LON LANGDON - Business Broker, Sunbelt Business Brokers

Lon is a serial entrepreneur, and he brings a lifetime of business experience to help you with your business plans. He is looking forward to working with you on the sale of your business, or the acquisition of the business of your dreams.

Prior to Sunbelt his business experience includes Managing Director and Founder of LSI Capital, a venture finance and leasing firm; Regional Manager for LSI Financial Group, a finance and leasing firm now part of GMAC; Western Regional Manager of a business financing subsidiary of Hong Kong Shanghai Banking Corporation; AVP-Leasing with Orix-U.S. Leasing Corporation; AVP-Leasing with Bank of America; and Financial Analyst with MESBIC of Washington, his hometown Venture Capital Fund in Seattle. In his earlier years Lon enjoyed positions as founder of a painting contracting firm, a gardening service, a janitorial service firm, a firewood supply firm, and other ventures which employed neighborhood friends for blocks around!

He is active in business groups including Los Angeles Venture Network, Tech Coast Venture Group, and Southern California Edison's Venture Forum Funding Programs in Santa Barbara, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Claremont, Orange County, and Riverside. He has made finance presentations to the Los Angeles Venture Network -Investment Capital Conference in Los Angeles, Tech Coast Venture Network in Orange County, Southern CA Edison's Business Development Planning Retreat, Upside Magazine's CES Business Finance Panel, University of Southern CA classes, UAEL Speakers Bureau, and the Los Angeles Cash Flow Group. Community Service is important to Lon. He has served as part time executive director of Bresee Foundation which provides college scholarships for inner city youth and tutoring for at risk youth; Counselor and Leader for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts; AYSO Soccer Board Member; Little League Boys Hardball and Girls Softball Coach, and Sunday School Teacher.

Lon has a MBA in Entrepreneurship and Finance from USC, and a BBA in Business from Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma.

SARAH MAST - Senior Account Executive, Weber Shandwick Worldwide

Sarah Mast is a senior account executive in the public affairs and corporate issues practice in the Weber Shandwick Los Angeles office. With over four years experience in public relations, she has developed skills in strategic planning, media relations, crisis communications, program coordination and implementation and special events planning.

Ms. Mast has worked with clients including Mattel, St. John’s Regional Medical Center/Pleasant Valley Hospital, Baxter BioScience, Sempra Energy, the Los Angeles Police Protective League (LAPPL), Los Angeles World Airports, Hershey’s and Blue Barrel Disposal/Waste Management.

As the account lead for the LAPPL – the organization representing more than 9,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers – Ms. Mast is in charge of writing all communications pieces for the League’s nine directors, including newsletter articles, correspondence with elected and appointed officials, news releases and speeches and presentations. The Weber Shandwick team’s work on behalf of the LAPPL was awarded a 2001 PRism Award for Outstanding Public Affairs/Government Campaign of the Year and was a finalist for the 2002 Gold Sabre for Public Affairs.

Ms. Mast also leads the project teams providing media relations support to Sempra subsidiaries, Sempra Energy Solutions and Sempra Fiber Links, and provides support for Weber Shandwick’s branding initiative on behalf of Sempra Energy, to gain visibility for the company’s chief executive officer and recognition for the company among business and investor audiences. Within the scope of these projects, she has successfully pitched and booked speaking engagements for Sempra’s CEO before both energy industry forums and business forums such as the BusinessWeek and Economist conferences and the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, and has also achieved significant media coverage for its subsidiaries in the trade publications read by its key customers.

Ms. Mast also provides ongoing crisis communications and litigation support for numerous clients, and has provided marketing and special events support for Los Angeles World Airports and St. John’s/Catholic Healthcare West.

She graduated summa cum laude from the University of Southern California, with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and a minor in business administration. While at USC, Ms. Mast was named the first PRWeek PR Student of the Year for the United States. More recently, she received the Trevett Award as the 2001 Outstanding Young PR Professional for Los Angeles and was a finalist for the 2002 PRWeek Young PR Professional of the Year award.  Outside of work, Ms. Mast serves on the Board of Directors of the Public Relations Society of America – Los Angeles Chapter, in the role of PRSSA Liaison/Internship Coordinator.  In this capacity, she speaks to university-level students throughout Southern California about careers in public relations, and also assembles a comprehensive internship guide for students three times per year.

