Samuel J. Agresti

Director
Brady Ware & Company

Sam joined Brady Ware as partner in 2006. He leads the firm’s Dealership Services team, working with dealerships to decrease their tax burden, maximize tax benefits, streamline processes and financial reporting, increase profits, prevent fraud and expand operations to new markets. He links these services with overall tax, audit and strategic planning initiatives to help clients realize financial rewards across their businesses.

Steve Bennett

Market President
U.S. Bank

Steve has led the region as U.S. Bank’s senior executive since 2016. He has more than 27 years of experience in banking. As head of U.S. Bank’s Commercial Banking Group in the greater Columbus area, Steve focuses on helping middle-market clients work toward their goals and meet their financial and operational needs. In addition, he leads the local U.S. Bank Foundation.

Benton Bodamer

Member
Dickinson Wright PLLC

Ben is a corporate transactional attorney who has represented a wide range of public and private companies and many of the leading international private equity sponsors. He has significant experience advising clients on domestic and cross-border M&A, leveraged buyouts, joint ventures, minority investments, divestitures and restructurings. Ben also is an adjunct professor at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and serves on the board of NoticeAbility and the advisory board of Calmer Choice.

Andrew Bojko

Partner
Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP

Andy is a partner in the firm’s Commercial Finance & Banking Practice Group and advises lenders, administrative agents and borrowers in matters involving middle-market debt financings, broadly syndicated debt financings, asset-based lending, ESOP financings, mezzanine debt and acquisition financings. Andy also handles a variety of real estate matters, with a particular emphasis on construction and permanent loans, leasing, and acquisitions and divestitures.

Frank Capella

Founding Partner
Oxer Capital

Frank is founding partner of Oxer. By partnering with community banks as investors and obtaining additional capital through the SBA, Oxer has invested in over 28 companies since 2016. Capella originates and manages portfolio companies , in addition, to sitting on Oxer's investment committee, and has been involved in financing middle market companies for more than 30 years.

Hugh Cathey

CEO
ChromoCare

Prior to serving as CEO of ChromoCare since 2016, Hugh was part of eight successive early-stage technology companies. Hugh has been an active angel investor and taken leadership roles in many of these companies. Earlier, Hugh served as president of two publicly traded telecom companies.

Pete Cerar

Senior Vice President, Resident Sales Director
Aon

Peter is a senior vice president and resident sales director for Ohio at Aon Risk Services, responsible for the Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati offices. His responsibilities include working with Aon’s corporate leadership team to identify growth areas and developing strategic plans to execute upon the opportunities across the three pillars of the firm — risk, retirement and health. He is also responsible for managing Aon’s executive relationships with many of the firm’s middle-market and large multinational clients.

Sarah Chambers

Partner
Thompson Hine

Sarah is a partner in the firm's Corporate Transactions & Securities practice group. She counsels clients in a wide variety of areas, including: Mergers, acquisitions and reorganizations; Commercial agreements; Entity formation, organization and governance; Executive employment and separations; Equity and equity-based compensation; Capital raising and financing activities.

Sarah's experience includes negotiating and drafting transactional documents, primarily on behalf of private companies, as well as advising on various complex corporate issues, including governance matters. In addition, Sarah regularly works with insurance companies on corporate, regulatory and government relations matters.

Darci L. Congrove

Managing Director
GBQ Partners LLC

Darci joined GBQ in 1998, became a partner in 2003 and was elected managing director in 2010. Prior to joining the firm, Darci worked in the tax practices of two regional firms. Her client base is primarily closely-held businesses and their owners, and real estate companies. Darci is on the boards of the Columbus-Franklin County Finance Authority and the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.

Norm Cook

Executive Vice President of Corporate Development
Sequoia Financial Group

Norm is executive vice president of corporate development at Sequoia Financial Group. Previously, he was president and CEO of Wealthstone Advisers and led Banc One/JPMorgan’s Institutional Investment Group, where he oversaw a team responsible for advising over $250 billion in assets. He also served as director at One Group Global Funds and director of JPMorgan Asset Management (UK) Ltd. and was on Banc One’s Investment Advisors’ Board of Directors and its Investment Policy Committee and Investment Management Group Risk & Policy Committee.

Scot C. Crow

Member and General Corporate, M&A and Private Equity Practice Group Chair
Dickinson Wright PLLC

Scot manages the firm’s corporate, M&A, private equity, securities and tax practices, and is also the head of the cannabis group, which consists of more than 40 attorneys throughout the U.S. and Canada. He has extensive experience in corporate, mergers and acquisitions and tax law and has served as lead counsel in mergers and acquisitions, private equity investments, private offerings, venture capital financings, mezzanine debt offerings, divestitures and other related financial transactions, in a number of industry sectors, including the cannabis industry.

