Speakers

Michael Brody-Waite is a recovering addict, acclaimed speaker, Inc. 500 entrepreneur, award-winning, 3X CEO, and author of “Great Leaders Live Like Drug Addicts: How to Lead Like Your Life Depends on It.”

Michael’s Nashville TEDx Talk,, “Great Leaders Do What Drug Addicts Do,” provides insight into his twenty-one-year journey from addiction to successful entrepreneurship. It is the #1 talk in the history of TEDx Nashville, with over 3 million views from people in more than 25 countries.

In 2010, Michael left a Fortune 50 company at the height of the recession to cofound and lead InQuicker, a healthcare SaaS company that allowed patients to self-schedule appointments online. Under his leadership, the organization experienced 20,000 percent revenue growth, earning InQuicker a spot on the Inc. 500 list of the Fastest-Growing Private Companies. Additionally, the organization was named one of the “Best Places to Work” four times and recognized as Healthcare Company of the Year. After selling InQuicker to a publicly traded company in 2015, Michael served for three years as the CEO of the Nashville Entrepreneur Center, a 501(c)(3) organization that helps over 2,000 entrepreneurs start or grow a business each year.

His accomplishments include being named a Most Admired CEO, recognized as one of the Top 40 Under 40, and honored by the Nashville Chamber of Commerce as Healthcare Entrepreneur of the Year.

Doug Brown is a platinum selling recording artist & songwriter and head of music for Nate Bargatze Productions based in Nashville TN. He first achieved success in the music industry through his band SAFETYSUIT & throughout his years of recording & touring, has built up a catalog of songs for other recording artists, film & television use, commercials & advertising.

SAFETYSUIT’s success has put Doug on stages across the globe, with his reputation as a performer being known as passionate & engaging, with audiences leaving feeling empowered, excited & inspired.

From #1 songs on the Vh1 Top20 Countdown, to sold out shows, to becoming a Vh1 You Outta Know Artist, to their sophomore album These Times displacing Adele’s record breaking “21” at the top of the iTunes Charts, the constant through all the success has been fearless & intentional collaboration.

With stories from the road, writing rooms, recording studios, brand collaborations and everything in between, Doug takes the audience behind the scenes of the music industry & inspires participants to engage in essential songwriter practices that are sure to elevate your team, your corporate culture & your brand itself.

Pete Glyman co-founded Geezeo in 2006, building one of the early leaders in personal financial management (PFM) technology for banks and credit unions. The company was acquired by Jack Henry & Associates in 2018, where Pete continued to lead innovation in digital banking solutions. Recently, Pete departed Jack Henry to launch Coinbax, a new venture focused on bringing stablecoin infrastructure to traditional financial institutions. 

With over two decades of experience working alongside financial institutions, Pete brings deep understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities facing traditional finance as it intersects with blockchain technology.

Joe Maxwell is a Co-Founder & Managing Partner at FINTOP Capital. A trailblazer in the fintech industry, Joe has over thirty years of experience as a serial entrepreneur, turned venture capitalist.

As FINTOP’s Managing Partner, Joe oversees $700+ MM in committed capital and its deployment into early-stage, B2B fintech companies. He also serves as the Board Chairman for Thread Bank and co-founder of Torch Collective.

Joe is a native of Huntington, West Virginia. He holds a BA from Denison University and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is a longtime resident of Brentwood, TN, where he and his wife Juliana raised their three sons; Wyatt, Rudy, Hadley and three Labradors; Gus, Sandy and Pearl. Joe is actively involved in various charitable organizations.

Donald Miller is the CEO of StoryBrand.ai and Coach Builder. He is the author of several books including the bestsellers Building a StoryBrand 2.0, Marketing Made Simple, Coach Builder, and How to Grow Your Small Business. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee with his wife Elizabeth and their daughter, Emmeline.

Everybody who attends a business event walks in hoping it will be worth their time and expense to attend. Donald Miller’s keynotes are designed to inspire, educate and entertain his audiences. When your audience hears Donald Miller speak, they will directly translate his ideas into actions they can take to increase their revenue and grow their businesses, making your event a terrific investment.

John Philpott is a Partner at FINTOP, a fintech-focused venture fund with more than 70 portfolio companies, and serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee for Thread Bank.

John began his career as a founding team member of S1 Corporation (NASDAQ: SONE), originator of the world’s first internet bank, SFNB. During his tenure, S1 grew to more than $200 million in annual revenue, and John held several leadership roles, including Senior Vice President and General Manager of the company’s international business unit.

Following S1, John helped establish a multi-family office and asset management firm before serving as Chief Executive Officer of Interactive Advisory Software, a practice-management and technology company supporting more than 200 RIA firms with a combined $70 billion in reportable assets.

A graduate of Davidson College, John resides in Nashville with his wife, Mary Laura. Together they have two adult children and share their home with two dogs.

Sanjay Sakhrani joined KBW in 2006 and leads the consumer finance and payments industries research efforts. Previously, Sanjay was at Calyon Securities (a subsidiary of Credit Agricole), where he followed the Specialty and Mortgage Finance sectors.

He also spent five years within Citigroup’s U.S. Equity Research Department's Specialty and Mortgage Finance team. Sanjay has been recognized as one of the leading analysts in the industry and has placed highly on Institutional Investor's All-America Research Team, including six years in the top spot.

He has also been named a top stock picker in The Wall Street Journal's "Best on the Street" survey and placed prominently in recent Greenwich Associates annual rankings. He has a B.S. in Finance from St. John’s University and a MBA from Cornell.

Thomas Schlegel

Chris Walker is the VP of Operations at Praxent where he helps technology leaders ensure high-performing teams that deliver consistent, innovative outcomes. In leading efforts in HR, recruiting, training, and culture, Chris helps ensure Core Values are living and breathing within organizations.

Chris Wiggins is an associate professor of applied mathematics at Columbia University and the Chief Data Scientist at The New York Times. At Columbia he is a founding member of the executive committee of the Data Science Institute, and of the Department of Applied Physics and Applied Mathematics as well as the Department of Systems Biology, and is affiliated faculty in Statistics.

He is a co-founder and co-organizer of hackNY (http://hackNY.org), a nonprofit which since 2010 has organized once a semester student hackathons, and the hackNY Fellows Program, a structured summer internship at NYC startups.

Prior to joining the faculty at Columbia, he was a Courant Instructor at NYU (1998-2001) and earned his PhD at Princeton University (1993-1998) in theoretical physics. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is a recipient of Columbia's Avanessians Diversity Award.