Agenda:
8:15 AM Welcome
Dr. Gregory Miller, President of Malone University
8:30 – 9:10 AM What is Artificial Intelligence & ChatGPT
Mike Wheeler, President, and Chief Legal Officer at Patriot Software
9:15-10 AM Building the Silicon Heartland: AI & Innovation’s Regional Economic Impact
Ray Hexamer, CEO of the Stark Economic Development Board
Chris Berry, CEO of Ohio X
Jon Snyder, Managing Director of Ohio Life Sciences
Neil Singh, Strategic Technology Executive
Elisa Cline, Enterprise Architect, The J.M. Smucker Co.
10-10:15 AM Break
10:15-11 AM
Break Out Sessions, Two Options:
AI in Manufacturing (Room: 107)
Sophia Long, Manager, Industry and Innovation at Team NEO
Darlyn McDermott, Market Leader and Southern Region Director at MAGNET
Adam Ellis, Co-founder & CEO of Harmoni Solutions, Inc.
How to Break into Tech Entrepreneurship & Investing (Room: 106)
Stefan Agamanolis, PhD Chief Strategy Officer at Xploro
Michael Sirpilla, CEO and Founder of Society Brands
Duane Mancini, CEO of Project Medtech
Ken Ferguson, CRO at Virtualitics and Partner at Stage 2 Capital
Mark Terzola, Managing Partner at Leonard & Terzola, Ltd
11:05-11:45 AM
Break Out Sessions, Two Options:
Ethics, Faith & AI - Harnessing AI for Good and not Evil (Room: 107)
Dr. Andre Payne, Chair of Business & Technology Division at Malone University
Ken Ferguson, CRO at Virtualitics and Partner at Stage 2 Capital
Rhea Anne Malmgren, Designed for Development
AI Tools for Business: AI Tools to Simplify Your Back-Office (Room: 106)
Amanda Bridenstine, Director of Major Gifts and Planned Giving, Malone University
KQ Dreger, CPO of Patriot Software
Tommy Karcher, Sales Associate at The Karcher Group
Jonathon Moore, CTO of GRAIMED
11:45-12:10 PM LUNCH
12:15-12:45 PM Keynote Speaker: Lt. Governor Jon Husted
12:45-1 PM Tech in Ministry
Lawrence Liptak, Corporate Controller at ALL Family of Companies
1 PM Closing Remarks
Jeff Dafler, President and CEO of the Canton Regional Chamber of Commerce.
1:05-1:45 PM Networking
Keynote Speaker
Lt. Governor Jon Husted
State of Ohio
Jon Husted started his life in a foster home before being adopted by his loving parents, Jim and Judy. He is the oldest of three children and was raised in Northwest Ohio’s Williams County. The small community instilled in him the importance of faith, family, and hard work that serve as the foundation of his public service. He graduated from Montpelier High School and earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from the University of Dayton (UD).
Jon was an All-American defensive back for the Dayton Flyers and a member of UD’s 1989 Division III National Championship Football Team. After receiving his Master’s Degree, Jon remained in the Miami Valley and served as the Vice-President for Economic Development at the Dayton-Area Chamber of Commerce.
Throughout his time in elected office, Jon has demonstrated repeatedly his ability to get things done that have a positive impact on Ohio and its residents.
As Secretary of State, Jon made it his mission to make Ohio the best state in the Midwest to do business by improving customer services and reducing wait times for entrepreneurs. Under his leadership, the state moved beyond week-long processing of paper forms and made it possible for businesses to interact with the state over the internet with the click of a button. He has also reduced the cost for starting a business in Ohio by 21 percent — making Ohio the least costly state in the Midwest to start and maintain a new business.
In 2017, Secretary Husted announced the efficiencies in his office had not only allowed him to cut the fees the state charged on Ohio entrepreneurs, but also eliminate the need for taxpayer funding for the government office entirely for the remainder of his term in office – a move that has saved taxpayers millions of dollars.
This record of cutting cost and saving money to Ohio’s taxpayers is nothing new. As House Speaker, Jon led the passage of the most conservative state budget in 40 years, which included at the time, the largest income tax cut in Ohio’s history.
