2019 SPEAKER LINEUP
Check back as we will be updating our speaker lineup for 2021!
About Ron Carson: Ron Carson is Founder and CEO of Carson Group, which serves financial advisors and investors through its businesses including Carson Wealth, Carson Group Coaching, and Carson Group Partners. Founded in 1983, Carson Wealth has grown to become one of the largest wealth management firms in the country offering portfolio management and wealth planning services to high net-worth clients. Established in 1993, Carson Group Coaching has grown to become one of the leading advisor coaching programs in the country empowering advisors to overcome key business challenges through personalized coaching, proven strategies, marketing services, and a passionate community of thousands of advisors. Carson Group Partners empowers advisors to improve client service, efficiently run their practice, grow their business, and build a legacy through a turnkey integrated partnership. All three organizations are headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, but serve a broad base of advisors and investors across the U.S. and Canada.
Ron first began honing his core principles while working from his dorm room at the University of Nebraska in 1983: a tenacious focus on serving clients’ best interests; a relentless pursuit of excellence across every activity; and a burning desire to learn, grow intellectually, and innovate. These driving principles enabled Carson Group to grow to over $8.56 billion in assets under advisement, which includes assets under management,* and have led Ron to receive many accolades. He is continually ranked among the top advisors by Barron’s magazine and was one of only two independent advisors inducted into Barron’s inaugural Hall of Fame.* Most recently Ron was named to Forbe’s list of America’s top wealth advisors,* coming in at number 13 out of thousands of advisors, while Carson Group was recognized for making the Inc. 5000 list of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies.
Ron is one of the most celebrated and respected financial advisors and executives in the industry—he is a sought after speaker, thinker, and investment strategist. In the spring of 2012, Ron continued to expand his industry leadership by co-founding aRIA. aRIA is a “think-tank” study group comprised of six forward-thinking RIA firms, which collectively manage more than $17.5 billion in client assets, and Advisor Growth Strategies, a leading consulting firm serving the wealth management industry. The group offers insight for advisors considering ways to enhance their firms’ enterprise values. As a member of the Financial Advisor Council of CNBC, Ron also writes guest columns and provides insight and frontline perspective to the CNBC Digital news team. In 2014, Ron joined The American College of Financial Services board of trustees for a three-year term. The College offers turnkey programs that produce effective advisors who are able to join a team and make an impact immediately, helping the industry by adding capacity, and building the next generation of advisors. Ron’s academic credentials include being a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, Certified Fund Specialist, and a Chartered Financial Consultant.
Ron is also actively involved in the community. He and his wife, Jeanie, founded The Dreamweaver Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling end-of-life dreams for seniors with terminal illnesses. He also founded the American Charitable Foundation—a foundation established for a more efficient disposition of charitable assets—and served as a past President of the Child Saving Institute.
A nationally acclaimed New York Times bestselling author, Ron has shared his success principles through several books, including 2005’s Tested in the Trenches, 2007’s Avalanche, 2012’s second edition of Tested in the Trenches, and most recently The Sustainable Edge, released in 2016 and written for business owners who are seeking a fuller, more rewarding work-life balance.
Ron and Jeanie reside in Omaha and have three wonderful children. He enjoys spending time with his family, collecting and drinking wine, golfing, flying, pheasant hunting, and he’s an avid Nebraska Cornhusker fan.
*Please note that the amount of CWM, LLC’s Assets under Advisement is considerably larger than the amount of the firm’s regulatory Assets under Management. Assets under Advisement include regulatory Assets under Management reported in CWM, LLC’s Form ADV I, in addition to assets with respect to which CWM, LLC may provide consulting and/or financial planning services, but does not have any management, execution, or trading authority. CWM, LLC¹s regulatory Assets Under Management can be found in Item 5.F of CWM, LLC’s Form ADV I, available at http://www.adviserinfo.sec.gov.
