CFO Leadership Conference: West

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.

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.

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 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.

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!

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.

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. 

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.

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 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.

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 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.  

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 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.