Billy Beane
Oakland Athletics General Manager and Moneyball Subject

Considered one of the most progressive and talented baseball executives in Major League Baseball, Billy Beane has molded the Oakland Athletics into a perennial contender since assuming general manager duties following the 1997 season.

Beane's executive talents and the organization's baseball philosophy were the subject of Michael Lewis' best-selling book "Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game," also an Oscar-nominated film, which opened the eyes of many of the top sports executives and business CEOs in the nation.

As a result, Beane remains in great demand on the national speaking circuit, where he regularly addresses top companies on his management approach of identifying and using undervalued assets to create and sustain a competitive edge. He also sits on the board of directors of several companies, including Bell-Easton Sports, ProTrade, and NetSuite, Inc.

 

Jeb Bush
Politician and Former Florida Governor

Jeb Bush was elected the 43rd Governor of the state of Florida on November 3, 1998, and was reelected by a wide margin in 2002. His second term as Governor ended in January 2007.

Bush earned a Bachelor's Degree in Latin American Affairs from the University of Texas at Austin and moved to Florida in 1981. With partner Amando Codina, he started a small real estate development company, which grew to become the largest, full-service commercial real estate company in South Florida.

Bush served as Florida's secretary of commerce under Bob Martinez, Florida's 40th governor. As secretary of commerce, he promoted Florida's business climate worldwide. Following an unsuccessful bid for Governor in 1994, Bush founded the non-profit Foundation for Florida's Future, which joined forces with the Greater Miami Urban League to establish one of the state's first charter schools. He also co-authored Profiles in Character, a book profiling 14 of Florida's civic heroes-people making a difference without claiming a single news headline.

After his election, Bush focused on reforming education. Florida students have made the greatest gains in achievement and Florida is one of a handful of states that have closed the achievement gap. In addition, Bush cut taxes every year during his tenure as Governor and Florida lead the nation in job growth. Bush put Florida on the forefront of consumer healthcare advances by signing Medicaid reform legislation, "Empowered Care," in June 2006.

Bush is currently the head of his own successful consulting business, Jeb Bush and Associates, where his clients range from small technology start-ups to well-known Fortune 500 companies. He is also the chairman of Foundation for Excellence in Education, a national foundation focused on education reform.

Bush is the son of former President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush. He lives in Miami with his wife Columba, and they have three children.

 

Robert Tucker
Recognized Innovationist

Robert Tucker is President of The Innovation Resource, and an internationally recognized leader in the field of innovation. Formerly an adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, Tucker has been a consultant and keynote speaker since 1986.

His pioneering research in interviewing over 50 leading innovators was published in the book Winning the Innovation Game in 1986. Since then, he has continued to publish widely on the subject, including his international bestseller Managing the Future: 10 Driving Forces of Change for the New Century, which has been translated into 13 languages.  His groundbreaking book, Driving Growth Through Innovation reveals the emerging best practices of 23 innovation vanguard companies, and his latest book, Innovation is Everybody’s Business, has been recently released by John Wiley.

As one of the thought leaders in the growing Innovation Movement, Tucker is a frequent contributor to publications such as the Journal of Business Strategy, Strategy & Leadership, and Harvard Management Update. He has appeared on PBS, Bloomberg, and was a featured guest on the CNBC series The Business of Innovation.

The Innovation Resource, based in Santa Barbara, CA, is a consulting firm devoted exclusively to assisting organizations seeking to improve top and bottom line performance via systematic innovation.

 

Gary Petty
President and CEO of the National Private Truck Council

Gary Petty has twenty years of experience as a trade association chief executive in the truck transportation industry. Prior to joining the National Private Truck Council in 2001 as President and CEO, Dr. Petty served for many years as President and CEO of a national trade association representing the moving and storage industry.

During his career, Petty has also served as a college administrator and English instructor, the chief executive of a state association of colleges and an attorney in private law practice.

