Jeff Bell is the past CEO of LegalShield, North America’s largest legal subscription service for households and small business. Jeff grew this business from a $650m valuation in 2014 to over $2.4b in 2022 when he retired. Presently, Jeff serves as an Operating Partner on the MidOcean Partners Private Equity Investment Team. Prior to LegalShield, Jeff served as the Microsoft Corporate Vice President for Xbox. He is known for launching Halo 3, Gears of War, Rock Band and Netflix on Xbox Live. He spent 5 years at DaimlerChrysler as the Vice President and General Manager of Chrysler and Jeep Divisions. He is credited with development and launch of the the Jeep Rubicon and 4-door Wrangler, as well as the Chrysler 200, among others. Jeff served Ford Motor Company for 12 years, including as Managing Director of Ford Spain. He serves on the Board of his alma mater, Johns Hopkins-SAIS, and has served on the Kenyon College and National Multiple Sclerosis Board of Trustees.    https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffbell801/

Cheryl Bachelder is a passionate, purpose-led business leader -- the former CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Cheryl is known for her crisp strategic thinking, a franchisee-focused approach, and superior financial performance.  Guided by the servant leadership thinking of Robert Greenleaf, she believes highly caring, collaborative leaders with big ambitions for the enterprise, not themselves, generate the conditions for people to perform their best work. Cheryl Bachelder served as CEO of Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc., a NASDAQ traded company with over 2,600 restaurants in 26 countries, from 2007 to 2017. The story of Popeyes success is chronicled in her book, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others. During her tenure, Popeyes’ stock price grew from $11 to $61, at which time the board sold the company to Restaurant Brands International Inc. for $1.8 billion dollars or $79 per share in March, 2017. Cheryl’s earlier career included brand leadership roles at Yum Brands, Domino’s Pizza, RJR Nabisco, The Gillette Company and Procter & Gamble.   Cheryl serves as a director on the boards of Pier 1 Imports, Inc. (PIR), US Foods Holding Corp. (USFD), and Chick-Fil-A, Inc. She sits on the advisory board of Procter & Gamble’s franchising venture, Tide Dry Cleaners. She is a board member of CEO Forum, an organization that encourages and develops leadership capability in CEOs and senior executives. Cheryl holds a Bachelor’s and Masters of Business Administration degree from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. She is married 38 years to Chris Bachelder and they have three grown daughters, two terrific son-in-laws, and four handsome grandsons. Cheryl and Chris reside in Atlanta, Georgia and attend Buckhead Church. They are avid learners, fans of the classical education movement, and can always be found reading a good book! Website: Serving Performs at www.cherylbachelder.com Former CEO, Popeyes® Louisiana Kitchen, Inc. Director at Pier 1 Imports, Inc. Director at US Foods Holding Corp. Director at Chick-Fil-A, Inc. Author, Dare to Serve: How to drive superior results by serving others  

Kevin Akeroyd is CEO of Sovos. From a small town in Missouri to Stanford business school and 3-time CEO, Kevin Akeroyd is not the proverbial polished CEO. A man who is not afraid to go off message and proclaims, be “overt, loud and challenging” to get things done. A CEO who declares it his mission to “keep business leaders out of jail” by helping companies traverse the complex and sometimes dangerous waters of compliance. A leader who puts his money where his mouth is and approaches diversity not with PR platitudes but by personally funding an annual college fund for underprivileged youth.​ ​With countless mergers and acquisitions under his belt and having worked for small venture-backed endeavors to being a division head for industry heavyweights like Oracle and Salesforce, Kevin is a builder who works to understand where companies are stagnating, where to innovate and find their break-through potential and ultimately how to move from point solution to platform. ​ Kevin built the enterprise stack for the Chief Communications Officer at Cision, the Chief Human Resource Officer at Magnit and now is working at Sovos to deliver the global compliance system of record for the Chief Financial Officer. The Sovos Compliance Cloud is the first and only platform to bring together tax compliance and regulatory reporting into a single view for business. At Sovos he is building a new category, a new line of business for compliance, and taking the industry on a journey to conquer the complexities and challenges of compliance.​ ​Kevin’s leadership philosophy is that it’s not enough to be brilliant. Transparency and communication are paramount and it’s the job of the CEO to look around corners and see what’s coming. Bad CEOs let things happen and good CEOs make things happen and at the end of the day, everything is your fault. Kevin brings this level of accountability to his customers, partners and employees. His mission at Sovos is to evolve compliance from its current state of being a painful requirement for business to being a force for growth in every company, in every industry and in every country.

Herb Cogliano, Founder of Aspire Growth Advisors, shares his journey from family business roots to founding a successful technology staffing firm. The conversation delves into the impact of family on entrepreneurial spirit, prioritizing employee growth, cultivating company culture for sustainable growth, and guidance for aspiring entrepreneurs on building sustainable businesses.

Jeremy Macdonald is the CEO of Bonney Plumbing, Electrical, Heating and Air where he and his team are on a mission to build the most trusted home services company in California. Prior to joining Bonney, Jeremy worked as an entrepreneur in South Africa’s rapidly evolving telecoms industry. Jeremy moved to the US with his family 5 years ago in search of better opportunities and adventure. At Bonney, Jeremy Macdonald is focused on constantly improving company culture, hiring and developing talent and pursuing sustainable growth.

