Keynote Speaker 
  
John Schmidt
President & CEO | U.S. Venture

Topic
Corporate Giving at U.S. Venture

Session Summary
John Schmidt will reflect on corporate giving at U.S. Venture. Giving to others in need has always been important to U.S. Venture and now doing the right thing for others has developed into a core strategic initiative at the Company and competitive advantage in talent acquisition. John will provide the history of giving at U.S. Venture and how it has grown to what it is now using the partnership with Riverview Gardens as a prime example of corporate giving in action. Questions from the audience are welcome!

Biography 
John is President and CEO of U.S. Venture, Inc., a synergistic group of distribution businesses serving the transportation industry since 1951. U.S. Venture consists of four major divisions, U.S. Oil, U.S. AutoForce, U.S. Lubricants and U.S. Gain. John has held this position since 2007 and is directly responsible for the strategic direction, talent management, and financial performance of this $8 billion business. He serves on the Board of Directors and prior to this, was Chairman of the Board from March 2005 to January 2007.

From 1991 to 2007, John served as President of CMD Corporation. John led the growth of this company from startup to its current position as a global market leader in the development and sales of high speed flexible film converting equipment. Today, CMD has over 80 patents and technology installations in 37 countries. John remains involved at CMD by serving as their Chairman of the Board.

John also serves on the Board of Directors for Breakthrough Fuels, a fuel management company providing support to help companies strengthen their supply chain and competitive market position throughout the entire transportation energy lifecycle.

John’s many civic and charitable involvements include:

Board President of Riverview Gardens (2011 – Current)
Board President of COTS (2002-2014)
Board of Directors YMCA (2002-2008)

Additionally, John holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in accounting and marketing with a minor in mathematics.

Professional Development Session - Part 1
Presented by Grant Thornton
Topic: Defined Contribution & Defined Benefit Plans – Have you Considered Everything?

Summary
Join Debbie Smith, Grant Thornton’s National Professional Standards Group Employee Benefit Plan Partner, and Amy Henselin, Grant Thornton Audit Partner, as they discuss an array of topics impacting defined contribution and defined benefit plans. Debbie recently completed three years of service on the Department of Labor’s ERISA Advisory Council and was the co-vice chair of the Council’s 2016 report on Cybersecurity. They will touch on cybersecurity relative to defined contribution and benefit plans, trends in defined contribution plans (i.e. auto enrollment, auto deferral increases, target date funds), and common issues with defined benefit plans (i.e. record retention requirements and how to manage risks). They will also cover the uptick in DOL and IRS audits, including what to do and what to be aware of if you get selected for audit. Learn about best practices and how to stay on top of your fiduciary obligations.

Presenters

Amy Henselin

Biography
Amy is an Audit Partner in Grant Thornton’s Appleton location with over 18 years of experience in public accounting. Amy serves as the Audit Practice Leader for the Wisconsin office. Amy has extensive employee benefit plan audit experience, including audits of defined contribution, defined benefit and health & welfare plans. Amy has extensive experience in dealing with reporting and disclosure issues related to benefit plans. Her knowledge base and years of experience allow her to effectively and efficiently oversee the execution of an audit while providing meaningful recommendations upon completion of the work. Her goal is to obtain first-hand knowledge of the plan and the provider while continuously improving the audit process.

In addition to her benefit plan background, Amy has experience serving companies ranging in size from emerging growth to multinational private entities. She has directed engagements of closely-held and private sector entities primarily in the insurance and commercial industries.

Debbie Smith
Partner, National Professional Standards, Employee Benefit Plan Audit | Grant Thornton

 

Biography
Debbie is a partner in Grant Thornton’s national professional standards group, specializing in employee benefit plan assurance. She has over 30 years of experience in auditing benefit plans and has practiced exclusively in this area for the past 22 years. She is one of Grant Thornton’s most knowledgeable specialists in employee benefit plans, and is actively involved with national office initiatives in the area of employee benefit plans, including development and teaching of in-house training programs. She serves as a technical resource on employee-benefit-plan auditing, accounting and reporting issues, and is the designated partner who has firm-wide responsibility for the quality of the firm’s employee benefit plan audit practice. She is a past chairman of the AICPA Employee Benefit Plans (Expert Panel). Prior to chairing the Expert Panel, she served three years on the executive committee of the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center and was recently reappointed to the executive committee.

Debbie served multiple years on the Technical Standards Subcommittee of the Professional Ethics Committee, the subcommittee tasked with reviewing deficient audit work performed in the industry. Prior to that she served three years on the Expert Panel. As part of her leadership in the employee benefit plan area, Debbie also represents Grant Thornton through her active involvement in various AICPA committees and task forces, including the Audit Risk Alert Task Force, and the Health & Welfare Plan task force. She served on the Audit Guide Overhaul Task Force (an extensive multi-year project that re-wrote the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plans Audit and Accounting Guide), and continues her service with this group as they developed new chapters (for example, ESOPs and multiple employer plans).

 

Professional Development Session – Part 2
Presented by Innova Technologies
Topic: Personal Cybersecurity – The Basic Principles

Session Summary
Cybersecurity is not a new topic; the tactics and strategies used to steal your data are always changing, but the basic principles remain the same.  In this session, Jeremiah will review these basic principles and provide real-world examples, leaving you better positioned to avoid and recover from cybercrimes.

Presenter

Jeremiah School
CEO | Innova Technologies

Biography
Jeremiah is an experienced IT executive who guides businesses of all sizes in navigating their information technology challenges. In his role as CEO of Innova Technologies, Jeremiah ensures delivery of digital transformations that drive value and profitability for their clients.

As a trusted advisor and partner, Jeremiah considers the clients’ goals to create solutions that align their business and IT needs. He is adept at finding creative solutions to the most challenging IT problems.  Jeremiah is skilled in a number of targeted capacities, including IT governance, digital transformations, network infrastructure, cybersecurity, cloud services, and more.

Jeremiah holds a B.S. in Computer Information Systems from Herzing University. He has a passion for the outdoors, including growing bonsai’s, and is an active member of Northeast Wisconsin’s IT community.