Gary Harper – CEO of Sharper Business Solutions and Co-Creator of Rise Business Framework There’s really not a thing called balance when you become an entrepreneur, there is a thing called harmony, and figuring out a way to get all that to work together is really, truly where success lies. Gary Harper is the chief executive officer of Sharper Business Solutions and a co-creator of the RISE Business Framework, where he helps entrepreneurs and business leaders build scalable, systemized companies that deliver sustainable growth. He brings deep experience from over a decade in corporate America, including leadership roles working with large organizations to evaluate operational performance and improve efficiency. After transitioning from corporate work, Harper applied his expertise to his own entrepreneurial ventures, including real estate investing and business coaching, ultimately founding Sharper Business Solutions with a focus on leadership training, process management, and practical strategies to increase business impact. His work centers on empowering business owners to align purpose with execution, streamline operations, and develop high-performing teams. Harper is also the author of multiple books that extend his philosophy on purposeful business systems, and he lives outside Chicago with his family, collaborating closely with his wife and team to serve clients.Gee Ranasinha – CEO of KEXINO Worst entrepreneur mistake that I see again and again is people building elaborate solutions before they confirm that anybody actually wants to pay for any of it. It’s all very well thinking that you found a gap in the market, but you need to make sure that there’s a market in the gap. Gee Ranasinha is the founder and chief executive officer of KEXINO, a global marketing agency and behavioral science practice that helps startups and small to medium sized businesses grow awareness reputation trust and sales through strategic marketing and communications. Born and educated in London he began his career in professional advertising photography before moving into digital imaging and corporate marketing roles across Europe where he worked with clients such as IKEA Nestlé and other major brands. In 2008 he launched KEXINO with the goal of giving smaller companies access to high quality marketing expertise and tools that were once only available to large corporations and over the past 17 years his team of specialists across nine countries has worked with hundreds of clients around the world. Gee has been immersed in marketing since the early days of the internet and combines his deep understanding of buyer psychology with practical strategy to help business owners improve customer engagement and results. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and an adjunct professor teaching marketing and behavioral science to MBA students at business schools in Europe. Based in Strasbourg France he continues to write speak and consult on modern marketing challenges and how companies can connect more meaningfully with their customers.

Glenn Poules – President of ProgUSA and Author of Never Sit in the Lobby: 57 Winning Sales Factors to Grow a Business and Build a Career Selling You need a minimum viable product, and you need a customer youhaven’t really earned yet in order to get started. Someone takes achance on you and gives you an order, and you have to work likeheck to keep them, and then you work like heck to get every othercustomer that comes beyond. Glenn Poulos is a veteran sales leader, entrepreneur, and author with over 40 years of experience building and scaling businesses. He recently retired as EVP and GM of NWS and co-founder of Gap Wireless Inc., where he drove growth at the intersection of sales, marketing, and leadership in the telecom and technology distribution industries. Glenn is the author of the award-winning book Never Sit in the Lobby: 57 Winning Sales Factors to Grow a Company and Build a Career Selling and a recognized LinkedIn Top Voice. A sought-after speaker, he shares actionable insights on sales mastery, negotiation, leadership, and entrepreneurship that inspire audiences to achieve real results. Now based in Florida, Glenn is reintroducing himself as a new kind of entrepreneur—launching an AI venture that helps organizations embed AI into their operations and see measurable efficiency gains in as little as five weeks. He is also exploring opportunities in the electric power generation sector and continues to invest in real estate. When he’s not shaping the future of business, Glenn is a dynamic DJ under the alias Phossl and a proud dog dad to his two French bulldogs, Pierre and Jean-Jacques.Ask Seddeek – CEO of Intelligent Context AI & Leadership Development and Executive Coaching at The Executive Greatness Institute Their main goal in communication is unlocking someone else’s transformation, unlocking someone else’s feeling of satisfaction and delight. So when we embrace that concept, then we’re not going to care about the fact that, oh my goodness, I didn’t use the right word, or I didn’t use the right sentence, because it’s all about getting the message across. Ash Seddeek is a globally recognized executive coach and change leadership advisor with over 15 years of experience helping leaders drive transformation through compelling communication and strategic influence. He has coached senior teams at Cisco, Uber, Google, Boston Scientific, San Francisco International Airport, the State of Washington, and Doosan Bobcat. A former leader at Deloitte, Oracle, and Cisco, Ash blends deep expertise in executive presence, strategic facilitation, and change sponsorship. An Amazon bestselling author and creator of leadership frameworks like Chief Excitement Officers (CExOs) and Exponential Value Moments (EVMs), he equips leaders to lead with clarity, align stakeholders, and inspire action across the enterprise. Ash is a two-time Fulbright Scholar, linguist, AI fintech inventor, and entrepreneur. He holds an MBA from Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business and an M.A. from San Francisco State University.

Lindsey Busfield – Vice President and Director of Operations at Optimize My Firm When it comes to wanting to show up in AI, as long as you’re doing good SEO, that’s how you show up in there. And when it comes to people being afraid that AI is going to be taking away all of your web traffic, and your website isn’t going to have as many visitors and lose all this business because AI is coming in and taking over, that fear is a little unfounded. Lindsey Busfield Lindsey Busfield is the Vice President and Director of Operations at Optimize My Firm, where she brings deep expertise in search engine optimization and project management to help personal injury law firms strengthen their online presence and attract more clients. A certified project manager with a strong background in legal marketing, Lindsey closely monitors client portfolios, develops data-driven strategies based on current SEO trends, and oversees the successful execution of digital marketing initiatives that drive measurable results. She also hosts the Personal Injury Marketing Minute podcast, a widely recognized resource in the legal marketing space that covers actionable insights and trends for law firms. Lindsey’s approach blends analytical thinking with creative problem-solving, and outside of work she enjoys playing pickleball, inventing board games, and talking about her pasture raised chickens.Joe Massa – CEO of Podtopia Network It’s so powerful for a medium. It’s one of the last truly free mediums.Obviously, you know, radio, TV is very censored. Podcasts, you canbe a little more free to speak your mind… I feel like you can really haveyour powerful message shared in podcasting, and it’s really somethingthat your audience and your listeners are very hyper engaged. Joe Massa Joe Massa is the Chief Executive Officer of Podtopia Network, a full-service podcast network and creator community focused on helping individuals and brands launch, grow, and monetize high-impact shows. He brings more than two decades of experience in radio, broadcasting, and media strategy to his leadership role, having worked across traditional AM and FM platforms as a music director, promotions director, program director, and nationally syndicated host before transitioning into podcasting and media entrepreneurship. Under his guidance, Podtopia Network offers podcast production services, growth strategies, and educational resources like the Podcast Accelerator online course designed to support creators at every stage of their journey. Joe is also the creator and host of The Measuring Post podcast and is known for his emphasis on storytelling, community building, and practical tactics that help podcasters expand their reach and influence.

