Dorie Clark

Keynote Speaker | Bestselling Author | Top 50 Business Thinker

Dorie Clark has been named one of the Top 50 business thinkers in the world by both Thinkers50 and Inc. Magazine. She is a keynote speaker and teaches executive education at Columbia Business School. She is also the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of The Long Game, Entrepreneurial You, Reinventing You and Stand Out, which was named the #1 Leadership Book of the year by Inc. Magazine. A former presidential campaign spokeswoman, she writes frequently for the Harvard Business Review and Fast Company.

Kim Scott

Keynote Speaker | Founder and CEO | Radical Candor

Kim Scott is the author of Radical Respect and Radical Candor, and the Co-Founder and CEO of a company that helps leaders build a culture of feedback. Kim was previously a CEO Coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and other tech companies. She was a member of the faculty at Apple University and before that led AdSense, YouTube, and DoubleClick teams at Google. Earlier in her career she was an analyst at the Soviet Companies Fund, started a diamond cutting factory in Moscow, and was Director of Operations of a pediatric clinic in Kosovo.

Charles Duhigg

Keynote Speaker | Award-winning Investigative Reporter

Charles Duhigg is a Pulitzer prize-winning investigative reporter at The New Yorker Magazine, and previously at The New York Times Magazine, authoring or contributing to multiple series, including “The Reckoning” (2008), which studied the causes and outcomes of the financial crisis, and “The iEconomy”, which examined the global economy through the lens of Apple, and which won the 2013 Pulitzer prize in explanatory journalism. He has also won the George Polk Award (2007), the Gerald Loeb Award (2008), the National Journalism Award (2009), was a Business News Visionary Award recipient (2020-2021), and other honors. In addition to his reporting, Charles Duhigg is a regular contributor to television and radio, including the PBS Newshour, Frontline, CBS Sunday Morning and various programs on CNBC and NPR. He is a graduate of the Harvard Business School and Yale College.

Tammy Buss

Founder & Family Business Advisor | BlueRoots

Tammy Buss is a trailblazer in the world of family business advising, with over 40 years of experience helping hundreds of Canadian and U.S. family enterprises thrive across generations. As the founder of Buss Financial Group, Buss Business Solutions, and most recently BlueRoots, Tammy brings a rare blend of firsthand experience, strategic insight, and heartfelt dedication to every stage of business transition. 

She is the author of the acclaimed Passing Down Your Success and Build It, Dream It, Pass It On book series, and the host of two influential podcasts: The Business of Family and The Business of Family - Legal Matters. Her work focuses on fostering open communication, aligning family values, and crafting sustainable succession strategies that honor both legacy and innovation. 

Tammy's deep understanding of the emotional and operational complexities within family businesses stems not only from her client work but also from navigating her own family business journey. Her presentations are rich with practical wisdom, real-world stories, and actionable tools that empower families to build, protect, and pass on their success. 

Whether she's speaking to entrepreneurs, advisors, or next generation leaders, Tammy inspires with clarity, compassion, and a vision for what's possible when family and business grow together. 

Laurie Chan

US Head of Alternative Solutions | PGIM

Laurie Chan is the US Head of Alternative Solutions at PGIM, the global investment management business of Prudential Financial, Inc. She is responsible for the growth of PGIM’s alternative investment solutions for private wealth clients. Laurie brings over 20 years of experience in private wealth and alternative investments. Prior to joining PGIM, Laurie was Citi’s Global Head of Alternative Sales, responsible for the sales and distribution of private equity, real estate, and hedge fund solutions across Citi’s Global Wealth channels, in addition to over 17 years at Bank of America, Merrill, where she held several senior roles.

Lori Emerick

Master Practitioner | The Wiseman Group

Lori Emerick is a leadership consultant and life design coach 
dedicated to helping leaders unlock their full potential—both in 
their organizations and in their lives. With over 25 years of 
experience at companies such as Boeing, Kaiser Permanente, 
Intel, and Nike, she brings deep expertise in leadership 
development, organizational effectiveness, and talent growth.

As a Master Practitioner with The Wiseman Group, Lori leads 
workshops on the Multipliers framework, equipping leaders to 
create environments where people think bigger, contribute more, 
and perform at their best. Her work is grounded in the belief that 
the most impactful leaders don’t have all the answers—they create 
the conditions for others to thrive. Through her coaching practice, Lori also supports individuals navigating meaningful transitions, helping them reimagine what’s next with clarity, purpose, and intention.

Melissa Gerdes

Vice President, Financial Advisor, & Financial Planning Specialist | Morgan Stanley

Melissa Gerdes, CEPA® is a Vice President, Financial Advisor, and Financial Planning Specialist at Morgan Stanley. She began her career in finance in 2011 with JPMorgan Chase Bank, where she specialized in Private Client Banking in Boca Raton, Florida, and joined Morgan Stanley in 2016. As a partner of the Osprey Group, Melissa focuses on delivering goals-based planning and comprehensive wealth management, with an emphasis on intergenerational wealth transfer, tax efficiency, and impact investing.

