2024 Speaker Series
Geoff Foster
January 30, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Founder, Core Technology
Geoff Foster earned a BS (’90) & MS (’96) in Industrial Technology with a concentration in Applied Engineering Technology from North Carolina A & T State University. He was employed as an Engineer with AMP Inc. & Tyco Electronics in roles of Quality Engineering, Product Engineering, Product Manager and Global Product Management. He was awarded US Patent 6,024,591 for a Sealed Electric Connector for Ford Motor Company. Ford Motor Company has used over 31 million of these parts on the Ford, Lincoln, Jaguar and Mercury models. Mr. Foster went on to complete his MBA at Wake Forest University’s Babcock Graduate School of Business in May 2001. After obtaining his MBA, he worked in Durham, NC with Corning Life Sciences (formerly Becton Dickinson), where he held the position of Operations Manager in the Tissue Culture Department and was responsible for an $80 million product line and 125 employees. In 2006, Mr. Foster founded Core Technology Molding Corporation where he is the Chief Executive Officer and President. Core Technology, based in Greensboro, NC, is an injection molding solutions provider who is ISO 9001:2015 certified and compete in the Medical Device, Automotive, Biological Pharmaceutical, Heavy Truck, and Outdoor Lawn Equipment markets. Core Tech operates 24/7 and ships to 150 countries.
Randall Tuttle
February 6, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Trade Street Capital Partners
I’ve had two business careers. The first was in the water and wastewater industry, where I built up a regional player, sold it to a roll-up in Houston, and then moved to Houston to be its President/COO as we acquired 10+ companies across the country (growing from $60 MM in revenues when they bought my regional company to $300 MM). We were a NASDAQ company but were really owned by a private equity group based in Chicago. After 3+ years in Houston, I left the company at age 40 and took a sabbatical to decide what was next.
After more thought than usual for me, I developed a thesis around a small private equity play (with very specific differences between what I do and traditional private equity funds). Over the past 20 years, I’ve acquired 6 businesses. Typical target sizes are $5-20 MM Revenues, and $1-3 MM EBITDA. I’ve had one failure (a leveraged deal in 2007); two of the companies are still active (Aqualis, a water services business, and Mainline, a start-up fiber optics construction company). I usually take an active role in the company at the beginning of a project, but currently I do not have a day-to-day role in either of the businesses (a mentoring role which I’m enjoying). I feel a responsibility, and I also enjoy, being involved in our community; for me, my most meaningful work in recent years has involved chairing a regional utility commission, and chairing our Winston Salem Foundation (one of the larger community foundations in the US). A few years ago, I also led a startup group called Creative Corridors Coalition, which worked with local and state Departments of Transportation to design and build iconic bridges and roadways for area interstate highways. Claire and I are also interested and engaged in racial equity work.
Kevin Keller
February 13, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Founder, Fulton & Roark
Kevin Keller is the cofounder of the personal fragrance company, Fulton & Roark.
While pursuing his M.B.A at Wake Forest (Class of 2013), Keller and his classmate Allen Shafer started work on what would become Fulton & Roark.
After graduating from Wake, Keller continued working on the company as a “nights and weekends project” while working full-time in marketing for Inmar and later Hanesbrands. By 2016, through bootstrap efforts, he was able to make Fulton & Roark his full-time job.
With a focus on thoughtful design and a new take on fragrance, Fulton & Roark has been featured in publications including GQ, Glossy, The Wall Street Journal and Fast Company and is currently sold in more than 500 specialty retailers throughout the US.
Originally from Atlanta, Keller earned his undergraduate degree from Georgia State University, double-majoring in Journalism and Religious Studies. Prior to entering the business world, Keller worked as a public radio reporter, producer and host. He believes his years of putting himself in uncomfortable situations, asking strangers questions, researching facts, and turning what he learned into compelling stories has been invaluable in his development as an entrepreneur.
When he’s not working, Keller enjoys spending time with his wife, Anna Keller, and their children, Maggie and Vance. He entertains himself by running and reading (though never at the same time).
Griff O’Brien
February 20, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Co-Founder & CEO, Estate Media
Griff is the Co-Founder and CEO of Estate Media, a real-estate media company he started with Million Dollar Listing LA’s Josh Flagg. Estate Media is creating the most trusted and loved content destination for real estate professionals and fans, with 20 of the most influential names in the business, who reach 25M+ followers across social, in the Estate ecosystem.
Griff is from Denver, Colorado and attended Wake Forest University, graduating in 2018 with a degree in Communications and Economics. Griff started his first company while at Wake, a digital tv recommendation system called bundl.tv, completely bootstrapped, and exited to a digital media company in Ireland his senior year. Since graduating in 2018, Griff has held corporate leadership roles in content strategy and acquisition at Snapchat, Roku and Amazon Prime Video.
Annabel Love & Countney Toll
February 27, 5:00-6:16 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Founders, NORI
Nori,iron spelled backwards, was founded by Courtney Toll and Annabel Love, who wanted a new solution to clothing care that spoke to millennial and Gen Z clientele. After interviewing more than 500 potential consumers in their market (and finding that many relied on makeshift wrinkle-release solutions that ranged from pressing clothing between mattresses to hanging them in a steamy shower), Nori raised $1.3 million across two rounds to develop a working prototype before launch in May 2021.
