| 08:00 – 09:00 AM |
Networking Breakfast |
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| 09:00 – 09:15 AM |
Opening Remarks |
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Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance |
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Marcia S. Nelson, Managing Director, Freedom Capital Markets; Founding Partner, Triple C Advisory – Conference Moderator |
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| 09:15 – 09:45 AM |
AI & Energy Transition: Powering Wealth Futures |
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Mark Minevich, President & Founding Partner, Going Global Ventures – Moderator |
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Moshe Vardi, University Professor & George Distinguished Service Professor in Computational Engineering, Rice University |
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Sridhar Sudarsan, CTO, SparkCognition |
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State of the Union of AI for Planet: this panel will discuss current trends in Energy, Sustainability, Climate, AI in Energy and Wealth Creation. The panel will further explore AI’s role in transformative investment strategies within energy sector for family offices. It will venture into AI and Energy Innovations: highlight case studies, opportunities and for family offices in AI-driven energy ventures, emphasizing sustainable and profitable investments. |
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| 09:45 – 09:55 AM |
A New Standard of Care in the Deadly Disease of Colorectal Cancer |
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Jonathan P. Northrup, Co-Founder & CEO, Stingray Therapeutics |
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If you are diagnosed with metastatic colorectal cancer, you odds are 87% dead in 5 years from this disease. We are starting a phase 1-2 clinical trial to show that these odds can dramatically be improved with a new regimen in immune oncology utilizing our new drug. Enthusiasm for this trial is amazing, and we have received $14M non-dilutive to support it. We are looking for investors touched by colorectal cancer to help us support this effort to dramatically change the standard of care in colorectal cancer. |
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| 09:55 – 10:30 AM |
Eyes Wide Open: Navigating the Path of Meaningful Philanthropy |
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Clara Kaluderovic, Co-Founder & CEO, Ex2; 3rd generation of SONIC Drive-In – Moderator |
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Claudia Aguirre, President & CEO, BakerRipley |
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Elena Marks, Founding President & CEO, Episcopal Health Foundation (Retired in 2022 ) |
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Samina Farid, Head of the Houston Chapter, Golden Seeds |
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Grace Cavnar, Founder, President & CEO, Recipe for Success Foundation; Owner, Flower Child Urban Flower Farm & Studio |
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This panel brings together four extraordinary women to explore the nuanced journey of philanthropy and non-profits, emphasizing a thoughtful and strategic approach to charitable engagement. Through a series of engaging discussions, we’ll delve into how individuals can align their passions with the right organizations, the pivotal role of impactful collaborations between funders and nonprofits, and the sharing of best practices for meaningful philanthropic investment. Join us for an inspiring session that promises to illuminate the path to making a lasting difference, armed with an ‘Eyes Wide Open’ mindset. |
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| 10:30 – 11:00 AM |
Coffee Break |
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| 11:00 – 11:30 AM |
Panel: Navigating a Generational Opportunity in the Emerging Energy Transition & ClimateTech Sector |
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Nicholaus Rohleder, Co-Founder, Climate Commodities – Moderator |
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Matt Shields, President, The Shields Group; Co-Founder, Emergent Energy |
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Stewart Flink, Investor, Author & Consultant |
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Dan Brown, Managing Partner, RMA Energy |
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This panel will focus on finding parallels between existing sectors such as oil, gas, coal, and real estate and the emerging energy technology and climate tech sectors. The participants come from single-family office backgrounds spanning the aforementioned sectors and have drawn parallels in their own journey to make investments in areas such as solar, batteries, hydrogen, carbon capture, and critical minerals. |
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| 11:30 – 11:40 AM |
Hydrogen for the ‘Clean Energy’ Economy |
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Bruce Boisture, Co-Founder & President, ZoneFlow Reactor Technologies, LLC |
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Hydrogen, a versatile, clean-burning energy source, will play a major role in the “clean energy” economy. The most abundant, least expensive source of hydrogen is natural gas, but conventional conversion approaches currently produce CO2 emissions that are almost 1% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Radically innovative ZoneFlow technologies dramatically improve the efficiency of the conversion process and virtually eliminate its CO2 emissions; we are looking for additional investment to support the current commercial introduction of these technologies. |
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| 11:40 – 11:50 AM |
