2023 Conference Speakers

Scott Alexander

Scott has been in data and analytics consulting for 20+ years as a part of some of the largest accounting and system integrator firms in the world. His focus, from both a hands-on and leadership perspective, has been on extracting value from data assets for global Fortune 100 global companies.

His quest for data value realization includes providing enterprise analytics strategy and architecture guidance, leading large-scale global data warehouse design and construction efforts, executing large Cloud data migrations projects, Implementing data science capabilities as well as leading comprehensive AI/ML projects, and leading enterprise data management strategies and data & analytics Centers of Excellence (CoE). Scott works within numerous data frameworks and methodologies such as DAMA-DMBOK. Scott has also built and led Business Intelligence consulting practices as well as acted as CTO for a successful venture capital backed BPO firm he co-founded.

Most recently Scott contributed significant thought leadership and was a leading architect for an end-to-end enterprise Analytics Transformation assessment and deployment methodology

Michael Dee Cannady, CISSP

Michael resides in Northern Oklahoma where he has established himself as a longtime member of the IT community with over 25 years of experience. Currently, he is a Sr. Solutions Architect at QuikTrip focused on cybersecurity; however, throughout his career he has occupied positions in all aspects of the IT and management spectrum. His experience spans large and small businesses across a variety of industries, including Fortune 500 companies such as Check Point, Helmerich & Payne, ConocoPhillips, and Williams.

Michael spent time at the University of Tulsa’s Information Security and Information Assurance Cyber Corps program and went on to further his formal education by obtaining a B.S. in Business Administration and Management and Master of Business Administration in Human Resources and Management from Oklahoma Wesleyan University. He currently holds the industry accreditations of CISSP, Check Point Certified VSec Administrator / Expert, and numerous certifications from ICS-CERT.  In the past, he has held the titles of MCSE, MCSA, OK/AR/TX licensed private investigator, and Access Data Certified Examiner.

Michael enjoys mentoring opportunities and contributing to the security community at large. He serves as a member of the Tulsa Tech Security Program Advisory Board, consults, and delivers leadership vision to multiple organizations. He enjoys learning and teaching modern security concepts and evangelizes the balance of business enablement against appropriate risk management. When he is not working, Michael’s passions include the outdoors (mainly hunting and fishing) and volunteering with the BSA organization and church.

Lynley Fox, CPA, Manager,Professional Practice

Lynley is a manager in the EY National Professional Practice Group where she monitors standard-setting activities and helps develop EY interpretive accounting guidance as well as creating internal and external publications.  She priarily focuses on the topics of accounting changes and error corrections, lease accounting, and disclosure requirements. 

Prior to this role, Lynley provided assurance services to public and private clients in many industries, including oil and gas, technology, and healthcare.  She also acted as an advisor to teams implementing EY's digital strategies and initiatives. 

Colette Gagnet, CPA

Colette is a consultant with over 16 years of experience providing tax consulting services and analyzing complex tax situations from both sides of the desk.  She spent roughly 10 years providing tax saving solutions for clients before going in house to focus on credits and global acquisitions for a Fortune 200 company. In returning to the client service side, focused on R&D credits and Section 174 studies. In joining Eide Bailly’s NTO, she is focusing her efforts on energy efficiency incentives while being a resource for the R&D and M&A teams.

When you work with Colette, you will find a tax nerd who tax a person approach to understanding your company’s needs. He believes that clear and open communication is a cornerstone in providing professional services. Working with Joe you will experience tailor made solutions to your company’s challenges.

In her spare time, you’ll find Colette volunteering and enjoying the great outdoors with her husband and kids. When not playing in the mountains, she loves exploring new places, sneaking in a run, and reading a good book.

Kerry Gordon, CPA

Kerry started with Eide Bailly in December, 2022 in Denver, Colorado.  Prior to that he was with PwC and MBO Partners 1998 to 2022. Kerry has an Accounting degree from Abilene Christian University.  He has CPA certifications in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

Kerry works with a variety of teams to review and advise on acquisitions, divesture and merger transactions of inbound, outbound and domestic transactions.  He specializes in companies engaged in extracting natural resources (aggregates, coal, geothermal, oil and natural gas, and precious metals ) and associated infrastructure assets throughout the U.S. and internationally.  Included within this experience are many acquisitions and disposition transactions for companies with a specialty in energy production and credits.

