Abbey Bricker

Certified Business Performance Advisor
Insperity

As a trusted advisor and growth strategist, Abbey Bricker partners with small to mid-size businesses to help them attract and retain top talent, reduce the time they spend on administrative tasks, improve employee engagement and reduce and gain better control of healthcare benefits.

Ryan Clark

Co-Founder & CEO
PeopleShare, LLC

Ryan is among the most respected leaders in the staffing industry, known for his fierce commitment to providing outstanding customer service and his tenacious pursuit of excellence. His experience includes over twenty years in staffing as well as extensive experience in sales and sales management. Ryan spent seven years working at PDI, the world’s largest contract sales organization supporting the pharmaceutical industry, where he was continuously recognized as a top performer and was promoted several times.

In 2003, Ryan was hired by a major Dallas-based staffing company where he made significant contributions. Within three months, Ryan turned the unprofitable office into one of the most profitable offices in the company. In 2005, Ryan co-founded PeopleShare, a regional staffing firm dedicated to placing candidates in light industrial, administrative and clerical positions. Ryan’s vision was to create a staffing company that provides employees and customers the opportunity to achieve their goals and enhance their overall success. Having the expertise, industry experience, and resources to recruit the best talent for each and every opportunity have been a critical factor in PeopleShare’s success.

Ryan’s determination, drive and talent have propelled PeopleShare into the fastest growing staffing firm in Pennsylvania with 16 locations throughout PA, NJ and DE. Since their first year of eligibility in 2007, PeopleShare has been named “Best Places to Work” by the Philadelphia Business Journal every year and named to the Inc.500/5000 list. In 2015, PeopleShare exceeded $100MM in annual revenue and was acquired by Trivest, a Private Equity firm based in Coral Gables, Florida.

Denise Devine

Co-Founder, CAO, and CFO
RTM Vital Signs

David Dunstan

Managing Director
Citizens Bank M&A Advisory

David co-founded Western Reserve Partners in 2004, which was acquired by Citizens in 2017, and has more than 25 years of experience advising middle market companies in mergers and acquisitions and capital raising across a wide range of industries. Prior to co-founding Western Reserve Partners, he was a Managing Director at KeyBanc Capital Markets and Manager of Consumer Investment Banking at McDonald Investments. David started his career at Ernst & Young, where he provided financial consulting and audit services to middle market companies.

Benjamin Greenfeld

Partner & Chief Investment Officer
Waldron Private Wealth

Ben is a Partner and Chief Investment Officer at Waldron Private Wealth. He leads the vision, strategy and implementation of the investment department and is deeply involved in all aspects of our goal-based investment management approach. He also oversees the development of customized investment strategies for all Waldron clients, ensuring that allocations are aligned with each client's unique goals. He works directly with clients to seamlessly integrate asset allocations within their overall planning strategy and provide comprehensive wealth advisory services.

Betsy Hamm

CEO
Duck Donuts

Betsy Hamm, oversees the overall direction of the organization and leads the development of the company’s long- and short-term goals and strategic initiatives. She is committed to building and protecting the 100+ unit growing franchise brand by generating awareness and driving revenue. She works alongside her team to identify and provide the necessary tools and resources to ensure franchisees achieve ultimate profitability and success. In her previous role as chief operating officer, she oversaw operations, marketing and business development, focusing on product development and daily operations. Prior to being named chief operation officer, she served as the marketing director.

Betsy joined Duck Donuts with 15 years’ experience as the marketing director for Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, a world-class entertainment and hospitality company that owns and operates many of the sweet attractions, resorts, and entertainment venues across Hershey, Pennsylvania. Betsy serves on the Board of Harrisburg’s Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) and Central Penn College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Master of Business Administration from Shippensburg University.

Leo Helmers

Co-Founder
Mereo Capital Partners

Leo Helmers is the co-Founder of Mereo Capital Partners (“Mereo”), a private equity and special situations investment firm focused on the lower middle market. Prior to founding Mereo, Leo served as co-Founder of Susquehanna Private Capital (“SPC”), a private equity fund backed by Susquehanna International Group, and Founder of LMZ Partners, a personal private equity entity focused on lower middle market buyouts. Leo had previously served as Managing Director, Partner and Fund Head at The Carlyle Group (“Carlyle”), where he co-founded Carlyle’s mezzanine investment strategy, raising two funds, Carlyle Mezzanine Partners I, LP, a $436 million partnership in May 2006, and Carlyle Mezzanine Partners II, LP, a $554 million partnership in February 2009.

