Speaker Bios

Scott Beshany

Chief Distribution Officer, SIMON Markets

Scott Beshany is the Chief Distribution Officer of SIMON Markets LLC (“SIMON”), a financial technology company committed to developing smarter, experience-based wealth management solutions for financial professionals. Actively supporting the development of SIMON since 2014, Scott played an integral role in SIMON’s original platform design and rollout for structured investments, and then joined SIMON to lead development of insurance solution and overall platform distribution efforts.

Previously, Scott was a National Sales Manager with Incapital and BBVA Compass, where he oversaw large-scale distribution of both annuities and structured investments. As 25+ year industry veteran with experience in business development, wholesale distribution, and product management, Scott is dedicated to connecting our team with key sales opportunities and driving platform advancement to meet evolving industry needs.

Scott earned a BA from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. He is licensed for life, health, and variable annuity products and holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 24 securities registrations.

Ginny Clarke

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Former Director, Executive Recruiting Google and Holistic Leadership Strategist

Dedicated to helping leaders create the conscious workplace for tomorrow, Ginny Clarke has advised at the highest levels of corporate America for decades. A proven expert in driving diverse leadership, she is the former director of executive recruiting at Google, where she led the company’s diversity, non-tech recruiting, and leadership internal mobility teams – finding and hiring senior leaders across the company. She also built a scaled internal mobility program for Google’s senior leaders to advance within the organization, and designed much of the infrastructure that supports their executive recruiting function today.

In speeches, Clarke draws on her unparalleled experience inside corporate C-Suites and boardrooms helping thousands of executives up their game and elevate their careers to bring a unique, holistic five-dimensional approach to true leadership that is essential now more than ever. A systems thinker who deconstructs processes and behaviors to carefully assess organizational and individual capability, she inspires and uplifts groups by helping them scale mobility opportunities for all, bring conscious awareness to both the workplace and life, and navigate the future of work. Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities speakers bureau, Clarke delivers “no-holds-barred” discussions on the root causes that lead to a lack of diversity in organizations, and provides the thoughtful, integrated solutions that anyone can use to affect change as we transition into a new era in the workplace.

Prior to Google, Clarke was a partner at Spencer Stuart, the global executive search firm based in Chicago. For 12 years, she worked in the firm’s financial services and financial officer practices, and co-founded and led their global diversity practice. Drawing upon her breadth and depth of experience, Clarke wrote the book titled Career Mapping: Charting Your Course in the New World of Work, providing a framework that empowers individuals to plot and assess their professional competencies and strategically navigate their careers. After the book was published, she ran her own executive search and talent management firm for three years before becoming a senior partner for executive search in the U.S. at Knightsbridge, a Canadian human capital solutions firm.

Clarke started her career in banking at First National Bank of Chicago (now Chase). After a short stint, she spent a number of years in the real estate investment management business with Jones Lang LaSalle and Prudential Real Estate Investors, where she was responsible for asset management, portfolio management, capital raising, and client servicing.
She is now the CEO of Ginny Clarke, LLC, her own talent and leadership consulting business, as well as the host of Fifth Dimensional Leadership, a podcast for leaders, thinkers, and future-makers covering topics like power, personal branding, self-awareness, networking, fear, and career management. Clarke previously served as an entrepreneur in residence for HearstLab, advising the organization’s leaders on the future of work and how to approach areas such as culture, hiring, and performance evaluation as the way we work continues to evolve.

Clarke earned her BA in French and Linguistics from the University of California at Davis, and her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School. She is the single mother of an adult son, Julian, who works in the entertainment industry.

Jennifer B. Cook

MODERATOR
Vice President, Marketing, Retirement Solutions Division, Pacific Life Insurance Company

Jennifer brought her experience and insights to Pacific Life in 2011 as the assistant vice president of marketing communications. In her current role as vice president of marketing, she heads up the Retirement Solution Division’s innovative marketing team, which includes Product Marketing, Digital Communications and Analytics, Creative Services, Marketing Compliance, and Conference Planning and Events. She is ultimately responsible for the development and execution of integrated marketing strategies designed to bring advisors through the sales funnel, enabling them to offer Pacific Life’s financial strategies to their clients.

With more than 25 years in the financial industry, Jennifer has held leadership roles in marketing and annuity product development with several major insurers, including MetLife and Jackson National Life and served as vice president of marketing for a regional bank. A New York native, she moved to California to attend UCLA and ended up making the Golden State her permanent home. She enjoys spontaneous, virtual dance parties with her team, hiking, and skiing. Jennifer currently resides with her son in Huntington Beach, California.

Ilan Davidovici

Principal, Client Experience, Edward Jones

Ilan Davidovici leads Client Experience (CX) in the Marketing division, where he is responsible for developing the Edward Jones client experience. Together with the Client Experience Strategy, Client Experience Channel and Client Experience Communications teams, Ilan’s area is developing the framework and discipline of client experience through CX mapping, rapid prototyping and a focus on the people, process, capabilities, data and measures needed to bring the client experience to life for Edward Jones clients and the firm. He was named an Edward Jones principal in 2020.

Before joining Edward Jones in March 2019, Ilan served as the global head of Wealth and Asset Management at Salesforce. In that role, he worked with leading financial institutions to develop client experience strategies and tools, including the Financial Services Cloud, a customer relationship management tool with integrated partners focused on helping financial advisors and wealth firms grow through client and advisor experience, deepen existing client relationships, and integrate predictive intelligence. Before Salesforce, Ilan was a financial advisor with Citadel Trust Advisors, a registered investment advisor (RIA) firm he co-founded in St. Louis.

A native of Texas, Ilan earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Texas at Austin.

He and his wife, Meredyth, have nine children: Yaakov, Eli, Yehuda, Moshe, Shira, Gavriel, Shmaya, Yonatan and Adina.

Ilan is an advisory board member for the Customer Experience Program at Rutgers University and for Kiva, a microfinance and microlending firm striving to create a financially inclusive environment for people around the world.

Cheri DeBoer-Stinson

Director, Cooperative Technologies

As a Replacement Automation Evangelist, Cheri helps industry partners with replacement automation initiative adoption strategies. Since 2005 she has been actively engaged in numerous industry workgroups and initiatives, with a focus on replacement automation. From 2014 through 2019 she chaired / co-chaired the IRI Replacement Automation Working Group, which vetted and delivered industry initiatives that automate and streamline annuity replacements. Additionally, Cheri has written several articles and been a speaker and discussion leader on insurance industry replacement processing.

