Alumni Council

Diana Berry is a global trade compliance and logistics supervisor at Harsco Rail, a global supplier for railway track maintenance and engineering leader in the industry.  In her current role, she manages the company’s trade compliance program as well as logistics operations domestically and internationally.

Prior to joining Harsco Rail, she held a variety of supply chain roles at United Parcel Service.  Berry also holds a Customs Broker’s License bestowed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency.

Berry graduated as an industrial engineer in her native country of Colombia, South America and obtained her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2015. She has held a variety of leadership roles in the Alumni Council including communications committee chair and vice chair and is currently serving as chair. She is also a member of 100 Women at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Berry is a Distinguished Toastmasters serving this international organization in leadership roles for over 15 years. She is also in the executive board at her local chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and enjoys mentoring aspiring future women in business. In her spare time, she enjoys playing violin and teaching Zumba in her community.

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Nate Challen is the general manager of Sanofi Consumer Healthcare in Canada, based in Montreal, Quebec. He has been with Sanofi since 2011, serving first in brand management and innovation roles based in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then as the global head of consumer and customer experience based in Frankfurt, Germany.

Prior to Sanofi, Challen worked for Johnson & Johnson, joining them after receiving his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2008.

From 1999 to 2006, he worked in high-tech startups including Ancestry.com in Provo, Utah, and AnchorPoint in Boston, Massachusetts, and as the webmaster for platinum recording artists Vertical Horizon.

He also holds a BS in computer science from Johns Hopkins University.

Challen is married and has four children.

Connect with Nate Challen on LinkedIn. 

Stuart Feldman has been at Fidelity Investments for 12 years. As a senior vice president in prime services, He heads capital introduction Services for the Americas where he leads a team helping hedge fund clients raise assets from institutional investors.

Prior to Fidelity, Feldman was the head of east coast capital introduction for Jefferies & Company.

In early 2000, Feldman co-founded two healthcare hedge funds where he was chief operating officer. His duties included trading, risk management and marketing. During that time, he successfully raised over assets from HNW individuals, family offices, fund of funds, pensions and endowments.

His career started on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange with a specialist firm and later moved upstairs to trade proprietarily at U.S. Clearing.

Feldman holds a BA from Ohio Wesleyan University, where he double majored in economics and pre-law,  an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler. He completed a certificate in risk management at New York Univeristy and holds his Series 7, 24 & 63 licenses.

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Tiffany Lakey is a managing director and head of strategy and innovation for Wells Fargo’s Corporate & Investment Bank (CIB). CIB delivers corporate banking, investment banking, fixed income and equities capabilities to corporate, institutional and municipal clients around the world. Leading strategy & innovation, she and her team partner with CIB businesses to develop and execute CIB’s strategy and strategic initiatives. Lakey serves on the CIB operating committee, the Wells Fargo strategy, digital & innovation leadership team, and is an executive sponsor of the CIB Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I) Council. She previously served as the DE&I women’s diversity champion, DE&I development committee chair, and was a founding member of the CIB Women’s Network.

With over 20 years of corporate and investment banking experience, Lakey has held strategy, business management and product coverage roles at Wells Fargo and predecessor firms Wachovia and First Union. She led strategy and client engagement, served as business manager for fixed income and debt capital markets, and was a leveraged finance banker covering high yield bonds and leveraged loans for tech, media & telecom and healthcare companies.

Lakey earned her BS in business administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and MBA from Wake Forest University. She serves on the board of the Davie Community Foundation, was a founding board member of Cognition and was a charter member of the Wake Forest University School of Business alumni council. Lakey resides near Charlotte, N.C., with her husband and three daughters.

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Javier Spina is a seasoned leader with over 20 years of experience building and managing global high performing teams. His business and technical acumen extends across finance, technology and media sectors.

Building bridges across organizations to enable cutting-edge Infrastructure as Code technologies, he ensures consistent business practices are in place to drive digital transformation. As an executive director for network automation at Wells Fargo, Spina drives inclusive change by leading a transformational initiative to up-skill hundreds of engineers while producing business outcomes saving over $5M each year through efficiency gains.

Prior to his role at Wells Fargo, Spina made significant contributions at Dish Wireless spearheading the Engineering of America’s first Cloud-native nationwide 5G Network, building thousands of cell sites and data centers. At Bank of New York Mellon, he modernized customer connectivity for over 550 financial institutions through transformative projects.

Beyond his professional achievements, Spina is a passionate advocate for inclusion and diversity. He actively promotes Hispanic representation in the industry through his involvement in various organizations and his commitment to hiring and mentoring diverse talent.

He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a degree in electronic engineering from the Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires. Both graduate and mentor in the HITEC EEP Program. Holding certifications including Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert and Professional Project Manager, Javier continues to drive impactful change in the technology industry through his exceptional leadership and technical expertise.

Connect with Javier Spina on LinkedIn. 

Rashmi Airan is a captivating and motivational speaker with a mission to foster organizational cultures centered around integrity, authenticity and accountability. Her story transcends the pitfalls of unknowingly making a life-altering decision; it’s a tale of leadership, core values, and decision-making, creating courageous conversations.

As a first-generation immigrant of Indian descent and the eldest of three daughters, Rashmi was raised with lofty expectations for achievement. Besides being a devoted mother of two, she excelled as a lawyer, graduating with honors from Columbia Law. After gaining experience at major corporations, she embarked on an independent law practice in Miami. During the housing boom, she was drawn into collaboration with a real estate developer who later engaged in questionable business practices. Driven by her desire for financial success and to provide the best life for her children, Rashmi developed a blind spot and refrained from questioning her client’s actions, despite her inner voice urging her to do so. Her involvement led to a federal prison sentence for fraud, along with a multi-million-dollar judgment, mandated community service hours, and three years probation.

During her six months in prison, Rashmi found inner peace and self-forgiveness. This life-changing experience humbled her but also imparted invaluable lessons.

Rashmi uses her story as a lens to showcase the myriad factors that influence our choices and sets forth the business discipline essential for sound decision-making. In doing so, she redefines the meaning of success and underscores the importance of accountability and emotional intelligence in an ever-evolving global culture.

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Robert Annas serves as a senior managing director in Restructuring Services at SOLIC and has over 25 years of experience in both operating and restructuring roles, including 15 years of working and advising in turnaround situations, distressed and special situation portfolio management, and distressed control private equity investing.

Prior to joining SOLIC, Annas was a managing director at Navigant Capital Advisors, LLC, serving as leader on a wide variety of restructuring and operating restructuring engagements. Prior to Navigant, he was a partner at Atlanta Equity Investors, LLC, a middle market-focused private equity fund.

Annas has vast industry experience including business services, information technology, manufacturing, distribution, transportation, healthcare, consumer products and retail.

Robert received his BSBA and MAC from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Connect with Robert Annas on LinkedIn.

As the chief strategy officer at Zoom, Abhisht Arora is responsible for key growth initiatives, strategic planning, pricing and monetization.

Prior to joining Zoom in 2021, he was VP of product at Microsoft Teams. He spent over 20 years at Microsoft in senior business and product leadership roles including those at Xbox, Bing, Windows, Office and Surface.

He has a successful track record of delivering product innovation for customers such as the creation of Xbox Game Pass, and driving step function usage and revenue growth at Bing and Xbox Live.

Arora has managed scale platform businesses with multi-sided ecosystems across diverse business models of advertising, subscriptions, transactions, licensing and device sales.

He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan Flagler Business School and a master of commerce  from Mumbai University. He is a Chartered Accountant (India).

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Will Bacon is the chief compliance officer for Morgan Creek Capital Management LLC. Prior to joining Morgan Creek, he was corporate counsel and deputy compliance officer at IFC Core Investment Management where he oversaw the firm’s SEC registration as an investment adviser and monitored all compliance-related policies and procedures. Before IFC, Bacon held the positions of senior compliance officer at Credit Suisse and product director at Hatteras Funds. He previously worked at financial services firms in New York which is where he began his career as a foreign exchange sales associate at Deutsche Bank.

Bacon received a BS in Business Administration and a Juris Doctor from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He currently serves on the board of directors of Rosemyr Corporation.

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Andy Basinger is a managing director and head of Live Oak Private Wealth. Combining financial planning expertise with superior client service, he plays a critical role in helping Live Oak Private Wealth clients achieve their financial goals.

Basinger joins Live Oak Private Wealth with more than 18 years of experience in wealth management and brings strong financial planning and investment skills. Before wealth management, he worked in corporate and investment banking and understands the unique challenges facing private business owners. He enjoys working with them to devise a plan for what is often their most treasured asset.

He received his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his Executive Certificate in Financial Planning from Duke University. In addition to his CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation, he has his life and health insurance license.

He and his wife, Ashley, have three children and enjoy traveling together as a family. He also enjoys golf, snow skiing and running.

Connect with Andy Basinger on LinkedIn.

John is an Associate at Transwestern Development Company in Austin, Texas. He focuses on multifamily and mixed-use development in Austin, San Antonio, and Phoenix. Prior to joining Transwestern John was an Assistant Vice President at Frost Bank in their Austin commercial real estate lending group. John is a 2021 graduate of the UNC Kenan-Flagler Full-Time MBA program. He earned his BA from the University of Texas at Austin in 2011. He and his wife Alison, have one daughter with whom they love traveling and enjoying the outdoors. John is proud to be a Tar Heel and is excited to have the opportunity to engage with and support UNC and Kenan-Flagler.

