SPEAKERS

Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker, Business Leadership Coach, a Twelve-time New York Times Best-selling Author, Host of the top-rated Corporate Competitor Podcast, National Geographic’s “Storyteller in Residence,” and longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated

As a recent inductee to the National Speakers Hall of Fame, a twelve-time New York Times Best-selling author, host of the top-rated Corporate Competitor Podcast, Publisher of Forbes Books, Storyteller in Residence for National Geographic, Executive Leadership Coach, and longtime Associate Editor for Sports Illustrated, Don Yaeger has fashioned a career as one of America's most provocative thought leaders.  

He is primarily sought to discuss lessons on achieving Greatness, learned from first-hand work alongside some of the greatest sports and business legends in the world.  Additionally, Don has been retained by companies and organizations to coach their leaders on building a culture of Greatness, using the framework built through his exhaustive study of Great Teams in sports and business, discerning the lessons we can learn from them.  Throughout his writing career, Don has developed a reputation as a world-class storyteller, in fact, renowned thought leaders such as John Maxwell and Simon Sinek have called Don the best storyteller they have ever worked with! Because of these achievements, Don has been invited as a guest to every major talk show - from Oprah to Fox Business News, from CNN to Good Morning America.

In 2020 Don launched the Corporate Competitor Podcast, which Podcast Magazine quickly recognized as one of the Top 50 Podcasts in America. By 2022 Spotify had listed Corporate Competitor Podcast in the top five percent of the most followed and shared podcasts in the world. Among the guests interviewed by Don for episodes of the podcast have been former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the CEOs of Disney, Delta Airlines, Bank of America, Hendrick Motorsports, KPMG, FanDuel, Chick-fil-A, Insight Enterprises, TopGolf, Mayo Clinic, BET Media and Ritz Carlton.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Don has traveled extensively through his career.  A graduate of Ball State University where he was selected as one of the university's “50 Graduates of Distinction” over its first century and subsequently was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2022, Don now resides in Tallahassee, Florida. He and his wife, Jeanette, have a son (Will) and a daughter (Madeleine).

Learn more at www.donyaeger.com  or contact don at donw@greatnessinc.com.

CISO, Hoop5

As Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), Russ provides strategic guidance and security consulting to Hoop5 customers by working to align business objectives with technology solutions. Russ works to meet the unique needs of each client by developing IT Security strategies with a focus on DFARS, CMMC, ITAR, & NIST compliance.

Russ has over 20 years of IT and industry experience including procurement developer with a focus in security for SDG&E, and as a government contractor. Russ’ technical training and background include: Microsoft, VMware, Duo, Webroot, InTune, Meraki, Barracuda, Perception Point, SentinelOne, Citrix, and Fortinet. Russ has earned his CMMC Registered Practitioner (RP) and Certified CMMC Professional (CCP) certifications.

Principal, FMI Consulting

Will’s career at FMI focuses on corporate strategy and operational improvement with firms serving the built environment. Will partners with private equity investors and equity holders to understand the state of operations and organizational potential in their targets and holdings. He provides operational assessments and value-creation mapping to support (or challenge) investment theses. Post acquisition, he helps design and implement value-creation strategies. Common areas of operational improvement focus are work-in-progress reporting, cost-to-completes and project controls. 

Will’s experience includes working with mid-sized single location and large multi-branch field service providers specializing in mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP), underground utilities, excavation, overhead utilities, roofing, heavy civil, clearing, and inspection and testing. Two areas of particular operational focus are information management and fleet management. With a background in information technology consulting focused on project management, analytics and business strategy, Will ties operational capabilities with organization information flow.

Associate Professor, Colorado State University

John Killingsworth is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University, teaching in the Department of Construction Management.  His teaching and research are centered in construction finance, economics, and managerial accounting.

He has served on the CFMA Bencharker Committee for nearly eight years, and often speaks at CFMA conferences on the results of the survey. Some of his published work can be found in CFMA’s Building Profits magazine including a recent article, “Mitigating Risk & Uncertainty: Capital Concerns when Choosing a GC as a Building Partner” (Sep/Oct 2023 issue).

Austin Bridge & Road

Executive Vice President, Lockton Dunning Benefits

Christian joined the Lockton Dunning team as Vice President and Producer in 2011. With more than 20 years of experience, Christian specializes in designing health plans that are fully integrated with wellness solutions, helping employers manage the demand side of healthcare. He served previously as co-founder of Health at Work Wellness Actuaries and, most recently, as Vice President and Executive Director of Cooper Benefits, where he developed the business model for Cooper Aerobics Center’s entrance into group employee benefits and corporate wellness consulting.

Christian sold some of the earliest consumer-driven health plans in the United States while working at Destiny Health (now The Vitality Group). He also gained international experience at NMG Consultants and Actuaries in South Africa and Southeast Asia. There he helped implement consumer-driven health plans and wellness solutions to employers in the large- and mid-market before similar insurance models began launching in the United States.

Christian speaks frequently to human resource professionals and corporate financial managers about managing healthcare costs with both insurance plan designs and wellness programs. Christian has been featured several times in the Dallas Business Journal for his innovative insurance plan designs and wellness solutions.