Leo currently serves on the boards of Swish Dental, LLC, Luna Labs, Inc. and Integrated Foot and Ankle Specialists, LLC. He most recently served on the boards of Long Island Veterinary Specialists, Plews Edelmann, Sunrise Transportation and LeverPoint Management, which have been successfully sold or recapitalized.

Leo is currently on the Board of Trustees of Lafayette College, where he serves on the Executive Committee and Investment Committee and chairs the Grounds and Property Committee. He is also on the Board of Visitors of the Fox School of Business at Temple University.

Ryan Hurst

Partner
RKL LLP

Peter Jaslow

Partner
Ballard Spahr LLP

Peter Jaslow, Practice Co-Leader of the firm's Blockchain Technology and Cryptocurrency Group, is a corporate and transactional attorney who advises publicly- and privately-held companies in corporate and commercial transactions. In particular, Peter represents companies in public and private offerings and other capital-raising transactions, merger and acquisition transactions, and a variety of commercial technology and financial services transactions. He also counsels clients regarding securities matters, including corporate governance, disclosure, and compliance matters.

Slade Kobran

Managing Partner
Chief Outsiders, LLC

Slade is Chief Outsiders’ Managing Partner focused exclusively on the Private Equity sector. Based in the Greater NYC area, he works closely with Private Equity Operating Partners and other value creators to quickly identify and engage the Chief Outsiders resources best suited to meet the needs of investors and portfolio company management alike. Slade is actively engaged in the Private Equity community through groups such as ACG and PEI, and has worked with dozens of PE firms and their portfolio companies over the last five years.

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. 

John Lee

Senior Managing Director
Griffin Financial Group

Louis Lombardi

SVP, Regional Commercial Executive
Fulton Bank

Lou oversees commercial banking in NJ and Greater Philadelphia. He graduated from Millersville University, has an MBA from Penn State and graduated from the ABA’s Stonier Banking School. He serves on the Board of The Heritage Conservancy and co-chairs the Finance and Investment Committees. He coaches youth sports teams and lives in Newtown, PA, with his wife and four children.

Paul Mattaini

Partner
Barley Snyder LLC

Paul has practiced in the business area for over 30 years, concentrating in the mergers and acquisitions, securities, banking and corporate areas. His practice includes complex and sophisticated transactions, and he has participated in hundreds of M&A transactions. For a representative sample of transactions in which Paul has participated at Barley Snyder, please see the tombstone announcements at www.barley.com/Mergers-Acquisitions. Among other recognitions, Paul maintains an "AV" Martindale Hubbell rating and he has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America (Securities, Corporate and Banking and Finance areas) and in Pennsylvania Super Lawyers (Mergers and Acquisitions).

Bob McCormack

Managing Partner
Murphy McCormack Capital Advisors

Bob is Managing Partner and Founding Partner of Murphy McCormack Capital Advisors, a boutique investment banking and corporate advisory firm in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Mr. McCormack has more than 32 years of financial services experience, and focuses on providing advisory services related to business sales, mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, business valuations, debt and equity financing, and select turnaround projects. He formed Murphy McCormack Capital Advisors in 2005. He previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Sun Bancorp, Inc., a $1 billion financial services holding company with bank branches and affiliates located throughout central Pennsylvania.

Jack McGovern

Area Managing Partner, Northeast
SeatonHill Partners

Jeffrey McGroarty

Chief Financial Officer
Annovis Bio, Inc.

Jeff is a financial executive with experience in investor relations, working with analysts, creditors and financial institutions, planning and analysis, IPOs, capital allocation, SEC communications and reporting, accounting, acquisitions and turnarounds. He is currently the CFO of Annovis Bio, Inc., a clinical stage biotech developing drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and was previously CFO of Safeguard Scientifics.

Brad Messinger

Founder; CEO
Avonwood Partners; Elevate EyeCare

Brad Messinger is the founder Elevate Eyecare, a group of optometric eye care practices that began as one location in South Carolina. Elevate Eyecare has now expanded to 5 states with over 40 locations. In his role of CEO at Elevate, Brad, focuses on business growth initiatives and team member development. While growing Elevate, Brad also began Avonwood Capital Partners, a private equity group that invests and grows medical practices and micro-cap healthcare businesses.