*Barron’s magazine, October 20, 2014 issue. The Barron’s rankings are based on data provided by over 4,000 of the nation’s most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice, and philanthropic work. Investment performance isn’t an explicit component because not all advisors have audited results and because performance figures often are influenced more by clients’ risk tolerance than by an advisor’s investment-picking abilities.
*Forbes, 2016. The Forbes ranking of America’s Top Wealth Advisors rates thousands of wealth advisors on metrics like revenue trends, assets under management, compliance records and industry experience.
Deirdre Van Nest -
Creator of the Crazy Good Talks™ Blueprint
About Deirdre Van Nest: Deirdre Van Nest is the Go-To expert in the financial services industry on the topic of speaking. She is the creator of the Crazy Good Talks™ Blueprint, a system that teaches Financial Professionals how to bring in business faster and impact more lives through the power of speaking. Deirdre is an international Keynoter and Trainer and a Certified World Class Speaking Coach. Over the past 6 years she’s helped 1000's of financial professionals become Crazy Good Speakers™.
She is the host of Crazy Good Talks™ TV and is called upon for interviews on financially related podcasts and TV talk shows.
On a personal note Deirdre is an Italian/Irish New Yorker living in Minneapolis where she tries hard not to scare people with her loud voice and enthusiastic hand gestures.
About Draye Redfern: Draye will inspire you to push past your limits, think outside of the box and redefine the way that you market your business and serve your clients. He is the founder and CEO of Redfern Media; a marketing and consulting agency helping businesses of all sizes improve their marketing and business efficiencies, humanize their client interactions and create an endless stream of “WOW” moments that keeps customers coming back time and time again.
As a speaker, marketing consultant and mentor, Draye continues to share his impactful story and message on stages across the US. His insights on how any business can uniquely differentiate themselves from their competition and achieve massive success will leave you with numerous “A Ha” moments and breakthroughs for your own business.
JT McCormick, President & CEO
About JT McCormick: JT McCormick, the President and CEO of Scribe Media, a publishing company that helps you write, publish and market your book. The company has worked with more than 1,000 authors and Entrepreneur Magazine recently ranked Scribe's as having the Top Company Culture in America.
Previously, JT was the President of Headspring Software, which he helped grow to a multimillion-dollar, 100-plus person company that was repeatedly ranked as one of the best places to work in all of Texas.
JT is also the author of I Got There: How I Overcame Racism, Poverty, and Abuse to Achieve the American Dream. His book tells the story of how he worked his way out of poverty, starting with his career cleaning toilets and eventually becoming the President of multiple companies.
In addition to his role at Scribe Media, JT has mentored at-risk youth in the juvenile justice system, as well as youth in low economic communities. JT's work has been featured on CNBC, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Inc, and many others. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Megan, and their four children.
About Daren Klum: Daren is a globally recognized technology executive, cyber security visionary, and hardware / software engineer. His innovations include the first commercially available submersion computer, the world’s fastest desktop PC, the first secure cartridge delivery system for digital content, security solution for Blockchain and the first distributed peer-to-peer storage & security solution. As the co-founder of LiquidCool Solutions Daren was responsible for co-developing the technology and today helps guide the business into emerging markets like Blockchain IaaS, High-Performance Computing, Cloud Infrastructure and Edge Computing. Currently, Daren is the CEO of Secured2 Corporation a Microsoft Partner Company that has developed an exciting new ‘beyond encryption & quantum resilient’ form of data security. This exciting technology is being deployed widely throughout Microsoft and is also at the heart of a new version of Blockchain set to arrive in 2019. Daren holds over 50+ patents and continues to redefine his industry. Mr. Klum spent his corporate career working for some of the world’s largest technology innovation companies like Gartner, Digital River, TW Telecom, Sprint Data Center Solutions (now T-Mobile) & Thompson Reuters (West Group).
