Speakers

David Malpass served as President of the World Bank Group from 2019-2023. He expanded financial commitments by 40%, expanded resources, streamlined operations, and maintained fiscal discipline. As a strong crisis leader, his tenure at the World Bank Group provided a record $440 billion in financing to developing countries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, war in Ukraine, energy shortages, and humanitarian crises. He completed successful equity capital increases for IBRD and IFC; and two key IDA fundraising packages totaling $175 billion to support the world’s 75 poorest countries. His tenure also included:

• Strengthening the WBG’s focus on private sectors, trade finance and infrastructure.
• Record bond issuance by IBRD, IDA, and IFC.
• Creating a global priority to improve the debt restructuring process for sovereigns.
• Integrating climate and development objectives to address climate costs, doubling the Bank’s climate finance to a record $32 billion in 2022; and
• Leading highly motivated 25,000 staff and consultants in over 130 locations to achieve good development outcomes for people in developing countries.

Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury: Prior to serving as President of the World Bank Group, Malpass served as Under Secretary for International Affairs of the U.S. Treasury from 2017-2019. He led international economic policy, including finance, currencies, international taxation, China relations, debt restructuring efforts, investment security, and multi-country regulatory frameworks. Malpass worked to improve the global financial system, reform the IMF and World Bank, and promote currency stability policies through the G7 and G20. He sought to enhance national security and economic strength through his work on the 2018 FIRRMA law strengthening CFIUS, the application of sanctions, and the Financial Stability Board’s interaction with Basel III safety and soundness standards. For his service, Malpass was awarded Treasury’s Alexander Hamilton Award in recognition of Distinguished Leadership.

Wall Street: From 1993-2016, Malpass worked as Chief Economist and Senior Managing Director of Bear Stearns and as founder and president of a NYC-based economics and market research firm, conducting highly respected analyses of markets around the world. He was regularly voted a top Wall Street economist by Institutional Investor. He wrote the regular “Thought Leaders” column in Forbes for a decade and is the author of over 100 opinion pieces on economics, markets, debt, taxes, and international relations in The Wall Street Journal and other publications.

Boards: During his 23-year Wall Street career, Malpass served on the boards and audit committees of the New Mountain Finance Corporation (ticker: NMFC) and UBS Funds. He was on the board of the National Committee on U.S.–China Relations, the Council of the Americas, the Economic Club of New York, and the Manhattan Institute. At the World Bank Group, Malpass was Chairman of the Board and President of the five arms of the institution – IBRD, IDA, IFC, MIGA, and ICSID. At the U.S. Treasury, he sat on the Boards of OPIC (now DFI) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation.

Early Career: Malpass began his career working at a steel foundry that made high-alloy steel used in digging equipment, nuclear castings, and pulp mills and became a CPA. From 1984-1993, he was active in public policy, serving on the staff of the Senate Budget Committee and the Joint Economic Committee and as a Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Treasury and State Departments for economic, tax, legislative and international affairs during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush administrations.

Education: Malpass earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Colorado College and an MBA from the University of Denver as a Boettcher Scholar. He also received an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from Colorado College. He undertook advanced graduate work in international economics at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University and has studied Russian, Spanish, and French.

Alex Housten is the COO of dormakaba Group, a leading global provider of building access solutions. Alex has nearly 20 years of experience in the building technologies industry across various operations, commercial, and P&L leadership roles. He is known as an effective operator, customer advocate, and champion of purposeful new product developments to solve customer challenges.

Alex joined dormakaba in April 2020 as the head of the dormakaba Access Solutions Americas segment and a member of the dormakaba Group Executive Committee. In this role, he led the Americas organization through three years of comprehensive business transformation to generate growth and performance. Key transformation levers included business portfolio adjustment, optimizing sales coverage, channel development, improving product vitality, brand rationalization, customer service enhancement, manufacturing network consolidation, and business systems harmonization.

Before joining dormakaba, Alex held progressive leadership positions at Carrier Corporation, a subsidiary of the former United Technologies Corporation (UTC). His most recent role was leader of Carrier’s Fire & Security Products Americas business unit, including responsibility for the Kidde residential fire safety, Edwards commercial fire detection & alarm, LenelS2 access control, Interlogix intrusion, Supra specialty access, and Onity hospitality businesses.