Laura Kellers Queen

Founder & CEO
29Bison

Laura Kellers Queen, EdD is 29Bison’s CEO and Co-founder and SolomonEdwards’ Chief People Officer. With over 25 years of leadership experience in human capital and talent management, she is a leading voice in the HR field. Laura has changed the narrative to reflect and quantify the role and impact of the workforce on corporate performance.

Louis Rappaport

Partner, Co-Chair, Corporate, M&A and Securities Practice Group
Blank Rome LLP

Michael Schreiber

CEO & Founder
Playfly Sports

Mike Schreiber is the CEO and Founder of Playfly Sports, a fan engagement company and the emerging leader in sports marketing and media. A long-time transformative leader, Schreiber previously spent time building industry-first TV and film digital distribution deals at NBC Universal, helped lead the founding of hulu.com in 2007, and drove Comcast Cable's new media and digital content/platform deals as part of their digital evolution. The UVA graduate also became the Chief Content Officer, and a founding executive, of Altice USA in 2016, which later became a Fortune 500 company and the fourth largest cable company in the U.S.

Steven A. Scolari

Partner
Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young

Steven provides practical and strategic legal advice to executives and owners of both private and public businesses in connection with a variety of transactional matters. As co-chair of Stradley Ronon’s Closely Held & Family Owned Businesses practice, Steve’s business succession planning engagements encompass corporate, tax, estate planning and family issues, including complex intergenerational shareholder and voting trust agreements and numerous liquidity transactions.

Brian Sharkey

Director-in-Charge, Business Advisory
Kreischer Miller

Brian is the leader of Kreischer Miller’s Business Advisory practice, which offers an array of services including M&A/transaction advisory, business valuation, transition/exit planning, and ESOP consulting.

Brian is experienced in business valuations, transition planning, due diligence, and merger and acquisition activities. He helps his clients by actively working with them to solve issues, provide recommendations, and offer opportunities for success.

Brian’s experience includes working with a variety of privately-held and family-owned businesses such as manufacturers, distributors, professional service companies, and Internet-based organizations. In addition, Brian has a wide range of experience providing audit, review, and tax strategies to closely-held corporations.

Melissa Sherman

CEO
MOBILion Systems, Inc.

Dr. Melissa Sherman is the driving force behind MOBILion's success. From day one when Dr. Sherman discovered and vetted the technology as a promising commercial opportunity, to becoming CEO and raising $114.5M. Her vision, dedication and drive guided MOBILion to continuously achieve value-creating milestones. Dr, Sherman's leadership is essential to the success of MOBILion because of her unique breadth of skills including business acumen, vision and technology intelligence, combined with a relentless passion for establishing corporate culture and operational excellence.

Chad Stender

Partner
SeventySix Capital

Chad is a Partner at SeventySix Capital. Chad is responsible for the business operations and oversees the investments, finance, and administration at SeventySix Capital. Chad sits on the boards of the following SeventySix Capital portfolio companies: Fortë, Quintar and Vigtory (acquired by fuboTV).

Prior to joining SeventySix Capital, Chad worked at a start-up company in the sports industry. In addition, Chad started his career with the Philadelphia Flyers, Philadelphia 76ers, Comcast-Spectacor and the Walt Disney Corporation. Chad earned a Bachelor of Business Degree from James Madison University and a Masters of Science in Sport Management from East Stroudsburg University. He resides in the Philadelphia suburbs with his wife and two kids.

Adam VeVerka

Managing Director
NewSpring Capital

Adam leads business development efforts for all of NewSpring's investment strategies. Before joining NewSpring, Adam was an Investment Banking Analyst at Credit Suisse where he assisted on several transactions in the financial services and financial technology sectors.  Adam is highly involved in the private equity and venture community with leadership roles in Mid-Atlantic ACG, PACT, AMAA the New Jersey Entrepreneur Network.

Erica Wilson

Partner
Troutman Pepper

Erica’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, where she represents public and private companies, and private equity firms and their portfolio companies, in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions and in a wide range of industries. She has experience in a broad range of transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions, carve-outs, venture financings, joint ventures and other direct investments.