Doug is Chairman of Newport LLC, a national partnership of CEOs and senior executives who advise emerging middle market companies and assist private equity firms to invest in and grow portfolio companies. He is also a member of the Teaching Faculty at the Jim Moran School of Entrepreneurship at Florida State and also Advisory Board Chairman for the Business Dynamics Research Consortium at the University of Wisconsin – Extension.  Its mission is to study exceptional growth companies, the capital markets, and overall business activity to learn more about their impact on employment and economic growth. He is the Former Chairman of the Board for the Association for Corporate Growth (ACG), a global not-for-profit organization with 58 Chapters and 14,000 members in the US and internationally, representing middle market private capital investors, intermediaries and the middle market deal community.  In 2017 he was given ACG’s Lifetime Achievement Award at the organization’s Intergrowth 2017 conference in Las Vegas, recognizing his dedication to ACG and the middle market community in the U.S. and around the world. Previously, Doug was Chairman and CEO of Tatum LLC, which grew into a highly respected national professional services firm with 30 offices and over 1000 professionals and employees.  The company was sold to Spherion in 2010. Doug is the Managing Director of TIP Seed Fund LLC, a newly formed seed stage VC fund with investments and investment rights in a diversified portfolio of companies with unique and proprietary products in the consumer, high-tech, and nutraceutical to pharmaceutical marketplaces. Doug is the author of No Man’s Land: Where Growing Companies Fail, a leading text about growth companies that has been translated into several languages and has won four National Best Business book awards.  His insights about the economy and business have been cited in hundreds of media outlets including Inc. Magazine, The Financial Times, and The New York Times online.

Anne Beiler began twisting pretzels in 1987 to support her husband's vision of offering free counseling services in their community.  What started as a single farmer's market stand grew into Auntie Anne's®, the world's largest hand-rolled soft pretzel franchise.    Anne's journey towards success began many years before she rolled the first pretzel when she and her husband experienced any parent's worst nightmare – losing a child.  This propelled Anne into years of darkness, depression, and despair but out of her pain came purpose and the desire to persevere towards personal and professional success.    Anne is among an elite group of women who have founded national companies in America and is among an even smaller group that has owned an international franchise company. She was named one of America's 500 Women Entrepreneurs by Working Women and Entrepreneur of the Year by Inc. Magazine. Many television shows have featured Anne's Entrepreneurial insights and personal story, including Secret Millionaire, The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America, ANDERSON, and Food Court Wars. Her story is highlighted in numerous publications, including Fortune Magazine, Inc Magazine, Guidepost, and Nation's Restaurant News. Anne also received honorary doctorates from Eastern College and Elizabethtown College.    Anne sold Auntie Anne's® in 2005 and authored Twist of Faith, a revealing look inside her life and business.  She followed up that book with, The Secret Lies Within, which provides an inside-out look at trauma and how to overcome it through sharing your story. Today, Anne speaks to audiences worldwide, inspiring people with her authentic stories and life experiences. Her mission is to help women overcome the pain, blame, and shame of their past by sharing their stories so they can lead with purpose. 

Howdy Holmes started working at Chelsea Milling Company in 1963 as a sophomore in high school. He worked in many departments, learning the company from the ground up during his high school and college summer breaks. He left the company in 1968 saying he would return later, but first, he was going to pursue a boyhood dream. He wanted to be a race car driver. He spent 20 years in motorsports winning regional races, the Formula Atlantic Championship, and Rookie of the Year at the Indianapolis 500 in 1979. He competed in the Indy 500 six times,  qualifying on the front row in 1984, and held the best average finishing record of anyone who started more than four events from 1911 – 1988 when he retired from driving race cars. As a businessman, Howdy operated a motorsports marketing company and an advertising company, which served the motorsports community. He authored an award-winning book called, “Formula Car Technology” and was a contributing writer for magazines and newspapers about racing. He was also one of the first color commentators of racing for ESPN. Howdy rejoined the family business in 1987. “The relationships between racing teams  and manufacturing are kind of twin sisters in the sense that you’re always trying to  improve something with the mechanical equipment.” Howdy led a transformation of the then 100-year-old family business. With the help of others, a professionally managed strategic vision was successfully introduced. Today, known for its Quality and Value, “JIFFY” Mix is uniquely positioned for the  21st Century. “JIFFY” is the market share leader in retail prepared baking mixes. In  2007, Chelsea Milling Company entered the foodservice market space, selling to  commercial and non-commercial customers.  