Of all his responsibilities, Jon considers his most important role as that to be a loving husband to his wife Tina, and father to Alex, Katie and Kylie.
On November 6, 2018, Jon Husted was elected to serve as Lt. Governor of the State of Ohio. Husted also previously served as Ohio Secretary of State, Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives, and a member of the Ohio Senate.
Presenters | Bios:
Stefan Agamanolis, PhD
Chief Strategy Officer
Xploro
Stefan has over 20 years of experience serving in various leadership roles revolving around developing and commercializing new technologies and cultivating innovation ecosystems. Among several current activities, he serves as Chief Strategy Officer for Xploro, a digital health start-up seeking to empower young patients with healthcare information, leveraging augmented reality, gameplay and conversational agents. He also supports early-stage technology start-ups through roles as a consultant at Project Medtech and an Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Youngstown Business Incubator. He is also an xLab Coach and Adjunct Professor in the Department of Design & Innovation in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University.
Earlier he was Chief Innovation Officer at Akron Children’s Hospital, where he built an innovation center that commercialized staff inventions and formed connections with the business community for co-development collaborations and investments. He also created the Patient Experience function, assisted in research administration, and led earlier efforts in telehealth and telemedicine during his 12 years at the hospital.
Earlier in his career, Stefan had more than 10 years of experience inside the MIT Media Laboratory, first as a graduate student and later as one of the founding research directors at Media Lab Europe, its former sister lab in Ireland. He later became the founding chief executive and research director of Distance Lab, an initiative in Scotland that developed digitally-enabled product and service concepts to address healthcare, education, and other challenges in rural and remote areas of the world. In 2010, this lab became part of the Glasgow School of Art. Stefan also served as a visiting associate professor of engineering during the formative years of NYU Abu Dhabi, where he led an intensive learning experience in design and innovation for first-year university students.
Chris Berry
President and CEO
OhioX
Chris Berry serves as the President and CEO of OhioX, a statewide nonprofit working to build Ohio into a tech hub.
OhioX is a member-based organization with representation from Fortune 500 companies, universities, research organizations, startups, and tech-focused businesses. The work of OhioX centers around connecting, promoting, and advocating for tech and innovation in Ohio.
Previously, Chris served as the Chief of Staff and Director of Communications at the Ohio Treasurer’s office. He began his career on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.
Chris has spent over a decade building and engaging in high profile campaigns that have touched on a wide range of first-of-their-kind issues. His work has been quoted and seen in media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, the Associated Press, FOX Business, Forbes, Fortune and hundreds more across the world.
Amanda Bridenstine
Co-Founder and CEO
GRAIMED
Amanda Bridenstine is an entrepreneur, an attorney, and a development officer. Amanda is the Co-Founder and CEO of GRAIMED, a medtech startup developing AI diagnostic support software in the neuro-radiology and neuro-oncology space. Amanda is an Ohio attorney having spent several years in private practice before leaning into GRAIMED. Amanda also serves as the Director of Major Gifts & Planned Giving for Malone University, a growing & vibrant faith-based institution in Canton, Ohio. Amanda is passionate about propelling the gospel of Jesus Christ into the nations and her local community. She serves as a worship leader and in the local & international mission field with Frontline Ministries International. It is her great privilege to help bring a faith-integrated AI tech innovation conference to Canton. God has great plans for the Canton region in the tech & innovation space!
Elisa Cline
Enterprise Architect - IS
The J.M. Smucker Co.
Elisa Cline is an IT professional at The J.M. Smucker Company, with over 18 years of experience implementing enterprise-wide business and technology solutions. In her current role as an Enterprise Architect, she is responsible for providing research and thought leadership on a wide range of emerging technology investments that support Smucker's digital transformation strategy.
Kyle Quinn Dreger
Chief Product Officer
Patriot Software
Kyle Quinn Dreger (KQD) is a writer, programmer, and runner—with little time to do any—and, most importantly, a dad to three little kids. He's been working for Patriot Software since 2014, where he is currently the Chief Product Officer, responsible for all Engineering, Product, Design, IT, Security, Operations, People Ops, and Risk & Treasury teams. When he's not enjoying time with his kids or wife at their home in North Canton, he's been known to kick around a soccer ball and bake a pizza or two. He's a fan of fast decisions, the oft-forgotten serial comma, and classic gray crewnecks.
