Michael Veltri is a leadership expert, battle-hardened business executive, and Nationwide Bestselling author. Recognizing that success in business and life is created by the daily decisions we make, Michael elevates teams, fuel-injects leadership, and improves business performance through better decision-making practices.

From ancient Japanese warriors to brain science, from business titans to academic research, Michael tapped wide-ranging resources to develop a groundbreaking model for better decision making that leads to exponential leadership growth and peak performance with balance, not burnout. Simple, elegant, and effective, Michael's approach has positively impacted some of the world’s most successful organizations, brands, and leaders.

Michael is also a cancer survivor, decorated U.S. Marine veteran, and master-instructor in classical Japanese martial arts. He brings his business savvy, martial arts discipline, and Marine Corps leadership to every keynote speech inspiring, motivating, and educating audiences worldwide.

Andy’s unconventional path to finance, politics and the economy has taught him that the big picture is filled in by small details and requires unconventional thinking to see them. He was number six out of seven kids that taught him to scrap, shout and fight for the last piece of food at dinner. He brought this determination to his career and to his insights into the world. Before he went into finance, he painted street curbs, he mowed lawns, he worked construction, and he ran his own painting company.

For all his career, he's been on the front lines of the economy and the markets. Andy traded currencies and wrote research on the markets during the 1985 Plaza Accord; the 1998 Russian default; and to the 2008 global financial crisis. He’s advised major mutual funds, hedge funds, US Treasury Secretaries and the White House. In 2017, he became the nation’s first Chief Market Intelligence Officer at the CFTC. He provided economic and market briefings to the SEC, the US Treasury, the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Reserve of New York and the White House. He is an outside economic advisor to the White House during this time economic uncertainty and challenges caused by the coronavirus.

After a career of 35 plus years, he brings his perspective, insights and energy for fighting for the last piece of dinner to as many people and organizations as possible. Andy breaks down the economy, politics and technology to simplify the complexity and ensure that everyone can understand how they impact business and jobs. As a member of a large family and a husband/father of his own large family, Andy knows the importance of seeing through difficult, chaotic times towards the opportunities the future holds.

Kris Paronto—“Tanto” as he is affectionately known in security contracting circles—is a former Army Ranger from 2nd Battalion 75th Ranger Regiment and private security contractor who has deployed throughout South America, Central America, the Middle East and North Africa. He also worked with the U.S. Government’s Global Response Staff conducting low profile security in high threat environments throughout the world.

Paronto was part of the CIA annex security team that responded to the terrorist attack on the U.S. Special Mission in Benghazi, Libya on September 11, 2012, helping to save over 20 lives while fighting off terrorists for over 13 hours. Paronto’s story is told in the book 13 Hours, written by Mitchell Zuckoff and his five surviving annex security team members, and in the 2016 major motion picture of the same name.

Born in Alamosa, Colorado, Paronto obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Mesa State College in Grand Junction, Colorado and Master’s Degree from The University of Nebraska at Omaha. He served 4 years in the U.S. Army and an additional 4 years in the U.S. Army National Guard, reaching the rank of Sergeant then becoming a commissioned officer in 2003. He started contracting for Blackwater Security Consulting in 2003 and continued to deploy on various security contracts, to include the Global Response Staff until 2013. He is also the author of the 2017 motivational book The Ranger Way.

For more than 10 years, Paronto has been involved in security operations in hostile environments and his team’s involvement with the September 11, 2012 attack on the U.S. special mission in Benghazi, Libya was paramount in the saving of U.S. lives and assets. He is a proven leader, teammate and friend to those who have deployed with him, and a devout father to a loving wife and two remarkable children.