CEO Innovation, Growth & Diversity Symposium

Alan Trefler is a visionary change-agent, innovative philanthropist, and trusted advisor to business leaders around the world.  Alan founded Pegasystems three decades ago to change how the world builds software.  In that time, Alan's unique vision and relentless focus on client success has positively evolved the way many of the world's leading enterprises engage with their customers.
Alan’s best-seller, Build for Change, describes a new generation of customers with unprecedented power to make or break brands and the changes businesses must embrace to succeed in today’s digital world.
Alan is the holder of multiple software patents, and the recipient of industry awards recognizing him as an innovative CEO and successful entrepreneur.  In 2017, Alan was appointed to the World Economic Forum’s IT Steering Committee.
Alan holds a degree with distinction in Economics and Computer Science from Dartmouth College. There he won the John G. Kemeny prize in computing, achieved a Master rating in Chess, and was co-champion of the 1975 World Open Chess Championship.
A staunch education advocate, Alan and wife Pam established the Trefler Foundation in 1996 to improve educational outcomes.  The Foundation recently sponsored Union & Fifth, an innovative non-profit that turns clothing donations into money for charities.

Ben Edson is the Founder and CEO of VariQ. VariQ is one of DC Metros fastest growing IT and Cyber Security companies, with 300+ staff under management. It has successfully grown organically over the past 5 years by over 1000%. VariQ is a values-driven company that designs, integrates, and manages complex solutions in information technology systems for 10 out of 15 Federal Executive Departments as well as State and Commercial clients.

In recognition of Ben’s commitment to innovation and unparalleled client dedication, VariQ has received 20+ industry awards over the past five years.

Prior to VariQ, Ben was a Security Consultant for Symantec where he performed numerous technical implementations throughout the United States and Mexico for Fortune 100 and commercial clients. A former missionary, Ben later worked as a commercial fisherman in Alaska. He is passionate about all things cybersecurity, his family, and soccer.

Ben serves on SECAF’s (Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum) Board of Directors, and has most recently joined the WorkSource Montgomery Board.

Ben holds an MBA and MSITS from Johns Hopkins University. He also holds over 20 current and expired IT certifications which allows him to actively participate in customer problem solving from both business and technical perspectives.

Porter Novelli CEO Brad MacAfee is a highly respected business and communications leader who has spent the past 25 years harnessing his expertise and insights to drive business results, competitive advantage and deeper levels of stakeholder engagement for a wide variety of brands, businesses and organizations. He is widely recognized for his strong knowledge of the real needs and challenges of small businesses and global brands and multinationals alike, as well as his practical deployment of innovative technologies to create opportunities in a changing, digitally driven business and media landscape.

MacAfee joined Porter Novelli in 2000 as partner, global technology leader and managing director of the Atlanta office, after nearly a decade of leadership positions at Alexander Communications, Copithorne & Bellows and Peachtree Software.

During his tenure as managing director, the Atlanta office became one of the most consistently profitable and recognized throughout the agency's entire global network. His passionate belief in the power of the Service Profit Chain model that puts employees first earned the office year-after-year recognition as a best place to work, while also earning the reputation as an industry leader, and model, for excellence in client service.

In 1998, DeeDee Towery founded Proactive Business Solutions, Inc. from the basement in her
home in Oakland, California. Today the company employees over 300 full-time and part-time
employees. Proactive is a managed service provider with three key lines of business: Outsourced
facilities management for scientific, engineering, medical or technical activities seeking staff
augmentation and technical/engineering project management; Cybersafety services for larger
organizations seeking to protect IT assets, confidentiality and privacy, and the organization’s people,
facilities and inventories; and IT Support Services for companies seeking premium levels of end-
user support, desk-help, business analysis/technical support

Recognized as one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, DeeDee Towery has
grown Proactive Business Solutions from its roots into the powerhouse consultancy it is today.
Surviving both the dot-com bubble and the Great Recession, this company continues to tackle the
challenges of modern businesses that do not have the time, resources, or knowledge to do it on their
own. Proactive commits to having the same level of service on every size project, and this model of
consistency has contributed to the firm’s growth and strengthened relationships with clientele.
DeeDee graduated Summa Cum Laude from UC Berkeley and is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. A
native of Georgia, she lives in Danville, California with her husband John Gregoire.

