Committee

Sloan is SVP at Kanbrick, is a long‐term investment partnership that buys, builds, and grows great businesses for the long‐term. Sloan is located in Nashville and spent the previous 13 years of her career with Bank of America in various roles between Nashville and Charlotte. Most recently, Sloan was an SVP, Private Client Advisor with BofA’s Private Bank working with high-net-worth families and individuals, and prior to that worked in the Global Commercial Bank serving upper middle market companies between $50M to $2B in sales.

In leading Kanbrick Community efforts, Sloan focuses on building and growing Kanbrick's network of founders/CEOs/owners and bringing thoughtful content, programming, and opportunities for the Community to engage and connect. Sloan also leads business development for Kanbrick working closely with partners equally focused on helping CEOs, entrepreneurs, and founders grow and build businesses for the long term.

Jim Aylward is a veteran entrepreneur, investor, and board member with a distinguished record of building, scaling, and exiting healthcare SaaS companies. In the last ten years, he completed three healthcare tech exits, showing his skill in spotting market opportunities and creating value for investors and customers. Jim founded and led Sy.Med Development, a credentialing software company acquired by HealthStream;MedCenterDisplay, a digital patient engagement and marketing platform sold to PatientPoint;and Preferral, a physician referral management solution acquired by AristaMD.

Sheila Bangalore is an executive with global business experience spanning public and private multinational technology (B2B/C), and specialty materials businesses over nearly 20 years.

Since February 2022, Ms. Bangalore has served as a Venture Partner at Springtide Ventures, a venture capital firm focused on investment in cutting-edge healthcare technology businesses. She also served as an independent director and member of the first class of directors for McLaren Technology Acquisition Corp.

Ms. Bangalore also serves as Co-Chair of the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors for the International Institute for Conflict Prevention and Resolution, a non-profit organization promoting the prevention and resolution of conflict, and on the Governance and Strategic Planning Committees of the Board of Directors for the United Way of Southern Nevada.

Previously, from April 2020 to May 2021, Ms. Bangalore served as Chief Strategy Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of MP Materials, a regulated specialty materials company she helped take public in 2020.

Ms. Bangalore received her B.A. in Literature from Tufts University, her J.D. from the Washington University in St. Louis, and her MBA with a concentration in Finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Salman joined Edison Partners in 2024 and is involved in business development operations, focusing on investment development and sourcing within the Fintech, Enterprise Software, and Healthcare IT sectors. Prior to joining Edison, Salman worked at Endeavour Capital on their business development team focusing on deal origination across a variety of industries. Prior thereto, he was on the business development team at Marlin Equity Partners. Salman started his career at Harvey & Company where he originated and evaluated investment opportunities for middle-market private equity firms and strategic buyers.

Belew has more than 30 years of professional experience with companies including Arthur Andersen, Hitachi Consulting, and Alvarez & Marsal.  She is the founder and CEO of a property development business and is a certified executive coach.  Belew volunteers her time providing executive coaching for the YWCA and Nashville Cares, and is a member of the Nashville Rotary Club and the Nashville branch of the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO).

Daven Bond is a business development partner for Vistage worldwide, serving the South Region. He is a business owner, entrepreneur, and former professional athlete that specializes in team building, culture and organizational leadership. Before joining the Vistage team, Daven spent 15 years as a college coach and over 20 years as a professional baseball scout, as well as founding several businesses and serving as CEO, COO, and Partner.

Judith Byrd is a seasoned executive with experience in business, government, trade association, health policy and journalism. Most recently, she was Director of Community and GR for Ardent Health Services, Executive Director for Healthcare for Waller, Lansden, Dortch and Davis and Senior Policy Advisor for Healthcare for Nashville Mayor David Briley. Previously she served in policy and communications roles with 180 Health Partners, the Nashville Health Care Council, Hall Strategies, the American Cancer Society, the Massachusetts State Senate, and the Alliance for Health Reform in Washington, DC. She began her career in journalism working for publications in Washington and London, England. She holds a B.A. in Journalism from Samford University.