About Brandon Kawal: Brandon has been a Consultant at Advisor Growth Strategies for five years and is intimately involved with client engagements and thought leadership. Advisor Growth is a leading consulting firm that provides custom business management solutions to the nation’s top advisory firms with a client portfolio of over two hundred RIA’s. Brandon and the teams implementation focus provides a leverage point that saves their clients time and ROI. Some of their main projects include assisting RIA’s with compensation & equity design, advisor in transition, growth strategies, management support services, succession & exit planning, and transaction advisory.
Brandon got his start after college playing major league baseball for the New York Mets, he then transferred those fast reaction times, focus, and high accuracy skills to a new career at Charles Schwab. After working as an Investment Consultant and a Manager of Advisor Services at Schwab Brandon found his home at Advisor Growth. Over the years Brandon has contributed to major industry publishers like Wealth Management and enjoys writing about new challenges facing the industry. In his free time, he also enjoys another fast-paced activity- chasing around his three young kids.
About Chris Smith: Let’s skip the accolades, achievements and personal bio back-patting. We all know it doesn’t really work anyways. Here’s the truth: who I am is who I choose to be every single day. What I can tell you is my story – the truth about who I have been in the past and how I made a difference for the people in my life. My story begins in Arizona, where my family were among the first to settle that wild and beautiful land. I grew up a cowboy, surrounded by storytellers, soaking up wisdom that can’t be found in books. I pursued a few vocations and found a measure of success in each. None spoke to me. Instead, I spoke into each of them – connecting with people to create narrative, find meaning and unlock growth and change. And in doing so, I discovered my purpose. Today, I partner with entrepreneurs, brands and teams of all sizes to discover their stories. Working together, we find clarity, build culture, align teams and create sustainable growth that is aligned with who they are in the world.
Dr. John Evans
About Dr. Evans: John Evans is Executive Director, Janus Henderson Labs™ at Janus Henderson Investors. In this role, he leads the Professional Development Team and provides extensive consulting and training and practice management expertise. Dr. Evans is a sought-after expert and keynote speaker. He regularly contributes to The Orlando Sentinel newspaper on business and politics and is featured in the Advisor Center section of Barron’s magazine. He has authored books on client retention and client acquisition including “The Book of WOW” and “A Genuine Persuasion System.” He also serves on the Board of Advisors for the James Madison Institute in Tallahassee, Florida, and Elevate USA in Denver, Colorado. Prior to joining the financial services industry, Dr. Evans was special assistant to former U.S. Senator Connie Mack and director of business development for the state of Florida’s #1 Registered Investment Advisory firm, according to Wealth Manager Magazine, for 2007.
Dr. Evans holds an MBA from the University of Miami and an Ed.D. in organizational leadership from Pepperdine University. He is also a Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute® Certified Facilitator. He resides in Winter Springs, Florida, with his wife and four children. He has 18 years of financial industry experience.
Tim McNiff
About Tim McNiff: Tim is an Emmy-Award winning Multi-Media Journalist, with almost 25-
years of experience as a News Anchor/Reporter. As the Executive Director of a
Minneapolis-based public relations firm, Tim created, and delivered media
training sessions for professional sports teams, pro athletes and C-Suite
Executives, on the subject of “personal brand”, and the importance of knowing
& protecting your story.
Brad Shepard - Head of Advisor Innovation
About Brad Shepard: As WisdomTree’s Head of Advisor Innovation, Brad works with financial advisors to challenge conventional thinking. In everything he does, Brad uses research and technology to help advisors grow. Whether it’s acquiring new clients or connecting more deeply with existing clients, Brad challenges people to think differently about the future of wealth management.
In 2017, Brad joined WisdomTree after his company Kredible – a data-driven marketing and practice management company – was acquired by AdvisorEngine. Today, WisdomTree and AdvisorEngine work together to deliver cuttingedge solutions to financial advisors.
As a founder of three companies, Brad has been an entrepreneurial thinker throughout his career. At Kredible, Brad built a business based on a passionate belief that online presence plays a large role in driving successful results. Instead of guessing, the Kredible team performed scientific research to discover the most effective way for professionals to build credibility online.
