Profile Magazine Q4/23

Meet

Four legal advocates thrive in the action as they drive how their businesses interact with the world.

Steve Rich, Amy’s Kitchen P38

Amanda Sanders, Chromalloy P43

Jake Thornton, TerrAscend P47

Gina Vollmer, Gleason P50

In Every Issue

Editor’s Letter P7

Index P69

Chaos Is an Opportunity

Bobbye Benson doesn’t shy away from the kinds of challenges that keep Western Alliance Bank from leveling up

P10

Tech that Grows

As Box’s global CIO, Ravi Malick brings a business-oriented perspective to the IT space

P14

Hard Work, Resilience, and Empathy

CFO Christopher Castaldo reflects on the values that have helped him spearhead modernization efforts at QBE North America

P16

Digital Transformation Is in the DNA

Frank Palermo’s heart is built into the DNA of Virtusa, a $2 billion business he helped build from the ground up

P19

The Art of the Possible

At GA Telesis, Darryl Maraj and his tech team tackle industry-wide problems by challenging their assumptions

P24

Set the Standard

Zeb Booker oversees cbdMD’s expansion into Asia and South America—and his team is his biggest asset

P28

Global Expansion on Two Wheels

Troy Poe brings a musician’s passion to people innovation at micromobility company, Motivate

P56

Leave It All on the Field

Sean Davis’s winning game plan for Ocwen Financial includes transparency and accountability

P63

Mike Armstrong (Castaldo), Natalie Lynn (Benson), Mary Pedersen (Davis), Nick Gunn (Palermo)

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From the Editor

As we wrap up this year and prepare for the transitions and resolutions we’ll be making in 2024, I’m taking a pause to reflect on the impact 2023 has had on my life. Last year was a particularly tumultuous one so in January, I made a commitment to myself to create new habits and banish unhealthy ones, confront the shadows of past hardships, and finalize the blueprint of who I want to be in the next decade. I’m proud to say I’ve made plenty of progress thanks to the encouragement of family, friends, doctors, and even podcast episodes.

Starting is the hardest part, but what I found particularly helpful was aligning myself to a personal mission (becoming the optimal version of myself) and identifying the first few steps to get there (wake up a little earlier, drink more water). It grounded me and saved me from trying to juggle all kinds of new habits without any direction.

A personal connection to a mission is the best way to drive action, I’ve realized, so it’s fitting that this issue of Profile focuses on in-house counsel, who use their legal expertise to advocate for their companies and position themselves right where the action is as they focus on regulations, culture, and strategy. They all have a commitment to their organization’s mission and a clear path that brought them there—passions for the product or purpose, or avenues to bring career opportunities to others.

This feature section particularly resonates with me as the managing editor of Profile. My role is to not just conduct interviews or copyedit stories but help evolve the brand and solidify its objective. As we move toward a fully digital future with an expanded reach, Profile has become more than a magazine. We’re a community of enterprising professionals not often in the spotlight: the builders, thinkers, innovators, and disruptors behind the scenes who drive strategy forward. We aim to be the leading inclusive network of executives steering the transformation of the business world.

And the core steps to achieving our purpose? We’re introducing new kinds of content around trending topics, encouraging thought leaders to share their expertise in their own words through “Opinions” columns, telling stories that bring the full spectrum of identities to the forefront, and much more. I’m so excited to embark on the next chapter of Profile and hope you come along as we bring our mission to life.

Melaina K. de la Cruz Managing Editor

Drive Your Organization and Career Forward

Twice a month, Profile delivers exclusive insights from business leaders straight to your inbox.

TALENT

What is a company without those who lead it? Executives provide their blueprint for cultivating a successful career.

“Chaos Is Just an Opportunity”

By BILLY YOST

Bobbye Benson was an entrepreneur trapped in the role of a business owner. By any other metric, he was doing incredible things. His career in the US Marines landed him a US Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for the creation and deployment of critical IT assets, a certificate of commendation for superior performance, and over $700,000 in cost avoidance in operation and maintenance funds.

Following his service, Benson became the owner and operator of Evermist Technologies. He started out by training computer repair technicians out of his garage, but eventually realized he’d created a small army that could put their skills to work. Benson’s business carved out an incredible

“I found out that I was self-employed rather than an entrepreneur. I was making great money, but I had no quality of life. It wasn’t the kind of building I wanted to be doing.”

BOBBYE BENSON

Bobbye Benson is Western Alliance Bank’s king of strategic tech initiatives, and he doesn’t shy away from the kinds of challenges that keep the bank leveling up

Bobbye Benson VP of Technology

Western Alliance Bank

Natalie Lynn

niche in the Phoenix, Arizona, area but he wasn’t satisfied.

“I found out that I was self-employed rather than an entrepreneur,” Benson explains. “I was making great money, but I had no quality of life. It wasn’t the kind of building I wanted to be doing.”

Benson’s third act, of sorts, is to calm the chaos and be the turnaround thought leader. As vice president of technology at Western Alliance Bank, where he’s been since 2016, Benson has helped the acquisition-prone bank grow from $25 billion in assets when he started seven years ago to over $60 billion today.

“Chaos is just an opportunity,” Benson says. “I love bringing order to chaos. The second you achieve order, you can start tackling those objectives and high-stakes moves that you know you need to make.”

It wasn’t just the Marines that taught Benson this kind of ordered approach. His résumé is full of consulting opportunities where a turnaround was essential, and Benson was the man to call. His first success story was a company that had just been hacked and needed a reset on its entire IT environment.

“We shut down the entire business over a weekend and got rid of every user account,” Benson remembers. “We implemented

Natalie Lynn

all new standards and processes in an organized fashion and really purged their system. We made sure to minimize any possibility of a breach while also making the process auditable and predictable for the future.”

Benson has helped merge technologies for new health organizations and, in coming to Western Alliance Bank, was initially tasked with helping the organization make it through the rigorous Federal Review Board process. But with all the M&A, Benson’s usual “show up, save the day, and leave” MO has been lengthened by a number of years.

“I’m usually someone who shows up, builds, turns things around, and I’m out,” Benson admits. “But at Western Alliance Bank, I built the infrastructure, architecture, and engineering department. But then, every time an acquisition happens, it’s back to that chaos that needs to be brought to order again. It’s kept me growing internally, and it certainly keeps me entertained.”

Along with his daily responsibilities, Benson is also regularly called upon to offer his expertise on panels and conferences where he speaks about technology trends and best practices. Benson says he especially likes speaking on university technology panels because it helps shine some light on

what kind of skills future technology professionals need to bring to their first roles.

“Taking it back to the Marines, you want to know what your boot private is showing up with,” Benson explains. “How can I build my internship and my mentorship programs so that they best cater to the style of learning I’m seeing from young people today?”

Benson says he also winds up learning about new industries that he would never have encountered otherwise. In the last panel he spoke on, he says a speaker presented on a specific topic Benson encounters every day, but the speaker’s thinking was in such stark contrast to his own that he has since been able to think about it in an entirely new way.

If it sounds like Benson gets as much as he gives, it’s true. The tech executive is as much a student as he is a coach. In his spare time, Benson coaches girls’ club volleyball and has been an assistant coach for five national qualifiers at the AAU and USAV levels.

“It’s the exact same thing I do in business,” Benson says. “We look at patterns. We look at process. We look at anticipating what’s going to happen next.”

Whatever the chaos may be, Benson finds a way to bring order. But the order isn’t the victory. It’s only the beginning.

GROWING FOOD IN ARIZONA

Bobbye Benson is an entrepreneur, a coach, a technology expert, and . . . a farmer? He owns several dozen acres of farmland in Arizona, some of which he allows students from local Future Farmers of America chapters to grow their own food on—with no charge to the school.

“I just love being out there, figuring out what it takes to get things to grow in Arizona,” Benson says. “I’m able to give away harvests to my neighbors and friends and help out some school programs. Every year it gets a little bit better.”

AgreeYa Solutions is a leading global provider of software, solutions, and services to global Fortune 100, medium, and small organizations. Founded in 1999 and headquartered in Folsom, California, AgreeYa has over 2,200 professionals and provides leading-edge solutions around workplace modernization, decision science, hyperautomation, cloud transformation, application and product development, quality engineering, user experience, and talent management. AgreeYa’s key recognitions include certifications like Microsoft Legacy Gold Partner and Cloud Solutions Provider; AICPA SOC 2 Type 2, SEI CMMI, and ISO 9001:2015; and awards including Dream Company to Work for, and Best Employer Brand. AgreeYa Solutions has been a trusted technology partner for its clients globally, and works closely to help them scale changing market conditions, stimulate growth, and create lasting value.

“Every time an acquisition happens, it’s back to that chaos that needs to be brought to order again. It’s kept me growing internally, and it certainly keeps me entertained.”

BOBBYE BENSON

Tech that GROWS

Before accepting his current role as global chief information officer at Box, Ravi Malick weighed the decision carefully. He knew from experience that being CIO comes with its fair share of challenges.

“I wasn’t entirely certain if I wanted to step into a CIO role again,” admits Malick, who had been a CIO at Texas-based Vistra Energy for nearly four years. “What attracted me to the opportunity at Box, in particular, was that I would get to spend roughly 50 percent of my time internally and 50 fifty percent externally, to maximize the value of Box and provide feedback into our direction.”

