Keynote Speaker: Nancy McCrary / Executive Vice President, Operations Services & Delivery / Wells Fargo

Nancy leads Operations Services & Delivery (OSD), which performs ATM balancing, device monitoring, claims and cash management & forecasting, responds to legal orders and provides various regulatory reporting such as Unclaimed Property, Bankruptcy, Elder Financial Abuse, Operations Complaint Management, and Tax Reporting. This group also provides processing support for various products or services such as Safe Box, Bank by Mail, Court Blocked Accounts, domestic collections, bond/coupon redemption as well as processes exception account maintenance on deposit accounts, fulfills exception account open processes for online banking and serves as the enterprise processing center for Bank Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA) products.

The OSD organization has approximately 1,000 team members located throughout the United States. Nancy is located in Chandler, Arizona.

 Nancy previously spent 17 years in Operations holding leadership positions in Adjustments, Production Support, Item Processing, and Operations Engineering. In 2007 she joined Wells Fargo Customer Connection (WFCC) where she managed Customer Experience Support, which included team members in 32 locations, performing operational and support functions of Quality Assurance, Business Process & Procedures, Training Development & Delivery, and Strategy & Analytics. Nancy began her career in 1987 as a summer teller with First Interstate Bank.

 Nancy serves as the Enterprise President for the Black/ African American (B/AA) Connection Team Member Network. She previously served as Western Region President and Arizona Chapter Sponsor for the network. Nancy also served as the Executive Sponsor and Chair of the Operations D&I Council for nearly three years.

 Nancy’s passion for children shows in her community service work. She is actively involved in volunteer activities at her children’s elementary school, where she spent six years on the PTO Board (three as treasurer and three as president). She currently leads the school’s Art Masterpiece program, and for the past 15 years Nancy has taught Junior Achievement at all elementary grade levels. She is a volunteer with Vello, an online literacy program that connects tutors and students remotely and previously served as a board member of Back to School Clothing Drive, a non-profit that provides new school clothes and supplies to children who are in need throughout Arizona.

Nneka Constantino

Assistant Vice President and Senior Financial Advisor / Merrill Lynch

Nneka Constantino is an investment professional who brings to Merrill Lynch clients more than 15 years of financial industry experience.  Since rejoining Merrill Lynch in 2008, Constantino has developed strategies using varied investment vehicles to assist senior executives with better managing and enhancing their wealth.

She offers wealth management strategies for senior executives which include the following:  Rule10b5-1 trading plans, Pre-trade verification and post trade reporting of stock transactions to designated issues contacts through our Officer & Director Equity Service (ODES).  An Award Analysis report designed to help you make informed decisions about your equity compensation ad help with managing concentrated stock.  Lastly, resignation analysis and supportive services for executives who have separated from service voluntarily or involuntarily from specific employers.

 Constantino is an active leader within the community.  Constantino is an appointed Commissioner with the St. Paul Port Authority, a Trustee for Hamline University and sits on board of directors for Regions Hospital.  Constantino also volunteers with the Center of Communications and Development and is a formal vocalist with the Grammy Award Winning musical group the Sounds of Blackness.  Constantino graduated with honors from Howard University, with a BBA in International Business and Finance.  Constantino also received additional education in Japanese language at Richmond College in Shizuoka, Japan and Middlebury College.

Constantino works with a dedicated team to provide clients with a broad array of products and services ad an outstanding client experience.  Together they provide the personal attention of a boutique-like firm combined with the broad experience of a global financial services firm.

Julia Davis

Marketing Manager / US Bank

Julia Davis is in Corporate Strategies at US Bank Corp managing a national Multicultural Growth Initiative with an intention to better serve and support diverse consumer needs. She is passionate about creating spaces for all to thrive and has been working in Strategic Planning since 2016. Most recently she worked on the Minnesota Super Bowl Host Committee and directed the 5 million dollar state-wide Legacy Fund, a grant-making and awareness initiative focused on promoting healthy lifestyles for Minnesota kids and families. Her work experience has shown her the pivotal role cross sector stakeholder collaboration plays in macro level strategies. She received her Bachelors of Science at Depaul University and a Masters of Science at Roosevelt University in Chicago, IL. She enjoys studying holistic health and teaching yoga during her free time. In addition, she is active in the community and over the past 5 years has volunteered for nonprofits such as Headwaters Foundation, Minnesota Department of Health and services as a board member for Minnesota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute and Brown Body Dance Company.

Drinal Foster

Vice President, Learning and Development Manager /Wells Fargo

Drinal Foster is the Learning & Development Manager in Treasury Management at Wells Fargo Bank.  In this new role she leads a comprehensive customer training program that covers 90+ products and services while delivering a world-class onboarding experience for new clients.  Prior to this position she was in an enterprise staff role working in Human Resources as a HR Consulting Partner.  She worked as a strategy consultant, partnering with business leaders on establishing and executing their human capital strategies in the United States and internationally. 

With over 20 years of financial services experience, Drinal started her career on the front-line as a Teller and later held a variety of leadership positions within the HR arena.   She has deep knowledge in strategic initiatives, organizational design, leadership development, employee engagement, talent development, talent acquisition, diversity & inclusion and change management. 