Treating The Most Aggressive Brain Cancers |
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Aram Mangasarian, CEO, TME Pharma |
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At TME Pharma in Berlin, Germany, we are focused on saving the lives of patients that are diagnosed with the aggressive brain cancer, glioblastoma. The 12,000 people diagnosed every year in the US with this difficult to treat disease have a life expectancy of 8 months. TME Pharma’s CEO, Aram Mangasarian, will share the exceptional clinical data the company has recently achieved with its proprietary drug candidate, NOX-A12, and the plans for future clinical trials following recent interactions with the US FDA. |
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| 11:50 – 12:10 PM |
Fireside Chat: Education is Freedom – The Freedom is in Your Hands |
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James W. Keyes, Chairman, Wild Oats Marketing LLC.; Former CEO, 7-Eleven, Inc.; Former Chairman & CEO, Blockbuster, Inc. |
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Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance – Moderator |
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| 12:10 – 12:30 PM |
Fireside Chat |
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Benjamin Samuels, Director, The Samuels Family Foundation |
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Renée Wizig-Barrios, President & CEO, The Jewish Federation of Greater Houston – Moderator |
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Renée Wizig-Barrios, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, will interview Benjamin (Ben) Samuels, the Federation’s immediate past chair and Director of the Samuels Family Foundation. They will discuss the philanthropic tradition of the Samuels Family and how the family makes decisions that create impact in their areas of interest. |
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| 12:30 – 01:30 PM |
Lunch |
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| 01:30 – 01:35 PM |
Introduction to the Family Office Circle |
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Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance |
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| 01:35 – 01:55 PM |
Panel: The Texas Titans of Industry |
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Dr. Steven Kaufman, Investor, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, Founder of Zeus Companies – Moderator |
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Steve Wyatt, Entrepreneur & Investor |
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Ali Dhanani, Business Leader & Visionary Entrepreneur |
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Moiz Bhamani, Founder & CEO, Prime Peaks Real Estate Group |
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A panel discussion with industry leaders from energy to hospitality and healthcare, where they divulge their strategic investment and business plans for 2024. Gain insights into their projections for 2025, analyzing the potential impacts of inflation, electoral dynamics, and geopolitical factors. |
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| 01:55 – 02:25 PM |
Panel: Family Office Dealmaking |
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Marcia S. Nelson, Managing Director, Freedom Capital Markets; Founding Partner, Triple C Advisory – Moderator |
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Michael Hyun, Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer, Crow Holdings |
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Josh Roach, Managing Director, Meritage Group LP |
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Daniel Eisemann, Senior Vice President, Fairfield-Maxwell |
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Offices are becoming more sophisticated in their direct deals as well as fund investments. They’re hiring professionals with deep deal-expertise and oftentimes competing with more institutional investors like venture capital and private equity. Our panel of Family Office investors will discuss deal sourcing, sector interests, and finding the right partners and opportunities for maximum dealmaking. |
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| 02:25 – 02:40 PM |
xFoundry: A Solution Engine inside Higher Education |
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Amir Ansari, Co-Founder, xFoundry; Board Member, XPRIZE Foundation; Co-Founder, telecom technologies |
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What is the next major innovation at Universities to increase its value proposition to students in the age of AI? Launched in 2023, xFoundry is a new experimental initiative at major universities, that combines interdisciplinary design and entrepreneurship with annual targeted competitions designed to address societal challenges. By setting a well-defined, altruistic, and financially viable target for students to hit, they will get a guided path for developing a collaborative, multidisciplinary team dedicated to solving a grand challenge with a chance to create a well-funded company and a secured job upon graduation. |
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| 02:40 – 03:00 PM |
Entrepreneurship and Impact – Entrepreneurs Journey to Create Global Value While Creating Impact to Raise the Global Human Capital |
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Geeta Rai, Vice President, Development, Akshaya Patra Foundation USA – Moderator |
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Jainesh Mehta, Director, the Mehta Foundation |
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Janardan Thakkar, Thakkar Family Foundation |
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Malla Mekala, President & Co-Founder, Infodat International |
