SPEAKERS

Senior VP of Commercial Banking, First Citizens Bank

George L. Bachmann is a native of Fort Worth Texas and a Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking with First Citizens Bank in the Triad, serving Greensboro, High Point, Winston-Salem and contiguous Counties.

George has over 43 years of experience in the financial services industry. He was previously self-employed with the Bachmann Advisory Group LLC a boutique Merger and Acquisition, Exit Planning and Consulting practice. He received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi, is a graduate of the American Bankers Association National Commercial Banking School, attended the ABA Stonier Graduate School of Banking, is a graduate of the DePaul University AM&AA Certified Merger and Acquisition Advisor Program, and is a Certified Business Exit Planning Consultant.

George is a member of the Association for Corporate Growth, member of Construction Financial Management Association, Group Leader with Bible Study Fellowship International. George is married to Anita Hughes Bachmann and have three sons, Cole 31, Connor 30 and Harrison 27.

Speaker & Author

By his own admission, Jim should have been dead or in jail many times over. Martial arts helped him overcome a life of crippling self-doubt and self-destruction. In his programs, Jim shares his inspiring transformation from dropout and drug addict to Black Belt and Sensei -- and how that experience made him a genuine leader. He went on to open 5 martial arts schools, helping hundreds of people achieve their Black Belt rank, and thousands more discover their best selves.

Today, Jim helps leaders around the world connect on a deeply human level to attract, engage, and lead people to their highest levels of performance and productivity. Raised in the trades, Jim offers a “roll up your sleeves” approach to leadership! He speaks for industry organizations internationally, including NAHB, NAWIC, AIM/R, AGC, and many other companies. Jim spent 35 years as a martial artist, teacher, and coach. He is a volunteer mentor for incarcerated youth and author of The SENSEI LEADER, THINK Like A BLACK BELT and multiple books on leadership and personal development, including his new book for 2024 – INSPIRE, EMPOWER & GUIDE: Essential Disciplines for TODAY’S Leader.

Senior Vice-President, Marsh McLennan

Tom Dawkins has 46 years of experience in the Surety Industry. He graduated from Wake Forest University and began his career with the Aetna Casualty and Surety Company, where he spent seven years as a trainee, account representative, and then a Senior Account Executive.

In 1985, he left Aetna and founded The Bond Network, a surety-only agency, handling contractors of all sizes in the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic Region. Following a successful 29-year run, The Bond Network was sold to Marsh McLennan, where he has been Senior Vice-President handling the contract surety line of business for the past ten years.

Partner – Innovation, Cherry Bekaert

A Partner in the Raleigh office, Jonathan also serves as the head of the Firm’s Innovation team, where he taps into the firm's collective creativity to best solve problems and take advantage of new opportunities. Much of that work has focused on continuous improvement, building out automations, and incorporating AI into the firm’s core services. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, he began as an auditor for many years before moving into course development and delivery.

Since 2011, Jonathan has delivered ethics presentations to hundreds of accounting and finance organizations nationwide. Outside of his work at Cherry Bekaert, Jonathan served as an adjunct professor at Elon University in their accounting department and serves on the board of the North Carolina Association of CPA’s.

Senior Vice President, McGriff

Chris Lydick is a Producer and Senior Vice President at McGriff. He is responsible for maintaining surety credit for high level surety clients and development of new relationships. Chris and his team consult with clients about their bonding programs and other high-level issues impacting their businesses throughout the Southeast.

He began his surety career in 1994 as an underwriter and transferred to the brokerage side in 1997.  He is driven by helping his clients in a collaborative manner to find bonding solutions that fit their business plans.

Chris has been active in and participated in many committee/leadership positions in various industry associations including ABC, AGC, CFMA, NUCA, and NASBP.

Partner, Assurance Services, GreerWalker

Jonathan joined the firm in 1994. Throughout his career he has served clients in many industries, with his primary focus being construction, real estate and financial services. In order to truly understand the issues that affect these industries, he has always been an active participant with various trade associations that support them.

Another area of focus for Jonathan is due diligence related to mergers and acquisitions. He understands what clients want from these types of engagements and is very flexible in delivering feedback that is tailored to the clients’ needs and budget.

Jonathan has also taught accounting classes for the Employers Association of Charlotte and the Construction Financial Management Association.

Senior Vice President, Wayne Brothers

Jim Rhodes has over two decades of experience in the construction industry and is a Senior Vice President at Wayne Brothers, Inc. Jim leads the Civil Group, which provides both sitework and geostructural solutions. Jim serves on the board of directors for each of the wholly owned subsidiaries of Wayne Brothers Holdings: Wayne Brothers, Inc, Southern Engineering Company and Preferred Construction Supply.

