CFO, Philo
Julianna Hayes is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Philo, where she oversees all financial operations, strategy, and human resources ensuring the company’s financial health and growth. With over 18 years of experience in the tech and media industries, prior to Philo, Julianna has held roles at both Google and Twitter.
At Twitter (now X), she served as the Senior Vice President of Corporate Finance, where she played a key role in managing the financial aspects of the company’s advertising revenue, driving efficiency, and supporting the company’s expansion into new markets. Her work there included overseeing FP&A, revenue finance, and strategic planning, which has been crucial in her current role at Philo.
Wednesday Keynote
9:05 – 9:55 am ET
David vs. Goliath: Outmaneuvering Giants in the Streaming Wars
CFO, Conagra Brands
As CFO, David oversees the company’s finances and information technology in their…David brings more than 30 years of finance and leadership experience to Conagra Brands, including significant consumer packaged goods expertise. Prior to joining Conagra Brands, David served as Chief Financial Officer at Prestige Brands, a provider of over-the-counter health care products with a portfolio of over 80 brands. Prior to joining Prestige Brands, David served as Chief Financial Officer of Godiva Chocolatier for seven years, where he was responsible for the finance, accounting, audit, tax and IT functions, in addition to overseeing the company’s worldwide strategic planning process. At Godiva, David was instrumental in spearheading efforts to establish the company as a stand-alone business under new ownership and in delivering significant improvements in overall performance. Prior to joining Godiva, David served as Chief Financial Officer at Tasty Baking Company (then NASDAQ listed) and spent 10 years at Campbell Soup Company, where he held finance roles with increasing responsibility. He began his career at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. David holds an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and a B.B.A. from the University of Massachusetts.
Tuesday Keynote
9:10 – 10:00 am ET
Driving Growth and Innovation: The CFO Perspective on Transforming a Global Food Giant
Retired CFO, Audit Committee Member, Bank of Montreal & Akamai Technologies
Madhu is former OpenText President, Chief Financial Officer, and leader of Corporate Development.
With more than 25 years of financial leadership experience, Madhu brings a strategic mindset with global industry expertise and deep operational focus in software, hardware and tech-enabled services businesses, as well as a demonstrable track record of building shareholder value. Madhu is skilled at leading and supporting business transformation initiatives, strategic acquisitions and global capital raising.
Wednesday Keynote
11:10 am – 12:00 pm ET
From Team to Tech: Leveraging Digitalization for Lasting Success
CFO, Slice
Lauren brings 18+ years of finance experience for both startups and multinational corporations. Prior to joining Slice, she was the CFO at NerdWallet, the CFO of North America at eBay, and CFO at StubHub International in Spain. Lauren has a B.S. degree from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from Duke University. “I am constantly amazed at the discipline we have instilled across the NerdWallet organization. We are thoughtful about our investments yet comfortable taking informed risks to push the boundaries and deliver the best for our customers.”
Tuesday Keynote
4:00 – 5:00 pm ET
Resourceful Leadership From Seed to Scale
Former Special Agent, FBI
Robert K. Wittman joined the FBI as a Special Agent in 1988. As a result of specialized training in art, antiques, jewelry and gem identification, he served as the FBI’s investigative expert involving cultural property crime. During his 20 year FBI career he recovered more than $300 million worth of stolen art and cultural property which resulted in numerous prosecutions and convictions.
As a result of his unique experience Mr. Wittman coauthored the FBI Cultural Property Investigative Manual in 2001. In 2005, he created the FBI’s rapid deployment national Art Crime Team (ACT). Mr. Wittman has represented the United States throughout the world conducting investigations and instructing international police and museums in recovery and use of high value asset security techniques in more than 20 countries. Mr. Wittman recently concluded a series of regional security and protection of cultural heritage training lectures to government agencies representing countries in Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia and Serbia sponsored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE).
Mr. Wittman is the recipient of numerous awards and commendations including the Order of Merit for Distinguished Service-Officer Level, presented by the President of Peru, the White Cross of Law Enforcement Merit with Distinction, by the government of Spain, Director’s Award for Outstanding Contributions in Law Enforcement from the U.S. Department of Justice, Robert Burke Award for Cultural Property Protection from the Smithsonian Institution, and the S.A.F.E Beacon Award from Saving Antiquities for Everyone.
In 2010, Mr. Wittman penned his New York Times bestselling memoir “PRICELESS: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World’s Stolen Treasures.” His second book, “THE DEVIL’S DIARY: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich” is a worldwide best seller published in 29 languages in more than 30 countries. He was featured in the History Channel series “Lost History’ and recently filmed an investigation into the lost artifacts of General George Custer’s brigade at the battle of Little Big Horn in Montana. Mr. Wittman has served as an expert witness in multiple state and federal court cases. Mr. Wittman is now president of Robert Wittman Inc. the firm specializes in consulting in art matters which include expert witness testimony, investigation and collection management.