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Chris Brooks is an experienced global operating executive with a proven track record of full P&L leadership of enterprises in the B2B space. He excels in driving growth, managing through crisis, developing talent and improving profitability in precision manufacturing and service businesses. Chris delivered results across complex manufacturing platforms in industrial products, test & diagnostic equipment, medical device, foodservice and pharmaceutical industries.

Chris has spent the last year with Danaher as the X-Rite President. Prior to Danaher, Chris served as Corporate Vice President and General Manager of AMETEK Medical business where he grew a stagnant business with a small opportunity pipeline. Chris possesses a strong commercial and operational background that has involved top-line growth, restructuring and operational cost reduction to deliver EBITDA margin expansion. These core skills and competencies were developed in diverse roles with Nordson Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company and Merck & Co. Chris assimilates quickly and is constructively curious about the manufacturing and marketing of products.

Chris currently serves on the North Carolina A&T State University board of visitors. He has served on the boards of the Thurgood Marshall Center Trust. He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council. Chris earned a bachelor degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina A&T State University and an MBA from The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is married with two sons and enjoys a wide array of sports, community service, reading and global travel.

Connect with Chris Brooks on LinkedIn.

My experiences working across industries from Global Non-Profit Services, to Finance, to Luxury Retail and Fashion have taught me that what I crave most is to encourage my team’s development and drive success for our clients to help them achieve their goals.

UNC Kenan-Flagler gave me the knowledge I need to further myself in the business world and also gave me the opportunity to form lifelong friends with classmates who I frequently turn to for advice.

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Coleman Bumgardner is a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC), performing within the trust solutions practice of the banking and capital markets team. A member of the Audit Centers of Excellence, Bumgardner provides assurance and regulatory compliance services to registered broker-dealers assisting engagement teams in audits of judgmental, targeted reporting areas.

He is responsible for coordination of internal and external teams across the world to complete audit testing and documentation along with timely identification and resolution of project issues. He began his career at Elliott Davis LLC in their assurance practice completing external and internal audits across several industries including financial services, local county government, manufacturing and distribution, and technology and life sciences. Bumgardner is currently a licensed CPA in North Carolina and maintains active designations within the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.

Bumgardner graduated with a BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler with distinction along with a second major in anthropology from the College of Arts and Sciences and Phi Beta Kappa recognition. After his undergraduate studies, Bumgardner graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler with a Master of Accounting degree. While at UNC, he participated in and held leadership roles in Presbyterian Campus Ministry, Alpha Kappa Psi Business Fraternity and Undergraduate Accounting Club.

A North Carolina native, Bumgardner currently resides in Raleigh and previously served a 3-year term on the UNC Young Alumni Council. His interests and commitments outside of work include tennis, church involvement, and F3 men’s fitness group.

Craig Burnham is currently the Director of Product Marketing for Webex by Cisco covering the full portfolio of collaboration solutions including meetings, calling, messaging, events and devices. Craig has been with Cisco for the past 6 years and his background includes over 15 years of experience in the technology and consumer products industries. Prior to Cisco, Craig worked at Kraft Foods in brand management and has worked at various other technology startups in sales and marketing roles. He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish in 2007 and then earned his MBA in 2013 from the University of North Carolina. Craig lives in Cary North Carolina with his wife, Meghan; daughter, Kacyn; and son, Lawson.

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Wayne Busch is the group president of NTT DATA Services’ consulting and digital transformation business.  NTT DATA is a Top 10 global IT services provider and part of a global $100B organization ranked #55 in the Global 500, serving 88% of the Fortune Global 100.  Wayne leads a team with the mission to help their clients to modernize their business to unlock value and increase their velocity towards a digital future.  He does this through integrated delivery of consulting and digital technology services.

Wayne is a senior business leader who delivers superior results by delivering client value at the intersection of industry innovation and exceptional technology outcomes.  Through his career at NTT DATA and over 25 years at Accenture, Wayne has made significant impacts in a diverse number of market-facing roles, having managed substantial business segment P&Ls, developed go-to-market strategies, and been personally accountable for some of his firms’ most significant client relationships.  Wayne is a skilled advisor and transformation partner to the C-Suite with 30 years of personal experience in multiple industries across North America and Europe.

He is a passionate people developer and takes personal accountability in helping people manage their careers. He builds high performing teams anchored around his belief in a talent-led model focused on meritocracy.  He believes in investments in people, business, technology and his community in the Chicagoland area.  He’s married to his Tarheel sweetheart, Melissa (BA 1991), and is soon to re-enter the university world with his teenage son, Charlie.

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“Every brand owner and organization has the right to expand, grow and ultimately thrive. That is why I have made it my mission to develop tools, talks and training designed to inspire, educate and empower you to achieve all that is possible.” PETE CANALICHIO

Pete Canalichio is an award-winning author of the Amazon #1 New Release, “Expand, Grow, Thrive” (2018) and most recently “Strategic Brand Licensing” (2024). A TEDx speaker, Pete has worked in brand strategy, expansion and licensing for the past 25 years for The Coca-Cola Company, Newell Brands and most recently, BrandAlive, a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business that he founded in 2009.

Before starting his business career, Pete attended the U.S. Naval Academy where he earned a BS in physics. Pete went on to serve in the Navy as an award-winning aviator and instructor pilot, honing his leadership and decision-making skills as commander of a large multi-engine aircraft and 12-member crew during the height of Cold War tensions.

His “crisis-tested leadership skills” were forged not in a battle with the competition or a challenging business turnaround—although he has certainly excelled in those arenas—but in the dark skies above the Pacific Ocean as he flew a military aircraft whose engine had caught on fire. Clear-headed and decisive under those extraordinary circumstances, he has applied that same leadership style to every challenge and opportunity he has faced in a distinguished executive career.

Before transitioning to the marketing and licensing arenas, Pete earned his MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School where he was a Richard H. Jenrette fellow and salutatorian of his class.  Upon graduation, Pete was recruited into the global finance unit at Coca-Cola. He rose quickly to managing $32 billion in transactions yearly as Treasury Operations Manager in London and built a strong foundation of business skills and diverse experiences within the world-class company.

Throughout his career, Pete has operated in the global arena, having worked in more than 40 countries and managed extensive projects across national and continental borders.

Connect with Pete Canalichio on LinkedIn. 

Ryan Cartwright is the global sales and partner leader of Spacelift based in Sausalito, California. He is also an angel investor in multiple tech startups and co-founder of AuctionVilla Platforms – a Platform to Acquire Mobile Apps & Games and WhiteLabel – Branded games for businesses.

Cartwright is the Kenan-Flagler Bay Area Chapter CEO. He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2017 and a BA from UMBC in Baltimore.

Cartwright has over 15 years experience in Infrastructure Engineering, DevOps, CICD, IaC, Enterprise Systems Engineering, Architecture and Operational support. He has proven ability to learn new systems quickly, evaluate needs, and solve problems in a win-win manner that delights the customer and drives company profits. He develops partnerships with the business to define and execute IT operations projects while managing costs and resources. He has strengths in business acumen, leadership, communication, account strategy, organization, problem solving, and decision making. Proven track record of success in quota-carrying roles. He fosters a culture of customer-centric and partner-centric.

Connect with Ryan Cartwright on LinkedIn. 

I am a former oil and gas industry executive with over 20 years of experience, focused on the Appalachian Basin.  My career has included key operational and financial-oriented roles of increasing responsibility culminating with promotion to EVP of Production for the largest U.S. natural gas producer.  My experience includes drilling and production, asset development and commercial operations, including midstream gathering and processing.  I am a 2021 graduate of the MBA@UNC program and have a BS in Chemical Engineering from Penn State.

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Simon Chen is a Shanghai-based leadership and professional skills trainer and executive coach. Over the past 18 years, he has designed and delivered training workshops for many of world’s reputable companies including Cisco, Microsoft, Porsche, SAP, BASF, Solvay etc.  He has also maintained coaching relationships with senior executives working with these multinational companies and helped them navigate through business and culture related challenges in today’s deeply uncertain environment.

Chen’s strength as a highly effective executive coach is based on many years of solid experience in sales, general management and strategic consulting in Mainland China, Hong Kong and the U.S.

He was the general manager of the internet startup Netbig and led the team in developing the company’s highly successful EMBA, online MBA and studying abroad consultation business. Before that, he managed a couple of strategic consulting projects for Accenture Consulting in Shanghai. Prior to getting his MBA degree from Kenan-Flagler Business School in 2000, he was one of the 300 personnel dispatched to Hong Kong under the “professionals importation scheme” to work as a key account manager with the world’s largest high-end OEM shirt manufacturer Esquel Group.

Chen is the founder of UNC and Kenan-Flagler Business School’s alumni club in China and has been its chairman between 2001-2010.

Allison Davis Chrisco is the president and former owner of Greensboro Industrial Platers. She began work as a manager for the company in 1990. In 2009, she earned Certified Electro-Plater level-two accreditation from the National Association of Surface Finishers.