Adam Ellis
Co-founder & CEO
Harmoni Solutions, Inc.
Adam Ellis is a lifelong entrepreneur with a career squarely focused on making manufacturers more efficient with the use of technology. For the first 25 years of his career, he operated an ERP consulting company that customized software to make manufacturing operations more efficient. His latest endeavor is focused on transforming the CNC machining industry with a revolutionary hardware + software co-pilot for machinists.
Ken Ferguson
Partner, Stage 2 Capital
For nearly 25 years Ken has been an Executive and business leader, helping build and operate some of the most transformational Enterprise SaaS software companies in the technology industry across the Artificial Intelligence, Analytics, Human Capital, and Financial Management markets. Ken has led highly diverse and complex global teams across Sales, Marketing, Customer Success, GTM Strategy, Revenue Operations, and Strategic Partnerships. As a proven Revenue leader, Ken has experienced the practical realities of building high performing teams in both larger scale SaaS businesses, as well as several earlier stage companies. Alongside his Executive leadership roles, Ken has taken those experiences into the venture capital world as a Limited Partner at Stage 2 Capital, a Venture Capital firm specializing in investing and advising start up and early-stage technology companies as they try to accelerate their growth and scale their businesses. Ken's passion is to see disruptive technologies brought to mainstream usage, and for healthy, sustainable businesses to be built by designing thoughtfully constructed business models that solve specific business problems. In Ken's most recent role as Chief Revenue Officer at Virtualitics, he worked with the US Department of Defense and Financial Service industries in the pioneering of the use of AI to solve mission critical problems. Prior to Virtualitics, Ken was Chief Revenue Officer at Orgvue, a London based leader in the Organizational Design market where analytics are used to transform how enterprises organize their people and their work. He also was SVP of Global Sales for Visier, the global leader in People Analytics and the pioneers in the use of people data to help corporations drive investment in their people and their business strategies. Ken also was an early-stage employee at Workday the leader in Human Capital and Financial Performance Management, where he helped define and execute sales strategy during their successful build-out of the world-class sales organization that disrupted the SaaS software industry. Many of those strategies and processes are still used today at scale in their multi-billion-dollar Revenue organization. Earlier in his career he sharpened his skills being a part of highly successful organizations like Oracle, Teradata, and OutlookSoft. In January of 2024 Ken was honored to be recognized and named a winner of the HubSpot Modern Sales Leader Top 25, a collection of the technology industries Top 25 global sales leaders.
Ray Hexamer
President/CEO
Stark Economic Development Board
Ray Hexamer is the President/CEO of the Stark Economic Development Board, a non-profit economic development organization that has a mission of expanding and attracting business in Stark County.
Prior to leading SEDB, Ray was the CEO of First Communications in Akron. Ray and his team grew First Communications from $32 million to over $200 million in sales and from 80 to 420 employees taking the Company public on the London Stock Exchange and finalized the private sale of the Company for $159 million. Prior to First Communications, Ray spent 23 years at WHBC Radio starting as a “part time temporary announcer” and ending his time there as the President of the Company leading a successful sale for the shareholders to Next Media for $42.5 Million in June of 2000.
Ray is most blessed with his wife Shannon, 4 adult children and 10 grandchildren.
Ray is the Past President of the Ohio Association of Television and Radio Broadcasters, was the General Chairman of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Festival in 2001 and served on the Board of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2023 Ray received the Team North East Ohio Economic Development Champion Award for his work in attracting and expanding companies in the region.
Tommy Karcher
Account Manager
TKG
Tommy, a native of Stark County, has been immersed in technology from a young age. Demonstrating an early aptitude for tech, he channeled his passion into a career with TKG, a family business started by his dad, Geoff Karcher. With seven years of hands-on experience in IT, he has moved to the role of Account Manager. In this role, Tommy devises custom IT strategies that serve the unique needs of businesses throughout Stark County and beyond. Tommy's favorite AI tools to use are ChatGPT and HubSpot's AI features.