Jodi Daniels, founder & CEO of Red Clover Advisors, national keynote speaker,  co-host of She Said Privacy/He Said Security podcast, and co-author of the  Wall Street Journal Best Selling Book, Data Reimagined: Building Trust  One Data Byte At A Time, knows just how important trust is when it comes to building a business and growing a brand. As founder & CEO of Red Clover  Advisors, Jodi works hand-in-hand with businesses, creating customized and  affordable privacy programs to help them build trust with their customers.  As a dedicated privacy consultant, Jodi designs custom compliance programs to fit the size and diversity of each business. These programs include balancing customer data collection and use, GDPR and US privacy law compliance, operationalizing privacy, digital governance, online data strategy, and much more.  Jodi understands the many facets of building and managing a business, and she knows how challenging it can be to keep up with the ever-changing regulations around compliance (after all, you don’t know what you don’t know…). Jodi breaks down privacy laws and each company’s specific obligations into simple, easy-to-understand terms. It is her passion to help businesses foster strong customer relationships that are based on trust, while also privacy-friendly and compliant with privacy laws.

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 is focused on constantly improving company culture, hiring and developing talent and pursuing sustainable growth.

Harish Goyal, Essel Group Chief Executive Officer – Health & Wellness, is a veteran in the media and telecom industry. With more than 2 decades of in-depth understanding related to media, telecom, infrastructure, health & wellness, consumer durables & electronics, Harish drives the Group’s strategic discourse with a staunch belief that media, telecom & health synergies in partnership will accelerate the pace towards global goals.  Harish has led multiple new set-ups, streamlining operations and capitalising on organisational synergies, thus achieving exponential revenue growth across industries & global markets. Harish has accomplished multi fold increase in business turnover while superseding performance including planning, execution and launching of new products/businesses leading to transforming the business in the USA, Asia Pacific & Africa as CEO. He has special love and passion for business & growth potential of these markets.  His past leadership positions span roles in global companies like ACME Group, Indus Towers, Times Innovative Media Limited, & Bharti Group, specializing in business acquisition, strategic alliances, distribution management and budget controls in high-intensity growth markets. On the academic front, he is an IIFT Alumina and a Bachelor of Engineering (electronics) from Nagpur University.

Steve Hedrick is Chairman, President & CEO of AVN Corp. (AVN) in South Charleston, W.Va. AVN delivers market-driven innovation, research, technical engineering, and technology commercialization for the chemical, energy, environmental, and advanced software sectors. Mr. Hedrick has more than three decades of broad-based leadership experience, with more than 20 years of experience in the petrochemical industry, leading businesses, chemical manufacturing and health, safety, environment and quality (HSEQ). Prior to AVN, he held numerous roles of increasing responsibility at Lyondell, Bayer Polymers, Bayer MaterialScience and Bayer CropScience and has led multiple regional and global teams to improve business results, reliability and safety systems. His entry into the chemical industry followed service as an officer in the United States Army. In addition, Mr. Hedrick currently serves on several boards of directors, including Discover Real West Virginia Foundation, West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, West Virginia Manufacturers Association, and Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences of West Virginia. He is Chairman of the Charleston Area Alliance Board and Vice President (Vice Chair) of the Advantage Valley Board.In addition, Mr. Hedrick sits on the Business Roundtable of West Virginia.A native of West Virginia, he holds a B.S. in chemical engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.

Tom Gillespie is the President and CEO of Mendota Heights, MN-based Living Well Disability Services, a leader in providing exceptional services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.  Gillespie has more than 15 years of senior management experience working across the spectrum of roles in the disability services industry including executive leadership, operations management, and group home management. His resume prior to his service at Living Well includes more than a decade of strategic leadership at Minnesota disability service providers, including his time as Executive Director of the Duluth Regional Care Center (DRCC) in Duluth, MN. Prior to that Gillespie was Chief Program Officer of Hammer Residences in Wayzata. Hammer Residences provides services for more than 1,900 people impacted by disabilities, Hammer has 550 staff in locations across the Twin Cities region. In addition to his leadership at Living Well, Tom is married to his high school girlfriend Susie. The couple has a 5-year-old son, Henry.  Tom serves on the board of directors for the Association of Residential Resources in Minnesota (ARRM), Minnesota ACO provider ALTAIR, and The Non-Profit Insurance Trust. Gillespie and his family also volunteer their time with Minnetonka Community Education, The Woodbury Hockey Association, and South Washington County Schools. Tom Gillespie has received an undergraduate degree in psychology from the University of Minnesota, Duluth, and an MBA from Concordia University St. Paul.

