Stacy earned her BBA in Marketing from the University of Oklahoma, and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Tony Tiscornia
CFO, Coupa
Tony Tiscornia | CFO, Coupa
Tony Tiscornia is Chief Financial Officer at Coupa Software, the leader in Business Spend Management (BSM), with over 20 years of finance experience. He has been with Coupa since 2012 in various progressive leadership positions. During that time, Tony helped oversee the company’s IPO in 2016, secondary offering in 2017, multiple convertible debt offerings, more than a dozen acquisitions, and overall global expansion. After beginning his career in public accounting with KPMG, Tony held various finance positions at the Clorox Company, Chiron Corporation, Robert Half, and Soraa. He also played an integral role in the sale of Blade Network Technologies to IBM. Tony earned a B.S. in Managerial Economics from UC Davis and is an inactive California CPA.

Travis Haworth
CPA, Manager of Office of Finance Transformation, Capitalize Consultings
Travis Haworth | Capitalize Consultings
Travis continually strives to empower clients with digital technology to supercharge their businesses, increasing efficiency, reducing risk, developing resilient strategic plans, and turning existing data into valuable business insights. He has implemented bespoke solutions for clients utilizing Alteryx, Tableau, PowerBI, UiPath, SQL, SAP, Snowflake and continues to broaden his knowledge further with additional new and exciting digital technologies.

Tristan Gaynor
Partner and Co-Founder, Anavate
Tristan Gaynor | Partner and Co-Founder, Anavate
Tristan Gaynor is a Partner and Co-Founder at Anavate, a Scottsdale based consulting firm specializing in technology transformation in the offices of the CFO and CRO at both Fortune 500 and mid-market organizations. Anavate’s banner technology partner is Anaplan, with additional partnerships with Workato, Dataiku, and Jumpseat. The firm was founded in January 2019 by lifelong friends and colleagues.
Tristan was born, raised, and educated in Arizona and resides here with his wife Morgan.

Valerie Avila
Director of Sales, Justworks
Zack McCarty | Director of FP&A, Quik
Valerie is Justworks’ Director of Sales and Account Development. In this role, she leads the West Coast sales teams and is responsible for overseeing the company’s account development function.
In her decade-long tenure at Justworks, Valerie has worn many hats within the organization. From Account Executive, to Sales Manager, networking event series founder, and now Director, Valerie’s commitment to Justworks’ values and helping small businesses grow with confidence is evident in her work. Valerie has been featured in Forbes, Inc., and BuiltIn, among other publications, and has presented as a subject matter expert at SaaStr, a leading annual tech conference in San Francisco.
She is a member of Pavilion, a mentor in the WISE community, and a volunteer for iMentor. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Boston College and currently resides in Miami.

Zack McCarty
Director of FP&A, Qwik
Zack McCarty | Director of FP&A, Quik
Zack is the Director of FP&A at Qwick, a Phoenix based staffing marketplace for the hospitality industry. While young in their FP&A journey, Qwick is quickly gaining ground at $175MM revenue and sights set on evolving from successful startup to masters of scale.
Pre-Event Workshop Speakers

Jef Rawls
Corporate Trainer & Executive Producer, JesterZ Professional Services
Since 1996, he has provided entertaining corporate training, keynote and workshops to hundreds of top corporations across the country including: GoDaddy, Intel, Wells Fargo, AmEx, PetSmart, AutoZone, Target and VanGuard, to name a few. Host and Producer of All-Comedy Radio’s morning show “Breakfast Epiphanies” as well as Host of ABC15’s Emmy Award winning show “What’s Up”. He’s owner of Arizona’s largest and longest running improv comedy theater “The JesterZ” and has performed over 5,500 improv shows. His passion is sharing the personal and professional life skills that improvisation teaches and is writing the book on becoming a “Charismatic Connector”.

Coco Brown
CEO, The Athena Alliance
Coco Brown is the Founder and CEO of Athena Alliance. Athena has helped thousands of leaders grow and advance in their executive careers, and has brought over 400 women to corporate boards from growth stage private companies to name brand public companies. Coco has personally worked with hundreds of top leaders, CEOs and boards to evolve modern leadership. She’s served on ten commercial and non-profit boards and advisory boards, and has led two notable companies (Taos, acquired by IBM, and now Athena). She is part of Nasdaq’s Governance Insights Council, and is often called on to share guidance to the evolving focus and breadth of responsibility within the Modern Boardroom. Coco was recently named one of the 100 Most Powerful People of Silicon Valley.