PAUL FIORE - Co-founder/Former President & CEO, Digital Insight Corporation

Paul Fiore joined Media Ventures Entertainment Group in 2001 as an investor and executive, where he is partnering with the senior management team to grow the existing media business as well as expand into new ventures.  Fiore also manages several private investments through PIE, LLC, his solely owned private venture investment company with ownership interests in various entertainment and other properties, including; motion picture projects, restaurants and nightclubs, a record label, a music services company, real estate, and a medical technology company.  

In July, 1995, Fiore co-founded and was President/Chief Executive Officer of Digital Insight Corp., a leading provider of Internet banking services for over 2,000 financial institutions in the United States.  Through Fiore's vision and leadership, Digital Insight has grown from three employees and $88,000 in revenue in 1995 to over 700 employees and over $130,000,000 in revenue in 2002. 

Digital Insight has been recognized by Deloitte & Touche as one of the 200 Fastest Growing Companies in the United States, as measured by five year growth in revenues in each of the past three years.  Fiore led Digital Insight through a successful Initial Public Offering and Secondary Public Offering raising over $150 million in capital (NASDAQ: DGIN).  Of the 462 companies that went public in 1999, Digital Insight is one of only 50 that is trading above its IPO price.  Fiore was ranked 16^th in FutureBanker magazine's 25 Most Influential Personalities in the Financial Services Industry in 2001, joining industry legends such as Ken Chenault, CEO American Express, Henry Paulson, CEO Goldman Sachs, Sanford Weill, CEO Citigroup, Charles Schwab, and Christos Cotsakos, CEO E*Trade. 

Prior to co-founding Digital Insight, Fiore was Executive Vice President of XP Systems in Moorpark, California, a provider of software solutions to financial institutions.  Prior to that, Fiore was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of AT&T Employees Federal Credit Union from 1989-1994, making him at 24 years old the youngest CFO in the nation for the 50^th largest credit union.  Fiore also served two years each as a Financial Analyst for Lehman Brothers in New York and Accounting Supervisor for Continental Bank in Long Island.  Fiore graduated from New York University with a degree in Finance and Business Administration.

HOWARD GORDON - SVP Business Development and Marketing, Cheesecake Factory

Howard has over 30 years of experience in building and operating successful restaurant businesses.  His multi-unit development and management expertise in a high growth environment has helped The Cheesecake Factory continue to execute their aggressive growth plan.  Howard is involved in many facets of the company, including new ventures and menu and product development. Responsible for the Marketing and Public Relations for the company, Howard also assists in managing The Cheesecake Factory brand.  He is also an “official taster” for menu creations for all concepts. 

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated currently operates 68 upscale, casual dining restaurants with an extensive menu offering more than 200 selections with an average check in the $15.80 range.  Each restaurant sales average approximately $11 million and the company plans to continue opening 12 - 15 restaurants per year.  The company also operates a bakery production facility, which produces over 50 varieties of quality cheesecakes and other baked products for the company’s restaurants and for other foodservice operators and distributors. 

Additionally, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated developed and operates their newest concept, “Grand Lux CafeR” at The Venetian Hotel · Casino · Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, at Beverly Center in Los Angeles and in Chicago on Michigan Avenue at Ontario.

The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated also licenses four “The Cheesecake Factory Bakery CafeR” concepts to Host Marriott Services.  As well as being the exclusive food service operator for DisneyQuest in Orlando.

SONJA HAGEN - West Coast Marketing and Sales Manager, JetBlue Airways

Sonja assumed her current role with JetBlue in July of 2002 and her responsibilities include creating territory direction and strategy for corporate and Internet sales efforts, promotional and marketing opportunities, community relations and public speaking.  Prior to coming to JetBlue Airways, she began her aviation marketing career in 1995 with a seven year tenure as the Southwest Airlines area marketing manager in Los Angeles in 1995.  Before working for Southwest Airlines, she spent three years with Nordstrom in Seattle where she had the privilege to be apart of the pioneering group that developed the successful Nordstrom, The Catalog.

