About the Organizers

Travis Penfield

Founder, Initiative Network

Travis leads one of the fastest growing groups of comprehensive financial planners in the United States. As CEO Travis’ time is spent equipping leaders to build the next generation of financial planners who will revolutionize the industry while still living out his passion through helping clients.

Travis believes that the financial industry has needed a major revolution for quite some time. Given that finance is one of the most important pieces of people’s lives, Travis believes that building lifelong relationships with people and providing financial guidance is one of the most needed and rewarding ways to live out one’s professional calling. This is why he founded 49 Financial and how he hopes to change the world through finance.

Travis is involved in various non-profits in the community and has brought that love of service to the culture of 49 Financial. In 2017, 49 Financial Impact day was founded—the firm closes for a day to give back to the community.

In 2018, under Travis’ leadership, 49 Financial made over $11 million in revenue and hired 285 advisors in that year. Also in 2018, 49 Financial launched their Dallas branch office, which ended the year with over 30 advisors.

In 2019, Travis was a finalist for the Austin Young Chamber’s Change Maker award which recognizes people in the community under 40 who are working hard to make a positive difference in Austin. Also in 2019, 49 Financial was certified as a Great Place To Work Award, being awarded as a Best Workplace in Texas and Best Workplace in Financial Services & Insurance.

In 2020, Travis anticipates opening 49 Financial offices in Houston and San Antonio, with a long-term goal of opening offices in every major city in the United States. He hopes to continue the exponential growth of 49 Financial while staying true to the heartbeat of truly trying to better as many people as possible.

Travis attended Texas A&M University. He has been married to his wife, Jaclyn, since 2011 and they live in Austin, Texas with their dog, Duncan. In October of 2018 they welcomed their first child, daughter Charlotte “Charli” Sue Penfield. They enjoy international travel, playing golf, and cheering for the San Antonio Spurs.

Grant Skeldon

Founder, Initiative Network

In response to millennials being labeled noncommittal, lazy, entitled, slacktivists, Grant Skeldon started Initiative Network with the goal to unite and train millennials to be Christ-loving, city-changing, church-investing, disciple-making local missionaries. The initiative has impacted thousands of diverse young leaders from hundreds of churches across Dallas.

He has written for Relevant, ChurchLeaders, The Gospel Coalition, and his new book on millennials, The Passion Generation, hit #1 in multiple categories on Amazon. Grant also serves as an associate for Leadership Network and on the Board for Catalyst.

Aimee Minnich

Co-Founder & General Counsel – Impact Foundation

As a co-founder of Impact Foundation, Aimee Minnich wears a variety of hats and two titles, Chief Experience Officer and General Counsel. In those capacities, she helps donors deploy charitable capital into investments that earn money while accomplishing measurable social, environmental, and spiritual gains.

Since beginning in 2016, Impact Foundation has deployed over $60M into 150 companies. Prior to launching Impact, Aimee worked for National Christian Foundation running the Heartland office. She enjoys speaking and writing on topics of generosity, impact investing, and fundraising and has recently authored “The Profitable Charity.”

A recovering attorney, Aimee earned a JD from the University of Kansas School of Law with honors and a BA in Philosophy, Magna Cum Laude, from Rockhurst University. Outside of work, Aimee loves to run and spend time with her family: husband of 15 years Marshall, and kids Andy (11), Liam (8), and Reagan (7).

Pat Gelsinger

CEO, VMWare

Pat Gelsinger has been serving as CEO of VMware since September 2012, bringing more than 35 years of technology and leadership experience to the helm of the company. During his tenure, Gelsinger has more than doubled the size of VMware, which software powers the world’s complex digital infrastructure. Based on both the great business results but also the culture and social leadership of VMware, Fortune Magazine named Gelsinger number two “Businesspersons of the Year” in 2018.