Wednesday Lunch Keynote
1:00 – 2:30 pm ET
Pursuing the Priceless: Tales from the FBI’s Real Life Indiana Jones
CFO, Stavvy
Eduardo Arreaga joined Stavvy on August 24, 2021, as the Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Eduardo plays a vital role in the company’s strategic initiatives and oversees cash flow, financial planning, and taxation issues. He is responsible for the finance function’s core audit, regulatory, and risk-management responsibilities. Most importantly, Eduardo engages with investors and capital markets, ensures strong financial performance, and partners with business colleagues to support operations.
Eduardo brings experience as a commercial and operational strategy leader whose executive-level leadership drives teams to improve financial performance.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Monday
Pre-Event Workshop
3:30 – 5:00 pm ET
COO, Miles IT
John started with Miles IT in 1999 and has played a pivotal role in the growth of the company that is now a global IT services provider with over 550 employees in eight countries. As COO, John focuses on ensuring Miles IT is a great company to work for and a great company to do business with. Cultivating and strengthening the company culture is a critical component in achieving this. John also focuses on top and bottom line performance, controlling expenses, and ensuring Miles IT and their employees receive value from our vendor relationships and employee benefits. John’s longer term goals pertain to expanding the global footprint of talented employees throughout the world, and maximizing the value all employees receive by being a part of Miles IT.
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
Editor & Chief Content Officer, Chief Executive Group
Dan Bigman is Editor and Chief Content Officer of Chief Executive Group, publishers of Chief Executive and Corporate Board Member magazines, as well as ChiefExecutive.net, Boardmember.com, StrategicCFO360, StrategicCIO360 and StrategicCHRO360. CEG is the parent company of the CFO Leadership Council. Prior to joining CEG, Bigman was Managing Editor at Forbes for more than a decade. Earlier he served as the founding business editor of NYTimes.com, where he co-founded the popular DealBook franchise in 2001 and later led all hard-news coverage for The Times online.
Moderating
Tuesday Keynotes
9:10 – 10:00 am ET
4:00 – 5:00 pm ET
Director of Business Development, Imagine360
Jacob leads Imagine360’s business development efforts throughout the Northeast, including responsibility for new customer growth, broker/consultant relationship management, and establishing Third-Party Administration (TPA) partners. Prior to joining Imagine360 in 2021, Jacob served in business development roles at Aetna/CVS Health and began his career in their Group School sales program. Jacob received a B.A. in Financial Economics & Political Science from the University of Rochester and is based in New York, NY.
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
Director of Treasury, Brex
Paul Bousquet oversees Corporate Treasury for Brex, a leading financial services technology firm based in San Francisco. In this role Paul directs the organization’s daily treasury operations, liquidity management, financial risk management, and corporate insurance programs.
Prior to joining Brex, Paul was the Head of Treasury at Reddit, where he was responsible for building a public company caliber Treasury organization, including executing Reddit’s inaugural revolving credit facility and its initial public offering. Before Reddit, Paul worked in a variety of Treasury roles at both Mastercard and General Motors.
Paul holds an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College and a Masters in Business Administration from New York University.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Managing Vice President, Robert Half
Jim Dinneen is the managing vice president of Robert Half’s managed business solutions. In Jim’s role, he works with clients to identify and vet their enterprise initiatives and provide an innovative and scalable solution that leverages Robert Half’s specialized staffing capabilities and Protiviti’s project-based consulting services. Since starting his Robert Half career in Manchester, N.H., Jim has held numerous leadership positions, most recently serving as executive director of Robert Half’s salaried professional service (SPS), now known as full-time engagement professionals, since 2013. Under his leadership, Jim led the practice to significant growth and contributed to the launch and expansion of multiple practice groups. He graduated from Elmira College with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Marketing.
Wednesday
Breakfast Roundtable
8:00 – 8:50 am ET
Exec Dir, Organizational Development and HR, New England Life Care
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Senior Vice President of Health and Welfare Benefits Consulting Trion, a Marsh McLennan Agency
Tuesday
Visionary Session
10:00 – 10:50 am ET
Solution Consultant – Cross Border, Avalara
Wednesday
Breakfast Roundtable
8:00 – 8:50 am ET
CFO, Rethink Food
Tuesday
Breakfout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
CFO, Arcadia.io
As the CFO of Arcadia.io, Loretta leads the finance, accounting, legal, HR, and risk management functions of this growth-focused software big data-platform company. She has over 25 years of experience in corporate finance, strategy, M&A, private equity backed, growth focused enterprises with a strong background in technology, software, data platforms, Cyber, and SaaS organizations, including the complexities of regulated industries.