Mikkel Thorup is the founder and CEO of Expat Money, and is the world’s most sought-after expat consultant. He focuses on helping high-net-worth private clients to legally mitigate tax liabilities, obtain a second residency and citizenship, and assemble a portfolio of foreign investments including international real estate, timber plantations, agricultural land and other hard-money tangible assets. Mikkel is the Founder and CEO at Expat Money™, a private consulting firm started in 2017. He hosts the popular weekly podcast, the Expat Money Show, and wrote the definitive #1-Best Selling book Expat Secrets - How To Pay Zero Taxes, Live Overseas And Make Giant Piles Of Money. A world traveller since his teens, Mikkel Thorup has learned his craft in three unique and unconventional ways; first, by living it himself, continuously pushing the boundaries testing new ideas around the globe; next, from diligent and intense study consuming over 2000 books and courses on the subject; and finally, by apprenticing and learning directly from the world's top legal experts in the field. Mikkel has dedicated himself for over two decades to building this mountain of knowledge, one that is not constrained by languages, cultures, or borders. He now works one-on-one with private clients utilizing this combination of hard-won experience and in-depth knowledge and has helped hundreds of people to build their dream lives abroad. As an autodidact, Mikkel stopped attending school at 12 years old before officially dropping out at the age of 15. Both his own experiences growing up, and those of his children as expats in an increasingly remote world, have inspired Mikkel to innovate in the field of education. In 2021 he co-founded the Expat International School of Freedom & Entrepreneurship. This revolutionary online learning program focuses on encouraging children and teenagers to develop their skills and abilities in a purpose-driven and responsible way and how to apply them in the real world. Since leaving Canada as a teenager, Mikkel has been an avid traveller. He has circumnavigated the globe over 400 times, visiting more than 100 countries and has called 9 different countries home in his 20+ years of non-stop continual travel around the world. Mikkel Thorup has inspired countless individuals through his podcast, books, and appearances on hundreds of radio and podcast interviews. A respected and sought-after keynote speaker has seen him invited to present at events in China, the UAE, Belize, Costa Rica, the USA, Panama, Liberland, Ukraine and many more. He speaks on immigration, maximizing international investments and how to move offshore for more freedom, privacy and protection. He is a powerful speaker with a rich and inspiring story. Mikkel Thorup is the Free Cities Ambassador with The Free Cities Foundation. And sits on the Board of Directors for multiple construction and community development companies that are focused on freedom and self-sustainably in Latin America.  As a passionate philanthropist, Mikkel Thorup sits on the Board of Directors for 10 Eighteen Uganda, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing resources and opportunities for teen mothers in the Namuwongo slums of Uganda. Mikkel Thorup is a dedicated husband and father of two. When not helping clients or growing his 7-figure consulting firm, he enjoys travelling and spending time with his wife and children. To learn more about Mikkel Thorup, you can join his daily email correspondence, EMS Pulse - an invaluable resource for planning your new life abroad that is currently enjoyed by over 37,000 expats and expat hopefuls worldwide.

Avi Kahn joined the Hilti Group Executive Board in January 2020, with responsibility for Asia and the Americas. Prior to that role and at time of recording, he was Hilti North America’s operations as president and chief executive officer, overseeing businesses in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and Guam. Prior to this role, he served as president of Hilti Canada. Kahn holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, Information Technology from The Interdisciplinary Center and a Master of Business Administration, International Business from Bellevue University. He joined Hilti in 2004 as a territory sales representative for construction in San Francisco. From there, he was promoted to regional manager for San Diego and Hawaii. In 2008, Avi took on greater responsibility as the Chicago-based West Great Lakes division manager. In January 2011, Avi took an international assignment when the organization named him president of Hilti Canada. Kahn is active with the Dallas Regional Chamber, serving as a member of the board of directors and executive committee, as well as chairing the international task force. He is involved with several charitable organizations including serving as a foundation board member of Children’s Health of Dallas, a pediatric health care organization, and was on the Habitat for Humanity Canadian Leadership Council. Avi is a member of the ownership advisory group of the Dallas Stars hockey team. Since 2017, he is a Catalyst CEO Champion for Change. Avi Kahn resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with his wife Maryann and their two sons, Ethan and Adam.