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Financial Consultant
Matthew Bissell’s professional and personal life has been shaped by consistency, practical experience, and a steady commitment to serving others meaningfully. Born in Oakland, California, in 1973, he has developed a career that spans financial consulting, social support services, and a wide range of service-driven roles. His academic foundation includes a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Pitzer College and international study at the University of Sussex. In addition to his work, he is a father of two who places strong importance on family, community involvement, and maintaining lifelong interests in sports. Matthew was born on November 20, 1973, at Oakland Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California. He is the son of Peter and Nancy Bissell. His father worked for multiple decades in the Bay Area as a longshoreman and was a proud member of the ILWU. His mother pursued a career that combined education and entrepreneurship, beginning as a Special Education Teacher and later owning and operating a local clothing store. He grew up with one sister in a household built on stability, mutual support, and shared responsibility. Throughout his childhood, he spent much of his free time with friends and participating in organized sports. Growing up in the Bay Area allowed him to play football, baseball, and soccer year-round, which helped establish discipline, teamwork, and routine early in his life. From 1991 to 1995, Matthew attended Pitzer College in Claremont, California, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. During his college years, he was also a committed student-athlete, playing baseball and football for the Pomona/Pitzer combined teams. In 1994, he earned First Team All-SCIAC honors in football while contributing as a defensive end, punter, and place kicker. Balancing academic responsibilities with athletic demands required strong time management and focus, skills that became valuable throughout his career. That same year, he studied abroad at the University of Sussex in Brighton, England. While overseas, he traveled across Europe, Africa, and Asia, visiting Spain, Morocco, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Romania, Germany, and the Netherlands. These experiences broadened his understanding of different cultures and ways of thinking. After completing his undergraduate studies, he continued his education with additional coursework at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga, California. Matthew’s professional background spans a wide range of industries. Early roles in apparel sales helped him build customer service and communication skills. He also worked as a gardener and landscaper, a waiter, a truck driver trainer, and a FedEx and UPS delivery driver. Over time, he expanded into positions such as travel agent, caregiver, and social worker. These roles required adaptability, organization, and problem-solving, whether coordinating logistics, assisting individuals with daily living needs, or addressing complex social challenges.
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Researcher and practitioner of real estate, finance, and digital infrastructure. I’ve been in this space since 2020 and tracking digital assets since 2017. I first founded a company focused on tokenized investment syndication, which led me to explore how AI, blockchain, and IoT could bring new levels of transparency, efficiency, and liquidity to real estate. That experience grew into Building, the operating system for real estate finance. Building supports real estate owners and stakeholders with AI that preserves property knowledge, generates actionable insight, and automates critical workflows. The goal is to create the trusted foundation for better decisions today and more efficient real estate markets tomorrow. I’m cross-disciplinary, juggling a wide range of fields: architecture, engineering, construction, operations, urban planning, sustainability, blockchain, artificial intelligence, data science, capital markets, compliance, banking, and policy. Outside of running a startup, I travel the world speaking publicly—keynotes, panels, and roundtables—while collaborating with startups, institutions, and government officials. My work advocates for RWA tokenization, data standards, and smarter cities. Improving the built environment and all its dependencies is a challenging but rewarding pursuit. I also host Code & Concrete, a podcast exploring real estate, technology, and the systems that hold cities together.
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Michelle Vaughn is a consultant and speaker who helps leaders, teams, and organizations communicate clearly, make better decisions, and move with greater certainty. She brings 16+ years of experience in finance and financial services—including mortgage, lending, homeownership, and consumer finance—along with business ownership and work across growth, marketing, sales, operations, leadership, and strategy. Her work also includes AI model evaluation and finance-domain work, facilitation, training, communication, and decision-making. Michelle’s keynotes and facilitated conversations help audiences identify the real issue, reduce noise, and translate clarity into aligned action.