Gelsinger is involved with a range of Christian charities including, William Jessup University, Stadia, Luis Palau Association, Christian Missionary Fellowship, and Missions of Hope International. He is currently spearheading the formation of TBC, “Transforming the Bay with Christ” www.tbc.city, an effort to bring unity to the Christian community and serving the Bay Area. He regularly preaches and teaches work-life balance in a variety of church, business, and international settings. He is recognized for his extreme philanthropy, values based leadership and as one of the most visible Christian leaders of a publicly traded company today.

Gelsinger enjoys spending time with his wife, Linda; their four adult children Elizabeth (married to Emanual Lee), Josiah (wife Carly), Nathan (wife Rachael) and Micah and their grandchildren Georgiana, Alice, Abigail, Cody, Clara and Evangeline.

Buddy Rathmell

Founder, Stop Slavery

Buddy loves Jesus, Business, Adventure, and Discipleship. After graduating from high school in Germany he spent 5 months hitchhiking from LA to New York. After college, his first job after a couple of not so profitable business attempts was for a Fortune 250 company which then opened the door for consulting to Fortune 500 companies.

He and his wife Jen spent 10 years in Okinawa, Japan facilitating a student lead disciple-making ministry. In 2009, he started Stop Slavery to combat modern-day human trafficking and moved to Thailand. In 2015 he jumped back into the world of business starting escape rooms in two different countries. Since then he has been working with young entrepreneurs and launched an 8-month long discipleship and business school. He is a Birkman Facilitator doing half day to 3-day long engagements with companies to help with job hiring and fit and exciting team building experiences.

Buddy’s desire is to facilitate a worldwide disciple making movement of God through business.

Grace Kurian

Senior Director, Nuclear Information Technology

Grace Kurian is a Senior Director in Information Technology at NextEra Energy, the world’s largest utility company based on market capitalization. Ms. Kurian is responsible for all aspects of technology for the Nuclear Power Plants at NextEra including oversight of cybersecurity and digital transformation programs to improve work productivity with the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

She has years of experience providing support and leadership in developing and managing multi-functional groups. Prior to being named to her current position, she led the integration of a $6.5 billion acquisition for the company. Ms. Kurian has also held various roles on the regulated & unregulated lines of business where she has experience leading large-scale technology programs to optimize costs & increase revenue. Before joining NextEra Energy, Ms. Kurian worked as an Information Technology consultant at both Accenture and Stonebridge Technologies where she led systems development projects.

Ms. Kurian holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting from Stetson University and a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation. She also has completed executive education programs at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business and Duke University. Ms. Kurian is active in the community and serves on the board of Creating Jobs, a not-for-profit organization mentoring entrepreneurs and creating jobs in communities throughout Haiti, Honduras and Mexico.

Mike Baer

BAM Pioneer and Author

David has for over 35 years owned and led businesses in the UK and in recent years in Asia. He sold his business in 2014 to dedicate more time to Business as Mission. He has established a good reputation in both corporate and mission communities and regularly speaks to gatherings of both missions and business people, from small to medium enterprises (SME’s) to multinational corporations (MNC’s) and governments and is a contributor of papers and articles for professional magazines and conferences. He served as Elder of his local church from 1999-2004 joining World Horizons (a mission movement) in 2003 and currently holds the Business as Mission portfolio on its Global Council. He is a UK board member of Operation Mobilisation.

David’s passion is to see the power of the whole gospel of the Kingdom of God transform sustainable business through revealing the Lord Jesus Christ to all its stakeholders.

Jeremie Kubicek

CEO, Giant TV

Jeremie Kubicek is an outlier in the leadership world. He is fully an entrepreneur and corporate thought leader, as well as an audacious encourager to leaders around the world. He is a creative producer of a variety of leadership content and global programs, as well as an acclaimed speaker and author. As an entrepreneur, Jeremie has formed, partnered and started over 20 entities since 2002 that have either been sold or continue to run.

He co-authored the books 5 Voices and 5 Gears, and authored the 2011 National Bestseller, Making Your Leadership Come Alive. His work is known as being powerful, sticky, scalable and sustainable. He and his business partner released their new book, 100X Leader, on March 28, 2019. He is also the CEO of GiANT TV.

