In|Vest West 2018 Direct

Vikrant Rai is the managing director of the risk advisory practice at Grant Thornton Advisors LLC.

Expanded 529 plans and pass-through deductions are a boon for the wealth management industry, but the sweeping tax bill comes with its challenges.

As chief financial officer at Certinia, Erin Sawyer brings over 20 years of financial and operational experience with 10 years in the software industry. Most recently, she was the CFO of Wowza and deputy CFO at Vertafore. She specializes as an executive strategist focusing on financial and operational discipline through business partnership, value creation and operational excellence. She graduated from North Carolina State University with her MBA and Arizona State University with a degree in accountancy.

Keely Wilkins is the Global Program Manager for Insurance Partnerships, and an Evangelist with the Office of the CTO at Check Point Software Technologies. She has nearly 30 years of experience in technology and cybersecurity. Keely is active in global initiatives like the World Economic Forum's Partnership Against Cybercrime and frequently speaks on AI, cyber insurance, and cyber risk management. She holds a MS in Cybersecurity and an MLS in Cybersecurity Law and Policy.

Jen Cressman is the chief commercial officer at Form Health, the national leader in science-based obesity care. 

Jen is a veteran of the healthcare industry, building and leading exceptional sales teams at dynamic, innovative companies. Jen has been leading Form Health through rapid commercial growth since May 2023, focusing on leveraging the physician-led, science-based obesity care model to guide clients through the challenges and opportunities of GLP-1s. 

Nishaad Ruparel is the president of Ascend, a Top 50 Firm formed in 2023 with capital from Alpine Investors, a private equity firm based in San Francisco. Prior to joining Ascend, he was recruited by Alpine Investors to help launch a new investment strategy; prior to joining Alpine, he spent time at AEA, an upper middle market PE firm based in New York, and at JP Morgan, where he serviced private equity clients out of the firm's investment banking division. He holds an MBA from Stanford University and a BS in Finance from New York University's Stern School of Business.

The Trump administration is changing many prior policies, but supporters of this proposal are calling for further action to protect the complex tax savings maneuver.

Paul Brahim has made title protection and financial literacy requirements for students nationwide among his top goals for the organization.

Eileen Connor is the president and executive director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending.

Reyes Florez is the CEO of Platform Accounting Group, a collective of more than 40 local accounting firms across the United States.