Cheri oversees business development, client relationship management, and product operations for Cooperative Technologies (CT). CT is the premier provider of exchange / replacement solutions, including the 1035YellowPages Ceding Carrier Database.

Terri N. Fiedler

President & Chief Executive Officer, AIG Financial Distributors
Vice Chair, IRI Board of Directors

Terri Fiedler serves as President and CEO of AIG Financial Distributors, the sales and distribution organization for AIG Life & Retirement. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the organization that markets the entire spectrum of AIG’s protection, retirement savings, investment, and lifetime income solutions across a broad range of wholesale and retail distribution channels.

Ms. Fiedler joined AIG in 2012 as Executive Vice President, Strategic Accounts for AIG Financial Distributors. In this capacity she was responsible for working closely with the organization’s business teams to fully meet the product and services needs of AIG Life & Retirement’s largest clients. Prior to joining AIG, she served as Senior Director, National Account Management, for Invesco and Manager, National Account Management for AIM Distributors. Ms. Fiedler earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24, 26, 51, 63 and 66 licenses as well as the General Lines Agent (Texas) license. She is a Chartered Mutual Fund Counselor Designee and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) and holds the Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA®) designation. She serves as a trustee for the Foundation for Financial Planning and serves as Vice Chair for the Insured Retirement Institute.

Jeffrey A. Forbes

Founding Partner, Forbes Tate Partners

Founding Partner Jeff Forbes is a 20-year veteran of political campaigns at every level. Mr. Forbes began his involvement in politics more than 25 years ago, during then-Senator Al Gore’s 1988 Presidential bid. Since that time, he has worked with and coordinated more than nine different campaigns, ranging from municipal candidates to the U.S. Congress, as well as the White House.

Prior to starting Forbes Tate Partners, Mr. Forbes was a Founding Partner at FTP’s predecessor, Cauthen Forbes & Williams. He served as the Democratic Staff Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance in 2003. Before assuming this role at the Committee, he served as Chief of Staff to former Senator Max Baucus from 1999-2002. Beyond his knowledge of the intricacies of tax and trade, Forbes is a veteran strategist for the Democratic National Committee. From 1993-1995 he served as Midwest Political Director. Mr. Forbes later served the national committee as Chief of Strategy in 1999.

A stalwart of the Clinton-Gore Administration, Mr. Forbes was the New Hampshire Field Director for then-Governor Clinton’s 1992 Presidential campaign. In President Clinton’s 1996 re-election bid, Forbes was Deputy Political Director and Director of Delegate Selection. Following the campaign, Mr. Forbes went on to serve as a Special Assistant to the President and Staff Director for Legislative Affairs in 1997. From 1998-1999, Mr. Forbes served as the Deputy Assistant to President Clinton and was the Deputy Director of Scheduling at the White House. Mr. Forbes also served as Senior Advisor to the Obama for President Campaign in New Hampshire in the 2008 presidential election. Mr. Forbes was a member of the Democratic National Committee’s special Democratic Change Commission to improve the presidential delegate selection process and has been a member of the DNC since 2009.

Mr. Forbes was born in Cleveland, Ohio and raised in Northfield, Minnesota. He earned a BA in Political Science with an Economics minor from Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1987.

Mr. Forbes and his wife live in Chevy Chase, Maryland with their three sons.

Debra Freitag

Chief Strategy Officer, RegEd

Debra joined RegEd in 2006 upon the acquisition of CT Insurance Services / Xchange, the Wolters Kluwer business she had led since 1999. With more than 30 years’ experience, Debra has achieved commercial success and strong revenue growth for multiple companies’ technology products and solutions. At RegEd, Debra is responsible for strategic planning, strategic marketing and key product and market growth initiatives.

Prior to joining RegEd, Debra was General Manager of CT Insurance Services. Over the 7 years as GM, Debra oversaw the division’s growth from organic startup through the acquisition of marquee clients and evolution into the industry’s leading licensing and registration solution, now known as Xchange. Previously she was responsible for the management and growth of a $100+ million product line at CCH Legal Information Services, a division of Wolters Kluwer. She also led two pioneering and highly successful initiatives: a major effort to move key transactional filing and search services to the web, and the firm’s market entrance into insurance compliance, which would become CT Insurance Services.

Sarah Garrity

National Sales Manager, Retirement Insurance, BlackRock

Sarah Garrity is the National Sales Manager of BlackRock’s Retirement Insurance Group (R.I. Group). She is responsible for maintaining relationships with insurance clients and supporting annuity wholesalers as National Sales Manager.

Sarah joined BlackRock in 2017 as a Market Leader for Retirement Insurance. Prior to BlackRock, Sarah was an External Wholesaler at Oppenheimer and began her career at Jackson National. She is a regular speaker at industry conferences, national sales meetings, retirement income symposiums and end client seminars.

Darryl Gibbs

MODERATOR
Chief Diversity Officer, Equitable

Darryl W. Gibbs is Chief Diversity Officer at Equitable and a member of the company’s Operating Committee. In this role, he is responsible for fostering a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment across the organization, positioning the company to fully deliver on its mission as it helps more Americans face the future with confidence.

In 2020, Mr. Gibbs was appointed to launch the company’s CEO Taskforce to Advance Racial Equity, establishing a model to lift underserved communities and make Equitable representative of America today. Previously, Mr. Gibbs served as Lead Director & Associate General Counsel, overseeing the company’s Commercial Transactions Group.

Prior to joining Equitable in 2005, Mr. Gibbs was Assistant General Counsel at Safe Horizon, Inc., the nation’s leading victim assistance organization. He began his career as an associate at the law firm Proskauer Rose. Mr. Gibbs serves on the Boards of The Ronald H. Brown Center for Civil Rights and Economic Development at St. John’s University School of Law and St. John’s University School of Law Alumni Association. He was the 2014 recipient of the New York State Bar Association Diversity Trailblazer Award and the 2015 recipient of the New York City Bar Association Diversity & Inclusion Champion Award. He was also selected as a 2015 Council of Urban Professionals (CUP) Catalyst and Change Agent in the practice of Law. Mr. Gibbs earned a Juris Doctor degree from St. John’s University School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in marketing at the Brooklyn Campus of Long Island University.