Lawrence M. Liptak
Corporate Controller
ALL Family of Companies
Lawrence Liptak serves as the Corporate Controller and is a second-generation family member of The ALL Family of Companies, a privately held crane rental company with a 60-year history. With more than 20 years of experience at ALL, he holds a pivotal role in the company's continued success and expansion. Additionally, Lawrence is a member of the senior leadership team at Frontline Ministries International, an international ministry based in Jackson township. He has been traveling internationally with Frontline since 2002.
Sophia Long
Manager, Industry & Innovation Programs
Team NEO
Sophia Long is the Manager of Industry and Innovation at Team NEO. With a diverse background, she began her career as an engineer at multiple Fortune 50 companies in Aerospace, Oil and Gas, and MedTech. In 2023, Sophia transitioned to Economic Development, where she now oversees the Smart Manufacturing Cluster of Northeast Ohio, focusing on amplifying regional initiatives. With a rich experience in industry, she successfully led projects integrating AI elements to manage risk assessments. In her current role, Sophia champions the adoption of smart manufacturing technologies, such as AI and IIOT, empowering regional companies to enhance their competitiveness.
RheaAnne Malmgren
Founder
Designed for Development LLC
As a seasoned Learning and Development Specialist with over 17 years of experience across multiple industries, Rhea is the founder of Designed For Development LLC. Her firm crafts customized solutions for solving organizations' recurring pain points in leadership development, employee retention, and scaling team growth. Rhea's approach is rooted in her passion for providing mentorship, developing true-fit talent solutions, strategically taking action, and her love of the Lord, who has given us both our talents and the ability to develop these talents. As leaders face new questions and challenges in their work, such as how to incorporate AI or adjust goals during growth, Rhea’s priority remains focused on designing values-based solutions that drive our future development and help us lead fully engaged lives where we thrive.
Duane Mancini
Chief Executive Officer
Project MedTech
Duane is the Chief Executive Office at Project Medtech. He has more than 15 years of experience in go-to-market strategy including regulatory & reimbursement, biocompatibility, pre-clinical efficacy testing, and clinical trial design & execution.
With all the complexities of running a Medtech company and taking a product to the market, Duane partners with start-ups to develop strategies and milestones. He evaluates how their early decisions in various aspects of the company may impact other aspects in the future. He supports in creating the blueprint to build and grow companies.
He obtained his Master of Science in Medicinal Chemistry degree and enjoys the innovative science that goes into every company. He is proud to be a “nerd” of the Medtech industry. This is demonstrated by hosting the podcast called “Project Medtech.”
Darlyn A. McDermott
Director of Client Engagement
MAGNET
Darlyn McDermott is a Market Leader and Director of Client Engagement responsible for the Northern and Eastern Region of MAGNET of NE Ohio. She specializes in identifying and solving complex Manufacturing and Tech Services sector barriers to growth for the manufacturing community. As a Market Leader her current responsibilities include new business development technical discussions, industry leadership strategic partner relationships, Smart Factory implementation strategic and operations topics. MAGNET 's state of the art manufacturing facility is located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio and has 4 satellite offices across Ohio.
EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
Darlyn is a Cum Laude graduate of Malone College with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. More recently, she is a graduate of Malone University with Masters in Business and Organizational Leadership. She is a Business Administration Doctoral candidate at Capella University whose thesis work involves comparative retention practices of M/A associated organizations. Darlyn has received certification as a Green Belt in Six Sigma as well as is a Conferred Leadership Fellow. Darlyn holds an Associate’s degree in Insurance, is a Certified Work Comp Advisor and a Claims Legal Principles Specialist II. Darlyn has presented at the Regional RIMS conference for Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania as well as has spoken extensively in the energy sector as an industry expert in the field of risk management.
Jonathon Moore
Lead Engineer, AI/Machine Learning
Progressive Insurance
Jonathon Moore serves as Lead Engineer of Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning for Progressive Insurance in Cleveland, Ohio. He previously served as Instructor of Data Science and Full Stack Software Development for Case Western Reserve University. Jonathon also has experience developing cutting edge AI software in the medtech startup sphere. Jonathon holds a Master's Degree from Harvard University. He is a devoted husband and the proud father of three (almost four) children, and enjoys coaching their sports teams.