Beyond Kredible, Brad founded Monumental Innovation (a firm dedicated to innovation and new-business development within Fortune 500 companies) and Innovar Collective (which specializes in business process design). He began his professional career with Arthur Andersen in business consulting and then moved on to Ernst & Young to help restart their advisory services practice. Brad also believes in community service and in this spirit founded Innovar Cares, a charity that offers consulting services to nonprofits. Brad received a BA in Business Administration from Middle Tennessee State University and his MBA in Information Systems Management from Tennessee Technological University.
About Don Connelly: Don Connelly has spent his entire career in the Financial Services industry. He spent many years as an Advisor and then moved to the asset management side. He was the National Sales Manager for one well-known firm and then became the Senior Vice President of Marketing for one of the largest asset management firms in the world. For the last thirty years he has been working with Advisors, helping them to refine and perfect their communication skills and relationship-building skills. Don is a master at understanding client concerns; he is a great storyteller and is unparalleled at using analogies and parables to make the unfamiliar familiar. His goal is to get Advisors to the next level. His fundamental belief is that the more successful we become, the further we get away from the basics which made us successful in the first place. Elite Advisors are unrelenting client advocates who stay totally focused on their clients’ needs and concerns. Their success is not predicated upon how much product knowledge they possess. Their success is predicated upon the ability to create and maintain long-term relationships. That is exactly what Don helps Advisors do.
James Hughes -
Live Oak Bank
About James Hughes: James Hughes joined Live Oak Bank in 2013 with over eight years of sales, management, client service and financial services experience. Since then he has helped hundreds of businesses achieve their goals through financing. James has served in several roles at Live Oak, including as a Sales Trader, Relationship Manager, Underwriter, and Loan Officer.
Prior to Live Oak Bank, James worked at one of the leading investment banks in the world. There he managed a group of derivative trading assistants and several client service teams.
Through this unique experience, James has gained an understanding of the challenges that business owners face. In his current role as a Loan Officer, James is dedicated to assisting small business owners in the Investment Advisory industry to attain success and continue to thrive with Live Oak Bank’s products and services.
James has a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University.
Danielle Papandrea - Blackrock Affinity Group
About Danielle Papandrea: Danielle Papandrea is the Head of BlackRock’s Affinity Group within USWA Client Engagement and Training. With her focus on innovative learning and development, Danielle designs and delivers training programs and helps clients grow their business while working at the intersection of strategy, planning, operations, leadership and culture. She writes about financial advisor education.
Brian D. Gallary - First Trust Portfolios L.P.
About Brian D. Gallary: Brian D. Gallary is a senior vice president and head of wealth management
consulting for First Trust Portfolios L.P. Brian and his team are responsible for
consulting with financial advisor practices on all aspects of business development, with a special focus on working with accountants and attorneys.
Prior to joining First Trust, Brian was a principal and head of advisor sales for
Vanguard’s Financial Advisor Services business. He was responsible for national sales of ETF’s and mutual funds across all channels—including broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, and banks. Prior to Vanguard, Brian was a senior
managing director for AllianceBernstein in New York. During his 12 years with
the firm, he was responsible for building their institutional business in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. He also started and ran the firm's private client offices in Minneapolis and Philadelphia, and was a managing director for the
firm's private client practice in New York. Brian was also head of national sales
for both the retail and subadvisory sales groups for the firm. Before AllianceBernstein, Brian was an officer with Putnam Investments for four years
and was with The Boston Company (Funds Distributor) for three years.
Mr. Gallary earned a B.S. in Finance from Bentley College in 1992
.
Rob Richardson - Franklin Templeton U.S. Advisory Services
About Rob Richardson: Robert Richardson is a senior vice president and North America spokesperson for Franklin Templeton's U.S. Advisory Services. Mr. Richardson focuses on
proactive outreach to the investment advisor community in the U.S. and Canada on timely matters regarding investment strategies, practice management and services Franklin Templeton can deliver to support them.
