Speakers

• Jon Biro
  EVP & CFO Consolidated Graphics
  
  

  Jon Biro has been EVP, Chief Financial and Accounting Officer and Secretary of Consolidated Graphics since January 2008. Biro is a Certified Public Accountant. Prior to that time, Mr. Biro was employed as the CFO and Treasurer of ICO, Inc., formerly a publicly traded company. Previously, he was employed by a predecessor of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

• Ed Dickinson
  CFO Friedkin Companies, Inc.
  
  

  Ed Dickinson serves as the CFO of The Friedkin Group, a privately held portfolio of automotive related companies. He has held a variety of positions within the affiliated Friedkin Companies over the last four years, including VP — Finance & Planning and VP — Shared Services. Prior to joining the Friedkin Companies, Dickinson held a variety of positions with Reed Elsevier, Koch Industries, Cooper Industries and Arthur Andersen. Dickinson has over 25 years of financial and operational experience and is a Certified Public Accountant.

• Joe Dunleavy
  Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
  
  

  Joe Dunleavy is a Partner in the PwC Transaction Services Group in Houston, TX with more than 19 years of experience in the energy industry. Dunleavy specializes in SEC financial reporting and registration matters, U.S. GAAP technical accounting issues, and conversions to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

  Dunleavy has assisted various exploration & production, midstream, oil field services and other energy-related clients with business combinations, public and private debt and equity offerings, initial public offerings, preparation of carve-out financial statements, and other accounting advisory projects. He has extensive experience assisting clients with their periodic SEC financial reporting and disclosure requirements and with responding to SEC comment letters. He also has aided various U.S. and international clients with their initial impact assessment and conversion to IFRS.

  Prior to relocating to Houston in 2005, Dunleavy spent two years in the SEC services group of the national office of PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he assisted various energy companies with their capital raising transactions, including reviews of initial public offerings, debt and equity offerings, and complying with periodic SEC reporting requirements.

  During his career, Dunleavy spent four and a half years working in Moscow, Russia. While in Russia, Dunleavy assisted Russian oil and gas companies with converting their statutory financial statements into U.S. GAAP and international accounting standards in order to assist these companies with accessing international capital markets.

  Dunleavy has been in public accounting for more than 19 years, including 13 years in the audit practice primarily serving large multi-national SEC registrants. Dunleavy is a CPA in Texas, New York and New Jersey. He is a member of the AICPA and the Texas Society of CPAs.

• Mark Ehrnstein
  Global VP, Team Member Services Whole Foods Market, Inc.
  
  

  For more than 12 years, Mark Ehrnstein has been a highly visible, true “face” of Human Resources at Whole Foods Market. Ehrnstein joined Whole Foods Market in 1999 as the Director of Team Member Services for the Northern Pacific Region where he led all Team Member Services activities for 21 stores, serving 3,500 Team Members. In 2003, he became the Director of Team Member Services in the Southwest Region where he led the development and administration of HR policies and practices for the five-state region with more than 7,000 Team Members.

  In 2009, Ehrnstein was named Whole Foods Market’s Global Vice President of Team Member Services. In this role, he oversees six global sub-teams, ultimately serving more than 62,000 Team Members throughout the company’s 12 regions in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K.

  In 2005, Ehrnstein was recognized by leadership as a National Global AllStar most notably for his leadership in the Hurricane Katrina response. Throughout his career, he has received a total of three Global AllStar awards and two Regional All*Star awards.

• Jason Few
  President Reliant, EVP & Chief Customer Officer NRG Reliant
  
  

  Jason Few is President of Reliant Energy, EVP & Chief Customer Officer of NRG Energy.

  Few was named President of Reliant Energy in 2009, after the Houston-based electricity retailer became part of NRG Energy. He joined the company in 2008 as SVP with responsibility for creating a new smart energy technology business. Shortly afterward he was given added responsibility for Reliant’s retail operations, including residential and small business sales. As President he has overseen the expansion of the company’s commercial and industrial business outside of Texas; the development of new business lines including smart energy solutions and additional retail brands; the initial deployment of NRG electric vehicle-charging infrastructure; and he strengthened Reliant’s commitment to best-in-class customer service and community involvement.