Sonja earned her B.A. in Marketing and Advertising degree from the California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, CA. In her spare time, she enjoys outrigger canoeing, running, and traveling. 

CARISA BIANCHI - Chief Strategy Officer, TBWA/Chiat/Day

Carisa started in advertising with Benton & Bowles in Los Angeles, working on Continental Airlines and Home Savings of America. After two years, Carisa left to join Doyle Dane Bernbach, working on GTE and The Southern California Gas Company.

In 1989, Carisa joined Chiat\Day Los Angeles, where she spent eight years working with clients such as Energizer Batteries, Sony PlayStation, Cherry Coke, and Sparkletts Bottled Water. Under her guidance, the Energizer ‘Bunny’ campaign became one of the most famous and effective campaigns in the U.S., infiltrating popular culture. To date, Sony PlayStation is the most successful platform launch in the history of the video game category. There is now a PlayStation in 1 of 3 households. PlayStation accounts for 35% of Sony Corporate’s operating profit.

In 1998, Carisa became the CEO, President of the newly re-opened TBWA\Chiat\Day office in San Francisco, working with clients such as Levi’s, silverTab, PlayStation and Pets.com. The marketing strategy behind Levi’s has begun to revitalize a global icon by helping make the brand relevant to a younger target audience. The agency also developed the infamous Pets.com sock puppet character.  In 1999, the Pets.com commercial was voted the fifth most liked spot in the Super Bowl. Additional clients include Levi’s, Arrowhead Bottled Water, Energizer, Cherry Coke, Sony PlayStation, Game Show Network, Pets.com, silverTab.

In 2000, the San Francisco office was awarded the Lee Clow “surfboard” for the best creative product in North America.  In 2001, Carisa was one of fifteen women who received Advertising Age’s Women To Watch Awards.

LUIS (LOUIE) SAMPEDRO - Vice President - Private Wealth Management, Goldman Sachs

Since beginning with the firm in 1998, Louie and his partner Chris Barra have built a portfolio have over $500 Million in assets under supervision. Louie’s primary responsibility for his clients is to help them deal with concentrated single stock risk management strategies and selecting appropriate alternative investments (hedge funds, private equity, real estate, distressed investments and other special opportunity funds) for client portfolios. He also assists his partner with new business development and asset allocation. 

At Goldman Sachs, we are committed to identifying, creating and providing access to some of the best, most innovative investment ideas and opportunities for each of our clients. Our private investors turn to us to help them build and manage their wealth in today's complex and challenging environment. The Goldman Sachs investment approach begins by working closely with our clients to identify their goals and risk tolerance and to understand the nature of their existing asset base. We then develop a long-term strategy and work with each client to implement appropriate strategies, products and techniques. We also review the strategy on an on-going basis and evaluate potential adjustments in response to changes in economic conditions, market trends and client needs.

Prior to Goldman Sachs, Louie was at General Electric (GE) for over 10 ten years. He started his GE career in the highly prestigious Technical Sales Program for the Medical Systems business. After completing the training program, Louie spent over 7 years as a sales representative for GE Medical Systems in West Los Angeles with his primary accounts being UCLA Medical Center and Cedars-Sinai Medical Systems.  Louie transferred to GE Capital Commercial Equipment Finance group to provide Southern California Technology leasing and debt solutions for capital acquisitions. He also spearheaded a new program to provide Maquiladoras financing for capital expenditures under a program approved by the Mexican government under a Pitex license.

During his last three years at GE, Louie earned an MBA at the Anderson School at UCLA. He received an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering from Arizona State University.  He is currently involved with the Diversity Recruiting effort at Goldman Sachs. He is also a mentor for the students involved with Hispanic Scholarship Fund at UCLA and USC. Louie is on the Advisory Board for the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and a board member of the Enterprise Network in Phoenix.

Louie lives in Redondo Beach with his wife Lynda of 12 years and their 2-year-old daughter, Stevie.

