Gratitude Through Hard Times

Anson is the Co-Founder and CEO of Battery, honored as a 3-time Ad Age Small Agency of the Year and ranked as a top 10 Fastest growing private company by the Los Angeles Business Journal 3 years in a row. In June 2019, Havas acquired a majority stake in Battery. Prior to Battery, he co-founded one of the first pure play social media agencies called Rocket XL, growing the company to 5 offices acros...

Joel Holland is the CEO of Harvest Hosts (harvesthosts.com), a membership network that connects RVers with unique overnight experiences at 1000+ wineries, farms, breweries, museums, golf courses and other interesting destinations in the US and Canada. He is also the Founder and Chairman of Storyblocks (storyblocks.com), a one-stop-shop for high quality stock media and the first subscription-based...

As a leading social innovator and TEDx speaker, Mark Shapiro is inspiring businesses, communities, and individuals to a kinder standard of influence. From his 12 years at Showtime Networks in a sales, training, and leadership role, his extensive research on authenticity (through the ‘Are You Being Real’ Podcast), and having sent 8,000 personalized shoutout videos to those he cares about, Mark is p...

An accomplished leader with a proven track record of aggressive, yet honorable leadership, Brian has led CMI to double digit growth, every year since 2008. Coming from humble beginnings, Brian was first hired to sweep the floors at CMI at 14 years old. He's come to love the industry AND the Company that has provided so much opportunity for himself, his family and their 100+ loyal and dedicated emp...

Mike began his investment career in the early 1980s in Columbus, OH as a research analyst at the Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio. He founded Willingdon Wealth Management in 2003, and continues to utilize his extensive experience in research and fundamental analysis to play a leadership role in the firm’s overall investment process. Mike also has primary responsibility for the management...

Since founding LHA, formerly known as Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates in 1984, Keith Lippert has built a leading industry‐wide reputation as a highly respected strategist to public, private and foreign emerging‐growth companies. Along with his partner, John Heilshorn, Keith has provided counsel to thousands of companies from large-cap to micro-cap establishing LHA as a pioneer and a premier pro...

Courtney Nichols Gould is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of SmartyPants Vitamins, the leading maker of premium comprehensive supplements with a commitment to bring more health to more people every day. Since launching online in 2011, SmartyPants has led the industry in making ingredient choices focused on quality and transparency and wrapping them in a delicious package. The company's products are top-rank...

Jillian is committed to creating connection and community by organizing places where people feel seen, heard, and valued. As a professional community builder, public speaker, and writer, Jillian is most known for being the founder of The Joy List, a weekly newsletter with the mission of reducing loneliness in New York City and eventually the world. She's been sending it out every Monday morning fo...

Dan Nester, President, and Chief Executive Officer co-founded Polaris Logistics Group in 2013 after 13 years at a large Third Party Logistics company. Dan brings a vast range of experience to Polaris, including the development and expansion of a broad customer and carrier base. He is responsible for operations, training, sales and accounting for the organization. He also serves as a mentoring reso...

One of today’s most influential voices in workplace trends, Chester Elton has spent two decades helping clients engage their employees to execute on strategy, vision, and values. In his provocative, inspiring and always entertaining talks, #1 bestselling leadership author Chester Elton provides real solutions to leaders looking to manage change, drive innovation, and lead a multi-generational work...

Justin Forsett is a former NFL running back and now a successful entrepreneur. He played 9 years in the NFL with the Seattle Seahawks, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Baltimore Ravens, Detroit Lions, and Denver Broncos. His best season came in 2014 as a member of the Baltimore Ravens when he was selected to the Pro Bowl. Now Justin is an entrepreneur. He is the founder /...

Chris is a serial entrepreneur and investor with more than 25 years of experience across a dozen startups, private and public companies and various social enterprises. He is currently a Venture Partner at GGV Capital in San Francisco and Shanghai, as is a sought after expert on company culture, team building and what it takes to scale a business. He has spoken at the World Economic Forum in Davos...

Mr. James David Waldinger, J.D, MBA, is the CEO and Founder and of Artivest. Prior to forming Artivest, Waldinger was a portfolio manager with Clarium Capital, a large global macro hedge fund established in 2002 by Peter Thiel, co-founder and former CEO of PayPal. He also served as the lead analyst on Thiel’s initial Facebook investment in 2004. Prior to his positions with Clarium and Thiel, Waldi...