Petty completed B.A. and M.A. degrees in English and Teaching at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where he was a Resident Fellow. He graduated with a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in law from the Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. Petty is admitted to the practice of law in Delaware, Florida and Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Courts of Delaware and Maryland and is a member of the Delaware State Bar Association.

Dr. Petty writes several articles each year for trucking industry publications including a monthly column for Fleet Owner Magazine. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and meetings and is recognized as the national spokesman for the private truck industry.

 

Brian Cota
Vice President of Sales, Daimler Trucks North America

Brian Cota began his career at Daimler Trucks North America in 1994 in the Sales and Marketing group at Detroit Diesel. In 2001, Brian joined Freightliner as a District Manager in WI. In 2007, he became Region General Manager in the Central Region for Freightliner based in Kansas City. In 2010, he relocated to the corporate office in Ft. Mill, SC for his current position as VP Sales where he manages the Sales Department and is responsible for new truck sales in the U.S. and Canada.

Brian has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University. He and his wife Melissa have two girls and he enjoys sports like golf and hockey.

 

Ron Huibers
President of Volvo North American Sales & Marketing

Ron Huibers was named President of North American Sales & Marketing of Volvo Trucks on January 1, 2012. In this capacity, Ron is responsible for all of the company's commercial activities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Huibers has been with the Volvo Group for more than 15 years, and served most recently as Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Volvo Trucks in North America. He will continue to be based at the company's headquarters in Greensboro, NC.

Mr. Huibers earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Economics from Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario, and has completed executive leadership programs in Switzerland, Belgium, and Canada. He and his wife Jenny are the parents of three children.

 

John G. Larkin
Managing Director, Stifel Nicolaus

John Larkin joined the Stifel Nicolaus Research Team in connection with Stifel's acquisition of Legg Mason's Capital Markets Group in December of 2005. Mr. Larkin joined Legg Mason in 2001 to form and lead the firm's entry into the transportation industry. Mr. Larkin was recognized as an all-star analyst in both 2003 and 2004 and was rated as the #1 stock picker in the 2003 Forbes.com/StarMine survey in both the road and rail and the airfreight and logistics categories. He placed third in the 2004 Forbes.com/StarMine stock picking survey in the road and rail category. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Larkin was chairman and chief executive officer of RailWorks Corporation, a publicly traded transportation services company with revenues of $800 million. From 1987 to 1998, Mr. Larkin was a key member of BT Alex Brown's transportation team. During that period, Mr. Larkin was recognized twice by the Wall Street Journal and twice by Institutional Investor magazine as an all-star analyst. From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Larkin held various positions in planning and economic analysis at CSX Transportation, Inc. Mr. Larkin began his career in the transportation industry in 1977, serving as a research assistant at the Center for Transportation at the University of Texas at Austin. He joined Day & Zimmermann, Inc., as a transportation systems consultant in 1979, serving until 1982.Mr. Larkin has an M.B.A. from Harvard University and a B.S. and an M.S. in civil engineering from the University of Vermont and the University of Texas, respectively. He is a CFA charter holder.

 

Terry Young
President, Advantage Truck Leasing, a NationaLease Member

Terry Young, President of Advantage Truck Leasing, a NationaLease Member, is a 36-year veteran of the transportation industry. He owns and operates a full service leasing, contract maintenance, and commercial rental company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with branch locations in Hickory, Raleigh/Durham, and Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

Mr. Young spent 20 years with Volvo Truck Corporation leaving as Executive Vice President, Commercial Operations for Volvo's North American Operations. He also served as Chairman of the Board for Volvo GM Heavy Truck Corp. in Canada. In 1995, he purchased the leasing company as well as a truck dealership in Charlotte. He has since expanded his operations to include several leasing operations and truck dealerships throughout North Carolina. Mr. Young is a past Chairman of the Truck Renting and Leasing Association and sits on several transportation company boards. He is an avid big game sport fisherman, NASCAR fan, and golfer.