Speakers

Michel Abranches

Michel Abranches is the Vice President of Working Capital Improvement at Monkey Tech, a global fintech specializing in next-generation AR/AP working capital finance (WC 2.0). He brings over 20 years of experience helping organizations unlock liquidity through scalable, supplier-friendly programs. Michel advises CFOs and Treasurers on modern working capital models and demonstrates how technology-driven, non-bank platforms can strengthen governance while improving DPO and DSO performance.

Jeff Alley

As a senior leader of revenue accounting and operations I have been highly successful at managing daily accounting of order-to-cash and revenue cycle. I am also skilled at identifying areas of weakness and implementing process improvements to increase efficiency and productivity. As a manager, I strive to develop and empower my teams to achieve a high level of performance.

Joseph Annotti

Joseph Annotti is President and Chief Executive Officer of the Media Financial Management Association. He is responsible for day-to-day leadership of the organization, interfacing directly with the board to develop and implement its strategic plan. Annotti, a longtime trade association executive based in the Chicago area, brings more than 40 years of trade and member association management from the consumer and commercial sectors to MFM.

Annotti most recently served as President and CEO of the Center for Truth in Science, a nonprofit organization focused on fact-based science addressing issues at the intersection of science, economics, and litigation. Prior to that, he spent 12 years as President and CEO of the American Fraternal Alliance, a not-for-profit national trade association representing fraternal life insurers across the United States. Earlier, Annotti was Senior Vice President of Public Affairs for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a position he held for more than 14 years.

Andy Balthaser

Andy Balthaser brings more than 27 years of experience in global compliance, privacy, security, operations, client solutions, and risk management for multinational organizations. As Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer at Cadex, he leads the company’s corporate compliance management system, overseeing global legal, regulatory, and contractual compliance, licensing, data privacy and AI management, security, and audit response and remediation. He also leads the company's Training and Quality Assurance groups, ensuring compliance and best in class controls in all areas of the business. Before joining Cadex, Andy served as the Chief Compliance & Privacy Officer at Alorica and its legacy companies operating in complex and highly regulated environments across industries including financial services, telecommunications, healthcare, and retail. He has extensive experience navigating evolving regulatory landscapes, strengthening governance frameworks, and implementing scalable compliance programs that mitigate risk and support operational excellence. Prior to that, Andy started his career at Capital One helping the company achieve uncharted growth and market share through several roles in operations, risk governance and supplier management. Andy regularly meets with federal and state regulators to educate and provide compliance and risk insight on behalf of the company; its clients and the industry. This partnership and also serving on several Board of Directors of industry associations has resulted in sharing best practices, advocating for industry change, and positive rulemaking for the industry.

Kathy Beavers

Kathy Beavers is Regional VP, Consulting at Tatum by Randstad.

Michael Bett

Mr. Bett is a Director in Houlihan Lokey’s Financial and Valuation Advisory business. He has been active on a number of valuation engagements and focuses on transaction opinions, including both fairness and solvency opinions. Mr. Bett has worked with both public and private companies across many industries and has advised boards of directors, special committees, and other fiduciaries in a wide variety of situations, including leveraged recapitalizations, mergers and acquisitions, spinoffs, asset sales, stock repurchases, and equity financing transactions. Mr. Bett is based in the firm’s Chicago office. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Bett was a Vice President with Bank of America’s Enterprise Valuations Group, performing business enterprise valuations primarily on highly leveraged companies across a variety of industries. He also worked as a commercial loan officer performing credit analysis on privately held, middle-market companies.  Mr. Bett holds a B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Wanda Borges

Wanda Borges is the principal member of Borges & Associates, LLC, a law firm based in Syosset, NY. For more than 29 years, Ms. Borges has concentrated her practice on commercial litigation and creditors' rights in bankruptcy matters, representing corporate clients and creditors' committees throughout the United States in Chapter 11 proceedings, out-of-court settlements, commercial transactions and preference litigation. She is the Immediate Past President of the Commercial Law League of America and has been an Attorney Member of its National Board of Governors, a Past Chair of the Bankruptcy Section and a past member of the executive council of its Eastern Region. Ms. Borges is a member of the American Bar Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, the Hispanic National Bar Association and the Turnaround Management Association, and is an associate member of the International Association of Commercial Collectors. She is a regular lecturer for NACM and its Affiliated Associations on commercial and corporate law (including ECOA, the Uniform Commercial Code and FCRA), insolvency matters, creditors' rights issues, antitrust law and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Ms. Borges has authored, edited and contributed to numerous publications including Thomson West's Enforcing Judgments and Collecting Debts in New York, the NAB book Out of the Red and Into the Black, the BCCA's Credit & Collection Handbook, the CLLA Commercial Law Journal, Bulletin, Debt 3 and Bankruptcy Section newsletters-including her treatise "Hidden Liens, Who is Entitled to What?"-and NACM's Antitrust, Restraint of Trade and Unfair Competition: Myth Versus Reality, Manual of Credit and Collection Laws and Principles of Business Credit. She has co-authored The Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 - An Overhaul of U.S. Bankruptcy Law, also published by NACM.

R.C. Buford

Currently in his 36th season with Spurs Sports & Entertainment (SS&E), RC Buford was named CEO in 2019. In this role, he provides day-to-day alignment and long-term strategic vision for the 500-plus full-time and 1,000-plus part-time staff who make up SS&E. The organization owns and operates the San Antonio Spurs, Austin Spurs (NBA G League) and San Antonio FC (USL Soccer), as well as manages the day-to-day operations of the Frost Bank Center, The Rock at La Cantera, Toyota Field and STAR Complex.   The two-time NBA Executive of the Year leads the organization toward success and purpose. His shared vision with Dr. Andy Walshe in 2015 inspired The Rock at La Cantera, a multi-phase $500 million legacy project that will have a transformative impact on the community and beyond. The complex opened in October 2023 and features a 22-acre park, the Victory Capital Performance Center and Frost Plaza.

The second phase of the project will feature a human performance research center and space for medical, hospitality and office use.   Prior to being named CEO, RC was president of SS&E sports franchises from 2008-19, where he served as general manager of the Spurs while overseeing sports administration for the other teams in the SS&E family.   RC started his professional career as an assistant coach at the University of Kansas in 1984 after spending one season as a graduate assistant. During each of his five seasons at Kansas, the Jayhawks competed in the NCAA Tournament. Buford was on the coaching staff for the team that won the 1988 NCAA Championship.  

He made the move to the NBA in 1988 when he joined the Spurs as an assistant coach on Larry Brown’s staff, which also included assistant coaches Gregg Popovich, Alvin Gentry and Ed Manning. He spent four seasons as an assistant with the Spurs, helping win back-to-back Midwest Division Titles in 1990 and 1991. RC then joined the Los Angeles Clippers for the 1992-93 campaign, as the first assistant for Coach Brown, before serving as an assistant coach with Lon Kruger at the University of Florida for their 1993-94 Final Four season.   Hired by Gregg Popovich, RC returned to San Antonio as the team’s head scout in 1994. Three years later, he was elevated to the Spurs director of scouting and was eventually promoted to vice president/assistant general manager in the summer of 1999. He was named general manager of the Spurs in 2002.   RC played basketball at Texas A&M University and Oklahoma State before receiving his degree from Friends University. He is actively involved in continuing education at Stanford, Harvard and Duke business schools.  