Milt Capps covers business, capital formation, innovation, tech transfer, economic development and associated DEI/Equity issues via Venture Nashville, founded 2008. Earlier, he held journalistic, public affairs and other roles with Mergermarket, Vanderbilt University, United Press International, Charleston Evening Post, Manning Selvage & Lee, U.S. Air Force (Vietnam), and others.

Kathy Casey is a proven CEO, founder, general manager, and commercial leader with over 30 years of experience in the consumer-packaged goods industry, spanning both blue-chip companies and entrepreneurial ventures. Her leadership roles include senior executive positions at Procter & Gamble, Kellogg Company, and the CEO and founder of Simply Better Brands/TRUBAR, a publicly traded CPG wellness platform. At Kellogg, she led a $2B P&L across Club, Drug, Dollar, Discount, and eCommerce channels. Today, Kathy focuses on mentoring and consulting with entrepreneurs on scaling brands and companies via Green Peaks, LLC.

Matt Craine is a Principal at Upside Growth Partners. Founded in 2018, Upside is a private equity firm focused on building excellent business services, home services, healthcare, e-commerce, and technology companies. Previously, Matt spent eight years MSouth Equity Partners and Simpson Thacher as a principal investor and corporate lawyer.

Innovator in Global Digital Business Transition. Ability to assess current business value certain, value transfer and pricing, and digitally transform to increase value through building and/or connecting eco-system with a platform based approach. Able to create and communicate a clear vision to align with and aneble business objectives through technical execution.

Tracey combines operating, M&A, and investment experience across public companies and private ventures. She founded 90North Partners, a buy-side firm with over $2B in middle-market transaction value. She also launched a venture fund backing early-stage technology companies. Previously Chief Digital Officer at a global consultancy nearing a $1B market cap. She serves on multiple boards.

As Founder and CEO of the Foreword Companies, Waynehas pioneered innovative solutions in the constructions supply industry through their portfolio of e-commerce businesses. With their impressive year-over-year growth, the Foreword Companies has earned recognition including the 2024 EY Southeast Entrepreneur of the Year Award and consecutive ACG Roaring 20 Awards in 2023 and 2024.

Wayne is also a philanthropist committed to giving back though the Foreword Foundation – a 501c3 who dedicates a portion of revenue to support important causes including homeless shelters, hunger relief, anti-human trafficking initiatives, military transition programs, and disaster relief efforts. This commitment to faith-based philanthropy remains central to the Forward Companies’ mission.

Shan Foster is a dynamic and influential leader, widely recognized for his transformative work in fostering healthy solutions to diversity issues. As the Co-Founder and CEO of Fostering Healthy Solutions, LLC, he spearheads initiatives that tackle diversity challenges through education, training, and execution. Shan's multifaceted experience spans various sectors, including entertainment, financial services, technology, media, environmental services, and law enforcement.

Brian Fox, CPA, MBA, CGMA, is the creator and founder of both the Confirmation.com and Rivio.com services and received the first seven patents granted on electronic audit confirmations. He sold his businesses to ThomsonReuters in 2019 and today he is a Managing Partner with Rockmont Partners where he invests in and serves on the Board or Advisory Board to many start-ups, early-stage businesses and investment firms. Prior to selling his businesses, Brian was the President of Confirmation.com and a former Adjunct Professor at Vanderbilt University. He was a Board member of Rivio.com, the joint-venture between the AICPA and Confirmation.com which created the first Edgar type secure clearinghouse for CPA firms and their private company clients for the exchange of validated financial statements in the U.S. Brian was instrumental at both the national and international level for getting electronic audit confirmations written into the world’s auditing standards. With 16 oices in 15 countries around the world, Confirmation.com processed more than $1 trillion of confirmation data for more than 2 million customers in over 180 countries having transformed the audit confirmation space. When Confirmation.com sold it was doing $52M in annual revenue with a 36% annual growth rate.

Brian is a four-time winner of the 100 Most Inluential People in Accounting and is a five-time winner of the accounting profession’s “Top 40 Under 40 CPA in America.” He is also recognized as one of Nashville’s Power 100. Brian previously worked in Dallas at Ernst & Young in the audit group and then in mergers and acquisitions for PriceWaterhouseCoopers.