Ashley Golson

Senior Vice President, National Sales Desk, Jackson

Ashley Golson is senior vice president of the National Sales Desk at Jackson National Life Distributors LLC, the marketing and distribution arm of Jackson National Life Insurance Company (Jackson®). In this role, she is responsible for leading the company’s team of internal wholesalers, which provides sales support to financial professionals nationwide. Ashley is also responsible for directing Sales Operations, Distribution Training and Jackson’s Career Development Program (CDP).

Prior to her promotion to her current role, Ashley served as the vice president of Salesforce and regional vice president covering Houston, Texas. She began her financial services industry career with Jackson 13 years ago and served in various sales leadership roles from 2012 to 2017 and as an internal wholesaler from 2009 to 2012. Ashley is a member of Jackson’s Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Council, which is dedicated to developing strategies to advance an inclusive and diverse work environment. She is also an active leader within Jackson’s Empower Network, which supports the professional development and mentoring of female associates within the organization.

A graduate of Grambling State University, Ashley earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications. She holds FINRA Series 6, 7, 24 and 63 registrations. She grew up in Denver and currently lives in the Nashville, Tennessee area.

Jackson is a leading provider of retirement products for industry professionals and their clients. The company and its affiliates offer variable, fixed and fixed index annuities designed for tax-efficient growth and distribution of retirement income for retail customers, as well as products for institutional investors. Jackson is a proud founding member and co-chair of the Alliance for Lifetime Income, a nonprofit 501(c)(6) organization formed and supported by 24 of the nation’s financial services organizations to create awareness and educate Americans about the importance of protected lifetime income. The company prides itself on sound corporate risk management practices and strategic technology initiatives. Focused on thought leadership and education, Jackson provides industry insights and financial representative training on retirement planning and alternative investment strategies. The company is also dedicated to corporate philanthropy and supports nonprofits focused on strengthening families and creating economic opportunities in the communities where its employees live and work.

Rob Goodman

Vice President, Customer Experience Office, Pacific Life

Rob Goodman leads Pacific Life’s Customer Experience Office (CXO), which is responsible for creating a cohesive, one-company-experience for all of Pacific Life’s employees, financial professionals, and end consumers.

The CXO includes Pacific Life’s Salesforce Center of Excellence (COE), which he created in 2017 to connect Marketing, Sales, and Service teams on a unified platform and provide next-generation business capabilities such as marketing automation, sales analytics, omni-channel servicing to ensure relevance and growth into the future.

Additionally, the CXO manages Pacific Life’s Voice of the Customer Platform, Customer Insights Practice and Customer Journey Program.

Rob has been with Pacific Life for 22 years and is passionate about the opportunity to create new ways to engage and strengthen relationships with financial professionals and consumers. He earned both his M.B.A and B.A degrees in business from California State University Fullerton.

Rona Guymon

Senior Vice President, Annuity Distribution, Nationwide Annuities

Rona Guymon is SVP, Annuity Distribution for Nationwide Annuities. In this role, she is responsible for distributing commission-based and fee-based annuities across all channels, including broker/dealers, wires, banks, IMOs, registered investment advisors, technology platforms and other partners. Rona is a seasoned executive in the financial services industry, committed to creating greater value for financial professionals and their practice. Rona is also the Executive Sponsor of the Nationwide Pride ARG at the Scottsdale campus.

Rona was previously the Vice President of Brokerage Annuity Distribution. In this role she was charged with leading a group of 100 wholesalers, managers and home office team members in the strategic initiatives required to meet Nationwide’s distribution goals.

Before joining Nationwide, Rona was with Protective Life in the role of VP Business Development, where she led a team of National Account Managers whose focus was on building successful distributor relationships in order to broaden Protective’s Annuity Distribution footprint nationwide. In her thirteen years with Protective, Rona also held responsibilities as a National Sales Manager, Divisional Sales Manager and a Regional Wholesaler with Protective.

Rona has over 24 years’ experience in the financial services field, including 14 years as a financial services wholesaler. Her experience includes wholesaling mutual funds, annuities, and life insurance. She holds the Certified Retirement Counselor designation and is also Series 7, 63, 24, Variable Life & Annuity, and Arizona Life Insurance licensed.

Rona graduated Valedictorian from her high school in Phoenix, AZ and then went on to graduate Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor’s degree of Musical Arts.

Rona maintains a very active lifestyle that includes playing drums in a local rock band and while she’s retired from playing on a competitive women’s softball team that traveled the country playing tournaments, she has become more focused on golf. Recently, Rona has accepted a position on the board of St. Mary’s Food Bank in Phoenix to help fight food insecurity. Rona resides in Phoenix, AZ with her spouse of 19 years and their dogs Bert and Ernie.

Amanda Harless

Senior Vice President, Enterprise Contact Center, Global Atlantic Financial Group

Amanda Harless is the Senior Vice President of Enterprise Contact Center for Global Atlantic Financial Group. Global Atlantic is a leading U.S. retirement and life insurance company, with a broad range of competitive and innovative products, leading integrated risk, and investment management.

In this role, Amanda is responsible for Global Atlantic’s Contact Centers for 3 lines of business, Annuity, Life, and PreNeed. Amanda works closely across all departments within Operations and Sales to represent the customer experience and her passion for delivering excellence in customer service shows in how her team can handle any call that comes their way.

Amanda previously served as the Vice President of Business Relationship Management and was responsible for implementing the Life Business Relationship Management team. She also created a Resolution and Complaint team for the Life business developing a streamlined process for our customers and regulatory bodies to ensure timely responses and resolution.

Prior to joining Global Atlantic, Amanda worked at Voya Financial for 16 years in Annuity Operations and held a variety of roles. During this time, she received her Series 6 and Series 26.

Eric Henderson

MODERATOR
President, Nationwide Annuity, Nationwide Financial
IRI Board of Directors

Eric Henderson is President of Nationwide Financial’s Annuity business segment. He was elected to this position in October 2019, making him accountable for the financial health and strategic direction of Nationwide’s individual annuity business representing more than $100 billion in assets.

In this position, Eric oversees all aspects of the company’s individual annuity segment, including product innovation, sales and distribution, executing strategic initiatives, driving strategic positioning and product development, managing profitability, and overseeing business operations.