Dr. Munira Zahabi – Marketing strategist, Author, Coach, and Host best known as The Niche Navigator So the idea of giving your business a voice is that you want to one,become a memorable platform person, and then be on a platformwhere people can refer business to you. Dr. Munira Zahabi is a marketing strategist, author, coach, and host best known as The Niche Navigator. She helps entrepreneurs, coaches, and service providers uncover their ideal niche, define their unique message, and amplify their brand through strategic marketing and podcast visibility. Through her work she focuses on giving businesses a clear voice that connects with the right audience and drives growth using proven niche discovery and podcast guesting techniques. Her podcast Munira’s Musings features authentic conversations with thought leaders, entrepreneurs, and change makers that reveal practical insights and inspiring stories listeners can apply to their own ventures. Dr. Zahabi is also an international speaker and mentor whose coaching programs and resources are designed to help clients stand out in crowded markets and build sustainable success by aligning their message, niche, and marketing strategy.Mike Gould – Initial Public Offerings (IPO) Leader at PwC The biggest hurdle, quite frankly, is this ends up being a all encompassing exercise, and if you’re not careful and what we see and so the worst, worst case scenario is a company gets wrapped up in a process like this, and they take their eye off the ball. The most important thing through a process like this is to meet your numbers, continue to operate, to continue to be successful and to continue to focus on the business. Mike Gould is a repeat guest too, back with the quarterly IPO update from PwC! He is a Capital Markets partner at PwC. He has twenty five years of experience providing accounting, financial reporting and advisory services for the United States, South Korea, and the United Kingdom markets. Mike leads PwC’s Public Offerings services practice in the US, where he helps his clients access the debt and equity capital markets in the US, by providing them with technical and project management advice on accounting and financial reporting issues associated with the SEC registration process, Initial Public Offerings (“IPO’s”), 144a debt and equity offerings, divestitures and carve-outs, and conversions to and from IFRS and US GAAP. Mike’s specific technical knowledge focuses on accounting for carve-outs, purchase accounting, pro forma financial statements, stock compensation, principles of revenue recognition, segmental reporting, the SEC registration process and private equity exit strategies. As a result, he frequently takes on the role of an “IPO Advisor” to help his clients both with their initial registration process, and also with the process of preparing to operate as a public company.

Dr. Annu Navani – Founder/CEO of LeReve Wellness and Chief Medical Officer at Boomerang Health Care Energy, focus and resilience are business assets, not just personal luxuries, and that really distinguishes them from, you know, people who burn out. Dr. Annu Navani is the Medical Director at Le Reve, a leader in cutting edge restorative and regenerative solutions for Spine, Orthopedics and Musculoskeletal conditions. Dr. Navani also serves as the Chief Medical Officer at Boomerang Health Care, a multidisciplinary specialty group offering mainstream interventional, surgical and rehabilitative care all through her multiple centers in California. In the academic world, she has served as an Adjunct Clinical Faculty at Stanford University for more than 20 years and has established herself as a world leader in cutting edge research involving innovative therapeutic solutions. Dr. Navani completed her Anesthesiology residency from Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee and Fellowship in Pain Medicine from the University of California, Davis. She is board certified in Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine by American Board of Anesthesiology, in Interventional Pain by American Board of Interventional Pain Physicians and in Regenerative Medicine by American Board of Regenerative Medicine. She sits on the Editorial board of the journal, Pain Physician and serves on the board of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, Latin American Pain Society, California Society of Industrial Medicine and Surgery, and Scilex (Nasdaq: SCLX). She is the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Association of Interventional Pain Physicians, New York Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin and The Postgraduate Assembly in Anesthesiology. She has extensive publications in the field of Interventional spine and Regenerative medicine and has contributed via several peer reviewed journal articles, visionary editorials, and book chapters. Her book, “Essentials of Regenerative Medicine” is first in its right illustrating latest interventional biologic techniques for spine and musculoskeletal injuries. She has also been instrumental in authoring several National Guidelines including the ones on Opioids, Interventional Spine Epidural procedures, Facet joints, and the first ever on the Safe and Effective use of Orthobiologics in spine. She is an influencer and an authority on global health care trends including digital health, technology innovations and applied biologics.Ron Wallace – CEO at Number One Group, Retired President of UPS International, Author of Leadership Lessons from a UPS Driver: Delivering a Culture of We, Not Me Everything that goes on out in the real world is really just a reflectionof the leaders and their values who you are, and the values supportthe culture. And you have to lead by example and survey after survey.If you look at employees, what’s the number one thing they want intheir leaders, it always comes back to integrity. Ron Wallace is the former President of UPS International, where his team consisted of 60,000 people in 200 countries. Ron has served as Chairman or co-chair of 33 boards of directors. After retiring from UPS, he was appointed by the Governor of Georgia to help form the new city of Milton. In 2008, he opened an Irish pub called Old Blind Dog, which was named the best Irish pub in the world! As a younger man, Ron was a professional race car driver and played semi-professional football. He serves as a police officer near his hometown and is active in politics and charitable organizations. His book Irish Pubs in America: History, Lore, and Recipes won the Indie Book Award.

Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach – President Emeritus of Skidmore College and Author of Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies to Succeed in College and in Life What students really need to do is to develop a set of cognitive skills, a cognitive swiss army knife. They need to be able to read critically, to think critically. They need to be able to write to communicate. They need to be flexible enough to change their mind about things. They need to be able to adapt to new situations. They need to be able to continue learning. Dr. Philip A. Glotzbach is a distinguished leader in American higher education, having served as the president of Skidmore College for 17 years. During his tenure, he spearheaded transformative initiatives that elevated Skidmore’s academic offerings, fostered greater diversity within the student body, strengthened the college’s financial health and aid resources, and enhanced its infrastructure and physical campus. Under his leadership, Skidmore achieved significant recognition as a nationally respected liberal arts institution. Before his time at Skidmore, Dr. Glotzbach held pivotal roles at the University of Redlands, where he served as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and later as VP for Academic Affairs. His teaching career began in the Department of Philosophy at Denison University, where he was a valued faculty member for 15 years. He has been widely regarded for his insights into higher education and consulting on issues ranging from institutional governance to the value of a liberal arts education. Dr. Glotzbach’s academic credentials are rooted in his commitment to philosophy and education. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame and went on to Yale University, where he earned his Master’s, M.Phil., and Ph.D. in philosophy. Dr. Glotzbach is also an accomplished author. His recent book, Embrace Your Freedom: Winning Strategies to Succeed in College and in Life, reflects his dedication to the exploration of philosophy and education. The book delves into the importance of intellectual freedom, critical thinking, and the role of higher education in cultivating meaningful lives and engaged citizens. Through this work, he inspires readers to appreciate the enduring value of the liberal arts and the responsibilities that come with intellectual freedom.Bob Burg – Keynote Speaker, Co-Founder and Coauthor of The Go-Giver Influencer: A Little Story About a Most Persuasive Idea The single greatest people skill is a highly developedand authentic interest in the other person. Bob Burg shares how a subtle shift in focus is not only a more uplifting and fulfilling way of conducting business but the most financially profitable way, as well. For more than 30 years he has helped companies, sales leaders, and their teams to more effectively communicate their value, sell at higher prices with less resistance, and grow their businesses based on Endless Referrals. Bob has regularly addressed audiences ranging in size from 50 to 16,000 — sharing the platform with notables including today’s top thought leaders, broadcast personalities, Olympic athletes and political leaders including a former United States President. Although for years he was best known for his book Endless Referrals, it’s his business parable, The Go-Giver (coauthored with John David Mann) that captured the imagination of his readers. The Go-Giver, a Wall Street Journal, and BusinessWeek Bestseller, has sold well over a million copies. Since its release, it has consistently stayed in the Top 25 on Porchlight’s (formerly 800-CEO-READ) Business Book Bestsellers List. The book has been translated into 30 languages. It was rated #10 on Inc. Magazine’s list of the Most Motivational Books Ever Written, and was on HubSpot’s 20 Most Highly Rated Sales Books of All Time. Bob is the author of a number of books on sales, referrals, influence, persuasion, and people skills, with total book sales exceeding two m

Phillip Cantrell – Founder of Benchmark Realty & Author of  Failing My Way to Success: Lessons from Forty-Two Years of Winning (and Losing) in Business So if you do a 2% improvement, you will be 14 100% better in a yearthan you are today. Is that not something everyone would like to see,but you have to have dedication. You have to stay after it. You cannotstop. You cannot let up. You cannot stop for a moment. Phillip Cantrell is a seasoned entrepreneur, real estate leader, and author whose four-decade career is defined by resilience, innovation, and a relentless commitment to helping others succeed. A Nashville native and graduate of the University of Tennessee, Cantrell began his professional journey in the commercial printing industry, where he worked his way up from entry-level roles into leadership before transitioning full-time into real estate in the early 2000s. After years of investing in and rehabbing residential properties, he earned his broker license and went on to launch Benchmark Realty, LLC with his wife Amanda in 2006, building it from a single-office startup into a thriving brokerage with offices across Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama and nearly 2,000 agents. Along the way the company weathered the Great Recession and reinvented its business model, growing into a high-performance firm that ultimately merged with United Real Estate, where Cantrell now serves as Executive Vice President of Strategy. Drawing on his experiences founding or leading ten companies, both successful and not, Cantrell is the author of Failing My Way to Success: Lessons from Forty-Two Years of Winning (and Losing) in Business, a candid memoir that turns hard-won failures into actionable insights for entrepreneurs and business leaders. He lives in Tennessee with his wife Amanda and remains passionate about sharing lessons of leadership, perseverance, and service with the next generation of founders.Justin Sachs – Founder of Motivational Press and Author of Skyrocket: Your Sales, Your Business, Your Success The only thing that’s kept us alive as a publishing house, againstthe top publishing houses in the world, is our ability to innovateand change our strategies very quickly. When the big publisherstake five years to change their strategies, we move fast. Justin Sachs published his first book at 18, and now has published several more, 5 of which are best sellers! He owns 8 companies, including Motivational Press which has published 50 authors! His international speaking tour, The Ultimate Success Tour, cemented his position as one of the world’s leading leadership and peak performance speakers. Having advised and trained hundreds of thousands of people internationally, Justin is a highly regarded business expert on effectiveness, peak-performance, and marketing tactics. Justin has produced 3 movies including his best-selling Achieve Your Ultimate Success. He has written on topics ranging from leadership to business growth. He has been featured in hundreds of media outlets throughout the world including MSNBC, CNBC, Fox News, and Yahoo Finance and alongside world-renowned business experts including Brian Tracy, John Assaraf, Mark Victor Hansen, Loral Langemeier and many others.

Calvin Correli – Founder & CEO of Simplero How you see yourself shapes everything. So it’s not like, it’s really, weend up living within a container that is our identity, that is how we seeourselves, and then the limiting beliefs live inside of that container. Calvin Correli is the founder and chief executive officer of Simplero, a fully integrated SaaS platform designed to help coaches, creators, and founder-led brands market, sell, and deliver their digital products and services with simplicity and soul. With a background as a software engineer and a lifelong entrepreneur, Calvin built Simplero out of a desire to replace the frustrating patchwork of tools most creators were forced to use with one system that supports business growth without compromise. Under his leadership, Simplero has been bootstrapped and grown into a purpose-driven company that emphasizes integrity, ease of use, and meaningful impact in the online business world. Beyond his work at Simplero, Calvin is known for blending technical expertise with a focus on personal growth and intentional entrepreneurship, often speaking, writing, and coaching on how to build businesses that align with deeper values and purpose. His journey reflects a commitment to helping others bring their unique voices and knowledge into the world in ways that are both effective and personally fulfilling. Tim Berry – Lean Business Plan Guru, Founder/chairman of Palo Alto Software and Author of Lean Business Planning: Get What You Want From Your Business There’s no value in sticking to a plan, the plan is to help you connectthe dots, to help you keep long term and short term in mind, to helpyou go step by step, but you always have to be reviewing and revising. TimBerry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and co-founder of Borland International. He is an author of several books and has created software platforms that help create business plans. Tim has also taught entrepreneurship at the University of Oregon for 11 years and he is a frequent speaker on topics of business planning and entrepreneurship. His latest effort is a new startup offering social media business planning for entrepreneurs, business owners, and marketers. His blog is available at Planning Startups Stories  and will help entrepreneurs explore lean business planning. Tim also writes a monthly column on the Entrepreneur.com site, and for Huffington Post, AmEx OPEN Forum, Small Business Trends, and Up and Running. He is the author of books including “Lean Business Planning,” published by Motivational Press, “The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan” and “3 Weeks to Startup.”