John Iannarelli

John Iannarelli served 20 years as an FBI Special Agent and was the FBI national spokesperson. His investigative work included the Oklahoma City Bombing, the 9/11 attack, the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the Sony hack, numerous bank robberies, kidnappings, and other assorted crimes. He is the recipient of the FBI Director’s Distinguished Service Award, as well as an Honorary Doctorate of Computer Science. John is a former Police Officer, attorney, and NFL Security Representative responsible for ensuring public safety of throughout the football season and the Super Bowl. He is the author of five books and a highly sought-after keynote speaker who has presented to Fortune 500 companies, domestic and international audiences, the United Nations, and the Vatican, where he has personally met on several occasions with Pope Francis.

Randy Johnston, CPA

Randy is one of the 2004-2022 Accounting Today Top 100 Most Influential People and he is a top 25 Thought Leader in the Accounting Industry 2011-2023. In 2011 he was inducted into the CPA Practice Advisor Accounting Hall of Fame and was one of nine technology stars in the U.S. by the Accounting Technology Magazine. Randy has started and owned multiple businesses, including K2 Enterprises and Network Management Group, Inc., a leading provider for accounting professionals. He taught technology at Hutchinson Community College, James Madison University, Western Washington University, and the University if Central Oklahoma. Randy has over 40 years of management and technology consulting experience!

Dr. Chris Kuehl

Kuehl is pronounced Keel – like the bottom of a boat

Dr. Chris Kuehl is a Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world. He is the chief economist for several national and international organizations – Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, National Association of Credit Management, Finance, Credit and International Business and the Business Information Industry Association. He is also the economic analyst for several state accounting societies – Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee and Kansas.

Prior to starting Armada in 1999 he was a professor of economics and finance for 15 years – teaching in the US, Hungary, Russia, Estonia, Singapore and Taiwan. He holds advanced degrees in economics, Soviet studies and East Asian studies.

Chris is the author of Business Intelligence Briefs and Executive Intelligence Briefs - both publications from Armada. He is also responsible for the Credit Manager’s Index from NACM and Fabrinomics from the FMA.

Phil Lakin

Phil Lakin Jr. first moved to District 8 when he was 9 years old. He graduated from Jenks High School in 1985 and went on to obtain his BBA and MBA from Baylor University. He is a graduate of Leadership Tulsa.

Lakin is C.E.O. of the Tulsa Community Foundation (TCF) and has been since 1999. TCF is the second largest community foundation in the United States. Lakin is known for working with donors, community leaders and elected officials to improve the Tulsa area.

Councilor Lakin is an active member of many community and governmental organizations. Before running for office, Lakin served on the State Board of Education and Metropolitan Tulsa Transit Authority Board. He also served as president of the board for the Tulsa Zoo and helped during the zoo's privatization efforts. Lakin serves on the boards of the Tulsa Community College Foundation, The Juniper Fund, and several charitable foundations.  He is an officer of the American Alpine Club and The Juniper Fund. The Lakins are members of Southern Hills Baptist Church, where Councilor Lakin serves as a deacon.

He has been married to his wife, Adriane, for 27 years. The couple has three sons, Brooks, Alex and Cooper. Lakin has been to the last 40 Indy 500 races, a trip that started with his father, but now includes his sons, uncle, and nephew. Lakin is also an avid hiker and climber. He has summited the Matterhorn, Cotopaxi, Mt. Rainier and all of the peaks in the continental United States that exceed 14,000 ft. 

Lakin said he loves Tulsa, and wants to see it thriving.

"I see and am part of the positive influence that the charitable and corporate sectors have on the city each day," Lakin said. "I want the governmental sector to become more of a positive and driving force, leading our city to places it should be, respectful of its past traditions and successes."

Al Marciante

Al Marciante is Oracle's Senior Director of Product Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management. Al has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial and enterprise performance management space, beginning his career as a Financial Information Technology professional for a leading electronics and communication company. He implemented applications for the accounting and finance organizations. In 1994, he spearheaded a project to produce consolidation financials, fully burdened profit and loss analysis, and budget reporting that was based on Oracle Financials, custom Oracle development and Arbor Essbase. In 1997, Al moved to a solution consultant role with Arbor, where he helped many customers in the Southern US states achieve significant value purchasing and implementing OLAP and Analytic Applications In 2000, after Arbor and Hyperion software merged to become Hyperion Solutions, Al moved to a Product Management role, and quickly moved to a leadership role in the Product Management organization, and through the decade participated in driving new solutions in the Enterprise Performance Management space. He has since led PM teams not only in the Essbase organization, but also in Hyperion Planning, Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management, Smart View, Financial Reports, Crystal Ball and Disclosure Management. Al is now responsible for Oracle EPM reporting tools and technologies. He had spearheaded new initiatives for Oracle EPM Cloud, including a service focused on collaborative narrative and cross cloud reporting called Oracle Enterprise Performance Reporting. He also leads the EPM infrastructure PM team.

