Paul Brunson – EMCEE
Paul Brunson is an entrepreneur, TV host, and one of the world’s most successful matchmakers. A former investment banker and business executive with an MBA from Georgetown University, he is the first African American matchmaker, and founder of the PCB Agency, a leading matchmaking firm that has created over 100 marriages. His best-selling book entitled: It’s Complicated (But It Doesn’t Have to Be), was optioned
this year by Sony Pictures to bring both his book and Paul’s personal story to the big screen. Paul also hosts the nationally syndicated TV show Our World with Black Enterprise and serves as a contributor to Good Morning America and Nightline.
Chinedu Echeruo
Chinedu Echeruo is the Founder and CEO of Gigameet.com, a cause-based fundraising and networking platform. Prior to starting Gigameet, Mr. Echeruo founded two U.S-based internet companies; HopStop.com and Tripology.com. Tripology.com was acquired in 2010 by Rand McNally and is now owned by USA Today. HopStop was acquired by Apple in 2013. He was also named Black Enterprise Magazine’s Small Business Innovator
of the Year and listed in the magazine’s Top 40 under 40. Before his entrepreneurial career, Mr. Echeruo was with AM Investment Partners, a USD $500 million volatility-driven convertible bond arbitrage hedge fund.
York Eggleston, IV
York Eggleston, IV, Co-founder and CEO of Semantic Labs, brings a wealth of experience in management, finance, and problem-solving for mature as well as start-up businesses. Over the last 15 years he has used his unique set of talents in the development or co-development of several media and technology businesses, each of which has specialized in motivating customer decisions and measuring consumer behavior and performance. Mr. Eggleston has founded or co-founded several technology, technology-enabled or new media ventures. He is the inventor and patent author in the areas of promotion automation over networks, interactive promotion branding, and point of sale fulfillment.
Carla Harris
Carla Harris is a Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley. She is responsible for increasing client connectivity and penetration to enhance revenue generation across the firm. In August 2013, Carla Harris was appointed by President Barack Obama to chair the National Women’s Business Council. Ms. Harris began her career with Morgan Stanley in the Mergers & Acquisitions department in 1987. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, Carla received from Harvard Business School an MBA, Second Year Honors and an BA in economics from Harvard University, Magna Cum Laude. She is the author of Expect to Win and Strategize to Win.
Nicole Irvin
Nicole Irvin is Head of Technology Execution and a Vice President in Morgan Stanley’s West Coast Technology Investment Banking Division. Nicole is passionate about public equity capital raises and her mission is to dedicate herself to her clients’ IPO and follow-on processes to guide them to success in all aspects of their transactions. She brings 7 years of investment banking advisory experience at Morgan Stanley, including the IPOs of Arista Networks, Barracuda Networks, Box, FitBit, GoDaddy, Lending Club, MobileIron, Splunk, Veeva Systems and Workday. Prior to Morgan Stanley, Nicole worked for 7 years as a management consultant for Accenture in their Global Customer Relationship Management Practice.
Raymond J. Jeandron, III
Raymond J. Jeandron, III is Principal at LongueVue Capital and is primarily engaged in performing financial and operational due diligence; processing and executing transactions; and supporting and monitoring portfolio companies. Prior to joining LVC, Mr. Jeandron worked in the investment banking departments of Jefferies & Company and Global Hunter Securities. At Global Hunter Securities, Mr. Jeandron was a senior associate in the Global Debt Capital Markets Group, where he advised growing and mid-sized companies on a broad range of transactions including restructurings,
recapitalizations, and equity financings.