Karen Abraham
Vice President, Finance
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Karen Abraham, as vice president of Finance at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, is responsible for the company's financial reporting, cost accounting and budgeting, financial operations, financial systems, purchasing, fleet department and support operations including distribution services, Optical Data Capture, microfilming and duplication services. In addition, she is responsible for Corporate Facilities.

A member of BCBSAZ’s staff since June 1983, Ms. Abraham joined the company as a Medicare Auditor. During her career at BCBSAZ, she has held the positions of Audit Manager; Manager of Cost Accounting and Budgeting; and prior to her appointment as Vice President, she served as Director of Finance since 1987.

Ms. Abraham was graduated from Arizona State University in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy. She is a member of the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Ms. Abraham serves as a Boy Scout Merit Badge Counselor and is the Secretary/Treasurer for the Phoenix Library Foundation Board.

Bob Auer
Embedded Products Controller
Intel Corporation

As the Intel Embedded Products Controller, Bob Auer leads and manages an organization responsible for Strategic Investment support for 27 market segments as well as Budget Management and Financial reporting for a large business group. Bob has been with Intel for 11 years and has held a number of positions including a 3 year stint as the Global Indirect Materials Controller.

Bob’s professional passions orient around leadership development, game theory, strategic thinking, and advanced negotiation. Bob has 22 years of direct international experience and loves “getting out into the world and walking around and doing business in it.”

Bob Auer graduated from ASU in 1998 with a BS in finance. He has co-led the Intel/ASU Collaborative thesis program, with Dr. Michael Hertzel, since 2001. He is active in Scouts, United Way, Singleton Moms, Gilbert Public Schools, and is a sought out leadership development trainer.

In his spare time Bob enjoys outdoor activities with his wife and two sons.

Jason Berg
Principal Financial Officer
Amerco/Uhaul

Jason Berg is Principal Financial Officer for AMERCO, the holding company of U-Haul, AMERCO Real Estate, Oxford Life Insurance and Republic Western Insurance. U-Haul employs more than 17,000 people across the country at over 1,400 company locations. U-Haul's home office is here in downtown Phoenix.

Berg first joined AMERCO in its life insurance subsidiary in 1996 and held the positions of chief financial officer, treasurer, secretary and vice president.

He is a 1995 graduate of Arizona State University and has a bachelor’s degree in accountancy. He is a certified public accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Kurt has experience in transactional and litigation matters involving securities, real estate, mergers and acquisitions, finance, intellectual property, corporate law and commercial litigation. He has represented real estate developers, home builders, brokerage firms, businesses seeking debt and equity financing, mergers and acquisition transactions, internet and software companies and various other entities and individuals in numerous transactions, regulatory enforcement actions, commercial litigation, arbitration proceedings and corporate representation.

Mr. Brueckner is currently the Chairman of the Scottsdale Area of Commerce. Mr. Brueckner is the past-President and former member of the Board of Directors of the Scottsdale Bar Association. He has served on the Securities Council and Committee on Rules and Regulations of the Securities Section of the State Bar of Arizona. Mr. Brueckner has lectured on various aspects of real estate, securities and corporate law.

Mr. Brueckner graduated magna cum laude in Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1977 and was awarded the degree of Juris Doctor from the University of Arizona College of Law in 1980. Mr. Brueckner was the recipient of scholarships from Continental Oil Corporation and the Alan du Bois Foundation. Prior experience includes working on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., serving as in-house counsel for a Fortune 100 corporation and working for a national law firm based in San Francisco.

Mr. Brueckner is currently, and/or has in the past been, involved in various civic organizations, including: President and Member of Board of Directors of Scottsdale/Paradise Valley YMCA; Advisory Board to Senator Jon Kyl; Chairman of the Scottsdale City Transportation Commission; Vice-Chairman and Member of City of Scottsdale Redevelopment Board; Board of Directors of Scottsdale Area Chamber of Commerce; Board of Trustees of Healthwest Regional Medical Center; member of Board of Directors of Scottsdale Leadership and Graduate of Class II of Scottsdale Leadership; Scottsdale City Endowment Advisory Board; Chairman of the Transportation Committee and the State Affairs Committee of the Scottsdale Chamber of Commerce; Director of Heritage Foundation of Arizona and Legal Counsel to the Foothills Community Foundation, Inc.