Box, which offers content management and other services in a cloud environment, proved to be a natural fit for Malick. As global CIO, he leverages his technical expertise to support the company as it grows and to enable additional growth in the future. That requires him to understand Box as both a platform and a business and to strike a balance between technological innovation and goal-oriented pragmatism.

Malick began his career in financial services and management consulting, first at the Bank of New York and then at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). From the start, he found himself gravitating toward technology.

“I’ve always been a technologist, even as a kid,” he says. “When I joined PwC, the IT revolution was in full swing. That’s where I cut my teeth on enterprise system implementations and development—and where I caught the bug, if you will.”

Self-taught in multiple programming languages, Malick was one of the first people at PwC to become fluent in Java. Over the next decade, he broadened his experience in finance as well as the software space, while gaining exposure to a wide range of business

As Box’s global CIO, Ravi Malick brings a business-oriented perspective to the IT space

By NATALIE KOCHANOV

functions. By 2010, he had landed at TXU Energy, the retail business of Energy Future Holdings, later known as Vistra Energy.

It was during his tenure at Vistra that Malick first encountered Box. “I was a Box customer,” he explains. “I brought it in as an early adopter and ended up rolling it out across our entire fleet—roughly sixty generation plants as well as our wholesale business.”

His connections at Box led Malick to enter the CIO conversation in 2021, after he had stepped away from the energy industry. Since then, he has fully embraced the duality of his new role, which sees him toggling between outside customer interactions and IT and security matters within Box itself. “We run Box on Box,” he says. “I’m customer zero, so I get to provide insights into our own experience with the platform along with what I hear externally.”

As he compiles feedback from both sides, Malick keeps Box’s strategic road map front of mind. “CIO is one of the few roles where you have to understand all aspects of the business,” he says. “I focus on maximizing value, minimizing risk, and managing cost— and combining those three areas to create a foundation that enables business growth in a scalable way.”

Scalable is certainly the operative word, given Box’s tremendous growth trajectory in recent years. “We’ve moved from our roots in cloud storage and content storage toward being a platform with integrations to thousands of applications,” Malick elaborates. “One of my big projects upon joining Box was changing both our economic and our operating model around how we fund and invest in new IT projects and how we deliver and manage those projects. The next big thing is enabling a scalable and flexible architecture.”

Considering the inseparability of Malick’s aims in IT from those of Box as a

company, it is critical for him to remain in close contact with colleagues across the business. “I connect and check in with folks and stakeholders on a regular basis so I can understand what we’re doing well and where we need to make tweaks. It’s my job to make sure that the organization has the tools necessary to be successful,” he says. Sometimes those tools already exist within Box. In other cases, Malick recognizes a need to invest in new technology—but only to the extent that it aligns with the company’s goals and financials. “It’s really important as a technology leader to have that balance of value between innovation and pragmatism,” he says.

Innovation and pragmatism are also at the heart of where Malick envisions Box going from here. With cybersecurity threats on the rise, he seeks to maintain a secure and reliable technical environment as the company advances to the next level of operational efficiency.

“At Box, the future is about continuing to grow and continuing to educate the market on why content matters and why people should be thinking about it differently,” the CIO says. “I want to help get that message out, be a bridge between the IT side and the business side, and continue to espouse the strategic nature of IT in terms of making the business even more successful.”

Negits Solutions is a global technology services provider with extensive experience in enabling enterprises transform their business for this digital era. We are a global leader in partnering with companies to transform and manage their business by harnessing the power of technology. The Group is guided everyday by its purpose of unleashing human energy through technology for an inclusive and sustainable future. Our clients trust us to address the entire breadth of their business needs, from strategy and design to operations, fueled by the fast evolving and innovative world of cloud, data, AI, connectivity, software, digital engineering and platforms. We support our customers by solving the day-to-day operational problems, sustain and transform: whatever it takes to embrace their future. We are proud to be a preferred support partner of Box Inc.

Finance: Anaplan, Oracle, Zuora, Netsuite, Coupa, Concur, Blackline, Avalara, TripActions, Ariba, Stripe, Paypal, Workday Financials, Intuit

GTM: (Sales, Marketing, CS): Salesforce, SAP Apttus, Marketo, OneTrust, CDP, Dynamics, Gainsight, ZenDesk

People & Payroll: Workday, ADP, CloudPay, Kronos, Bamboo HR, Greenhouse

Negits Solutions has our engineering DNA ingrained in our business model and service offerings that uniquely sets us apart in terms of ownership and successful business outcomes. We’ve expanded our service offerings to enterprise systems, consulting services, product development, engineering services, and staff augmentation. We are leading the technological transformations for our customers through novel business approaches and lean agile models combining the power of advanced AI/ML and analytics. Reach us: prem@negits.com; (248) 819-2776

Integration Systems: Snaplogic, Workday, Dell Boomi, MuleSoft, Informatica, FiveTran, Celigo, Talend

Analytics: Tableau, PowerBI, Looker, Spotfire, SnowFlake, Stitch

Automation: Workato, UI Path, Automation Anywhere, Blue Prism

Cloud Services: AWS, GSP, Box, Azure, Oracle, S3, Redis

Hard Work, Resilience, and Empathy

CFO Christopher Castaldo reflects on the values that have helped him spearhead modernization efforts at QBE North America

By BILLY YOST

Christopher Castaldo knows the attributes that have made him who he is. That sort of inner reflection is often found in the best leaders, the ones who have taken the time to harness the best parts of themselves for the good of their organization.

In 2020, he was promoted to the role of CFO for QBE North America and tasked to turn the underperforming division into a business that delivers consistent profits and stable returns for shareholders. Those challenges, along with many others throughout his career, have tested the best parts of Castaldo—and the CFO is better for it.

So much of Castaldo’s philosophy comes down to three tenants, and their application

can be seen throughout his career. Whether it’s the financial crisis of 2008 or a return to profitability during 2022, Castaldo is willing to bet that hard work, resiliency, and empathy all play a major part.

HARD WORK

“The importance of working hard and doing my best was instilled in me from a young age,” Castaldo recalls. “It began with my parents, and it’s something I carried into my teenage years and adulthood. It’s still incredibly important to me today.”

As a competitive long-distance runner in high school and college, he readily admits there were others with more natural ability. What set Castaldo apart was his strong work ethic. “I didn’t want to just participate,

I wanted to be a meaningful contributor to the success of the team,” he says. “So, I put in the time and effort to improve, to be the best I could be.

“I’ve always had the innate desire to push my limits, not to settle for less than my best,” Castaldo continues. “When you know that you’ve left everything you’ve got on the field, it makes hard times and failures easier to handle.”

While holding no one to a higher standard than himself, Castaldo expects the same commitment to hard work from his team today. “There are so many factors out of our control, but the effort we put into our work is not one of them,” he says.

That expectation and drive must be balanced delicately with compassion and

empathy, which Castaldo says he came to value more as he matured, and his career progressed. More on that later . . .

RESILIENCE

Castaldo spent nearly five years at AIG during the most tumultuous period in its history. Following the financial crisis of 2008, the federal government stepped in, bolstering the insurer with a bailout. AIG accepted $182 billion in federal aid, and the court of public opinion was in full, open session.

“I was part of a group that was tasked with solving the government exit strategy,” he explains. “It was so challenging, because while we worked through countless nights and weekends to find solutions to repay the

Christopher Castaldo CFO

QBE North America

“We’ve turned a corner but, in my eyes, there is no end to improvement, and that’s a good thing. We ultimately want to be a business that’s high performing and delivering consistent returns for our shareholders.”

CHRISTOPHER CASTALDO

Mike Armstrong

taxpayer, the backdrop of public scrutiny wasn’t all that inspiring.”

That scrutiny, Castaldo says, he absolutely understands. However, the resiliency required to work through this difficult period—a high-stress environment, long hours, countless starts and stops with many ideas falling to the cutting room floor—provided him with a unique perspective and the confidence in his ability to work through any challenge, no matter how daunting it may appear.

EMPATHY

The softer side of leadership, Castaldo reflects, was not a natural strength for him early in his career. “Being an empathetic leader was something that grew with time and experience. I was also lucky enough to have some great mentors around me to learn from,” he reveals.

There was one critical inflection point: the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, the CFO gained a unique window into the personal lives of his people and learned to manage his expectations with empathy and compassion.

“I’m responsible for a team of over two hundred people across the US, and while the work didn’t stop because of the pandemic— we were busier than ever—we were all dealing with a myriad of personal challenges at the same time. That period gave me a picture of the lives of my people and the things they were dealing with at home, big and small. I realized that leading with compassion and empathy was more important than ever before,” Castaldo reflects.

ATTRIBUTES IN APPLICATION

After spending several years abroad in Sydney, Australia, where QBE, the global insurer is headquartered, Castaldo moved back to the US and took the reins as CFO

of QBE North America in early 2020. The division was underperforming financially— the business mix was too volatile, and the expense ratio was too high due to several subscale portfolios.

The CFO and his team embarked on a mission to understand the problems that were impacting the business. They pinpointed the portfolios that were key to the division’s success, and those that were noncore. They focused their efforts on investing and growing in core areas and exiting portfolios that were dragging the division’s performance down.