An activate participant in Basketball Without Borders Africa, RC is an advisory board member for Fuqua/Coach K Center on Leadership & Ethics (COLE) at Duke University. In addition, he has served on the board of directors of PeacePlayers International.   RC’s wife, Beth, is a former golfer on the LPGA Tour. Both are active with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Their son, Chase, is a member of the Kansas Jayhawks basketball staff, and their daughter, C.C., is currently coaching women’s golf at UNC Charlotte.   RC and his wife adopted two children, Alexis Wangmene from Cameroon in 2004, and Samer Jasser from Israel in 2007. The Bufords met Alexis through a Basketball Without Borders program in Johannesburg and Samer through PeacePlayers International.

Aaron Burkhard

Aaron Burkhard brings thirteen years of actuarial consulting expertise to Brown & Brown. He leads our specialty and actuarial resources and is primarily responsible for the financial work of our clients. Aaron is a strategic partner and is often at the forefront of client strategy and planning meetings to ensure strategies align with financial goals and management. He helps clients of all industries and sizes develop their cost projections and budgets for benefits and track performance vs. budget. His goal is to help simplify the complexity of healthcare costs to make it easy understand and track. Prior to joining the firm, he spent nine years at a large global employee benefits consultancy, where he led actuarial strategy, healthcare cost forecasting, and financial risk management for large clients.

Seth Carter, Ph.D

Seth provides the vision for the company’s digital transformation strategy while managing the technology products and service-delivery architecture. His passion for data and technology has driven him for the last 20 years, during which he has applied machine learning and behavioral science-based prediction models to software products in financial settings. Before joining Cadex, Seth was the co-founder and Chief Scientist of Altisource Labs, where he designed, built, and managed recovery optimization modeling engines, workflow platforms, and contact strategy for a global network of accounts receivable and mortgage servicing associates. Before transitioning into the corporate sector, Seth spent ten years as a professor and researcher of consumer behavior, statistics, and negotiation techniques. He authored multiple research articles and developed a patent integrating behavioral sciences techniques and statistical modeling into collections strategy. Seth earned a PhD and MS in Social Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from High Point University.

David Chaimson

David Chaimson is a seasoned Solution Engineering leader with a successful history of both developing world-class SEs and leading those resources on a variety of initiatives, most notably pursuing ERP/SCM/EPM business in commercial accounts across a variety of industries.

Mike Cohen

Mike is a Principal in the firm’s Retirement Plan Advisory Group on Philip Steele’s team. He has over 18 years experience assisting retirement plan sponsors, working with retirement industry centers of influence, recordkeepers and custodial partners. Prior to joining Cerity Partners Mike worked with a number of recordkeepers and retirement plan advisors in National Account Management roles with The Standard and Raymond James. Mike spent almost 13 years with Charles Schwab as a Relationship Manager.

Heather Cole

Heather Cole is the Founder and CEO of Heatherized, helping finance and business leaders create clarity, alignment, and momentum where AI, technology, and finance collide. As an executive coach, strategic advisor, and host of Financial Executives International’s Icons Podcast, she helps leaders cut through complexity, sharpen judgment, and turn strategic priorities into meaningful progress. Heather is a two-time bestselling author, licensed attorney, and IBM Lifetime Champion recognized for her leadership and influence in the global technology community. Known for her belief that AI is an accelerant, not a strategy, she equips executives to lead with confidence, align others around what matters most, and create momentum in a rapidly changing business environment

Dustan Costine

Dustan is part of Monkey’s U.S. expansion team, helping Treasury and Finance leaders unlock liquidity and strengthen supplier relationships through dynamic discounting and supply chain finance programs. Drawing on a background in corporate finance and business development, he focuses on turning complex working capital strategies into practical, human solutions that create value for both buyers and suppliers.

Dave Crosswhite

Dave brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in healthcare and business development to his role as Director of Healthcare Partnerships at Basys. Prior to joining the team, he spent over two decades leading large-scale sales and consulting teams across perioperative and acute care solutions. At Basys, he leverages this deep expertise to strengthen healthcare partnerships, delivering innovative payment solutions that simplify complexity and drive results.

Michael DeLuke

Mr. DeLuke is a Senior Advisor in Houlihan Lokey’s Financial and Valuation Advisory business. He has nearly three decades of professional services and valuation experience in the healthcare, financial services, manufacturing, and energy industries. Mr. DeLuke is based in the firm’s Dallas office. Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. DeLuke was a manager in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Standard & Poor’s corporate value consulting practice, where his valuation assignments addressed acquisitions, divestitures, fairness opinions, corporate planning, purchase price allocations, and financial advisory. Earlier, he worked for several years at another accounting firm, performing business valuations and providing tax and audit services. Mr. DeLuke holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Baylor University, a master’s degree in Taxation from Baylor University, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Texas. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in Texas and holds the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential. Mr. DeLuke is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. He was also a member of the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Valuation Resource Group, which identified and helped resolve fair-value measurement issues.

Erin Dozier

Erin Dozier has a wealth of experience in the legal and communications fields, with roles at organizations such as the National Association of Broadcasters and the Federal Communications Commission. With a background in law and a strong emphasis on media regulation and policy, Erin has made significant contributions to various companies and institutions throughout their career. Additionally, their work as an Adjunct Faculty member at the Catholic University of America showcases their dedication to educating others in the field of communications law.

Michael Drubin

Michael Drubin is a Partner in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) US Deals practice, specializing in financial due diligence for private equity sponsors, their portfolio companies, and strategic acquirers. He has more than 20 years of experience at PwC and has advised clients on 300+ acquisition and divestiture transactions. Michael leads diligence engagements focused on quality of earnings and cash flow, normalized EBITDA, working capital and net debt, forecasting and business plan assessment, and the identification of key value drivers, sensitivities, and deal risks. His experience also includes sustainable cost reduction, working capital improvement, financial modeling support, and assisting clients in transaction­related negotiations. In addition to his diligence leadership, Michael serves as lead client relationship partner for several key accounts, coordinating integrated PwC audit, tax, and consulting services to address broader client needs. Michael is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Florida and Georgia and holds a degree in Accounting and Finance from Florida State University. Outside of work, he is a pilot and volunteers his time flying missions with Angel Flight Soars in the Southeast.

Brandy Earley

Brandy Earley is the Director of Credit and Collections at Sinclair Inc., where she leads enterprise-wide credit strategy and operational performance initiatives. Since joining Sinclair in 2005 as a Credit Manager at WTVZ in Norfolk, Virginia, Brandy has advanced through a series of leadership roles before being promoted to her current role in 2025. With a strong background in consumer credit risk, collections, and insurance, Brandy brings broad expertise spanning broadcast finance operations and financial services. She has led transformative initiatives to modernize credit and collections processes, including digital workflow implementation, system automation enhancements, and development of collaborative SharePoint and Teams environments. She is passionate about operational excellence, innovation, and developing high-performing teams. In her spare time, Brandy enjoys spending time with her family, crafts, and enjoying the outdoors.

Mike Erickson

Founder and CEO of AFMS. Mike has been involved in the parcel industry for over three decades. Mike’s transportation career started with Airborne Express as one of their top District Managers before founding AFMS in 1992. Mike has overseen the growth of AFMS into a nationally recognized transportation contract-benchmarking consulting firm with a team of over 30 former carrier executives; Many of them were VP’s and pricing directors with UPS, FedEx, and DHL prior to Joining AFMS. AFMS has helped some of the largest shippers in the world negotiate best-in-class parcel rates.