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Matthew J Smith has developed a career that connects investment experience with direct operational leadership across energy, power, and data center industries. His professional journey reflects nearly two decades of learning, adaptation, and disciplined execution. Through consistent effort, he has combined a strong understanding of markets with hands-on management responsibilities. His focus has remained on thoughtful decision-making and reliable performance, demonstrating an approach grounded in responsibility and practical leadership throughout his career. He began his career in analytical positions that shaped his understanding of how financial systems and industries operate. He studied company fundamentals, evaluated risk, and learned to recognize patterns that drive business results. This early foundation helped him build a disciplined framework for forecasting and investment analysis. The experience also strengthened his ability to approach challenges methodically, preparing him for larger responsibilities that required precision, patience, and awareness of both numbers and people. Matthew advanced into senior investment roles at respected firms, where he managed research and portfolio strategies focused on energy, industrial, and renewable sectors. His approach emphasized careful analysis, collaboration, and risk management. He worked to understand how global trends and economic cycles affect long-term business value. Through these experiences, he developed a balanced investment philosophy that focused on achieving steady results and making responsible decisions, while aligning financial goals with broader organizational priorities. He established his own investment firm, assuming the dual roles of Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer. He created a process built on research, teamwork, and data-driven analysis. Leading the firm required him to oversee operations, recruit talent, and maintain strong relationships with investors. The organization achieved meaningful growth and concluded successfully, reflecting its ability to guide both strategy and execution. His leadership style emphasized structure, accountability, and respect for the long-term interests of clients. Matthew J Smith continued his professional path by moving into public company leadership, serving as Chief Financial Officer and a board member. In this role, he managed complex financial and operational responsibilities while helping stabilize the organization through a period of change. His leadership contributed to economic improvement, operational strength, and a successful corporate transaction that brought value to shareholders. This experience highlighted his ability to unite financial expertise with operational focus in a challenging environment.
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Louis Roden has over 25 years of international organizational development, service culture and leadership development experience. His last corporate role was with Starwood Hotels & Resorts as Director of Organizational Capability, responsible for Starwood’s signature global leadership programs as well as the company’s enterprise-wide team leadership development and service culture practice. ICG has worked with a variety of global organizations. Clients include Marriott Hotels (various corporate and regional teams as well as select hotels around the world), Hilton Hotels, InterContinental Hotel Group, Minor Group Thailand (Anantara Hotels & Resorts throughout the world), Wharf Hotels Hong Kong (Niccolo Hotels and Marco Polo Hotels throughout Asia), Miral Group Abu Dhabi (Viceroy, Ferrari World, and others), and other global and independent hotels and restaurant groups around the world. Louis began his career as an officer in the United States Army. After serving proudly, he moved on to the private sector in various leadership roles before his career at Starwood Hotels. He resides with his family in San Diego and Bangkok.
$5,000 - $10,000
Marlen is known as The Podcast Whisperer—helping authors, coaches, and entrepreneurs become the go-to voice in their industry through strategic podcast guesting. As the founder of Marlen Marketing, she and her team have booked 20+ clients on 100+ podcasts, helping them magnetize their business, attract high-ticket clients, and build lasting authority. With a background in political communication and marketing, Marlen blends storytelling and strategy to turn authentic conversations into powerful marketing momentum.
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Eran Lahav is a leading Middle East analyst, OSINT researcher, and expert on global jihad, Iranian proxy networks, and disinformation. He serves as Head of the Middle East Desk at the David Institute for Policy & Research of IDSF, where he leads high-impact research, strategic analysis, and policy recommendations on national security, radical Islamist movements, regional power dynamics, and emerging threats across the Middle East. Eran is the founder of “Mabaterror”, a terror-analysis initiative, and host of the acclaimed podcast “On Target”, focusing on terrorism, Arab affairs, security, and the Middle East. He is the author of 'The Exporter', the first Hebrew biography of Qassem Soleimani, and 'The Code of Jihad' , a unique guide to the roots of global jihad and its threat to the West. His background combines deep intelligence experience with international communication expertise: he served as an intelligence analyst in the IDF, worked in Israeli diplomatic missions abroad, and later specialized in SOCMINT, digital strategy, and content operations in Berlin. Eran’s analyses have been published in leading media, including Newsweek, Bild, Epoch Times, Exxpress.at, Toyo Keizai, Israel Hayom, Ynet, Makor Rishon, the Jerusalem Post and many others. He has appeared on international television networks across Europe, including Romania, Austria, and Sweden - providing expert commentary on terrorism, aritificial intelligence, disinformation, Iran, and regional security. Beyond research, Eran is an OSINT and AI entrepreneur, a mentor in Berlin’s young-entrepreneur community, and a multilingual strategist speaking Hebrew, English, Arabic, and German. Lecture Topics: Terrorism and Islamic extremism, Iran and proxy warfare, global jihad, disinformation & fake news, SOCMINT, digital marketing, social-media strategy, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurship.
$1,501 - $5,000
Liz McGough is a nationally recognized speaker, advocate, and author whose work supporting children of addiction has been featured on PBS, MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Women’s World Magazine, Art Bodega Magazine, Wellington Magazine, the Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel, WLRN Miami, and The Addiction Podcast. Her 16-year youth resilience program became the subject of Without Wings, a documentary spotlighted at the Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale Film Festivals and later broadcast on PBS. Warm, intuitive, and emotionally intelligent, Liz blends storytelling with practical insight to help audiences explore resilience, reinvention, neurodiversity (ADHD), emotional intelligence (EQ), and healing from family trauma. Her speaking style is grounded, relatable, and deeply human — leaving audiences feeling seen, inspired, and empowered.