Dr. Andre M. Payne, Jr.
Dean of Business and Technologies
Malone University
Dr. Andre M. Payne, Jr. was appointed as the Chair and later Dean of Malone University’s Division of Business and Technologies in January 2023. He leads the division in its endeavor to be the premier Christian educational and experiential hub of northeast Ohio.
Dr. Payne strives to highlight three points of emphasis within the division: the integration of faith and learning, theory that induces critical thinking, and the intentional implementation of experiential learning. He is highly experienced and focused on implementing active experiential learning methods, especially case-based learning and hands on projects with real companies and corporations. As a teaching institution, this is one of the division’s key points of distinction.
He is passionate about building the division’s reputation as a regular contributor of rigorous and influential teaching within the division’s various academic disciplines and being recognized as the leading source of qualified candidates for the regional workforce, specifically within Stark County. This is often made possible through cultivating partnerships with small business as well as fortune 500 companies.
Prior to his appointment, Dr. Payne served as the Assistant Professor of Business Marketing and Vice Faculty Chair at Indiana Wesleyan University, which is where he earned his PhD in Organizational Leadership. Dr. Payne’s own research seeks to address many of the challenges that plague Christian Higher Education by using Authentic Leadership as a conduit for change. He has taught business management, marketing, leadership, and ethics courses at the undergraduate and graduate level, with a particular focus on change management and leadership theory.
Dr. Payne is committed to ensuring his students understand how the holistic approach to learning (focusing on personal, professional, and spiritual growth) can help them achieve in every field of human endeavor. It is this desire that has brought him into a career in Christian higher education. In addition to his academic appointment, he is a passionate entrepreneur, serving as the owner operator of Payne Realty Services, LLC and co-founder of A&E Consulting Services, LLC (which he co-owns with his wife).
Though he has had many experiences, Dr. Payne considers his family to be his greatest achievement; a family that includes his wife (Eleese), his two daughter’s (Nevaeh and Analise), his son (Andre M. Payne III), and dog (Prince). In their spare time, they enjoy exercising, traveling/vacationing, reading, watching movies, spending time with extended family, engaging in community service, and committing their lives to serving God’s Kingdom.
Neil Singh
Technology Leader
Neil is a results-driven technology leader who collaborates with the nation’s foremost emerging technology leaders, driving substantial thought leadership in the technology sector. His strategic contributions to economic development have played a pivotal role in elevating and empowering the technology landscape in Northeast Ohio, fostering remarkable growth in investment and workforce initiatives.
He has a proven ability to execute strategic initiatives in talent development, innovation, investment, and business growth. Neil has a demonstrated track record of cultivating impactful partnerships and consistently achieving growth objectives.
With demonstrated experience in AI, Cybersecurity, Semiconductors, IoT, Digital Twins, AR/VR, and Cloud platforms, Neil has continued to stay relevant in the domain of Emerging Technologies at a national level in the US. He is deeply networked with some of the industry’s top leaders, further enhancing his influence and reach within the technology sector. His commitment to innovation and growth continues to drive his success in this dynamic field.
Micheal Sirpilla
Co-founder and CEO
Society Brands Inc.
Society Brands is a tech-enabled consumer products company that acquires e-commerce native brands. Society Brands provides meaningful liquidity for the founders of each acquisition while allowing them to stay onboard with their brand. The founders also have the ability to roll equity into Society Brands parent company so the founder can enjoy a second exit down the road that will likely be bigger than the first.
Michael grew up in Ohio and has been in and around retail his whole life and has extensive M&A experience throughout his career and been part of multiple business ventures where he’s primarily focused on organic growth. He founded a financial services wholesale agency with 40 direct reports and built it to a multi-million-dollar business. He also partnered in a population health management business and scaled it from $0 to $150MM in revenue within five years. With Michael as CEO, Society Brands raised $205MM to continue their rapid consolidation in the e-commerce sector and has completed many acquisitions since inception.