Mr. Brueckner was born in Peoria, Illinois. He resides in Scottsdale with his wife Sue and their children, Ryan, Lauren and Austin.

Bill Cox
Vice President of Client Services
Core Construction Services of Arizona

Bill Cox is Vice President of Client Services for CORE Construction Services of Arizona. CORE is a leading national general contractor with revenues exceeding $700 million. CORE has built notable Arizona projects such as Chase Field, Surprise Sports Stadium, and the Dodge Theater. Bill joined CORE in 2004 and is responsible for all aspects relating to sales and marketing. Under Bill’s direction, CORE has more than doubled revenue in the past three years. In addition, CORE has been ranked the #1 contractor by “Ranking Arizona Magazine” for 2005, 2006, and 2007.

As an ASU student, Bill began raising money for ASU in 1993. Upon graduation in 1996, he joined the ASU Foundation as Associate Director of Annual Programs. For seven of the next nine years Bill worked for ASU in a variety of development positions including Associate Director of Development for the WP Carey School of Business and Assistant Vice President of the ASU Foundation.

Bill has been actively involved in the community serving nonprofit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Scottsdale, the Association for Construction Excellence, the Economic Club of Phoenix, and the Arizona Association for Economic Development. Bill is married to Audrey Cox and they have one daughter, Elizabeth.

Tim Dillingham
Vice President & Senior Relationship Manager
Wells Fargo Bank

Tim Dillingham graduated in 1990 from the University of Southern California with a BS in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance. Then joined Wells Fargo in September, 1990 and has held the following positions:

• Bank Examiner; Reviewed credit quality of the commercial bank loan portfolio (Los Angeles, CA)
• Trainee in the Credit Management Training Program (San Francisco, CA)
• Real Estate Loan Officer; Commercial Real Estate workout group (Los Angeles, CA)
• Relationship Manager; South Bay Regional Commercial Banking Office (Long Beach, CA)
• Relationship Manager; Arizona Regional Commercial Banking Office (Phoenix, AZ)
• Loan Team Manager; Central Texas RCBO (Austin, TX)

Currently Mr. Dillingham has the position of Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager in the Arizona Regional Commercial Banking Office in Austin.  He is primarily responsible for managing a portfolio of seventeen relationships with total loan commitments of $363 million.

Mr. Dillingham moved back to Arizona in June of last year, and married to Cara Leigh McKinnon and still enjoys being a kid instead of having them.  Interests include anything outdoors including golf, fishing, hiking and working in the yard. 

Susan Edwards, CFP
First Vice President, Financial Advisor
Morgan Stanley

Upon graduation from Mount Holyoke College with a biology major in 1968, Susan worked in basic hearing research before moving into personal finance and real estate. She moved to Phoenix in 1975, and began her career in financial planning and wealth management with Morgan Stanley in 1977. Susan earned the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ designation in 1983, and was the first woman in Arizona to earn the title of Vice President from Morgan Stanley. Susan was the 1996 honoree as Outstanding Professional by the YWCA of Maricopa County at their Third Annual Tribute to Women. In 1997, she was one of five people nationwide to be inducted into the Research Magazine Advisor Hall of Fame, which recognizes successful veteran registered representatives who have served both their clients and their community. Susan has been and continues to be very active in her community. She was the founding chair of the Friends of Public Radio Arizona and serves on its board. She is a member of the Arizona Judicial Council and heads the Phoenix chapter of the Grand Canyon River Runners’ Association. Susan also gains great joy from mentoring a wonderful young Phoenix woman and her delightful three children.