Ted DeBettencourt – Co-founder of Juvo Leads Plan to have no life for two to three years until you get it figured out. Try harder than your competition. Care more about your clients than anybody else Ted DeBettencourt is a 3rd generation Martha’s Vineyard native who has been in legal marketing for 12 years after having earned a JD/MBA from Case Western Reserve. Before starting Juvo Leads in 2015 he ran a legal marketing agency in Boston helping law firms grow through online efforts (SEO/PPC). Ted was using the existing chat companies on the market but didn’t like how they were answering his clients chats so he fired them and started answering chats himself. What started as 1 person answering chats for a few small firms in Boston has turned into a team of a little under 100 chat agents answering chats for about 1100 firms around the country. Brenton Hayden – Founder of Renter’s Warehouse and Investor at Leafline Labs Your story is being written right now, with or without you, and the ending is entirely up to you. Brenton Hayden is a highly accomplished investor and entrepreneur, especially in the real estate industry. He is currently an investor in Leafline Labs. This company is a pharmaceutical grade laboratory that grows, researches, and retails high grade medical quality cannabis for the following qualifying conditions: Cancer with severe/chronic pain, with nausea or severe vomiting, Glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, Tourette’s Syndrome, Crohn’s Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Brenton is also the owner of Suits, LLC, specializing in rural development of small business and residential rental real estate. They also work with holdings in residential multi-family, laundromats, and commercial retail. Previously, Brenton was the CEO of Renter’s Warehouse, and now is the chairman of their board. The company helps property owners  to rent and manage their residential real estate. As Chairman, he plans to establish a board to help the company expand nationally, and focus on projects that will directly benefit the business.

R.C Goodwin – Author of Making God Laugh: A Memoir of Psychiatry, Dublin, and the Electric Chair If you write something and it doesn’t strike you as absolutely right,it’swrong. You may not dislike it, but if it’s not quite right, then it’s wrong. R.C. Goodwin has worked as a psychiatrist and consulted for the Connecticut Department of Correction, nursing homes, a substance abuse facility, and a major university mental health clinic. Goodwin’s debut book, The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club, was named one of Kirkus Reviews’ Best Indie Books of 2015. His novel, Model Child, was published in 2018. He lives in Connecticut, and is a member of the Connecticut Authors & Publishers Association and the Writers Guild of America. He is a graduate of Yale and attended medical school in Dublin. After graduating from Yale, R.C. Goodwin spent six demanding but wonderful years in Dublin attending medical school before returning to the U.S. for an internship and psychiatric residency. Since then, he has worked in private practice, jails and prisons, nursing homes, a substance abuse facility, and a student mental health clinic at a major university-all of which he describes in his memoir, Making God Laugh. His fiction has appeared in Elixir, Center, Northeast, and Writers Digest Online among other publications. It has also been published in two anthologies, Stories that Need to be Told and Coolest American Stories. Goodwin’s debut book The Stephen Hawking Death Row Fan Club, a prison-based collection of award-winning short stories and a novella, was named a Kirkus Indie Best Book of 2015. He has also written a novel, Model Child, a psychological thriller. He lives with his wife and a spoiled, bossy cat in Connecticut. Jay Samit – “Coolest Job,” Video on Demand Creator and Author of Disrupt You!: Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation Every obstacle out there is actually a new opportunity for anentrepreneur to create a solution, make life better and profit. Jay Samit has been described by Wired magazine as “having the coolest job in the industry.” He is a leading technology innovator who has raised hundreds of millions of dollars for startups, sold companies to Fortune 500 firms, taken companies public, and partnered with some of the world’s biggest brands, including Coca Cola, McDonald’s, General Motors, United Airlines, Microsoft, Apple, Verizon, and Facebook. Samit is CEO of SeaChange International, a leading global multi-screen video software company. A technology innovator and entrepreneur, he was a senior advisor to LinkedIn and was appointed to the White House initiative for education and technology by President Bill Clinton. Samit is the host of the Wall Street Journal Startup of the Year series. Samit helped grow pre-IPO companies such as Linkedin, held senior management roles at Sony and Universal Studios, pioneered breakthrough advancements in mobile video, internet advertising, ecommerce, social networks, ebooks, and digital music that are used by billions of consumers every day. An adjunct professor at USC, Samit teaches innovation at America’s largest engineering school and is author of Disrupt Yourself: Master Personal Transformation, Seize Opportunity, and Thrive in the Era of Endless Innovation. He frequently appears on ABC, Bloomberg, CBS, CNN, Fox, MSNBC, NBC and tweets daily motivation to the over 100,000 business professionals who follow him on Twitter. An expert on transformational corporate change, Samit has been quoted in The New York Times, The Economist, Businessweek, Forbes, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Fast Company and TechCrunch. He was awarded with the Leonardo Da Vinci Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dr. Roy Zwahlen – Author of Race to Innovation: Unleashing the Power of Entrepreneurship For Everyone Who’s going to be the first solo preneur Unicorn company where there’s an employee of one because of AI agents that have been created to help stand up and run that company, whether that’s possible or not, time will tell. Dr. Roy Zwahlen is a strategic innovation leader and author with deep expertise in innovation strategy, entrepreneurship, and translating research into real-world impact. He currently serves in leadership roles at the Eshelman Institute of Innovation and the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy, where he drives innovation strategy, partnership development, and operational excellence in therapeutics and digital health while advancing strategic partnerships and risk management in academic and translational environments. Dr. Zwahlen’s work bridges innovation ecosystems, impact capital, and entrepreneurial communities to expand access and opportunity for diverse innovators. He co-authored Race to Innovation: Unleashing the Power of Entrepreneurship for Everyone, a book that highlights how inclusive entrepreneurial practices and diverse perspectives can unlock transformative opportunities and economic value across society. Through his writing, leadership, and innovation practice, Dr. Zwahlen champions entrepreneurship that is accessible and empowering for people from all backgrounds.Brian Smith – Keynote Speaker & Founder of UGG You have to have a certain amount of ignorance to be a good entrepreneur,because if you did all the research and knew what was ahead, you wouldnever start. And my ignorance was that everyone in Australia is born withthick skin knowledge. Dr. Roy Zwahlen is an innovation strategist, academic leader, and co-author of Race to Innovation: Unleashing the Power of Entrepreneurship for Everyone, a book that explores how inclusive entrepreneurship and diverse perspectives drive breakthrough innovation. He serves in senior leadership roles at the University of North Carolina Eshelman School of Pharmacy and the Eshelman Institute for Innovation, where he focuses on innovation strategy, translational research, venture development, and building partnerships that move ideas from discovery to real-world impact. With experience spanning higher education, healthcare innovation, and entrepreneurial ecosystems, Dr. Zwahlen works at the intersection of research, risk, and opportunity to expand access to innovation for founders from all backgrounds. His work emphasizes practical pathways for entrepreneurship, institutional change, and scalable innovation that creates both economic and social value.