Jon Snyder
Managing Director, Investor Relations
Ohio Life Sciences Association
A businessman, investor, lawyer, mentor, and strategic partner, Mark works on the front lines of emerging technology with a broad array of companies. Wearing different hats over his years at the global clean-energy focused Echogen Power Systems, including CSO and COO, Mark has helped guide Echogen (www.echogen.com) through multiple private financings involving tens of millions of dollars, multiple licensing and other strategic transactions with global, multi-national companies, and to grow and develop best in class technical leadership that is recognized worldwide in the renewable, electrical storage and clean energy industry. As a private practice lawyer with Leonard & Terzola (www.ltcolaw.com), he works with dozens of start-up, emergent and growth stage companies across multiple industry sectors, including the energy, software, healthcare, MedTech, communications, industrial equipment, environmental, transportation, hospitality, food and beverage, and consumer product sectors, serving their leadership teams and boards of directors as a trusted business advisor, “been there and done that” mentor, and de facto general counsel. Mark previously served on the Board of Directors for Advanced Energy Economy Ohio, was a founding director of the Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy and frequently guest-lectures at the University of Akron School of Law on the topic of entrepreneurship. Mark has an engineering degree (environmental) from the University of Notre Dame and received his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Akron.
Mike Terzola
Principal
Leonard & Terzola Co., Ltd.
A businessman, investor, lawyer, mentor, and strategic partner, Mark works on the front lines of emerging technology with a broad array of companies. Wearing different hats over his years at the global clean-energy focused Echogen Power Systems, including CSO and COO, Mark has helped guide Echogen (www.echogen.com) through multiple private financings involving tens of millions of dollars, multiple licensing and other strategic transactions with global, multi-national companies, and to grow and develop best in class technical leadership that is recognized worldwide in the renewable, electrical storage and clean energy industry. As a private practice lawyer with Leonard & Terzola (www.ltcolaw.com), he works with dozens of start-up, emergent and growth stage companies across multiple industry sectors, including the energy, software, healthcare, MedTech, communications, industrial equipment, environmental, transportation, hospitality, food and beverage, and consumer product sectors, serving their leadership teams and boards of directors as a trusted business advisor, “been there and done that” mentor, and de facto general counsel. Mark previously served on the Board of Directors for Advanced Energy Economy Ohio, was a founding director of the Ohio Business Council for a Clean Economy and frequently guest-lectures at the University of Akron School of Law on the topic of entrepreneurship. Mark has an engineering degree (environmental) from the University of Notre Dame and received his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Akron.
Michael (Mike) Wheeler, Esq.
President & Chief Legal Officer
Patriot Software
Professionally, Michael (Mike) Wheeler, Esq., is the President & Chief Legal Officer at Patriot Software, where he’s been for 18 years. Please don’t hold it against Mike that he’s technically an attorney, as really he’s a businessman at heart. During his 18 years at Patriot, he’s been part of helping run the companies and he has had the distinct honor of taking “the fundraising road less traveled,” which has resulted in diverse M&A experience. His efforts have helped raise tens of millions via convertible notes to accredited investors, private placement offerings, spinoffs, sale of entities, Regulation D offerings, multiple pre-IPO confidential filings with the SEC, and a successful Series A investment with RZC Investments, the investment arm for the Walton Family, and much more. He’s on the board of multiple companies and organizations including a publicly traded bank. He enjoys complex business and family planning to ensure the wealth of the righteous will be stored for the kingdom of heaven.
Personally, Mike has volunteered extensively on multi-month missions trips, specifically working with orphanages, victims of human trafficking, and non-governmental organizations in Asia, Central America, and throughout Africa. He has worked to secure land rights and negotiate with tribal and local governments to secure clean drinking water, medical services, and free education with organizations such as Iris Ministries International, Frontline Ministries International, and Mother Teresa’s Calcutta Center and the Sisters of Charity. He and his wife have 3 sons and enjoy living at Lake Cable, OH. Wheeler lives and breathes Patriot’s mission to make payroll and accounting software easy and affordable for millions of American businesses and their Accountants, and loves being part of the complexities of the company.
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