About the Speakers
Howard Brod Brownstein
President, The Brownstein Corporation; Director, P&F Industries (NasdaqGS: PFIN), Merakey, NACD Philadelphia Chapter
Howard Brod Brownstein, CTP, is a nationally-known turnaround and restructuring professional, and regularly provides programs for Women in the Boardroom. He is President of Brownstein Corporation, which provides turnaround management and advisory services, as well as investment banking, fiduciary services, litigation consulting, investigations and valuation services. He regularly serves on the boards of directors of public and private companies, and currently serves on the boards of: P&F Industries (Nasdaq: PFIN) where he chairs the Nominating/Governance and Strategic Planning & Risk Assessment Committees, Renew Financial, where he serves as chair of the Risk Committee, and Merakey, a nonprofit with over 10,000 employees. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional, and also an NACD Board Leadership Fellow and Immediate Past President and Board Chair of the NACD Philadelphia Chapter. He has authored ninety articles and textbook chapters, is a Contributing Editor at two publications, and is a regular guest-lecturer at Harvard Business School, Wharton, NYU and elsewhere. He received JD and MBA degrees at Harvard, and B.S. (Wharton) and B.A. degrees from the University of Pennsylvania.
Christina Favilla
Director Priority Technology Holdings (PRTH: NASDAQ), Director Opportunity Financial (OPFI:NYSE)
Chris is a current board member for accomplished Fintech companies, in public and private markets, focused on the financial services and payments industry with responsibilities including: Nominating Committee Chair, Compensation Committee Chair and Audit Committee membership. She brings a seasoned financial services expertise as former President of Discover Bank ($28 billion FDIC regulated bank) and former COO of GE Capital Americas ($210 billion in global assets). She has a proven track record of growing business platforms in volatile regulatory environment and has successfully led large strategic shifts to meet demanding needs of today’s financial markets in several companies. With both an IT and Operational background she has demonstrated the ability to quickly assess and implement the necessary changes in anticipation of positive outcomes.
Sandy Brown
Independent Director; Audit Chair, Governance Committee; Extensive M&A expertise; Carnegie Mellon Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight; Global Fortune 100 CEO & President; NYSE CFO
Sandy Brown currently serves as an independent director/trustee for the FPA Mutual Funds. An SEC Audit Committee Financial Expert, she serves as the Audit Committee Chair, and on the Governance and the Cyber-Risk/BCP Committees.
Teresa Mosley Sebastian
Executive Officer and Board Member
Teresa M. Sebastian is the President and CEO of The Dominion Asset Group, an angel investment firm. She serves on the Boards of The AES Corporation, an energy company, and Kaiser Aluminum Corporation, a manufacturing company. She also serves on the advisory Board of Assemble Sound LLC, a music licensing, recording, production and development company. Formerly, she served on the Boards of Terminix Global Holdings, a provider of pest management services; Juul Labs, Inc., an electronic cigarette company; and Edward Jones Bank, a proposed industrial bank. Previously, she served as SVP at Darden Restaurants, Inc; VP at Veyance Technologies, Inc.; SVP at Information Resources, Inc.; and earlier positions in energy and finance at various companies.
Ms. Sebastian is an adjunct faculty at the University of Michigan Law School and Vanderbilt University Law School. Among other non-profits, she serves in leadership positions at the United Negro College Fund, the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and the DE&I Leadership Council at the University of Michigan. Beyond being an alumna of the University of Michigan, she holds an MBA from the University of North Florida, a Juris Doctor degree from Michigan State University College of Law and a Master of Laws degree from Wayne State University Law School.
Diana Purcel
Public Company Board Member
Diana is an experienced public company board member and an emerging voice on corporate governance, strategy, capital allocation, compensation matters and organizational transformation. She is the Chair of Audit for two public companies,
Ocean Power Technologies, Inc. (OPTT) and PetMed Express, Inc. (PETS), and is a member of the Compensation Committee and the Nominating & Governance Committee for both companies. She was awarded the NACD Directorship Certification in 2021 and was named by Directors & Boards magazine, in 2022, as a “Director to Watch”.
Diana is an accomplished former senior financial executive, having served 20 years as the Chief Financial Officer for publicly traded, private, and private-equity sponsored structures, as well as multi-location, pre-IPO, franchising, and founder-led companies. She received an M.B.A. with honors from the University of St. Thomas and a BS – Management, concentration in accounting, from Tulane University, and maintains a CPA license (inactive).
