<p style="margin:12.0pt 0in;"><span style="color:#364145;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;"><strong>Brendan McSheffrey</strong> is a seasoned C-Suite leader with deep expertise in leveraging AI to define and solve complex problems. Known for his "problem-first" approach, Brendan has successfully developed and commercialized innovative SaaS, IoT, medical, and privacy solutions across industries such as healthcare, defense, financial services, and consumer markets. As a serial entrepreneur, he has an impressive track record, including raising capital, executing M&amp;A transactions, securing patents, and negotiating high-profile enterprise sales with major companies like Apple, Google, and Microsoft.</span></span></p><p><span style="color:#364145;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">Currently, Brendan is the Managing Partner of <strong>The Kendall Project</strong>, where he leads initiatives to help businesses unlock the power of AI to solve real-world challenges. His work focuses on empowering companies to quickly identify AI opportunities through the <strong>Kendall Workshops</strong>, providing teams with the tools to turn problems into actionable AI-driven solutions.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;"><strong>Doug Howgate</strong> is President at the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. Doug began as President in January of 2023, after two years as the Foundation’s Executive Vice President. This is Doug’s second stint at MTF, having served as Research Director between 2015 and 2018.</span></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Prior to his time at the Foundation, Doug has held a number of prominent policy positions in Massachusetts. He served as Senior Policy Advisor to Senate President Karen Spilka between 2018 and 2020, and Budget Director at the Senate Committee on Ways and Means between 2010 and 2014. He has also served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the Massachusetts Port Authority and as a Senior Researcher at the Massachusetts Budget &amp; Policy Center.</span></span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Doug has a B.A. in Political Science from Holy Cross and holds a Master’s degree from Georgetown’s McCourt School of Public Policy.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;"><strong>Fred Burnside</strong> concentrates his complex civil litigation practice on matters related to class-action defense, consumer financial services, and commercial litigation. His more than two decades as an attorney is distinguished by significant victories in state and federal trial and appellate courts, particularly in actions challenging banking fees and services.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Since successfully defending a pioneer class action lawsuit over insufficient funds (NSF) fee practices, Fred has represented dozens of major financial service providers facing similar claims. He also has the rare experience of taking a financial services class action through a jury trial—and winning. With an established track record of securing outright victory or favorable settlements, Fred has become the go-to attorney for consumer financial service providers facing class action lawsuits challenging fees charged by banks and credit unions.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">His leadership at DWT includes serving as the co-chair of the Class Action Defense group and co-chair of the Consumer Financial Services Litigation industry team, and he previously served as the firm's Deputy Chair of the Litigation Department, Executive Committee member, and on the firm's Share (Compensation) Committee. He is a co-chair of the ABA's Annual National Institute on Class Actions, editor of the ABA Class Action Committee's Annual Survey of State Class Action Litigation, and a member of the American Law Institute.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Joan Woodward</strong> is Executive Vice President of Public Policy for Travelers and President of The Travelers Institute.&nbsp;She is a member of the company’s Management Committee, Operating Committee, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Committee, and also serves on The Diversity Council, and the Travelers Foundation Board. &nbsp;She is the current Chairperson of the Travelers Community Connections Campaign.</p><p>Woodward joined Travelers in 2008 from Goldman Sachs to establish The Travelers Institute as the company’s thought leadership and public policy platform.</p><p>Prior to her current role, Woodward worked at Goldman, Sachs &amp; Co. for ten years, where she was the founding Executive Director of the company’s Global Markets Institute, the firm’s international public policy and institutional investor educational platform. &nbsp;She also served as Founding Director of Washington Equity and Bond Research for Goldman Sachs’ Global Investment Research where Institutional Investor magazine recognized her as a top Washington analyst for investors.</p><p>Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Woodward worked on Capitol Hill for 12 years, as Deputy Chief of Staff for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee working for Chairman Bill Roth, where she was instrumental in creating the Roth IRA. &nbsp;She also was the Chief Economist for the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee and the U.S. House Budget Committee under Chairman John Kasich.</p><p>She is currently the Chairman of the Board of the RAND Institute for Civil Justice; on the United States Chamber of Commerce Foundation; and a member of the President’s National Small and Medium Enterprise Export Council. She is also a member of the American Corporate Partners Board. Reactions Magazine named her to the Top 50 Women in Insurance, and in 2016, she was named to the Hot 100 in Insurance list by Insurance Business America Magazine. &nbsp;In 2017, she received the 2017 Power Women’s Leadership Award by NY Moves magazine.</p><p>Woodward holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and political science and a master’s degree from The American University. She also studied at the University of London.</p>

<p style="margin:12.0pt 0in;"><span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;"><strong>Kevin Gulley</strong> is an accomplished tech entrepreneur and product development leader with extensive experience in building and scaling software solutions. His expertise spans several industries, particularly in data and AI-driven companies, where he has held executive roles in product, product marketing and development.</span></span></p><p style="margin:12.0pt 0in;"><span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">Kevin is currently a key driving force behind <strong>The Kendall Project</strong>, an initiative focused on AI strategy workshops helping business professionals identify and prioritize AI opportunities. His long-standing partnership with co-founder Brendan McSheffrey, built on years of shared success in the tech industry, laid the foundation for this new venture. Together, they bring a unique blend of expertise in product development and business strategy to guide companies through the complex landscape of AI implementation.</span></span></p><p style="margin:12.0pt 0in;"><span style="color:black;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Arial&quot;,sans-serif;">Kevin has successfully launched and sold innovative products and companies in computer gaming, B2B media and FinTech. His in-depth knowledge of emerging technologies make him a sought-after expert for industry events, webinars, and strategic advisory roles.</span></span></p>