Janis Parthun, CPA, CMA, CISA

Janis is a Vice President within RGP's Advisory & Project Services team.  She brings over 20 years of experience and expertise in finance and technology process design, risk management and driving continuous improvement for companies. 

Previously she was a Director at RSM US LLP leading global and regional account engagements for the risk consulting practice.  And prior to RSM, she was at the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) advocating the importance of accounting and IT to the accounting profession at large. 

John Porter, CPA

John Porter became Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Williams in January 2022. Porter previously served as Williams Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller and Financial Planning and Analysis.

Porter began his career in public accounting and first joined Williams in 1998 as Supervisor of Revenue Accounting. In 2001 he relocated to Denver, serving in various finance and accounting roles for Forest Oil Corporation, an exploration and production company.

Porter returned to Williams in 2005, serving in roles of increasing responsibility across the finance and accounting organization, including Director of Investor Relations, Assistant Controller of Williams Partners, L.P., Director of Accounting—Master Limited Partnerships, and Manager of Financial Reporting. Prior to his current role, Porter served as Vice President, Enterprise Financial Planning and Analysis and Investor Relations, overseeing Williams’ forecasting and budgeting process while also developing and managing relationships with research analysts, institutional and individual investors, and retail brokers.

Education: Porter is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from Oklahoma State University in 1993.

Industry/Community Leadership: Porter joined the board of Energy Infrastructure Council in December 2022. He is active in the Tulsa community, serving on the Gilcrease Museum National Advisory Board and the OSU School of Accounting Advisory Board and volunteering his time with the Tulsa Bike Club.

Chad Priest, JD, MSN, RN

Chad S. Priest, JD, MSN, RN, FAAN Vice President of the Southwest and Rocky Mountain Division of the American Red Cross. He oversees humanitarian operations in nine regions covering 12 states.  Chad was previously CEO of the Indiana Region of the American Red Cross where he led a team of over 2,000 volunteers and staff dedicated to supporting resilient communities throughout Indiana and portions of Ohio, Kentucky and Illinois.  

Chad is also Adjunct Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine and co-founder and faculty in the Disaster Medicine Fellowship Program. Previously, Priest served as Assistant Dean for Operations & Community Partnerships at the Indiana University School of Nursing and Chief Executive Officer of the MESH Coalition, an innovative public-private partnership that enables healthcare providers to effectively respond to emergency events and remain viable through recovery. Chad formerly practiced as an attorney at the law firm of Faegre Baker Daniels practicing public health and healthcare law in the Indianapolis and Washington, D.C. offices.  He served on active duty as an officer in the United States Air Force with the 89th Medical Group, Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. He received his undergraduate degree in nursing from Indiana University, his Masters of Science degree in Community Health Nursing from Indiana University and his law degree from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.

Chad is married to Caitlin Finnegan Priest, and they have 3 children Emerson (senior in high school), Nora (freshman in high school) and Eli (7th grade).

Shane Randolph, CPA

As a Partner at Opportune, Shane assists companies and financial institutions throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific in their understanding of what is possible as they deal with the challenges of implementing risk management programs and highly technical accounting pronouncements. He assists clients with the entire risk management life cycle including strategy, execution, compliance, valuation, and hedge accounting. He has undergraduate and graduate degrees in accounting from Oklahoma State University. He is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and holds a Series 3 License with the National Futures Association.

Mel Schwartz

Mel has over 38 years of experience specializing in legislative affairs, including development and implementation of tax legislation at the national level. He spent six years on the staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation and has served as the chairman of the Tax Legislation Committee of the AICPA. He oversees Eide Bailly's monitoring of federal tax legislation and the regulations implementing that legislation and shares his knowledge with the firm and its clients. He is a sought-after speaker for many AICPA, TEI and FEI conferences.

When you work with Mel, you can expect a knowledgeable resource who can help connect the dots between what is happening in Washington D.C. and your situation. He will serve as a guide and assure you your concerns are heard.

Splitting his time between Washington D.C. and mid-coast Maine, Mel is an avid supporter of local sports teams and theater. Although he was a failed music major, he has been an active participant in the choral music program of the National Cathedral and other D.C. organizations.

Richard Sheridan

Rich Sheridan, CEO and Chief Storyteller at Menlo Innovations, is a successful entrepreneur and author of two best-selling books—Joy Inc.: How We Built a Workplace People Love and Chief Joy Officer: How Great Leaders Elevate Human Energy and Eliminate Fear. Rich’s passion for inspiring organizations to create their own joy-filled cultures has led him to address audiences across the world—through four continents and 18 countries (and counting) as well as throughout the United States.