Chris N. Froggatt
Vice President and Treasurer
Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and Arizona
Public Service Company (APS)

Chris N. Froggatt is Vice President and Treasurer for Pinnacle West Capital Corporation and Arizona Public Service Company (APS). He is responsible for the company's accounting and financial reporting, tax services, insurance risk management, public safety, supply chain management and transportation services. Prior to joining APS in 1986, Mr. Froggatt spent more than six years in public accounting at Arthur Andersen. Mr. Froggatt is a certified public accountant. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Arizona Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Edison Electric Institute Accounting Executive Advisory Committee. He currently serves on the Board of the Arizona Chapter of the National MS Society. Mr. Froggatt holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Michigan State University. In his spare time, Chris enjoys a variety of outdoor activities, particularly cycling and hiking.

In his role as Vice President and Business Leader of Global Card Financial Control, Perry’s job is to provide strategic leadership to an organization with global responsibilities and impacts. This group includes a 24x7 Processing Operations group that ensures the financial integrity of global transactions from capture through cardmember billing and merchant payables. His accounting teams ensure that these transactions are properly stated in the general ledger. Both of these teams offer support to a variety of financial, technological, and operational groups in the US and over 25 markets worldwide.

Perry is a 23 year veteran of American Express and has held various leadership positions in areas such as Financial Performance Management, Technologies, Global Payments and Travel Financial Operations. In addition to his day-to-day functions, Perry is also the Executive Sponsor of the Six Sigma Community and the Crisis Management Site Leader for the Financial Center – West.

Perry has a Bachelors of Science in Finance and an MBA from Arizona State. In his free time he enjoys golfing, attending ASU athletic events and spending time with his wife and two teenage daughters.

Richard Gleason has served as Senior Vice President of Morgan Stanley’s Colorado Market since 2008, and previously worked with Merrill Lynch and Company for more than 10 years. In that time he directed Merrill Lynch’s Arizona and New York Markets, and served as Regional Sales Manager of its Mid-America Market; Resident Manager of Santa Monica, California, operations, and as Vice President –Sales Manager of Beverly Hills, California, efforts. Prior to that, he worked with Prudential Securities as Vice President – Branch Manager Pasadena, California; Vice President – Investments in Scottsdale, Arizona, and as Director of Training Pac-South Region. He also worked with Shearson Lehman Brothers for several years as a financial advisor in Mesa, Arizona.

Gleason earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from ASU, with a specialization in investments.

He has been very involved in community activities, including Homeward Bound, Salvation Army, American Heart Association, Maricopa County Sheriffs Posse, the W. P. Carey Deans Council of 100, our Finance Advisory Board, American Cancer Society, and 100 Club.

Jerry Olivo is a Managing Director within Citigroup’s Global Cash Management business. He oversees global product management, strategy and pricing policy for the Liquidity and Investments product line. In addition, he leads asset-liability management activities for the business. Prior to joining Citigroup in 2004 he was a Director at Bankers Trust/Deutsche Bank’s Global Institutional Services group for 14 years and then headed up the Financial Control function for the Bank of New York’s U.S. Securities Services group. Mr. Olivo has served on various industry groups and committees including the Federal Reserve’s Intraday Liquidity Management Task Force. He received his undergraduate degree, majoring in Finance, from Arizona State University and an M.B.A. from New York University. In addition, he is an AFP Certified Treasury Professional, a series 7, 63 registered securities representative with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Board to Arizona State University’s Department of Finance.

Ed Raponi
Regional Finance Manager - Americas
Shell Marine Products

Ed Raponi joined the Royal Dutch / Shell Group in 1988. He has had assignments in Trading, Transportation, Internal Audit, Internal Consulting, Mergers & Acquisitions, Commercial Management and Renewables. Highlights of his service include serving as Finance lead in Shell’s purchase of Texaco’s US Refining & Marketing business, leading the acquisition and integration of Fletcher Challenge Energy in New Zealand, and serving as VP Finance for Shell WindEnergy as they acquired, built and developed wind farms in the US, Europe and China.

Ed currently serves as the Regional Finance Manager of Shell Marine Products in North and South America.

Ed earned a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Arizona State University and completed postgraduate studies at Rice University.

Luis Sampedro
Senior Vice President – Investments, Private Wealth Management Group
UBS Financial Services, Inc.

