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Bridges to Business

Adam Shay CPA and John Hinnant with Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Company

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Adam Shay

Adam Shay CPA

Adam Shay, CPA, MBA, is an accountant dedicated to helping clients make intelligent financial decisions and to legally minimize their tax liability. Adam earned a Bachelor of Business Science degree in Commerce from the University of Virginia. He then went on to earn his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Maryland. Adam served five years as Treasurer and an Executive Board Member of the Cape Fear Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. He is currently on the board of the Cape Fear Economic Development Council. He is entrepreneur in residence- accounting for SeaHawk Innovation Management and serves as volunteer with the Cameron Executive Network at UNCW. In his spare time, Adam enjoys cooking, a variety of outdoor activities, and spending time with his wife Sarah, sons Wagner and Garrett, and dog TJ.

Adam Shay’s Why:
I do what I do because I love to help people. This is reflected in all aspects of life, including through my work and through community service. I believe that there is a better way to do business and that most entrepreneurs of small to mid-sized companies are under served. I am an entrepreneur myself and still get a rush from seeing businesses grow and succeed. Working with entrepreneurs keeps me fresh every day and makes it fun to get up every morning.

Connect with Adam on: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook

John Hinnat- Maus, Warwick, Matthews & Company

John is a Wilmington native who, as a child, was the youngest captain of the youngest crew in the first two legendary Raft Races on the Cape Fear River.  John graduated with a BS in History from Lees-McRae College in 1993 where he played soccer and served as student body president.  Prior to joining MWM John owned and operated a small restaurant, the Underground Sandwich Shoppe. During that experience he became involved with the Wilmington Downtown, Inc “WDI”, serving in various leadership capacities for the downtown economic development agency.

In 2004, John worked as a real estate appraiser for Bullard & Shackelford in Wilmington. In 2007, John took the post as President/CEO of Wilmington Downtown Inc. after the board requested he apply for the job.  During his tenure with the economic development organization, he oversaw nearly $500 million in new development; a strategic planning process and a new marketing plan development and implementation.  He also developed a niche for site selection assistance with small businesses assisting over 50 new businesses that opened in downtown during his last 5 years.

John’s focus at MWM is general brokerage, urban properties and small business site selection assistance. He is married with two children, Ava and Connor. In his spare time, he enjoys the beach, karate, home brewing and bike riding.

Connect with John on: LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook

Debbie Elliott with Talk Inc and Neal Andrew with Andrew Consulting Engineers

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Neal Andrew-Andrew Consulting Engineers

Neal Andrew is a professional structural engineer with specialized expertise in structural, marine and forensic engineering, as well as overall project management. A 1993 graduate of NC State University with a degree in Civil Engineering, Andrew received a Master’s Degree in Structural Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1995. In February 2004, Andrew launched Andrew Consulting Engineers, a full-service firm that provides engineering services throughout the southeast. Notable projects include the Bath House and Guest Pavilion at Hammocks Beach State Park, St. Mark’s Catholic Church Education Center, Progress Point CVS, Cape Fear Community College Union Station, GE Advanced Technology Centers 1 & 2, and portions of the Wilmington Riverwalk.

A native of Wilmington, NC, Andrew is an active member of several professional associations and is a member of the NC Coastal Resources Commission. He has served on several committees for the North Carolina State Building Code Council and is Vice Chairman of the New Hanover County Port, Waterway and Beach Commission. Andrew is active in numerous civic clubs and has served as a board member of several non-profit organizations.

Debbie Elliott-Talk Inc.

Debbie Elliott is President and Creative Director of Talk, a public relations agency that helps companies grow and mitigate threats. Debbie’s particular areas of expertise include issues management, crisis management and branding. Elliott is a 1985 graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill with a degree in journalism.  She began her career in a PR agency in Boston, MA and launched Talk in 1990.  In 1997, she returned to eastern North Carolina. Throughout her 29-year career, Elliott has promoted clients ranging from marine biologists and buffalo ranchers to inventors and turkey processors. Under her leadership, Talk has devised award-winning marketing and publicity campaigns for clients up and down the east coast. She is a frequent speaker at local and regional business events and conferences and has hosted webinars on a wide variety of communication topics that attract attendees locally and across the country. Elliott is a board member of Phoenix Employment Ministry and Thalian Association Community Theater in Wilmington. She is a past board member of the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce, Cape Fear Community College Foundation, Wilmington Downtown, Inc., Historic Wilmington Foundation and Cameron Museum of Art.  Elliott lives in Kure Beach with her husband John and their dogs Camden and Keeper.