Manos Kalaitzoglou is the co-founder and CEO of Arcweave and is a Greek founder originally from Crete, Greece. Before becoming a founder, Manos studied architecture in the National Technical University of Athens, then switched to becoming a web designer as he was always fascinated by design, tech and storytelling. He worked with various startups in design lead and consultancy roles, which eventually led him to realise he and his teams were not efficient with the existing collaboration tools for interactive experiences. He founded Arcweave to help lower the bar of game design and development and allow everyone to take their first steps in this fascinating industry. 

Nick is a Co-Founder and Partner at Four Pillars, a Private Equity firm that partners with entrepreneurs and investors to purchase and operate lower middle-market businesses ($20M to $250M in sales) with an untapped potential for growth. Four Pillars isn't your typical PE firm. We take a relationship-first approach and aren’t about financial engineering or extreme cost-cutting. Instead, we leverage our experience as entrepreneurs to help grow companies in terms of revenues and employees.  So far, they have invested millions of dollars in seven businesses, including Southwest Steel Fabrication, the longest-operating steel fabricator in the Kansas City region, involved in projects like fencing around the White House and work on bridges and dams nationwide. To make these purchases, Four Pillars has worked with well known capital providers including Capital for Business (nearly $1 billion in portfolio company revenue) and Peninsula Capital ($2 billion in assets under management). Nick has 15+ years of experience as a private equity investor and is highly regarded in the PE community for his ability to find and invest in businesses that last far into the future. Over at Four Pillars, most of Nick's activities revolve around fundraising as well as deal origination and execution. He also runs a popular YouTube channel with over 250K+ views, where he regularly shares knowledge about the ins and outs of private equity investments with his growing audience of over 1,700 subscribers.  

Todd Stewart is President of Gulf Winds International. He graduated from Stephen F. Austin State University with a B.S. in Marketing and immediately joined Gulf Winds International in 1996. Beginning as a fork-lift operator, he has served within or led every department within the company, leading to his current position of President. Todd is primarily responsible for working with key stakeholders to establish and maintain a culture that reflects the mission, values and overall strategic "world class" vision for the organization. Through being an active C12 Group member, Todd Stewart continues to learn how Gulf Winds International is here to serve a greater purpose and holds strongly to the biblical servant leadership model that empowers team members to grow personally, professionally and spiritually. He is passionate about how the gospel of Christ can restore hope in local and global communities. In 2017, this led Todd to found More Than The Move Foundation which exists to aid life-changing non-profits such as International Cooperating Ministries, Steiger International and Ground Wire via corporate generosity, corporate volunteerism and corporate advocacy. Gulf Winds International, Inc. is a second-generation family-owned business that was founded in April 1996 near Port Houston. With a mission to glorify God by providing world-class logistics services through continual investment in people, clients, community and the world Gulf Winds continues to have a clear direction and a broad horizon. Two things that separate Gulf Winds from other logistics companies is its authentic core values and common sense business strategy. Driven by Values Gulf Winds is driven by values and those values are intentionally and continually instilled in every employee in the company.

John Clancy is the founding and managing member of Planet Fitness Midwest. PFMW currently has 50 stores throughout the Midwest and Southern United States. PFMW has an additional 10 stores currently under construction, with the rights to build another 15 stores. In 2015, PFMW was named “Franchisee of the Year” by Planet Fitness.  Mr. Clancy focuses on the real estate site selection, development, lease negotiations, marketing and financing. He sits on the Independent Franchise Association committee for real estate and development for the Planet Fitness franchise system.  Mr. Clancy is also the managing member of Smoothie King Midwest, a developer and operator of 30 Smoothie King units in NY, OH, KY, IN, and AL.  As the managing member of Cornerstone Properties, Mr. Clancy has developed a retail real estate portfolio valued in excess of $100 million with an additional $50 million currently under development.  Mr. Clancy serves in a board capacity for multiple non-profit organizations and charities that assist in spreading The Gospel of Jesus Christ. Mr. Clancy, his wife Regina, and their three children are active members of Christ Fellowship church. Mr. Clancy was born and raised in Massapequa NY. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York’s Business School at Plattsburgh.

Gonzalo Zubieta is a CEO, founder, and disruptive transformation expert with more than 15 years of experience in leadership and strategy consulting. He is the head of Emet Partners, a consulting firm that helps Fortune 100 companies redefine their value proposition, strategic design, and value chain creation. He has a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, a Certificate in Developmental Entrepreneurship from MIT, and a Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship from Harvard Business School. As a speaker, mentor, angel investor, and advisor, Gonzalo is passionate about transforming the lives of those who lead organizations. He has worked with CEOs and executive teams in various sectors, enabling them to increase their competitive edge, improve their corporate climate, and foster a culture of honor in their organizations. He is also a recognized resource and facilitator for YPO, a global network of young business leaders. He has published a book on the analysis behind the trap of choosing the "right" decisions and speaks three languages: English, Spanish, and French.