Confirmation.com, which has been ranked #96 and #169 on the Inc. 500 list, was on the Inc. 5000 list for 10 years, won the highest award in accounting software – the Tax & Accounting Innovation Award, the Reader’s Choice Award, the Top New Audit Product, the Quality Award for Tax & Accounting Software, the Next Award, the Best in Business Award, the Fast 50, Future 50, the Hot 100 among many other honors.

Brian is a nationally recognized speaker on financial fraud and auditing standards and has appeared on Fox Business News, Business News Network and MarketsWiki TV. He has articles and quotes in the Financial Times, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, Fortune, New York Times, Compliance Week, CNBC, The CPA Journal, and many more. Brian is a member of the AICPA where he served as a member of the Task Force for the Future and is a member of The Tennessee Society of CPA’s.

Brian enjoys investing in start-up and growth stage businesses where he can mentor the next generation of entrepreneurs. He is also a venture partner with two venture investment funds: Caduceus Capital and Valor Ventures which only makes investments in minority and female own businesses.

Brian is on the Advisory Board for Southern Methodist University’s Masters In Accountancy Program, and served as a mentor in the Inc. 500 Military Entrepreneurs Mentor Program. Brian also serves on the Board of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, is a founding member of Nashville’s Project FinTech and is on the Advisory Board for the Nashville Capital Network. He is also a member of the 2022 Leadership Nashville class. Brian was selected to meet with the Chairman of the Federal Reserve on High Growth Businesses in the Southeast and he served on the Partnership 2010 Entrepreneurship Task Force for the Nashville Chamber of Commerce which created the Nashville Entrepreneur Center. Brian served on the Boards of the Nashville Shakespeare Festival and The Contributor, an award winning newspaper sold with dignity by those climbing out of homelessness. He serves on the Advisory Boards at Cumberland Heights and the Alumni Council for Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business. He has served as a Deacon at West End Community Church (PCA), on the Board of the Greenhills YMCA, the Chairman of capital campaigns for both West End Community Church and The Oak Hill School, and is the Past President of the Brentwood Academy Alumni Association.

Brian completed his MBA at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management with a dual concentration in Finance and Electronic Commerce where he served as President of the Student Body and received a BBA in Accounting from Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business where he was Chairman of the SMU Judicial Board. He went to Brentwood Academy in Nashville, TN where he served as the Student Body President. He is also an Eagle Scout having won the National Outstanding Eagle Scout Award in 2023 and enjoys adventure activities. Brian is married with five children, one of whom he and his wife Megan adopted.

Mr. Gibbs is a Managing Partner at Altitude Ventures.  Prior to this role, he identified and managed early-stage equity investments at Clayton Associates.  Mr. Gibbs serves on numerous for-profit and not-for-profit boards.  Before joining Clayton Associates, he served as an aide to President George W. Bush at The White House. Mr. Gibbs recently received the Governor Winfield Dunn Award for philanthropic leadership.  He received his undergraduate degree in Economics from Vanderbilt University.

Paul Goldman is the Founder and CEO of Muserk, a Nashville-based music administration platform that ensures global royalty accuracy for music rights holders. A four-time Inc. 5000 honoree, he is also the founder of Blue Matter, Muserk's patented AI technology that powers precise, scalable rights management and royalty collection. With over 30 years in the industry, Paul is dedicated to innovating solutions that meet the evolving needs of music and media.

Leah is a Director at Claritas Capital, where she expands the firm’s equity relationships and drives long‑term growth across its venture capital and private equity strategies. With 20 years in business development, she brings a balanced perspective shaped by working with both operators and investors.

Before Claritas, Leah led business development for Insperity Nashville and previously built Her Story of Success, facilitating high‑impact events and hosting a global podcast featuring women leaders worldwide.

She leads the Steering Committee of WAVE Nashville, mentors entrepreneurs through Corner to Corner, and has served with organizations including YWCA Nashville, The Tomorrow Fund, and Hands On Nashville. Leah is a recipient of the CABLE Spirit of Leadership Award and a Nashville Emerging Leader finalist.