Prior to his current role, Eric was Senior Vice President of Individual Products and Solutions, representing both individual life and annuity segments. He began his career at Nationwide as an Actuarial Assistant in 1985 and spent much of his career as an actuary in Individual Annuities. Since that time, Eric has held positions of increasing responsibility, including Senior Vice President of the Individual Investments (Annuity) Group, Senior Actuarial Officer for both Retail Sales Support and Individual Variable Annuities, Vice President and Product Manager for Individual Variable Annuities and Income Products, and Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Individual Investments Group.

Eric earned both his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mathematics from The Ohio State University, his Master of Divinity degree from Liberty University, and is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries.

Eric serves as a board member on the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative™ Life & Annuity Advisory Board, LIMRA Annuity Executive Advisory Board, Central Ohio Salvation Army and the BalletMet Board of Trustees.

Norah Jones

MODERATOR
Director, Government Relations, Brighthouse Financial
Chair, IRI State Affairs Committee

Norah Jones joined the Government Relations team at Brighthouse Financial in 2017. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Brighthouse Financial is a manufacturer of annuities and life insurance products, and their products are sold exclusively through third party distributors.

Prior to joining Brighthouse Financial, Norah was a member of the Government Affairs team for home improvement retailer Lowe’s Companies, Inc. Norah specialized in developing and executing comprehensive public policy and government affairs strategies to achieve Lowe’s Companies’ state and local legislative and regulatory objectives.

From 2004 until 2011, Norah worked as a staffer for on Capitol Hill to a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. She served in many capacities, most notably as the Congressman’s Legislative Director and Appropriations Associate Staff member. In this role, she was the Congressman’s chief policy adviser on legislative matters as well as all issues related to the Congressman’s responsibilities as a subcommittee chairman on the House Appropriations Committee.

A native of Savannah, Ga., Norah holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Georgia. She lives in Charlotte, N.C. with her husband and two children.

Matt Kaufman, PCM®

Principal, Milliman Financial Risk Management LLC

Matt is a principal at Milliman’s Financial Risk Management practice in Chicago. In this group he advises asset managers, insurance companies and corporations throughout North America, Europe, and Asia on risk managed and structured outcome investment solutions, including:

• exchange traded funds
• unit investment trusts
• managed accounts
• indexes
• variable insurance trusts
• fixed annuities
• structured annuities

Prior to joining Milliman in 2011, Matt spent several years in the capital markets leading product, marketing, and public relations initiatives for hundreds of SEC registered investment products issued by some of the world’s largest asset managers. Formerly, Matt worked at Invesco PowerShares Capital Management, Inc., where he focused on developing the firm’s global marketing and public relations strategies, utilizing major media outlets and stock exchanges around the world.

John Kennedy

Executive Vice President, Lincoln Financial Group
President, Lincoln Financial Distributors
Chair, IRI Board of Directors

John Kennedy is executive vice president of Lincoln Financial Group and president of its wholesale franchise, Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. (LFD). In his role, Kennedy has oversight for Lincoln’s industry-leading distribution organization focused on Retirement Solutions, Life & Executive Benefits and MoneyGuard businesses. He is a member of Lincoln’s Senior Management Committee.

Kennedy currently serves as chairman of the board of the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI), a leading association that champions retirement security through advocacy, awareness, research, and the advancement of digital solutions. He is also actively involved in The Alliance for Lifetime Income, a non-profit organization focused on creating awareness and educating Americans about the importance of protected lifetime income.
Kennedy previously served as senior vice president and head of Retirement Solutions Distribution for LFD and led its relationship management organization. Prior to joining Lincoln, Kennedy held various leadership roles at MetLife Investors, AXA Distributors and PLANCO, a financial services subsidiary of The Hartford.

He received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, PA.

Ali Khawar

Acting Assistant Secretary and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

Mr. Khawar was named Acting Assistant Secretary on March 25, 2021. Mr. Khawar was sworn in on January 20, 2021 as the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration. He has extensive government experience and has previously served in a variety of roles at the Department, including as an EBSA investigator, in EBSA’s Office of Enforcement, as EBSA’s Chief of Staff in two Administrations, and as a Counselor to the 26th Secretary of Labor, Thomas E. Perez. Mr. Khawar has a bachelor’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University and a law degree from Emory University School of Law.

Melissa Kivett

MODERATOR
Managing Director, Head of Enterprise Strategic Relationship Management, Prudential
IRI Board of Directors

Melissa Kivett is the Managing Director, Head of Prudential’s Enterprise Strategic Relationship Management. She is responsible for strategically catalyzing and deepening relationships with Prudential’s most valued partners and industry associations. She is an Executive Board Member of the Insured Retirement Institute, the leading financial services trade association for the retirement income industry, and Secretary of the Board and member of the Operating Committee for the Alliance for Lifetime Income.

Previously, Melissa held multiple leadership roles at Prudential, most recently as Chief Customer Experience & Marketing Officer of Individual Solutions Group. In a prior role as Chief Strategy Officer of Annuities, she led customer-focused digital transformation and redefined the skills and capabilities of the strategy, marketing, customer experience, communications, operations, and business intelligence teams. These efforts resulted in double-digit increases in business growth and team engagement.

Prior to joining Prudential, Melissa held diverse global roles at several Fortune 500 financial services companies, including head of strategy, business development, marketing, innovation, and investor relations. Her experience includes taking a Fortune 500 company public (second largest IPO that year next to Google) and leading investor relations during the 2008 financial crisis and SEC investigation. She also launched a global financial services brand, digitized a marketing organization, strategically reimagined a business portfolio for growth, and upskilled small and large 200+ multi-disciplinary teams.

A published innovator, Melissa’s work has been recognized by Innovation Leader magazine and the Corporate Executive Board. The Insurance Advisory Board recognized her accomplishment to build a strategic investor relations function as an industry best practice. Institutional Investor magazine named her work as one of the most shareholder-friendly teams in the financial services sector.

Kivett received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts and a Master of Business Administration from Columbia Business School. She serves as a coach with the 92nd Street Y for Women in Power and is a member of the Financial Woman’s Association and Columbia Women in Business. Previously, Melissa served on the Board of Directors for Assurant’s European Operations, the Advisory Council for the Investor Relations Roundtable, and the New York Stock Exchange Advisory Group.