Jay Davis – Founder & CEO Pillow Cube When I first had this idea, people were like, you know, no one, most peopledon’t make pillows that way because it’s really expensive to make pillowsthat way. It’s a lot cheaper if you just fill a bag with crap. But I knew that thisprovided the experience that personally I loved and really changed the wayI slept. And that quality sleep is so important to feel happy and kind of beour best selves. Jay Davis is the founder and chief executive officer of Pillow Cube, a sleep products company he launched in 2019 to solve his own problem of finding proper neck support as a side sleeper. After earning a degree in business management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship from Brigham Young University, Davis built his career in product development, marketing, and startup growth, including key roles at Vivint and as an early team member of The Color Run before founding his creative agency, Creatably. Driven by innovation and a deep understanding of consumer needs, he brought Pillow Cube to life through a successful Kickstarter campaign and has since grown the brand into a leading pillow company designed specifically for side sleepers, expanding its offerings and earning strategic investment along the way. Outside of Pillow Cube Davis is also an investor and entrepreneur with interests in other ventures, and he balances his professional life with family, including his wife and children.Bryant McGill –  Founder of Peace Prize Foundation & a Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Activist and Social Entrepreneur If you’re really humble, you’re going to be great. Okay, if you’re trulyhumble, you’ll be great. You know why? Because it is supremely arrogantto throw away the gift of life. There’s nothing humble about throwingaway the gift of life and all you could be. Bryant McGill is a human potential thought leader, international bestselling author, activist, and social entrepreneur. He is one of the world’s top social media influencers reaching a billion people a year (2016). His prolific writings have been published in thousands of books and publications, including a New York Times bestselling series, and his Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestseller, read by over 60 million people. He was the subject of a front-page cover story in the Wall Street Journal, has appeared in Forbes as a featured cultural thought leader, Nasdaq’s leadership series, Entrepreneur Magazine, and was listed in Inc. Magazine as an “Icon of Entrepreneurship” and one of, “the greatest leaders, writers and thinkers of all time.” He is the creator and founder of McGill Media, the McGill Peace Prize Foundation and Charitable Trust, The Royal Society (2015), and Simple Reminders. He is living his dream daily, serving those seeking inspiration, health, freedom, and truth around the world. McGill is a United Nations appointed Global Champion and a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, who received a Congressional commendation applauding his, “highly commendable life’s work,” as an Ambassador of Goodwill. His thoughts on human rights have been featured by President Clinton’s Foundation, in humanities programs with the Dalai Lama, and at the Whitehouse. He has appeared in media with Tony Robbins and Oprah, in a Desmond Tutu endorsed PBS Special with Jack Canfield, and has delivered speeches at the United Nations’ General Assembly Hall on Human Rights Day, with the Los Angeles Mayor’s Office, and with Dr. Gandhi, Grandson of Mahatma Gandhi. McGill’s work has been endorsed by the president of the American Psychological Association, and has appeared in Psychology Today, and in meditation programs by Deepak Chopra. His writings have been published by Oprah’s Lifeclass, Simon & Schuster, Random House, HarperCollins, Wiley, McGraw Hill, and Writer’s Digest. His writings are regularly used in the curriculum at the university level, have been reviewed and published by the dean of NYU, and at Dartmouth, Stanford, and Yale, and were impleme

Leslie Kane – Courage Coach Why Not Today Coaching | Podcast Host Why Not Today Podcast | Host Why Not Today Connect Luncheons It’s not a straight line to the top. And so what I found in talking to peopleon my podcast is we heard the obstacles, the things that didn’t go right,the things and adversity in their life that got them on the path they’re on,and they didn’t start here and go there without a lot of bumps and changes. Leslie is a Courage Coach and the Founder of the “Why Not Today?” podcast, where her mission is to help others break free from fear and take action toward their dreams. What began as a simple podcast aimed at inspiring courage soon blossomed into a thriving coaching business that empowers women to build their confidence, tap into their inner strength, and achieve what they once thought was impossible. Through her coaching, Leslie guides women on a transformative journey, helping them discover the courage to take bold steps forward and embrace challenges with resilience. The “Why Not Today?” podcast, which Leslie started in honor of her late father, Patrick Kane, features guests who share stories of overcoming adversity, pushing past fear, and finding the strength to rise above. Outside of the podcast and coaching, Leslie is deeply committed to her community. She hosts events that support women in business by helping them build strong networks, create meaningful connections, and grow together. Through her podcast, coaching, and community leadership, Leslie continues to inspire others to step into their power and take courageous action every day. Her unwavering belief in the transformative power of “Why Not Today?” drives her to uplift those around her and champion others to live their fullest, most courageous lives. Leslie’s work is not just about coaching, it’s about creating a movement where women embrace the possibilities of today, right now. Jason Garner – Author of … And I Breathed, My Journey from a Life of Matter to a Life That Matters and Former Live Nation CEOS of Global Music For me, it’s all about daily practice. So I think when I was in business, Ihad a daily practice that look like, don’t well, jump up out of bed, grabmy Blackberry at the time, check my email, rush through the day, don’tbreathe, don’t eat. Well, work, work, work, work, work, and then stressabout work when I was at home. And I think that daily practice describeseveryone’s lives, right? Jason Garner spent the first 37 years of his life running through the world holding his breath. Raised by a single mother and constantly moving from house to house, he threw himself into school and business, believing he had to be the best in order to be loved. From a weekend job at a flea market, he fought his way up to owning a concert promotion company and eventually became an executive at a Fortune 500 company. Along the way, he was married and divorced twice, raised two children largely on his own, met rock stars and sports legends, and accumulated wealth—until a series of life-shifting events, sparked by the sudden death of his mother, brought everything to a halt and forced him to confront his ego. In the quiet that followed, Jason stepped off the treadmill of constant striving and immersed himself in deep personal work. He studied health, spirituality, and the mind with renowned teachers, found the love of his life, and—perhaps for the first time—allowed himself to truly breathe. His journey led to a profound belief that life itself can be a meditation and that every act, no matter how ordinary, holds the potential to be an expression of love. He now shares the perspectives gained from this path—embracing the balance of money and happiness, business and spirituality, and the simple truth that we are not alone. Jason believes we are each perfectly placed in this moment to experience and transform life—together.

