Phillip Neuhart is the Director of Market and Economic Research at First Citizens. In this role, he develops and delivers the bank’s market and economic viewpoints in the form of written content, speaking engagements, audio and video, and virtual events.

Previously, Phil was Manager of the Institutional Portfolio Strategy Team at First Citizens. He and his team functioned as the liaison between the Capital Management Group and institutional clients to develop investment policies, asset allocations, manager structure, performance analytics and reporting.

Jon Lokhorst, CPA
Your Best Leadership

Jon Lokhorst, CSP, CPA, PCC, is a leadership coach, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and the author of Mission-Critical Leadership: How Smart Managers Lead Well in All Directions. He works with organizations to develop leaders everyone wants to follow, build teams no one wants to leave, and deliver exceptional results. Before launching Your Best Leadership LLC, Jon enjoyed a 30-plus year career as a CPA, CFO, and organizational leader. He has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and is recognized by the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach. Jon is member of the National Speakers Association and served recently as President of the Minnesota chapter. He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional Designation (CSP), a distinction held by less than 20 percent of NSA members. On a personal note, Jon loves grandparenting and being “Papa” to his four adorable littles, as he calls them.

John Hozik, CPA
MorganFranklin

John Hozik leads MorganFranklin’s managed services practice where he oversees all aspects of strategy and delivery to address the complex challenges that impact the strategic discussions of executive management. He has extensive experience working with large international publicly traded companies that are undergoing transactions and/or transitions where speed to solution is the driver.

John specializes in financial services, within areas of operational accounting, technical accounting, financial reporting, regulatory reporting, Sarbanes Oxley readiness and compliance, reorganizations, and mergers and acquisitions. He is focused on the details, adding value and being his clients trusted business partner.

Prior to joining MorganFranklin, John worked in KPMG’s audit and assurance practice leading the audits of Broker Dealers, Private Equity and SEC registrants across multiple industries.

John earned his MBA in accounting at John Hopkin’s Carey Business School and is a certified public accountant licensed in the state of Maryland and Virginia.

Reagan Mullins, CPA
Vaco

Reagan Mullins is a managing partner, serves as National Line of Business Leader for Strategic Staffing, and oversees Vaco’s staffing practice in the Birmingham market.

Jennifer Louis, CPA
Emergent Leadership

Jennifer Louis resides in Charlotte and is President of Emergent Solutions Group LLC. Over the course of her career she has worked in both public accounting and internal audit. For 25 plus years she has been primarily focused on providing high-quality CPE in the accounting and auditing arena.

Speaker information coming soon!

Speaker information coming soon!

Speaker information coming soon!

Jennifer Louis, CPA
Emergent Leadership

Jennifer F. Louis, CPA founded Emergent Solutions Group, LLC in 2003, where she focuses her energy on designing and delivering high-quality, practical, and engaging accounting and auditing training. She was most recently Director of Audit Product Development at Surgent Professional Education. Prior to that Jennifer served as Director of Training Services at AuditWatch, Inc, was the Financial/Operational Audit Manager at AARP, and was an Audit Manager for Deloitte & Touche LLP. Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from Marymount University with a BBA-Accounting. Besides loving life on the lake with her husband in Charlotte, NC, she enjoys hiking with her Coton de Tulear dogs, and savoring any precious moments spent with her two young adult boys.

Speaker information coming soon!

Jon Lokhorst, CPA
Your Best Leadership

Jon Lokhorst, CSP, CPA, PCC, is a leadership coach, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and the author of Mission-Critical Leadership: How Smart Managers Lead Well in All Directions. He works with organizations to develop leaders everyone wants to follow, build teams no one wants to leave, and deliver exceptional results. Before launching Your Best Leadership LLC, Jon enjoyed a 30-plus year career as a CPA, CFO, and organizational leader. He has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and is recognized by the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach. Jon is member of the National Speakers Association and served recently as President of the Minnesota chapter. He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional Designation (CSP), a distinction held by less than 20 percent of NSA members. On a personal note, Jon loves grandparenting and being “Papa” to his four adorable littles, as he calls them.

Robert Broome
NCACPA

As NCACPA Director of Advocacy, Robert works with our members to develop, implement, and communicate the association’s public policy agenda to legislators and regulators. He serves as staff liaison to several NCACPA Resource Groups, including Advocacy, Tax, Government, and Accounting & Attestation.

Robert has more than two decades of experience in government relations and executive management for professional associations. A native of Tennessee, he worked in Nashville and Atlanta before moving to Raleigh in 2013. He earned his Certified Association Executive credential in 2020, and he serves on the Board of Directors for Association Executives of North Carolina.

Courtney Knoll, PhD, CPA
NCACPA Chair

Dr. Courtney H. Knoll is a Clinical Professor of Accounting at the Kenan-Flagler Business School, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Associate Dean of the Master of Accounting (MAC) Program. Through her leadership and professional involvement, Dr. Knoll plays a pivotal role in nurturing the next generation of accounting leaders, contributing significantly to the evolution of accounting education. During Dr. Knoll’s twenty plus years teaching MAC students at Kenan-Flager, she has taught nearly every course in the tax curriculum and currently teaches Federal Income Taxation, Tax Research, and International Taxation. A two-time recipient of the Weatherspoon Award for Excellence in MAC Teaching, Dr. Knoll’s enthusiastic teaching style has been recognized for its influence and effectiveness. Dr. Knoll’s work extends beyond the classroom. She has served as faculty advisory for the Undergraduate Accounting Club, the student Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and numerous tax case competitions. In addition to these student-focused endeavors, she served as Executive Director of the UNC Tax Center, which aims to build bridges between academics, practitioners, and policymakers. During her time in this role, she expanded the center’s network and support through the formation of an impactful Alumni Leadership Council and spearheaded the development of new partnerships and events, including an annual conference with the Urban-Brooking’s Tax Policy Center, and the UNC Tax Summit, a joint event with the UNC School of Law. A CPA in both North Carolina and Georgia, Dr. Knoll recognizes the value of building strong connections between the MAC program and the accounting profession. She currently serves as chair of the North Carolina Association of CPAs’ board of directors. In addition, she is a long-time member of the American Institute of CPAs and the American Accounting Association, and currently serves as an AICPA Academic Champion and AICPA Council member. Prior to joining the faculty, Dr. Knoll earned her Ph.D. in Accounting from the Kenan-Flagler Business School. She worked for five years in Arthur Andersen, LLP’s Atlanta office after earning her Master of Science in Accounting and her Bachelor of Science in Commerce from the University of Virginia.

Speaker information coming soon!

Tom Triumph
Triumph Consulting

I’ve got over three decades of hard-won experience. Along the way I’ve helped large organizations act nimbly and small companies scale, been a participant in two global technology revolutions, joined a podcast with Dose of Leadership —and have been part of some remarkable teams and success stories (and some misfires), and am the author of the book Evolve or Die: Lessons for World-Class Innovation & Creativity.

• Oversaw the creation of dozens of innovative products within different industries, including: medical device, defense, software and professional services.
• Experienced in bringing the unique personalities and skills sets of team members together to generate innovative ideas and solve real business (and real-world) problems.
• Worked and consulted for B2B & B2C Fortune 100 companies and entrepreneurial startups, and bring a broad perspective.

I help event attendees better innovate and contribute by delivering inspiring, informative and engaging keynotes tailored to your specific needs. I also consult with companies to help them improve their product development process and create next generation products that leapfrog the competition, reinvigorate their marketing or reinvent some aspect of their business – all with the goal of driving revenue.