Josh Curtis

Managing Director
Footprint Capital

Josh works with business leaders on ownership transactions and liquidity events, including sell-side and buy-side engagements and transactions, such as management buyouts, succession and exit planning, ESOP formations, capital sourcing and leveraged recaps. Prior to leading Footprint Capital, Josh was vice president at Insource Spend Management Group. He led Insource through two synergistic acquisitions and ultimately, its sale.

Matt Davis

CO-founder, CEO & Community Orchestrator
COhatch

COhatch was born out of Matt’s desire to merge his business energy and talent with his calling to help the least, the last and the lost. He develops innovative brands and business models that also sustainably support the community. Previously, he was vice president of Business Excellence for Velocys, ran a large business unit for Parker Hannifin, designed and implemented new manufacturing plants for Honda and was a consultant for Arthur Andersen.

Dirk Defenbaugh

Partner
VENN Growth Collective

For over thirty years, Dirk has been involved with developing marketing and brand strategies with some of the world’s leading brands. He has held account strategy leadership roles with many agencies, and has worked in the retail, CPG, restaurant, healthcare and service brand sectors. His client experience includes: P&G, Starbucks, Cooper’s Hawk Restaurant, Wal-Mart, Ohio Health, and many others. Dirk has held senior leadership roles in agencies such as Interbrand, Fitch, Kantar Retail and Retail Planning Associates. Dirk serves on the Board of Directors for FST Logistics based in Columbus, Ohio

Cindi Englefield

Owner
Englefield Business Advisors LLC

Cindi helps small business owners start up, grow, right-size or prepare to sell their businesses. She founded and grew her educational publishing business over 20 years until its sale in 2011. Cindi is involved with the OhioHealth Hospice, Red Cross, Healthy LifeStars® and the Women’s Small Business Accelerator. She is a member of the X-Squared Angels investment group.

Girish Gowda

CEO
SteepGraph Corporation

An Engineer with proven expertise in launching and scaling start-up technology companies, entering new markets, selling & marketing services and well versed in International Business Development. Created startups and managed a successful exit. Specialties: Scaling Start-ups in Technology Services, Unlock potential via M&A, Business Development & Leveraging Global Delivery.

Jeremy Gutierrez

Commercial Banking Executive - S.V.P.
Fifth Third Bank

Jeremy serves as the Senior Commercial Banking Executive responsible for the Central Ohio region. In his role, Jeremy is responsible for leading the Commercial efforts of the bank in Central Ohio, West Virginia, and Greater Pittsburgh (PA), This entails direct responsibility for the strategy, execution, performance and community and economic development efforts of the team in the region.

Lee M. Koury

Managing Partner
Smart Business Network Inc.

Lee is managing partner of Smart Business Network Inc., a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Aspire deal-making conference throughout the U.S. He plays a key role in establishing corporate policies and developing long-term strategy and growth plans. Previously, he founded and chaired the Growth Group at national law firm Arter & Hadden LLP (now Tucker, Ellis & West), which focused on working with middle-market and high-growth technology companies. 

Mike McCann

SVP, Corporate Partner
Rev1 Ventures

Mike has spent more than a decade in venture-backed startups, new product launches, and in venture development helping entrepreneurs and corporate innovators connect and grow. As Chief Business Development Officer, Mike works closely with hundreds of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders across industries to make connections and deliver innovation programs that drive strategic impacts and growth.

Mary McCarthy

Co-founder & President
Women's Small Business Accelerator

Mary has 20+ years of experience as an entrepreneur and is the owner and founder of YMT Consultants, Inc., a business consulting and development firm. McCarthy is the former Chairperson of SCORE Columbus, sat on the Athena PowerLink Governing Body, sits on the programming committee for the Westerville Chamber, and public policy committee for National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Columbus Chapter. She is a former member of the now-retired Ohio Department of Development’s Small Business Advisory Council. In 2018, Mary was hired as the WSBA’s president. Her leadership and passion for the organization and its mission cannot be matched. She plans to take the organization to the next level and beyond.

Mark Slayman

Senior Vice President, Commercial Region Manager
The Huntington National Bank

Mark is a 30 year veteran of the commercial banking industry in Columbus, Ohio who recently joined Huntington to lead it's middle market commercial banking efforts there. The entirety of his career has been dedicated to helping local businesses grow through the provision and sourcing of capital, the streamlining of payment systems, and the mitigation of financial risk.

Robert A. Smith

President
Armada Waste - OH

With over 32 years of solid waste and recycling experience, Rob has successfully led teams as small as 7 and as large as 1300 to increased sales and profits, cost controls, and process improvements which have resulted in consistent advancement in profits, safety, compliance, customer service and operational efficiencies. After time as a District Manager, Market Area GM, and Area Vice President, Rob started his own company, from scratch which has grown over the past 10 years to become Armada Waste, a regional force in the Solid Waste and Recycling business, spanning 5 locations across Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky with a current annual run-rate of nearly $40 million.