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As a financial advisor for over a decade, Laura Davis, CFP® has been helping her audience overcome their money blocks so they can spend their energy doing what they love. Laura's illustrated personal finance book, Earn Save Spend, is accessible to everyone, whether they're just starting out or miles down their path to financial wellness. Whether it's coaching in her advisory practice, speaking, or consulting with teams, Laura teaches people to transform their financial lives.
$5,000 - $10,000
Lachandra B. Baker, MBA, CDP, ABC Keynote Speaker | Master of Ceremonies | Facilitator The Intersection of Education & Entertainment Lachandra Baker is a high-octane speaker and "heart-science" strategist who transforms how people work, lead, and connect. As the Founder and CEO of LBB Edutainment, Lachandra leverages over 35 years of collective experience to help organizations bridge the gap between their corporate values and their daily culture. A three-time TEDx speaker and two-time TEDx performer, she is a two-time Silver Quill Award winner and was recognized as one of Columbus’s Future 50 leaders. A Stage Presence for Every Audience Lachandra is a master of the stage, whether she is facilitating an intimate executive roundtable or commanding the spotlight at the historic Ohio Theatre and Mershon Auditorium for crowds of thousands. She is widely sought after as a Master of Ceremonies for her unique ability to balance high-level professionalism with a sense of psychological safety, joy, and "Edutainment." From global conventions to local TEDx events seating hundreds, she ensures every attendee feels seen, heard, and energized. Academic Rigor Meets Real-World Results: Lachandra’s expertise is backed by a powerhouse of credentials. She holds both a Master’s and a Bachelor’s degree, supplemented by three certifications from Cornell University in General Cultural Strategy and Cultural Strategy for HR. She is also a certified graduate of the Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women: Black in Business program. This combination of academic depth and business acumen allows her to translate complex cultural concepts into actionable strategies that engage the head, heart, and hands. Why Event Planners Choose Lachandra: 5-Star Google Rating: Consistently praised for her authenticity, humor, and "electrifying" delivery. Cultural Transformation: She moves beyond surface-level changes to foster genuine belonging, resilience, and holistic success. Versatility: A "triple-threat" on the program—equally effective as a visionary keynote speaker, a disciplined facilitator, and a high-energy emcee.
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I have spent a lot of time in boardrooms where everything looks perfect on paper while the air feels heavy with exhaustion. We have become masters at performing: keeping the camera on, nodding through meetings and grinding through Slack pings while our bodies feel like they are running on an empty tank. I have been that person. I spent years as a PM and Agile coach in high‑speed tech, holding it all together while secretly wondering how much longer I could keep white‑knuckling my way through the day. So I know what it is like to carry big targets and an even bigger poker face. Here is the reality we rarely admit: - when survival mode becomes your new normal, you can lose a significant share of your cognitive capacity just trying to stay upright. - your nervous system starts hijacking your best intentions; you find yourself second‑guessing your judgment, overthinking every email and treating every day like a fire to be put out. I created the Flow Resonance Compass™ because I needed a way to lead that did not involve sacrificing my health. More than a workshop, it is an intensive reset for your nervous system that fits inside real workdays. My purpose is to help remote and hybrid teams pinpoint where stress is stealing their focus and teach them simple, 10‑minute tools to flip the switch back to clarity between calls or before high‑stakes moments. When you settle your own chronic stress response, you access a kind of authority that does not need to be forced. You keep your high standards & your edge back, so you and your team can do the work you are actually meant to do, instead of just surviving the week.
$1,501 - $5,000
Senior Director—Engineering | Tech Strategist & Digital Transformation Leader | Speaker | Mobile, Web, AI & Data Solutions As a Senior Director - Engineering based in India, I specialize in guiding organizations through the complexities of scaling mobile and data platforms without compromising on quality, security, or leadership integrity. With extensive experience in bridging the gap between technology strategy and execution, I empower leaders to streamline complex systems, foster AI- and data-driven decision-making, and cultivate robust engineering teams. My approach is rooted in real-world examples and practical frameworks that deliver clear, measurable outcomes. I am passionate about transforming how technology leaders tackle challenges in dynamic environments by offering grounded, actionable insights. My sessions are designed to be highly relevant to current industry demands, helping teams not just adapt but excel in fast-paced, evolving technological landscapes. Located in India, I bring a global perspective combined with local insights to serve diverse organizations aiming for high performance and innovation.
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