Jill Eubank

Jill serves as Executive Vice President of Randstad Professional Talent Solutions where she oversees the Business Professionals, Finance & Accounting, Allied Healthcare, and Pareto practices. She began her career in staffing with Randstad in 2003, progressively advancing to her current role in November 2023, where she leads these specialized areas across the U.S. Recognized for her contributions to the industry, Jill was named to the 2024 Global Power 150 Women in Staffing and the 2025 Staffing 100 North America lists by SIA. She specializes in professional talent solutions, focusing on Business Professionals, Finance & Accounting, Allied Healthcare, and sales specialization through Pareto. Jill is passionate about cultivating strong leaders and teams, driving profitable growth, and ensuring top-tier partnerships with clients and talent. Her expertise includes significant involvement in change and transformational leadership, particularly in designing and evolving the specialized model for PTS, and a strong commitment to leadership development.

Heidi Feng

Heidi Feng is a partner in the PwC deals practice providing technical accounting advice and assistance to companies who are pursuing or seeking to pursue a capital raising transaction or significant M&A activity. For over 20 years, she has advised public and private companies primarily in the technology and media sector. She has provided advice to large multinational clients and smaller clients on the new revenue recognition standard, SEC technical accounting topics, IFRS accounting conversions, divestitures and acquisitions, as well as providing training to registrants and preparers on financial reporting matters. Feng’s clients rely on her ability to evaluate and provide advice on finance and complex accounting matters including: revenue recognition, capitalization, mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financing arrangements, consolidation and internal control. In addition to providing advice on technical accounting ramifications, she also highlights impacts to the business and provides a broader focus beyond financial reporting.

Matt Fluegge

Matt Fluegge is currently the VP of Sales & Strategic Partnerships at United TranzActions, a position held since 2024. Prior to this, Matt served as an Executive Consultant at Worldpay from 2002 to 2024 and managed various training initiatives at Champs Sports from 1995 to 2002. Matt earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration with a focus on Finance from Wisconsin Lutheran College, where they studied from 1992 to 1995.

Reshma Gada

Reshma Gada is a Financial Solution Architect & Practice Director at Apps Associates.

Adam Gain

Adam Gain is a Financial Due Diligence Partner at PwC.

Donna Garabo

Product Management Executive. Certified Professional Scrum Product Owner. Extensive experience leading cross-functional teams to design and deliver SaaS applications to the business community under aggressive schedules. Committed throughout all aspects of this process to provide a quality user experience within the product. Specialties: Strategic product planning. Product lifecycle management. Functional design and specification. Ability to translate a stated business or customer need or request into an optimal customer experience. Leading cross-functional teams. Agile.

Greg Genega

Greg has more than 15 years’ experience managing corporate IT data center and network operations and nine years’ experience in the digital assets space. He is a leader in the Innovation group and works to provide value to KPMG in all areas of blockchain, digital assets, and generative AI. He currently manages multiple innovation efforts around configuring blockchain applications, blockchain node infrastructure, GenAI applications, and more. Greg is responsible for implementing innovations in a structured fashion. He is responsible for scoping, developing and assessing blockchain innovations against rigorous business and regulatory criteria. Activities include researching anddeveloping solutions related to blockchain, decentralized finance,tokenization, stablecoin payments, generative AI, and similar emerging protocols and innovations. Greg assists all types of engagements of digital asset-native companies including deal advisory, risk frameworks, SOC readiness, regulatory, custodian assessments, proof-of-reserves attestations, and financial audits. Greg experiments frequently with DeFi, running a home Ethereum validator, configuring AI agents, and more. Greg speaks frequently on blockchain concepts and was featured on a local PBS special surrounding blockchain. He's also presented at the Blockworks Digital Asset Summit, DC Blockchain Summit, KPMG's Tech & Innovation Symposium, AMPlify conference, AICPA & CIMA conferences, NRF conferences, CFO leadership summits, and more.

Michael Gobbo

Michael Gobbo is part of Oracle's leadership team, where he plays a significant role in shaping the company's strategic direction and AI initiatives for the Office of the CFO. His expertise and leadership have been instrumental in Oracle's success, particularly in innovation leveraging AI and automation for the Office of the CFO, helping increase efficiencies, effectiveness and significantly reducing risk.

Brad Hausman

Bradley (Brad) is the Lead Partner of Assurance for Consumer, Hospitality and Manufacturing Practice and has more than 20 years of accounting, auditing, and business advisory experience serving privately held and public companies in a variety of industries including hospitality (restaurants, entertainment and tour and travel), manufacturing and distribution, technology, and commercial real estate. Brad is the firm's lead partner for assurance for the Consumer, Hospitality and Manufacturing and Distribution practice. Brad has been a part of auditing publicly traded companies throughout his career in public accounting including restaurants, manufacturers, distributors, and other industries. As part of the firm’s public company auditing practice, Brad has audited emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies, accelerated filers, and also S-1 registrations for initial public offerings. He has led the team that developed CohnReznick’s industry-specific guidance for hospitality and entertainment companies including accounting for and auditing revenue, leases, accounts receivable and credit losses, stock-based compensation and business combinations. He then led the team that trained the firm on the new guidelines as well as other assurance training for personnel throughout the firm as well as training our global workforce. Brad also leads the on-going effort to increase efficiency and effectiveness of audits in Consumer, Hospitality, and manufacturing and distribution through use of new and innovative technology as well as re-imagining the role of engagement teams to better utilize these new tools and a global workforce.

Carrie Heffernan

Carrie Heffernan has been Corporate Controller at Bonneville International since July 2024. Prior to her current position she was Regional Assistant Controller at Bonneville International supporting the Phoenix, Seattle, and Salt Lake City radio markets. Carrie first joined Bonneville in Seattle in 2011 after working as an accountant for the Bellevue School District in Washington State. After a short break from the media industry in 2013, she returned to Bonneville in 2015 as the Assistant Controller for the Seattle market. In late 2020, she and her husband relocated to the New England region, where she continues her work, remotely, for Bonneville.  Carrie graduated from the University of Wisconsin – River Falls with a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and a bachelor’s degree in Accounting. Carrie holds an MBA from Augsburg University. Carrie has been a member of Media Financial Management Association for many years and plays a key role in presenting at the annual conference supporting the young professionals and emerging leaders group. In 2022, she was awarded the MFM Rainmaker Award which is given in recognition of an MFM member whose efforts and contributions have helped the Association grow.

Paul Hensley

Paul Hensley is the Senior Vice President of Finance and CFO of HOLT CAT. Paul has responsibility over the financial operations, business systems, financial marketing and financial services departments. A CPA, Paul obtained his B.A. in Business Administration from Trinity University and has been with HOLT since 2000.