After 20 years of experience in all facets of small business, she purchased the company from her mentor in 2011. She leveraged business administration fundamentals, a willingness to work every role and technical expertise to yield an exceptional entrepreneurship journey in the metal finishing industry. Her team has worked on parts that make your dishwasher work, that protect soldiers in combat, and that keep astronauts safe in space. Today she is leading the transition of the 90-year-old company into the future with a new ownership team.

A Winston-Salem native, she graduated with a BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler. She lives in Davie County, North Carolina, with her husband. They enjoy UNC basketball, playing golf, traveling and spending as much time as possible with their family, friends and dogs.

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Brent Comstock is an entrepreneur, venture capitalist and CEO of BCom, an outcomes agency that provides advertising, media and strategy services to brands, campaigns and causes across the U.S.

Recognized by Inc. magazine as one of the fastest growing companies in the Midwest, BCom has become a national leader in helping nonprofits raise millions of dollars, corporations refine their reputations and candidates achieve success in some of the most challenging and unique elections of our lifetime. Brent is a trusted adviser for CEO’s, celebrities and elected officials ranging from local officeholders to federal representatives in DC.

In 2016, Comstock became one of the youngest people in the U.S. to be awarded a Congressional Honor by the U.S. House of Representatives for economic development and job creation in Nebraska.

Previously, he was a member of the founding team of Change Ventures, the first and largest pan-Baltic seed fund in the Baltic region of Europe. He was the chief operating officer of the U.S. Team and served as a principal of the fund.

Comstock studied at both UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University where he was a Robertson Scholar but is definitely a Tar Heel on game days. He’s proud to call Nebraska (and about 200 Delta flights a year) home.

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Nicole completed her BSBA degree in finance at the University of Central Florida in 2006. After a few finance-related internships in Orlando, she began her career at BB&T Capital Markets in Richmond, Virginia as an associate equity analyst covering small- and mid-cap bank and thrift institutions. In 2011, Peterson moved to Manhattan and worked for an Australian investment bank, Macquarie Capital, again as an associate equity analyst covering mid- and large-cap and trust banks. Following a year in Manhattan, she returned to Virginia and started working as a financial analyst for Capital One. In 2016, while living in Sarasota, Florida, Peterson decided to shift her career into the field of accounting, by pursuing both her master’s degree and her CPA. During this time, she worked as an accounting supervisor for a TriNet, a PEO, followed by an accounting manager/outsourced CFO at a CPA Firm, Kerkering, Barberio & Co., both in Sarasota, Florida.

She completed her MAC degree from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in 2019. She then earned her CPA in the state of Florida in 2021. Peterson currently works as a financial reporting manager for a multi-family real estate technology startup, iApartments Inc. based in Tampa, Florida. She lives in Sarasota with her family, including her two girls, Greyson and Rowan, and her partner, Whitney Coyne, a family law attorney.

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Javier De Santibanes was born and raised in Argentina, where he currently resides. He started his career working as an accounting analyst for IBM and Chevron, before moving on to pursue his MBA at UNC Kenan-Flagler.

During business school he was part of the acapella group The Confidence Intervals and the Business Technology Club. He interned at Google (Argentina) and considers his Chapel Hill years as some of his happiest and most fruitful.

After graduating in 2016 he returned to Buenos Aires and joined his family office, where he analyzes investment opportunities and runs day-to-day operations. More specifically, he follows the retail and infrastructure sectors in Latin America. As an investor he is involved with some of the most exciting and promising multi-Latam companies, including Havanna, Puppis and Atis Group.

He is married and has a son. In his spare time he enjoys playing the piano and racing his car on track days. Regardless of distances, De Santibanes is still friends with his classmates and looks forward to weddings as an excuse to see them.

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Mark Donnolo is managing partner with SalesGlobe, a sales effectiveness consulting and services firm that works with leading companies in the areas of sales innovation, sales strategy, sales team coaching and training, and sales compensation. He is the author of “The Innovative Sale” and “What Your CEO Needs to Know About Sales Compensation.”

Donnolo has worked in leading consulting firms over the past 20 years. He was president of a venture-backed voice-over-IP service provider, co-founder of a point-to-point wireless ISP, and co-founder of a clean coal technology company funded by three major venture capital firms. Before his business career, he worked as a designer in New York for a global branding firm and for a museum design and environmental design firm.

He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler  and a BFA from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. He has served on the board of trustees of The University of the Arts and the board of the Ludwig Symphony Orchestra for six years.

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Jeron Eaves is a managing partner at Blue Matter, a strategy consulting firm focusing exclusively on the life sciences. Blue Matter works with a broad range of clients (from large, multinational pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs) across business needs spanning corporate, portfolio, and product level objectives.  Eaves leads the West Coast business for Blue Matter from the company’s office in San Francisco, Calif.  His work is focused on portfolio, commercial, and organizational strategies for novel therapies in oncology, rare diseases, neurology, and other specialty disease areas.

Prior to joining Blue Matter, Eaves was a corporate development and commercial excellence lead for Campbell Alliance (now Syneos), a management consulting company for biopharmaceutical companies.  In this role, Eaves led strategic engagements across both commercial and business development practice areas.

Before pursuing a career in management consulting, Eaves was an organic chemist at PPD Discovery and Serenex, where he was responsible for the discovery and design of novel drug candidates for oncology.  During his time as a scientist, Eaves was a contributing author on multiple publications and named on several patents.

Eaves received his MBA from the University of North Carolina Kenan-Flagler Business School, and a BS in chemistry from UNC Chapel Hill.  Jeron; his wife, Jenn; son, Evan; and dog, Pintxo live in the San Diego, Calif. area.

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Mark Edwards is a managing director with Truist Securities and leads the Fund Finance team in the Asset Securitization Group. Truist, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of the largest financial services holding companies in the United States. Edwards’s banking career started in 1983 with BB&T and continued with service as a director with Wachovia Securities’ CIB Group, and then as an EVP and corporate services manager for Main Street Bank in Atlanta, Georgia. After returning to BB&T, he served as president of BB&T’s SBA group and as senior loan administrator, before joining the capital markets group.

A North Carolina native, Edwards was a Johnston Scholar at UNC-CH receiving his BS in business administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and his MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Edwards and his wife, Jan (UNC ‘84), have three children; Peyton (a graduate at UNC-CH), Alex and Ainsley (a sophomore at UNC-CH), and live in Winston Salem, N.C.

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Aly Egan works for Vesper Holdings in New York City on their acquisitions team. She analyzes value add and core real estate opportunities within the student housing asset class, partnering with individual investors and institutional funds.

Previously, she was a senior associate at Ernst & Young within its financial services organization. She worked for a D.C.- based private equity client on their U.S. real estate portfolio’s quarterly and annual reviews. She was the recipient of EY’s 2021 Above and Beyond Award.

Egan received a Master of Accounting degree from UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2019, and BS from the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech in 2018.

She was a Forte Foundation MBA Fellow at UNC Kenan-Flagler, concentrating in finance.

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Thomas Elders is an active duty U.S. Marine Corps Infantry Officer, and currently works on the U.S. European Command staff in Stuttgart, Germany. He is serving as the Chief of the Plans Branch in the Joint Fires Division.

During a military career spanning over 24 years, Thomas led 25 to 350-person teams in contingency, crisis and combat operations. He served as a senior leader overseeing the staff functions for a 2500+ person organization. He deployed 10 times to overseas locations, where he demonstrated his skills in team building, risk management, corporate security, humanitarian assistance to local populaces, and execution of complex operations in dynamic environments. Additionally, Thomas’s diverse career included serving on a several senior staffs, where he performed strategic planning, operational assessments, program management, budget analysis, and major equipment acquisitions.

Thomas graduated with a Bachelor of Science (History Major) from the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md. He earned a Master of Business Administration from UNC Kenan-Flagler, Chapel Hill, N.C. and a Master’s of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle, Pa.

Thomas is a 4-time Ironman triathlon finisher. He and his wife, Jess, have one child and a chocolate lab.

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Elizabeth Ewing has 25 years of corporate strategy and sustainability consulting experience with Fortune 500 companies and Private Equity firms, across industries including electric power, biotechnology & pharmaceuticals, oil & gas, aerospace and chemicals. Since 2013, Elizabeth has been an advisor to Advent International, and is also an Operations Advisor to portfolio companies. She has worked with more than 30 portfolio companies in North America, Latin America, UK/EU, India and China. She supports portfolio companies in creating value and advancing their ESG/sustainability maturity. Prior to her role as an Operations Advisor, Elizabeth led her own strategy, sustainability, and communications consulting business. While leading her firm, she developed the first corporate environmental program and climate approach at Constellation Energy, and spent time with ERM leading sustainability strategy and communications projects for major public companies.

Elizabeth started her career at boutique decision analysis firm, Strategic Decisions Group, founded by Stanford engineering professors. She focused on the Lifesciences and Energy practices, where her experience included strategy development, decision analysis, R&D portfolio strategy and deal negotiation support for leading global biotech and pharma companies.

Based in Washington D.C., Elizabeth received her MBA in finance from UNC Chapel Hill and her undergraduate degree (economics), masters, and PhD (philosophy/ religion) from Stanford University.