Website, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook

John Ingraham LLC and Beachbody Coach Bruce Brown

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John Ingraham LLC- First Financial Education Centers

John has dedicated 36 years to building wealth through profit in his own businesses, for other business owners, and private individuals. He has dedicated his time to educating others on how to manage their assets and has turned his successful skills into an easy to follow format for individuals. He is highly motivated to provide excellence in client services with a goal of complete client satisfaction. Applying these same attributes to the insurance and financial service businesses has led to his receipt of numerous industry awards, most recently the LIMRA International Award “in recognition of achievement in productivity and professionalism, thereby helping to assure the future financial security of clients and their families.” John is currently a member of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors and Million Dollar Round Table. John is also an agent for First Financial Education Centers.

Website and Facebook

Bruce Brown-Beach Body Coach

Bruce Brown is a serial entrepreneur with a chronic networking condition. His business and professional career, spanning six decades, has always been focused on helping people be successful and reach their potential. As a former teacher, therapist, consultant, life and business coach, journalist, and author, Bruce’s role as a Team Beachbody Coach puts him in direct contact with people throughout the U.S. and around the world, doing what he loves, helping people achieve their goals and live healthy, fulfilling lives.

Website, Facebook, and Twitter

Jim Roberts with the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UNCW and John Panaccione with LogicBay

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John Panaccione with LogicBay

President and CEO John Panaccione has over 18 years of experience leading teams that focus on using technology to improve corporate performance. As CEO of LogicBay, he has led the company from startup in early 2003 through its capital raising efforts through the transition of the company’s business model to a Cloud-based Partner Relationship Management (PRM) software model in 2006. Prior to founding LogicBay, he led sales and marketing for Cognitive Arts, an innovative leader in high end simulation-based e-learning, until helping to sell the company to a strategic acquirer in 2002. Prior to his tenure at Cognitive Arts, John led SumTotal Systems’ professional services and technology integration organization, overseeing the operations of over 200 staff in 10 offices located in three countries. He also served several years as Director of Learning Technologies for MetLife.  He has led the integration of six successful acquisitions during his career.

John also served for six years on active duty as a U.S. Army officer and paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division prior to launching his business career.  He has lived in Wilmington since 2010.

Website: www.logicbay.com

Twitter: @LogicBay

Jim Roberts with The Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at UNCW

Named one of the “40 Most Influential People Under 40” at the age of 30 by the Charlotte Business Journal, Jim Roberts’s experience with business development, life sciences, information technology and governmental agencies aligns with the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s vision for the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

He started an entrepreneur council in Charlotte called FirstRound during the technology boom in 2000. He was then recruited to the Asheville region to start the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council (BREC) and Blue Ridge Angel Investor Network (BRAIN) where he hosted the annual Carolina Connect Entrepreneur and Venture Capital Conference. He also served as the Director of Business Development at the Center of Innovation for NanoBiotechnology (COIN), a program of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center; and as a Business Development Manager for the International Trade Division of the North Carolina Department of Commerce.

Mr. Roberts graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising.

Website: www.uncw.edu/cie

Twitter: @UNCW_startups and @UNCW_CIE

Whitney Spratt with The Blockade Runner Resort and WaterPlay USA President Will Smith

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Whitney Spratt/The Blockade Runner Resort

Whitney Spratt is the Director of Sales at the Blockade Runner Beach Resort in Wrightsville Beach.  She has been with that property for almost 4 years and was previously the Food & Beverage Outlet Manager at the Hilton in New Bern, NC before moving to Wilmington.  Originally from Massachusetts, she has resided in North Carolina for the past 8 years where she has held various management positions in the hospitality field.

Website: www.blockade-runner.com

Linked In: www.linkedin.com/in/whitneyspratt

Facebook: Facebook.com/blockaderunnerwb

Pinterest: Pinterest.com\blockaderunner

Twitter: @Blockade_runner

Will Smith/WaterPlay USA

Will Smith co-founded WaterPlay USA with his brother, Walt, in 2012 in an effort to combine their passions with the enormous opportunity that exists in travel and tourism. Prior to starting WaterPlay USA, Will & Walt operated a travel website winning an award for Best Informational and Best Overall website in a worldwide competition.  In addition, Will worked in the local Wilmington area in the mortgage, finance, real estate sales and development areas from 2005 – 2009. He also had worked in Atlanta with Wells Fargo Finance and in New York with JP Morgan Chase in the finance and auditing division of the investment bank after graduating from NC State’s School of Business Management in 2003.