Dick started with Restaurant Associates right out of college as back of the house steward. He eventually became General Manager of the famous “Newarker Restaurant” at Newark Airport. Over the years, Dick has held many regional and corporate operating positions. He became President of Restaurant Associates in 2003 and, under his leadership, grew the company three-fold in ten states. Currently, he serves as Chief Executive Officer of Restaurant Associates (a premiere division within Compass Group, the nation’s leading foodservice company), with a total volume for 2015 that exceeded 1 billion dollars.

In 2002 Dick oversaw all of the Compass food service operations at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The massive effort comprised fifteen venues spread over 5,000 square miles and served 150,000 meals per day for seventeen days. It was the first time in Olympic history that one organization was responsible for hospitality catering, concessions and athlete feeding. The following summer Dick was responsible for feeding the young Pilgrims assembled during the 2003 World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada where 200,000 meals per day were served for seven days during the visit of Pope John Paul II.

Dick was born and raised in New York City and comes from a long family tradition in the hospitality business – his father owned a hotel in Monticello, New York and his grandfather was an executive chef in New York City. Dick is a graduate of Paul Smith’s College in upstate New York where he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees for seven years. He is a Fellow of The Culinary Institute of America and a former board member of the Society for Foodservice Management. He was honored with a Conti Distinguished Professor Chair at Penn State University, a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Johnson and Wales University in Providence, RI and a Wise Professor at the University of Delaware.

In 2005, Dick received the Adirondack Medal of Honor for his twenty plus years of tireless work and leadership at Paul Smith’s College where he has been instrumental in taking the college from a two-year private school to a four-year college offering courses in culinary, hospitality management, liberal arts, forestry and environmental studies. In 2007 he received an honorary degree, a Doctor of Commercial Science from Paul Smith’s College and in 2009 granted the status of Trustee Emeritus.

In addition, Dick was awarded the International Foodservice Manufacturers Association 2005 Silver Plate Award, the industry’s premier accolade, for his achievements in the Foodservice Management category. In 2006 at the SFM Conference in Las Vegas, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes a lifetime of contributions and service to the onsite foodservice industry.

Federico A. Tripodi was appointed CEO of Calyxt in May 2016. He holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Washington University’s Olin Business School, as well as an agronomic engineering degree from Buenos Aires University. Federico has gathered extensive experience in agricultural R&D and product development during his nearly two-decade career in the ag biotech and seed industry. Prior to joining Calyxt, he worked as General Manager for Monsanto Company’s Sugarcane Division in Brazil for three years. He held other roles for Monsanto in Saint Louis, Missouri, spanning Corporate Strategy (2011-2013), Omega-3 Program Lead (2009-2011), Oilseeds Global Quality Management Lead (2008-2009) and multiple other roles that involved managing multidisciplinary research teams in the technology organization between 2001 and 2008. During his tenure at Monsanto, Mr. Tripodi led or participated with early discovery and late commercialization phase product launches across the Americas, which included biotech consumer traits (improved composition soybean oils) and farmer traits (high yield, drought tolerance, insect protection and herbicide tolerance). Mr. Tripodi started his career in Argentina in 1998 in field research of biotechnology traits and chemistry formulations until he moved to Saint Louis in 2001. Mr. Tripodi also has experience as a director of a startup and serves on the board of directors for a not-for profit.

Gary A. Griffiths is president and chief executive officer of iPass Inc. His goal is to drive Wi-Fi adoption to accelerate the company's growth. Griffiths has been described as a natural leader with a strong operational background and a wealth of relevant experience. Previously a member of iPass' Board of Directors, Griffiths was also co-founder and CEO of Trapit, Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based applications for sales and marketing automation.

A 35-year veteran of the high-tech industry, Griffiths has led some of the Web's most innovative companies. He has held leadership positions at a number of large and prominent software companies. Prior to founding Trapit, Griffiths was president of products and operations at WebEx, acquired for $3B by Cisco Systems, Inc. Griffiths was also co-founder and chief executive officer at Everdream Corporation, a SaaS company, from 1999 to 2005, as well as chief executive officer at HEAT.net from 1996 until its acquisition by Sega, Inc. in 1999.