KARI SCRIMSHAW - Director of Talent Sourcing, The Gallup Organization

She helps Gallup attract leading edge talent to the organization through developing the Gallup brand in colleges throughout the West Coast.  Kari is also personally committed to helping students unlock their academic and career potential, through understanding and building on their unique talents.

Prior to joining Gallup, Kari worked for 7 years in both the UK and more recently in the US with one of the top international brands for families with children.  During this time she gained considerable organizational start up experience in both HR and Operational roles.

Kari earned her bachelor’s degree in English Literature from the University of London in 1996 and her PHR from the Society of Human Resources in 2001.

FRANK NUOVO - Vice President / Chief Designer, Nokia Design

As Vice President, Chief Designer for Nokia Design, Frank Nuovo is responsible for on-going development of Nokia design excellence. Global industrial design and styling efforts for Nokia are orchestrated by Frank through teams of Nokia designers found around the world.  Design is integrated into the concurrent engineering process of Nokia.

Frank started working with Nokia over a decade ago, with the first creative explorations resulting in the design of the Nokia 101and 121analog pocket phones, followed by the Nokia 6080 digital mobile GSM phone. Since then, Frank has been Chief Designer for development of Nokia Mobile Phones, which include the Nokia 232, 2110, 2120, 8110, 5110, 6110, 8810, 7110, 9110 and many others.

Prior to joining Nokia, Frank spent a decade providing design and design direction as part of the international design consultancy, Designworks USA /BMW.  Working under the award winning designer and founder of Designworks/USA, Charles Pelly, it was during this time that Frank gained expertise in the design of furniture, consumer electronics and medical instruments along with general consumer and automotive products for Fortune 500 companies. Complex ergonomic and interface research and workstation design included automated manufacturing control systems for both military and civilian air and surface traffic control systems. Initial work for Nokia was performed while at Designworks/USA, where Frank was Design Director for all Nokia programs. 

Born and raised in (and inspired by) the creative and artistic coastal community of the Monterey Bay Area of California, Frank began his early creative studies with private instruction in Carmel, California. After years of personal study in art and extensive professional experience in music performance, he moved to Southern California  to continue creative study and earn his degree from the Art Center College of Design in  Pasadena, California. The world-renowned Art Center College provided intense professional studies in product and automotive industrial design, along with studies in graphics and other communications fields.

Frank has served as guest instructor at the Art Center and member of the Art Center board, regularly sponsors challenging projects at Art Center on behalf of Nokia. Currently Frank has served on the Business

Board of the Finnish National Museum of Modern Art and is a member of the Industrial Designers Association of America. Frank has lectured and provided critiques on design in Europe, America and Asia Pacific, including such leading design institutes as the Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, Domus Academie and IULM University in Milan, Italy, University of Industrial Arts Helsinki Finland, University of Southern California Los Angeles and the University of California Long Beach, Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and Les Echos Conference, Paris, France.  Frank has also been featured in worldwide publications, including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Fortune, Newsweek, Forum, Business Week, Axis, Metroplis, Ottogagano, Dagans Industri, New York Times, Architectual Digest (Italy), Gloria, Helsingin Sanomat, Straits Times, Style365.com and has appeared on television's CNN International and the Charlie Rose Show (NY).  Inaddition, Frank has served as jurist on several prestigious design panels, including IF Design Award 2001, Smithsonian Cooper-Hewsitt Design Museum 2002 National Design Award, IDEA 2002 Industrial Design Excellent Award, 2003 IIDA Annual Interior Design Competition. Most recently, Frank’s Nokia Design team was honored as Design Team of the Year 2003 by the internationally renown Design Zentrum.

Frank’s life long study and professional practice of art, music and design has provided him with a unique appreciation for creative expression and a dynamic view toward the creation of trend-setting product designs.

Frank Nuovo is the driving force behind Vertu - the new communications company and its signature first product which is the world’s most exclusive precision communications instrument.  As Vertu’s Creative Director and designer, bringing all his years of design experience to the company, Frank made the dream of Vertu a reality.