Visionary leaders who care about
making and keeping Austin’s business community thriving.

Lawrence Waugh graduated from MIT with degrees in Aerospace/Astronautic Engineering and Humanities before spending seven years as a U.S. Navy carrier pilot. Leaving the Navy shortly after the first Gulf War, he returned to graduate school, earning his Master’s Degree in Computer Science from Stanford University. Recruited out of Stanford by Trilogy Software in Austin, he spent the next seven years working with various enterprise software companies in development and consulting roles ranging from individual contributor to Vice President of Engineering. During that time, he became passionately concerned with software quality, and the development processes and tools that promote it.

In 2001 Lawrence and his business partner, Sandeep Gupta, founded Calavista Software which set out to help other companies improve the quality of software delivery. Leveraging their patented innovations in software development methodology, Calavista was able to bootstrap its way to profitability, providing software development and testing services, as well as licensing their proprietary development tools. Over the past dozen years, Calavista has provided software solutions to over 50 companies, including Cisco, Dell, BazaarVoice, Electronic Arts, and The Heritage Foundation. After living and working in Silicon Valley, Boston and Virginia, Lawrence, his wife and their four children have been happy to call Austin home for the past 17 years.

Shay is responsible for overall company growth and strategic direction. He has more than 18 years of entrepreneurial leadership, product development, and management experience with growth-stage, venture-backed companies and high-growth software divisions within Fortune 50 companies.

Previously, Shay was the global leader for Smarter Care at IBM. He successfully led and managed the acquisition of Curam Software to establish IBM’s leadership at the intersection of Social Programs and Healthcare. He has a BS & MS degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from the Acton School of Entrepreneurship.

Shay served for two years as the Vice Chair of Innovation for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce, where his mandate was threefold: 1) initiate programs that support a strong and unique innovation ecosystem in the Austin region, 2) attract world-class talent to Austin’s corporations and research institutions, and 3) attract more investment capital to support growing businesses.

Ronnie Sheth is the Founder & CEO of SENEN GROUP, an international strategic advisory firm focused on delivering innovative, growth-focused data, digital & AI transformations. She is a thought-leader, advisor and speaker in the field of Data & Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology & Operating Models for organizations tackling enterprise-scale transformations in the Data, Analytics & AI space. Under her leadership, SENEN has been recognized as one of the leading data consultancies globally and has helped industry titans and high-growth scale-ups alike achieve consistent success in harnessing and unlocking the power of their data.

Ronnie implements her passion for creating cohesive, sustainable global communities and next-generation ecosystems by partnering with international governmental agencies and NGOs around the world while locally serving on multiple boards including Austin Technology Council and Association of Corporate Growth (ACG) Next-Gen. She also co-chairs the Women’s Initiative for ACG’s Central Texas chapter.

She holds her MBA in Finance and International Business from Rochester Institute of Technology and her Bachelor in Science in Computer Science and Business Administration from Roberts Wesleyan University. She is currently pursuing her Masters in Sustainability at Harvard University.

I’m an experienced engineering leader in the financial services industry. Technology have always been my passion, I wrote my first program at the age of 8. I’m currently leading the North American & European teams (50 engineers, 7 leads) at International Expansion. I enjoy building scalable teams and systems, that stand the test of time. I love working in a diverse environment with a wide variety of functions: engineers, product managers, bankers, PR, external partners, ops, customer support. I frequently represent TransferWise in the media and at international conferences.

If I have to pick one thing that I’m the most proud of: I’d pick the teams that I’ve built. I firmly believe that every product is the outcome of the team and the culture.

I work at Wise to make a difference for our customers and contribute to the creation of a fair world of finance for everyone.

James Beecham is a Founder and the Chief Executive Officer at ALTR, an innovator of automated data access control and security solutions. He has over a decade of experience leading technology and engineering teams in computer architecture design, database and operating system drivers, database security and data governance and privacy system design. James holds multiple software patents and a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

Bart Kalsu is the Chief Financial Officer at Togetherwork.  He was previously Executive VP and CFO at SolarWinds, Inc. 

Togetherwork’s mission-critical tools help our customers manage and grow their communities, and enhance the depth and breadth of their member engagement. Their team is united in its desire to help clients better serve and empower their communities.

Prior to joining SolarWinds, he worked for JPMorgan Chase Bank as Vice President, Commercial Banking, from June 2005 until August 2007. From April 2002 until June 2005, he worked for Red Hat, Inc. as Senior Director of Finance. He has also served on the board of directors of EP Energy Corporation (NYSE: EPE) and Athlon Energy Inc. (Nasdaq: ATHL). He holds a B.S. in Accounting from Oklahoma State University.

Focused on originating and leading growth stage and mid corporate relationships in the technology sector, including: software, fintech, hardware/semi, internet & digital, business transaction services. Execution focused on: debt and equity capital markets, M&A, global treasury & FX, while delivering the entire WF platform.

Direct experience in mid corporate equity and debt, middle market and corporate finance including private equity and sr./jr.debt structures, underwriting, equity models, and capital raising.

Highly skilled and experienced in all aspects of senior debt origination, underwriting and closing. Deep understanding of M&A, PE structures, leveraged lending, corporate finance. Robust experience with complex structures that include all types of subordinated debt, mezzanine, unitranche, preferred equity, true equity

Specialties:

• Experience in direct origination in Technology, media and telecommunications
• Leveraged finance and M&A financing
• Specialized direct experience-Asset based, sell-side advisory, syndicated credit, bi-lateral credit, cross-border transactions, hedging (currency, interest rate, commodity)
• Financial modeling and waterfall analysis
• Private equity capital raising and debt placement
• Valuation analysis

Brett Neie, brings over 15 years of expertise in business transformation across various industries, specializing in pre-sales engineering, channels, sales, and leadership. Brett is passionate about mentoring and fostering executive growth among early-career and seasoned professionals, demonstrating a personal commitment to community opportunities.

Brett currently serves as the Director of Commercial Sales at ServiceNow, leading a world class team focused on digital transformation. His previous role as Vice President of Service Sales at SHI involved leading growth and development initiatives and serving as an executive sponsor for strategic accounts.

Brett holds a degree in Management and Marketing from Western Illinois University and has earned recognized certifications in leadership and business management through various graduate programs. His deep experience with leading technology companies allows him to contribute to the development of innovative solutions, providing insights for all industries undergoing digital transformation and mergers/acquisitions.

As a leader at ServiceNow, Brett serves as a change agent, focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion, new go-to-market strategies, partnerships, and integration initiatives to drive positive business outcomes for the organization, customers, and partners. His belief in the potential of individuals to create positive change underscores his approach to leadership and innovation.

Thom Singer leads the Austin Technology Council, serving as a unifying voice for the region’s technology sector. With a focus on sustainable growth and community connection, Thom drives the Council’s mission to unite Austin’s diverse tech ecosystem.

As accomplished keynote speaker, having delivered speeches at over 1000 conferences across industry lines. He regularly also speaks on behalf of ATC about the “History of Austin Tech”.

Thom Singer’s subject matter as a professional keynote speaker centers on connections, relationships and trust. His main topic as a conference speaker is on Human Interaction (H.I.) in an AI-driven world, advocating for a future where interpersonal skills remain the competitive advantage in a tech-centric economy.