It meant readjusting where to allocate capital and resources, being deliberate in their investments, making choices not to invest in certain areas, and utilizing reinsurance to better manage the inherent volatility across parts of the platform.

Castaldo’s understanding of the overall QBE enterprise was particularly valuable, and bringing that knowledge stateside helped the business leverage the company’s strengths more broadly—but that evolution isn’t done.

“We’ve turned a corner but, in my eyes, there is no end to improvement, and that’s a good thing. We ultimately want to be a business that’s high performing and delivering consistent returns for our shareholders,” he says. “That means understanding the risk and reward trade-offs in our businesses, having the right diversification so that volatility is at a manageable level, and continuing to scale in a very focused manner so we are competitive in all the markets we participate in.”

Every one of these efforts requires a different set of ingredients, but Castaldo sees the base as the same. With hard work, resilience, and empathy, the foundation is strong. The CFO knows his people are on the right track, and he knows how to continue to empower them to be their best.

“I’ve always had the innate desire to push my limits, not to settle for less than my best. When you know that you’ve left everything you’ve got on the field, it makes hard times and failures easier to handle.”

CHRISTOPHER CASTALDO

Digital Transformation Is in the DNA

Frank Palermo’s heart is built into the DNA of Virtusa, a $2 billion business he helped build from the ground up

By BILLY YOST

Frank Palermo is the rare blend of business, technology, and creative savvy that was meant for an organization like Virtusa Corporation. In many ways, Palermo—who currently serves as the organization’s executive vice president of telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT) and previously as its head of global digital solutions—is built into the DNA of the company himself. He’s been around since Virtusa’s early days, from a small organization to an over $2 billion business working with some of the world’s largest organizations.

For more than twenty-two years, Palermo has navigated multiple careers within one

organization, all while taking the time to mentor and grow promising talent.

The executive might just be the informal “chief DNA officer” at Virtusa—the culture king, of sorts—driving client results through digital transformation while maintaining a focus on teamwork, engineering principles, empathy, and curiosity internally.

VIRTUSA VICTORIES

The proof is in the pudding. A large US bank tapped Virtusa to help it launch a purely digital online bank with millennial culture in mind.

“This was a bank that was losing market share in their younger segments and really needed to get outside the building a bit to innovate on a next-generation banking platform,” Palermo explains. “We were at the forefront of delivering on that journey.”

Palermo and company assembled a team of two hundred people over six weeks, spread out over five locations, and worked tirelessly over the next thirteen months to deliver over thirteen thousand story points in a completely new, branchless digital bank.

“It was a completely different experience that really looked more at financial planning and the emotional connection between your spending and your saving habits,” the EVP says. “We created what I would call a

modern-facing application [for an] entire market where the business needed to grow.”

But it didn’t stop with banking. Virtusa was next able to usher a two-hundred-yearold publisher into the modern age. This heavy lift entailed shifting the company’s product strategy to a more digital online focus and enabling both B2C and B2B capabilities, consolidating a thousand different sites into one unified experience platform with deep personalization capabilities to boot. Virtusa created a customer data hub that provides a unified 360-degree view of customers and buyers, allowing the publisher to offer more personalized and targeted marketing campaigns to help drive revenue.

Then there is the massive UK-based telco operator for which Virtusa has enabled multiple transformation programs. One of those focused on consolidating over ninety-six customer portals that were the result of numerous acquisitions throughout Europe to provide a singular entry point for all selfservice processes.

Palermo’s team was able to completely redesign its quote creation process, moving from a manual twenty-five step process to purely online in just seven clicks. Another transformation focused on creating an omnichannel platform to deliver seamless and consistent customer experience across

all buyer journeys by consolidating multiple systems into a single e-commerce solution that increased operational efficiency by 30 percent.

“We reduced the amount of order fallout and dropout in the funnel, really connecting the entire experience to the store,” Palermo says. “You could truly get an omnichannel experience from wherever you started your journey to wherever it ended.”

THE EXTRA MILE

As much good as Palermo has brought Virtusa customers, he himself has grown exponentially during his tenure. He’s played five different key roles within the organization, and some serious stamina has been required.

Palermo initially came to the emerging company to help build its tech and software engineering business. He established the first wave of high-tech clients working as a material extension of its product engineering teams. He quickly realized the broader market opportunity to leverage the depth of knowledge these software relationships had curated and quickly parlayed this to establish its content management, customer experience, business process, and data analytics business from virtually nothing to over $200 million in revenue.

And then the roles just kept ratcheting up. The executive moved onto launching a purely digital business that eventuated into a standalone business of over six thousand people and $350 million in revenue. Then it was onto M&A, something entirely new to him.

In a period when most would have just been working to learn the ropes, Palermo aided the acquisition and integration of the company’s second-largest purchase, a Silicon Valley digital engineering firm whose revenues neared $100 million.

Now, Palermo is leading the telecom, media, and high-tech business unit for North America. And the EVP wants to help clients transform their businesses and stay relevant at a time when more and more legacy

“If we can help organizations identify those cost opportunities, the savings can fund the innovation side of their business. Sometimes that means going the extra mile on our end, but that’s in our DNA.”

FRANK PALERMO

Frank Palermo

EVP of Telecommunications, Media & Technology

Virtusa Corporation

institutions are finding themselves unable to stay afloat in the market.

“Typically, large enterprises are still spending a majority of their budgets on keeping the lights on,” Palermo says. “But if you dig into that, there are still a lot of legacy systems that are monolithic, inefficient, and disconnected. That has an impact on your cost of operations.”

The EVP says Virtusa’s secret is modernizing with purpose and efficiency in mind. If a company isn’t able to identify areas where it can shrink costs, his organization knows its opportunity to create meaningful change will be severely compromised.

“How do we apply these engineering principles to get leaner on what it takes to maintain and modernize these legacy systems?” Palermo posits. “If we can help organizations identify those cost opportunities, the savings can fund the innovation side of their business. Sometimes that means going the extra mile on our end, but that’s in our DNA.”

LEADERSHIP FROM THE HEAD AND THE HEART

Virtusa’s DNA is Palermo’s DNA—and that chemistry has made Virtusa a magnet for talent. The bright minds coming to the organization are doubly aided by their EVP’s capacity for mentorship and driving their own curiosity.

At present, those conversations might include the capacity for artificial intelligence and other language model capabilities, reaping more benefits from cloud computing, and the always-escalating war for data. The point is that two decades in, Palermo is still excited about what he does.

“The journey is never-ending,” Palermo says. “The journey of learning and learning something new. I love challenging both sides of my brain. Life is just more fun when you’re curious.”

“Life is just more fun when you’re curious.”

FRANK PALERMO

Nick Gunn

STRATEGY

Subject-matter experts share their actionable insights for guiding company growth and

The Art of the Possible

By NOAH JOHNSON

Imagine this: You receive a calendar invite from your CEO asking you to join a virtual meeting. You enter the call but they aren’t on camera, noting their video and audio aren’t working properly. You don’t think anything of it—sometimes your Wi-Fi acts up too. After a few minutes of failed attempts to stabilize their connection, they hang up. You receive an apology email a few minutes after, along with instructions to initiate a transfer of funds. You do it.

“Sometimes as a technologist you’re quick to act. You may hear something you can solve for really quickly, but it’s not always the underlying issue that a client or another person is trying to address . . . you have to listen to what’s not being said.”

DARRYL MARAJ

Darryl Maraj SVP and Global CIO GA Telesis

This is one of many ways scammers have been taking advantage of businesses in our increasingly virtual and digital world. The FBI says scams like these, the result of an individual compromising legitimate business or personal email accounts, are a $26 billion problem—a problem Senior Vice President and Global Chief Information Officer Darryl Maraj is helping to solve at the Digital Innovation Group, a GA Telesis holding company.

To help organizations perform safe and fraud-free transactions, Maraj and his team developed Blockrails, which identifies fake identities, accounts, and potential fraud to solve identity validation risks for transactions. In February 2022, GA Telesis also teamed up with AWS Saas Factory to launch FraudBlock, a fraud protection API service for companies to protect their organizations from business email compromise scams and to help perform secure B2B transactions.

Maraj says those products are a result of the company’s efforts to protect itself as scams increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, when remote work became more prominent. Now, he is not only looking to apply what his team learned to GA Telesis globally but to other organizations and industries.

“Our mission is to change the face of the industry and to evolve how we all work so

we brought the product to market,” says Maraj, who grew up in Trinidad before coming to the US. “It’s evolved into real estate and now we’re working with one of the largest real estate organizations to protect realtors and home buyers against this problem.”

Maraj’s mind has always been wired to solve complex problems, but his strong leadership skills developed with time. He admits that in the beginning of his career, he sometimes struggled with communicating big ideas in ways others could digest.

“You can have these awesome ideas but if you can’t communicate them and meet people where they are, it goes nowhere,” he says. “It becomes an idea you’re surrounded by in your mind, and you almost become a prisoner of it.”

Maraj got a chance to develop those skills very early in his career. He worked at his alma mater, Florida Atlantic University, as a computer applications programmer under the finance division, where he helped execute the digital transformation of the university’s ERP system. There, he learned the value of active listening, a habit that continues to color the way he approaches his team members and colleagues today.