Blake Hogan is the CEO of Nashville Door, a company with a 50-year heritage founded by WWII Navy Veteran L.W. Loyd. Nashville Door was recently acquired and is backed by Cobalt Service Partners, a private equity firm. Prior to this role, Hogan served as a Marine Officer and was the CEO of Bunker Labs, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping veterans and military spouses start and grow their businesses. Bunker Labs has supported nearly 100,000 entrepreneurs over ten years before being acquired by Syracuse University. Additionally, Hogan serves as a Senior Advisor for the Milken Institute and is an appointee to the Governor's Tri-Stars and Stripes Council.

M. Eric Johnson is the Bruce D. Henderson Professor at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. His teaching and research focus on digital strategies and the impact of information technology on the extended enterprise. In addition to his academic research, Johnson has consulted with global companies such as Accenture, Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Oracle, and Philips Healthcare.

Michael Johnson, Managing Director at Hyde Park Capital, advises mid-market companies on M&A, capital raises, and strategic transactions. He co-founded CAVU Capital, later acquired by Hyde Park in 2022. With experience as a CFO, board member, and investment banker, he brings expertise in strategy, finance, and deal execution, driving value through collaboration and innovative solutions.

Lee is managing director of Smart Business Network LLC, a national events, media and marketing company founded in 1989, primarily responsible for expanding the company’s Dealmakers Conferences 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. 

Chloe is a seasoned business development and sales leader with over a decade of experience driving revenue growth, client acquisition, and strategic account management across the technology, human capital, and professional services sectors. Currently serving as Business Development Manager at Frazier & Deeter, she leads business development initiatives, cultivates strategic client relationships, and drives growth for the firm.

Prior to this role, she spent six years at ADP in progressively senior positions, including CPA District Manager III for Major Accounts, District Manager II, and District Manager, where she consistently exceeded performance goals, achieving FY'24 Top CPA DM Southland Region, 100% of Plan, and FY'22 Highest Percentage of Plan.

Braden Martini is a Partner and Private Wealth Advisor with The Evelo|Singer|Sullivan|Bruegge Group within Merrill's Private Wealth Management division. The Group is a nationally recognized private wealth advisory team serving senior-level public company executives, private business owners and ultra high net worth families across the country.

Rod McDaniel is the Chief Executive Officer of S3 Recycling Solutions, one of the fastest‐growing private companies in America. Since 2016, S3 has seen exponential growth with revenues increasing by more than 1,900 %.

A native of Nashville, Rod comes from humble beginnings and was raised by a single mother in public housing. Rod serves on the Board of Directors of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, Nashville Technology Council and Tennessee Environmental Council. Rod was named Nashville Post InCharge List 2023, one of Nashville Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and a finalist of the Nashville Chamber of Commerce Emerging Leader Award. He was named one of NBJ’s 2021 & 2022 Most Admired CEOs in Middle Tennessee, NBJ’s 2022 Power 100 List and as of 2023 has made the Inc. 5000 list three consecutive years.

Rod is married to his High School sweetheart, Antonia McDaniel. They are proud parents of RJ, Nathan and Gabrielle.

Laurel Orley is the CEO and Co-founder of Daily Crunch Snacks, one of the fastest-growing brands in better-for-you snacking and an Inc. 5000 honoree. After 15 years leading media and marketing for global giants like Unilever, Diageo, and Hasbro (including the iconic Dove Campaign for Real Beauty.) Laurel pivoted into entrepreneurship to reimagine what healthy snacking could look and taste like. Inspired by a family recipe rooted in Ayurvedic tradition, she launched Daily Crunch in 2020 and scaled it into 16,000+ retail locations, including a national launch with Whole Foods in 2024.

Frank advises public and private companies in a broad range of transactional, corporate governance and securities matters. Over the course of his career, he has completed more than $25.0 billion worth of mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies across various industries including healthcare and manufacturing, among others.

With 15 years of healthcare SaaS leadership experience at HealthStream, Kayla brings valuable expertise in healthcare technology, employee engagement, and workforce retention. At Knowwn, she leads initiatives focused on transforming how organizations recognize, appreciate, and retain their people.

David joined Council Capital in 2023 and leads the firm’s deal origination efforts. His responsibilities include developing investment themes, sourcing and evaluating investment opportunities, and managing intermediary relationships.