Brittany Whitenack started Antique Candle Co.® with an idea, business plan, and $200 worth of candle making supplies in 2014. Almost a decade later, Antique Candle Co.® employs 50+ candle makers, shipping peeps, and marketing gurus while bringing in about $8 million dollars annually. In 10 years, her business has employed 167 individuals, made 1.5 million candles, and served almost 200,000 ecommerce customers in the United States & Canada. In addition, you can shop these farmhouse soy wax candles in about 700 shops. Bootstrapping a business isn't easy and Brittany has learned some good ole' fashioned business lessons along the way.

An alumnus of Purdue University and the Daniels School of Business, Brittany has continued to employ many fellow Purdue graduates. Brittany is currently the Chief Visionary Officer & has served on a variety of committees and boards in collaboration with Matchbox Coworking Studio, Cornerstone Baptist Church, and the Greater Lafayette Commerce in Lafayette, Indiana. Brittany resides with her husband of 12 years, Daniel. They enjoy small downtown living with a senior pug & frequent the local downtown boutiques, shops, and eateries. Together, they enjoy lots of walks on the Purdue University campus where they met.

Jocelyn Wong is recognized as a business strategist and architect who anticipates trends, creates new possibilities and leverages data to create long-term success. Her 25+ year career has included leadership roles in the consumer packaged goods space, a variety of retail formats, and in the fast growing on-demand delivery platform sector. She has led game changing product launches and initiatives across industries ranging from beauty to power tools. She has received numerous industry awards and prides herself on being a passionate, data obsessed Brand Building Innovator.

Jocelyn currently sits on the Board of Directors for 4 different companies spanning very different industries and business models including a healthy snack startup company based in San Francisco to a marketing agency focused on connected commerce.

Her most recent role was the Chief Customer Officer of Gopuff, a late stage-startup that delivers consumer goods in less than 30 minutes in over 650 US cities. Her role consisted of building the marketing organization, launching a holistic Brand Strategy and Campaign, and over-seeing merchandising.

Prior to Gopuff, Jocelyn was the Chief Marketing Officer at Lowe’s, a $70B home improvement retailer. For nearly 4 years, she had responsibility over digital marketing, creative strategy and production as well as product marketing and managed a nearly $1B marketing budget and led an organization of 300+people.

Her earlier experiences included a variety of roles at Safeway, Family Dollar as well as Procter and Gamble, where she began her career as a Process Engineer before transitioning into Brand Management.

Jocelyn has a bachelor degree in Food Process Engineering from Purdue University. One of the most impactful moments in her life was in her sophomore year when she won a school competition for “most creative use of soybeans”. This single event is what led her down a path to pursue a career she not only loved but excelled at; marrying the technical aspect of engineering with the creativity of marketing to solve real world problems.

The highlight of her entire career was giving the commencement speech at her alma mater, Purdue University in 2021.

Dustin Smith was appointed Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer on December 8, 2023. He previously served as Senior Vice President, Chief Strategy officer since June 4, 2021.

Mr. Smith joined Wabash in 2007 and has held a number of positions with increasing responsibility, including Director of Finance, Director of Manufacturing, Vice President of Manufacturing, Senior Vice President and General Manager – Commercial Trailer Products, and Senior Vice President and Group President – Commercial Trailer Products. 

Prior to Wabash, from 2000 to 2007, Mr. Smith held various positions at Ford Motor Company in Dearborn Michigan, across both product development and manufacturing divisions, including Plant Controller. His 20+ years of experience in finance and operations gives Mr. Smith a unique understanding of how manufacturing systems directly affect financial results.

Mr. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an MBA in Corporate Finance from Purdue University. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, in addition to attending several executive programs at the Booth School of Management from University of Chicago. 

Mr. Smith resides on the board of directors for the Composites Company, based in Melbourne, Florida. He also resides, locally, on the board of directors for the West Lafayette Parks Foundation, as well as the board of directors for the Lafayette Symphony Orchestra.

Rich Freeland retired in 2019 after a 40 year career with Cummins Inc. Rich began his career at Cummins the Monday after graduating from Purdue, working on the 2nd shift in manufacturing. Some of Rich’s many roles at Cummins included Plant Manager, Vice President of Global Operations, and President of the Engine Business. He concluded his career as the President and Chief Operating Officer for Cummins Inc. and a member of the Cummins Board of directors.