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
Finance Executive, Luxury & Contemporary Fashion
Yoana Land is a dynamic, growth-oriented CFO with 20+ years of financial and strategic leadership experience across Fortune 500 companies. A trusted advisor to CEOs and boards, she brings a proven track record in driving transformation through financial restructuring, M&A, digital innovation, and global change management. Yoana’s expertise spans industries including beauty and skincare, luxury goods, fashion, pharmaceuticals, airlines, retail, and consumer packaged goods. She is known for her strategic insight, operational rigor, and ability to lead through complexity—whether navigating emerging markets, overseeing IT implementations, or managing organizational turnarounds. A multilingual EU and US citizen, Yoana offers a global perspective and a sharp focus on delivering sustainable growth.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Monday
Pre-Event Workshop
3:30 – 5:00 pm ET
President & Founder, CFO Leadership Council
Jack McCullough is a respected financial leadership expert and the founder of the CFO Leadership Council, a global community of over 2,500 senior financial executives.
He has served as CFO for multiple organizations, from high-growth startups to Fortune 500 companies, and has been instrumental in broadening the CFO role beyond finance to a more strategic business function.
Jack is the author of Secrets of Rockstar CFOs and The Psychopathic CEO, an Executive Survival Guide, a senior contributor to the Forbes CFO Network, and host of the Secrets of Rockstar CFOs podcast. His insights have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Barron’s, and other significant publications, and he has appeared on CNBC, Fox Business Network, and Your World with Neil Cavuto.
A graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management, Jack is committed to developing the next generation of financial leaders and advocating for greater diversity amongst CFOs globally.
Moderating
Wednesday Keynotes
9:05 – 9:55 am ET
11:10 am – 12:00 pm ET
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Monday
Pre-Event Workshop
3:30 – 5:00 pm ET
Regional VP and Product CFO, Ambetter Health
Lauren Niebruegge is the Regional Vice President and Marketplace Chief Financial Officer at Centene Corporation, a Fortune 100 healthcare enterprise that provides a comprehensive range of managed healthcare products and services primarily through Medicaid, Medicare, and Health Insurance Marketplace offerings. In her role, she is responsible for overseeing the financial strategies and performance of Centene’s Marketplace business, which generates approximately $30 billion in product line revenues across 29 states.
With over 22 years of experience in healthcare finance, Lauren has developed a deep expertise in financial management, strategic planning, and business development within the healthcare industry. She has a proven track record of optimizing financial performance, ensuring accountability, and leading cross-functional teams to achieve business objectives. Prior to joining Centene, Lauren worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), LLP, where she gained valuable experience in the audit division, working with a diverse portfolio of clients in the financial services sector.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Wednesday
Visionary Panel
9:55 – 10:45 am ET
President and CEO, Healthcare Purchaser Alliance
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
CFO, Tipalti
Wednesday
Visionary Panel
9:55 – 10:45 am ET
Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP
Monday
Pre-Event Workshop
3:30 – 5:00 pm ET
National Private Equity Practice Leader, Travelers Insurance
Based in the New York metropolitan region, Charlie Tice has more than 20 years of experience leading and growing teams of highly motivated insurance professionals. He is responsible for retention and growth across the Metro region while also driving countrywide strategy for Private Equity as Travelers National Practice Leader. In this capacity, he represents Travelers interests with Private Equity firms and leaders. Working with the broader Travelers team, he leads the efforts to establish production and profitability metrics across the Private Equity practice. In addition to leading the Private Equity practice, he is also responsible for heading a talented team of Commercial Accounts underwriters in the New York metropolitan region. Prior to his current roles, Charlie was the Managing Director of Travelers Construction division. He started his career with Gallagher. Charlie is a graduate of Moravian University with a BA in Business Finance.
Wednesdsay
Visionary Panel
1:45 – 2:35 pm ET
Benefitbay, CEO
Brandy Thompson is the Founder and CEO of benefitbay®, a company revolutionizing the complex world of employee benefits and health insurance. Despite coming from a non-traditional background as a single parent, Brandy defied conventions to build her pioneering firm from the ground up. Her uniquely multidisciplinary expertise spanning over 20 years in finance, technology, and human capital management allows Brandy to empathize with the challenges working families face while solving intricate industry problems.
As CEO, Brandy champions innovative solutions like the Individual Coverage Health Reimbursement Arrangement (ICHRA) model to empower employees and employers alike. She meticulously develops strategies aligned with short and long-term objectives, overseeing all operations to drive desired results. Brandy’s financial acumen enables her to make strategic investments that increase profitability and propel benefitbay’s growth.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
CEO, IkigAI Advisory
Shalini Urankar is the CEO of IkigAI Advisory, which offers Strategic Business and CFO Advisory Services to drive sustainable growth and value creation (including Automation & AI-enhanced solutions for the Office of the CFO). Prior to this, she was CFO at Biotech Startup, Evolved by Nature, and has held multiple leadership roles at Iron Mountain and Procter & Gamble over the course of her 15+ year career spanning across Biotech, Consumer Goods, Real Estate (REIT), SaaS and Technology.
