ActionCOACH turned an intangible service - advice - into a repeatable franchise sold in more than 80 countries. Its real product is a weekly rhythm that helps owners replace improvisation with systems.
Jack J. Gindi is EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Gina Group, the privately held New York fashion, lifestyle and branding company founded in 1985 that designs, licenses, manufactures and distributes products across hosiery, footwear, handbags, small leather goods, fashion accessories, athletic and wellness, gourmet foods and, since 2025, pet. He joined the company while still an undergraduate at Baruch College and has spent more than thirty years there, where he now runs brand and business acquisitions, strategic planning and general marketing. He is the executive whose name appears on Gina's licensing announcements, from K-Swiss legwear and Laundry by Shelli Segal to the launch of the company's pet division, and he works from Gina's showrooms at 10 West 33rd Street in Manhattan. Outside the office he is a father of five, an avid athlete, and an active supporter of public affairs and charitable causes.
Katahdin Group is a Boston-based leadership development and peer advisory firm that runs process-driven CEO and executive peer groups plus strategic planning programs for leaders of mid-market growth companies. Founded in 1999 as The Raffoni Group by Melissa Raffoni out of Inc. Magazine's discontinued 'Inc. Eagles' CEO program, it uses a case-method meeting format so CEOs can get candid, structured feedback from peers. It rebranded to Katahdin Group - named after Maine's Mount Katahdin, 'The Greatest Mountain' - to evoke the climb of building and eventually exiting a business.

Stacey Paynter is the founder and CEO of Strategic Connections, LLC, a San Francisco Bay Area strategic planning and brand consultancy she launched in 2004 after a career spanning some of the largest names in global advertising. As former CEO of Publicis Dialog's San Francisco office and COO of EvansGroup, she co-authored the 'Holistic Communications' framework later adopted worldwide by Publicis Groupe. Today she advises C-suite executives on brand strategy, customer acquisition, and operational transformation — and serves on the board of the OSET Institute as a Brand, PR & Media Advisor.