Robert “Bob” Heymann

Bob Heymann joined Media Services Group in 2008 and in 2019 he was named by Radio And Television Business Report as one of the Top 10 Media Brokers In America. At MSG, Bob has bought or sold dozens of radio stations, TV stations, and towers for clients of the firm, highlighted by co-brokering the radio portion of the $415,000,000 Gray Television acquisition of Schurz Communications and the sale of the Poole Tower Complex at Mt. Wilson in Los Angeles. Prior to joining Media Services Group in 2008, Bob spent 24 years in the media brokerage business in Chicago where he successfully brokered various-sized radio and TV stations from coast to coast with a total aggregate value in excess of $500,000,000. A few of his record setting transactions include the sale of WNIB-FM (now WDRV) Chicago for $165,000,000, the sale of WPNT-FM (now WSHE) Chicago for $75,000,000, and the sale of KOMA AM&FM Oklahoma City for $54,000,000. Among his other business enterprises, Bob was co-founder and chairman of the nation’s first broadband cable system and chairman of the largest telecom information company partnered with Pacific Bell (now AT&T). Before starting his station brokerage business in 1984, Bob was Station Manager at KQAK-FM (The Quake) in San Francisco and previous to that, he held management positions and consulting relationships with some of the largest broadcasters in America including NBC and CBS. Bob holds a B.S. Degree from the Kenan-Flagler School of Business at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He did post graduate work at New York University’s Stern Graduate School of Business and later pursued an M.B.A. at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. Bob became one of the youngest persons in U.S. history to be awarded a First Class Radio Telephone Operator License by the FCC after becoming interested in broadcasting at the age of 14.

Ryan Himmel, CPA

Ryan Himmel is the Head of the Office of the CFO and Global Head of Partnership at Trullion, where he works closely with executive leadership to drive strategic initiatives, ensure operational execution, and promote cross-functional alignment to support company growth. With over 20 years of experience in leadership roles across the accounting technology and FinTech sectors, he has a proven track record of successfully leading and executing industry-defining partnerships with financial institutions and technology companies of all sizes. His expertise has been featured in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Crain’s, and Entrepreneur Magazine.

Carina Hira

Carina co-leads CFGI's Finance Effectiveness practice bringing 20 years of experience in driving Finance strategy and transformation. She is a trusted advisor to the CFO function with a proven track record of helping Fortune 500 and mid-sized companies enhance their Finance operations. Carina is at the forefront of leveraging AI and intelligent automation to reimagine how Finance teams operate - from AI-strategy and learning to use cases and deployment that accelerate the close and improve decision-making. Her work spans Cloud ERP and EPM implementations, AI-driven data and process optimization, operating model design, and controls re-engineering.

Tim Hird

Tim Hird is executive vice president of enterprise accounts for Robert Half and Protiviti. In his role, he leads efforts to deliver integrated, client-focused solutions that help organizations build highperforming functions, solve complex business challenges and drive operational excellence across finance and accounting, technology, risk and compliance, and people and change management. Hird oversees Robert Half’s global enterprise account portfolio and plays a key role in aligning business development and delivery across multiple solution areas to support client growth and transformation initiatives. He works closely with leadership teams to ensure a consistent, highimpact approach to client engagement and solution delivery. Previously, Hird served as executive director at Robert Half. Since joining the company in 2000, he has held leadership roles across the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific, including launching the division’s London office and directing operations in Singapore, Japan, China and Hong Kong.

Don Holm

Don has over 25 years’ experience in helping organizations automate accounts payable, digitize supply chains, and optimize working capital. Don leads the Value Consulting Organization at Medius to help customers see and understand the impact AP Automation can have on the business.

Scott Jenkins

In his current role, he oversees a staff that are responsible for the credit and collections of Samsung Ad Sales & Partnerships. As part of his team’s responsibilities, they cover customer credit approvals and set up, distribution of invoices, collections, cash applications, bad debt reserves, and month end financial closings. He reports to the Head of Finance – NASB, located in Mountain View, CA. Prior to joining Samsung, Scott had a 26 year stint at The Walt Disney Company, moving from Home Entertainment and Buena Vista Television in Burbank, CA to ESPN in Bristol, CT, and ended his career at Disney by holding the position of TWDC – Director of Collections – North America overseeing the collections of all TWDC and their subsidiaries for 5 years. Prior to Disney, Scott was a Sr. Accountant at Deloitte & Touche. Scott was born and raised in New Bedford, MA, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Connecticut. Scott is part of several credit organizations, including the National Media Credit Professionals and previously served on the Board of Directors for the MFM/BCCA.

Alice Jolla

Alice L. Jolla is the Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Vice President, Corporate Finance and Services at Microsoft Corporation. An expert in financial processes, she leads a world-class, diverse global team responsible for corporate accounting, financial reporting, shared services, business intelligence, controls and compliance, and LinkedIn and Nuance controllership. Previously, Jolla served as the Microsoft Corporate Controller responsible for the Corporate Accounting function. Before joining Microsoft Corporation in 2007, Jolla completed a two-year industry fellowship with the Financial Accounting Standards Board. She has a wealth of industry experience from various accounting and finance positions within Microsoft Corporation, Dow Chemical Company, and Union Carbide Corporation. Jolla holds a Bachelor of Science in accounting from Louisiana State University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Charleston. She is a licensed certified public accountant. Jolla is a member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), Washington State Governor’s Council of Economic Advisors, and a supporter of professional and civic organizations including Financial Executives International Board of Directors, where she serves as national vice president and is a member of the Committee on Corporate Reporting, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, National Association of Black Accountants Corporate Advisory Board, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.

Casey Kacirek

Casey Kacirek is a Risk Advisory Managing Director responsible for leadership of client service teams and execution of business development strategy to support delivery and growth in Deloitte’s IT and Specialized Assurance and Internal Audit practice. She has 17 years of auditing experience managing complex projects in the technology, retail, and healthcare industries. She has an advanced understanding of internal control risk management, business process, IT, controls advisory, and pre-IPO readiness program management.

Josh Kamenecka

Josh is an experienced business executive, skilled at leading large organizations of business and technology professionals that sell and implement ERP, EPM and SCM solutions for small, medium-size and Enterprise customers. He leads from the front, stays close to the technology, builds sustaining customer relationships, and is a very effective communicator.

Victor Kao

Victor Kao is a Partner in Armanino’s Risk Advisory Services practice and a trusted advisor to middle-market organizations navigating risk, control, and transformation challenges. He brings more than 25 years of experience leading engagements in internal audit, SOX compliance, SOC readiness and attestation, IT risk, ERP implementations, cybersecurity, and business process improvement. He is particularly known for his work with technology, media, and entertainment clients, where he helps leadership teams strengthen internal controls, address complex compliance requirements, and support growth and operational change. His experience includes SOX readiness for large accelerated filers, but also digital transformation journeys, M&A integration, IPO readiness, and data and analytics initiatives. Victor is a CPA, CISA, CRISC, and CRMA. He holds bachelor degrees in Business Economics and Mathematics from UC Santa Barbara, an MS in Accountancy from the University of Virginia, and executive education credentials from USC and MIT in business administration and strategic consulting.

Tom Kelly

Tom Kelly is the Sr. Director Product Marketing/Management for the Oracle NetSuite Global Business Unit, responsible for Global Cloud Financials. Before joining Oracle NetSuite, Tomfounded T-Edward, a strategic and operational cloud consultancy providing cloud expertise and CXO services from companies in the Fortune 500 to start-ups. Prior to T-Edward, Tomheld a variety of executive financial and technology related positions with large cap companies including PepsiCo, eFunds and Deluxe Corporation, as well as small cap, privately held entities such as FullContact and PeopleNet Communications.

Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard

As Senior Vice President at Lockton, Jenna Kirkpatrick Howard works with non-profit and for-profit organizations to identify, assess, and manage their financial, operational, and reputational risks. Within her firm, Jenna is appointed to the Executive Committee for the Northeast Series of Lockton Companies. She also serves on two steering committees for Lockton – Women in Leadership and the Diversity Equity & Inclusion Council. Jenna is the 2022 Chair of the Elite Women Producer (EWP) group within Lockton. Outside of Lockton, she has served on the nonprofit boards that support of families in underserved communities around the Washington DC area and national equity organizations, specifically focused on advancing women and girls.