William Davis – Leadership Expert, Keynote Speaker & Mentor If you’re calm, you’re deliberate, you are working as a group to get itresolved, as opposed to trying to pick and choose or find somebody toblame for where you’re at, the situation is gonna get resolved a whole lot quicker. William Davis is a leadership expert, keynote speaker, mentor, and advocate who has spent nearly four decades in corporate America, leading teams and driving transformative projects. From his early days as a student in Future Business Leaders of America, he developed a deep curiosity about what makes effective leaders, a curiosity that guided him through a long and successful career leading teams, delivering impactful results, and inspiring trust and collaboration. Today, William combines hands-on experience with a heartfelt belief that leadership isn’t about power but about people. He coaches aspiring and established leaders, delivers motivational keynote talks, runs leadership workshops, and offers personalized mentoring to help others lead with empathy, integrity, and vision. He has also written several articles and authored two books, How to Lead Without Just Managing and Building Genuine Relationships: The Leader’s Guide to Connecting…, offering practical guidance for building strong, authentic leadership.James Siminoff – Chief Inventor and Founder of Ring A lot of being an entrepreneur is that it’s not an overnight success, that ittakes time to build up. I think for a lot of us, including myself, it takes timeto build those things up. James Siminoff is an American inventor and entrepreneur, best known as the founder and Chief Inventor of Ring. In 2011, while tinkering in his garage, he created the world’s first Wi-Fi video doorbell, originally called DoorBot, because he wanted a way to see and talk to visitors at his front door even when he was elsewhere. Before Ring, Siminoff founded and sold several ventures including a voicemail-to-text service and an email-cleanup tool. After rebranding DoorBot to Ring and raising external investments even after being rejected on the 2013 season of Shark Tank, he persisted and in 2018 Ring was acquired by Amazon for roughly one billion US dollars. Today, Siminoff continues to drive innovation at Ring, helping scale the company’s smart-home and home-security products with a mission to make neighborhoods safer and more connected.

Erin Coupe – Founder & CEO @ Authentically EC & Author of I Can Fit That In One of the biggest shifts that I made, that I’ve helped clients make andthat I know that readers can make with this book is to be able to say, Ican fit that in. It’s not about doing more. It’s about being more intentional. Erin Coupe is the founder and CEO of Authentically EC, a coaching, training, and personal-development company that helps high achievers and organizations align performance with purpose. With more than 17 years of experience in the corporate world, including leadership roles at major firms on Wall Street and in real estate, she experienced first-hand how success and productivity can come at the cost of personal well-being. Her own transformation from overextended executive to intentional leader inspired her to create Authentically EC, where she now guides leaders and teams to design lives built around clarity, energy, and alignment rather than burnout and chaos. Erin is also the author of I Can Fit That In, a practical, deeply personal book that offers a blueprint for professionals and executives to reclaim control over their time, energy, and focus, teaching that sustainable success is rooted in intentional living, not nonstop hustle. As an international speaker and facilitator, Erin has spoken on over 500 stages, reaching more than 250,000 people worldwide. Her frameworks – drawing from neuroscience, mindfulness, and leadership principles – are applied across Fortune 500 companies, professional sports organizations, universities, and global associations seeking more conscious, human-centered leadership. Today she continues to challenge traditional notions of success, inviting professionals to redefine productivity as a source of energy and fulfillment rather than exhaustion. Through her speaking, coaching, and writing, Erin helps individuals and organizations build sustainable performance cultures that honor both ambition and authenticity.Joanne Lipman – Journalist and Co-author of Strings Attached: One Tough Teacher and the Gift of Great Expectations He taught us how to fail and how to pick ourselves back up againafterwards. Such an important life skill, no matter where you goor what you do. Joanne Lipman is a distinguished American journalist, editor, and author known for her influential voice in media and business writing. She began her journalism career at The Wall Street Journal, eventually rising to become its first-ever woman deputy managing editor, a role in which she oversaw coverage that earned multiple Pulitzer Prizes. She went on to found and serve as the founding editor-in-chief of Condé Nast Portfolio magazine and its companion website Portfolio.com. Later, she held top editorial and leadership roles at USA Today Network, including Chief Content Officer and Editor-in-Chief, supervising dozens of publications and thousands of journalists. As an author, she co-wrote Strings Attached: One Tough Teacher and the Gift of Great Expectations, a memoir-style tribute to a remarkable public-school music teacher whose life and dedication shaped the lives of his students in profound ways. Through her career she has demonstrated deep commitment to journalism that matters, powerful storytelling, and highlighting voices and stories that inspire and challenge readers.Joanne is a frequent television  commentator and media commentator, contributing to major news outlets and speaking publicly about journalism, leadership, reinvention, and social change. She also lectures at academic institutions, sharing her experience and insight with students and aspiring writers.