BJ Lackland has spent nearly 20 years as an investor in and executive at startups, raising or investing over $200 million. As an investor, he’s been a VC, an angel, and is now the CEO of Lighter Capital, where he has overseen over 550 alternative investments in early-stage tech companies. As an executive, he’s been on the executive team of three companies, including as the CFO of a public energy t...

Barry Saywitz has 25 years of experience in the real estate industry. He began his career in the late 1980s with Grubb & Ellis, and then with Howard Ecker & Co., in Orange County. In 1992, Mr. Saywitz became a partner in the West Coast operations of Howard Ecker & Co., and in 1994, he purchased the outstanding stock of the company and changed the corporate name to The Saywitz Company....

Ro Gupta is the CEO of Carmera, the world’s only 4-dimensional index of city streets, accessible to anyone. Before Carmera, he created data products and helped grow web commenting network, Disqus, to 2 billion users. Prior to that, he held digital roles at Disney. Earlier on, Ro was a management consultant for corporations and NGOs in San Francisco, Sao Paulo, New York, and Mozambique. He also adv...

Tony Galati is an information technology professional, entrepreneur, teacher, and business leader who is revolutionizing vocational education with the founding and growth of MyComputerCareer a remarkable career college for new Information Technology professionals. From opening its first campus in 2008 to construction of six additional campuses in four states and its current national expansion in t...

Shari Dingle (Sandifer) Costantini is a renowned expert in the healthcare industry, with 29 years of experience in strategic leadership, nursing and international nurse staffing. She is a strong advocate for creating supportive work environments in which healthcare workers will thrive and improve patient outcomes. Shari founded Avant Healthcare Professionals in 2003. Avant has placed thousands of...

For some people in the world of food, it isn’t about composing a dish or a cocktail or overseeing a balanced wine list. For some people, it’s just about one thing, one love amidst the trove of food and drink products. For Michele Buster, for the past 26 years, that one thing is cheese. Recently dubbing herself the Head Treasure Hunter when asked what she actually did, Buster has spent many years c...

Simon Berg is CEO of Ceros, a technology company with a cloud-based platform that empowers brands like Red Bull, United, Conde Nast, and Universal to create bespoke digital experiential content without coding. Simon’s path to CEO has been unusual: after design school turned him down, he started working on an agency production floor at age 16, helping magazine publisher clients design and produce t...

Jon Morris is the founder and CEO of Rise Interactive. Under Morris’ leadership, Rise has received recognition for excellence in client service, innovative marketing campaigns, and commitment to culture, including acknowledgment from Inc. 500|5000 Fastest Growing Companies (nine-time winner), Ad Age (Best Places to Work in Advertising), Fortune Magazine, and more. Morris has been personally recogn...

Luke Acree, President of ReminderMedia, is a sales fanatic, a marketing evangelist, and an expert team builder. Luke has worked with tens of thousands of business professionals over the years, helping them understand how to connect with their client database in a way that generates leads, secures repeat clients, and captures referrals. In 2003, ReminderMedia launched American Lifestyle magazine, a...

Michael Rolph is co-founder and CEO of Europe’s fastest-growing payment, marketing, and loyalty platform, Yoyo. Michael started his career at Barclaycard, First Data and PayPal. Prior to founding Yoyo, he was a founding member and Director at Anthemis Group, the specialist FinTech advisory and investment firm. During his time there, he advised multiple start-ups like Azimo and The Currency Cloud i...

Sundance is a seasoned executive, recognized thought leader in video game culture, and veteran creative director with more than 18 years of experience in the media, technology and video game industries. He co-founded MLG in 2002 with Mike Sepso, with the goal of creating a company that would reflect both his lifelong passion for gaming and his deeply competitive nature. Sundance currently serves a...

Cory Tholl is the President and CEO of Klymit. Cory is a visionary and execution minded entrepreneur who joined Klymit pre-revenue in 2008 to lead R&D. Cory became President/CEO of Klymit in 2011 and quickly turned the company into a profitable and high growth outdoor brand. As a patent holder with an engineering and business mind, Cory leads the overall corporate strategy and thrives on profi...