Mr. Richardson joined Franklin Templeton Investments in 1995, most recently serving as a senior advisor consultant covering the greater Houston area. He is
a six-time recipient of Franklin Templeton's Richard C. Stoker Award, which honors the firm's top-performing senior advisor consultant of the year. He began his career in the financial services industry in 1982 and, prior to joining Franklin Templeton, served as a regional vice president in sales for two major asset management firms.
Mr. Richardson received his B.S. in business administration from the University of Florida. He is a FINRA-licensed registered representative, holds the Certified
Investment Management Analyst designation and is a Certified Fund Specialist.
David M. Gordon, CFA, CPWA
About David Gordon: David Gordon is a vice president and director of Eaton Vance Advisor Institute. He is responsible for
supporting advisors who serve ultra-high-net-worth clients with programming that addresses the planning and investment requirements of wealth holders. He joined Eaton Vance in 2007.
Dave began his career in the investment management industry in 1994. Prior to his current role, Dave was
a strategy specialist in Eaton Vance’s Wealth Strategies Group. He has previous experience as a business
strategist, portfolio manager and equity analyst, as well as a registered representative in Toronto. Before
entering the investment management industry, he served five years as an infantry officer in the
United
States Army.
Dave earned a B.S. from the United States Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the University
of Texas at Austin. He has also studied finance at the doctoral level at France’s EDHEC Business School.
He holds the Certified Private Wealth Advisor designation from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of
Business and is a CFA charterholder.
Laura Hanichak Gregg - Flexshares
About Laura Hanichak Gregg: Laura Gregg is Director of Client Development for FlexShares — the Northern Trust Exchange Traded Funds Group. She is responsible for growing FlexShares’ presence in the financial intermediary market by offering unique thought leadership to help advisors scale and grow their practices. Laura is sensitive to the demands advisors face — cost, staffing and time constraints — so she focuses her content on easy to implement adjustments that enable advisors to continue delivering exceptional value to clients but in a more efficient and personalized manner.
Laura has more than 20 years of industry experience in a broad range of roles including marketing, national accounts, relationship management and as a mutual funds and ETF product specialist. In 2010, she launched a national survey of financial advisors, querying them about their attitudes on the adoption of, and satisfaction with, outsourced investment management. The research, which continues today, provides vital insights on the how advisors have been scaling their practices and delivering investment solutions to clients. Laura speaks regularly within the industry about this and a wide variety of advisor-focused topics.
Laura joined Northern Trust in 2008 and has previously worked for Claymore Securities (acquired by Guggenheim Funds) and Deutsche Asset Management. She graduated from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame, IN and holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 licenses. She also attended DePaul University where she earned a certificate in Direct Marketing.
Chris Hennessey, Lawyer and C.P.A
About Chris Hennessey: Mr. Hennessey is Professor Emeritus of Law at Babson College and serves as Faculty Director of Babson
Global. He has extensive consulting experience on all wealth management topics relevant to financial advisors and their clients. Mr. Hennessey, although no longer active, co-founded an investment advisory
firm that manages financial assets for high-net-worth individuals.
Mr. Hennessey is a member of the Putnam Business Advisory Group, Putnam’s national speaking bureau. He
speaks extensively at various national and regional meetings on a variety of wealth management topics. For
financial advisors, Mr. Hennessey has delivered presentations on retirement and college saving, IRA
distribution, advanced estate planning, charitable remainder trusts, and asset protection strategies to
safeguard wealth. For shareholders, he has spoken at Putnam's client appreciation events, given targeted
presentations to audiences such as medical professionals and business owners, and conducted meetings
with Putnam's key client-advisor accounts.
Mr. Hennessey is a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, the
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public
Accountants. He is a Trustee of a private college and former board member of the largest food service
distributors in New England. As an instrument-rated private pilot, Mr. Hennessey is also a member of Angel
Flight New England. Previously, Mr. Hennessey served as Faculty Director and acting Co-Dean of Babson
Executive Education at Babson College.