Nicholas Koutouras

Nicholas Koutouras is vice president of product management overseeing Q2’s Relationship Pricing and Profitability business. In his longtime banking experience before joining Q2, he developed a strong belief in the power of relationship pricing to help financial institutions measure and improve returns, uncover new opportunities to serve clients, empower commercial bankers and their leaders, and reduce administrative friction.

Justin Krieger

Justin Krieger is a director and co-leader of RSM Canada’s technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) industry. In 2022, Justin was selected for the firm’s Industry Eminence Program, which positions its analysts to understand, forecast and communicate economic, business and technology trends shaping the industries RSM serves. Justin’s focus is on the Technology sector, and he works alongside the firm’s chief economist and other program participants to analyze trends and themes affecting middle market businesses.

Ramnandan (Ram) Krishnamurthy

Ramnandan Krishnamurthy is a seasoned technology executive with extensive experience in AI, finance, and digital infrastructure. As the Co-founder and CEO of Maximor AI since 2023, Ramnandan leads initiatives to automate finance and accounting processes for mid-market companies. Previously at Microsoft from 2016 to 2023, Ramnandan held various strategic roles, including driving customer adoption for Azure Open AI and leading incubation efforts for India's digital public infrastructure. Ramnandan also contributed to significant product developments in Azure, including the launch of 'Azure Synapse Link.' Co-founding multiple startups, including fastnext.co and Quabl, showcases a strong entrepreneurial spirit.

Kimberly Lanier

Kimberly Lanier is a Managing Director in our People Advisory & Organizational Change Segment. In this role, she is responsible for leading the Human Capital Reporting segment of HR Transformation. Kimberly has over 20 years of experience in HR, Performance and People Analytics and has worked with many F500 global brands to quantify and amplify the value of their workforce. She is a frequent speaker, author and advisory board member of organizations such as University of Houston C.T. Bauer College of Business, Enterprise Engagement Institute, and Hoopla. Kimberly has been noted as a Top 100 Global Influencer on Inspiring Workplaces since 2016 and is a judge for the 2021 Global Employee Engagement Awards.

Kelsey Latham

Kelsey is a member of KPMG’s Washington National Tax (WNT) group, where she advises clients on federal tax credits and incentives enacted under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Prior to joining WNT, she spent more than five years in the firm’s National Accounting Methods and Credit Services group, helping clients improve tax efficiency and compliance through accounting method changes and credit studies. In her role within WNT, Kelsey researches and advises on complex technical issues related to energy-related credits and incentives. Her experience spans a wide range of technologies incentivized or expanded under the Inflation Reduction Act, including wind, solar, clean fuels, carbon capture, hydrogen production, and other renewable and clean energy initiatives. She has also been actively involved in interpreting and implementing the prohibited foreign entity rules introduced under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.​ Previously, as a manager in the field, Kelsey served a diverse portfolio of U.S. multinational and foreign-owned clients. She leveraged deep technical knowledge and practical business insight to support industry-leading companies across the oil and gas, retail, chemicals, and technology sectors. Her experience includes leading numerous R&D tax credit studies, fixed asset studies, accounting method changes ranging from simple to highly complex, employee retention credit studies, and multiple go-to-market initiatives. Kelsey has also played a key role in coordinating across conventional and renewable energy clients to understand ESG objectives and align KPMG’s service offerings accordingly. She has collaborated across service lines to deliver integrated solutions focused on credits, incentives, and tax efficiency, and has helped lead ESG-focused trainings within the Accounting Methods and Credit Services group in the Southwest business unit.

Ryan Laninga

Ryan Laninga is an accomplished finance professional with extensive experience in various accounting roles. Currently serving as the Director of Finance at Bonneville International since October 2016, Ryan has held multiple positions within the organization, including Regional Assistant Controller, Assistant Controller, and Staff Accountant. Prior to this, Ryan worked at Bonneville Phoenix - KTAR, Arizona Sports and ESPN Phoenix, where responsibilities included managing accounts payable, receivable, payroll, and financial reporting. Ryan's career also includes significant experience as Finance/Human Resources Manager at X5 Manufacturing, LLC, and positions in accounts payable and payroll processing across different companies. Ryan holds a Bachelor's degree in Accounting and Business/Management from Metropolitan State University of Denver and has additional degrees from Arizona State University and Mesa Community College.

Melissa Lewis

As a seasoned sales professional with over 15 years of experience, Melissa Lewis thrives at the intersection of innovation and business growth. With a focus on developing lucrative partnerships, she has dedicated her career to monetizing payments and creating world-class user experiences for organizations like banks and software companies.

Brian Marler

Mr. Marler is a member of Houlihan Lokey’s Technology Group. His experience includes valuing closely held and publicly traded businesses and providing financial advisory services in a range of transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, spinoffs, sales, repurchases of minority and controlling interest blocks, and other corporate finance activities. He has also provided valuations for tax and financial reporting purposes, gift and estate tax purposes, ESOPs, and dispute analysis. Mr. Marler has performed complex financial analyses and has broad experience in valuing intellectual property in the media and entertainment industries. He has worked extensively with leading media, sports, and entertainment companies, including Sony Pictures, NBC, DreamWorks, Warner Bros., Comcast, Major League Baseball, House of Blues, Gray Television, and Six Flags. Mr. Marler speaks and writes frequently on the media, sports, and entertainment industries and co-authored: Intellectual Property Valuation. Intellectual Property in Business Transactions. Oakland, California: Continuing Education of the Bar; 2008. Before joining Houlihan Lokey, Mr. Marler was a controller at Polygram Filmed Entertainment, responsible for financial reporting, film accounting, and budgeting. Earlier, he was a member of Spelling Entertainment’s corporate finance group, responsible for accounting, budgeting, strategic analyses, and SEC reporting. Mr. Marler holds a B.S. in Business Administration/Finance from California State University, Northridge, and an MBA from the University of Southern California. He holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst.

James McBratney, CPA

James A. McBratney, CPA, is the Vice President of SEC Reporting and Accounting Policy at News Corp. Specializing in the Media and Entertainment industry, James previously oversaw external reporting at Viacom. Throughout his career, he has prioritized process optimization and automation to streamline workflows and improve reporting timeliness and accuracy. James began his career in public accounting and holds a Master’s Degree in Accounting and Information Analysis from Lehigh University.  

Dr. Emily McIntosh

Emily has over a decade of experience providing eDiscovery, information governance, forensic data analytics and legal technology consulting services within our Forensics & Integrity Services practice. She routinely leads complex global matters for Fortune 500 companies across a variety of industries, including health care, life sciences, technology and financial services. During her doctoral studies at Southern Methodist University (SMU), she focused on gaining efficiencies transforming unstructured data using robotic process automation and Lean Six Sigma. Outside of the firm, Emily is an adjunct professor at SMU in the Lyle School of Engineering, serves as the Artificial Intelligence Chair for Analytics Magazine’s Editorial Advisory Board and is involved in the Sedona Conference. She holds a Doctorate of Engineering in Engineering Management, MS in Systems Engineering, MS in Operations Research and BS in Management Science from SMU.