  Few serves on the board of the Greater Houston Partnership; he is a member of the executive committee and chairs the economic development committee. He also serves on the MD Anderson Cancer Foundation Board of Visitors and the boards of the Memorial Hermann Hospital System, the American Heart Association, Rebuilding Together Houston, Central Houston, the 2011 Houston Senior Games and the 2011 NCAA Houston Host Committee.

• Nicholas Giordano
  Principal Ernst & Young LLP
  
  

  Nicholas Giordano is one of the leaders of Ernst & Young LLP’s Washington Council Ernst & Young group and provides services related to tax and budget issues. Nick has extensive political, policy and process experience on tax legislative and regulatory matters before the US Congress and the Executive Branch of the US government. Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, Nick served as the Chief Tax Counsel of the US Senate Committee on Finance, where he advised the Committee and other members of the Senate on substantive tax policy issues, as well as budget and parliamentary issues. He has also served as Legislative Director and Tax Counsel for Senator Max Baucus, where his responsibilities included coordination of all Senate floor items. Nick recently completed a two-year term as the chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Tax Legislation and Policy Committee. He also is a former chair of the American Bar Association’s Formation of Tax Policy Committee. Nick is a graduate of Syracuse University and received a J.D. from George Washington University Law School and an LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

• Carol Hallett
  Of Counsel U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Chamber Foundation
  
  

  Carol Hallett serves as counselor to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. She also serves as counselor to the National Chamber Foundation (NCF), the Chamber's public policy think tank that drives the policy debate on key issues and provides a forum where leaders advance cutting-edge issues facing the U.S. business community.

  Hallett is a national and international authority on trade, transportation, and security. She served for eight years as President and CEO of the Air Transport Association of America, which represents the chief executive officers of U.S. and foreign flag airline and cargo carriers. Following 9/11, Hallett helped craft and pass legislation to save the domestic aviation industry from bankruptcy and took the lead in the redesign of airline security policies and practices. In addition, she was a strong advocate for airline safety, customer satisfaction, high industry standards, modernization and expansion of airport capacity, as well as a regulatory environment that encourages competitiveness and free trade. She was twice named to "The Business Travel Industry's 25 Most Influential Executives."

• Dwain Morris
  VP & CFO The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
  
  

  Morris provides leadership for the institution's long-term and short-term financial planning, internal and external financial reporting, accounting, treasury and cash management, supply chain services, business case analysis, and the management of assets. He also provides leadership to ensure that MD Anderson meets all financial regulatory requirements of The University of Texas and the State of Texas.

• Michael Mundaca
  Co-Director, National Tax Department Ernst & Young LLP
  
  

  Michael is Co-Director of the National Tax Department at Ernst & Young LLP. Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, he served at the U.S. Treasury Department as the Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, advising Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on all matters relating to taxation. Prior to his appointment as Assistant Treasury Secretary, Michael served from 2007—09, during both the Bush and Obama Administrations, as the Deputy Assistant Treasury Secretary for International Tax Affairs. He also served at the Treasury Department during the Clinton Administration. Prior to joining Treasury in 2007, Michael was a principal in the international tax services group of Ernst & Young LLP’s national tax department in Washington, DC. Michael holds a B.A. from Columbia University, an M.A. from the University of Chicago, a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an LL.M. from the University of Miami.

• Jeff Reich
  Chief Risk Officer Layered Technologies, Inc
  
  

  Jeffrey Reich is the Chief Risk Officer at Layered Technologies, Inc. (Layered Tech) and is responsible for further expanding the organization’s leadership position in providing compliant cloud, dedicated and hybrid hosting environments. As a well-known industry expert on security and risk management, Reich delivers significant value to Layered Tech clients who are looking for leading-edge compliance, security and risk management solutions in areas such as PCI, DSS and HIPAA.

  Reich’s background includes successful programs that have dealt with security management, risk management, security policies, information security, internal controls, physical security, internal investigations, liaison work with local and federal law enforcement, personnel protection, regulatory and audit compliance, business continuity planning, abuse and policy enforcement management, crisis management, general office management, problem management, and change control.

  Previously, Reich was director of research operations for the Institute for Cyber Security at The University of Texas at San Antonio. He has served as the chairperson of the South Texas Information Security Leadership Council and is a founding member, group leader and section author for the Cloud Security Alliance. He has also built and maintained security and risk management programs at Rackspace Hosting®, CheckFree and Dell Inc.