“Sometimes as a technologist you’re quick to act,” he says. “You may hear something you can solve for really quickly, but it’s not always the underlying issue that a client

“You can have these awesome ideas but if you can’t communicate them and meet people where they are, it goes nowhere. It becomes an idea you’re surrounded by in your mind, and you almost become a prisoner of it.”

DARRYL MARAJ

or another person is trying to address. And a lot of times it doesn’t always come across really clearly, so you have to listen to what’s not being said.”

As Maraj progressed through his career, other coaches and mentors showed him what building a community, collaborating, and having accountability can do for generating more innovative solutions to problems. When he got to GA Telesis in 2014, leaders pushed him to discover “the art of the possible.”

“You often assume how something works and you come into a problem saying ‘Oh, I’ve dealt with this before, this is how we solve this.’ But then my leaders would ask a question and challenge your assumptions,” Maraj explains. “For the past ten years, that’s become more and more of the premise that we work with. ‘Is there a better way? Is there something we’re assuming? How can we challenge that, and will our product be better as a result?’”

He credits that philosophy for helping him create GA Telesis’ digital innovation spin-off as chief technology officer. In that role Maraj was responsible for developing, leading, and scaling the new technology division while transforming complex tech into easy-to-use solutions.

That work not only produced the likes of FraudBlock and Blockrails but a green-time management software to help commercial

airlines increase their service availability, lower costs, and maximize profits.

“As a global CIO, Darryl is a problem solver and an innovator in bringing new solutions and technology to solve complex business problems. Innova Solutions has had the pleasure of working with him over the past five years to build FraudBlock and Blockrails solutions,” says Prasenjit Paul, senior vice president and strategic business unit head of retail, manufacturing, and transportation at Innova Solutions. “We look forward to further strengthening our partnership, working with GA Telesis to build more solutions for their digital transformation journey.”

In that role, Maraj established a culture there that leaders took note of industrywide. In 2022, he become a National CIO of the Year ORBIE finalist and chaired South Florida CIO. For him, the best part of those accomplishments has been having the opportunity to inspire those he’s led and to help foster a culture of thought leaders. He says it was all made possible by “a team that is built on curiosity, challenges assumptions, and [is] willing to take on massive challenges.”

These days Maraj is looking forward to projects related to optimizing demand across the aviation industry and continuing to leverage tech to drive innovation in the aviation industry.

With global delivery centers across North America, Asia, and Europe, Innova Solutions delivers strategic technology and business transformation solutions to clients, enabling them to operate as leaders within their fields. GA Telesis is the leading provider of integrated services in the commercial aviation industry. Through the GA Telesis Ecosystem, the company is distinctly positioned across six continents to leverage its resources to create innovative solutions for its customers. GA Telesis partnered with Innova to augment its application development team, adding specialized resources such as blockchain developers and data scientists to quickly deliver enterprise-ready applications.

Zeb Booker Sets the Standard for CBD

CTO Zeb Booker oversees the development and structure for cbdMD’s expansion into Asia and South America—and his team is his biggest asset

By CLAIRE REDDEN

Cannabidiol—commonly known as CBD—is just one of the many active cannabinoids naturally found in cannabis plants. In the United States today, CBD products can be acquired easily, from the counter of any given gas station or wellness boutique to online stores, providing oils, gummies, bath bombs, and even pet treats that help ease symptoms of anxiety, pain, and insomnia. But it wasn’t always this way.

It wasn’t until 2018 that the United States Congress removed cannabis and hemp-derived CBD from the list of federally controlled substances. Since then, many more people’s minds have been opened to its benefits, taking a compound that was once—and still is, in many other parts of the world—viewed as criminal, and normalizing it into everyday society. Although CBD still

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Zeb Booker CTO cbdMD

Austin Stallings

may have its share of disputants, the change has been impactful.

According to Zeb Booker, the chief technology officer at cbdMD, that can all be accredited to education. “When CBD first came out, nobody really understood it. For some reason, people think it’s just like THC,” he says. Both ingredients are present in cannabis and can treat symptoms, but THC produces a psychoactive “high” effect while CBD does not.

“We’ve had to break through the noise and get people to understand that we’re selling the highest-quality, triple-tested, and doctor-formulated products that give you all the benefits of CBD without any of the negative effects of THC,” Booker explains.

As one of the few publicly owned CBD companies in the United States, cbdMD was one of the first in the business to complete the lengthy and expensive clinical trials that, in turn, provide the science to back up the health statements about its products. As a result, cbdMD is pioneering the replacement of pharmaceutical drugs and their associated side effects with natural CBD, a choice that many have already reaped the benefits of.

“Because we are a publicly traded company, everything we do is above the board,” Booker says. “We do everything as if we were fully regulated by the FDA, so that when they do decide to regulate it, we can be the standard.” However, coming into the CBD space, there’s been a bit of a learning curve. Not just for Booker, but for everyone.

“We do everything as if we were fully regulated by the FDA, so that when they do decide to regulate it, we can be the standard.”

ZEB BOOKER

Austin Stallings

Being cbdMD’s CTO, Booker not only leads a gigantic development team, complete with in-house counsel and a group of scientists, but he also works closely with the marketing, sales, procurement, warehousing, and ERP teams to coordinate the integration of new software with the enterprise infrastructure.

To achieve those sorts of nuanced tasks, Booker says that communication is key: requests have to be transcribed in a way that coders and developers understand, and everyone has to be on the same page. “My biggest thing is team. It’s all about the team. Working with every department, it’s all about taking multiple people’s opinions to come up with a solution. No one person has the right answer,” he affirms.

But CBD laws are constantly changing, not just from state to state but country to country, so Booker and his team spend a lot of time keeping up with those shifts. Only now, as the company begins its expansion into the international market, those changes have become even more imperative.

“CBD is new in Japan, and it’s heavily regulated. It took us months to get through their narcotics division, their customs, and get approval,” Booker says. Those strict regulations have been formative in cbdMD’s decision to follow a direct selling model in its overseas endeavor, which not only avoids the overhead costs of marketing and distribution but makes sense in a country where people are limited to purchasing only what they can personally consume.

“The direct selling model does have some stigmatism to it, but there are companies who do it right. We’ve put our best foot forward, taken the best models in the market, and kind of conjoined a couple of them so that it’s profitable for the company, and the people who are starting their own businesses and working as basically independent business owners for us over there,” Booker explains.

In the time that cbdMD has had real revenue in Japan, things have looked positive. “It’s been interesting, and while it’s still in its infancy [at time of speaking], it’s opened us up to a lot of other Asian markets,” Booker says. Through its work with government officials in different countries, cbdMD is spreading awareness on what CBD does for the human body, and some of them are coming around. “I do see several countries starting to pay attention and change the rules because there’s a demand for it.”

However, that hasn’t come without time and effort. Not only has Booker helped lead the company’s expansion, he has also overseen all of the development and structure for the Asian markets—a responsibility that he has committed countless hours beyond his normal job to do.

Between the time difference with Japan and dealing with the chaos of the day-to-day, Booker’s work can get stressful. Luckily, he works for a company that specializes in destressing. But for the CTO who grew up in the southwest, his method of unwinding his keeping active. “Whether it’s snowmobiling in the mountains in the winter or going boating in the summer,” he says, “that’s my relaxation.”

NexTec Group is an award-winning business software consulting firm with over twenty-eight years’ experience. We specialize in implementing ERP, BI, cloud, and on-premise solutions for midsize businesses that can manage a wide variety of business essentials. We worked with Zeb and cbdMD to implement Acumatica as their new ERP solution.

RMG is a full-service digital commerce agency specializing in helping businesses with online sales and marketing. Our services include website design, development, digital advertising, social media management, and search engine optimization. Utilizing data-driven strategies and the latest e-commerce trends, the agency helps businesses increase online revenue and boost brand awareness. Learn more at rmgmedia.com.

“We’ve had to break through the noise and get people to understand that we’re selling the highest-quality, triple-tested, and doctor-formulated products that give you all the benefits of CBD without any of the negative effects of THC.”

ZEB BOOKER

Renters Come First

At Greystar, Andrei Girenkov and his tech team are leveraging data to turn the apartment rental industry on its head

By NOAH JOHNSON

If you’ve ever had to rent an apartment, then you know how grueling a process it can be. Not only do you struggle to find the perfect accommodation, but you need to reintroduce yourself to every property manager, leaving you buried in redundant applications. Once you’ve been approved for a place you like, you get to celebrate by downloading a slew of apps to pay bills, submit maintenance requests, receive packages, and more. No wonder so many renters dread moving.

Greystar’s chief technology officer and senior managing director, Andrei Girenkov, is looking to transform this process with a digital operating model that’ll help the

“Using that data makes us better builders because we know what to build to maximize our rent and to build with the lowest cost of construction . . . So, data is our unfair advantage.”

ANDREI GIRENKOV

Andrei Girenkov CTO Greystar

company know its residents and potential renters more intimately while cutting costs and driving renewals.

Girenkov and his team rolled out the first phase of the global CRM in the spring, starting the process for the leader in rental housing to eventually be able to track preferences, payment history, and floor plans for all renters in its network. The vision is the same for the recently launched mobile app—by centralizing functions, the company is furthering its mission of giving renters the convenience to access all things building-related in one place.

