Coach Kara Lawson 

WNBA and Olympic Champion; Head Women’s Basketball Coach, Duke University

Lawson, a 2003 Tennessee graduate, brings her decorated basketball career, both on and off the court, to the Blue Devils after spending the 2020 season as an assistant coach with the Boston Celtics. Lawson was the Celtics’ first female coach in the franchise’s 73-year history. Prior to becoming Duke’s head coach, she helped Boston to an impressive 43-21 record. Lawson is also a founding board member of the Boston Celtics United for Social Justice. Beyond her prolific coaching resume, Lawson played 13 seasons in the WNBA, suiting up with the Sacramento Monarchs, Connecticut Sun, and the Washington Mystics from 2003-2015. Highlights of her storied career include a championship with the Monarchs in 2005 and an All-Star appearance in 2007. Lawson was the No. 5 overall selection by the Detroit Shock in the 2003 WNBA Draft. Lawson is one of only three NCAA Division I women’s basketball coaches to play in a NCAA Final Four, win a WNBA title and win a WNBA Championship.

Vernice "FlyGirl" Armour 

America’s First Black Female Combat Pilot;Former Marine & Cop; Author, Zero to Breakthrough

Combat tests you. Being a beat cop tests you. Life tests you. Three brothers and being the only girl...tests you. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has been tested her whole life. A gutsy trailblazer, her resume is an impressive collection of “firsts” including America’s first Black female combat pilot. She served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. She was also a diversity liaison officer to the Pentagon for Headquarters Marine Corps. After her military service, FlyGirl revved up her career in the private sector as an entrepreneur, consultant to business, and author of Zero to Breakthrough, The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter. As a speaker, FlyGirl unleashes hard-hitting advice and amazing anecdotes from her adventures on the battlefield and in business. She helps individuals and organizations Get Gutsy and build a sustainable inner force and conviction, that results in accomplishing significant goals.

Keynote Speaker

Ron Insana 

Dynasty Financial Partners

Business leaders and financial professionals look to Ron Insana for his analysis of the most pressing economic and financial markets issues of the day. Ron is a pioneer in television financial news reporting. He is currently senior analyst and commentator at CNBC and also hosts The Market Score Board Report, a daily nationally syndicated radio program. Ron is chief market strategist at Dynasty Financial Partners, a firm catering to the needs of the investment advisor community. He is also founder and CEO of The Insana Entertainment Group, a film and TV production company. Ron is author of four books on investing and reading the financial markets. In his speeches, Ron offers valuable insights on the intersection of Wall Street, Main Street, and Washington. He translates market signals and political maneuvers into actionable information his audience can use to navigate change, protect what they have, and spot fresh opportunities.

Troy Gayeski 

FS Investments

Troy Gayeski, CFA serves as Chief Market Strategist for FS Investments. Mr. Gayeski is responsible for research generation, positioning and conveying the FS Investments suite of alternative investments, and enhancing and expanding the current product suite. Mr. Gayeski has a wealth of experience in the alternative asset management space. He most recently was Partner, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Senior Portfolio Manager at Skybridge Capital, where he ran discretionary funds of hedge funds and institutional separate accounts, and was responsible for idea generation, due diligence, portfolio construction, development and implementation of the macro framework, and client presentations. Mr. Gayeski has spent over a decade as a contributor on Bloomberg, Fox, Yahoo Finance and CNBC. He also provides frequent market commentary to Reuters, Bloomberg, Financial Times and other news outlets. Mr. Gayeski has also been a Senior Portfolio Manager at Citigroup Alternative Investment, as well as a portfolio manager and senior hedge fund analyst at Bank of America and Yankee Advisors.

Brian Gallary 

First Trust

Brian is a Senior Vice President and Head of Strategy and Consulting. Brian and his team are responsible for consulting with financial professionals on all aspects of business development, with a special focus on working with accountants and attorneys. Prior to joining First Trust, Brian was a principal and head of financial professional sales for Vanguard’s Financial Advisor Services business. He was responsible for national sales of ETFs and mutual funds across all channels—including broker-dealers, registered investment financial professionals and banks. Prior to Vanguard, Brian was a senior managing director for AllianceBernstein in New York. During his 12 years with the firm, he was responsible for building institutional business in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia. He also started and ran the firm’s private client offices in Minneapolis and Philadelphia, and was a managing director for the firm’s private client practice in New York. Brian was also head of national sales for both the retail and subadvisory sales groups for the firm. Before AllianceBernstein, Brian was an officer with Putnam Investments for four years and was with The Boston Company (Funds Distributor) for three years. Brian earned a BS in Finance from Bentley College in 1992.

Simeon Hyman 

ProShares

Simeon Hyman joined ProShares in 2013 and is currently the firm’s Global Investment Strategist and Head of Investment Strategy. Mr. Hyman leads a team of investment professionals engaged in portfolio analysis, product research and development, education, and the delivery of investment strategies using the company’s ETFs. Prior to ProShares, Mr. Hyman spent several years at Bloomberg, where he was Chief Investment Officer for Bloomberg’s technology-driven wealth management business, BloombergBlack. He also served as Chairman of the Investment Committee and led the team of investment professionals tasked with the continuous delivery of investment advice, research content, and strategic and tactical asset allocation guidance. Before joining Bloomberg, Mr. Hyman was Head of Investment Strategy and Due Diligence for UBS. There, he established asset allocation and investment strategies for the $300 billion UBS U.S. Wealth Management business and directed due diligence for the $50 billion separately managed account business. Prior to UBS, Mr. Hyman served as the Chief Investment Officer of Lehman Brothers Trust Company. Mr. Hyman earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Columbia Business School.