Seth Levine – Co-Author of Capital Evolution: The New American Economy I ultimately believe in the long run that technology, humans, humaningenuity, will solve many of these problems, but we need to be deliberateabout it. And we talk about the environment in the book, and we also talkabout the middle class in the book, as kind of the same, same sort of actorsin our economy, which are, these are things that we extract from under oursort of neoliberal form of capitalism. Seth Levine is a longtime venture capitalist and global advocate for entrepreneurship. He serves as a partner at Foundry, a Boulder Colorado venture capital firm he cofounded in 2006 that now manages nearly four billion dollars in assets. His work spans the United States as well as emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa, where he advises governments, entrepreneurs, and policy leaders on economic development and startup ecosystem growth. Seth also cofounded Pledge 1 percent, a global movement that encourages companies to commit equity, time, or product to support their communities, and he serves as a trustee of Macalester College in Minnesota where he helped create the college’s entrepreneurship program and its annual student hackathon. He has spent his career promoting business innovation and remains an active advisor, speaker, and mentor. Seth lives in Colorado with his family and is an avid cyclist and outdoor enthusiast. Verne Harnish – Owner, Gazelles, Inc. and Founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) If you don’t change your daily routine, goals are just hollow. Now,routines without goals are aimless, and so you need both. Verne Harnish is founder of the world-renowned Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO), with over 18,000 members worldwide, and founded and chaired for fi fteen years EO’s premiere CEO program held at MIT, a program in which he still teaches today. Founder and CEO of Scaling Up, a global executive education and coaching company with over 290 partners on six continents, Verne has spent the past four decades helping companies scaleup. The Global Scaleup Fellow at The Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard, he’s the author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits; authored The Greatest Business Decisions of All Times,“ for which Jim Collins wrote the foreword; wrote Scaling Up (Rockefeller Habits 2.0) which has been translated into 26 languages and has won eight major international book awards including the International Book Award for Best General Business book; and is the co-author of Scaling Up Compensation. His latest book is Start to Scale. Verne serves on several boards including vice chair of The Riordan Clinic; co-founder and chair of Geoversity; and board member of the social venture Million Dollar Women. A private investor in many scaleups, Verne enjoys piano, tennis, and magic as a card-carrying member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

Marcy Syms – President of TPD Group Entrepreneurship is understanding what the trade offs are, andunderstanding that the investment of today is for the hopes andthe work that will you’ll be the fruits of tomorrow. Marcy Syms is a veteran leader, social entrepreneur, and champion of corporate governance and women’s empowerment. As the founding trustee and President of the Sy Syms Foundation, she has helped steer more than US$60 million in grants toward education, scientific research, social justice, the arts, and cultural organizations. Marcy spent decades at the helm of her family’s retail business, Syms Corp, where she rose from marketing and real estate director to become its first President when the company went public, making her one of the youngest women ever to lead a New York Stock Exchange-listed company. She later served as its CEO, guiding the company’s expansion into a national retailer operating in 16 states. Armed with an MS in Communications and Public Relations from Boston University College of Communication, Marcy has also taught retail entrepreneurship at Parsons School of Design and served on the Board of Overseers at Boston University. Beyond business, she is deeply committed to social causes. She currently sits on or has served on numerous public- and nonprofit-sector boards, including those advocating for gender equality (such as the ERA Coalition / ERA Project at Columbia Law School), public media (the National Public Radio Foundation), education (including the Sy Syms School of Business at Yeshiva University), and arts. Marcy is also the author of Leading with Respect: Adventures of an Off-Price Fashion Pioneer, a memoir and leadership guide that recounts her journey from the “backroom to the boardroom” and underscores respect as a foundational principle for business success and human dignity. With a rare combination of retail-industry experience, board governance expertise, philanthropic leadership, and commitment to social change, Marcy Syms continues to influence discourse on business ethics, gender equity, succession planning, and servant leadership.Judy Robinett – Founder & President of JRobinett Enterprises There’s no lack of money. It’s important to be persistent, go to pitch events, go to incubators, and ask my two golden questions: What other ideas do you have for me, and who else do you know I should talk to? Judy Robinett is a seasoned entrepreneur, investor, and internationally recognized expert in startup funding and strategic networking. Over a career spanning more than 30 years, she has served as CEO of both public and private companies and held management positions at Fortune 500 firms. Judy is widely known as a “super-connector,” leveraging what some call her “titanium digital Rolodex” to help entrepreneurs connect with the right investors and partners. She has authored multiple influential books including How to Be a Power Connector: The 5+50+150 Rule, recognized as the #1 business book of 2014 and Crack the Funding Code, which offers founders a practical roadmap to understanding how investors think and what they expect to hear when evaluating a startup. As a global keynote speaker, consultant, and advisor, Judy has guided countless startups and businesses in positioning themselves for funding, scaling, and building meaningful networks. On her website she emphasizes that success in business often comes down to being in the “right room” and more importantly, knowing what to say when you’re there. With a rare blend of operational experience, funding expertise, and networking mastery, Judy Robinett continues to empower entrepreneurs around the world to access capital, build relationships, and turn their visions into reality.