For Girenkov, the CRM and the mobile app are just the beginning of Greystar’s digital transformation journey. They’re part of a larger effort to increase efficiencies in the company by using data to drive decisions about its lines of business, particularly about how it invests in properties then develops, renovates, and manages them. The end goal is to centralize functions like leasing and back-office accounting, as well as regionalize maintenance—a vision that goes against the grain of how the industry functions currently.

“Knowing our customer is a completely different model,” Girenkov says. “Every other property manager out there manages buildings, not customer relations, and this is reflective of all the technology that underpins what’s out on the market today.

Today, your basic operational unit is an apartment and who lives there just happens to be an attribute of the apartment. All transactions, all financials, all things are tied to the unit itself,” the CTO continues. “We’re trying to flip that on its head to make the resident—the potential renter, the center of our universe—the primary data attribute around which the world revolves. By doing that we can build a relationship with the tenant; we can increase their duration with Greystar; we can improve their net promoter scores.”

Courtesy of Greystar

The company has already made strides. In addition to launching the Greystar mobile app and beginning the rollout of its global CRM, the company has been uploading data from its properties around the world to a centralized data store. Girenkov says this task is one of the most important but also the most difficult.

“The data we have on hand is powerful but is difficult to wrangle,” he explains. “Globally, we use different systems to manage properties but at the end of the day, we need to be able to have a consistent, single view of a property, whether it’s in London, New York, or Melbourne. So getting to those consistent operating models, data definitions, metrics, and KPIs is a challenge.”

But when the company can come out on the other side of that challenge, Girenkov says the payoff will be tremendous. Having the centralized data store will allow Greystar to make better decisions about how it approaches its three lines of business as the biggest multifamily property manager in the US—and one of the largest developers and investors.

“Using that data makes us better builders because we know what to build to maximize our rent and to build with the lowest cost of construction,” he says. “Then using development and apartment management data makes us a better asset manager and hence a more attractive investment manager. So, data is our unfair advantage.”

As a leader, Girenkov leverages his passion for business and technology to

help the company reach its goals. He leads his team with an empowering leadership style, an approach he developed during his software engineering career.

The CTO grew up in Ukraine before moving to New York and working on Wall Street, always in environments that placed a lot of value on being direct. After relocating to Florida for a role as vice president of technology at Raymond James Financial followed by a move to South Carolina to serve as Colonial Life’s CIO, Girenkov observed a difference in communication attitude.

“When I got to Florida and South Carolina, I found that team members didn’t respond well to the command-and-control leadership style,” Girenkov observes. “They want to be inspired.

“You don’t want to give them an instruction; you want to give them a problem to solve and let them figure it out,” he continues. “They do a much better job than you think they will and that’s been the key to my success.”

EPAM Systems Inc. (EPAM) is a leading digital transformation services and product engineering company. Since 1993, the company has leveraged its advanced software engineering heritage to become the foremost global digital transformation services provider, leading the industry in digital and physical product development and digital platform engineering services. Visit epam.com.

“Knowing our customer is a completely different model. Every other property manager out there manages buildings, not customer relations, and this is reflective of all the technology that underpins what’s out on the market today.”

ANDREI GIRENKOV

Four legal advocates thrive in the action

Steve Rich, Amy’s Kitchen

Jake Thornton, TerrAscend

Amanda Sanders, Chromalloy P43

Gina Vollmer, Gleason P50

as they drive how their businesses interact with the world.

Amy’s Kitchen believes good food is good for both people and the planet. Steve Rich is helping the company deliver on  that promise.

By BILLY YOST

There was good reason for Steve Rich’s interview with Profile being delayed.

In January 2023, Rich was promoted to vice president of legal and regulatory at Amy’s Kitchen where the lawyer has been in-house since 2016.

There’s also a good reason for the promotion: Rich believes in Amy’s Kitchen, the mission of the organization to make it easy and enjoyable for everyone to eat well, and the company’s desire to do it all while actively improving the environment.

“At the heart of Amy’s Kitchen, it’s about taking care of our people and the planet,” Rich explains. “It’s not about trying to limit harm to the planet—we want to heal it. And that’s why we’re very passionate about doing what’s right for our employees and the world they live in.”

Rich is especially proud of his work in helping Amy’s achieve B Corp certification in 2020, a designation demonstrating a business’s verified and exceptional history of high social and environmental performance, along with a whole host of other commitments.

Achieving certification is no walk in the park. Rich says pursuing B Corp certification required Amy’s to, in addition to meeting rigorous social and environmental standards, convert itself from a traditional corporation to a benefit corporation.

“That means amending our governing documents, or our corporate DNA, to make it clear that our business is purpose-driven,” Rich explains. “In addition to a profit incentive, we also consider the impact of all of our decisions on our employees, our consumers, our customers, our suppliers, and the environment.”

“At the heart of Amy’s Kitchen, it’s about taking care of our people and the planet. It’s not about trying to limit harm to the planet—we want to heal it. And that’s why we’re very passionate about doing what’s right for our employees and the world they live in.”

STEVE RICH

Steve Rich VP of Legal & Regulatory Amy’s Kitchen

“This was a company that began with a single organic pot pie in 1987, and now is the national leader in organic and vegetarian frozen foods. The story is incredible.”

STEVE RICH

Whether it’s a decision to introduce a new product or open a new plant, Rich says the company is now required to take its impact on the community and the environment into heavy consideration. There are lots of companies making these claims, but Amy’s has literally embedded that commitment into its very foundation. Rich says as a certified B Corp, Amy’s is part of a global movement using business as a force for good.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rich says the company truly earned its reputation.

“Before there were any local mandates being enforced, we moved quickly to take care of our people and their families,” Rich explains. “We secured thousands of masks for our employees and took many other precautions to mitigate risk.”

Most notable, perhaps, is the vaccine clinic Amy’s Kitchen was able to open directly across the street from its Santa Rosa, California, plant.

“We made it as easy as possible for our people as we could, and it resulted in over 90 percent of our workforce getting vaccinated,” Rich says. “My colleague [Associate General Counsel] Jen Thomas played a huge part in spearheading this effort.”

That focus on safety has remained a focal point for Rich. The Santa Rosa plant safety rate is twice as good as the industry standard, but Rich says that one

accident is one too many, and the company will never stop working on improvements.

It’s the mission and pride of Amy’s Kitchen that lured Rich away from private practice in the first place. Rich had a long and successful career in private practice, spending eighteen years as a litigator at two large law firms. It was at his second law firm, Mayer Brown, where he began primarily representing food and beverage companies, including Amy’s Kitchen.

“What drew me to join Amy’s was a huge sense of pride in the company’s core values and its amazing products,” Rich explains. “This was a company that began with a single organic pot pie in 1987, and now is the national leader in organic and vegetarian frozen foods. The story is incredible.”

Today, Amy’s offers 135 different organic frozen and dry convenience products and a number of gluten-free, dairy-free, and vegan options in the US and nearly a dozen countries around the world.

Amy’s food may travel around the globe, but in taking the in-house role in 2016, Rich was determined not to uproot his twin daughters who were in high school at the time. He’d commute to Northern California once a month to spend a week at company headquarters in Petaluma, California, and would work from home back in Los Angeles the remainder of the time. That taxing

schedule went on until his daughters graduated from high school, after which time Rich and his wife moved to Santa Rosa.

It’s a small but important detail that illustrates Rich’s commitment to the people around him. The lawyer repeatedly calls out those on his team, including Thomas, Senior Corporate Counsel Ashley Park, Senior Director of Regulatory Affairs John O’Keeffe, and Director of Risk and Safety Steve Myers.

“I really do just see my promotion as a reflection of the team around me,” Rich explains. “I’m passionate about empowering my team to do great things for the business and fueling their success. We’re a small team

that works with limited resources to make a large number of decisions every day. I’m always amazed at how much we’re able to accomplish for our people, consumers, and planet—and contribute to the incredible growth of the company.”

—Paul de Bernier, Partner

By LUCY CAVANAGH

“Our employees are human beings first,” Amanda Sanders immediately emphasizes during her conversation with Profile. “We never underestimate that human factor.” As the vice president, general counsel, and corporate secretary at Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC, Sanders oversees all the legal functions of the industry-leading company and plays a key role in the development of both business and company culture.

Chromalloy provides maintenance, manufacturing, and repair services for commercial airlines; maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facilities; militaries; and oil, gas, and power companies to reduce manufacturing and operating expenses and extend the life of gas turbine engines.

The company’s clientele extends to a vast global community with customers in nearly every country in the world. Chromalloy develops FAA-approved repairs and solutions for engines and is the only independent company in the world with the ability to cast, coat, and machine an engine part completely in-house in its advanced facilities.

“We’re very passionate about making flight and power generation safer and more economical. That is the cornerstone of our business,” Sanders explains. “We do that with these highly innovative technological solutions for the engines that power aircraft and the engines that support power generation.”

Sanders earned her bachelor’s degree at Boston College in 1997 and then went on to law school at Quinnipiac University. She says that although she did not grow up with the ambition to be an attorney, once she discovered her path towards law school, she knew that she wanted to work in-house to help drive the business side of a company. She found that Quinnipiac’s joint law and MBA program best suited her goals.