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Curt Fentress is senior marketing manager at Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and infection prevention solutions and services that help protect people, planet and business health. In his current role, Fentree leads ideation, program development, go-to-market strategy, and commercialization for Ecolab’s Kay business, based in Greensboro, N.C., meeting the food safety and sanitation needs of QSR and Fast Casual customers globally. Prior to his current role, Fentress held a series of progressive leadership roles in product marketing, global marketing and corporate account sales in Ecolab’s Food retail and food & beverage divisions. He is a three-time recipient of the Ecolab Marketing Excellence Award for exceptional performance and has led Ecolab’s MBA recruiting efforts at UNC Kenan-Flagler since 2014.

Fentress graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler’s Fulltime MBA program in 2012, concentrating in entrepreneurship. While at UNC Kenan-Flagler, he served as a class section representative, the NC IDEA Young Entrepreneur in Residence, and won the 2011 UNC Marketing Case Challenge sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. Fentress holds a BA in philosophy from Haverford College (’07). He resides in his hometown of Winston-Salem, N.C., with his wife, Laura Otten (MBA ’15), and three children.

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Danion Fielding is a seasoned finance and technology executive. Danion currently serves as an interim Chief Financial Officer for private companies in the technology and real estate industries. Danion has extensive public company experience as the former CFO of Shelter Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: SHQA), a special purpose acquisition company focused on the PropTech industry and Getty Realty Corp. (NYSE: GTY), a publicly traded real estate investment trust. Prior to these roles, Danion held various positions in commercial real estate, technology and finance with companies including Nationwide Health Properties, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities Inc., PricewaterhouseCoopers and Daiwa Securities.

Danion earned an MBA from The University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School, a M.Sc. from University College London and a M.Eng. from the University of Manchester.

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Steve Finlay retired from The Coca-Cola Company in 2019 with responsibilities spanning a 25-year career from strategy development, and consumer marketing, to commercial development in North America. In his last role as vice president, Bottler Franchise Strategy and Planning, Finlay was responsible for developing and executing a multi-year Bottler plan and capability roadmap.

From 2011 to 2016, he served as group director of Bottler Transformation, where Finlay planned and executed a territory refranchising effort with Coca-Cola Bottler in the U.S.  This effort successfully transitioned across 62 territories, 300 distribution and production centers, and over 50,000 employees.

Finlay served as group director of category portfolio strategy in his previous role with Coca-Cola. He shaped Coca-Cola’s U.S. beverage strategy with senior leadership and led the revenue management efforts for the U.S.

Before joining Coca-Cola in 1995, Finlay served as a management consultant role for The Walt Disney Company, where he worked on various international and U.S. projects, including Disneyland Paris, Tokyo Disneyland, and the Anaheim 2^nd theme park – where he was instrumental in operationalizing the retail and entertainment center.

Finlay holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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Riley Graham is a co-founder and partner of Penrose Capital Partners, a real estate investment firm based in Dallas, Texas. Prior to Penrose, he was VP of strategy and operations at Way, a business-to-business software business.

Graham began his career at Blackstone in New York City, where he worked on its real estate acquisitions and asset management teams across multiple property types, including hospitality, multifamily, life science, office and film production studios. He received his BSBA with highest honors from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

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As executive vice president and Georgia Commercial Banking executive at Cadence Bank, Green oversees the strategic development, growth, quality, and profitability of commercial activities in Georgia. With over 25 years of experience in investment banking, corporate, and commercial banking (Banc of America Securities, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, and Wachovia), Green provides oversight and direction to the commercial banking team which is focused on meeting the banking and financing needs of clients in a variety of industries. Green is an alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BSBA 1992) and Emory University (MBA 1999), Leadership Georgia, and is a Board Member of Trees Atlanta, The Woodruff Arts Center, Rotary Club of Atlanta, Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Buckhead Coalition, and Kenan-Flagler Business School Alumni Council. Green also serves as the secretary for the Habersham Park Association and is on the advisory board for Allied Financial Corporation.

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Ralph Grogan serves as a consultant for Bentley Mills, a commercial flooring company
headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Previously, Grogan was president and CEO of Bently from 2012-2017. During Grogan’s tenure Bentley’s revenue grew from $95 million to $150 million. Most of Grogan’s consultant work is geared towards supply chain management in both North America and Asia.

Grogan also served as president for Parterre Flooring, (2018-2021), and Monterey Carpets
(2001-2007). He was chief operating officer for Tandus Flooring, (2008-2012) a $350 million dollar commercial flooring company.

Grogan has extensive Private Equity experience having worked on Equity deals with Quad C, Oaktree Capital, Dominus Capital and Tower 3 Partners.

Grogan graduated with a BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a MBA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. A native of North Carolina, he currently resides in Boston.

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Mark Hamilton recently retired after 30 plus years in executive leadership roles in the building products industry. Most recently, he was senior vice president of sales at Hearth & Home Technologies. Previously, he held vice president of sales and marketing roles at Watts Water Technologies, NIBCO, and American Standard Brands. Prior to that Hamilton held a variety of director level roles at Whirlpool Corporation where he was recruited into the Global Management Development Program from UNC.  He holds an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a BA from DePauw University.

Currently, Hamilton serves others in a variety of volunteer roles at Habitat for Humanity and Moore Buddies Mentoring. He also serves on the Vestry of Emmanuel Episcopal Church and board of Pilgrim’s Progress.  He is an active member of F3 Sandhills, and enjoys traveling and pickleball with his wife, Liz.  They have two young adult children, Sarah and Chris.

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Mary Moore Hambrick leads Grant Thornton’s public policy initiatives and is directly responsible for external and internal strategy and tactics. She liaises with Members of Congress, accounting professional standard setters, regulators and other influencers.

She and her team are trusted resources to the firm’s partners, clients, and the nation’s legislators – ensuring Grant Thornton’s policy positions are well represented. She is a member of Grant Thornton’s U.S. Extended Leadership Team and a chair of the firm’s Political Action Committee.

Hambrick has a strong business and legal background with 30 years of experience, working for and then with the U.S. Congress. She most recently served as the senior director of external relations and strategic planning for the Center for Audit Quality, where she managed its strategic priorities, stakeholder outreach and communications. She was also a director of the office of external relations for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, where she established its government relations office and directed its public affairs functions.  Hambrick headed the New York Life Insurance Co.’s Washington, D.C., governmental affairs office, served as counsel to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and was a registered investments representative for Morgan Stanley, having passed investments exams series 3, 7 and 63.

She graduated from Duke University and earned her JD and MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Lari Harding is a proven marketer, innovator and business leader with more than 15 years of her career spent developing healthcare solutions implemented by more than 50,000 pharmacies. She has been with Inmar Intelligence for 33 years – holding leadership roles in media/promotions, healthcare and supply chain – and in her current position is responsible for sales and marketing enablement across all Inmar business lines. Harding collaborates closely with her clients, technologists, data scientists, strategists, business experts and sales leaders. She is focused on the commercialization of products, including strategic partnerships that bring tech-enabled healthcare solutions to the market faster. Inmar’s clients include grocery and mass merchandise chains; chain pharmacies; independent pharmacies; health systems; long term care facilities; specialty pharmacies; pharmaceutical manufacturers; and consumer packaged goods companies.

An inventor, as well, Harding holds four U.S. patents. She is a proud Tar Heel with a BS degree in business administration from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she serves on the alumni council for the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Harding has served on the Novant Health Board of Trustees for the Greater Winston-Salem area since January 2015, and currently serves as Chairwoman. She also serves on the corporate board for Novant Health.

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Taylor Harrington is a Managing Director on the Private Credit team at Guggenheim Investments in New York City, where he originates and structures flexible capital solutions for growth and mid-market companies.

Prior to joining Guggenheim, he was an Associate Director on Barings’ Private Credit team. Before Barings, Mr. Harrington worked for Boston Consulting Group in their New York office.

Before graduating from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, he was an Associate at Summit Park, a $245MM private equity fund. He started his career as an investment banking Analyst at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Taylor earned his BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler where he graduated cum laude.

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Brandon Hass is senior director, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and Climate Index Sales at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). In this role, he is responsible for developing ESG and climate index business for the North American market. He serves as an architect and subject matter expert in providing guidance to help form holistic suites of ESG indices based on S&P DJI market views and client preferences.

Prior to joining S&P DJI in 2022, Hass spent over a decade specializing in portfolio strategy and investment advisory. He brings extensive experience in buy-side investment consulting and capital markets, having held senior positions as a portfolio strategist and investment specialist for one of the world’s leading wirehouses. He is also an acknowledged contributor to the Investments and Wealth Institute, for writing and auditing investment consulting content for industry professionals.

Hass earned a BSBA from the University of Central Florida and an MBA with a concentration in data analytics from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He holds a Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation from the Investments and Wealth Institute in partnership with the Wharton School, as well as a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselors (CRPC®) designation from the College for Financial Planning. He currently sits on the leadership council at Ackerman Center for Excellence in Sustainability within the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Debbie has been a practicing attorney with the law firm of Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A. in Raleigh, NC since 1988.  She is known for her expertise in the areas of estate planning and administration. Debbie also has a broad range of experience with closely held businesses and has assisted with drafting and negotiating contracts, acquiring and disposing of businesses, and advising on financial matters and transactions.

