As the Director of Finance, Amanda Duguay leads all financial operations for the Software & Solutions Business Unit of Zebra Technologies. She has proven leadership responsibility across finance, sales operations, human resources, legal, and corporate development functions, as well as leading M&A due diligence and integration initiatives.
Previously, Ms. Duguay led all strategic and tactical initiatives as the CFO for Profitect Inc., a prescriptive analytics SaaS solution start-up serving retail leaders. She ran point on the company’s acquisition by Zebra Technologies in 2019. Ms. Duguay also supported more than 10 operational business lines over five years as a Finance Business Partner with Parexel, and led multiple financial and operational integrations for newly acquired entities.
Ms. Duguay has been an ambassador for gender parity and inclusion and diversity initiatives as part of her role in the Men Advocating for Real Change (MARC) program at Zebra Technologies. She also had the honor of participating in the Women Inspiring Success & Developing Others to Management (WISDOM) program at Parexel. She has assurance experience as part of PwC’s Boston Technology practice, and has served on the Steering Committee Board for the Boston chapter of the CFO Leadership Council since 2013 (Co-Chair since 2019). Ms. Duguay was recognized as a Boston Business Journal 40 under 40 award winner in 2019. A licensed CPA, she holds a Master’s degree in Accountancy from Bentley University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Bioscience & Technology from the University of New Hampshire.
Jeff Kaczperski is a University of Michigan graduate and is currently the President of Omega Plastics, Inc where he has spent the last 30 years dedicated to providing clients with manufacturing solutions (prototyping, bridge-to-production, and low-mid volume production) that help them launch their products into the market more effectively. As the President of Omega Plastics for over 20 years, Jeff has a broad range of experiences around the opportunities and challenges facing manufacturers. Jeff has authored articles and spoke at industry events covering topics from customer service, the impact of early market entry, and market diversification. In addition to his work at Omega Plastics, Jeff sits on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations.
Patrick serves clients in the pharmaceutical industry and pharma services provides on strategy and merger integration engagements; he has deep experience across all aspects of integration management in healthcare. He most recently led the value capture work of a cross-border integration of a carve-out asset in the pharma industry. Patrick led the value capture effort, as part of a cross-border (US-EU) integration of a carve-out asset; delivering >30% value creation above announced deal synergies on a significantly accelerated timeline. He also led the org design, talent selection, and total rewards strategy for a leading US healthcare company as part of a >$50b integration.
Prior to McKinsey, Patrick was an Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Navy; he supported special operations as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom and later served as a military attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Panama. Patrick has an MBA from the Darden School of Business at UVA and a BA from the College of the Holy Cross.
Mr. Mlotek has been with Henry Schein, Inc. since 1994, serving in his current position as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategic Officer since 2012 and as a director since 1995. He is also a member of the Executive Management Committee. In his current role, Mr. Mlotek has three main priorities: worldwide merger and acquisition activity for the Company; business development, including important supplier partnership arrangements; and worldwide strategic planning.
Prior to holding his current position, Mr. Mlotek served as the Company’s Senior Vice President of Corporate Business Development, and before that, upon joining the Company in 1994, was Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary. Prior to joining Henry Schein, Mr. Mlotek was a partner in the law firm of Proskauer Rose, LLP and counsel to the Company, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, corporate reorganizations, and tax law. At Proskauer, since 1989, Mr. Mlotek worked very closely with Henry Schein on various corporate matters. Prior to joining Proskauer, Mr. Mlotek was a partner in the law firm of Feit & Ahrens.
Mr. Mlotek graduated from the Columbia University School of Law with high honors in 1980. He received an LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law in 1985, also graduating with honors. Mr. Mlotek graduated summa cum laude with a B.S. degree in accounting from the Herbert Lehman University of City College of New York in 1977.
Bryan Morris is the Chief Financial Officer at Demandbase. Previously, he served as CFO for several private, leading SaaS companies, including Kinetica, Xamarin (acquired by Microsoft in 2016), and LiveRamp (acquired by Acxiom in 2014). He has built and led numerous G&A teams during periods of rapid growth across six different VC-backed start-ups. Bryan is a registered CPA (inactive) in California and holds a B.A. in business economics from UC Santa Barbara.
Phil Spencer has been in the cable/telecom business for over 20 years and currently serves as CEO of MBI (Mega-Broadband Investments). MBI recently acquired Northland Communications, Eagle Broadband, Vyve Broadband and FamilyView Cablevision. The company now passes over 650,000 homes in 16 states and operates as Vyve Broadband. Previously, Mr. Spencer was CEO of Rural Broadband Investments (“RBI”), a rural cable provider that was acquired in May 2017 by Cable One, Inc. Through organic growth initiatives and five add-on acquisitions, RBI became a scaled provider with cable systems in 14 states and operated as NewWave Communications.
Prior to his role at RBI, Mr. Spencer served as CEO of Windjammer Communications, a collection of 140 cable systems purchased from Time Warner Cable. The Windjammer systems were sold to Charter (Spectrum) & Suddenlink in 2012. From 2001 to 2008, he served as CEO, at Everest Connections, a Kansas City cable system that was sold to publicly traded, Surewest (Consolidated Communications) in 2008. Mr. Spencer also served as President & CEO of Advantech Communications, a regional telecommunications firm. Phil grew up in Milwaukee, WI and attended Marquette University and holds a BA in Finance & Economics.