In addition, Griffiths has extensive experience overseeing financial and accounting matters as well as strategic initiatives at small technology companies. Griffiths currently serves on the board of directors of Silicon Graphics International Corp., (NASDAQ: SGI), and Janrain, Inc., a customer identity management SaaS company.

Griffiths holds a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering from the US Naval Academy, as well as a Masters of Science in business administration from the George Washington University School of Business.

Harry is the founder and CEO of Kargo, the leading mobile brand advertising marketplace. Named as one of EY Entrepreneurs of the Year in 2016, he is the chief architect of Kargo’s strategy. Under his leadership over the past fifteen years, Harry has transformed Kargo into one of the advertising industry’s most innovative technology companies. His experience building Kargo from the ground up has given him a deep understanding of the latest trends. He is a frequent speaker and panelist at CES, IAB, Advertising Week, Websummit, Cannes and other advertising and technology conferences, and has been featured in The NYTimes, The Today Show, AdAge, Bloomberg, Fox Business, The Wall Street Journal, NPR and dozens of other media outlets. Harry graduated with honors from Harvard College, where he is now an advisor to young entrepreneurs through the Harvard Innovation Lab. He lives in New York City with his wife and three children.

Howard M. Lorber is the Chairman of Douglas Elliman, one of the nation’s oldest and largest real estate brokerage firms with approximately $27.4 billion in annual sales volume and approximately 7,000 affiliated real estate agents. Mr. Lorber became Chairman of Douglas Elliman in 2003 and has since achieved record sales year over year. These record results are the product of Mr. Lorber’s transformational leadership and business acumen; and, under his direction, Douglas Elliman continues to display unprecedented economic might and influence in the industry.

Mr. Lorber plays an extremely active role in the company and prides himself on his ability to attract and retain the most talented sales personnel. In addition, Mr. Lorber is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Vector Group Ltd. and its wholly owned subsidiary, New Valley LLC, the parent company of Douglas Elliman. Mr. Lorber has actively managed Vector Group’s and New Valley’s diversified interests since 1994, including its approximately $200 million of investments in real estate ventures that own approximately $5 billion of assets.

In addition to his role at Vector Group, Mr. Lorber serves as Executive Chairman of Nathan’s Famous Inc., Vice Chairman of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. and a director of Clipper Realty Inc. Mr. Lorber serves on the board of the 92nd Street Y, the board of the Garden of Dreams Foundation, as Chairman of Southampton Hospital Foundation, and Co-Chairman of the Silver Shield Foundation—a non-profit organization that provides financial assistance towards the educational costs of children of police officers and firefighters killed in the line of duty. In 2017, Mr. Lorber received a Presidential appointment to serve as Chairman of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum.

Mr. Lorber holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Science degree in Taxation and an Honorary Doctorate from Long Island University, where he is also a trustee.

Ikdeep Singh is currently the President of Maybelline, Garnier and Essie brands; a position he took over in January 2017. In his role, he oversees all aspects of business leadership on the multi-billion-dollar portfolio of brands, and is responsible for accelerating their growth in the US market.

Mr. Singh joined L’Oréal Group in 2014 and served as the President of L’Oréal Canada’s Consumer Products Division. Under Mr. Singh’s leadership, the division outpaced market growth threefold, helping L’Oréal to become the largest and fastest growing manufacturer in Canada.

Prior to joining the L’Oréal Group, Mr. Singh spent 14 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G). During his time at P&G, Mr. Singh worked on various businesses in global innovation and strategy, regional marketing, and country operating roles across North America and Asia.

Born in India and raised in Canada, Mr. Singh is a graduate of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Jeremy Johnson is the CEO and co-founder of Andela, a company founded on the idea that brilliance is evenly distributed. With that as their backbone, they’ve build a network of technology leaders dedicated to advancing human potential. Andela’s core function is helping companies build high-performing engineering teams by investing in Africa’s most talented software developers. In the three years since their founding, Andela has selected the top .7% of more than 70,000 applicants from across the African continent. Based in Nigeria, Kenya, and Uganda, Andela developers are already working as full-time engineers with companies that range from industry leaders like Viacom to venture-backed startups like Gusto and SeatGeek.

