| 08:00 – 09:00 AM | Networking Breakfast | |
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| 09:00 – 09:05 AM | Opening Remarks | |
| Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance | |
| Marcia Nelson, Executive Director, Family Office Coverage, Texas Capital – Conference Moderator | |
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| 09:05 – 09:25 AM | Leading in Luxury: Growth and Resilience in Challenging Times | |
| Melanie Gallop, Former President, Calvin Klein | |
| Cindy Gallop, Former CEO, Bartle Bogle Hegarty – Moderator | |
| Melanie Gallop has worked in fashion and luxury for over 30 years, most recently as President of Calvin Klein Europe. For this fireside chat she’s joined by her sister, 40-year marketing and advertising veteran Cindy Gallop. They’ll discuss the state of the luxury market, the opportunities that exist for future-forward vision, and key areas for innovation that can drive turnaround and growth. | |
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| 09:25 – 09:45 AM | Managing Complexity: How UHNWI & Family Offices Can Gain a Single View of Their Financial Lives | |
| Marcia Nelson, Executive Director, Family Office Coverage, Texas Capital- Moderator | |
| Robert E. Mallernee, Chief Executive Officer, Eton Solutions | |
| David Teten, Partner, Orange Collective | |
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| 09:45 – 09:55 AM | Broadway as an Alternative Investment | |
| Carl Moellenberg, Tony Award–Winning Broadway and West End Producer | |
| Why does Broadway investing makes sense in a diversified portfolio? The talk will include, among other topics, how Broadway is not correlated with stock and bond markets, Carl’s track record of high profitability across 20 seasons, and Carl’s thorough approach to choosing shows. It also will give specific examples of many extremely high ROI’s of long-running musicals he has participated in. | |
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| 09:55 – 10:15 AM | The Family Office Playbook for Private Company Investing | |
| Corey Massella, Partner, UHY LLP | |
| This session explores how family offices can invest in private companies with greater discipline, clarity, and long-term focus. Rather than chasing opportunistic or venture-style deals, attendees will learn how to build a clear investment thesis, structure deals with appropriate protections, prioritize cash-flowing founder-led businesses, and create a concentrated portfolio designed for steady compounding. The discussion will also cover governance, liquidity planning, and common pitfalls to avoid, offering a practical framework for turning private investing into a repeatable, strategic advantage | |
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| 10:15 – 10:25 AM | Innovating the Chocolate Industry – The Future of Craft Chocolate | |
| Nate Saal, Founder & CEO, CocoTerra Company | |
| Through market expansion and penetration into emerging markets, the $130 billion dollar global chocolate market has been growing consistently year over year for the last several decades. However, there hasn’t been significant innovation in the last 150 years. CocoTerra is innovating the world of chocolate by moving production into the home kitchen. Using the CocoTerra tabletop appliance, people can personalize and customize their chocolate to meet their dietary, ethical and culinary desires. In this session, we’ll discuss the current state of the chocolate industry and how technology can change the industry as we know it. | |
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| 10:25 – 10:45 AM | Coffee Break | |
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| 10:45 – 11:05 AM | Family Office Investment Strategies | |
| Marcia Nelson, Executive Director, Family Office Coverage, Texas Capital – Panel Moderator | |
| Jonathan Ruch, Managing Partner, Kaissa Capital Partners
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| Ross Morton, Managing Partner, Nondenza Venture Partners | |
| From Venture Capital to Private Equity deals, Family Offices are becoming more sophisticated and hiring industry professionals to help them source and manage direct and co-investments with an institutional flavor. Our panel of Family Office investors will discuss deal sourcing, sector interests, and finding the right partners and opportunities. | |
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| 11:05 – 11:15 AM | Joseph Lubeck, CEO, American Landmark Apartments | |
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| 11:15 – 11:30 AM | State of Domestic Energy | |
| Steve Long, CEO, Derby Energy | |
| The current shift from a domestic “net zero” policy to energy affordability and reliability in the face of historic growth in electricity demand, and how that shift and demand will affect the oil and natural gas industry and opportunities therein. | |
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| 11:30 – 11:40 AM | The $10 Billion Spreadsheet Trap | |
| Robert E. Mallernee, Chief Executive Officer, Eton Solutions | |
| Many family offices still rely on spreadsheets to manage increasingly complex portfolios and operations. While effective at smaller scales, these tools often become fragile and inefficient as assets grow beyond the $1B threshold. This session will explore the operational risks that emerge from legacy systems and the challenges created by fragmented data and manual processes. We’ll also examine what a modern, scalable technology stack looks like for family offices managing multi-billion-dollar wealth. | |
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| 11:40 – 11:50 AM | Powering the Next Generation of Energy Infrastructure | |
| Frank Liu, General Partner, CEO, Infinite Grid Capital (IGC) | |
| Gain insight into the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of global power infrastructure as demand accelerates from AI, data centers, and electrification. Drawing on his experience leading cross-border investments in battery storage, hybrid energy hubs, and grid-scale power projects, he will discuss where smart capital is flowing and how investors can participate in the next generation of resilient energy systems. | |