“I don’t think anybody ever tells [you] that law school doesn’t train you to be a lawyer,” she says. “Law school teaches you how to think and write, but it says nothing about what it’s like to be a lawyer. Working in a law firm for a few years in general corporate practice really solidified the fact that I wanted to be in-house—in the middle of things.”

Sanders was working as assistant general counsel at Terex Corporation when she was approached by a recruiter to join Chromalloy in 2009 shortly after the company was acquired by the Carlyle Group. She has been with Chromalloy ever since, and has witnessed and contributed to the growth,

“Our business, in general, is very exciting because there’s so much technology and innovation involved in what we do. We have such a diverse global footprint, which provides a more unique perspective and dynamic that you wouldn’t get in many companies.”

AMANDA SANDERS

Amanda Sanders

VP, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC

Tom C. Robison

development, and management changes over the years.

“Our business, in general, is very exciting because there’s so much technology and innovation involved in what we do,” says Sanders, who oversees all of the development and implantation of the organization’s legal function. “We have such a diverse global footprint, which provides a more unique perspective and dynamic that you wouldn’t get in many companies.”

As a leader at Chromalloy, she plays a key role in cultivating and promoting the company culture which prizes flexibility without sacrificing high achievement. “Your employees have lives outside of work. They have friends, they have family, they might have children, they might have pets that they consider their children. They may have a variety of personal issues that you just don’t know,” Sanders affirms. “We emphasize our values around what it means to be a human being: pride, passion in what you do, working, and acting with integrity.”

Sanders stresses that flexibility is the central factor that allows the company to put its employees first. Like many other organizations, the COVID-19 pandemic proved to Chromalloy that the traditional nine-to-five workday is not the only formula for a successful business.

Sanders, who is a mother of young children, highlights the need for transparency and how mentorship fosters open lines of communication between employees and higher ups. Chromalloy has a dedicated initiative that pairs new employees with senior employees that serve as advisors,

including when it comes to navigating a work/life balance.

“You have to learn to prioritize at work, you also have to prioritize at home, and then you have to prioritize the two against each other which is perhaps what is most difficult and important,” she points out. “You have to be upfront about setting realistic deadlines and managing expectations. That’s how you can avoid office toxicity and that dreaded passive aggressive behavior.”

In addition to this people-first culture shift, which was boldly launched in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chromalloy keeps its sights set on further development as a company. As the only company in the world that offers FAA-approved PMA (parts manufacturer approval) hot section engine components, it has plenty to be proud of already. However, it refuses to be complacent which is why the employee-voted internal catchphrase of the year is “beyond.”

“We’re looking at ways we can go beyond good,” Sanders says. “We’re the only ones in the world that can do what we do, but that’s not enough. We must continuously improve and innovate—our employees and our customers wouldn’t have it any other way.”

We are proud to congratulate Amanda B.

Sanders and Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC

.

We value our partnership and applaud your commitment to delivering innovative solutions that make a measurable difference for aviation, energy, and defense customers around the world. crowell.com

©2023 Crowell & Moring LLP | Attorney Advertising

Crowell & Moring LLP congratulates Amanda B. Sanders and Chromalloy Gas Turbine LLC on this well-deserved honor. We value our partnership and applaud your commitment to delivering solutions that make a measurable difference for aviation, energy, and military customers around the world.

“We emphasize our values around what it means to be a human being: pride, passion in what you do, working, and acting with integrity.”

AMANDA SANDERS

By NOAH JOHNSON

For decades, Jake Thornton and his parents were searching for better ways to help his younger sister who has autism and epilepsy. The various medications that aimed to improve her sleep and anxiety often had unfavorable side effects, and in some cases made things worse. That was until medical and adult-use cannabis sales became legal.

Though its legalization is recent, cannabis has a centuries-long history of being used to treat different ailments; it was used for epilepsy in medieval times. It remained a popular tool in the US until the 1930s, then became classified as an illegal substance by the federal government in 1970.

But its benefits weren’t forgotten. California voted to legalize cannabis for medical purposes again in 1996, prompting other states to do the same over the following decades. Illinois became one of them in 2014 for medical and then legalized recreational cannabis in 2020.

Thornton recalls when cannabis was suggested as an option for his sister. “A more holistic doctor said, ‘You live in Illinois; there’s this program opening up. Why don’t you give it a try? There’s been some benefits out west that showed great potential.’

[My sister] did that, and she’s still taking an edible a night, goes to sleep, and wakes up happy. It’s really changed her life.”

Witnessing how cannabis transformed his sister’s well-being, Thornton sought

After witnessing how it changed his sister’s life, Jake Thornton is helping TerrAscend make cannabis a wellness option for others across the nation

“There has been some positive momentum as far as banking and tax legislation and if we were to receive more of that kind of support from legislatures across the country and the federal government, it would make a huge deal for this industry.”

JAKE THORNTON

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to bring the same benefits to others. He’s found a way to do so as the associate general counsel and head of regulatory compliance and affairs at the popular global cannabis operator TerrAscend

“I know how cannabis can help people. I’m in an industry where ultimately the goal is to help people feel better and deal with various ailments whether it’s sleeping, anxiety, [or] PTSD,” he says. “Also professionally, I need to be intrigued with my work and this industry is very interesting because it’s basically just getting started.”

TerrAscend has vertically integrated operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Maryland, and California. The company is also headed toward additional expansion in Maryland, where it recently launched its “Gage” branded products in preparation for adult-use cannabis sales, which were approved by the state legislature in November 2022.

As the state prepared to begin adult-use sales in July 2023, Thornton focused on supporting the company’s growth by reviewing laws introduced to the legislature and determining how they could impact TerrAscend’s operations while soliciting comments from company leaders.

Thornton says that, as he participated in the process and funneled his company’s feedback to legislative groups, he was particularly excited to see Maryland residents have the freedom to purchase cannabis.

It reminds him of the enthusiastic customers and patients who lined up in anticipation of New Jersey’s legal cannabis rollout in 2022. “I went out to northern New Jersey and helped our retail staff at a few stores and just to see people of all ages smiling [and] happy on the first day of sales last year was a milestone that was really cool for everyone to experience,” he explains. “It was just a joyful day. Everyone was proud and I’m looking forward to the same thing in Maryland.”

The future of TerrAscend and its industry continues to look bright, but Thornton acknowledges that their rapid evolution has come with growing pains. Under federal law, cannabis is still illegal, even as most states have relaxed their respective prohibitions on medical and recreational use. Industry

Jake Thornton

Associate General Counsel TerrAscend

Organic Headshots

leaders say this creates a host of challenges for businesses to operate.

For Thornton and TerrAscend, fluctuating regulations have hit the business particularly hard. “This dichotomy between cannabis being federally illegal and being legal in the states we operate in poses a lot of challenges, like with banking and having access to the capital markets that we need,” he says. “We’re also not taxed like a normal business in the sense that we cannot take deductions for typical business expenses. The industry’s financial health will greatly improve when this is corrected.”

He adds, “A lot of regulators like to treat us like a normal business even though we’re not treated as a normal business in many different ways.”

Thornton is hopeful that this will change in the next few years, giving companies a better chance to flourish and, as a result, be able to reduce their product prices.

“There has been some positive momentum as far as banking and tax legislation and if we were to receive more of that kind of support from legislatures across the country and the federal government, it would make a huge deal for this industry,” the associate general counsel says. “If you look at polls across the nation, you will see that people want adult use in their states. And I’m just hoping the legislatures hear this, notice it, and do what the residents of their states want.”

Sophisticated Legal Advisors for the Life Cycle of Cannabis Businesses

As the head of a compliance team, Thornton is a strong consultative leader, always wanting the thoughts and opinions of his staff before a decision is made. He believes it’s best to lead by listening, an idea he’s learned from great mentors he’s worked with throughout his career. When he talks about this leadership philosophy, you can hear his earnest desire to grow both professionally and personally.

“I know that no one’s perfect, including me, and so much more gets accomplished when multiple minds get put together and that’s not just in work but in life,” he says. “Ultimately, learning from prior leaders I’ve been exposed to, I give people the room to grow, I respect them, and I listen because I don’t have all the answers and together, we will grow stronger.”

He’s looking forward to the company’s exposure to new markets around the country, working with new regulators, seeing the industry progress, and watching lives improve as a result of TerrAscend’s products.

Our Cannabis Law team represents a variety of industry participants throughout all stages of business – from seed to sale – including in the following areas:

• Regulatory

• Corporate

• Real Estate

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“I know how cannabis can help people. I’m in an industry where ultimately the goal is to help people feel better and deal with various ailments whether it’s sleeping, anxiety, [or] PTSD.”

JAKE THORNTON

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By NOAH JOHNSON

Gleason’s Gina Vollmer uses her position as a legal leader to inspire collaboration with her team and promote DEI in the manufacturing industry

Gleason is a global leader in the development and manufacture of production systems for all types of gears, including design software, automation solutions, metrology machines, and related equipment. The company has a unique history of female leaders at the company. Kate Gleason, the founder’s daughter, managed several important leadership roles at Gleason and became the first woman elected to the American Society of Mechanical Engineers in 1914.