Prior to joining Council, David was a Director at Serent Capital, a private equity firm based in San Francisco, where he focused on sourcing investment opportunities in the HCIT space. Before Serent, David worked for Global Healthcare Advisors, an M&A advisory focused on the healthcare services space.

Kevin Robb leads Partnership Development for Seven Hills Capital, where he focuses on theme development, origination, industry coverage, and value creation through M&A for Seven Hills Partner Companies.

Having spent almost a decade in healthcare services, his expertise spans M&A, strategic planning, due diligence, integration, and managed care functions for middle-market companies.

Prior to joining Seven Hills, Kevin was the Vice President of Business Development for PhyNet Dermatology, managing national acquisition efforts for the 100+ clinic, 300+ provider MSO. He started his career as a CPA with Capital One and has been healthcare focused ever since joining the Healthcare Transaction Advisory Team within Berkeley Research Group. Kevin is originally from Winchester, VA and holds a BBA and MS in accountancy from James Madison University. Outside of Seven Hills, Kevin enjoys chasing around his two young boys, reading, playing golf, and seeing live music.

Drew Rodgers is a Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking at First Horizon Bank in Nashville, TN. Drew joined First Horizon (formerly known as First Tennessee Bank) as a Commercial Relationship Manager in April of 2010 and currently serves as a Team Leader in the Commercial Banking Department, serving companies in the Middle Tennessee and Southern Kentucky area with annual revenue greater than $30,000,000.

Drew’s 21 year banking career has been focused on managing relationships with middle market businesses with complex credit and depository needs, including sponsor owned and rapidly growing businesses, and now leads a team of 4 of the best Commercial bankers in the Southeast.

Prior to beginning a career in banking, Drew attended Millsaps College in Jackson, MS where he earned his Masters of Business Administration (Concentration in Management) and received his undergraduate degree from Auburn University with a B.S.B.A in Management Information Systems.

Mr. Rousos is currently a founder of The Innovation Studio, a venture studio that starts, scales, and sells startup companies. Prior to that, he was the Director, Economic and New Venture Development, in the Vanderbilt Center for Technology Transfer and Commercialization. That group launches and supports new companies in which Vanderbilt holds equity resulting from a license or a direct investment.

Mr. Rousos is also an investor, an entrepreneur, and has served on a number of for-profit, non-profit, and trade association boards of directors.

Prior to that, Mr. Rousos served in senior level business and legal positions with large companies and startups and practiced law. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

Nicole works with clients and their companies in all stages of the company life. She focuses her practice on corporate transactions, including formation and governance, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructurings. She works closely with her clients to help them feel comfortable and educated about the legal aspect of their projects. Nicole helps them through drafting and negotiating contracts, contract review and analysis, asset and stock purchase agreements, due diligence, and entity formation.

Shalin Tejani, co-founder and CEO of Legacy Dental Group (LDG), is revolutionizing dentistry in East Tennessee. He focuses on doctor support, staff culture, patient care and has ambitiously grown LDG by acquiring six practices in four years. A serial entrepreneur, Shalin's background also includes over $1.5 billion in commercial real estate financing, owning and managing a significant e-commerce retailer, and founding a hospitality equity fund. He is passionate about building relationships and fostering growth. Shalin, married to Niti Tejani, enjoys family life with their three children in Chattanooga, TN.

Whitney Williams is the CFO and Partner at Beliade Consumer Partners. BCP invests in early-stage consumer brands across the U.S. She brings over two decades of experience spanning accounting, finance, and operations across both private and public companies. At Beliade, she oversees financial strategy, investor relations, and operational execution, building on prior roles at Och Ziff, Tishman Speyer, and Lendlease, where she advised on complex tax strategies and helped launch major real estate and investment initiatives across the U.S.

Craig York serves as Chief Executive Officer for Copperweld. With 30 years of experience in manufacturing and 15 years in the wire and cable industry, Craig brought proven leadership and fresh opportunities to Copperweld. Throughout his career he has successfully built strong leadership teams and led the development of new products. His diligent focus on execution is contagious from the top down.