Prior to founding Andela, Jeremy co-founded 2U, one of the fastest growing education technology startups in history. 2U went public in 2014 (NASDAQ:TWOU) and continues to transform higher education by delivering the world’s best online degree programs with top tier universities. His work as an education innovator has been recognized at entrepreneurship meetings hosted by the White house and Congress as well as media outlets like NBC, ABC, FOX, and CNBC. Jeremy was named “30 Under 30” by Inc. Magazine in 2012 and Forbes in 2013 and 2014. Jeremy serves on the board of the Young Entrepreneur Council and the education non-profit PENCIL and co-authored a book for the World Economic Forum: ‘Education & Skills 2.0: New Targets & Innovative Approaches’.

Joe is the CEO and Co-Manager of American Landmark. An expert in value-added and distressed real estate repositioning, and multifamily acquisitions, operations and disposals, Joe has overseen four successful multifamily portfolio builds totaling 100,000 units, with a value in excess of $7 billion, over the last 15 years. He was the original founder of Landmark Apartment Trust, which sold its portfolio in 2015 for $1.9 billion.

Joe and his partners returned to the private sector in 2015 to begin a new portfolio build under the Electra America brand. As CEO of Electra America, Joe oversees all aspects of the company’s operations, from finance to property management. An honors graduate of Cornell University, Joe holds a Juris Doctor Degree from Delaware Law School. He is active in numerous civic and charitable organizations, including AIPAC, Hillel, and The Cornell University Tower Club.

JuE Wong, Global CEO of Moroccanoil has a robust track record of propelling emerging brands to the mainstream while globalizing established brands in the USA and internationally, working with such brands as Cargill Inc., PepsiCo, Dial Corp., Murad Inc., NV Perricone MD Ltd., ZO Skin Health by Dr. Obagi, Astral Health and Beauty, and StriVectin. Most recently, Wong served as President at Elizabeth Arden.

Wong’s unconventional business background from Commodities Trading, where she led a $2.5 billion trading portfolio with trading reports spanning global time zones and working with diverse cultures, to working with a start-up right at the beginning of the economic collapse in 2008, are key contributing factors and testament to her success.

A proven global senior executive with experience and exposure in four continents and seven countries, Wong is considered as one of the ‘go-to’ progressive executives in driving intrinsic change to increase portfolio value through both traditional and emerging channels and mediums of commerce. Her latest success is captured in the Glossy Award for Best in Show and the most watched YouTube beauty video in May 2017, “From the desk of Liz Arden”. This video generated 90 million global views and $1.6 million in revenue with a $354,000 in total investment.

Originally from Singapore, JuE is an Honors graduate of The Australian National University where she was recognized with the International Alumnus Award of the Year in 2014. She was an exchange scholar at UCLA. In 2004, she was a Wall Street Journal nominee for the prestigious publication’s “Top 50 Women to Watch.” In 2015 she was The Stevie Award winner for Female Executive of the Year. In 2012 she was the Top 3 Finalists of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year, an Honoree of WWAAC (Who's Who in the Asian American Communities), and recognised by The Little Pink Book as the Top 10 Women in Business.

JuE serves on the Boards of the NY Chapter of the YMCA and CEW. She is also a member of C200 and Women’s Forum of NY where membership is by invitation only.

Justin Rosenberg is the Founder and CEO of honeygrow, a wholesome-casual restaurant concept focused on vibrant, healthy, and dynamic foods through its stirfry and salad programs. Justin opened the first honeygrow in June 2012 and has since opened 12 locations, with four more opening by early 2017.

When creating the concept, Rosenberg sought to utilize technology as an agent to streamline the ordering process via its touchscreen platform. Since then, honeygrow continues to leverage useful tech to subtly enhance the concept in areas ranging from training, operations, development, branding, and accounting.

Rosenberg founded honeygrow after working at Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) as a Manager of Energy Services and as an Asset Manager where he oversaw a portfolio of approximately 25 regional shopping malls. Tired of sitting in a cubicle and with a passion to create a sustainable, long-term company modeled after some of his favorites (Starbucks, Apple, Southwest Airlines, and Whole Foods), Justin combined his interests in plant-based eating with that of music, design, and business to create a business plan in hopes of raising capital for the first location. After 2.5 years of looking for investors and pitching 94 people, Rosenberg acquired the capital and subsequently opened the first store in 2012. Since then, honeygrow has raised over $25MM in equity financing to foster growth and technology driven projects.