Today, Gina Vollmer is part of a new generation of women to shape the company’s future, stepping in as the first female general counsel at Gleason. While the manufacturing industry is teeming with innovation, it is lacking diversity across the industry, with fewer than one-third of manufacturing employees being women.

Moreover, the industry’s Black, Asian, and Latino employees are more likely to suffer from slow career progression according to a Deloitte report . Younger generations are gravitating to other industries based

on assumptions that manufacturing might not consistently match their top workplace priorities, but Vollmer hopes to do her part in shedding more light on the career paths and rewarding opportunities available within the industry.

For Vollmer, attracting talent from these demographics and building a pipeline of talent will be one of the keys to tackling the industry’s widening skills gap, as some sources expect US manufacturing to grapple with more than two million unfilled jobs by 2030. To do that, she’s led internal diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts at her previous companies and focused on providing organized mentorship as a means to build future pipelines of diverse talent.

Vollmer became a fellow of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, which is made up of more than four hundred corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners who aim to build a more diverse legal profession. Through that organization and other volunteer organizations, Vollmer has worked with college students and law students to help them navigate next steps in their careers.

“This role is a great opportunity to set an example as a female leader and help demonstrate how rewarding and fulfilling careers in manufacturing can be.”

GINA VOLLMER

Gina Vollmer General Counsel Gleason

At Gleason, Vollmer has helped empower other women to take on leadership roles and has looked for opportunities to continue to promote diversity in the manufacturing industry. Gleason recently partnered with the Women in Manufacturing Association—which provides vital networking opportunities, training, and resources—as one way to support diversity efforts.

“This role is a great opportunity to set an example as a female leader and help demonstrate how rewarding and fulfilling careers in manufacturing can be,” she explains. “When I stepped into my role, I wanted to establish myself as a qualified, capable leader and a trusted business and legal advisor, hopefully setting an example for others still developing in their careers.”

As general counsel, Vollmer manages all legal and compliance issues globally for Gleason, where she has been since 2021. In that time, she’s helped adjust team structures, spearheaded efforts to implement technology into her team’s operations and services, and served as the secretary of the board.

Throughout that work, Vollmer maintains a passion for selecting the right people for her team and leading them with an emphasis on inclusion and communication.

“Throughout my career, I have tried to adapt my communication and leadership style and respond to how my team and team members communicate, learn, and work. One approach may not work for everyone,” she says. “I like to take time to sit with my teams, hear their ideas, seek their input on matters, and discuss how I can support them in achieving their goals. Leading a high-performing team requires us to find opportunities for members to feel challenged and fulfilled in what they’re doing.”

Vollmer’s effective leadership style was cultivated through her previous career experiences. After obtaining her MBA and then graduating from Marquette University Law School, she began her legal career in private practice.

Her in-house career began at Caterpillar Inc., where she worked for seven years. For the first five years, she served as a corporate legal counsel supporting the supply chain

and logistics business unit, the global antibribery compliance program, risk assessment, and more. She then moved up to assistant general counsel, serving as the lead counsel for international trade compliance. During her time at Caterpillar, she served as a diversity and inclusion committee lead for the legal department, while also serving on the advisory board of the Women’s Fund of Central Illinois.

She went on to serve as the senior corporate counsel at the Home Depot, providing commercial transaction and regulatory support for the supply chain, transportation, and logistics business units.

In both those organizations, Vollmer says she learned to be curious to seek challenges that would help her growth. She made an effort to get involved in different kinds of projects and seek challenges inside and outside her group, which explains her decorated résumé and well-rounded legal background.

“If I felt like I wasn’t in a position that allowed me to learn and grow in one way or another, then I maybe wasn’t in the right role,” she says. “Focusing on learning and taking on new challenges in my career has

served me well in my current role as general counsel. There is a plethora of legal issues that can arise when supporting a global business, but my past experiences have helped me quickly navigate these issues and strategize a plan forward if there are issues of first impression for me.”

Vollmer also learned how it is not only crucial to have strong leaders but leaders who are interested in developing their team. “Engaging my team is not only critical for their own development and job satisfaction, but important [that] we seek that diversity of thought to ensure we are deriving pragmatic solutions in the best interests of the company.”

Throughout our 180-year history, Foley has served as the go-to trusted advisor to manufacturing companies as they have grown and innovated. Today our manufacturing team continues to find creative solutions to assist you through challenges at every point in your business evolution.

“Leading a high-performing team requires us to find opportunities for members to feel challenged and fulfilled in what they’re doing.”

GINA VOLLMER

t

CULTURE

How leaders cultivate inclusive environments that allow both employees and companies to thrive

Two Wheels, Six Strings,

Troy Poe brings a musician’s passion to people innovation at Motivate

By BILLY YOST

Troy Poe’s guitar of choice says a lot about his approach to people. The chief people officer (CPO) at Motivate favors a Fender Stratocaster, maybe the most versatile guitar on the planet for those who know how to wield it.

Poe is an HR leader, speaker, consultant, author, and, above all, an analytical thinker who knows how to find the right notes. And those skills, as varied as the tones of a Strat, have helped the CPO create high-performing teams and make HR a critical business function across multiple industries for nearly two decades.

Music is also what brought Poe to HR in the first place.

and a Global Expansion

KIND OF BLUE

“I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be where I am in my career today if it weren’t for music,” Poe explains. “There are so many experiences that wouldn’t have opened up to me had it not been for that part of my life, a part of me that’s still incredibly important today.”

Poe spent his late teens and early-to-midtwenties touring with his guitar, forming relationships with the most famous blue heads in the world, the Blue Man Group. Eventually, Poe took on an official HR manager role with the organization, and his HR career was born.

“It turned out that it was something I was really good at,” Poe remembers. “I liked it, and it just made sense to me. That’s where everything took off.”

Troy Poe

Chief People Officer

Motivate

Jamie Krause

The HR leader came to Motivate, a company that services bicycle-sharing systems across major metropolitan areas, in 2022 to aid the company’s expansion overseas. The company currently has strong operations in Chicago; New York City; Washington, DC; Boston; Minneapolis; Columbus, Ohio; Portland, Oregon; and the Bay Area. And the growth continues.

Currently, Motivate is already in Euro markets, including Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, and France. Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Croatia, and Austria are all on the way.

“They’re all separate countries with separate HR requirements [that] we need to learn about in order to operate effectively,” Poe explains. “But with that work, I’ve found that the culture here is so much fun. There’s excitement about what we’re doing, and I think you’ll find people in the micromobility space are really passionate about what they do.”

Market Research Future predicts that the global market cap for micromobility will grow from $89.4 billion in 2022 to $210.5 billion by 2030, spurred by increased demand and initiatives undertaken by communities and cities looking to implement bike and scooter infrastructure for residents and tourists alike.

A 2017 transportation study by RethinkX Cofounder Tony Seba and tech investor James Arbib predicted an ambitious 80 percent drop in private car ownership by 2030 in the US alone. While the logistics and definitions of that study created controversy, it does create a compelling narrative for why people may choose to forgo automobiles in favor of something more environmentally friendly.

What isn’t up for debate is the fact that Motivate got in early and continues to operate in one of the primary industries poised for massive growth over the next decade.

“There’s excitement about what we’re doing, and I think you’ll find people in the micromobility space are really passionate about what they do.”

TROY POE

MAKING HR MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

As an HR pro who has managed success across multiple industries, Poe says it’s imperative to take the time to understand one’s business model, and to learn exactly what one’s organization does, and how they do it.

But that’s just the table stakes.

“Once you truly understand your organization’s business model, you need to go back to your HR skill set and find ways to develop HR programs that help advance organizational goals,” Poe explains. “If you can achieve that, rather than just ‘doing HR,’ other leaders in the organization will see how much value the HR function can bring to the conversation. That’s when HR becomes transformative.”

Poe lauds Motivate for creating a culture and a brand that is attractive to both potential and current talent alike. By

communicating a clear identity and vision, the CPO says everyone within Motivate and those interested in learning more about the organization see the same thing: a company forging a sustainable and environmentally minded transportation model for the world.

That passion, Poe says, is just another differentiator in the ever-escalating war for talent, a war that will continue in its complexity as Motivate continues to grow globally.

While he has only been at the organization for a year, the HR leader has been able to demonstrate his function’s ability to add critical and lasting value to a company on the rise. That’s the power of an HR leader intent on innovation and not content to fit into the mold of what has come before. This role is anything but the same old song, and Poe is still confident taking a lead.

“I can confidently say that I wouldn’t be where I am in my career today if it weren’t for music.”

TROY POE

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Hydrating Impact

For decades, Culligan International has found ways to keep improving lives through providing clean water access while expanding its reach

By JOSEPH STARK

Since 1936, Culligan International has provided better and safer water to improve lives around the world, a mission so ingrained in the company’s culture that it’s constantly finding ways to further its impact.

In 2021, the company announced a merger with Waterlogic Group Holdings to further solidify its reputation as a clean and sustainable water solutions powerhouse. Combined, the two are able to save more than forty billion plastic bottles annually through sustainable water filtration, purification, and treatment solutions, as well as to accelerate the delivery of water solutions to more than one hundred million consumers worldwide.