Cummins is an Indiana based company that operates in over 190 countries and territories with over 50,000 global employees. In his role as President and Chief Operating Officer, Freeland oversaw all daily operations to ensure Cummins meets financial, customer and operating commitments.

A native of Indiana, Freeland attended Purdue University and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Management from the Business School. In 1987, he earned an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

Rich currently serves on the Board of Directors for three public companies. He is the Chairman of the board for Valvoline Inc. He also serves on the boards for Cooper Standard Inc. and Hyliion Inc. Board.

Freeland and his wife, Tammy, have two daughters and split their time between Naples, FL and Columbus, IN.

Mark Wohlford is a partner in the Labor and Employment and the Litigation Groups of Bose McKinney & Evans LLP. Mark assists clients with a wide array of labor and employment matters including employment litigation, discrimination and wrongful termination defense, wage claims, non-compete, confidentiality, and non-solicitation agreements, and compliance with FMLA, ADA, FLSA, and other employment-related state

and federal statutes. Mark has represented clients at the local, state and federal level in employment-related disputes and has conducted independent investigations into alleged discriminatory actions and misconduct for both private and public entities.

In addition to his work in labor and employment law, Mark also has experience representing clients in a variety of litigation matters, including complex commercial litigation, contract disputes, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty and civil rights litigation.

Mark previously served as a judicial law clerk for Indiana Supreme Court Justice Brent E. Dickson. He and his wife have three children and live in Zionsville, where they attend Zionsville Fellowship Church.

Ceridwyn King joined the White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in 2022. With an extensive marketing background, Dr. King is an experienced industry consultant and researcher. Prior to becoming an academic, she served as the head of marketing for Conrad Jupiters Hotel and Casino on the Gold Coast, Australia. She has also held various marketing positions with Starwood Hotels and Resorts and is the founder and principal consultant for Seed – Strategic Marketing Solutions. Prior to joining Purdue University, Dr. King served as a professor at Temple University in the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, where she was the founding chair of the Tourism and Hospitality Management Department, advancing department and faculty endeavors during her 4-year term from 2016 to 2020.

Her research focuses on service management and marketing, emphasizing the internal stakeholder’s role in realizing marketing strategies to create competitively sustainable service experiences. She is a leading international scholar in hospitality brand management and is regularly engaged as an expert witness in this field. She is the Editor-in-Chief of Services Marketing Quarterly, Associate Editor of Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Research and Co-ordinating Editor of International Journal of Hospitality Management. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards for International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management, Cornell Hospitality Quarterly and the Journal of Service Management.

Dr. King’s research and teaching accomplishments have been recognized with several awards. She was named the Paul Anderson Research Fellow in 2017 and the Arthur F. McGonigle Research Fellow in 2021. In 2018, she was recognized for being in the top ten of highly cited research faculty in the Fox School of Business and the School of Sport, Tourism and Hospitality Management, Temple University and in 2020 she was awarded the High Achievements in Sponsored Projects Award from the Fox School of Business. In collaboration with Temple University’s Small Business Development Center, she was the founding co-director of the Center for Hospitality Resilience, an SBA federally funded initiative to help small tourism and hospitality business navigate the impacts of COVID-19.

Aleka Jones has spent a combined total of over 20 years in the financial and legal sectors, supporting publicly traded and private equity owned companies in both an internal and external capacity. Having worked for notable professional services companies such as Deloitte and KPMG prior to attending law school and Seyfarth Shaw LLP, an AmLaw 100 labor and employment law firm, after attending law school, Aleka has a wide variety of experience in assisting companies in identifying financial and legal risks and developing plans to mitigate such risks. She also has experience in numerous industries, including foodservice distribution and media. In her former role as Assistant General Counsel of Employment at US Foods, she was responsible for providing legal support to the company in regard to its strategic initiatives and supply chain operations. Currently, Aleka serves as Vice President & Associate General Counsel of Employment, Labor & Compliance for Cox Media Group, a leading media company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Aleka is a member of the Business Opportunity Program Leadership Council at the Daniels School of Business.