Corinne Goble – CEO of Association of Women’s Business Centers and Winner of 100 Women to KNOW in America I think one of the biggest things that we find by having women in thename is we’re encouraging the participation of women. We’re notexclusively here for women, and it’s not necessarily that the needs ofa woman opening a business are starkly different than any other founder,because the barriers to opening a new business, they’re they’re greatkind of no matter who you are. Goble joined the Association of Women’s Business Centers as CEO in January 2019 and is charged with bringing about enhanced sustainability and increased capacity to the association and its members. When AWBC and the national network of Women’s Business Centers were confronted with effects of a global pandemic in early 2020, Goble and the advocacy team sprung into action. While Women’s Business Centers responded tirelessly to small business concerns in their communities, Goble and the team championed their efforts to secure resources. Thankfully, members of Congress foresaw the important role that Women’s Business Centers would play in an economic disaster and appropriated record-level emergency funding (CARES Act) to be administered by the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). In addition to $150,000 awarded annually to each Women’s Business Center, centers could access up to $420,000 of CARES Act funds giving them access to $570,000 in a single fiscal year. In addition to their own annual fundraising efforts, this unprecedented combination of funding is the highest level of funding than at any other point in history. Women’s Business Centers leveraged this infusion of funds into tremendous impact. Goble and the full AWBC team will remain steadfast in their commitment to the growth and strength of the Women’s Business Center network. Her immediate priority is the modernization and re-authorization of the Women’s Business Center program while building capacity throughout the growing network of 145 Women’s Business Centers. Adjacent to and in support to this work, Goble serves in a variety of collaborative efforts that directly support small businesses in their efforts to get started and grow, whether in procurement, digital skills, access to capital or international trade. She’s a Founding Member of the USMCA Small and Medium Enterprise Counselor Network consisting of counselors in Mexico, Canada, and the United States that collaborate to help small businesses find success through exports.Tilman Fertitta – TV Star, Owner of Houston Rockets and Author of Shut Up and Listen!: Hard Business Truths that Will Help You Succeed I am not the smartest guy. I think I’ve outworked people. I think I’ve built a culture in my company that we outwork people, and we make hard decisions… It’s being a tough business person and accepting some small failures and pulling yourself up by your scraps. But it’s making tough decisions, and people don’t like to make tough decisions, and people don’t want to play tough. Sometimes you just have to. Tilman Fertitta is the star of his own reality TV show “Billion Dollar Buyer” on CNBC, and sole owner of the NBA’s Houston Rockets, Golden Nugget Casinos, and 600 other properties under Fertitta Entertainment. He turned a $6,000 loan into a billion dollar restaurant empire. He is a Houston Native, accomplished businessman, and recognized as a world leader in the dining, hospitality, entertainment, and gaming industries, and is often referred to as, “the world’s richest restauranteur.” Tilman is also the sole owner of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns the restaurant giant Landry’s, Five Golden Nugget Casinos and Hotels, and the NBA’s Houston Rockets, which he purchased for a record $2.2 billion. He is also the start of his own reality TV show on CNBC, “Billion Dollar Buyer.” Through his restaurant and hospitality company Landry’s, Fertitta owns more than 600 properties in 36 states and in over 15 countries. He is

Brent Rittersdorf – 10 for 10!, Corporate Speaker, Meeting Facilitator, Real Estate Broker, Author of The Point Is in the Purpose: How Going 10 for 10 Can Change Your Life Everybody has their 15 minutes of fame, and for me, I look back onthat experience, and I was doing something that I love to do so muchthat I just wanted to continue to get as better and better as I couldand be a part of that team. Brent Rittersdorf is a purpose-driven leader, corporate speaker, meeting facilitator, real-estate broker, and author whose mission is to help people make wise decisions that lead to favorable results. With a diverse career background that spans both the restaurant/franchise industry, where he served as Divisional Vice President, Director of Operations, and franchise business consultant and the real-estate sector (he currently works as Managing Broker with High Caliber Realty in Kennesaw, GA), Brent bridges the gap between corporate and sales environments. As the creator of the philosophy and movement 10 for 10, inspired by a high-school moment when he made 10 free throws in a row, Brent delivers a keynote speech titled “10 for 10 – How the foul line can change your life.” Through this talk and his book The Point Is in the Purpose: How Going 10 for 10 Can Change Your Life, he offers a practical framework for helping individuals and teams define their purpose, persevere through challenges, and align their choices with long-term meaning.  Originally from Rockland, Maine, Brent now resides in Kennesaw, GA; when not speaking or working in real estate, he hosts a weekly networking event for sales professionals and entrepreneurs in Marietta, GA and occasionally retreats to a local mountain-bike trail to recharge and reconnect with his purpose.Jillian Reilly – Author of Ten Permissions You need to allow yourself to step back out into the world andstart finding your way forward, one small step at a time. Jillian Reilly is the author of The Ten Permissions – a bold, timely playbook that invites people to discard outdated life-scripts and instead give themselves permission to design a meaningful, adaptive adult life in a fast-changing world. With decades of experience as a global change-facilitator, consultant, and former aid-worker across Africa, Asia, and Central Europe, she brings a unique vantage point on transformation, resilience, and reinvention. In The Ten Permissions, she lays out ten guiding “permissions”, such as “Be Willful,” “Go Astray,” “Experiment,” and “Feel Your Way”, that encourage readers to reclaim agency, embrace flexibility, and define success on their own terms. Beyond writing, Jillian works as a keynote speaker and consultant, helping individuals and organizations navigate uncertainty, rethink their assumptions, and craft lives and careers rooted in curiosity, authenticity, and purpose. Her journey from international development to thought leadership gives her insight into how to thrive in disruption and she now encourages others to stop waiting for external approval and start authoring their own paths.

Dave Burnett – Author, Columnist, Speaker & CEO at AOK Marketing To get found in AI, honestly, is to do cool things, talk about the cool things you’ve done, and then do more cool things, enough for the fact that other people start talking about the cool stuff you’re doing. Dave Burnett is a seasoned author, columnist, speaker, and the founder and CEO of AOK Marketing, a conversion-focused digital marketing agency. His entrepreneurial journey spans more than 25 years, during which he built and scaled successful businesses, including PromotionalProducts.com, another venture that established his reputation for bold, creative online marketing. At AOK Marketing, Dave leads a team that helps clients drive growth through SEO, Google Ads, paid social media ads, and conversion-rate optimization. He writes regularly for the company blog, sharing insights on topics such as content strategy, marketing funnels, and the evolving role of AI, helping founders, consultants, and agencies with practical guidance on sustainable growth. Beyond his agency work, Dave is a sought-after speaker and columnist. He has spoken at industry conferences and trained marketers on leveraging artificial intelligence and digital marketing to stay ahead in a shifting landscape. Dave’s story is also one of resilience and adaptability. Over the years he has weathered major disruptions, from economic downturns to industry shifts, but always managed to evolve, stay curious, and lead with a long-term vision for business.Adam Torres – Founder of MissionMatters.com If somebody is listening to this and they think that their true value in this business and in this game is just how many downloads they have, they’re completely missing the boat. Adam Torres is the co-founder and host of Mission Matters Media and the face of the podcast Mission Matters. He began his career in finance and business advisory but gradually felt drawn to entrepreneurship and storytelling. Through Mission Matters, Adam has built a global media platform that includes podcasting, publishing, and content production, aimed at amplifying the voices of entrepreneurs, executives, experts and creators. Although he was initially skeptical about podcasting, Adam launched his first show nearly nine years ago with minimal equipment. Over the years his authenticity, curiosity, and commitment to honest conversation helped him conduct thousands of interviews, covering leaders across industries, and build a respected platform recognized among the top podcasts globally.  Beyond hosting and producing, Adam leverages his background in finance, entrepreneurship and publishing to guide his media agency toward helping others share their stories, build personal brand presence, and create meaningful impact through content.