The transaction was completed in November 2022, allowing Culligan to diversify its product range and increase its global reach. In a press announcement , Culligan CEO Scott Clawson said the move is a vital step in the company’s evolution.

“Our focus has been on driving innovation, delivering the best consumer experience, and providing solutions that are both good for people and the planet, while also moving the market forward,” Clawson said. “Together with the Waterlogic team, we believe we can drive the future of clean and sustainable drinking water solutions globally and serve a broader group of customers in the $250 billion global consumer water market.”

Jeremy Ben-David, Waterlogic’s founder and group CEO said the partnership was a great match due to both companies’ similar missions. Established in 1992, Waterlogic has been a designer, manufacturer, distributor, and service provider of drinking water dispensers with a presence in more than seventy countries with about fifty million people using its dispensers every day.

“Our deep, mutual belief that we have the ability and responsibility to contribute positively to the Earth guides our decisions and is ingrained in our operations,” Ben-David said in a press statement

At the heart of the partnership and Culligan’s other moves is a drive to innovate, including on the information technology front. That’s where Tony Bender, senior vice president and chief information officer, comes in. In his global role, he’s responsible for all information technology at Culligan. He and his team worked to combine operations and systems amid the Waterlogic acquisition in addition to spearheading cloud migration and cybersecurity efforts. There’s no shortage of work for the global tech team that serves a company handling about thirty acquisitions a year. Harnessing acquisitions and managing high organic and inorganic growth is a challenge. But Bender navigates it with a “player-coach” leadership style. He isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty to drive initiatives while offering support to his team. He tends to be out in the field a lot, meeting with colleagues and showing them that he’s accessible.

The CIO advises other executives to build strong relationships with business partners and to understand what’s important to them to drive value. He also believes leaders should spend a lot of time mentoring and coaching the team to create a sense of urgency within them. Leaders should constantly examine what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and whether they’re focused on the right things, Bender recommends.

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Leaving It All on the Field

Sean Davis grew up in Maryland, north of Baltimore. “I swore I’d leave here at some point,” he says, “and I never did. Life just has a funny way of working out.”

Likewise, his role as director of total rewards for Ocwen Financial Corporation was unexpected. HR was not on his radar. What led the son of two police officers on this career path?

“I stumbled into it,” he says with a laugh. “There are certain aspects of my personality in terms of creativity, planning, and organization that have been hallmarks for me through my entire life, but did that directly translate towards a career in compensation and benefits? No, but it certainly fits.”

“I’m fortunate that my team shares the same desire for excellence. None of us are satisfied doing B-level work.”

SEAN DAVIS

Sean Davis is Ocwen’s rewards guru and a coach at heart. His winning game plan includes transparency and accountability.

By DONALD LIEBENSON

But he loves the balance of left brain and right brain that the job offers. “I couldn’t do numbers all day,” Davis says, “and I couldn’t do creative all day.”

Davis leads Ocwen’s compensation and benefits practices for the US. He also leads global executive compensation and performance management processes— everything from long-term incentive plans and sales incentives to career architecture, performance management, and healthcare plan design.

Davis had been in marketing before joining PHH Corporation in 2005. His marketing

experience, particularly his graphic design skills, helped him get his foot in the door, he says. “I was brought in to help with HR communications. I developed diversity awareness campaigns and recruitment materials. I had a great mentor there who saw potential in me and encouraged me to take on other projects. That led to benefits communications and then performance management. I was fortunate to have opportunities to dabble in pretty much every area of HR.”

In 2018, Ocwen acquired PHH, and as the new director of compensation and benefits,

Sean Davis Director of Total Rewards Ocwen Financial Corporation

Mary Pedersen

Mary Pedersen

Davis had his work cut out for him. “It was a lot of work putting together two large mortgage companies with different cultures, talent philosophies, and practices,” the director says. “We had to build a new foundation on career architecture and pay structures, develop new processes, and replace underperforming vendors who were creating more work for us.

“We made pretty significant changes to get us to where we were valued [as] strategic consultants to the business,” he continues. “It’s been interesting and we’ve come a long way. Ultimately, we built an efficient foundation, proved ourselves, and earned trust.”

Davis’s practices have inspired other leaders in similar roles. “Sean is a great HR leader, and his positive attitude and hard work is what makes him special,” says Glenn A. Shapiro, partner and senior vice president of employee benefits at USI Insurance Services. “Most importantly, he is always looking out for the best interests of his employees. We are very lucky to get to work with him and Ocwen.”

While integration is always challenging, Davis is proud that Ocwen has been able to merge 401(k)s, pensions, healthcare plans, and incentive structures. “We try to create for sustainability,” Davis says. “We haven’t

increased employee medical premiums in three years, and we’re always evaluating new ways we can support employees and their families, whether it’s physical, mental, or financial health tools.”

As Ocwen has continued to grow, integrating newly acquired businesses into its compensation structure created challenges Davis had to overcome. Creating transition plans for incentives and building salary grades and other elements of career architecture were some critical wins for the team.

Davis leads a team of three. He describes his leadership style as “open and collaborative.” He adds, “I would illustrate myself as a tree trunk supporting the branches of my team. They have the support and freedom to grow and be fruitful.”

“I’m not one for micromanagement,” he notes. “I’m more laissez-faire: Let’s come to a consensus on what our objectives are, what’s best, and hold ourselves accountable. I’m fortunate that my team shares the same desire for excellence. None of us are satisfied doing B-level work. We’re self-motivated. We take a lot of pride and ownership and try to refine things to make things better.”

The best advice he says he ever received came from his boss early in his career. “I was in my early twenties,” he recalls. “My boss

“Don’t be intimidated by the hierarchy. Executives have different types of decisions to make, but they are looking for you to give them advice based on your subject-matter expertise.”

SEAN DAVIS

essentially told me not to treat executives differently than you would treat the rest of the employees. Don’t be intimidated by the hierarchy. Executives have different types of decisions to make, but they are looking for you to give them advice based on your subject-matter expertise. If you have an educated opinion, say it.”

Davis also credits his hours on the soccer field, where he has coached his children, with informing his encouraging leadership style.

“You’re going to have days as a team when you’re successful and days when you’re not,” he says. “The more teammates get accustomed to one another, and get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, the better chances for the team to be successful.”

He continues, “I’ve always liked sports and I stay active as much as I can. I enjoy the competition and the camaraderie. If you give it everything, you can walk out of the office or off the field at the end of the day with your head held high.”

As he enters his fifth year at Ocwen, Davis remains focused on coming up with innovative ways to motivate people. “I promote transparency and accountability,” he says. “If you say you’re going to deliver, deliver. Don’t overcommit; be realistic [about] what you can accomplish. And if you make a mistake, it’s not the end of the world, but only make the mistake once.”

A self-described recovering perfectionist, Davis believes that one must know when to say things are good enough. “You get to a point where things work well, and you have to take time to celebrate before you say, ‘So now what?’” he explains. “We always have a view towards continuous improvement and adapting to anticipate the ever-changing needs of our clients.”

NFP is a leading insurance broker and consultant that provides employee benefits, specialized property and casualty, retirement, and individual private client solutions through our licensed subsidiaries and affiliates. Our commitment to excellence and innovation allows us to help Sean Davis and Ocwen Financial create successful retirement plan outcomes for participants.

Mary Pedersen

Amy’s Kitchen P38

Bender, Tony P61

Benson, Bobbye P10

Booker, Zeb P28

Box P14

Castaldo, Christopher P16

cbdMD P28

Chromalloy Gas

Turbine LLC P43

Culligan

International P61

Davis, Sean P63

GA Telesis P24 Girenkov, Andrei P33 Gleason P50 Greystar P33

Malick, Ravi P14 Maraj, Darryl P24 Motivate P56

Ocwen Financial Corporation P63

Palermo, Frank P19 Poe, Troy P56

QBE North America P16

Rich, Steve P38

Sanders, Amanda P43

TerrAscend P47

Thornton, Jake P47

Virtusa Corporation P19

Vollmer, Gina P50

Western Alliance Bank P10

Courtesy of Greystar (Girenkov)

Gina Vollmer, General Counsel, Gleason P50

Andrei Girenkov, CTO, Greystar P33

Three pivotal moments that gave way to the founding of three premier companies

A PIE—AND A BUN—IN THE OVEN

The very first dish from Amy’s Kitchen was a pot pie, baked into existence just a few weeks after the company’s namesake, Amy Berliner, herself was born. Little Amy was sleeping close by when the pie was ready, which started a trend for baby and business to grow alongside each other. P38

JACUZZI THINK TANK

Box Cofounder Aaron Levie got the idea for a tech solution to the online storage industry during a business school project, but his entrepreneurial spirit far predated this: in high school, Levie and his friends—Box’s other cofounders—used to brainstorm business schemes in his parents’ hot tub. P14

GREEN FOR GOOD

Ryan Hudson cofounded the Apothecarium—a dispensary owned by TerrAscend in 2011 after he witnessed an older woman in line at a dispensary with a serious medical issue. The staff were unable to provide answers to her questions, leading Hudson to imagine an elegant facility with knowledgeable and nonjudgmental professionals who could be a resource to seniors, vets, LGBTQ+ residents, and others in the Bay Area. P47

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