Scott M. Kosnoff

Partner, Faegre Drinker

Scott Kosnoff is a top-notch regulatory, transactional and public policy counselor who loves his job. Trusted by regulators and industry alike, he helps clients seize exciting opportunities and accomplish ambitious goals, including in the following areas:

Artificial intelligence, Big Data and Algorithms

• Scott helps clients stay on top of the emerging standards and regulations relating to artificial intelligence, big data and algorithms.
• Working with the firm’s data consulting subsidiary, Scott helps organizations assess their algorithms for unintended bias. He also helps clients implement a risk management framework and minimize their risk of regulatory, litigation and reputational exposure.
• At the invitation of the NAIC’s executive team, Scott briefed the nation’s top insurance regulators on the benefits and risks of AI at a closed-door commissioners’ roundtable. He subsequently presented to the NAIC’s AI Working Group at the request of the chair and helped the working group develop Principles on Artificial Intelligence. (The principles, which were unanimously adopted by the NAIC’s members, set out the regulators’ expectations and will form the basis for future regulatory activity.)
• When the NAIC hosted a special nationwide screening of Coded Bias, they asked Scott to lead a panel discussion of the film, algorithmic bias and regulatory strategies that can protect consumers without stifling innovation.

Michael Kreps

Principal, Co-Chair Retirement Services Practice, Groom Law Group

Michael Kreps specializes in issues relating to public policy, fiduciary responsibility, and plan funding and restructuring. He routinely represents both private and public sector clients before federal agencies and Congress.

Previously, Michael served as the Senior Pensions and Employment Counsel for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions from the 110th through the 114th Congresses. In that role, he managed all aspects of the Committee’s retirement agenda and had primary staff responsibility for pension legislation, including the pension investment provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the funding stabilization and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation reform provisions of the MAP-21 Act of 2012, the Pension Relief Act of 2010, and the CSEC Pension Flexibility Act. He also led the Committee’s oversight of regulatory activities involving employee benefit plans.

Michael writes and speaks frequently on retirement and health policy.

Mark Lindbloom

Portfolio Manager, Western Asset Management Company, LLC

Mark Lindbloom is a Portfolio Manager in Western Asset’s Pasadena office, and has more than 44 years of experience. He is a member of the Firm’s US Broad Strategy Committee as well as the Market & Credit Risk Committee. Prior to joining Western Asset in 2005, Mark was a Portfolio Manager at Citigroup Asset Management and at Brown Brothers Harriman & Company. He has also worked as an Analyst at New York Life Insurance.

Mark holds an MBA from Pace University and a Bachelor of Science from Rider University. Mark, along with CIO Ken Leech and Portfolio Manager Carl Eichstaedt, was named Morningstar’s 2014 US Fixed-Income Manager of the Year for the Western Asset Core Bond and the Western Asset Core Plus Bond funds.

Berlinda Liu, CFA

Director, Multi-Asset Indices, S&P Dow Jones Indices

Berlinda Liu is Director, Multi-Asset Indices at S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI). Her team is responsible for the product management of multi-asset, options and volatility indices.

Prior to her current role, Berlinda was a Director in the Global Research & Design team, responsible for quantitative research & design covering volatility, commodity and other derivative-based indices and strategies. Prior to joining S&P DJI, she was an equity derivatives strategist at both Bear Stearns, London, and Credit Suisse, New York.

Berlinda is a CFA charterholder. She holds a bachelor’s degree in business management from Wuhan University of China and a master’s degree in information system management from Carnegie Mellon University, in addition to her master’s degree in computational finance from Carnegie Mellon.

Andrew N. Mais

Commissioner, Connecticut Insurance Department
Vice President, National Association of Insurance Commissioners

Andrew N. Mais was nominated by Governor Ned Lamont to be Connecticut’s 33rd Insurance Commissioner. Mais was elected as Vice President and will serve on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners beginning January 1, 2021. He currently serves on the International Relations, Property & Casualty, and Financial Regulation Standards committees. He also serves on the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) Macroprudential and Executive Committees. The IAIS is the international standard-setting body responsible for developing and assisting in the supervision of the insurance sector.

Mais has led discussions in several forums on race, diversity, and inclusion at the state level and within the insurance industry and in insurance practices. He has also joined the efforts led by Governor Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz to address social inequities in Connecticut, including the Council on Women and Girls and cultural competency initiatives.

ais is also a member of the NAIC’s Special Executive Committee on Race and Insurance, charged with conducting research and analyzing issues of diversity and inclusion within the insurance sector.

Mais previously was a member of Deloitte’s Center for Financial Services, providing industry-leading thought leadership and insight on US and international regulatory affairs.

Prior to that, he was a Director at the New York State Insurance Department. There he served four governors as part of the Department’s senior leadership team through numerous events including the financial crisis of 2008 and major state and federal changes in health insurance regulations and laws.

Even outside the government, Mais dedicated much of his life to public service. He most recently served as chair of the Council on Ethics for the town of Wilton, CT, where he lives. Other recent service includes the Maritime Aquarium of Norwalk; the American Red Cross; the Board of Finance of the Town of Wilton; and the Rotary Club of Wilton.

Keith Mancini

MODERATOR
Assistant Vice President, Government Affairs, Empower
Chair, IRI Retirement Plans & Tax Committee

Keith Mancini is Assistant Vice President of Government Affairs for Empower Retirement. In his role, he monitors state and federal legislation and regulation that is relevant to internal and external stakeholders of Empower. He also represents the organization in advocacy groups.

Keith joined the firm in 2004. He has experience with all retirement plan types and previously worked in the Empower legal department, where he provided legal and compliance support for the development of group annuity, lifetime income, and stable value investment products.

Keith holds a bachelor’s degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a Juris Doctor degree from Stetson University College of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Colorado. Keith is also a board member of the Colorado Life & Health Insurance Protection Association.

Doug Massey

Executive Vice President, Sales and Relationship Management, Insurance Technologies

Douglas Massey currently serves as Executive Vice President of Sales for Insurance Technologies. Mr. Massey is a 29 year veteran of the Insurance Technology space and has spent his career helping to streamline and automate the sales and marketing of insurance products. In his role he helps set product strategy, develop product solutions for clients, and define GTM for Insurance Technologies.

