Chris Bingham, President and Chief Passion Officer, Riley Life Logistics
Chris Bingham is President and Chief Passion Officer of Riley Life Logistics, a Certified B Corporation and award-winning provider of third party global logistics solutions in the areas of order fulfillment, kitting, warehousing and reverse logistics. Chris graduated from the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School with an MBA and received undergraduate degrees from UNC in Business and Information Systems, graduating with honors.
Chris serves on the Greater Raleigh Chamber Small Business Board of Directors, Institute for Sustainable Development Board of Directors, World Trade Association - Triangle Chapter Board of Directors, Raleigh Young Professional Network Advisory Board, and the Nourish International Board of Directors. He is Chairman of the Board for the Riley Life Foundation, which he founded in August of 2010.
In early 2011, Chris was named one of the top 40 leaders in the Triangle region under the age of 40 by winning the prestigious Triangle Business Journal "40 Under 40" Award. Additionally, he was named one of the Triangle's Top 50 Entrepreneurs by Business Leader Magazine. Riley Life has been recognized as a top small business and for sustainability efforts with awards including 2011 NC "Company to Watch" by CED, 2010 Wells Fargo North American Sustainable Small Business of the Year, 2009 Sustainable NC Entrepreneurs of Year, 2009 Triangle Business Journal Green Entrepreneurs of the Year, and 2009 Durham Chamber of Commerce Sustainable Business of the Year.
Justin Gehtland, CEO and co-founder, Relevance
Justin co-founded Relevance, Inc. in 2003 in order to bestride the world as a giant, wreaking havoc on the way software was developed and the way businesses were run. A programmer by choice and a businessman by destiny, his current role is turning the lessons learned over the past 8 years into rocket fuel. An author on 8 technical books, he is not one to shy away from stating his opinions. You can find him in Durham, NC, smashing ideas together and hoping they stick.
Verna Graff-Gessaman, Senior Manager, Corporate Citizenship, RBC Bank
As senior manager for Corporate Citizenship, Verna Gessaman is responsible for community outreach and corporate donations across the bank’s six-state footprint and is coordinator of the RBC Bank Diversity Leadership Council. She handles strategy and outreach to advocacy groups, government agencies, as well as emerging issues with regard to community and economic development. Over her 14 years with RBC Bank, she has held various leadership positions in community and government relations, public relations, sponsorships.
Verna holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Virginia Commonwealth University and a Master’s degree from George Mason University. She is also a graduate of Leadership North Carolina, Leadership America and a recipient of the 2004 Triangle Business Journal’s Women in Business award; she interacts with a broad range of non profit and government organizations throughout the Southeast. She currently serves on the board of directors of, Prevent Child Abuse NC, NC Business Committee for Education and NC Council on Economic Education, the Edgecombe Community College Advisory Board, the Carolina Ballet, and the outreach working group of the Financial Services Roundtable. She is a past member of the boards of Leadership North Carolina,CIS of Twin Counties, Rocky Mount Chamber of Commerce, Dunn Center, Rocky Mount YWCA and past chair of Teach for America NC board,
A native of Richmond, Virginia, Verna moved to North Carolina 1996. She is married and has two adult children.
Matt Kopac, Corporate Responsibility Manager, iContact
Matt Kopac is the Corporate Responsibility Manager for iContact, an email marketing and social media firm based in Morrisville, where he brings strategic direction to the company’s social and environmental sustainability goals. Matt is a board member of the Fourth Sector Cluster Initiative and the Institute for Sustainable Development.
Before joining iContact, Matt served as a social enterprise consultant in the Triangle and Latin America, a Rotary Cultural Ambassadorial Scholar in El Salvador, a public interest lobbyist in Washington, DC, and a small enterprise development Peace Corps Volunteer in Benin.
Matt has his MBA from the Yale School of Management, where he served as President of his student body and Student Director of the Yale Law School Community Economic Development Clinic. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with honors in Economics, Political Science and International Relations, and is originally from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Matt resides in Durham with his wife. Together they enjoy international travel and exploring the wonders of North Carolina.