<p>Mary Gallagher has served as Commissioner of Banks since 2019. Prior to her appointment, she served as the agency’s Chief Operating Officer starting in 2015 overseeing the agency's operational and administrative teams, fiscal oversight, budget and accounting, human resources and staff development, information technology, security, facilities, and vendor management and procurement. Commissioner Gallagher and her colleagues at the Division continue the agency’s proud reputation for active leadership through participation on myriad national regulatory associations—including the Conference of State Bank Supervisors where Ms. Gallagher is a Board Member and Legislative Committee Chair.&nbsp;<br><br>Before her state service, Ms. Gallagher’s career in financial services included foreign exchange and equity market sales trading roles at Morgan Stanley, State Street Global Markets, and Deutsche Bank in London, New York, and Boston. &nbsp;Outside of work, her non-profit interests include service as a trustee for New England Donor Services (organ and tissue donation), corporator for the Community Music Center of Boston, and advisory board member for the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge. &nbsp;Ms. Gallagher holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from Harvard University.</p>

<p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;"><strong>Matt Lewis</strong> called a “first-rate talent” in The Washington Post and “super-smart” by John Heilemann, Matt K. Lewis is a political commentator and author of the book Too Dumb to Fail: How the GOP Betrayed the Reagan Revolution to Win Elections (and How It Can Reclaim Its Conservative Roots).</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Lewis dissects the day’s issues in conversation with other thinkers, authors, and newsmakers on his podcast, Matt Lewis and the News, and co-hosts The DMZ Show with liberal pundit Bill Scher. He has also been a contributor for TheWeek.com and the Daily Caller. Previously, he served as a columnist for AOL’s Politics Daily, and before that as a blogger for Townhall.com.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">As a journalist, Lewis has earned a reputation as an “independently minded” (Columbia Journalism Review) and “intellectually honest” commentator (Ben Adler, Newsweek). Named one of the “40 Best Conservative Columnists” by RightWingNews each year since 2013, he has been acknowledged as the 2012 “CPAC Blogger of the Year” by The American Conservative Union and one of the 50 “Pundits You Need to Pay Attention to Between Now and The Election” in 2011 by Business Insider. Additionally, the Young Conservatives Coalition’s selected Lewis as a recipient of their second annual “Buckley Award” in 2011.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-size:10.0pt;"><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Matt’s work has also appeared in outlets such as GQ, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, POLITICO, Roll Call, The Telegraph, The Independent, and the Guardian — and he has been quoted or cited by major media outlets including New York Magazine, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and the Associated Press. As a commentator, Matt has appeared on Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, C-SPAN, PBS NewsHour, ABC’s Nightline, CBS News’ Face the Nation, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, and has contributed to radio outlets including NPR and the BBC.</span></span></p>

<p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;"><strong>Rob Nichols </strong>is the president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, the voice of the nation’s $23.7 trillion banking industry and the only organization that represents banks of all sizes and charters in Washington.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Since joining ABA in August 2015, Nichols has led ABA's advocacy efforts, working to ensure that banks of all sizes operate in a policy environment that allows them to best serve their customers and communities. In 2018, Nichols led ABA's successful efforts to win passage of the first major banking bill in nearly a decade. Among other things, the bipartisan legislation modified rules for community banks originally intended for larger institutions.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">During the COVID-19 pandemic, Nichols and ABA played a critical role in helping banks navigate unprecedented challenges. ABA resources and advocacy helped banks of all sizes rapidly deliver 90 percent of the $800 billion Paycheck Protection Program, the largest economic rescue plan ever deployed for the private sector, protecting more than 80 million Americans from job loss. The banking industry's efforts helped limit the pandemic's effects on the U.S. economy.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">As ABA's president and CEO, Nichols has advanced a number of industry-wide initiatives. In 2019, Nichols encouraged all banks to offer low-cost, easy-to-use Bank On-certified accounts. The effort has been credited with helping reduce the number of unbanked in the U.S. to its lowest level ever. And ABA's award winning #BanksNeverAskThat public education campaign has won national recognition for empowering consumers to spot scams before they can do harm.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">As the leader of one of Washington’s largest trade association workforces, Nichols has reshaped ABA's workplace. Since 2018, ABA has been certified as a Great Place to Work by independent analysts, and in 2022, Nichols moved ABA into a contemporary, collaboration-focused new office adapted for hybrid teams.&nbsp;&nbsp;</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">From January 2020 – January 2023, Nichols served as chairman of the International Banking Federation, whose members include the national banking trade associations representing every major financial center.Nichols joined ABA following 10 years at the helm of the Financial Services Forum, a nonpartisan economic policy and advocacy organization whose members are the chief executive officers of the largest and most diversified financial institutions doing business in the United States. During his time at the Forum, Nichols led the industry through the financial crisis and the Dodd-Frank Act, guiding his members and the broader banking sector in its policy response and the law’s implementation.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Before joining the Forum, Nichols served in the George W. Bush administration as assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department a position requiring confirmation by the United States Senate.&nbsp; In this role, he acted as chief spokesperson and head of the office of public liaison, serving as Treasury’s lead representative with the media, business, professional trade organizations, consumer groups and the public.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Prior to that he worked as communications director to the late Sen. Slade Gorton and press secretary to the late Rep. Jennifer Dunn. He began his career in public service in the West Wing as a White House aide in the George H.W. Bush administration.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Nichols is a recipient of the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor of the Department of the Treasury. He also is consistently named as one of the most influential people in Washington by Washingtonian, and one of Washington's top lobbyists by The Hill. He has been described as one of the “new generation of trade group CEOs” by the Washington Post.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">Nichols serves on the board of governors of FARE (Food Allergy Research &amp; Education) and is a Corporate Advisory Council member at Children’s National Hospital.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><span style="font-family:&quot;Work Sans&quot;;">He is a graduate of the George Washington University.</span></p>