Ken Balick advises leading VC-backed technology and digital media companies on engaging their target markets more quickly and obtaining dominant positions in their space. He develops domestic and international strategic partnerships for his clients that enable highly innovative companies in the eCommerce, mobile, and ad-tech spaces to dramatically accelerate their growth. Ken is a Harvard and Cornell alumni.

Ken Balick

Patrick J. Caragata is an economist, financial modeler, software architect and the founder of, and Head of R&D at Rapid Ratings International Inc., a software-based corporate credit rating and financial health analysis agency based in New York City. Rapid Ratings rates over 40,000 firms in more than 110 countries for debt, equity, credit, and supply chain clients in the U.S., Canada, UK and Europe. He lives and works in Brisbane, Australia. He has a PhD in political economy (international trade in minerals) from the University of Toronto (1981). Patrick is the author of five books including Business Early Warning Systems (Butterworths, 1999) and many articles on taxation, company risk and corporate governance and is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Managers and Leaders.

Dr. Patrick James Caragata

Donald C. Klein is an innovative management executive with over 20 years’ experience in building new ventures, leading sales/marketing teams, and launching product development efforts. Donald has helped drive successful exits at three venture-backed software companies (one IPO, 2 trade sales), including building sales organizations that have successfully sold into strategic accounts such as Facebook, Wells Fargo, Qualcomm, and JP Morgan. In his consulting work, Donald specializes in pitch development, business forecasting, and product roll-out strategies. Donald has two graduate degrees: London Business School - MBA (2004), Stanford University - MA (1994).

Donald Klein

Dr. Meller is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, investor, innovator, founder and board advisor after a career in corporate executive positions and academia. Over his three-stage career, he has focused on his own entrepreneurial projects, innovative strategies, businesses and disruptive approaches to innovation. A founder and co-founder of four companies in healthcare, technology sustainability and AI sectors, he has served as advisor to governments andconsulted more than 25 Fortune 200 companies. He earned his B.Sc, M,.Sc (Hons) and PhD inneuroscience from the University of Adelaide, Australia.

Dr. Steve Meller

Serial entrepreneur, pioneer in marketing technologies and founder of Curiosity Lab, San Francisco, Business Catalyst for European or American start-ups on either side of the Atlantic. Mentor with German Accelerator in Silicon Valley. Before founding Curiosity Lab he was CMO at BrandMaker, a leader in Marketing Resource Management enterprise software. Prior to BrandMaker he was co-founder of Assetlink, a U.S. based pioneer in marketing software, and at SAS Institute after SAS acquired Assetlink. Before moving into martec he was Managing Partner at Schmidlin & Partner/FutureBrand, a leading Branding & Design Agency in Europe. He has been a frequent speaker at marketing events and associated professor in marketing certification programs in Switzerland for over 25 years, and a board member of various for profit as well as non-profit organizations.

Stephan was born in Switzerland and worked and lived during the last 25 years in Switzerland, The Netherlands, and the U.S. Today, he lives in the Bay Area. He holds a degree in Marketing and Finance from the University of Applied Sciences Basel.

Stephan Nobs

Vicki Willock, brings over 35 years of diverse investment banking and corporate finance experience to clients seeking M & A advice leading to a sale of all or a portion of their company, seeking to purchase another firm, or seeking an infusion of subordinated debt financing to expand their current operations.

Victoria Willock

Before founding The Navio Group, Carlos was a Partner & Chief Strategy Officer at Conlego,

a premier negotiations and partnership firm. There he advised on growth strategy, negotiated key

agreements and was the principal partner to open new accounts. Carlos previously founded & was the Managing Director at Noma Consulting Partners, acquired by Conlego Consulting in 2016, a boutique firm where he developed tailored solutions for retail clients. Carlos has worked at The Boston Consulting Group and at Target Corporation. He holds a B.A. and B.S. in International Studies and Economics from the University of St. Thomas and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. He enjoys playing soccer and grilling in his free time.

Carlos Castelan | Transforming Retail Businesses 

Lindley Edwards, CEO, provides a broad network throughout Asia and
Australia-New Zealand, specializes in transactions including mergers, acquisitions, divestments,
fundraising and consulting. AFG Ventures has offices in Sydney, Australia and operations
throughout South East Asia and India.

Lindley Edwards | Business Funding - SE Asia

Before Fred Ledbetter, Managing Partner, honed his international marketing and business development skills within mobile, wireless, ISPs, ASPs and broadband launches that include Russia, United Kingdom, USA, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Czech Republic with companies such as Virgin Connect, Monitor Group (Deloitte), Golden Telecom, Global Telesystems, and Imaginet. At Virgin Connect Fred served as Chief Commercial Officer and directed a 3-year, 50.6% CAGR with 10x customer increase while lowering the cost basis by 20% between 2012-2015. Golden Reach specializes in Strategy and Innovation and is advisor to a portfolio of blockchain companies, a patented 100% green W2E (waste to energy) company, and is marketing and product advisor to companies in diverse industries
expanding into international markets. Fred earned an ME in Computer Science from the University of Colorado, an MBA from the University of Puget Sound and executive certificates from MIT/Sloan in Blockchain and AI.

Fred Ledbetter | East European Business Growth

Over his extensive career in Retained Executive Search, Coaching and Leadership Consulting, Ken has worked with National Laboratories, manufacturing firms, high-tech companies, universities, health care and non-profits. He is adept at completing search assignments for c-suite leaders and also specializes in working with international companies doing business in the US as well as international

employees relocating to America. Ken adds great value to his clients through his insightful and creative approach to leadership issues. In addition, he has been a free-lance writer for several years, publishing articles on business, travel, job searching, music and theater. He is an active blogger is frequently interviewed in the media.

Kenneth S. Glickman | C Level Recruiting & Relocation

Trusted advisor to Founders and CEOs on developing compelling business strategy, raising capital from Angel, VC, and PE investors, increasing company value, and exit. Since 1995 Brett has helped companies raise over $720 million in debt and equity, and facilitated exits valued at more than $6 billion.

Brett Sharenow | Strategy, Value, Funding,Growth

Shmuel Silverman brings years of leadership experience in Telecommunications, IoT, Blockchain, robotics, and Artificial Intelligence. As principal in the Bay Area firm Multi-Innovation, he is an inventor first, with over 145 patents & provisional disclosures. He has co-founded and sold successful companies, and led advanced technology teams of researchers, developers and marketers at two global icons. His work has directly generated innovations and protected hundreds of millions in profits. Silverman is a strategic, trusted advisor to attorneys, M & A specialists, and entrepreneurial CEOs, as well as an esteemed speaker and mentor. He is an in-demand technology expert witness defending companies such as Google, Juniper, Cisco, Avaya, HP, Ericsson, Samsung, Apple, Microsoft, Gooee, ExSano and more.

Shmuel Silverman | Asset Value, Competitive Advantage