He has lived in Moscow, London and Atlanta and now makes his home in Oklahoma City along with his wife, Kelly, and their three college/high school children, Addison, Will and Kate.

Investor Track:

Three Sessions facilitated by a seasoned investor, this is a closed group that enables learning in this unique area of stewarding resources, investing wisely and seeing money used to create jobs, wealth and sustainability. Friday dinner (private full service meal including special guest speaker), Saturday lunch (private) and Saturday breakout ONE.
*There is an additional fee to participate in this track.

Mission Agency Track:

Two Sessions led by BAM Global Chair Jo Plummer, as a part of the ongoing Consultation with Mission agencies on the Strategy of Business as Mission. Discusses best practices for helping new businesses with preparation and funding, and for sustaining BAM practitioners on the field. Friday lunch and Friday Breakout ONE.

Academia Track:

Two Sessions, led by Mick Bates of Taylor University, facilitated to enable ongoing networking and shared learning, and to encourage each other in the work of Business as Mission in academia. This track takes place every year and builds on the work of previous conferences. Friday lunch and Friday Breakout ONE.

Coffee Track:

Two Sessions, focused on bringing together anyone involved in any part of the bean to cup process. Building on the foundations of the Coffee As Mission network, this track will provide context for learning and working together as the network continues to build. Friday lunch and Friday Breakout ONE.

Technology Track:

Three Sessions led by Technology company CEO, facilitated to enable networking and shared learning, address challenges and concerns, and to encourage each other in this fantastic area of business. Discuss innovative ways to use technology to advance the Kingdom Friday lunch, Friday Breakout ONE and Saturday dinner.

David Batstone

Senior Managing Partner, Just Business

David Batstone is a very successful entrepreneur and investor in the social enterprise space. In 2012 he founded REBBL, the #1 selling organic health beverage in the US market. REBBL, which sources herbal ingredients in areas of the world where communities face human rights abuses and labor exploitation. David also is the only outside investor in Square Organics, which launched in 2013 and today is one of the fastest-growing protein bars in the US market.

David is a tenured professor of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the School of Management at the University of San Francisco, teaching courses in social entrepreneurship and sustainable supply chain management. He is the founder and president of the internationally renowned NGO Not For Sale, which finds inventive solutions for addressing human trafficking and social exploitation.

Joseph Vijayam

CEO, Olive Technology

Joseph is the Managing Director of Olive Technology Limited, an IT company with offices in the USA and India. As well as seeking to integrate business and mission in his own life and business, Joseph also regularly writes, speaks and consults on business as mission.

Jo Plummer

Co Chair, BAM Global

Jo has been writing and developing resources on business as mission for over 16 years. She launched businessasmission.com in 2002 and is currently the Editor of The BAM Review. Jo served as co-editor of the Lausanne Occasional Paper in 2004 and is the executive editor of the BAM Global series of reports.

David Stone

Founder, First Rate Inc

David is the founder and CEO of First Rate Inc. He acts as the visionary for the firm, providing direction for product development and guidance for customer service. David graduated from Dartmouth College where he studied economics and mathematics while earning Varsity letters for football and track.

He serves on the board of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Youth With a Mission, Friends of Youth With a Mission, and Turner 12. David and his wife, Trina, also serve with Youth With a Mission as pioneering members of the Business As Mission movement. Dave speaks around the world on his experience of keeping God first in business and has also written a book: First Rate Living in God’s Company.

JoAnn Flett

Program Director, Eastern University

JoAnn decided at a young age that she loved both spreadsheets and Jesus. After more than 20 years of senior accounting and management experience, she now directs the masters in business administration program at Eastern University, a theologically informed curriculum with a strong sense of social justice that equips students with business acumen to serve God and society through business.

Henry Kaestner

Managing Principal, Sovereign’s Capital

Henry Kaestner is a Managing Principal in Sovereign’s Capital, a private equity and venture capital management company that invests in faith driven entrepreneurs in SouthEast Asia and the US from it’s offices in Silicon Valley, Washington DC and Jakarta, Indonesia. He is also Co-Founder of FaithDrivenEntrepreneur.org, a ministry meant to encourage and equip entrepreneurs motivated by their Christian faith.