Sam Chason & Matt Gronberg
March 19, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
C0-Founders, Storage Scholars
Sam Chason is a 2020 graduate of Wake Forest University where he studied Business & Enterprise Management and got a minor in Entrepreneurship. After starting Storage Scholars in his freshmen dorm room (yes, he wrote off South 303 as a home office on his taxes), he grew it for the last six years into a nationally recognized brand. Their operations range from North Carolina to California. He has no plans of slowing down any time soon.
Matt Gronberg is a 2021* (graduated in a semester early in December 2020 to run Storage Scholars full-time) graduate of Wake Forest University where he studied Biology and got a minor in Spanish. After working his first move out in the spring of his freshmen year alongside his eventual business partner Sam, he was hooked. A year later, he was Head of Campus Expansion, he changed his major, his career path, and never looked back.
John Aggrey
March 26, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Chairman & CEO, The Unicorn Group
Mr. Aggrey is the Chairman & CEO of The Unicorn Group, LLC the leading ‘Executive Relationship Marketing’ company in the United States. He has spent many years in the technology sector and is responsible for the vision and long-range strategic plan for the company. Clients include Clear Channel, AirMall USA, Commonwealth Technology, Union Track, MediaBarn, Dig-It Games, Truvincio, Vet Advisors and Mobile Commons. Prior to The Unicorn Group, Mr. Aggrey held positions in a Vice President or Director role for several companies including Edgewater Technology. Inc., a publicly-traded premium IT services company; B2e markets, a strategic sourcing software company which was acquired by VerticalNet; and KnowledgeMax, Inc. an e-Learning corporate training company.
Michael Zimmerman
April 2, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Owner, Rip Roar Events
Obsessed with endurance sports since the age of five, Michael realized in college he would never make a dime as a professional athlete. Through creative and often unprofitable means, Michael has built an enterprise around his love for challenging communities to go further, or faster or find entertainment in suffering. Professionally, Michael is the founder of RipRoar Events, an endurance event production company. He is a nationally recognized event emcee for both sports and entertainment, and creator of a Midwest based non-profit aimed at engaging youth in taking on challenges in sports and life.
Brooke Einbender
April 9, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Founder, Mindbender Art
Brooke Einbender is a fine artist based in Telluride, CO. Her creative and entrepreneurial spirit has led her to build her fine art company, Mindbender Art. Einbender graduated from Wake Forest University in 2017. She was awarded the Presidential Scholarship for Visual Arts and studied studio art and entrepreneurship. Brooke’s work combines a variety of mediums to push the boundaries of creativity and bring new forms of awe and wonder into the world. Her accomplishments spread far and wide from presenting a TEDx talk, working with UCLA’s Nelson Lab on projects in Virtual Reality, speaking on 15+ panels about art + innovation, and collaborating with brands nationwide. Renowned for her innovative approach, Brooke has captivated audiences with her unique elevator art installations, which involve printing her artwork on vinyl and wrapping the walls and elevator doors with her kaleidoscopic designs.
Kristen McClellan
April 16, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Founder, Snappy Screen, Inc
Snappy Screen was founded by Kristen McClellan while attending Cornell University. McClellan’s inspiration for the idea was borne out of a family vacation. “My sister was never the best at applying sunscreen and always ended up with a splotchy sunburn” she remembers. After waiting for her sister to tediously apply sunscreen each day of the vacation she thought “there must be an easier way”. McClellan then presented the idea at an elevator pitch competition as a college freshman at Cornell University and has been working on further developing the product ever since. While at school, Kristen joined the business incubator program at the Cornell, eLab where she built three prototypes and conducted her first trial period. With an overwhelmingly positive response, McClellan decided to take on the business full time to grow the business to where it is today.
Ashton Keefe
April 23, 5:00 – 6:15 pm – Annenburg Forum (Carswell 111)
Chef | Culinary Stylist
Ashton Keefe is a nationally recognized chef and food stylist that specializes in
innovative branding, multidimensional content, and thoughtful brand placement on the digital, steaming, and national platforms of ABC, NBC, FOX, and CBS.
Ashton began her career working for Jean-George Vongerichten in the pastry kitchen at Mercer Kitchen while simultaneously assisting New York Magazine’s food critic Gael Greene. In 2010, she received recognition in The New York Times, Food & Wine Magazine, and Martha Stewart Living for her role as the founding chef and lead teacher at NYC’s Haven’s Kitchen. Ashton transitioned to food styling, earning a tenured role at NBC’s TODAY Show as a culinary producer and food stylist before becoming an on-air talent and one of the first culinary producers and hosts to act as a broker between brands and networks.
Her approachable and convivial nature mirror her mantra that food is an act of love and an opportunity for beauty. Ashton has published two books, Lemon & Salt and Convivial. In 2019, she was awarded one of Glamour Magazine’s women of the year. She regularly appears on NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, and CNN. She’s the is the Chef Advisor at Cuvaison Winery, in Napa Valley, CA.