Previous leadership roles include leading an acquisition team in purchasing multifamily apartments in Baltimore, MD and Denver, CO markets and successfully leading an Israeli-based tech firm in identifying its niche demographic and penetrating the North American market. While developing honeygrow, Justin spent his weekends working in the kitchen of a fine-dining restaurant located in the Washington DC area in an effort to gain a solid foundation to properly run his own restaurant (still then a pipedream!).

Justin resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife, two (2) daughters, and son.

Krish brings more than 20 years of successful leadership and innovation to BlueJeans Network. Krish has been founder and CEO of several successful startup ventures, including Topspin, a datacenter virtualization player (acquired by Cisco in 2005) and Internet Junction (acquired by Cisco in 1995). Prior to BlueJeans, Krish was Entrepreneur-In-Residence (EIR) at Accel Partners, where he explored HD video technologies including the current idea behind BlueJeans and the GM for the Server Virtualization business unit at Cisco Systems, responsible for architecting Cisco's datacenter and desktop virtualization solutions.

Lisa Ingram is President and CEO of White Castle System, Inc. Lisa is the fourth Ingram family member to serve as President of the iconic company – the nation’s first fast food chain founded in 1921. Lisa is also a member of the White Castle Board of
Directors.
Lisa’s career has been focused on creating value for her family business through strategic planning, revitalizing an iconic brand, balancing team member contributions while delivering on results, and injecting innovation into the daily culture.
In her role as President and CEO, Lisa oversees the entire company strategic and P&L execution. The company has 380 company owned restaurants in the Midwest and East Coast as well as a retail products division that sells White Castle burgers in grocery stores, club stores and convenience stores nationwide. In addition, the company has 5 manufacturing plants that supply all the meat and buns to the restaurant and retail divisions to ensure quality production and food safety.
Prior to joining White Castle in 2000, Lisa worked for a computer supplies wholesale
distributor doing purchasing, new product development and marketing management. Lisa also worked for US Senator John Glenn during a college internship and for Hewlett Packard on a European Channel strategy during her MBA internship.
Lisa is active in the Columbus community and currently serves as Chair of the United
Way of Central Ohio Board and serves on the OhioHealth Board as Chair of Quality of Care Committee. Lisa is also a board member/advisory board member of several smaller companies including Homage, Hot Chicken Takeover, Acre, and Common Cider Company. In addition, Lisa served on the board of the National Restaurant Association for 4 years and is currently a member of the Columbus Partnership.
Lisa received her BBA degree from Southern Methodist University and her MBA
from The Ohio State University. In 2004, Lisa was named by Business First for their
“40 under 40 award”. In 2014, Lisa received the Go Beyond Award from the Fisher
College of Business at the Ohio State University for her contributions to the community. In addition, Lisa was a member of the 2014 Smart50 class honored by
Smart Business Magazine where she also won the Innovation Award. In 2016, Lisa
received the CHART Commitment to People Award, and was honored by Columbus CEO magazine as the 2016 CEO of the Year for large for-profit companies.
In 2017, Lisa received the Honorary Eagle Scout Award and the Golden Chain
Award.

Mr. Flinker is a co-founder and President of FLS. He has served in his position since the Company was founded in 1987. Together with Mr. Di Girolamo, Mr. Flinker manages the firm's day-to-day operations and is actively involved in commercial activities with key customers.

In addition to his responsibilities in the Company and as a member of the Board of Directors of PROCURE, Mr. Flinker sits on the board of the Jewish General Hospital, on the Board of Mount Sinai Hospital and has sat on the boards of Solomon Schechter Academy and the Israel Cancer Research Foundation. He has also been actively involved in the Federation of Combined Jewish Appeal.

Mr. Flinker graduated from Concordia University in 1977 with a B.Comm., majoring in accounting. Mr. Flinker currently resides in Montreal, Canada with his wife and four children.

