Speaker #1 Name: Jeremy Bennett

Speaker #1 Title: Chief Executive Officer and Owner

Speaker #1 Company: J Bennett Recruiting

Speaker #1 Bio: Jeremy Bennett is the owner and CEO of J Bennett Recruiting, a retained search firm specializing in Finance & Accounting executives at oil and gas companies in Houston. Jeremy has almost 20 years of recruiting experience in finance and accounting. Prior to starting JBR, Jeremy was a founding employee of Addison Group.

Event #1 Description/Presentation Abstract:  Successful Start-ups and Job Interviews

According to a recent Deloitte survey, oil executives believe that 2017 is a year of recovery.  What do start-ups and job interviews have in common?  How to navigate chaos, sell with no sales experience and push through inevitable pain of rejection and failure.     

Speaker #2 Name:  Kemal Farid

Speaker #2 Title: Managing Director

Speaker #2 Company: BlueVine Ventures

Speaker #2 Bio: Kemal Farid is a Managing Director of BlueVine Ventures, a multistage venture capital firm, focusing on industrial and scientific technology.  He previously founded Merrick and was awarded Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2011.  He earned a BS degree in Electrical/Computer Engineering from University of Texas at Austin and an Entrepreneurship Masters from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Event #2 Description/Presentation Abstract: Entrepreneurship

Kemal will discuss his thirty-year journey as an entrepreneur and his current endeavors as a venture capitalist.  What are the challenges of entrepreneurship?  What does it take to build a successful company?  What is the role of capital in technology ventures?

Speaker #3 Name:  Atif Siddiqi

Speaker #3 Title: North America Practice Manager

Speaker #3 Company:  Halliburton

Speaker #3 Bio: Atif Siddiqi has over 15 years of experience in financial analysis, business planning, operations, relationship, and project management. He is currently leading Information Management, Technology Enablement, Production and Economics practice for Landmark North America services group. In the past, he held the position of Global executive manager, off-shore service delivery manager, program manager for various Oil & Gas services organization. Atif holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Master’s in information systems.

Event #3 Description/Presentation Abstract: Managing Change During Challenging Times

The Oil & Gas industry has seen a lot more volatility in past few years as compared to past few decades. This continuous change takes a toll on the community to manage the ever changing circumstances. The session will focus on how to manage change and stay positive during these challenging times. The speaker will share his experiences on building skills to be able to make prior work experiences more portable for diversification.