She is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Debbie has been consistently recognized in many State and National respected publications. She has been named in The Best Lawyers in America. She was selected for inclusion among North Carolina Super Lawyers including NC’s Top 100 Lawyers and Top 50 Female Lawyers. She has also been recognized in Business North Carolina magazine’s Legal Elite in the areas of Tax and Estate Planning and Corporate Law. In 2005, she was the recipient of a Women in Business Award  presented by the Triangle Business Journal and a Women Extraordinaire Award presented by Business Leader Magazine. She is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate law and has lectured for the North Carolina Bar Foundation and the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law.

Debbie graduated from Wingate College with an AA degree in 1973, and UNC Chapel Hill with a BSBA in 1976, and a JD degree in 1984.

Debbie has also previously served on various committees over the years for the North Carolina Bar Association (NCBA) and the Wake County Bar Association (WCBA), such as a past Chair of the Estate Planning and Fiduciary Law Section of the NCBA, past Council Member of the Tax Section of the NCBA, former chair of the Estate Administration Manual Committee of the Estate Planning Section of the NCBA, former Council Member of the International Law Section of the NCBA, Chair of the Swearing-in Ceremony Committee of the WCBA/Tenth Judicial Bar, and Co-Chair of the Bar Awards Planning Committee.  She also served as Treasurer of the WCBA and was the recipient of two President’s Awards of Excellence from the WCBA.

Debbie served for many years as a member of the UNC Tax Institute Planning Committee and also served on the UNC Law School Alumni Board of Directors.

Debbie has been active in the community having served on the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Campaign, on the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce Board of Advisors and as the Chair of Executive Women’s Task Force, as the Chair of the Capital (Raleigh) Region Advisory Board of the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC), as a Trustee of North Raleigh United Methodist Church, and as a Director and the Treasurer of the Raleigh Racquet Club.  She continues to serve on The Salvation Army of Wake County Board of Advisor.

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Barry Holloway retired in 2014 from SWD URETHANE of Phoenix, Arizona, where he was responsible for sales development on an international level to exceed $50 million dollars. Other responsibilities in his senior management position included direct responsibility of a national sales force, coordination with the marketing department and plant operations.

His previous industry experience was with the Johns Manville Corporation of Denver, Colorado, in a regional sales capacity for North Carolina and Virginia. During his career Holloway was well known in the building industry actively serving on various committee’s with the National Association of Home Builders particularly in the area of modular building plants.

His first career was with the U.S. Marine Corps where he was on the staff of Lieutenant General F. E. Leek, commander of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic in Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler and lives in Raleigh with his wife, two children and three grandchildren.

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Rodney Jefferson is co-founder and chief executive officer of Little Scholars, an educational solutions firm specializing in inspiring confidence in children age preschool through 12th grade by advancing their academic performance. Little Scholars is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and provides after-school enrichment programs, summer camps, and tutoring services to children in over 20 states and the District of Columbia. Jefferson has broad operating expertise with 26 years of leadership experience in diverse industries. His expertise includes strategic planning, operations management, business development, financial management, as well as transaction negotiation and execution.

Prior to co-founding Little Scholars in 2006, Jefferson founded Virginia Credit & Finance Inc. in 2004, a debt-recovery company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. He served as president and chief executive officer directly managing the growth, direction and financials of the company. Under Jefferson’s leadership, the company received formal recognition from Governor Mark Warner for creating over 100 new jobs in the Commonwealth of Virginia, grew to $14 million in revenue and was sold in 2010.

Prior to starting Virginia Credit & Finance Inc., Jefferson spent nine years at Source4, an integrated business and marketing solutions company in Roanoke, Virginia. Source4 provides document management, print and marketing communications, technology solutions, and fulfillment and distribution services to large corporate clients throughout the United States. Jefferson’s responsibilities included valuation and analysis of potential acquisition targets, strategic planning, business development, and operations management. While at Source4, he coordinated supply chain functions for multiple manufacturing facilities, managed 90 employees across 14 national sales offices, and spearheaded the development and implementation of an e-commerce procurement solution for clients. Additionally, Jefferson negotiated the purchase and integration of a $4.2 million manufacturing equipment upgrade.  He was named vice president in 1997, and in this role specialized in the development and provision of business and marketing solutions for major clients including Carmax, McKesson, Anheuser Busch and Time Life.

During his tenure at Source4, Jefferson played a key role in the company’s transformation from a local printing concern into a national provider of print and marketing communication services. This transformation yielded nearly $60 million in annual revenue, reflecting a 252% increase between 1997 and 2004.

Jefferson began his management career in 1994 with Image Comp Inc., a regional graphic arts firm located in Virginia Beach, Virginia. He served as director of business development, developing and managing regional sales efforts. While with Image Comp, he opened new markets for the firm and led a growth initiative to double annual revenues in one year.

Jefferson, 50, is a native of Roanoke, Virginia, and he resides in Richmond, Virginia with his wife and three teenage children. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics and business from Randolph-Macon College, and he earned his Masters of Business Administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been an active supporter of philanthropic organizations including Junior Achievement of Southwest Virginia, Cameron K. Gallagher Foundation, Phi Alpha House Corporation, and the Virginia Alpha Alumni Association. In addition to serving on the boards of these organizations, Jefferson served on the board of Virginia Credit & Finance Inc., the Board of Associates of Randolph-Macon College, the Board of Governors of The Homestead Golf & Tennis Club in Hot Springs, Virginia, and he is a former board member for Printing Industries of Virginia. Jefferson was an active member of the Virginia Council of CEOs from 2007 through 2020. He currently serves on the Alumni Council of Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Jefferson enjoys being outdoors playing golf or riding his mountain bike, gravel bike and road bike. His claim to fame is playing one-on-one against Michael Jordan on the court at Granville Towers in 1985.

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Bob Kadlec is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Duane Morris LLP and member of the firm’s M&A, private equity and corporate practices. He has more than 30 years of experience, providing advice in a broad range of mergers and acquisitions, corporate financing transactions and corporate governance matters. He has extensive experience advising both private equity and corporate clients on a variety of matters related to M&A, corporate governance and securities laws matters including leveraged buyouts and recapitalizations, minority investments, joint ventures and public company acquisitions. He also advises a variety of public and private companies in corporate governance, SEC reporting and other matters.

Kadlec has been selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for Corporate Law since 2017. He earned his JD from New York University School of Law and his BS from UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a certified public accountant.

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Roy is a dynamic and accomplished professional with 15 years of experience in the chemical industry. An engineer at heart, his career reflects an insatiable curiosity and a relentless pursuit of excellence.

Currently serving as the Director of Global Business Development and Product Management at Trinseo, Roy leads cross-functional teams, shapes global business strategies, and improves business processes to drive growth in the Engineered Resins business. His initiatives include asset optimization, new product development, and enhancing business analytics.

Prior to this, Roy held key roles at Arkema, Chemours (formerly DuPont), and Solvay, where he exhibited an unwavering commitment to innovation, data analysis, and leadership. Notably, as Strategic Market Manager at Arkema, he created market development teams that led to the commercialization of several new innovative specialty solutions. As Business Manager for the Rigid Compounds business at Trinseo, Roy led his team in creating a last time buy program that solved a customer’s problem without negatively impacting the business.

Roy’s diverse interests extend beyond the corporate realm. He’s an avid traveler, tennis enthusiast, and chess player. His passion for learning and leadership underlines his commitment to personal and professional growth.

With a Master of Business Administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School and a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara, Roy combines academic excellence with hands-on experience.

Roy’s leadership, analytical acumen, and unquenchable curiosity make him an invaluable asset in any endeavor. He thrives on new challenges and embodies a relentless drive for innovation and excellence.

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Thought Leader. Sports Fan. Tar Heel.

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In 2022, Kristen graduated with her MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School with concentrations in Marketing and Healthcare.  As a student, she was President of the Healthcare Club, a Curriculum Advisory Board Representative and an MBA Student Ambassador.  Currently, Kristen is a Commercial Leadership Development Program Associate at Bristol Myers Squibb in her third rotation as a Senior Manager on the Digital Health Team.  Kristen also has her MS in Biomedical Sciences from Tufts University School of Medicine.  In her free time, Kristen enjoys baking, paddle boarding and playing pickleball.

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Indranath (Indra) Lahiri, Senior Financial Advisor for Merrill Lynch, holds Series 7, 63 and 66 FINRA Registrations and is also licensed in life and long-term care insurance. He assists individuals and small business owners in the areas of retirement strategies, cash management, debt management, working capital investment, business succession planning and estate planning services.

Indra Joined Merrill Lynch in 2010. Prior to joining Merrill Lynch, Indra worked at global firms such as Oracle and Cisco in the areas of technical and business solutions.

Indra is committed to the Merrill Lynch core philosophy that the client comes first. He employs Merrill Lynch’s four step Wealth Management Process to establish client objectives, set an individualized strategy, implement a customized recommendation and review progress against objectives.

Indra holds an M.B.A., in Finance, from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Masters in Information Systems from University of Texas. Indra is a member of the Apex Chamber of Commerce.He is a charter member of TiE, an organization for promoting entrepreneurship. He and his wife, Nandini, live in Apex, North Carolina, with their two children.