Jeff Sopp

CEO
Kensington Hill Partners

Jeff leads Kensington Hill Partners, a board of directors and corporate growth advisory firm, which concentrates on five business competencies: board advisory services, private equity investments, business consulting, executive search and sales advisory services. Its focus and expertise is on mid-market and entrepreneurial companies with high-growth potential. With offices in Columbus, Ohio, Jeff supports and invests in companies throughout the Midwest.

Catherine Strauss

Managing Partner
Ice Miller

Catherine Strauss is the Managing Partner of Ice Miller's Columbus office. She is also an adviser and advocate for employers with workforces in Ohio and nationally. She is also a skilled coach to human resource professionals and business executives. Preferring practical outcomes based on a keen knowledge of the law and common sense judgment, Catherine is an effective adviser in managing risks and conflict avoidance.

When disputes are unavoidable, Catherine is a tenacious trial attorney, having successfully represented employers and businesses in all types of legal proceedings, both in Ohio and nationally.

Finally, Catherine serves as a neutral investigator in all types of matters involving or impacting employees.

Sharon "Sheri" Tackett

President
Bluebird Consulting Group (formerly CEO, Delta Energy)

An entrepreneur, energy industry executive and consultant, Sheri founded Delta Energy in 2003 and grew the business, both organically and through acquisition, into one of the largest privately held companies in Central Ohio. Delta exceeded $1 billion in sales before being sold to Hess Corp. in 2012. Sheri formed Delta Energy Services to provide energy management consulting for large energy consumers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, South America and Australasia, and ultimately sold the company to Edison International in 2015.

Faith Voinovich

Principal
Ohio Innovation Fund

Faith Voinovich is a Principal at Ohio Innovation Fund where she focuses on Life Sciences and MedTech investments. Her current board and board observer responsibilities include Invirsa, Clarametyx, DatAnchor, and RXQ Compounding. Dedicated to cultivating the next generation of diverse venture investors, Faith also serves as a mentor for the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) Venture Forward program and an executive board member at VentureUP.

Andrew Vollmer

Managing Director
BellMark Partners, LLC

Andy is Managing Director and Co-CEO of Bellmark Partners, LLC, and head of the firm’s Cleveland office. Andy has 30 years of investment banking experience, having personally completed well over 100 M&A, special committee, and board advisory assignments. Previously, he was with KeyBanc Capital Markets, where he was head of the sponsor coverage, consumer & retail, and M&A investment banking groups.

Fred Vorys

Founder & Principal
Aegis Advisors

Fred has made non-control investments and served as financial advisor during the last 33 years, currently as Founder & Principal at Aegis Advisors and previously as a Managing Director with Banc One Capital Markets/Banc One Capital Partners. He has been involved in recapitalization, growth financing, and m&a transactions totaling over $2.0 billion in value and direct investments cumulatively yielding a 35+% IRR.

John Watkins

Principal
COhatch Regional Development Ventures, LLC

John has 35+ years of experience building world-class organizations in Asia and the United States. He is currently a co-principal of COhatch Regional Development Ventures, LLC, the development arm of COhatch. Previously, John held China-, Asia- and global-CEO positions at VOID Asia (Disney-backed), CRH plc, ASC Fine Wines, AVIAGE Systems (a GE company), Cummins Inc. and Northwest Airlines. John was twice elected chairman of The American Chamber of Commerce in China and was active in US-China commercial relations for three decades.

John was “employee #1” at two companies during his corporate career that later created $1 billion+ in value. An active business leader and community builder, John also served as Chairman of the Beijing International Christian Fellowship and of Airline Representatives in China.

Will Zell

Founder & CEO; Executive Chairman
Zell Capital; Nikola Labs

Will has founded three technology companies in addition to building successful real estate and retail ventures over the past 14 years. He is deeply passionate about seeing startups succeed, serving for a time as the Managing Director of a startup accelerator. Will draws from a broad range of experience in communications, organizational development, leadership, brand development and innovation. He brings drive and passion to the Nikola Labs team.  Will was honored at the White House as top entrepreneur under 30 as part of Empact100 list and was also received the 2019 BizTech Executive of the Year award by Columbus Business First.

Dean Zody

Founder and CEO
GhostWave Inc.

Dean Zody is a business-oriented Global Operations Leader with an engineering background delivering innovative solutions with measurable growth and profitability. Accomplished background in start-ups, cost reduction initiatives, and operations management in telecommunications, chemical and consumer product. Multiple disciplines include operations, supply chain, procurement, and logistics. Strong database and data analytical skills. In 2016, he founded GhostWave, commercializing patents from Ohio State University.