Tim McNally

Tim is a Senior Principal in the firm’s Retirement Plan Services Group. He has more than 25 years of experience assisting pension plans, endowments, foundations, and other institutions address their unique financial needs and investment goals. Prior to joining Cerity Partners, Tim focused on business development and client relations at Vanguard. He served as a Relationship Executive for some of the organization’s largest retirement clients. As a Business Development Executive with Vanguard’s discretionary management services, Tim supported a broad range of institutional clients. Earlier in his career, he provided tax and investment advice to both small businesses and key executives.

Mark Miller

Mark helps leads our middle market Value Creation practice and helps clients meet merger integration and performance improvement challenges for Forvis Mazars. He has more than 25 years of experience assisting private-equity held and other middle-market companies with operational and financial improvement across industries and has held leadership positions with top-tier advisory firms. He started his career as a consultant with an international firm. Prior to joining Forvis Mazars, he was Chief Operating Officer for several companies private equity-held entities for which he helped develop and implement a playbook for integrating and transforming portfolio companies to achieve maximum enterprise value. Mark was also previously a regional managing director for a consulting group where he led the merger integration practice, assisting corporate and private equity-held companies with integrating customer-facing and back-office processes to achieve synergy goals and minimize disruption to the core business. He and his teams have addressed both global and functional-level integration challenges including consolidating global sales organizations, integrating ERP platforms, rationalizing shared service functions, and streamlining finance & accounting operations. He is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, with a B.S. degree in industrial engineering.

Pam Mudge

With over 25 years experience of sales and sales leadership, Pam Mudge is passionate about driving revenue growth and fostering talent within organizations. Throughout her career, she has successfully led diverse teams, creating an inclusive environment that empowers individuals to excel. Pam's strategic vision and hands-on approach have consistently delivered results, enhanced operational efficiency, and achieved ambitious sales targets. She believes in the power of mentorship, dedicating time to guide emerging leaders and cultivate their skills with service as the Co-Chair of RGP's Women in Leadership ERG program. Pam's commitment to professional development extends beyond the workplace; she actively volunteers with Make A Wish Oregon where she contributes her expertise as a member of their Board of Directors.

Drita Mulla

Drita Mulla is a Director of Credit & Risk Management within NBCUniversal’s Global Customer Finance Operations, where she leads enterprise credit strategy, customer master data governance, AML/KYC and sanctions compliance, portfolio risk mitigation, and bad debt oversight across a globally distributed organization. She plays a key role in enabling commercial growth while maintaining strong financial controls, and is a leader in NBCUniversal’s finance transformation initiatives, including SAP S/4HANA implementations that modernize credit decisioning and risk analytics. With deep expertise in credit strategy, compliance, and global operating model transformation, Drita is recognized for driving scalable, future ready solutions that deliver business value. She holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in accounting.

Randy Neff

Randy Neff is Vice President of Szabo Associates, Inc., which was founded in 1971, and is the first and largest collection firm to specialize in debt collection for the media and related industries. The firm is the industry leader in traditional broadcast and print media collections, but also provides collection services to the syndication, entertainment, product licensing, online advertising and internet industries, with collection experience on over 500,000 agencies and advertisers. Randy is responsible for the company's strategy and corporate operations; overseeing collection, sales and litigation operations, including the development of the company's growth and productivity initiatives, forming new business and partnerships; financial structure; and promoting the company's culture and vision statements. Randy joined Szabo Associates in 1996, and previously served as an Account Associate, Newspaper Division Manager, Radio Division Manager and Cable/Television Division Manager, where he was responsible for managing collection and sales associates, ongoing training, performance, reviews, forecasts, budgeting, and the growth of the divisions. Randy has been a guest lecturer on Credit and Collection Management for media industry companies and is a member of the Media Financial Management Association, where he serves on the Localism Committee; the Networks, Programming & Streaming Committee; and the Television Committee. Prior to Szabo, Randy spent seven years in Credit, Collection, and Consumer Finance in both First-Party and Third-Party operations. Randy has received certifications in Accounting, Marketing and Distributions, and Sales and Management. Randy's hobbies include spending time with his wife and daughter, playing tennis, and just about any other outdoor activity, including hiking, kayaking, spending time at the lake or beach, but he has also been known to go spelunking.

Deborah Newman

Deborah Newman is the Head of the Media & Entertainment industry based in the Los Angeles office. In her leadership role, she oversees the growth and operations of the firm’s Media & Entertainment industry practice, which encompasses a full range of audit, tax and advisory services. Deborah has over 25 years of experience in the industry including as the head of Global Compliance & Business Process Improvement at Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., and prior to that as an Entertainment partner in the audit practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She has deep expertise in global entertainment businesses including broadcast television, filmed content production, theatrical and home entertainment. During her expansive career, Deborah has worked with multi-national companies to solve numerous complex challenges such as changing international regulatory standards, financial reporting challenges, operational challenges in unique entertainment specific areas such as participations and residuals, and change management due to mergers, acquisitions, significant business process and technology changes. Deborah has served many clients across the filmed content business including Walt Disney, Sony Pictures Entertainment, A&E Networks, NBC Universal, Fox Studios, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., Paramount Pictures, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, Screen Actors Guild and the Motion Picture Association.

Lauren Niebruegge

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 23 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. Lauren holds both a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). With her strong academic foundation and extensive industry experience, Lauren is committed to fostering innovation within the healthcare sector and advancing Centene’s mission of transforming the health of the community, one person at a time. Lauren & her husband, Dan, have five sons and reside in Waterloo, Illinois.

Bill North

Bill is a seasoned sales leader with over 20 years’ experience in the Order-to-Cash market. Author, speaker on the value of technology to CFOs. One of Sidetrade’s first North America hires, Bill has been integral in building up Sidetrade’s business opportunities in the region. Bill is adept at striking the perfect balance of competition, collaboration and celebration in his team.

Kaleb Northrup

Kaleb Northrup is a veteran pre-sales technician and manager who is highly skilled in consultative and solution selling. He is consistently a leader among peers, and in meeting and exceeding sales quotas, while achieving and maintaining "trusted advisor" status with clients at all levels, from the C-level to analysts.

David Oxenford

David is a broadcast and digital media law thought-leader and influencer. Representing clients in Washington, DC, for over 35 years, he understands issues crucial to organizations in today’s media landscape. With a wide-ranging practice, David represents broadcasters facing the FCC in regulatory matters and advises clients on transactions and other business matters. He also works with digital media companies navigating music licensing copyright and other content issues. David’s interest in broadcasting began in college, where he managed The College of William and Mary’s student-run radio station and helped shepherd its application for a significant power increase through the FCC. After graduation, when many of his college friends went on to own and operate radio and TV stations, he became their lawyer. Today, he works with everyone from Mom and Pop broadcasters to public companies, trade associations, financial institutions and other broadcasting and digital media organizations and individuals. At the center of many of the debates over broadcast and music licensing issues, he is a regular speaker at broadcast and digital media conventions and seminars. At one recent conference, he was introduced as “the radio industry’s lawyer.” David is the editor and principal writer of the influential Broadcast Law Blog, read by thousands every month and widely quoted in broadcast, media and legal publications.