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Chris has experience serving government, construction, and energy clients, including five years serving federal government clients in KPMG’s federal audit practice in Washington, D.C. In his spare time he enjoys improving his Spanish, particularly if it involves watching a good TV show or reading a book.

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Allen Lewis is a managing director with Wells Fargo’s commercial real estate group, providing financing solutions to non-bank lenders and specialty finance companies. He has over 20 years of experience in commercial real estate finance and capital markets, ranging from origination, underwriting, securitization and syndication.

After beginning his career in public accounting with BDO and Deloitte, he worked at Deutsche Bank and later with a local Charlotte development firm. Lewis has been at Wells Fargo since 2010 and is actively involved in recruiting efforts for corporate and investment banking, particularly at UNC.

Allen and his wife, Kristin (UNC BSBA), live in Charlotte and are actively involved with several organizations in their community primarily focused on education and the arts.  They have two children – Andrew (UNC Class of 2024) and Elizabeth.

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Frank Manole is a healthcare executive with over 30 years experience. He is a clinically trained, doctorally prepared nurse practitioner that has worked in both clinical and leadership positions. Over the span of his career, his focus has been on the operations side with a focus on strategy and execution, most recently as the Chief Operating Officer for Raleigh Radiology.

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Brian McBroom is a budding entrepreneur. As president of Anago of Atlanta (master territory owner of 19 counties surrounding Metro Atlanta) he increased the number of franchisees and developed short-term and long-term growth strategies to increase individual franchisee viability.

He served as director of enterprise risk management and operations excellence at Cummins Inc for five years. At Cummins, he was charged with the consolidation and mitigation of the company’s most critical risks for the Cummins board of directors. In addition, he ensured business continuity and disaster recovery implementations were executed around the globe. He managed a team of talented blackbelts and master blackbelts responsible for problem resolution within the corporate group. His risk insurance group placed global insurance policies (property, general liability, workers compensation, etc.) which protected CMI’s worldwide assets.

In his previous role, McBroom served as director, corporate staffs finance, for nearly three years, and was responsible for providing monthly financial reporting and interpretation of results to both the CFO and COO’s direct reports; preparing board of director, executive committee and operating committee presentations of corporate results; as well as leading the corporate annual operating plan.

Prior to joining Cummins, McBroom worked at Chrysler LLC for 12 years in a variety of financial management roles including: international, treasury, manufacturing, product development, engineering research and development, and corporate financial activities. In addition, he served as a claims adjuster with Allstate Insurance Company for nearly two years.

McBroom serves as chairman of the risk management committee on the board of directors for Centra Credit Union, the third largest credit union in Indiana. Previously, he served as treasurer for the board of directors of the Columbus Parks Foundation.

He holds a BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and an MBA in finance and marketing from Clark Atlanta University.

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Brian McDermott is a Managing Director in Stifel’s investment banking group. Brian has completed over 120 capital markets and M&A transactions over his 20+ career in investment banking. Prior to Stifel, Brian was a Managing Director at Raymond James, where he founded and led the Specialty Distribution and Building Products investment banking groups. He graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and also holds a BS in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he graduated with highest distinction. Brian was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He is married with two daughters.

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Head of Private Capital Markets at RBC Capital Markets. Advise private and public companies on raising strategic capital. Responsible for origination, execution and negotiation.

Prior to RBC Capital Markets, spent ~14 years at J.P. Morgan advising management teams and board of directors on M&A, IPOs and other financing activities.

Lived and studied in multiple countries.

Currently live in New York City with his wife, Catherine, and two avid UNC fans, Lucas and Ben.

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Patrick began his career with McKinsey & Company in Atlanta, GA. Prior to business school, he spent time in various Strategy, M&A/Corporate Development, and Operating roles at Driven Brands and PepsiCo Latin America. During his MBA program, Patrick was with middle-market private equity firm Access Holdings. After graduating from his MBA program, Patrick joined Boyne Capital full time and now lives in Miami, FL.

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Madhu is a distinguished technology management professional with an impressive track record spanning over 22 years. He has gained experience working at companies like Microsoft and Oracle where he has played key roles in leading large scale ERP implementations. Madhu’s agility and strategic acumen have made an impact on decisions at the senior leadership level.

Having completed an MBA from one of the worlds best business schools, Madhu holds master’s degrees in Electronics and Business Administration. His education from the Kenan Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina has allowed them to seamlessly blend knowledge with practical expertise.

Throughout his career Madhu has excelled in managing multimillion dollar budgets and overseeing teams across sectors such as government, higher education, fashion, retail, healthcare, and banking. He possesses an aptitude for navigating technology strategies, driving digital transformation initiatives, and optimizing processes with finesse.

In addition, to his accomplishments, Madhu is known for their interpersonal skills. His extensive cultural experiences gained from traveling to 17 countries highlight his ability to cultivate lasting relationships and guide teams through challenging situations.

Madhu’s leadership abilities go beyond the confines of the office. He has interests that include traveling, photography and playing sports such as badminton and cricket. With fluency in English, Hindi and Telugu, Madhu’s broad range of skills and international perspective make him an asset, in any undertaking.

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Ben Owens is a partner in the finance practice group in Haynes Boone’s Charlotte office, where he focuses on leveraged finance and private credit transactions. His practice consists primarily of the structuring, negotiation and documentation of syndicated and bilateral credit facilities of all types – including secured and unsecured structures, investment grade credit facilities, multi-currency and cross-border transactions, acquisition financings and financings for sponsor-backed companies.

Owens also has assisted private credit clients with various types of non-dilutive capital investments and equity kickers. He has been recognized among “Ones to Watch” in the Banking and Finance Law category by Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., from 2021-2024.

He also serves on the board of Child Care Resources Inc., a non-profit child care resource and referral agency that is active in Charlotte and the surrounding counties.

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Aashh Parekh is a lead portfolio manager for Nuveen’s global fixed income’s securitized credit platform, specializing in asset-backed securities. He manages portfolios across a variety of securitized and asset backed security (ABS) mandates and collateral types including index eligible, CLO, off the run and Esoteric ABS.

He served as head of securitized research for the firm in his prior role as an ABS senior research analyst. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, he held a variety of analyst roles in the telecom industry.

He graduated with a BS in economics (honors) and international business from Pennsylvania State University and an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler, with an Investment Management concentration.

He is a member of the board executive committee of the Structured Finance Association (SFA) and is an active participant in the SFA. He also is a member if the CFA Institute.

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Mark Pederson is a Partner at Lakewood Capital, a value-oriented investment firm based in New York.  Prior to joining Lakewood in 2011, Mr. Pederson was a Vice President at Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, where he was responsible for evaluating and originating investment opportunities across various industries.  Mr. Pederson began his career in the Investment Banking group at Morgan Stanley.

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Jacob Pincus is a vice president at Aquiline Capital Partners, a private-investment firm based in New York and London focused on financial services and technology.

He also volunteers with The Opportunity Network, which works with students from underrepresented communities to develop professional skills, and Beat The Streets, a non-profit which develops academic, professional, and athletic potential of New York City youth wrestlers.

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Will Pleasants joined Wasserman in 2007 through the acquisition of OnSport and currently serves as Managing Director, US. As part of the Marketing Leadership Team, he oversees all Brand and Property relationships and delivery of work product in the United States.

Prior to returning to help client business, Will was Chief Operating Officer of the company. Working closely with the company’s leadership team, he was responsible for the oversight of the company’s human resources, IT, corporate communications and worked with the business units on overall day-to-day operations for the 900+ employees around the globe.

Formerly, he was COO of the Marketing division, working with the Managing Partners to lead that division’s tremendous geographic growth and diversification of service offerings. In addition, he has helped lead many of the company’s account teams, including American Express, Brand USA, CarMax, and Nationwide Insurance.

Prior to Wasserman, Pleasants served as director of strategic planning with Group CSE in Atlanta, worked at the Orlando Magic, and spent time with NIKE in their Southeast office.

Pleasants holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He serves as a guest lecturer at his alma mater, leading the Business of Sport class in the Kenan-Flagler Business School. In addition, he led student organizations in the development of the UNC Sports and Entertainment Summit.

He is a 2014 Sports Business Journal “Forty Under 40” Award winner, who also serves on the Boards of Kenan-Flagler Business School Triangle Chapter, and Teamworks, a leading athlete engagement software platform. He currently resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with his wife Angie and their two sons, Cooper and Beckett.

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Chad Puryear is the Chief Lending Officer for Carolina Farm Credit, a $1.9 billion financial institution focused on agricultural and rural lending based in Statesville, N.C.  In his role, he oversees Association lending for 28 branch offices covering 54 counties.  He has over 26 years of experience with the Farm Credit System.  He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor of science degree in business administration.  He is also a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the NC School of Banking.  He joined Farm Credit in 1996 and has worked in various roles including Loan Officer, Branch Manager, Corporate Lender, Regional Manager, Chief Credit Officer, and most recently, Chief Lending Officer since 2015.

Chad also serves in various advisory capacities within the Farm Credit System and on the Advisory Board for NC A&T State University’s College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.  He was recently named as a new board member for the NC Foundation for Soil & Water Conservation.