Luis Sampedro serves as Senior Vice President—Investments, for the Private Wealth Management Group of UBS Financial Services, Inc. He previously represented the Private Wealth Management Division of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

He is a graduate of ASU’s Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

Mr. Saunders is a seasoned executive with over 18 years of experience in executive posts as CEO, President and COO for manufacturing companies ranging in size from $50 - $150 million. He is a recognized turn-around expert having successfully implemented two start-up operations and three turnarounds in his business tenure. Mr. Saunders has extensive experience with multi-plant operations across diverse business groups, including the Automotive, Electronics, Aerospace and Government and Defense industries. He has worked with a wide variety of quality practices and has extensive experience in strategic planning, decision analysis and Economic Value Added financial analysis. Mr. Saunders is the founding partner of TransChem Environmental LLC, an Arizona-based hazardous waste transportation and disposal company. He is also the company’s managing member.

Mr. Saunders has a Bachelors of Arts degree in Psychology and a Masters of Business Administration from Arizona State University, where he also serves on the Department of Finance Advisory Board at the W.P. Carey School of Business. Mr. Saunders is married and with his wife, Linda, has two daughters, Patricia and Rebecca.

(No Photo at this time. Will be updated shortly)

Larry Seay
Chief Financial Officer
Meritage Corporation

Larry W. Seay has served as Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Meritage Homes Corporation since joining the Company in April 1996. Mr. Seay was instrumental in taking Meritage public at the end of 1996 and structured the acquisition of nine homebuilders since that time. Meritage Homes is currently building in six sun-belt states and is projected to close approximately 9,000 homes, generating $2.8 billion in revenues during 2005.

Prior to joining Meritage, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of two other publicly traded homebuilders and also was an Audit Manager with Deloitte & Touche.

Mr. Seay received Bachelor of Science degrees in Finance and Accounting and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University in 1977, 1978 and 1979 respectively. Mr. Seay is a certified public accountant and is active in many professional organizations including the AICPA, the ASCPA, the Financial Executives Institute, and the Arizona Business Leadership. He is also active in several civic and philanthropic organizations including serving on the Board of the Arizona Better Business Bureau and the Men’s Arts Council, a Phoenix Art Museum support organization.

Randy Snittjer
Controller
Allstate Insurance Co.

Randy Snittjer serves as the Controller for Allstate Insurance’s Southwest Region, located in Phoenix, Arizona, encompassing Arizona, Utah, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. He manages over $1.5b in premium and oversees a staff of 14 financial analysts. Snittjer has been with Allstate for more than 20 years.

He received his BBA in Marketing from the University of Iowa and has his MBA in Finance from California State University, Bakersfield.

Mark Sokol
Principal
Vanguard Financial Advisor Services Group

Mark Sokol is a principal in Vanguard’s Financial Advisor Services Group, responsible for managing the firm’s broker/dealer and independent broker/deal sales teams. In addition, Mark is a member of the Vanguard-Arizona Site Executive Team. Prior to his current role, Mr. Sokol was a sales executive in Vanguard’s Institutional Investor Group.

Before joining Vanguard in 1996, Mr. Sokol served in a number of sales and investment management capacities at Key Corp, U.S. Bancorp, and First National Bank of Ohio.

Mr. Sokol received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from University of Akron. He holds FINRA Series 6, 63, 7 and 24 licenses.

Michael Tully
CFO/Executive Vice President
AAA

Mike joined AAA Arizona in 1998 and is currently the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. He is responsible for the company’s Membership, Travel, and Insurance operations and oversees the club’s strategic development process. Mike is also responsible for most administrative functions of the company including finance, accounting, information services, marketing, purchasing and facilities.

Prior to joining AAA, Mike owned an export finance company and arranged structured trade finance transactions for exporters throughout the United States. He previously held CFO positions at both Fairchild Data Corporation and PJ1 Inc and was an assistant controller with Digital Equipment Corporation.

Mike earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance in 1987 and his masters in Business Administration in 1991 both from Arizona State University. He is a CPA and serves on the board for both the Boys and Girls Club of Scottsdale and Financial Executives International. Mike is also a member of the Fiesta Bowl Committee.

Mike lives in Scottsdale with his wife Heidi and his two daughters, McKayla and Courteney.