Tim Pecaro

Tim Pecaro is a principal and founder of the firm of Bond & Pecaro, Inc., a Washington, DC-based consulting firm specializing in valuations, strategic planning, acquisition analysis, asset appraisals, and related financial services for the media, communications, technology, energy, automotive, government, and healthcare industries. Before the formation of Bond & Pecaro, Inc. in 1986, Tim was a Vice President with Frazier, Gross & Kadlec, Inc. Prior to this, he was employed in the programming department at NBC in Chicago. Tim has actively participated in the development, research, and preparation of appraisal reports for owners of radio, television, cable, newspaper, outdoor, common carrier, satellite, telecommunications, tower, new media, programming, Internet, technology, energy, automotive, and healthcare properties. He has also prepared special research reports for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Cable Television Association (NCTA), and the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB). Tim has been retained to appraise over 4,000 companies. He has also been retained to provide special market studies and individual research projects for the management of media, telecommunications, technology, and energy properties and related industries. He is the past Vice Chairman of the Media Financial Management Association (MFM) and a past member of the Strategic Planning Committee. Tim was the Co-Chair of the association’s 2004 and 2005 annual conferences, past Chairman of the Tax and New Media Committees, and a current member of the Interactive & Digital Media, Tax, and Membership Committees. Mr. Pecaro was also a member of the NAB Tax Advisory Panel, the MFM Task Force on media like-kind exchanges, and the NCTA Working Group on SFAS 157 and SFAS 141(r). He is an industry co-Editor and contributing author of Understanding Broadcast & Cable Finance from Focal Press. Mr. Pecaro has testified as an expert witness in connection with media and telecommunications valuation matters before federal, state, and local courts; the FCC; and the Joint Committee on Taxation. He has also spoken on media and technology financial issues at the annual conferences of the National Association of Broadcasters, the Media Financial Management Association, the National Cable Television Association, the Broadband Tax Institute, the International Business Forum, the Strategic Research Institute, and Telocator. Additionally, Tim has been a guest lecturer at the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

Carmen Reyes

Carmen Reyes is an accomplished, results-oriented leader with a successful record of improving processes in Order-to-Cash (OTC) with expertise in order booking and invoicing, resulting in increased Cash Flow and reduced Days Sales Outstanding (DSO). She is recognized for cultivating and leveraging strong internal and external relationships to build consensus across multi-functional teams and organizational levels.

Brian Reynolds

Brian is a strategic finance leader with 10+ years of experience in accounting, financial management, and enterprise finance transformation. Expert in financial analysis, process improvement, and large-scale data remediation, with a proven track record of driving complex, cross-functional initiatives, optimizing operations, and supporting board-level decision-making.

Antonella Ricciardi

Antonella Ricciardi is the Senior Vice President, Corporate Controller NBCUniversal Media reporting to the NBCU Chief Accounting Officer. She is responsible for corporate accounting, reporting, consolidations, technical accounting and policy and partnering with her peer group with a focus on global processes, change management, and organization-wide controls. Antonella played an integral role in the recent spin-off of Versant Media from NBC. Prior to this role, Antonella held the Group Controller role for the Media Group which included NBCU’s Peacock, Entertainment Networks, Sports, and Telemundo Networks & studio operations. Antonella started at NBCU in June 2019. Prior to joining NBCU, Antonella was the Senior Vice President, Controller for AMC Networks Inc where she had global overall accounting responsibility and was integral in taking the company public in connection with its spin-off from Cablevision Systems Corporation (now Altice) in 2011. Antonella started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she was a Senior Manager in their audit practice. Antonella has served on the board of the Media Financial Management organization.

Toby Scales

Toby is an Advisor in Google Cloud’s Office of the CISO, and an outspoken advocate for change in the motion picture industry. While productions become increasingly decentralized and global operations, his emphasis is on building security into every step of the supply chain. At the same time, new technologies like Generative AI are completely disrupting traditional pipelines. Integrating these advances safely and frictionlessly in support of the creative process– that is his mission. At Google, Toby works with the largest and most innovative studios and production companies on the planet, advising on security strategy across both the content and traditional enterprise domains. Prior to Google, Toby worked at Microsoft where he spent five years bringing industry solutions to the Azure cloud. Some of the projects he worked on there include Avid’s Edit On-demand and Dreamworks’s cloud-based animation pipeline. Before joining Microsoft: Toby built and sold a consulting agency in Seattle, oversaw the cloud and acquisition strategy for an MSP in New York, and worked as a Senior Architect at OmnicomMediaGroup. In all his work, Toby is guided by a simple maxim: build systems like you won’t be there to support them; build relationships like you will.

Brandon Schneider

Brandon Schneider is a Principal on the Tax Investor Coverage team at Crux. In this role, he advises corporate clients on tax credit purchasing strategies. Brandon brings nearly a decade of hands-on renewable energy finance experience to the team. Prior to joining Crux, Brandon served as Director of Structured Finance & Tax Equity Investments at Sol Systems, a leading renewable energy developer and financier, where he spent three and a half years structuring and executing tax equity investments on behalf of corporate clients. Brandon previously served as Director of Finance at Madison Energy Investments, a renewable energy infrastructure developer, where he led structuring, negotiation, and execution of long-term debt and tax equity financing efforts. Brandon holds an MBA from The George Washington University School of Business and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan.

Wayne Scott

Wayne Scott is the Chief Financial Officer of Take Command Health, an industry-leading company in the ICHRA and QSEHRA space. He leads the financial strategy for the company’s innovative HRA management solutions, which empower businesses of all sizes to reimburse employees for health insurance—giving employees the flexibility to choose the best coverage for their needs while fostering a culture of health and wellness within organizations. As a dynamic financial executive and leadership coach, Wayne has a proven track record in guiding CEOs, business owners, and leadership teams toward sustainable growth and strategic excellence. With decades of experience as a CFO, entrepreneur, and executive coach, he specializes in transforming businesses by optimizing financial structures and elevating leadership performance. Wayne is an Active Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. With a career spanning executive leadership roles in banking, automotive, and private equity-backed companies, he is passionate about aligning financial strategy with long-term vision. His ability to navigate financial complexities while fostering leadership transformation makes him an invaluable asset to CEOs looking to scale their businesses with clarity and confidence. With his free time, Wayne shares insights on leadership, financial management, and executive growth through speaking engagements and coaching sessions. 

David Shebay

David is a Managing Partner and the Sr Product Leader for Managed Services with three decades of experience providing back office Accounting, Controls, FP&A, Tax, IT, and HR services for organizations. He manages GTM, Delivery, Transition, and Technology within Managed Services. Previously, David built and globally led Finance & Accounting managed services with extensive overseas, low-cost resources. At CFGI, he has built extensive automation across the value chain that eliminates the need for those resources utilizing existing and emerging technology to solve our needs in new ways. Prior to CFGI, David executed these functions within industry and at the big 4. Leading several global teams across NAM / SAM / MENA / APAC, he had the opportunity to work on complex transactions and executions for clients across a wide range of industries.

Mark Sickles

Mark W. Sickles, an interdisciplinary pioneer and organizational architect, is CEO of SuperOrg, Inc. Using the SuperOrg methodology, Mark has created billions of dollars of shareholder value as a senior executive and management consultant for companies in multiple industry sectors. He has extensive experience in corporate governance and board director education, serving as the founding CEO and Chairman of the Board of the New Jersey Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Mark also served as an instructor at Rutgers University, Singapore Institute of Management, and American Management Association. He is the author of three books, widely published in journals including Directors Monthly, Directors & Boards, Investor Relations Update, Financial Executives International, and Human Resource Executive, and has been a contributor to the Financial Times. Mark is a graduate of Georgetown University, with a M.S. degree from Rutgers, successfully completed the Series 7 general securities exam, and is a licensed insurance agent.

