CEOs Speak

Dr. Bart Barthelemy is the Founding Director of the Wright Brothers Institute and the President of the Collaborative Innovation Institute. He was the National Director of the National Aerospace Plane Program, where he reported to the White House and was responsible for the development of the nation’s hypersonic aerospace plane. While a member of the Federal Senior Executive Service, he served as the Technical Director of the Air Force Wright Aeronautical Laboratories at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, the Air Force’s largest research and development complex. He has been a consultant to a variety of aerospace industry companies and federal government organizations, including Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, the Department of Defense and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Bart was also a Visiting Scientist at the Software Engineering Institute and Carnegie Mellon University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Dayton. Bart’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering from MIT, Master of Science in Nuclear Engineering and Physics from MIT, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Nuclear Physics/Mechanical Engineering from The Ohio State University. Bart published High Performance, a book on high performance technology leadership in 1985, and The Sky Is Not The Limit: Breakthrough Leadership, St. Lucie Press, a book on breakthrough leadership in 1993 and Collaborative Innovation, a book on the future of innovation, Balboa Press in 2020.

William D. Novelli is the Founder of Georgetown Business for Impact, and Distinguished Professor of the Practice, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University.

As a professor in the MBA program at McDonough Georgetown, Bill teaches Principled Leadership for Business and Society and Managing the Enterprise. He developed and previously taught courses in Corporate Social Responsibility and Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations.

He founded Georgetown Business for Impact at McDonough and oversees the program, which partners with companies, nonprofits, and government to create social, environmental, and economic impact.

Bill is also co-founder and co-chair of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, a national alliance focused on reforming advanced illness/end-of-life care in the U.S.

Previously, he was CEO of AARP, a membership organization of 40 million people 50 and older. Prior to AARP, he was founder and president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, EVP of CARE, the international relief and development organization, and co-founder and president of Porter Novelli, a global public relations firm and now part of Omnicom.

Andy Techmanski is the Founder and CEO of FORLOH, a new premium, technical hunting, fishing, and outdoor apparel brand with apparel that is 100% Made in the U.S.A. Before switching paths to pursue his passions for hunting and American-made manufacturing through FORLOH, Andy worked in the energy sector as CEO of Whitefish Energy Holdings, an energy construction company. Prior to joining Whitefish Energy Holdings, Andy was the Senior Vice President at Arctic Arrow Powerline Group, a consulting firm in the energy industry. On his new career path, Andy is excited to combine his passion for hunting and vision for American-made manufacturing to his latest business venture. Andy’s vision for FORLOH is for the brand to become a global leader in the hunting and outdoor apparel industry. Andy is based in Whitefish, Mont., where FORLOH is headquartered.

Christine Nguyen is a WashU student by day and a nonprofit leader by night. She is the founder and CEO of Limitless Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit fighting for equitable and accessible healthcare, in loving memory of her uncle Cuong Ngo. Christine has worked in the nonprofit sector, legislative offices, political campaigns, startups, and venture capital firms. Outside of Limitless, she is currently using her experience to serve as president of the WashU Catholic Student Union and as an engagement manager for Consult Your Community (an organization that provides pro bono consulting services for small businesses).

Kenetia Lee, is the Founder and CEO of PopUP CleanUP, which started in 2016 as a hip niche commercial cleaning company offering best-in-cleaning crews to maintain cleanliness at the hottest events, festivals, races, and concerts, in Greater Los Angeles. PopUP CleanUP offers pre-event production set-up/cleaning, cleaning during events, and post-event cleaning in any indoor or outdoor event space. Our roster of events include the 2017 Los Angeles NBA All-Star Games, 2018 ComplexCon in Long Beach, 2019 Blast Pro Series and Los Angeles Marathon, working with clients like Nike, Adidas, Facebook, PopSugar and Lululemon to name a few.

Kevin Wilson is the CEO and President of Buzz Franchise Brands. He has held the position since July 2012. Prior to this, Kevin was a Senior Managing Director with Envest Ventures where he oversaw $160M across three funds that made 28 investments, four of which were franchisors. Before joining Envest, Kevin was a Senior Managing Director of Discovery Americas, a private equity fund based in Mexico City, Mexico. Utilizing his experience in the airline industry, he developed a business plan and co-founded Volaris, (NYSE: VLRS) an ultra low cost airline. His career includes being CEO of South African Airways Technical, the independently owned maintenance operation of South African Airways, based in Johannesburg, South Africa; the CEO and Founder of Benny’s Bagels, a franchisor of retail bagel stores based in Dallas, Texas. Kevin began his business career working for Bain and Company as a consultant in Toronto, Canada and Dallas, Texas.

Kinga Jentetics is the CEO and founder of PublishDrive, the all-in-one digital book publishing platform for e-books, print books and audiobooks for authors and publishers.

She made Forbes’ 30 Under 30 in Media and was named one of the Top 100 European Female Founders by The Hundert. With PublishDrive, she took part in global accelerator programs of Google in Silicon Valley and in Europe. She was also nominated for the 2018 Digital Book World Awards (in a list that included Jeff Bezos). As an advocate of using new technologies such as blockchain and AI, Kinga is helping to rewrite the rules of the publishing landscape with PublishDrive by providing digital services from global book distribution to promotional tools and financial services tailored for indies. So that publishing will not be the privilege of a few but a resource for many.

Wanda Wallace, Ph.D. is a Leadership and Inclusion Expert and Radio Host. She is an accomplished keynote speaker and Managing Partner of Leadership Forum, LLC. She coaches and facilitates improving leadership by improving the quality of conversations — helping women and men advance, stick, and thrive.

Her most recent work has been on helping managers break out of being the expert and build truly inclusive cultures. This work is captured in her latest book You Can’t Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise. Wanda hosts a weekly radio show and podcast: Out of the Comfort Zone. Dividing her time between New York City and London, Wanda speaks, coaches leaders, conducts seminars, and works with teams at all levels in the global corporate context. She works around the world and is versed in leadership, politics, and strategic perspective. She helps women advance their careers as well as engages managers in the inclusion agenda. As a consultant and educator who is equally at ease in the distinct worlds of business and education, she has designed a number of highly-rated programs for high potential leaders that have been enthusiastically received around the world. For clients, she has developed and introduced a number of executive education models that combine the best of practice, dialogue, thought and action.

Rod Washington serves as Dallas regional president for Frost Bank, where he oversees the teams working to build and strengthen business relationships within the Dallas community. Washington joined Frost in 2007 as an executive vice president in charge of its Dallas-area real estate banking group and has more than 35 years of experience in the banking and real estate industries. Born and raised in southern Dallas, Washington serves on the board of directors of Dallas Methodist Hospital Foundation, including its Finance Committee, and the board of the Real Estate Council Community Fund and its Loan Committee, and he’s passionate about being a part of the community in which he lives and works.