Todd Taylor is entering his 13th year with Pacers Sports & Entertainment, as the organization’s President and Chief Commercial Officer. In his role, Taylor oversees all aspects of PS&E’s sales and marketing initiatives, including ticket sales, corporate partnerships, broadcast, game operations, analytics, promotions, branding, advertising and interactive marketing. In addition to his sales and marketing duties, Taylor has oversight of Pacers Gaming (NBA2K) and business operations of the Indiana Fever (WNBA) and Indiana Mad Ants (G League).

Prior to joining PS&E, Taylor was the Executive Vice President of Ticket Sales and Marketing for the Texas Rangers. During his time in Texas, he was responsible for all facets of the Rangers ticketing operations, including season, group, and individual ticket sales, suites sales and services, and oversight of the ticket office. He also led the marketing department and played a major role in the club’s branding initiatives.

From 2006 to 2010, Taylor served as Vice President, Consumer Marketing for the Milwaukee Brewers where he was responsible for all aspects of ticket sales and services, suite sales and services, consumer marketing, and branding for the Brewers. Building a fully integrated ticket sales and marketing team led to Milwaukee drawing over three million fans in both 2008 and 2009, including a then franchise record total of 3,068,458 in 2008.

Prior to arriving in Milwaukee, Taylor was Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2004-06, where he led the NBA club’s ticketing and retail operations. He spent the previous seven years from 1998-2004 with the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League as Senior Account Executive, Director of Ticket Sales, and Vice President of Ticket Sales. In Columbus, he is credited with inventing the “Stock Split” and “Stock Split Vesting” programs, which helped the Blue Jackets record 102 sellout crowds, including 58 consecutive, and play to 97% capacity from 2000-04.

In 2011, Taylor was named to the SportsBusiness Journal’s “Forty Under 40” list which identifies and recognizes the most influential sports executives under the age of 40.

Taylor is a native of Sidney, Ohio and a 1995 graduate of The Ohio State University. Todd and his wife Jennifer live in Westfield and have three children, daughter Brynn and sons Keenan and Ian.

Ariana Evans is a senior staff consultant within the Municipal Advisory practice at Crowe, where she works to provide excellent service and solutions to public and private clients in the public sector industry. Before Crowe, she was a student at Purdue University where she graduated (during the pandemic) with a 3.48 GPA and double majoring in both accounting and finance. During her final year as a student, she not only placed third in the 2020 Miss Black and Gold Pageant, but she was also awarded the “Advancing Women” and “Outstanding Senior” award by the business school due to her contributions as a student.

As a Purdue student, some of Ariana’s favorite memories are those that involve engaging with others in the Business Opportunity Program and her opportunities to volunteer, whether it be through the School of Languages and Cultures’ Ayuda y Aprende program or being an ambassador for the Brock-Wilson Center for Women in Business. This hard work and advocacy translated to her role at Crowe where some of her extracurriculars include helping the firm recruit diverse talent as well as serving as the Indianapolis Lead for the African American Business Resource group.

Todd Sandefur is the Director of U.S.A. Operations for Gibson Guitars and is responsible for the performance of Gibson’s electric guitar facilities. Gibson Brands, the world’s most iconic guitar brand, has shaped the sounds of generations of musicians and music lovers across genres for more than 100 years. The Gibson Brands portfolio includes Gibson, the number one guitar brand, as well as many of the most beloved and recognizable music brands, including Epiphone, Kramer, Steinberger, MESA/Boogie, and the Gibson Pro Audio division, KRK Systems. Before Gibson, Todd was General Manager and Chief Operations Officer of companies owned by Assa Abloy, a global access solutions company whose offerings include products and services related to locks, doors, gates, and entrance automation. He led numerous manufacturing locations across multiple companies under the Assa Abloy brand and drove initiatives that made the sites and companies profitable. Before joining Assa Abloy, Todd spent 19 years in the Tier 1 automotive industry at all levels of leadership, including director of a JIT facility in Alabama that supplies seats to Mercedes Benz. Todd holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from the Purdue Polytechnic Institute and a master's in engineering management from the University of Dayton. Todd resides in Nashville, Tennessee, with his wife and two fur babies. Let it be known that Todd’s Chevy Silverado's license plate is BolerUp (Boiler Up), and his Corvette's license plate is HmmerDwn (Hammer Down)!