Doug helped start his first software company for financial services, InsurQuote – now a Lexis Nexis company, at the age of 21. He has helped develop 3 successful startups and worked with firms across the industry to automate the sales and processing of annuities and life Insurance. Mr. Massey participated in the definition of the IRI and Acord standards and helped design annuity and life order entry solutions for Blue Frog Solutions (now owned by I-Pipeline), and served 6 years as VP of EbixExchange. Systems he has influenced now support over 100 carriers, more than 700 Banks, Broker Dealers, IMO’s and BGA’s, and process over $100 Billion in Annuities sales and millions of life policy transactions annually.

Mr. Massey is an avid snow skier and outdoor enthusiast and resides in the Utah mountain country.

Scott Mayland

Associate, Groom Law Group

Scott Mayland advises employers and financial institutions, and his practice focuses on the fiduciary responsibility and prohibited transaction sections of ERISA. Scott’s experience includes representing clients with respect to alternative investments, requests for individual prohibited transaction exemptions from the Department of Labor, and Department of Labor investigations of plans and service providers.

Prior to joining the firm, Scott worked at The Ohio State University’s Office of Legal Affairs, where he advised human resources staff administering the University’s employee benefits plans.

Amanda Miller

Senior Vice President, Retirement Sales Manager, Wells Fargo

Amanda Miller is the Retirement Sales Leader for the Investment Solutions Center of Excellence. Amanda has been in the financial services industry specifically retirement products for 24 years. Amanda started her career at American General and then joined First Union in 2000 as an internal wholesaler on the Annuity Marketing desk.

In her current role she leads the Retirement Consulting and the Retirement Development Hybrid Consultants. Her teams specialize in Retirement Income planning, Annuities, and Social Security. She is also responsible for the firms Retirement Planning Forums. Amanda holds the Series 7, 63 and 24. Amanda and her husband, Thomas, live in Harrisburg, NC and have 2 children, Kameron and Karley.

Paula Nelson

Managing Director & Head of Strategic Growth, Global Atlantic Financial Group
Treasurer & Secretary, IRI Board of Directors

Paula Nelson, Head of Strategic Growth of Individual Markets, is responsible for exploring new markets, distribution, and products to identify the right opportunities for Global Atlantic to advance and grow. She joined Global Atlantic in 2010 to lead the organization’s annuity distribution organization. She later assumed the role of President of Retirement for Global Atlantic, responsible for the organization’s overall annuity business.

Paula has more than 35 years of experience in the financial services industry. She is on the Executive Board for the Insured Retirement Institute and the CEO Steering Committee on Consumer Issues for the ACLI, two of the industry’s leading trade organizations.

Paula joined Global Atlantic from Forethought. Previously, she had served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Transamerica Capital, Inc. and Managing Director for AEGON Financial Services Group, Inc., where she was responsible for business development with AEGON’s top institutional business partners in the United States.

Paula is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. She is Series 6, 26 and 63 FINRA registered and holds a life and health insurance license in Minnesota.

Michael Pouliot

Executive Vice President, Head of Xchange Sales, RegEd

Michael leads the enterprise sales program for RegEd’s Xchange Contracting, Licensing, Registration and Outsourcing Services portfolio. With more than 30 years in the industry, Michael possesses deep expertise in Licensing and Registration operations, compliance and L&R compliance and insurance technology. Michael joined RegEd in 2006 with the acquisition of Xchange from Wolters Kluwer. Since then he’s engaged with hundreds of insurance companies and distributors to consult and assist them in achieving their future state for licensing operations. Michael has extensive knowledge across a broad range of client configurations and insight into best practices for licensing and registration work processes.

Mark Quinn

MODERATOR
Director of Regulatory Affairs, Cetera Financial Group
Chair, IRI Securities Committee

Mark Quinn is the Director of Regulatory Affairs for Cetera Financial Group, the corporate parent of a group of broker-dealers and investment advisors with some 9,000 financial advisers in offices across the United States. In that role, he directs the firm’s advocacy efforts with respect to regulatory and legislative policy and manages a team of professionals handling examinations and other matters with agencies including the SEC, FINRA, U.S. Department of Labor, and state regulatory authorities.

Prior to joining Cetera, Mark was the Chief Risk Officer of First Allied Securities, Inc. and the General Counsel of Royal Alliance Associates. In those roles and in private law practice, he has focused on representation of broker-dealers, investment advisers, and Financial Professionals in arbitration, litigation, and regulatory matters. He is the Chair of the Securities Committee and former Chair of the Retirement Plans and Tax Regulatory Committee of the Insured Retirement Institute, past Chair of the Compliance Council of the Financial Services Institute, Co-Chair of the Legal and Regulatory Policy Committee of the Institute for Portfolio Alternatives, and a member of the FINRA Western Regional Committee. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars on legal issues dealing with provision of financial and investment advice to retail investors. Mark holds a B.S. in Finance from Arizona State University and M.B.A. and J.D. degrees from the University of Denver, and is a member of the Colorado, New York, and Florida bars.

Thomas Roberts

Principal, Groom Law Group

Tom Roberts has more than 25 years of experience in advising insurance and annuity providers, banks, and other financial institutions on ERISA fiduciary and related legal matters involving retirement product and service offerings.

Tom has a broad and deep background in the retirement services industry, having spent much of his career prior to joining Groom as in-house counsel to a major annuity and recordkeeping services provider. Tom has played a key role in helping to shape the regulatory landscape through written comments and testimony and has held leadership positions in a number of industry trade associations. He is a frequent speaker on the ERISA-related developments and other regulatory changes that affect retirement services providers.

Sam Rosenbrock

Assistant Vice President, Platform Strategy, Jackson

Sam Rosenbrock is the Assistant Vice President of Platform Strategy for Jackson National Life Distributors. Jackson is committed to helping clarify the complexity of retirement planning. Their range of annuity products, financial know-how, history of award-winning service, and streamlined experiences strive to reduce the confusion that complicates retirement plans.

In this role, Sam is responsible for cultivating, growing, and managing strategic platform and financial technology relationships for Jackson. This includes seeking out synergies and potential business opportunities with a focus on developing and expanding the advisory platform and financial technology relationships to support annuity capabilities.