 Drinal serves on Wells Fargo’s Philanthropy Funding Council, were she makes funding decisions for non-profits and educational institutions.  She previously chaired the Minnesota Diversity & Inclusion Council for three years.  In addition to the internal leader work, she’s a dedicated leader in the community - mentoring students from Girls in Action™ at Patrick Henry High School, serving on the board for Cookie Cart and working with the business community to support the Make It. MSP initiative.  As a founding member of Twin Cities Black Affinity Network Development Day (TC BANDD) representing Wells Fargo, she partners with affinity network leaders from other Fortune 200 companies in curating development programming & networking connections. 

 Drinal holds a B.A. in Organizational Leadership and Communication from Metro State University in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is a member of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and National Association of African Americans in Human Resources (NAAAHR). In addition Drinal has credentials as a Professional in Human Resources (PHR) and is a Certified Professional (SHRM-CP).

 Drinal is a Treasury Management Partner of the Year awardee and a three-time Wells Fargo Sales & Service winner – (top 3% of Wells Fargo team members).  She is a 2017 Wells Fargo Diversity Champion recipient.

 A native from Seattle, Washington Drinal currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  She enjoys traveling, riding her motorcycle, interior designing and reading books on leadership.

Jerome Hamilton

Chief Executive Officer / Open Therapeutics

Jerome Hamilton, CEO of Open Therapeutics, leads the company's scale and global expansion, as well as manages business development, sales, marketing, and investor relations. He joined Open TherapeuticsTM after serving as Stratasys’ Senior Vice President of Global Operations, before which he was Vice President of LEAN Six Sigma Operations, Corporate Quality and Acquisition Integration for 3M. There, he played a major role in devising strategy and operational plans for the company’s largest business group, Industrial Business Group. He also led the company’s Masking and Surface Protection Business with full P&L responsibility.

Hamilton received his Bachelor of General Science from Morehouse College, his Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Georgia Tech, Master of Science in Engineering Management from University of Detroit, Mercy; and Master of Science for International Logistics from Georgia Tech; he is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School.

Hamilton is Chairman of the Board of Goodwill Easter Seals Minnesota, Real Life 101, and V2SOFT. He was listed in the 2014 Savoy Magazine list of Most Influential Blacks in Corporate America and was recognized as one of the Top 50 diversity professionals in industry– Global Diversity List, supported by The Economist, (globaldiversitylist.com).

In the coming months Open TherapeuticsTM will provide to global researchers, a crowdsourcing web platform that will freely host available open pharma and medical technologies to global researchers.  Scientists can freely adopt the open technologies and develop manuscripts on the science they conduct around the technologies.

Julia Davis / Marketing Manager / US Bank

LIABILITY & RISK

Whether you run a theater, recording studio, or an eCommerce website, all businesses need to minimize their legal liability and risk. Our lawyers will assess the structure of your operation, such as its physical or digital space, the types of products you sell, who your consumers are, what type of company you have filed under (LLC, Inc, etc.), and so on. From there, we will tailor the right risk plan, complete with permit applications, insurance policies, and more, so you can worry less about liabilities and concentrate on growing your business.

Ravi Norman

Chief Executive Officer/ Thor Companies

Ravi Norman serves as CEO of Minneapolis-based THOR Companies, providing strategic leadership to the THOR family of subsidiaries: THOR Development, THOR Design Plus, THOR Construction, THOR Energy, THOR Living and THOR Consulting. Under Ravi’s leadership, THOR Companies has positioned itself to serve as a strategic real estate and construction partner for clients seeking innovative and sustainable solutions in the large context of the built environment. Ravi emphasizes that THOR, as one of the nation’s largest black-owned private companies, brings a unique capacity in understanding emerging communities, diversity and social inclusion for clients.

Promoted to CEO in 2009, Ravi directed the company along a strategic growth process that led to the 2017 formation of THOR Companies, a turnkey real estate management company with an expanded palette of integrated service offerings. He describes his leadership style as an optimal mix of macro business strategy, management and organizational theory and operational execution, formed through more than 18 years of corporate executive-level experience in areas such as strategic management, organizational development and commercial finance.

He was named as one of Minnesota’s Most Admired CEOs of 2016 by the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal; as one of the Top 100 People to Know in Minnesota by Twin Cities Business Magazine; and as 2016 Progress Minnesota award-winner by Finance & Commerce.  In addition, Ravi’s commitment to civic leadership includes numerous boards, such as Greater MSP, The Minneapolis Foundation, Meda, Mia, Minnesota Orchestra, AALF, Minneapolis Downtown Council and incoming board chair of YMCA, Summit Academy OIC and MRCC..

DIGITAL MEDIA & TECHNOLOGY

The internet, software, and technology are so pervasive that we can’t remember having ever lived without them. They make our lives simpler, but behind the curtain are fluctuating challenges in protection and monetization; challenges that our firm stays two steps ahead of. We’ve helped engineers, inventors, gaming startups, and entrepreneurs develop, license, sell, and maintain ownership over their creations. We’ve also negotiated purchasing and partnership agreements for larger investment companies looking for their unicorn.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

The startup and small business marketplace is still a new and fierce frontier that requires legal advice from attorneys who are deeply entrenched in the particulars of venture financing. We offer a competitive advantage that can help you save money and make more of it in the long run. We’ve steered corporations like Tap Unlimited and Hydrocycle with a balance of legal, business, operational, and financial strategies that had clear execution and built-in problem-solving contingencies. Our holistic approach is essential to any company looking to grow.