Prior to entering the financial services industry, Melissa was an opera singer. She earned a Doctorate in Music from Florida State University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory in Boston—an academic and performance background that continues to shape her disciplined, client-centered approach. More recently, Melissa earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®) designation and enjoys helping women business owners plan thoughtfully for the eventual sale of their businesses, aligning personal, family, and financial priorities throughout the process.

Melissa lives in Coral Springs with her husband, children, and their French bulldog. One of her areas of expertise is empowering women through financial literacy—helping them take ownership of their financial decisions with clarity and confidence. She works with women across all life stages and transitions, including those who are single, widowed, or recently divorced, providing guidance designed to help them navigate change and move forward with a strong financial plan. Melissa is passionate about educating and empowering women to be the authors of their own financial journeys. She serves on the board of the Lucky Pucks Women’s Hockey Organization and is a strong advocate for promoting women in sports. She also sits on the board and is actively involved with the mentorship program of the Go For The Greens Foundation, an organization committed to connecting women-owned businesses and future business leaders with business growth opportunities.

Kate Loughran

Managing Director | Bridgepoint

Kate Loughran joined Bridgepoint in 2021 as a Managing Director based in Denver, where she co-leads the firm’s Industrials practice with a focus on the Manufacturing and Materials sectors. With over 15 years of M&A advisory and capital-raising experience, Kate has successfully guided more than 50 transactions totaling over $150 billion in deal value. Before Bridgepoint, she served as a Director in Bank of America’s Global Industrials Group, delivering exceptional outcomes for clients in chemicals, materials, and manufacturing. Kate holds a BSBA from Georgetown University.

Kate is passionate about advancing women in finance and has been recognized by Mergers & Acquisitions as a one of the Most Influential Women in Mid-Market M&A (2024) and by The Global M&A Network as one of the Top USA Women Leaders & Dealmakers (2024.)

Outside of work, Kate is an avid traveler, skier, and mountaineer. She’s visited 56 countries, climbed 42 of the 50 U.S. high points, and is actively pursuing the Seven Summits. Deeply committed to philanthropy in her Denver community, Kate is focused on causes related to disability awareness, adaptive sports, and representation in the outdoors. She volunteers with the Rocky Mountain MS Center as part of the Ambassador Committee and is a proud member of the Colorado Mountain Club and Good Shepherd Catholic Church.

Meghan Lynch

CEO and Strategic Partner | Six-Point Strategy

Meghan Lynch is the CEO and Strategic Partner of Six-Point Strategy. This nationally recognized brand strategy advisory helps generational family-owned businesses turn their reputation into a strategic asset, and turn transition from a moment of risk into a season of growth. For over 20 years, Meghan has served as a strategic advisor to multi-generational enterprises across sectors, from artisan food to advanced manufacturing, guiding them through brand evolution, leadership transitions, and market expansion.

Named an Enterprising Woman of the Year by Enterprising Woman Magazine, Meghan is a sought-after speaker for family business centers, peer groups, and leadership forums. She has also been a contributing writer to Family Business Magazine and FamilyBusiness.org, and co-hosts the Building Unbreakable Brands podcast on generational leadership with her 10-year-old son, Henry. An endurance runner and lifelong student of high-performance leadership, Meghan brings clarity, resilience, and deep strategic insight to every engagement.

Allison Maslan

CEO & Founder | Pinnacle Global Network

Holly Roland

Founder | Rebel GTM

Holly Roland teaches AI for go-to-market strategy at Stanford Continuing Studies and is the founder of Rebel GTM, where she helps companies turn AI into a practical engine for growth. 

She works with leaders to move beyond experimentation and use AI to improve execution, streamline decision-making, and increase revenue leverage across teams. 

With experience spanning major technology companies and startups, Holly is known for cutting through vendor noise and focusing on what actually works in the real world. At WPO, she will share how CEOs can apply AI in ways that boost growth, strengthen teams, and avoid the trap of simply layering more tools onto existing work. 

Katie Rucker

Co-Owner, Strategic Insight & Foresight Partner | MacKenzie

Katie Rucker is a second generation family business leader, strategic foresight practitioner, and endlessly curious question asker who co leads MacKenzie with her twin sister, evolving the insights and foresight consulting firm their father founded more than 40 years ago. Her work sits at the intersection of human insight, future thinking, and generational leadership. As a speaker and facilitator, Katie is known for sparking conversations that challenge assumptions, expand perspective, and help leaders imagine bold new possibilities for the future of their businesses.