Mr. Hennessey earned an L.L.M. in Taxation from Boston University Law School, a J.D. from Suffolk
University Law School, and a B.S./B.A. from Babson College.
Randy Carver -
Carver Financial Services & Top Producers International, LLC
About Randy Carver: Randy has worked in the financial services industry since 1986 and founded Carver Financial Services Inc. in 1990. Carver Financial Services Inc. offers securities through Raymond James Financial Services Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC) where he and his team manage just over $1.3 billion for clients worldwide. Randy has been the top producing advisor at Raymond James Financial Services Inc. since 2015.
Randy has been recognized by Barron’s Magazine as one of the country’s leading advisors1 every year since 2008 and has received recognition by numerous other organizations including The Financial Times and Forbes Magazine – see http://carverfinancialservices.com/awards/.
Randy has taught Accountancy Board approved CPE courses and Supreme Court Commission on Continuing Legal Education approved courses for attorneys since 1987. Randy has appeared as an expert commentator on FOX, CNN and CNNfn TV, USA Today, the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
Randy works with leading advisors and firms teaching what has made his team so successful and has authored four books. Randy lives in Kirtland Hills, Ohio, with his significant other Christine and their three dogs Olympia, Hercules and Athena. Randy is a licensed private pilot, flying a twin engine Cessna 414 Ram VI for both business and pleasure and pursues other eclectic hobbies ranging from gourmet cooking to riding motorcycles
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1. Barron’s Rankings are based on data provided by the nation's 4,000 most productive advisors. Factors included in the rankings: assets under management, revenue produced for the firm, regulatory record, quality of practice and philanthropic work. Investment performance isn't an explicit component because not all advisors have audited results and because performance figures often are influenced more by clients’ risk tolerance than by an advisor’s investment-picking abilities. For details on other recognitions please refer to the website - http://carverfinancialservices.com/awards/
Mike Kerins, Founder & CEO of RobustWealth
About Mike Kerins: Mike Kerins, CFA, FRM is the Founder and CEO of RobustWealth. Prior to RobustWealth, Mike spent eight years at Franklin Templeton, where he managed an investment team overseeing a global portfolio of assets equaling $40 billion. He also served as head of asset class research and has expertise spanning strategic and tactical asset allocation, portfolio construction, target date strategies and liquid alternatives. Mike is a CFA charter holder and certified Financial Risk Manager. He holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering and a B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado. He also has a certificate in Computational Finance from the University of Washington.
Leo Pusateri, President, CEO, Pusateri Consulting & Training
About Leo Pusateri: Passionate, inspirational, and motivating are words many would use to describe Leo. Affectionately known as the “value man” in the financial services industry, he is also recognized as the industry’s premier thought partner of value-based training, not only by senior leaders in the C-suites, but among top advisors as well.
When it comes to knowing, pricing, selling, and “living” your value, Leo’s time-honored and proprietary programs are in place around the world. This is a credible testament to his knowledge capital that he enthusiastically shares with clients. He has traveled the country and across the globe to places such as Singapore, Spain, Vancouver, Zurich, and London. His travels find him working with senior leadership teams to financial entrepreneurs who represent broker-dealers, RIAs, investment management firms, private banks, family offices, insurance companies and others. Through Leo’s robust training programs, firms have endorsed Leo’s skill set as the absolute best-in-class in bringing value-based training to the table.
Due to increased growth, popularity, and utilization of his work throughout North America, Leo opened an office in Toronto and launched Pusateri Canada to extend the intellectual properties and consulting capabilities of his firm. Additionally in 2008, Pusateri formalized a strategic partnership with PriceMetrix of Toronto (now formerly part of McKinsey & Company) which focuses exclusively on helping financial advisors become better “CEOs” of their business.
Leo practices what he preaches and is an authentic role model for consultative, respectful dialogue. He truly lives his values --- effortlessly and with undeniable passion --- and teaches others what he has learned over his professional lifetime.
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