CEOs Speak

Chelle Neff has been a leader in the U.S. salon industry since founding Urban Betty in 2005. As the CEO, Neff has successfully grown Urban Betty year after year and today has a salon company that houses more than 60 employees and has 2 locations. No stranger to innovation, Neff designed and developed an app, FyleStyle, which allows stylists to track client information and color formulas, and in 2017, she launched a series of educational classes called Betty Bootcamp. Since 2018 Urban Betty has been recognized as one of the fastest-growing privately held companies by Inc 5000 three times consecutively.

Erica Pattni is a seasoned CMO and startup advisor with a successful track record at developing numerous high growth companies to profitably establish them as health & wellness and tech leaders. Erica led all marketing during the rapid growth phase at KIND from $10M in sales to $350M in sales while increasing brand awareness from 10% to 32% awareness with 100% annual sales growth. She has led numerous global brands to establish or reestablish brand leadership including Oracle, Nestle, Williams Sonoma, West Elm, Sun Run, Urban Remedy, Clif Bar, Conde Nast, and Gillette by guiding strategy, acquisitions, branding, marketing communications, and innovation and building brand value to help them forge ahead of the competition across their industries.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Whit and Colin Hunter of BetterWorld, a free, easy-to-use fundraising platform that helps nonprofits and individuals raise funds online.

Since the age of 18, Whit Hunter has worked in startups from Shanghai to Palo Alto. After recognizing that up to twenty percent of funds raised for nonprofits do not make it to the end cause, Whit set out to disrupt the charitable giving industry for the better. With a background in best-in-class technology and a passion for nonprofit work, Whit has dedicated his life to imagining new ways for businesses to do good. He currently lives in Charlottesville, VA.

Colin Hunter is the co-founder and head of strategy and growth at BetterWorld. From his early career at Bain and Company, Colin brings with him a vast background in strategy consulting. He is also the proud founder of the premium menswear brand Alton Lane, which allows him to bring a multidimensional, entrepreneurial mindset to the team at BetterWorld.

Recognizing that a large portion of donations made to charitable causes do not make it to the end cause, he used his expertise in scaling and growing brands to found BetterWorld. He has a deep-rooted commitment to nonprofit work, having served in every role of the nonprofit ecosystem, from board member to advisor, consultant, event host and donor.

Nick Ron, CEO of House Buyers of America, is a tech-savvy industry veteran with over 20 years of experience as a real estate investor. Since 2001, Nick has bought 1,000s of homes in the Washington D.C. Metro area through his hybrid real estate model that balances technology with human, on-the-ground expertise.

Steven Seiden is CEO of Acquired Data Solutions (ADS), Inc., a 22-year old engineering services company specializing in solving customer’s complex engineering problems serving the Aerospace and Defense, Transportation, Critical Infrastructure, Medical, and Food and Beverage industries. These solutions include Internet of Things (IOT), software and hardware development and design, test, automation, and cybersecurity. ADS serves federal agencies such as TSA, NIH, DHS, DOD, and many large prime contractors including Northrop Grumman, AT&T, SAIC, Leidos, ManTech, and Raytheon.

Jorge Sun is the founder of  Lending Front, a technology company that powers the future of business lending for community banks, credit unions, CDFIs, payment processors, and alternative lenders. The SaaS platform enables lenders to separate small business lending from the traditional commercial lending process so they can lend capital in a more efficient, low-risk manner. Jorge Sun founded LendingFront in 2015 after working in small business lending for a number of years with Capital One, OneDeck, and others.

Jason Dunn Sr. is the Chairman of NCBMP and has been a change-maker in Cincinnati and within the national hospitality industry for almost two decades. He has a drive to redefine how the industry thinks about multicultural and diversity meetings and their impact on the destinations. As the first supplier to be elected Chairman of the National Coalition of Black Meeting Professionals (NCBMP), Jason Dunn, Sr. has found intersections between his role as Group Vice-President in Cincinnati and Chairman of NCBMP. Under Mr. Dunn’s leadership, NCBMP has forged a partnership with Meeting Professionals International (MIP) and provides an equitable exchange- introducing professional development access through educational opportunities. The partnership will focus on unifying the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) industry in a comprehensive way by leading with data and mutual access to untapped resources.

Since joining the Cincinnati Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CCVB) in 2004, Mr. Dunn has led efforts to deliver significant new convention business and forged inroads with the national multicultural and diverse meetings market. During his tenure, the number of multicultural and diverse meetings in Cincinnati has represented more than one-third of all CVB new business from 2008–18, with a direct visitor spend of $200 million. Mr. Dunn brings deep perspective and a successful track record in connecting communities of all backgrounds to Cincinnati, Ohio.

With more than 25 years of experience in the apparel industry, Lisa Struble has led global teams in technical design and product development and has been featured in Sourcing Journal, Nashville Fashion Week, Textile Excellence and many more. After 15 years at Abercrombie & Fitch as the Vice President of Technical Design and 5 years at UnderArmour as the Vice President of Product Development and Quality, Struble moved back home to Tennessee for a much-needed break. During those few months off, she discovered BANDED in her hometown and instantly fell in love with the brand and mission. After serving as the Executive Vice President for a season, Struble jumped at the opportunity to purchase the company. She hasn’t looked back since.

Kym Gold is the original Co-founder/Designer for True Religion Brand Jeans. Her talent and passion for design has been translated into other premier brands like Babakul, Bella Dahl, Hippie Jeans, and most recently Style Union Home. “Fashion for the home,” Style Union Home is handcrafted, fired with love ceramic houseware. A luxury passion project where Kym employs her innovative “disheveled sexy” aesthetic approach to designing timeless, cohesive, unique, interchangeable Home Fashion. Part of her business success hinges on her long-held belief that “you are only as good as your team.” Kym paves the way for her team’s growth and autonomy. She leads by example and welcomes collaboration.

Joseph A. Michelli, Ph.D., an internationally sought-after speaker, author, and organizational consultant. He is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Publishers Weekly, Nielson BookScan, and New York Times #1 bestselling author of 9 books about companies like Starbucks, Mercedes-Benz, Zappos, Airbnb, UCLA Health Systems, and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. His latest book is Stronger Through Adversity: World-Class Leaders Share Pandemic-Tested Lessons on Thriving During the Toughest Challenges. Among other honors, Dr. Michelli has been named the #2 thought leader in Customer Service by Global Gurus.