Sam joined Jackson in 2005 and most recently served as the Vice President of Strategic Relationships where he was responsible for managing a team who supported Jackson’s focus relationships across wire houses, banks, and independent broker dealers.

Originally from Denver, CO, Sam and his family currently reside in Nashville, TN.

Steve Scanlon

Managing Director, Head of Individual Retirement, Equitable Life Insurance Company
IRI Board of Directors

Steve Scanlon is Head of Individual Retirement for Equitable, and a member of the Operating Committee. In this role, he drives the strategy for the Individual Retirement business, including distribution, product, inforce portfolio, M&A, capital and strategic relationships.

Previously, Mr. Scanlon was Head of Group Retirement for Equitable, responsible for strategy, implementation and financial results for the defined contribution business, supporting the education, government and corporate markets. His key accomplishments included pioneering new ways to reach and support educators amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, enhancing Equitable’s portfolio and forging innovative partnerships.

Before joining the company, Mr. Scanlon was the co-founder of GuardVest, a fintech startup. Prior to that, he held several leadership roles with AllianceBernstein, serving as Managing Director of Bernstein Global Wealth Management, Head of Global Sales AB Defined Contribution, and Senior Vice President and Head of AB Insurance Subadvisory Services. He began his career at Wood Logan.

Mr. Scanlon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Tim Shaw

Associate Director of Policy, Aspen Institute

As the Associate Director of Policy for the Financial Security Program, Tim works to advance promising policies that address the most pressing financial security challenges facing people in America. Working with leaders across levels of government, Tim and Aspen FSP’s policy team seek to provide policymakers the innovative ideas, research, and network of leaders they need to design and enact policies that make a concrete difference in people’s financial security.

Before joining the Aspen Institute, he was an Associate Director for Economic Policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center. While there, he was the policy lead for BPC’s Paid Family Leave Task Force and led
projects on economic opportunity, retirement security, and fiscal policy. Prior to that work, he was a tax and budget staffer at the Government Accountability Office. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including the Washington Post, Politico, and the Wall Street Journal.

Tim holds a B.A. in Political Science and Spanish from Washington University in St. Louis and a master’s degree in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Tim Seifert

Senior Vice President, Head of Retirement Solutions Distribution, Lincoln Financial Distributors

Tim Seifert serves as a Senior Vice President and Head of Retirement Solutions Distribution for Lincoln Financial Distributors, Inc. (LFD), the wholesaling distribution organization for Lincoln Financial Group. In this role, Tim leads distribution for the Annuities and Small Market Retirement Plan Services businesses, as well as the training and professional development efforts across all of LFD.

Seifert has more than 30 years of experience in the financial services industry. Earlier in his career, he spent 23 years at PLANCO Financial Services Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hartford, where he grew sales from $10-$35 billion. After PLANCO, he held senior sales leadership roles at RS Investments and Prudential. At Prudential, he grew annuity sales from $10-$22 billion in three years.

Tim joined Lincoln in 2014 to lead Small Market sales for the Retirement Plan Services business. Known for creating an optimistic culture and championing sales excellence, Tim assembled an exceptional sales team and excelled with a focus on wholesaler productivity during his tenure with RPS setting year-over-year sales records.

In 2017, Tim was named Head of Annuity Sales, where he focused on fostering consultative partnerships between wholesalers and financial professionals as they worked with clients to solidify their financial futures and build portfolios based on their specific needs.

Seifert is a graduate of Elizabethtown College and holds FINRA Series 6, 26, 51 and 63, as well as his Pennsylvania Life Insurance license. He is a guest lecturer on the topics of “Traits of the Great” and Leadership at Villanova University, Temple University and Elizabethtown College. Tim enjoys spending time with family and friends, watching football, and conquering his fears, including a 2018 summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Sarah ten Siethoff

Deputy Director, Division of Investment Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Sarah G. ten Siethoff serves as the Associate Director, Rulemaking Office, Division of Investment Management, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Sarah leads the regulation of the asset management industry at the SEC, and also leads the development of policy and rulemaking relating to investment advisers and investment companies.

Prior to joining the SEC, Ms. ten Siethoff was an associate with Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP in their New York and Washington, DC offices.

Ms. ten Siethoff received her J.D. from Yale Law School, her M.A. in International Relations from Yale University, and her B.A. from the University of Virginia.

Jon Steinberg

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Former COO, BuzzFeed
Founder, Cheddar News

Jon Steinberg was most recently the President of Altice USA News & Advertising, which encompasses News 12, i24NEWS, and Cheddar News, as well as Altice USA’s a4 Advertising.

He founded Cheddar News in 2016, which was then acquired by Altice USA in June of 2019. Cheddar News broadcasts live from the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange and its studios in New York City and Washington, D.C.

Prior to Cheddar, He was the Chief Executive Officer of DailyMail.com North America. Steinberg grew U.S. revenue 45% while at Daily Mail and doubled direct advertising revenue.

He joined DailyMail.com from BuzzFeed where he was President & Chief Operating Officer, responsible for business management, company operations, finance, and social advertising operations from 2010 to 2014. Under his leadership, BuzzFeed became a global and profitable social advertising business working with over half of the top 100 brands. He grew the company from 15 employees to over 500. Steinberg was named one of Advertising Age’s Media Mavens and 40 Under 40.

Steinberg was previously Strategic Partner Development Manager on Google’s SMB (small medium business) partnerships team. As a high schooler, he was an intern in Walt Disney Imagineering’s research and development group.

Steinberg is a graduate of Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and holds an M.B.A. from Columbia University. He lives with his wife, two kids, and cat on New York’s Upper East Side.

Scott Stolz

Head of Insurance Solutions, SIMON Markets

As the Head of Insurance Solutions for SIMON Markets, Scott is helping to create the annuity industry’s first one-stop platform for every aspect of a financial professional’s annuity business. Prior to joining Simon in January of 2021, Scott served as the President of Raymond James Insurance Group for 15 years. In that capacity, he was responsible for Insurance and Annuity Sales, Marketing, Operations and Due Diligence for Raymond James; 9000+ financial professionals. Previous to joining the distribution side of the business, Scott spent over 20 years in various sales, marketing and operations capacities at Jackson National Life, AIG/SunAmerica and North American Security Life.

