Ned Sergew, Wachovia Corporation,  Board President

Karim Azar, Globe Express Services-  Vice President

Karim Azar is the Director of sales administration & planning for Globe Express Services, an international transportation and logistics company with over 30 corporate offices worldwide. Prior to relocating to Charlotte in 2001, Karim resided in London, England for 15 years, working in similar jobs in the transportation and logistics industry. He has also held various senior positions in the all-cargo airline industry, and resided for several years in each of the assignments in Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan. Those overseas postings in various countries, gave him a deep understanding of various cultures. Karim is originally a native of Lebanon, where he earned a BA in Political Science & Public Administration from the American University of Beirut. Since his relocation to Charlotte Karim has been active in such organizations as The Metrolina Phoenician Club, The Middle East Council of the Carolinas, and The Mayor's International Cabinet. He and his wife Leena have a daughter named Sofia.

The Honorable Bill Belk, Belk Group

Bill Belk is an attorney and Vice President for Monroe Hardware Company. He has a B.S. in Business Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill, an MBA & Masters in Law and Taxation from Emory University, and a J.D. from Wake Forest. He is involved in many civic and educational activities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Cystic Fibrosis, N.C. Aquarium Society, & Charlotte-South Rotary. He has three children.

Brita O. Formato, Duke Energy, Treasurer

Mrs. Brita Formato is a senior consultant at Duke Energy where her responsibilities include strategic planning, market research and portfolio analysis. Mrs. Formato is a resulted-oriented professional with strong consulting, operations, financial and merger and acquisition experience in large multinational organizations. She is experienced in senior level organizational initiatives including working with investment banks on the divestiture of US based operations, large-scale strategic planning, financial analysis, trading and global operation work. She relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2005 from Alexandria, VA where she worked for ExxonMobil. Her previous employers include Mercer Management Consulting and Statoil, the Norwegian state oil company who she worked for in both Norway and the US. Mrs. Formato graduated with an MBA from Columbia University Business School, NY in 1997. A native of Norway, Mrs. Formato lives in Charlotte with her husband Brian and daughter Olivia.

Henry M. Kearse, Jr. "Monty", Fair Isaac Corporation

Monty is employed by Fair Isaac Corporation as a consultant in the Collection and Recovery Solution group. He has been a member of the Fair Isaac Team or its predecessor companies for the past 17 years. Since 1996 Monty has presided over the electrol process in the Elizabeth neighborhood. He currently serves as the Mecklenburg County Board of Election's Chief judge for voting precinct 109. Monty has been a member of St. John's Baptist Church since 1970 and currently is the chairman of St. John's International House Committee, the committee that oversees the relationship between International House and St. John's Baptist Church. Monty graduated from the College of Business Administration at UNCC and has a Master's Degree in Business Administration from Wake Forest University. He lives in the Elizabeth neighborhood with his wife and three children.

Brad Merlie, Managing Director-Operations Systems, Piedmont Natural Gas

Brad joined Piedmont Natural Gas in 2007. His role as managing Director-Operations Systems includes system wide responsibility for gas measurement, gas control and data acquisition systems. Before accepting this position, he was employed with Transcontinental Gas Pipeline (which later became Williams) and has an international background which includes work in Germany and Venezuela, where he learned to speak fluent Spanish. Brad began college at Murray State University before transferring to North Carolina State where he completed his degree in Civil Engineering. Brad has also lived in Kentucky, New Jersey, Houston and spent 10 years in Atlanta. He now resides in Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife Barbara and has two children.

Monte L. Ritchey, Conformity Corporation, Secretary

Monte Ritchey is the President of the Conformity Corp. Among others, Mr. Ritchey is responsible for the investigation of development opportunities, construction administration and the coordination of marketing and sales. The Conformity Corporation has been recognized by the American Institute of architects and Mr. Ritchey has been honored as a “Preservationist of the Year” by Historic Charlotte, Inc. and by the Business Journal as one of its “40 under 40.” Mr. Ritchey has been active on several City of Charlotte advisory committees and is a member of the Urban Land Institute and the Congress for New Urbanism. Mr. Ritchey was nominated to attend the United States Military Academy by both Senator Arlen Spechter and Congressman John P. Murtha and attended the College of Engineering at Pennsylvania State University.

Felix von Uklanski, Merrill Lynch

Felix von Uklanski works as an International Financial Advisor at Merrill Lynch in Charlotte. Felix started his career with ABN Amro Bank in Amsterdam and Houston after receiving his MBA in Business Administration from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Felix moved to London, England to join Service Corporation International's Mergers & Acquisition group and was then recruited by Citibank’s Media & Communications group as a Vice-President. He is fluent in German and also speaks some Dutch, French and Spanish. He is an active member of the German American Chamber of Commerce and the Charlotte South Park Rotary Club. Felix lives with his wife, Candice Langston, a Charlotte native, in Cotswold.

Tom Hawkins, President, Firm Resolve LLC

Tom is a native of Charlotte and a veteran international executive. Growing up in Charlotte, Tom was educated in the CMS school system, and later earned his undergraduate degree from UNCC and his MBA from Wake Forest University. In his first professional role, Tom was a senior consulting manager for Accenture, in the Carolinas practice. Tom then served as a Senior Vice President for First Union’s International Division, responsible for product development and information technology. Most recently, Tom was Chief Operations Officer for MassMutual International, Inc., including service as President and CEO of MassMutual Japan, MassMutual’s largest international subsidiary. During his international corporate roles, Tom traveled extensively in Asia, Latin America and Europe. Today, Tom is President of Firm Resolve, LLC – dedicated to helping small- and medium-sized businesses succeed.

Moira Alair, Ashley Furniture HomeStore

Mrs. Alair is the director of marketing at Ashley Furniture HomeStore’s regional corporate office. Ms. Alair received her BBA from the university of Hawaii and her MBA from the University of Southern California. She is a successful manager with years of experience in marketing and communications, specialized in marketing strategy development and implementation. A resident of Matthews since 1992. Mrs. Alair lives with her husband Doug and daughter Adrienne.

Laura Budzichowski, Robinson, Bradshaw & Hinson

Laura is an attorney with Robinson Bradshaw & Hinson, P.A. where she has practiced law since 2002. Laura's practice covers a wide range of transactional and commercial matters with an emphasis on mergers and acquisitions and financing transactions for privately held and publicly traded client companies. Laura earned a B.A. in Psychology and Spanish from the University of Notre Dame and spent her sophomore year studying in Toledo, Spain. She taught high school Spanish in southern Mississippi for two years and earned her Masters in Teaching from the University of Portland before attending law school at the University of Michigan, where she earned a J.D. Laura now lives in Charlotte with her husband and three children.