What motivates Rich to speak to tens of thousands of people around the world in nearly every setting imaginable? What does he share with his audiences that makes them jump to their feet with enthusiasm and return to their organizations on fire with inspiration?

Simply this: joy. More specifically, that joy in your organization is not just possible but essential—essential to profitability, to productivity, to every measure of success.

Rich and his message of joyful leadership have been featured in press outlets ranging from Inc, Forbes and New York magazines to Bloomberg, U.S. News & World Report, NPR’s On Point podcast, NPR’s All Things Considered, and the Harvard Business Review. His videos for organizations such as Gemba Academy, VitalSmarts, and the Arbinger Institute continue to inspire audiences around the world. Rich was also inducted into the Shingo Academy in 2022 for his work supporting the principles of organizational excellence.

Rich doesn’t just talk about joy in the workplace. He lives it every day at Menlo, the custom software and consulting company he co-founded in 2001 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Since then, Menlo has received worldwide notice for its unique culture, including recognition by Inc. Magazine as the most joyful company in America. Menlo has also been recognized by the Alfred P. Sloan award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility for 11 straight years and has received a lifetime achievement award for Freedom at Work from WorldBlu, as well as five revenue awards from Inc. magazine. Today people come to Menlo from all over the world—nearly 20,000 in the past seven years alone—to learn about Menlo and how they can create a culture of joy in their own organizations.

Rafaela Souza, CPA

Senior Manager, Professional Practice, EY.  Rafaela is a senior manager in the EY National Professional Practice Group, where she focuses on revenue from contracts with customers, fair value measurement, lease accounting, accounting changes and error corrections, contingencies, and guarantees, among other topics.  In this role, Rafaela monitors standard-setting activities and helps develop EY interpretative accounting guidance as well as internal and external publications.  She also supports EY engagement teams on technical accounting matters.  Prior to this role, Rafaela provided assurance services to public and private clients in the transportation, oil and gas, and financial services industries.  

Jim Stovall

In spite of blindness, Jim Stovall has been a National Olympic weightlifting champion, a successful investment broker, the President of the Emmy Award-winning Narrative Television Network, and a highly sought-after author and platform speaker.  He is the author of more than 50 books, including the bestseller, The Ultimate Gift, which is now a major motion picture from 20th Century Fox starring James Garner and Abigail Breslin. Eight of his other novels have also been made into movies with two more in production.

Steve Forbes, president and CEO of Forbes magazine, says, “Jim Stovall is one of the most extraordinary men of our era.”    

For his work in making television accessible to our nation’s 13 million blind and visually impaired people, The President’s Committee on Equal Opportunity selected Jim Stovall as the Entrepreneur of the Year.  Jim Stovall has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes magazine, USA Today, and has been seen on Good Morning America, CNN, and CBS Evening News.  He was also chosen as the International Humanitarian of the Year, joining Jimmy Carter, Nancy Reagan, and Mother Teresa as recipients of this honor.

Annually, for the last 95 years, the Oklahoma Historical Society has inducted Oklahomans into the Hall of Fame. This is the highest honor our state  awards.  Previous Oklahoma Hall of Fame members have included Will Rogers, Mickey Mantle, and Paul Harvey, among many others.  In 2021, Jim Stovall was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall Fame

Brandon Tackett, MBA, CMA

Brandon recently joined Oracle as an Executive Director for Finance Systems. In his current role, he leverages his extensive finance transformation background to guide and coach their customers in their journey to the cloud for Accounting and FP&A.  Before Oracle, Brandon focused on building and driving finance transformation programs in his 20+ year career at Verizon. At Verizon, he sat in the middle in Corporate Finance and owned planning transformation for both Verizon corporate and their business units. He drove the full transformation cycle from identifying value and x-functional decision making, all the way through system implementation and testing. His sponsors in this endeavor were CFO’s and SVPs and his role was to mobilize finance, internal IT, and 3rd Party SI’s to drive transformations.  He also spent nine years in Finance Operations (both revenues and payables) building and driving a pipeline of digital automation initiatives using data analytics, chatbots, RPA, and ML. Brandon is passionate about the way finance works. He brings a transformation and outside-in point of view on finance because he believes that work is changing quickly. At most companies, either finance is on the way to becoming a competitive advantage or on the way to becoming irrelevant. One thing he knows is that transformation takes near constant encouragement to connect short term wins to a broader strategy.