Chad and his wife, Amy, grew up in Sanford, N.C., and now reside in Mooresville, N.C., with their two daughters.

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Sagar Rathie currently serves as Managing Director for the Commercial division at Crescent Communities. He leads all aspects of the Company’s office developments throughout the Southeast and Southwest, with an active investment and pipeline development portfolio totaling 2.5 million SF and representing $1.3 billion in capital deployed. Sagar is responsible for sourcing, entitling, designing, financing, and executing on new and value-add office and mixed-use developments across the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, Central Florida, Texas and Arizona.

Sagar has extensive capital markets experience, having collectively raised nearly $4.0 billion in third party equity and debt throughout his career. Previously, he was Crescent Communities’ Director of Corporate Finance and Investor Relations, where he played an integral role in the company’s financial forecasting and planning efforts, assisted with the investment committee process, and led numerous strategic initiatives for the company. Prior to Crescent Communities, Sagar was an Investment Banking Senior Associate with Piper Sandler, and a Manager at GlaxoSmithKline.

He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for Discovery Place, is on the executive committee and a Development Leaders National Forum invitee with NAIOP, active with ULI as a member of the Capital Markets Committee, a recent graduate of Leadership Charlotte, and heavily involved with the community. Sagar received his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Master’s in Engineering from Duke University, and Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering also from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Kramer Reeves has enjoyed a 30-year career in engineering and software, including 10-years as the IBM executive in charge of global marketing for IBM Automation, a $2.5 Billion software and professional services revenue division. While at IBM, Kramer was part of the leadership teams that successfully executed eight software acquisitions, including the co-leader of the $340 Million purchase of Paris-based ILOG; the Robotic Process Automation firm WDG Automation; and the discovery, introduction and acquisition of Italy-based process mining firm My Invenio. He was most recently the CEO of Salesforce software partner, Work-Relay, which he successfully positioned and sold in October of 2022 to US-based Neostella. Kramer is currently Executive Vice President of Work-Relay at Neostella where he leads the business unit globally. He is the current chair-emeritus and immediate past-chair of the Association of Intelligent Information Management (AIIM) professionals, a 75,000 person organization, where he has served on the Board since 2018. Kramer is an advisor and active investor in nine additional software firms, including Foundation AI, an intelligent document processing firm. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from Virginia Military Institute and an MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

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Michael Richards is an analyst at Northbow, a real estate private equity firm in Atlanta. He is responsible for supporting company leadership in managing $800MM in AUM across all product types. He received his BSBA with distinction from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Richards is a part of the Atlanta chapter of the Urban Land Institute. He grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, and lives in Atlanta.

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Udo Rodemann works for Verizon managing third-party vendors, addressing the unique needs of multiple accounts in a wide variety of industries. Though based in the metro Raleigh area, the need to address business aims extends across North America, EMEA and APAC. He is an entrepreneurial leader solving complex challenges across diverse industries, technology and people systems.

This has led to recognition for leadership in:

• Overall Business Performance
• Customer Service, Quality, and Supplier Management
• Business Development and Retention
• Team Development
• Business Process Design
• Process Engineering (manufacturing)
• Capital and Operational Expense Plan Management
• Maintenance
• EHS

The majority of his experience has been in complex manufacturing processes and associated products—bleached kraft pulp, paperboard and paperboard converting, automotive, aerospace, and oil & gas.

Employers have been Procter & Gamble and Verizon. However, experience would not be complete without a stint in private industry (oil & gas). The common thread—each company experience is represented a fundamentally different culture, implementation of technologies and people systems.

Rodemann earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering (BSEE) from the Georgia Institute of Technology. With a lifelong interest in earning an MBA from a top tier school, Rodemann graduated from UNC Kenan Flagler through the MBA@UNC program.

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Grant Roger is a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP within their Health Industries Trust Solutions practice. He has over four years of experience serving public, private and not-for-profit healthcare organizations in the provider and payor sectors. Through his time at PwC, Grant has assisted clients through various complex accounting transactions, including business combinations, joint venture agreements, divestitures and revenue recognition (assessment of performance obligations). He has extensive experience serving clients of various sizes from large, public SEC filers to not-for-profits.

He graduated with a BA in economics with distinction from UNC-Chapel Hill in 2019. Following his undergraduate studies, he graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler with a Master of Accounting degree in 2020. While at UNC, Roger served as an undergraduate learning assistant for the Economics Department.

He is a native North Carolinian and lives in Chapel Hill. Outside of work, he enjoys spending time with family and friends and cheering on the Tar Heels.

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Goetz Rokahr is a  financial services professional, having spent most of his career in banking and capital markets, specializing in the U.S. residential mortgage securitization space.  He currently work at Wells Fargo Bank/Securities and have been with this institution since the First Union Bank and Wachovia days.  He resides in Charlotte, N.C., where he moved after receiving an MBA from UNC in the late 90’s.  His wife, Kimberly, and I have two sons who both attend UNC (one junior and one freshman). His education includes an MBA from UNC’s Kenan Flagler Business School and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Virginia.

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Richard J. Rossitch was born in Winston-Salem, N.C. and graduated from Kenan-Flagler Business School with a BSBA in 1993. He graduated from UNC School of Law in 1996. He worked in private practice for a few years with an international law firm. He currently serve as SVP, Deputy General Counsel for Compass Group USA Inc.  He has been employed in various roles at Compass Group USA Inc. since 1999.

Benjamin Rouch currently leads the Client Welcome Group within JPMorgan Wealth Management. Working closely with Marketing, Ben is responsible for pre-qualification, lead generation and business development for business partners within Wealth Management.

Ben holds an Associates of Arts from New York University, a Bachelor of Arts from Creighton University, and a Master of Business Administration from Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Ben and his wife, Val, have 4 kids and currently reside in Southlake, TX.

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Ricardo Ruiz Colliard was born and raised in Mexico City. He is an investment banking associate in the Consumer and Retail Group at Nomura in New York City. Before business school, he worked across multiple functions in real estate, infrastructure, and energy development and investments. He was part of the Mexico sailing team where he participated in multiple international championships, won national championships, and coached the junior team. He is part of the MBA class of 2022, where he was the MBASA VP of International Experience, VP of DEI for the Banking Club, VP of L&D for LatAm, member of the KFBS PE fund, and Dean’s Fellows. He holds a BS in civil engineering from Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

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Naveen Sarabu is the VP of product for the practice growth and has over 20 years of healthcare product experience leading and managing solutions for acute, ambulatory, dental and life sciences markets. Prior to PatientPop, Sarabu was the VP of product at Veeva overseeing the product management for the clinical trials site solutions group, building the team from ground up and delivering innovative solutions to the global markets. Prior to Veeva, he was the VP of product for AdvancedMD responsible for all areas of product across the company and drove advancements in clinical, billing, analytics, and patient engagement solutions. He is a longtime resident of the Raleigh area. He enjoys running long distances in his free time.

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Mark works as a Senior Manager in the global Loyalty Strategy & Performance team at IHG Hotels & Resorts, based in the Americas headquarters in Atlanta.  In this role, Mark is responsible for supporting the delivery and growth of the IHG One Rewards program through analysis and socialization of the program performance as well as ad hoc strategic projects to assess new initiatives.

Prior to IHG, Mark worked in the Corporate Development group at The Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta, and before that began his career as an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse in New York.

Mark earned his BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler and his MBA from The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.

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With over 35 years of experience in financial services, Margo Shepard is dedicated to helping clients meet their financial needs by developing investment plans around their long-term-goals and risk tolerance. She provides financial advice and value-added service to investors, always striving to build long-term relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

She works closely with families, helping them through major life transitions including the sale of a family business, loss of a loved one, retirement or the birth of a child or grandchild. She provides direct consultation and advice to individuals and not-for-profit associations, including foundations and endowments on strategic asset allocation, investment strategy and wealth planning.

She was named by Barron’s as one of the Top 100 Women Financial Advisors in the country in 2006. In 2015, the Financial Times named her to their FT 400 list of top financial advisers.

She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate from the University of North Carolina where sbe was inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honorary fraternity. She earned her MBA degree from the University of Kansas. With an emphasis on continuing education, she earned the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) certification and the designation of Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) after successfully completing the courses offered through the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in 1998.

She was a founding member of the Women’s Capital Connection, a regional network of accredited angel investors dedicated to identifying and funding promising women led start-up businesses in the region. She received the Joan Strewler-Carter Women of Influence Award in 2008 for her role in significantly impacting women entrepreneurship in the community.

She is active in the community, serving on many boards and committees including the University of Kansas Business School Advisory Board, Cristo Rey High School Board, Diocesan Finance Council and William Jewell College board of trustees.

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Rishi Sheth is the global training lead for Digital Transformation at Lenovo. He has spent his career in consulting focused mostly on process improvement projects prior to focusing on training and change management. Prior to Lenovo, Rishi worked at IBM Consulting, Westlake Chemical Corporation, and PwC. Rishi also started his own consulting company and over ten years supported over 20 clients on their technical implementations focused on training and change management.

Rishi graduated from UNC Kenan-Flagler Weekend Executive MBA in 2019. He is an active Alumni Council member on the Giving Committee. He also holds a Masters in IT from Georgia State University, and undergraduate degrees in Industrial Engineering and Business Administration from NCSU.