Eric Steele

Eric Steele is an accomplished B2B revenue leader, recently serving as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) at Source Advisors, a premier, global tax consulting firm partnering with CPAs and CFOs to maximize government-sponsored tax credits, deductions, and incentives to unlock cash flow and drive growth. As the company’s first CRO, Eric led the sales, marketing, and client success organizations, steering the firm toward significant growth while establishing transformational change. His vision and leadership were key in cultivating an aligned revenue engine, setting Source Advisors apart in a competitive landscape. Before his time at Source Advisors, Eric dedicated nearly 15 years to Forrester, a leading global marketing and technology research and advisory firm. At Forrester, he ascended through various sales positions, ultimately leading the U.S. end-user new business organization. His commitment to excellence was recognized with the “Benjamin Villien Award,” a tribute to integrity, client-centric focus, passion, and exemplary people leadership. Eric’s time at Forrester was instrumental in shaping his leadership ethos, centered on clear mission and values, empowering the voice of the employee, and fostering alignment between marketing, sales, and client success to differentiate and win.

Eric’s academic credentials include an MBA with distinction from the Jack Welch Management Institute and an undergraduate degree from the University of Oklahoma. A Dallas, TX resident, Eric cherishes family life with his wife and their two sons. A passionate Dallas Cowboys and Texas Rangers fan, Eric is actively involved in coaching his sons’ sports teams and believes his primary job is to be a good Dad. As an active member of the CRO Collective, Eric continues to influence the realm of revenue leadership, sharing his insights and experiences to inspire others in the field.

Philip Steele

Philip is a partner with over 40 years of consulting experience in qualified plans. His expertise in fiduciary services and plan governance are complimented by his national team of plan design consultants with extensive industry experience. He is also considered to be a pioneer of combining Financial Wellness Coaching into qualified plans as a more meaningful form of participant guidance as opposed to traditional plan centric education.

Menaka Swampillai-Evans

Menaka Evans, Chief Financial Officer at ITV America and ITV Studios America, joined the company in 2023 to oversee all financial planning, accounting and business operations for ITV Studios America and its labels (Bedrock Entertainment, Circle of Confusion Television Studios, Tomorrow Studios and Work Friends), as well as ITV America and its labels (ITV Entertainment, Leftfield Pictures, High Noon Entertainment, Sirens Media, Thinkfactory Media and Good Caper Content). Menaka has extensive entertainment industry finance experience, with a specialty in television production finance and operations. Before joining ITV, she was head of finance and business planning at ABC Signature, where she led all business planning, forecasting, and reporting efforts. She previously was SVP of finance at All3Media, where she opened their U.S.-based office and partnered with her UK counterparts in finance, business affairs and production to facilitate the production of series in the U.S. Similarly, she was SVP of finance at Shine America (which became EndemolShine North America, acquired by Banijay in 2019) and oversaw financial support for domestic production and international distribution across its slate of scripted and unscripted content. Earlier in her career, she spent 10 years at The Walt Disney Company in International Home Entertainment, Corporate Controllership and ABC Studios (fka Touchstone Television). Menaka earned her CA (Chartered Accountant) designation in Canada and started her career at PwC in Toronto. She currently resides in Redondo Beach, CA with her husband.

Kenny Thompson

After 22+ years in payments, Kenny Thompson has learned this: partners don’t need another vendor — they need a partner who makes payments simple, profitable and painless. As Managing Partner at Basys, he works with ISVs and SaaS leaders to build payment integrations that actually work — driving growth for your business and delivering a better experience for your customers. Basys doesn't do cookie-cutter setups. They do tailored solutions, world-class service and real relationships that last.

Matt Twomey

Matt Twomey is a director in RSM US LLP’s financial investigations and dispute advisory practice. He specializes in merger and acquisition advisory, disputes, and investigations, and serves as a consultant to buyers and sellers in disputes involving working capital, earnouts, and representations and warranties. He is based in RSM’s Philadelphia office.

Mike Weinisch

Michael’s career with Nielsen spans 18 years across multiple roles with increasing levels of success. He currently leads the Local Audience Insights group including direct responsibility for thought leadership, insights, client/responsive analytics, data quality, methodology impact and client education. Previously, Michael led new business and renewals for Nielsen Local Media ($45M+ book), account management ($100M+ book), Grabix product development, and represented Nielsen on-site at CBS Television Stations (Paramount). Michael has won multiple awards for his direct work with clients helping to grow their business using Nielsen data.

Seth Williams

Seth Williams joined Fletcher, Heald & Hildreth in November 2018 and has advised clients on a wide range of issues, including federal, state, and international telecommunications licensing requirements; mergers, acquisitions, and transfers of control; state telecommunications taxes; federal and state regulatory fees; CALEA compliance; and FCC enforcement proceedings. Fun Fact Seth Williams has a relative who was on the Mayflower and signed the Mayflower Compact. Seth is also an experienced TCPA lawyer, representing calling platforms, ringless voicemail services, and other cutting edge communications providers. He helps clients evaluate their TCPA risk and implement best practices to mitigate that risk, and he defends clients involved in TCPA litigation. Seth has clerked for both the former Acting FCC Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn and the FCC's Audio Division. Seth is also a member of the Federal Communications Bar Association.

Chris Wright

Christopher Wright, Global CFO Solutions and Business Performance Improvement Leader, leads Protiviti’s global Finance Transformation and Transaction Services solutions, oversees Protiviti’s Supply Chain, Operations, People and Change practices, and serves on our global ESG steering committee. He has over thirty-five years of experience serving clients as an external auditor, including 6 years as a partner at two global accounting firms (Arthur Andersen and KPMG), and as an internal auditor and financial reporting risk consultant. 

At Protiviti, Chris has provided significant assistance to companies working through transactions and restructurings, and experiencing restatements, regulatory inquiries, stock compensation and other financial investigations and difficulties in implementing new accounting pronouncements. Chris earned his Bachelor of Science degree with a major in Accounting from Franciscan University, a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Quinnipiac University and a Doctorate in Interdisciplinary Leadership from Creighton University. Chris serves on the boards of several charitable, civic, educational and business organizations. His work in Financial Reporting Remediation and Compliance has also involved a significant commitment to public speaking and the development and delivery of internal and external training.

Brent Young

Brent is a Director with more than thirteen years of experience in accounting and advisory services. Brent concentrates on consulting projects across multiple industries. He provides an array of consulting services to his clients including accounting advisory and financial reporting, performance and process improvement, business transformation, audits, and internal control assessments. Brent serves clients across both the middle market and Fortune 1000 space across the Private Equity Value Creation and CFO and business advisory service lines within Consulting. Brent is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He is a graduate of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a BSBA degree and an MAC degree. Before joining Forvis Mazars, he worked at a Big Four accounting firm.

Autumn Zobrist

Ms. Zobrist is a Senior Vice President in Houlihan Lokey’s global Accounting and Financial Reporting Advisory team. She advises clients on complex technical accounting issues that arise in capital market transactions, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, securitizations, cross-border activities, and other transactions. Ms. Zobrist is based in the firm’s New York office. Prior to joining Houlihan Lokey, Ms. Zobrist was part of the EY Technical Accounting Advisory group, where she specialized in derivatives and financial instruments, debt and equity issuances, business combinations, and consolidation. Before that, she spent a year at the Financial Accounting Standards Board supporting the post-implementation review of ASC 842 (leases) and has several years of accounting and finance experience in small and medium-sized businesses. Ms. Zobrist holds a B.S. and a Master of Accountancy from Brigham Young University. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York.