Wednesdsay
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
Senior Product Marketing Manager, Planful
Marina Ureche is a senior product marketing leader with deep expertise in SaaS, go-to-market strategy, and finance transformation. At Planful, a leading provider of financial performance management solutions, Marina defines how key offerings–spanning financial close, consolidation, AI, and more–are brought to market in ways that reflect the evolving needs of finance teams. With a background in FinTech and strategic storytelling, she helps finance leaders modernize how they plan, report, and drive business decisions. Marina is passionate about helping the Office of the CFO embrace innovation to deliver greater impact across the business.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
CFO, SHR LLC
Jim Waddell is passionate about driving value through strategic execution, intelligent automation, cross-functional collaboration, team development, effective change management, and a continuous improvement mindset. With a talent for tackling complex challenges, he excels at building and leading teams that solve problems and create opportunities for the organization.
Bringing a broad range of expertise, Jim has deep experience in Finance, Technology, Governance, Accounting, Financial Reporting, GAAP, People Development, Financial Planning and Analysis, Modeling, Benchmarking, Budgeting, Restructuring, Performance Improvement, Quantitative Finance, LEAN Six Sigma, TQM, Global Operations, Audit, Tax, and Risk Mitigation. Jim has worked across global public and private companies in the Manufacturing, Technology, Retail, and Service industries, consistently driving operational excellence and business growth. Jim received his Bachelor’s and MBA from Babson College.
Wednesdsay
Visionary Panel
1:45 – 2:35 pm ET
Founder & CEO, Noteworthy
Executive coach, speaker, author, psychologist, and founder, Dr. Alessandra Wall, has been coaching top leaders to success for over 20 years.
As a women leadership expert, she specializes in supporting senior executives in high-impact, male-dominated industries to lead powerfully and impactfully without compromising their values, career fulfillment, or quality of life.
Her work has transformed the lives of hundreds of executive women in the US and Europe and changed workplaces for the better at scores of companies ranging from nimble start-up to Fortune 100.
Monday
Pre-Event Workshop
1:30 – 3:00 pm ET
Director, AMEX GBT
Andrew is a member of the AMEX GBT Consulting leadership team and oversees both client relationships as well as team management. He has been on the consulting team since 2014 leading projects and teams in Air, Hotel, Change Management, Travel Program Management & Policy.
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
CFO, Zone & Co
Chad Wonderling is the Chief Financial Officer at Zone & Co and is responsible for all of the company’s financial functions including accounting, tax, treasury, financial planning, analysis, and operations. Before Zone, he spent nearly six years at Salesloft serving in multiple finance leadership roles, but most notably as the Chief Accounting Officer. At Salesloft he helped lead four acquisitions, raise over $300 million in debt and equity financing, and played an integral role in the sale of Salesloft to Vista Equity Partners for $2.3 billion. Chad began his career at KPMG before transitioning to high-growth startups where he’s spent the last 15 years of his career. He and his wife, along with their two young boys, reside in Atlanta, GA.
Tuesday
Breakout Sessions
11:20 am – 12:10 pm ET
3:00 – 3:50 pm ET
Managing Director, Protiviti
Wednesday
Breakfast Roundtable
8:00 – 8:50 am ET
CTO, Prophix
Anurag Yagnik is the Chief Technology Officer at Prophix, with over 25 years of experience delivering enterprise software and leading digital transformation. A customer-focused technology executive, he has a strong background in business planning, sales, and product strategy, with a proven track record of modernizing legacy systems into cloud-native, API-driven SaaS platforms.
Anurag is skilled in building value-added data, analytics, and AI/LLM products, and has deep experience working with private equity-backed companies on value creation and financial transactions.
Wednesday
Breakout Session
12:10 – 1:00 pm ET
CFO, Trexon
Cathy Yang is the Chief Financial Officer at Trexon, an integrated engineering company renowned for its custom interconnect solutions for mission-critical applications and a global manufacturing footprint. Based in Boston, MA, Cathy brings over 25 years of financial and operational leadership experience, having driven transformation and results across multiple global companies in manufacturing, telecom software and services, and integrated oil and gas.
At Trexon, Cathy leverages her extensive background to oversee financial strategy and operations, ensuring the company’s continued growth and innovation in a highly competitive market. Prior to her current role, she was CFO for Ascensus Specialties, a private equity–owned specialty chemicals manufacturer. Before that, as CFO at C&K Switches—a vertically integrated manufacturing company of electronic components and connectors—she executed a multi-year strategic plan that reshaped the company’s portfolio, delivered high profitable growth, and led a successful transaction with Littelfuse, a publicly traded company.
Wednesdsay
Visionary Panel
1:45 – 2:35 pm ET