Rishi lives in the Atlanta-area with his wife and three sons. They are passionate supporters of the Tar Heels!

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Scott Simonton is Managing Director, Account Management at Chatham Financial, based in Charlotte, N.C. Prior to Chatham, Scott lived in NYC where he lead the interest rate and currency risk management function at Brookfield Asset Management with oversight of over $500B in assets. Scott is married to a fellow 2007 alumni (Liz) and they have three young daughters. Scott’s love for and involvement with UNC has been a lifelong pursuit and he hopes to give as much back to the university as he can.

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Amrit Singh is a technology executive with over 20 years of experience leading transformative information technology functions for global companies in the life sciences, pharmaceutical and clinical trials space.

He is currently serving as a senior director of cybersecurity, leading the governance, risk, and assurance function for a clinical research organization. Prior to this role, he led the global infrastructure and cloud services for a technology organization developing solutions for clinical trial management.

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Miko is a distinguished leader in pricing and revenue management, with a robust commercial focus on strategic planning, forecasting, project management, product management, and analytics. She has cultivated her expertise over more than twenty years in the major airlines and software development industries.

Miko graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina in 1996. She lives in Bellevue, Washington, and is a proud mother to her son, Kai, who is a senior at the Kenan-Flagler Business School (Class of 2025). In her free time, Miko enjoys exercising, volunteering, and traveling around the world.

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Bill Staton is Novare Capital Management’s chief optimist and senior advisor who founded Staton Financial Advisors LLC in 2000. He and his wife, Mary, began portfolio management in 1997. His passion for people motivates him to help improve their financial situation and ultimately relieve their financial stress.

As a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Staton earned his MBA in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and his BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler.

He is widely known as “America’s Money Coach®” and launched his financial-services career at Interstate Securities (headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina) as a securities analyst in 1971. While at Interstate, he became director of the equity research department and a member of the management team and board of directors. He left Interstate in 1985 to begin a stock-picking newsletter, which he published until March 2011.

An economic historian with 52 years in the financial-services industry, Staton has been profiled or quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The New York Times, Barron’s, Businessweek, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, Bottom Line Personal and Money magazine and interviewed on numerous radio and television shows across America.

He is the author of six books on investing, including  “Double Your Money in America’s Finest Companies®: The Unbeatable Money-Making Power of Rising Dividends” (John Wiley & Sons). He co-authored “How to Become Financially Free on $50 a Month” (Nightingale-Conant, 2014), “Worry-Free Family Finances: (McGraw-Hill); and “The $50 a Month Millionaire” with his wife, Mary.

Staton enjoys connecting with his clients and contributing to his community. As a member of numerous organizations, he spends volunteer time with Boy Scouts, Balsam Mountain Preserve, Bald Head Island Conservancy, United Way, Myers Park United Methodist Church and Sustain Charlotte, among others. He also teaches investing at Charlotte Country Day School (since 1986) and at the Mecklenburg County Jail (since 2011).

When he isn’t working or volunteering, enjoys walking his dog, Bianca, reading, playing tennis and making memories with his beloved family. With his wife/partner, Mary, he is father to four adult children and step-granddad to three great kids. They enjoy traveling and experiencing new places and cultures, as well as photographing memorable moments along the way. He in particular enjoys jungles and swamps.

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Connect with Alexis Swist on LinkedIn.

Chris is a Partner at Childress Klein with over thirty years of corporate real estate and commercial real estate development experience. He is responsible for new retail and mixed use development activity for Childress Klein in the Southeast, with emphasis in the Carolinas.

He has been a speaker and panelist for a number of programs at the Urban Land Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers, NAIOP, and other industry organizations, and has been a guest columnist for Southeast Real Estate Business.

Chris is past board chair and on the executive committee of NAIOP Charlotte, and leads that organization’s governmental affairs efforts at the local and state levels.

He is past board chair of the James J. Harris YMCA and serves on the boards of the YMCA of Greater Charlotte and The Presbyterian Home of Charlotte. He received his B.S.B.A from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and completed the Young Executives Institute at the Kenan-Flagler Business School. Chris and his family reside in his native city of Charlotte.

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Carter Vilim is an investment professional at Elliott Investment Management, focusing on private equity and special situations. Prior to Elliott, Carter was an investment banker at Barclays, advising technology companies across M&A, IPO and leveraged finance transactions.

Vilim holds a BSBA with a finance area of emphasis from UNC Kenan-Flagler and a BA in public policy from UNC-Chapel Hill.

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Joachim (Achim) von Klitzing is a managing director of DeWAG Wohnen GmbH & Co. KG based in Stuttgart, Germany.

DeWAG is a privately owned investment management company that invests on behalf of institutional clients into German multi-family apartment properties. DeWAG was founded in 2001 and manages about 4,000 apartment units across Germany amounting to more than $800 million of assets under management.

Von Klitzing has been leading the company’s investor relations, IT, legal, finance and HR teams since 2009. Prior to that he held different positions with investment management firms and investment banks in Germany, the U.K. and the Netherlands.

He graduated from Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich with a degree in German law and holds a PhD degree in German law from the Martin-Luther-University in Halle/Wittenberg, Germany.

He completed the Full-Time MBA Program at UNC Kenan-Flagler in 2001.

He and his wife Anjella reside in Stuttgart and have three children.

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Catherine has served as the CFO of HopeWay since October 2016.  She started her career at KPMG after graduating from UNC-CH with a Masters in Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (1994). After leaving public accounting, she joined Collins and Aikman in an SEC reporting role. Following Collins and Aikman, she served in various roles at Muzak for approximately 6 years. She began her career at Muzak in an SEC reporting role and expanded her role to include Treasury Management and Investor Relations. She joined Horizon Lines in September 2005 and served in an SEC reporting role and the Controller role until the company was sold to Matson in May 2015. She assisted in the transition for over a year before going to HopeWay in October 2016. She has served in various financial roles across a wide range of industries including automotive, media, transportation, and healthcare.

Connect with Catherine Walsh on LinkedIn.

James is an enthusiastic alumnus of Kenan-Flagler with a strong desire to contribute to the growth and success of the university community. Graduating with an MBA in 2019, he has remained connected to the institution and its values.

With 12+ years of working experience in multiple industries, James has developed his skills and and gained valuable insights into effective decision-making and collaboration. He is driven by a passion for giving back to the school that has played a pivotal role in shaping his personal and professional journey.

Throughout his career, James has demonstrated a commitment to community engagement and philanthropy. He has volunteered for several organization and has served as a mentor to current students, supporting them in their academic and career pursuits.

As a potential member of the Alumni Council, James envisions fostering a vibrant alumni network, building stronger connections between alumni, students, and the university. He aims to leverage his diverse network to support school initiatives and drive impactful projects that enhance the university’s reputation and impact.

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Carter Walters is an Associate at Ridgemont Equity Partners, a Charlotte-based middle market private equity firm. Carter is a member of Ridgemont’s investment team, where he focuses on executing new investments and monitoring existing portfolio companies across the energy, power, and infrastructure sectors. He began his career in the Investment Banking division of Wells Fargo Securities, working on the Power, Utilities and Renewables team.

Carter graduated with a BSBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler with distinction. While at UNC, he held multiple executive board positions for Kenan-Flagler’s Undergraduate Finance Society, where he spearheaded the club’s Investment Banking Boot Camp, oversaw club communications, and led professional development seminars for its 600+ members.

Carter currently resides in Charlotte. His interests outside of work include soccer, reading, and wilderness backpacking.

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Summer Webbink is an associate director of Compliance Services at Duke University with over ten years of experience in compliance, internal and external audit. She is responsible for institutional concern reporting, investigations, conflict of interest and policy administration.

She has found her current role wonderfully combines the skills gained from the UNC MAC Program with her undergraduate degree in Public Policy Studies from Duke as well as her public accounting experience.

Prior to joining Duke, Webbink was part of the PwC Raleigh Assurance practice.

She lives in Durham with her family.

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Most recently, Charles was a Managing Director of Bank of America in London. During his time in London with BofA and prior to that with Merrill Lynch, Charles was in a leadership role with the Firm’s European investment grade and non-investment grade lending business. Throughout his career, he held a number of origination, distribution and portfolio positions which always included managerial responsibilities. Charles’ career in banking spanned over 35 years with 20 of those years in London and, before that, 15 years in New York. Now retired in Seattle, Charles is an Angel Investor. In addition to enjoying living in the Pacific Northwest, he is an avid traveler.

Genna Zimmer is a Project Manager at Reeds Jewelers. In this role, she is responsible for assisting with an ecommerce re-platform. Before joining Reeds, Genna worked as an Accountant for the accounts payable, advertising, and retail accounting teams at Belk. She also completed a three month Executive Training Program at Belk.

Genna’s work experience primarily resides in the retail and wholesale space. Prior to Belk, she worked as a Sales Associate at Reeds Jewelers and she also completed marketing internships at David Yurman and Vera Wang in New York City. Although she loved working at David Yurman and Vera Wang, she was not ready to bear the cold winters in New York.

Genna graduated with a BSBA from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Genna is from Wilmington, NC and she currently resides in Charlotte, NC.

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