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| 11:50 – 11:55 AM | Keeping AI Safe | |
| Robert Leaf, Founder & CEO, Keep AI Safe Foundation (SAFE) | |
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| 11:55 – 12:20 PM | The Return of Great Power Conflict: What it Means Now | |
| Kevin Wensing, Former Naval Officer & DoD Senior Executive; Vice President, USO | |
| David Bonfili, Former Naval Officer; Co-Founder & CEO, ACME General Corp. | |
| Frank Russo, Retired U.S. Naval Captain | |
| A timely discussion on the evolving global political and conflict landscape. Drawing on decades of experience across military leadership, defense strategy, and global finance, they will provide a grounded perspective on current geopolitical tensions, emerging warfare dynamics, and the intersection of public and private sector influence. | |
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| 12:20 – 1:30 PM | Lunch Break | |
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| 01:30 – 01:40 PM | Introduction to the Family Office Circle | |
| Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance | |
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| 01:40 – 01:50 PM | A Score to Settle – Behind the Scenes with Credit Bureau 2.0 and its Award Winning, ESG-Forward Mission that Rights a $Multi-Trillion Wrong | |
| Evan V. Chrapko, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Trust Science | |
| This lecture will cover “credit invisibles” or “hidden prime” borrowers. These borrowers suffer under-banking or outright financial exclusion. The $multi-billion, established credit scoring industry does not have incentives to address inclusivity, and Trust Science® is now disrupting this industry. This creates very real, very human opportunities for marginalized people to join the modern economy. | |
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| 01:50 – 02:00 PM | When Fear Quietly Shapes Decision Making | |
| Amy L Brodsky, Founder, Sky Partners & Black Box Coaching and Practicums | |
| The most costly stewardship errors are rarely strategic and often psychological. Long before a decision is made, unexamined thoughts begin to shape outcomes. This talk focuses on how fear compromises judgment and how leaders can regain equanimity and sound decision-making under pressure. | |
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| 02:00 – 02:20 PM | Building a Family Legacy in the Arts – Current Models of Success | |
| Gregory Alan Thornbury, Ph.D., Executive Director, Silver Art Projects – Moderator | |
| James Nazarov, Private Investor, Nasarov Family Office | |
| Aleksandra Dinic, Founder & Managing Editor, Anarchy Daily | |
| Shannon Bender, Entrepereneur & Founder, Link to Art | |
| Often when one considers prominent families who’ve become synonymous with the art world, we think of the past: Guggenheim, Whitney, Frick, and so on. But increasingly, the art market provides not only opportunities for philanthropic reasons, it also presents an investment opportunity for the long term. Panelists will talk about their own experiences and research on how second and third generation leaders can carry forward their own vision for the future in arts and culture. | |
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| 02:20 – 02:35 PM | Reputational Security: Why Brands Matter? | |
| Ido Aharoni Aronoff, Advisor & Investor | |
| Reputational Security is the idea that a strong, clearly defined brand acts like a protective moat—shaping trust, attracting capital and partners, and reducing the damage from crises or misinformation. In this talk, Aharoni shows how organizations (and countries) can audit their narrative, align actions and messaging, and invest in brand equity so they’re safer, more resilient, and faster to recover when challenged. | |
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| 02:35 – 03:00 PM | The New Defense Economy | |
| Nicholas Angerame, Esq., Co-Founder & General Partner, Demand Signal Ventures–Moderator | |
| Leslie Beavers, Former CIO, Department of Defense, Brigadier General (USAF, ret.)
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| Kalmon Sporn, Head of Government Affairs | |
| Daniel Selli, Co-Founder & General Partner, Demand Signal Ventures | |
| Max Brown, Founder & General Partner, Danu Venture Group | |
| As geopolitical tensions rise, from escalating conflicts in the Middle East to intensifying U.S. (China competition) governments and investors are rapidly increasing funding into defense technology. At the same time, breakthroughs in AI and significant capital flowing into frontier companies are accelerating innovation and reshaping industries. In this environment, dual-use technology has emerged as a strategic hedge, with companies generating commercial revenue while also supporting defense and national security missions. This panel will explore how founders and investors are building resilient businesses across commercial and defense markets while diversifying revenue and mitigating risk. | |
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| 03:00 – 03:30 PM | A Discussion with Family Circle Club Members on Entrepreneurship, Business, and the World Today | |
| Denny Chared, Founder & CEO, DC Finance – Moderator | |
| Colby Kash, Co-Founder & CEO, Camelot BioCapital | |
| Frank Liu, General Partner, CEO, Infinite Grid Capital (IGC) | |
| Rich Kosinski, Partner, Brio Benefits | |
| Tyler Wanke, Family Member, Co-founder & CEO, Madison Scientific | |
| William Lam, President, UPGRD | |
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| 03:30 – 04:00 PM | Venture Investing in Israeli Companies | |
| Charlie Federman, Founding Partner, Silvertech Ventures | |
| The turbulent environment in the Middle East creates risks and opportunities. The panel will discuss how Israeli companies are navigating the war and give us insights as to the status of investing landscape for them. | |
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| 04:00 – 05:00 PM | Cocktail | |
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