Speakers
Ruth McCartney
CEO of McCartney Multimedia, Inc.
was born and raised in Liverpool in the "swinging 60's." She began to study guitar, singing and dance at the tender age of 4 and then continued with her musical education, adding piano lessons from the age of 7, and guitar from the age of 12. As the CEO of McCartney Multimedia, Ruth coordinates the online presence of many clients including country legend Clint Black, LeAnn Rimes, Steve Tyrell, Oleta Adams, REO Speedwagon and the company's technology babysits the databases of stars from Paula Abdul to Fleetwood Mac. Currently, Ruth is busy preparing a celebrity cook-book (see recipes section) to benefit "Feed the Children" and KidsCharities.org - a site which MMI developed; Ruth serves on the board of the Las Vegas based non-profit.
She is also busy writing titles with husband Martin Nethercutt for his up-coming release "Geistmusik; " she has appeared as a speaker at various "Beatlefests" in Chicago, New York, Kansas City, MO, Toronto and L.A., and if that wasn't enough, Ruth has recently returned from Liverpool and London where she narrated and co-produced a retrospective Beatles documentary entitled "Here, There and Everywhere" with Atlanta based cameraman / director Ken Barker. The footage features rare interviews with Cynthia Lennon, Neil Innes of Rutles fame, Bob Wooler - the original Cavern DeeJay, the Fourmost's Billy Hatton, Beatle sister Lou Harrison and more.
Bruce K. Behn, Ph.D., CPA
President – Elect of the American Accounting Association
Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Education,
Deloitte LLP Professor, University of Tennessee (UT)
Bruce K. Behn, Ph.D., CPA is the President – Elect of the American Accounting Association, Associate Dean for Graduate and Executive Education and Deloitte LLP Professor at The University of Tennessee (UT). He joined the Department of Accounting and Information Management in 1994 after completing his doctorate at Arizona State University and served in a number of capacities over the years within the department (including Department Head) and the college. Dr. Behn has a MBA from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Prior to obtaining his Ph.D., he worked for Rockwell International in Uithoorn, The Netherlands as the international financial coordinator for Allen-Bradley Europa B.V., Allen-Bradley Company as controller and financial analyst, and KPMG Peat Marwick as senior auditor. He has published articles in The Accounting Review, Journal of Accounting Research, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting Horizons, Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance and a number of other journals and has served as the co-editor for the Journal of International Accounting Research and the associate editor of Issues in Accounting Education. Dr. Behn recently chaired the Pathways Commission and is a past Vice-President of the American Accounting Association (AAA), past President of the International Accounting Section (AAA) and the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA) and past chair of the AICPA’s Pre-certification Education Executive Committee. He has also been the recipient of a number of teaching awards including the AAA's Innovation in Accounting Education award, UT’s Alumni Outstanding Teaching award, and the Tennessee Society of CPAs Outstanding Educator of the Year.
R. Harold Schroeder
Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF)
R. Harold "Hal" Schroeder was appointed to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) by the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) effective as of February 28, 2011. His appointment was part of the FASB's expansion from five to seven members.
Mr. Schroeder is a CPA who brings over 30 years of diverse experience in investing and financial reporting to the FASB. Most notably, he brings a strong investor perspective to the FASB, with more than 15 years of experience working with all facets of the investment community. During his career, he has viewed the preparation of financial statements and the application of accounting standards from varying perspectives including auditor, preparer and investor.
Prior to joining the Board, Mr. Schroeder was a partner at Carlson Capital, L.P., a Dallas-based money manager with assets under management of over $6 billion. He joined Carlson Capital's relative value arbitrage team in 2000 and was a member of the firm's management and investment committees. As a senior portfolio manager, he focused on the financial services industry, including both public and private companies.
Mr. Schroeder also spent five years as a senior equity analyst with Schroder & Company, Inc. (subsequently acquired by Citigroup Inc.) and KBW, Inc. (formerly Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc.), both based in New York City. From 1993 to 1995, he was Chief Financial Officer for New York-based Nafinsa Securities, Inc., and various other subsidiaries, of Nacional Financiera, SNC, the primary development bank for the Mexican government. Prior to that, he spent thirteen years with Ernst & Young, including the firm's National office as well as client-serving roles in New Orleans and New York, where he was a partner in the financial services division.
From 2008 until his appointment to the Board, Mr. Schroeder was a member of FASB's Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF). From 2008 to 2010 he also was a member of the Standing Advisory Group for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the organization created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the audits of public companies in order to protect the interests of investors and the public interest by promoting informative, accurate, and independent audit reports.
Mr. Schroeder earned his Master of Business Administration from Tulane University and a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of New Orleans
Scott D. Wiley, CAE
President & CEO at The Ohio Society of CPAs
Scott Wiley is President and CEO of The Ohio Society of CPAs, serving more than 21,000 CPAs and accounting professionals. In his role, Wiley leads the strategic direction of the Society, including thedevelopment and delivery of innovative products and services that engage CPAs and support their professional development. An experienced association executive, Wiley also drives The Ohio Society's advocacy initiatives. At the core of this program is a long-standing practice of partnering with state and federal legislators to enact legislation that improves Ohio's tax and business environment. Wiley also serves as President of The Ohio CPA Foundation, the Society's philanthropic arm. The Foundation promotes CPA careers to help ensure a strong CPA workforce, and teaches students smart money management skills to build more fiscally healthy communities.
Prior to joining The Ohio Society in 2013, Wiley was Executive Director for Delta Sigma Phi, an international membership organization with 115,000 members in the United States and abroad. He is a Fellow and a member of the Board of Directors of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) and formerly served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Indiana Society of Association Executives. In 2012, he was named ISAE Association Executive of the Year. He is a former member of the Fraternity Executives Association where he held various leadership roles.
Russ Warren
Senior Vice President
Russ is a Senior Vice President of EdgePoint, managing client transactions, leading business development initiatives and providing leadership for the team.
He crafts exit strategies for private company owners, corporate divestitures, leveraged buyouts and advises clients looking to acquire businesses. His merger and acquisition experience, covering over 200 transactions, spans nearly all manufacturing, distribution, and services sectors.
He joined EdgePoint in 2008 from The TransAction Group, an investment bank which he founded. Russ was the President, serving the merger and acquisition needs of entrepreneurs, corporations and family-owned businesses.
Previously, Russ was Partner-in-Charge of the Merger & Acquisition Services practice of Ernst & Young (then Ernst & Whinney) for 10 years. He has been awarded the Lifetime Achievement Dealmaker Award from the Association for Corporate Growth. He is profiled in Who’s Who in Finance and Who’s Who in the World.
Russ’s educational background specialized in both business and engineering having earned his MBA from Harvard University and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University. He maintains FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses, and is also a CPA (Inactive).
Outside of work, Russ is a Trustee Emeritus of Case Western Reserve University, a member of the Alumni Board at Harvard Business School and a member of the Visiting Committees of the Weatherhead School of Management and the Case School of Engineering. Formerly, he was President of the Association for Corporate Growth, an international organization of 14,000 merger and acquisition professionals, and President of the Harvard Business School Club of Northeastern Ohio. Currently, he is a director of Seneca Capital Management, a private equity firm near Pittsburgh and several not-for-profit boards, including the Harvard Business School Club of Northeast Ohio. Russ is also the Director of the Alliance of International Corporate Advisors. Russ resides in Lyndhurst with his wife and in his spare time, enjoys reading and writing about the history of Northeast Ohio and an occasional round of golf.