A frequent speaker and panelist on any topic related to annuities, Scott has served on the Executive Committee of IRI, been a board member of LIMRA’s Secured Retirement Institute and served as a Trustee for the American College of Financial Services. Scott is the author of “Unlocking the Annuity Mystery: Practical Advice for Every Advisor”, available on Amazon. He received both his MBA and BSBA in Finance from Washington University in St. Louis.

Jeff Strunk

Managing Partner, Forbes Tate Partners

Jeff Strunk is a Managing Partner at Forbes Tate Partners – he joined the firm in January of 2012. Mr. Strunk spent eight years on Capitol Hill, including six years with House Republican leadership – most recently serving as Deputy Floor Director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner. Jeff regularly works with Fortune 500 companies, trade organizations, and coalitions. He represents client interests on a range of issues, and brings particular expertise in regards to financial products and services, banking, energy, and telecommunications issues. He also operates at the nexus between these policy areas and tax and cybersecurity issues.

Prior to serving as Deputy Floor Director to former Speaker of the House John Boehner, Mr. Strunk spent three years as Floor Assistant. Prior to his time with Boehner, Mr. Strunk worked for former Congressman Patrick J. Tiberi, a previous Chairman of the influential Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

During his time in House leadership, Mr. Strunk formed incredibly strong relationships with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle – and, also, their staffers. He developed expertise in parliamentary procedure, House Rules, and a thorough understanding of the inner workings of House leadership and Congress. Mr. Strunk’s roots connect him to a wide variety of House Committees. He frequently works with members of the House Ways and Means, Financial Services, Energy and Commerce, Judiciary, and Transportation and Infrastructure Committees. Jeff also maintains deep ties to both the House Intelligence and Homeland Security Committees.

Jeff has long been active in the Republican Party – both in Ohio and at the national level. He has worked on the campaign of Patrick J. Tiberi, as well as volunteered on numerous other Congressional campaigns. Strunk’s background also includes his ongoing role with an organized volunteer campaign effort in his home state of Ohio. For more than six years, he has led an independent GOTV program in the Buckeye State that helps to provide grassroots support to Republican candidates at the local, state, and federal levels.

A native of Columbus, Ohio, Mr. Strunk is a graduate of Xavier University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in Political Science.

He and his wife and three children live in Washington, DC.

Samantha Tyner, Ph.D.

Data Scientist, Tritura

Samantha (Dr. Tyner) turns big data into insights for clients. She also serves as the Data Science Lead for Faegre Drinker’s Algorithmic Fairness Taskforce, a team of lawyers and data scientists who work with clients to ensure their algorithms are equitable and profitable. Samantha (Dr. Tyner) holds a Ph.D. in Statistics from Iowa State University, and uses her years of experience in academia, government, and industry to find the best solutions to clients’ data problems. She is also an expert R programmer and builds tools to help clients work faster and better. Samantha (Dr. Tyner) has worked at the intersection of law and data science for several years, including for the U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce.

Kevin Walsh

Principal, Groom Law Group

Kevin L. Walsh advises clients on a wide range of fiduciary matters and other issues involving benefit plans. His practice encompasses helping plan service providers comply with the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rules, working with them as they develop processes for and make investments, and helping them navigate the impact of Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), and SEC regulations.

Kevin counsels clients primarily on issues related to Title I of ERISA, but also works with clients on the intersection of ERISA and other federal statutes. He assists insurers in obtaining guidance from the Department of Labor, and helps plan fiduciaries structure investments. He has also worked with plan service providers to structure the distribution of proprietary products in a manner that complies with ERISA’s prohibited transaction provisions.

Kevin is also a member of Groom’s Policy and Legislation Group, where he leverages his deep legislative experience on behalf of clients by providing technical legislative drafting services and strategic advice on interacting with the legislative and executive branches.

Greg Williams

KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Editor-in-Chief, WIRED Magazine

Greg Williams is an authority on technology trends and the ways they impact business and society. As editor-in-chief of WIRED magazine, Greg meets the innovators, thinkers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and creatives who are changing the world and writes on a variety of subjects, including innovation, technology, business, creativity, and ideas. The annual trends report he edits, WIRED World, is essential is seen as an essential briefing for senior leaders who want to understand the forces shaping the global business.

Exclusively represented by Leading Authorities, Inc. speakers bureau, he possesses a unique combination of storytelling expertise and an in-depth knowledge of the future of technology and how it will impact every sector of business. This enables him to transform complex information into entertaining and accessible insights that prepare audiences for what’s coming next. Greg primarily speaks on what’s new and what’s next and how organisations and individuals can best prepare themselves for what’s on the horizon. He also has extensive experience as a conference facilitator and moderator, having interviewed world leaders and CEOs of some of the world’s best-known companies.

He speaks on the technology and trends shaping the world, from artificial intelligence to the blockchain, sustainability to fintech, cybersecurity to personalized healthcare, automation and robotics to the space industry, the future of work to the next wave of disruptive forces impacting every organisation. In every presentation, Greg identifies the challenges and opportunities for organizations in every sector to innovate in an accelerating culture where norms are shifting.

Having delivered incisive, actionable insights, Greg’s dynamic presentations have received praise from clients in multiple areas of industry, including finance, retail, travel, healthcare, apparel, software, manufacturing, mobility, security, energy and consulting.

Spending his days scanning the horizon for world-changing technologies, ideas and companies, Greg is constantly on the lookout for genuinely transformative trends. His dynamic presentation style enables his audiences not only to understand these shifts, but also inspires them to implement the changes they need to make in order to move their businesses and brands forward is a fast-changing landscape.

Greg has delivered keynote speeches at technology and corporate events throughout Europe, North America and Asia. He has interviewed CEO-level business-people at both private and public events and has moderated panels with executives from FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies at high-profile conferences and private gatherings. Greg enjoys an international career – he has lived in both London and New York – and travels regularly in search of the people and ideas that are transforming our world. In the past few months he has delivered keynotes, moderated panels and facilitated conferences in Europe, North America, Asia, and the Middle East.

His essay on neuroeconomics was featured alongside essays by Bill Gates and Joseph Stiglitz in the book, Connecting Minds, Creating the Future. Greg’s success as a long-form storyteller in novels – he has had six published – and journalism means that he has a particular interest and expertise in the power and role of content as traditional media channels transform and new ones proliferate.