Michael is a seasoned leader within the world of global management and innovation consulting, with years of experience designing and implementing solutions for early-stage, growth, and Fortune-size companies spanning a multitude of industry and solution domains.

Michael's passion is for seeing great ideas make it into rapidly scaling, commercially successful ventures.

Najeeb Ghauri is the founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of NetSol Technologies, Inc. "NetSol", a U.S. corporation providing global business services and enterprise application solutions to private and public sector organizations worldwide. In the early years of the Company, Mr. Ghauri was responsible for restructuring the company's business model into that of an IT company and was instrumental in the completion of the NetSol Technologies IPO in 1998, at that time NetSol was the first IT Company with operations in Pakistan to be listed on NASDAQ. He also spearheaded the successful listing of NetSol (NTWK) on the NASDAQ Capital Market (formerly known as Mirage Holdings, Inc.) in December 1999.

NetSol grew from just five people to 1,800 employees worldwide. NetSol Pakistan Ltd., a subsidiary of NetSol Technologies, Inc. has over 1500 programmers and engineers in Lahore and Karachi offices. NetSol revenue grew $100K revenue in 1998 to $65MN in 2016 and tracking $100MN by 2017. NetSol has a global footprint with subsidiaries in Pakistan, US, UK, China, Thailand, Germany, Australia and Saudi Arabia. Today, NetSol has nearly 300 plus customers worldwide mostly fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Ghauri was also instrumental in listing NetSol’s Pakistani subsidiary on the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE). In addition, Mr. Ghauri helped establish the first U.S. company listed on both NASDAQ Capital Market (NASDAQ CM: NTWK) and (NASDAQ DUBAI: NTWK).

Mr. Ghauri represented NetSol as he presided over ringing of the bell ceremonies several times on the NASDAQ Exchange platform in New York City. He has been twice nominated in the United States for the Ernst & Young 'Entrepreneur of the Year', once in 2001 and again in 2008.

Prior to launching NetSol in the U.S., Mr. Ghauri had over 15 years of combined marketing and management experience with Fortune 500 companies such as Unilever and Atlantic Richfield Corporation (ARCO). He received his bachelor's degree from Forman Christian College, a B.S from Eastern Illinois University and earned an MBA in marketing from the Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, California.

Mr. Ghauri is also active in various charitable and educational non-governmental organizations (NGOs) worldwide. He is a founding board member of the Pakistan Human Development Fund, which provides educational tools to children in underdeveloped areas of Pakistan. He is also a founding board member and is a former Vice-Chairman of the U.S. Pakistan Business Council in Washington, D.C., a U.S. Chamber of Commerce body and the leading private sector association in the United States promoting trade and investment between the United States and Pakistan.

Mr. Ghauri is a Pakistan born US citizen. He is based in NetSol Technologies Headquarters in Los Angeles, California and Lahore, Pakistan simultaneously.

Patrick J. Brosnan is the founder and CEO of Brosnan Risk Consultants. Mr. Brosnan is a former NYPD detective with extensive field experience in the Robbery/Gun Squad and the Organized Crime Control Bureau.

Mr. Brosnan was selected as the New York State Police Officer of the Year for investigative skills that led to the arrests of over 900 violent criminals and the seizure of over 300 loaded handguns during his career and was heralded by the Governor as a “one-man war on crime in New York City.” He was injured in a line-of-duty shooting and retired from the NYPD as one of the most highly-decorated detectives in the history of the department.

Mr. Brosnan has honed his extensive government experience in fraud detection and prosecution into a unique investigative resource for the private sector. As the CEO of Brosnan Risk Consultants, he oversees all protective and investigative operations for Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, large law firms and high-net worth individuals.

He founded The Brosnan Group in 1996 and the firm transitioned into Brosnan Risk Consultants in 1999 as the client demand for risk mitigation services grew. As Chief Executive Officer of Brosnan Risk Consultants, he has provided a wide range of collaborative consulting, leadership, management and public safety network services to both the public and private sector in the U.S. and abroad. The firm has grown from a local detective agency into a full-service investigative, protective and intelligence firm with a global network of clients. As part of Pat’s vision of creating a truly unique risk mitigation company, he staffed the firm with not just law enforcement veterans but also with experienced investigators from diverse fields including legal, finance, banking and journalism.