Prior to co-founding Sovereign’s Capital, Henry was co-Founder and previous CEO, and then Chairman of Bandwidth.com (NASDAQ:BAND) and it’s sister company, Republic Wireless (which spun out of Bandwidth in 2016). The founding values of Bandwidth are: Faith, Family, Work and Fitness (in that order). Prior to co-founding Bandwidth.com with David Morken, Henry founded Chapel Hill Brokers (a predecessor to ICAP Energy), an institutional energy derivatives broker that became the top ranked electricity broker in the country.

Henry has also been involved in a number of ministry and philanthropic activities. He co-founded DurhamCares, was a founding Board Member of Praxis, an accelerator committed to helping faith driven entrepreneurs and sits on a variety of business and ministry boards including Valley Christian Schools where his 3 boys attend.

David Skews

CEO, Turn the Coin

David has for over 35 years owned and led businesses in the UK and in recent years in Asia. He sold his business in 2014 to dedicate more time to Business as Mission. He has established a good reputation in both corporate and mission communities and regularly speaks to gatherings of both missions and business people, from small to medium enterprises (SME’s) to multinational corporations (MNC’s) and governments and is a contributor of papers and articles for professional magazines and conferences. He served as Elder of his local church from 1999-2004 joining World Horizons (a mission movement) in 2003 and currently holds the Business as Mission portfolio on its Global Council. He is a UK board member of Operation Mobilisation.

David’s passion is to see the power of the whole gospel of the Kingdom of God transform sustainable business through revealing the Lord Jesus Christ to all its stakeholders.

Bruce McKinnon

Founder, Mission Brand

Bruce McKinnon develops brand strategies for clients in Europe and the US in both the ‘business to business’ and ‘business to consumer’ sectors. He has worked in brand marketing for global and local brands for 30 years and passionately believes the right brand strategy is the most effective tool a client has to deliver its mission – and it can be the best way to gain engagement in that mission.

Bruce works across a diverse range of industries including software, fashion, fair trade, artificial intelligence, mobile, financial services and food and drink. He holds an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and the Chartered Institute of Marketing Postgraduate Diploma in Marketing. He regularly speaks on the subject of brand at conferences, facilitates workshops and runs Mission Brand, his own brand strategy consulting practice.

Shane Claiborne

Speaker, activist, best-selling author

Shane Claiborne is a prominent speaker, activist, and best-selling author. Shane worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, and founded The Simple Way in Philadelphia. He heads up Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks who are committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” Shane is a champion for grace which has led him to jail advocating for the homeless, and to places like Iraq and Afghanistan to stand against war. And now grace fuels his passion to end the death penalty.

Shane’s books include Jesus for President, Red Letter Revolution, Common Prayer, Follow Me to Freedom, Jesus, Bombs and Ice Cream, Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers, his classic The Irresistible Revolution and his newest book, Executing Grace. He has been featured in a number of films including “Another World Is Possible” and “Ordinary Radicals.” His books have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Shane speaks over one hundred times a year, nationally and internationally. His work has appeared in Esquire, SPIN, Christianity Today, and The Wall Street Journal, and he has been on everything from Fox News and Al Jazeera to CNN and NPR. He’s given academic lectures at Harvard, Princeton, Liberty, Duke, and Notre Dame.

Bill Job

President @ Polygon Composite Materials

Bill Job is an acclaimed entrepreneur and Jesus-follower who pioneered the way for developing faith-based business in China after the fall of Communism. He has spent nearly three decades as the founder and CEO of Meixia Solutions, one of the first solely foreign-owned businesses in China.

Since the start, Bill has been committed to integrating faith-based values and principles into managing his company. This includes choosing to hire disabled employees and prioritizing investing donations and service into ministries and development work in the local community. Bill has incubated several successful businesses and currently serves as the president of Polygon Composite Materials.

David Skews

Mark Plummer

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