In 2019, Jim helped found ReGroup Carolinas, which is a 501c3 whose mission is to: “Increase economic mobility in the community, while decreasing the skills gap in the construction industry”. Jim graduated with a degree in civil engineering from NC State university and lives in Charlotte, NC with his wife, three daughters and two dogs. He is obviously low man on the totem pole in that household

Consultant, Leadership & Organizational Development, FMI

Sarah is a Consultant in the Leadership & Organizational Development practice at FMI, where she co-leads client engagements as a project manager, facilitator, and subject matter expert. Growing up in the industry, she spent most summers of her life working at her family's plumbing and heating company, which is why serving the built environment holds such a special place in her heart. Recently, Sarah celebrated an exciting milestone of connecting with more than 1,000 industry leaders over her four years with FMI.

Sarah holds a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology with a focus on leadership and motivation. In her work at FMI, she specializes in leadership development and succession management, with a heavy emphasis on helping clients evaluate fit for roles and supporting the development of future successors. With a decade of experience in leadership development, selection, and succession planning, Sarah has honed her skills in these areas and gets a deep sense of fulfillment from sharing her accumulated best practices and research-backed lessons learned with industry leaders.

Sarah is passionate about creating inclusive leadership experiences and making a positive impact in the Built Environment. Her personal aim is, "to make the world a better place, one leader at a time.”

President, BBI

Jay is the president of BBI, a construction technology advisory, startup advisory, and M&A planning firm. Jay has been in the engineering and construction industry throughout his career.

His industry experience includes roles such as a construction project executive, corporate director of planning, design and construction for a healthcare system, founder of multiple technology startup companies, and practice leader of FMI’s technology and innovation practice.

Jay’s experience is unique, and the numbers reflect that. He has led nearly $1 billion of construction as a construction professional, founded a construction technology startup, participated in the M&A of tech companies, and assisted in venture capital fundraising.

Jay earned a bachelor’s degree in construction management from SUNY ESF at Syracuse University, a Master of Business Administration from Emory University, and post graduate work at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

He is a decorated military officer that has served on active duty and completed numerous combat and humanitarian deployments around the globe. Jay currently serves in the United States Air Force Reserve in the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.

CFO, Wayne Brothers

Brandon Spears is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and shareholder at Wayne Brothers Companies, a Concrete Construction, Civil & Infrastructure, and Industrial Contracting solutions provider throughout the Southeast. Spears is responsible for the subsidiary and parent company’s financial functions including corporate finance, shareholder relations, investment activities, risk mitigation, accounting, audit, and treasury.

His career spans more than 17 years in public accounting, financial management, and business leadership. Before joining Wayne Brothers in 2014, Spears worked with construction organizations as a financial statement auditor and tax preparer on contractor engagements ranging from $10 to $400 million in revenue.

Spears earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Bachelor of Science in Finance, and a Master of Science in Accounting from Appalachian State.  He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in North Carolina and Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP). Spears served as the President of the Charlotte Chapter of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA) in 2020 -2021. 

Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University & President, Walden Economic Consulting, LLC

Michael Walden, Ph.D., is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at North Carolina State University and President of Walden Economic Consulting, LLC. During his 43 years on the faculty at NC State, Walden became recognized as an expert on the state economy and public policy. He is the author of fourteen books and over 330 articles and reports, and he has made 3200 personal appearances. Walden is also a frequent contributor to the national and state media and has appeared on all the major national news outlets. He continues to write a biweekly newspaper column distributed throughout North Carolina.

Walden has served on several public committees and commissions, including the “Future of Wake County” and the “NC FIRST Transportation Commission.” He has won numerous awards, including two Champion-Tuck Awards for Excellence in Broadcasting, the UNC Board of Governors Award for Excellence in Public Service, the Holladay Medal for Excellence from North Carolina State University, and the Order of the Long Leaf Pine. His latest books are Re-Launch: How the American Dream Can Be Revived in the New Economy, and The 60-Minute Investment Guide. Walden is a member of the North Carolina Economic Development Association, and he resides in Raleigh with his wife, Mary.

Head of Construction Solutions, Siteline

Claire Wilson is Head of Construction Solutions at Siteline, the only A/R management software built for trade contractors. Previously, Claire was a project manager at Tishman Construction in New York City where she worked on monumental projects including Hudson Yards and JP Morgan’s Corporate Headquarters. It was her experience there that gave Claire a direct view into how construction billing works and why trade contractors need software specific to their workflows.

Claire has a BS in Civil Engineering from Bucknell University. She lives in San Francisco and serves on the board of the Bay Area Subcontractors Association (BASA). She has spoken at the North American Iron Workers' IMPACT Conference in 2022 as well as the 2023 Steel Conference and the 2023 Glass TEXpo. In her free time, you can catch Claire running across the Golden Gate Bridge, enjoying all of San Francisco's incredible restaurants, or watching any and all sports—especially the Patriots.