Website: www.waterplayusa.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/WaterplayUSA

Twitter: @waterplayusa

 

Shaun Olsen with CloudWyze, and Dr. Gerard Hayes and Larry Steffann with Wireless Research Center of NC

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Bridges

Shaun Olsen/CloudWyze, Inc.

Shaun Olsen received a degree in Business Administration from the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, is an active-member of the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, the Cameron Executive Network, as well as a contributor / advisor to a number of other professional organizations within the greater-Wilmington area.

Shaun Olsen, a strong leader in the tech community, has been a part of numerous tech start ups over the last 15 years. Companies included BBXComputers, which provided IT outsourcing to mid-sized businesses, AcoustiCreations, which specialized in luxury audio in both residential and commercial markets as well as commercial cabling, Port City Multimedia, a certified CLEC in the state of North Carolina and Opterex, a local service provider of Voice and Data services. Shaun was employed by Olsen Enterprises, Inc. and served as the Chairman, Majority Shareholder and Chief Executive Officer until 2012. OE, a Technology Company, provided executive leadership, financial planning, accounting, legal and human resources services to the OE Operating Companies consisting of: AcoustiCreations, BBXComputers and Opterex, LLC.

In 2012, CloudWyze, Inc. was co-founded by Olsen which combined the service providers (BBXComputers, LLC and Opterex, LLC) and capital was raised to seed the start of a specialized cloud delivery platform. CloudWyze provides a turnkey solution to cloud migrations for businesses ranging from 5-500+ employees. The formation of CloudWyze extended the reach from Southeast North Carolina to nationwide in less than 12 months. Shaun continues to lead the company in just about every facet and remains a business operational resource for numerous companies faced with challenges.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/cloudwyze-inc-

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cloudwyze

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cloudwyze

Dr. Gerard Hayes and Larry Steffann/Wireless Research Center of NC

Dr. Gerard Hayes is the President and Founder of the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina. Dr. Hayes has more than two decades of experience in government and commercial electromagnetic research and design. Prior to working with the Town of Wake Forest to establish the WRCNC in 2010, Dr. Hayes was the Director of Engineering at GreenWave Scientific where he led the development of antenna and RF circuit designs for a diverse range of DoD applications. At Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications (USA) Inc., Dr. Hayes provided global technical leadership in the Technology and Research organization with contributions to handset antenna design, technology, and radiated performance optimization. At Lockheed Martin (formerly Lockheed Missiles and Space Co.), Dr. Hayes supported research and development efforts for space-based, phased array applications. The scope of his experience encompasses electromagnetic theory, bioelectromagnetics, antenna design, RF circuit analysis, and material engineering. He has participated in the development of international standards for OTA, HAC, and SAR evaluation (including IEEE, IEC, CTIA, and C63 standards). With over 75 US patents, Dr. Hayes has maintained a prominent technical role in the wireless industry.

Larry Steffann has over 35 years in technology.  He has been a CEO (NSO/AMEX) and COO (BOCI/Nasdaq). As a serial entrepreneur, Mr. Steffann’s recent roles have included GM of the Wireless Research Center of North Carolina and VP of Product Development for Consert, a Smart Energy start up in Raleigh North Carolina. Consert raised more than $40 million in funding prior to being sold to Toshiba.  Larry Co-Founded Joystick Labs, the initial tenant of the American Underground at the American Tobacco Campus, in Durham, NC. Mr. Steffann has been a serial mentor both as a corporate executive and as a community minded citizen. This started with Israeli Incubators and has continued as an Executive-in-Residence at North Carolina State University since 2008. Mr. Steffann has mentored for the Center for Entrepreneurial Development (CED) as a Fast Track and VMS mentor. This combination of executive leadership and hands on mentorship is now applied to economic development – the primary mission of The Wireless Research Center of North Carolina.

LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/wireless-center-of-north-carolina

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WRC_NC

Bridges to Business launching soon – stay tuned!

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There are more than 12,700 bridges in North Carolina, connecting people and work. Bridges-to-Business (BtoB) features interviews with fascinating people who are helping North Carolina grow and prosper – no matter which bridge they crossed to get here.

Bridges to Business is hosted by Business RadioX® North Carolina’s Ann Revell-Pechar and will air each Friday at 3:30pm EST.