Managing Director, STS Capital
Andy Harris is a proven CEO with over 30 years of leadership experience and an extensive track record in growth through M&A. Within his career, Andy has personally led over 20 M&A transactions ranging from strategic acquisitions of privately-held companies and corporate carve-outs to selling to strategic buyers. His deal experience ranges from $20M to $670M, with total value exceeding $1B in transactions. He has been on both sides of the strategic M&A process and has a deep understanding of both the buy-side and the sell-side.
Andy was President and CEO of Accella Performance Materials from 2012-2017, leading Accella to grow revenue by 6x and profit by 8x in under 5 years through both organic and acquisitive growth (14 acquisitions), culminating in a strategic sale to the Carlisle Companies. Before taking the helm of Accella, Andy was the CEO of Syrgis, another specialty chemical manufacturing business, where he successfully led the business transformation, growing revenue 3x and profit 4x within 5 years, ending with a successful strategic sale of the company in 2012. Most recently, Andy was the CEO of Vantage Specialty Chemicals from 2018-2019, a global provider of naturally derived, specialty ingredients. Andy led two European acquisitions to strategically expand the business platform from North America to Europe, while leading the company’s rebranding exercise and strengthening the global corporate culture.
Senior Vice President, STS Capital
Sean Friday is the Senior Vice President of STS Capital Partners and is responsible to enable global Managing Director operations, lead strategy management and strengthen key partnerships.
Sean has over three decades of executive experience in acquisitions, global strategy, leading complex operations and transforming institutions. He has advanced partnerships across many sectors, including, but not limited to health care, aerospace, software, consulting, military, technology, university settings, infrastructure services, distribution, government contracting, and construction.
A former two-star Royal Canadian Air Force Major General, Sean has led organizations in operations across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining STS, Sean served at the United States Central Command Headquarters in Tampa, Florida, where he was Vice Director of Logistics and Engineering, guiding essential logistical support for roughly 100,000 personnel across 18 Middle Eastern countries.
Previous roles include Deputy Vice Chief of the Defence Staff at National Defence Headquarters in Ottawa, Ontario; Commandant and Vice Chancellor of the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario; Commander of 8 Wing, Canada’s largest Air Force base; Chief of Staff, Strategy and Plans of Canadian Joint Operations; and Director General of Air Force Readiness. He also served as Acting Deputy Commander of the RCAF, running the 13,000-person global air force operation in 43 locations and responsible for strategic planning, staffing, resource management, governance, and capital asset planning and management, overseeing a $1 billion operating budget, $10 billion in real estate assets and major acquisition programs totaling well over $30 billion. Stemming from his work, Sean is recognized internationally for contributions to transnational security, in part from success in gaining unprecedented collaboration among 15 Middle East countries by creating a new cooperation forum of logistics generals.
Sean is invested in the Order of Military Merit and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal from both Canada and the United States. He holds an Executive MBA from Queen’s University and a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military College. He also attended Harvard University’s program for Senior Executives in National and International Security, as well as the National Security Program at Canadian Forces College.
An avid ice hockey and tennis player, and a mediocre golfer, Sean is married with two adult children.
National Managing Director, Wealth Strategies, Alliance Bernstein
Thomas J. Pauloski is a National Managing Director of Wealth Strategies; he works with private clients and their advisors on wealth transfer strategies, focusing on tax-efficient wealth management and asset allocation decisions. Tom was appointed a National Managing Director in 2009. Prior to joining the firm in 2005, he was a partner in the trusts and estates department at Winston & Strawn LLP in Chicago. Tom is on the faculty of the American Bankers Association National Trust and National Graduate Trust schools; he has also been an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago School of Law and has taught estate planning classes at Northwestern University Law School. Tom earned a BS in environmental engineering from Northwestern University and a JD, magna cum laude, from Loyola University Chicago, where he served as editor-in-chief of the Loyola Law Journal. He retired as a commander from the US Naval Reserve in 2003, with 21 years of combined active duty and reserve service.
Principal, Bernstein Private Wealth Management
Joseph Septimus is a Principal and Financial Advisor in the New York office of Bernstein. To his current practice, he brings his prior career as a former tax and trusts & estates lawyer. With this unique combination, he assists his clients in identifying and solving complex issues attending the blessing of wealth. These issues include (i) income tax and estate tax planning, (ii) succession of family wealth, (iii) charitable giving, and (iv) money management. Joseph’s clients include business owners, family offices, professional practices, and foundations who put an emphasis on deep discovery and planning and rely on him to consistently stay ahead of their planning needs.
Prior to joining Bernstein in 2014, Joseph headed the trusts & estates practice at Kostelanetz & Fink. Before that, he worked for seven years as an attorney in Sullivan & Cromwell’s tax department. Joseph earned a JD, summa cum laude, from Brooklyn Law School, graduating first in his class. He currently teaches Estate & Gift Tax at Brooklyn Law School as an adjunct professor. He was also a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association’s tax section, and former co-chair of the section’s trusts & estates subcommittee. In addition, Joseph is a cofounder of KZM, an organization that has raised and distributed since inception over $5 million to assist impoverished families in the New York area.
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Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
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Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
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General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
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General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