Mr. Brosnan holds a Bachelors Degree in English and a Masters Degree in Criminal Justice. Pat joined Fox News in 2004 as an analyst specializing in criminal justice policy and practice, domestic intelligence gathering and the role of local law enforcement in counter-terrorism. His analyses have appeared across the various platforms of Fox News and their digital properties. He presently serves as a frequent guest analyst and subject matter expert on several other news programs including CNN, MSNBC and Inside Edition and has authored numerous articles in the national media on a wide range of public safety subjects.

Paul Lombardo is CEO of Ness Digital Engineering, whose customer experience designers, software engineers and data experts partner with clients to design and build digital platforms that help their organizations engage customers, differentiate their brands, and drive revenue growth.

Paul has more than thirty years of IT services and entrepreneurial experience across business management, delivery, and sales. He has a long and successful track record driving IT-enabled business transformation for clients, working for Tier 1 global companies such as Andersen Consulting, Logica and EDS/Mphasis, as well as early stage, venture-capital backed pursuits. He has also served on the client side, having been head of software development for a leading Insurance industry information company.

Paul has worked and lived across North America, Europe and Asia and considers Ness' truly multi-cultural environment to be one of its greatest strengths. Paul has been with Ness since 2009, growing the European business ten-fold prior to taking on the CEO role for the global business. As Chief Executive, Paul holds end-to-end strategic and operational responsibility for Ness Digital Engineering.

Paul Witkay is the Founder & CEO of the Alliance of Chief Executives. Paul carefully designed the Alliance to
bring CEOs together to enable them to learn faster, make better decisions and move forward with more
confidence.
Paul’s diverse experience ranges from ownership of a highly successful executive search and consulting firm to
senior executive positions for a $7 billion international manufacturing organization. His personal experience in
strategic planning and business management with companies of all sizes has helped to create an incredibly
diverse organization.
Paul began his career in the process industries for Amoco Oil Corporation and Dow Chemical. In 1979, Paul
founded Witkay Associates. Witkay Associates provided professional support to key executives in their search
for a correct match between individual goals and business opportunities.
Subsequent to his development of Witkay Associates, Paul joined Air Liquide Corporation, the world’s leading
producer of industrial gases, where he served in a variety of executive positions. Among Paul’s numerous
responsibilities was the leadership of VitalAire Corporation in the United States. Under Paul’s leadership, the
VitalAire organization was recognized for achieving the highest standards of quality in the industry.
Paul’s undergraduate education was in Chemical Engineering at the University of Illinois. He later received his
MBA from Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. In addition, he is a graduate of the INSEAD Executive
Management program in Fontainebleau, France.
Over the years, Paul’s community activities have included:
 Board of Directors, Junior Achievement
 Board of Directors, Bay Area Council
 Board of Advisors, The Roberts Enterprise Development Fund; “Partners for Profit”
 Board of Trustees, Jurika & Voyles Mutual Fund Group
 Chairman, Private Industry Council for Contra Costa County
 Adaptive Business Leaders Organization

Rich Cohen is President and General Counsel of Corporate Creations International Inc., the 3rd largest Registered Agent. Rich has more than 30 years of legal, business and consulting experience focused on providing the most efficient legal services to clients. Prior to joining Corporate Creations, Rich served as a Managing Director of Duff & Phelps and President of RenewData Corp. He has also held senior positions with The Garden City Group and LexisNexis, and he has served as General Counsel of Ohio Power and Columbus Southern Power.

Rich has been recognized as an AV Preeminent rated attorney every year since
1998. Rich serves on the Corporate Counsel Advisory Board of The Metropolitan Corporate Counsel and as Editor in Chief of The Electricity Journal. He is a recipient of the Corporate Legal Times Distinguished Legal Service Award. He has served as President of Association of Corporate Counsel Central Ohio, on the Board of Advisors for Bryan University, and as Co-Chair of the Mass Tort Subcommittee of American Bankruptcy Institute and is currently President of B’nai Aviv Synagogue in Weston, Florida.

Rich is a member of Ohio State Bar and Authorized House Counsel in Florida. He graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo and from University of Akron School of Law. Rich and his family reside in Weston, Florida.