  Reich holds CRISC and CISSP certifications, a CHS-III designation and has held many offices, with many honors, in organizations such as the Information Systems Security Association and InfraGard. In 2011, he was named a ‘Distinguished Fellow’ by ISSA. He is a past Nominee for ‘National Information Security Executive of the Year’ and ‘Southeast Information Security Executive of the Year’ awards, both sponsored by Executive Alliance. Reich was granted a foundation certificate in IT Service Management from The Council for Service Management Education and The Information Systems Examination Board. He has conducted training and served as guest speaker at numerous conferences and seminars.

  He has served as director of education for the InfraGard Capitol of Texas chapter, president of the ISSA Capitol of Texas chapter and vice president of the ISSA Metropolitan Atlanta chapter.

• Omar Reid
  Director, Human Resources City of Houston
  
  

  Omar Reid is the Human Resources Director for the City of Houston. He provides guidance and initiates policies and is responsible for financial and administrative activities for all city departments. Reid’s focus in HR is to continue as a strategic partner with other city departments in managing the city’s workforce of over 22,000 employees. He has over 25 years of HR and specialized management experience with a Fortune 100 United States Corporation.

  During the first 365 days of leadership, Reid collaborated with HR executives to develop the mission statement for the department. The HR goal is to exceed the expectations of stakeholders by committing to shared values and achieving the highest levels of customer satisfaction. HR is a value added partner with 24 departments in city management providing high quality safety, personnel policies, training and development, labor relations, health benefits, wellness initiatives, compensation systems and employee assistant programs. Reid’s major projects include a benefits transition from insured to self-insured status, and implementation of a citywide employee wellness program.

  Reid earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from University of Houston and a Master’s degree from Texas Southern University. Reid is a published author of The Traffic of Life: Characteristics of Effective Leadership.

• Robert Torok
  Global Leader, ERM Services, Strategy & Transformation Services IBM
  
  

  Robert Torok is a global leader within IBM’s Strategy and Transformation consulting practice. Torok is responsible for leading the development and delivery of enterprise risk management services for clients around the world, particularly in regards to risk identification, management and mitigation, and the integration of risk and performance management. He has led or advised a number of risk and compliance projects in the past 10 years with IBM, including engagements in several consumer products companies, the public sector, and industrial organizations. Prior to joining IBM, Torok was an executive with Cott Corporation, where he was responsible for strategic and operations planning in Canada.

  Torok holds an M.B.A. from the Schulich School of Business at York University and is a Chartered Accountant in Canada. He is also a frequent speaker and author in both Canada and the U.S. on the subject of ERM.

• Mark Vise
  CFO, Americas Intertek
  
  

  Mark Vise is CFO, Americas for Intertek, a leading provider of quality and safety solutions serving a wide range of industries around the world. From auditing and inspection, to testing, quality assurance and certification, Intertek people are dedicated to adding value to customers' products and processes, supporting their success in the global marketplace. Vise brings more than 30 years experience in senior financial management positions, his first CFO role was at age 31 with a public software solutions company. Vise’s experience ranges from turnaround management to company’s looking to initiate major change programs. Vise began his career in public accounting with Ernst & Young and is a Certified Public Accountant. Vise holds a B.B.A. in Accounting from Lamar University and an M.B.A. from the University of Houston. Vise is a member of Financial Executive International and Chairs the Houston FEI Academic Relations Committee which bestows annual scholarships to twelve junior accounting or finance majors from universities across the South Texas area including Lamar University.

• Kristina Zvinakis
  Lecturer McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin
  
  

  Kristina Zvinakis is a lecturer in the Accounting Department at The University of Texas at Austin, where she earned her Ph.D. in Accounting. She joined the department in 2005 and teaches graduate tax courses. Professor Zvinakis serves as the Assistant Department Chair in Accounting and as the tax-track advisor for the Master in Professional Accounting Program. In addition, she teaches in a number of public accounting training programs and has served on numerous American Tax Association committees. Previously, Professor Zvinakis was a faculty member at The Ohio State University and California State University, Northridge. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., she worked for Arthur Andersen & Co. as well as Deloitte & Touche LLP.