Audrey Darley Welch

Vice President, Defense, Darley Defense, W.S. Darley & Co.

Audrey Darley Welch is the Vice President, Defense, for Darley Defense, W.S. Darley & Company’s military distribution business and largest division. In her role, Audrey manages a team responsible for the company’s partnerships with key suppliers of tactical and firefighting products and services.

Audrey, a fourth-generation family member, joined the company in 2014. Prior to joining the family business, Audrey worked in Commercial Banking. She graduated with a Finance degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In her time at Darley, Audrey has served as Chair of the G4 Advisory Group, board member of the William J. Darley Charity Fund, and member of the Company’s Management Team and Strategic Planning Committee. She has also led efforts to improve employee benefits and culture, including recently assisting with the development of a formal remote work policy.

Outside of the business, Audrey is passionate about personal and professional development.  She served on the YPO NextGen (YNG) Board for 6 years. Audrey was highlighted in Family Business Magazine as NextGens to Watch 2020.

Brittany McKee East

4th-Generation Family Member, McKee Foods

Brittany McKee East is a fourth-generation family member and employee at McKee Foods Corporation. At 14, she began summer internships at the bakery in various functional areas. This early involvement sparked her interest in pursuing a long-term career at McKee. During college, Brittany continued her involvement at the family business, while attending Southern Adventist University in Collegedale, Tenn., where she graduated with a B.S. in Health Science. In 2016, she received an MBA in Operations and Management from the Crummer Graduate School of Business in Winter Park, Florida. Following graduation, Brittany worked in various roles and industries around the country, eventually landing in Denver, Colorado at Fresca Foods Inc., where she was the Materials Buyer for the Larabar brand. In 2019, she returned to McKee Foods as Senior Cost Accountant, and has sense transitioned to her current role, Product Development Manager. Brittany’s husband, Jarred is a real estate investor in the southeastern United States. They live near Chattanooga, Tenn., with their two boys, Carter and Bryson, and their two dogs.

Sonya Ahola

Marketing & HR Consulting Divisions, Ahola

Sonya leads Ahola’s Marketing & HR Consulting Divisions and is responsible for communications, brand strategy, and the ProActive HR Consulting Division for the Ahola Corporation. She manages all internal and external communications, public relations, social media, trade shows, advertising, content creation, and traditional marketing campaigns. She leads a team of marketing and human resources professionals and partners closely with senior management and executive teams, vendor partners, and associations.

Sonya joined Ahola as a third-generation family member in 2017, after working in corporate retail – specifically in e-commerce. She has shifted the company’s focus to support social media, content, and mobile-enabled assets. She led a comprehensive brand refresh for the company in 2019, complete with a new company mission and vision, visual branding, and messaging. In the last 5 years, the company has been selected and endorsed by multiple Associations and Franchise Organizations and has been recognized as a Top Family-Owned Business by Crain's Cleveland Business, a Top Workplace by The Plain Dealer and Cleveland.com, and a Family Business Achievement Award Winner by Smart Business Magazine.

Sonya graduated Magna Cum Laude from The Ohio State University, earning a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, with a specialization in Marketing. In 2019, Sonya was recognized by Family Business Magazine as a NextGen to Watch. In 2020, Sonya completed both the Civic Leadership Institute at the Cleveland Leadership Center and Greater Cleveland Partnership’s GCP Lead Cohort. In 2021, she was honored as a Notable Executive in Marketing by Crain’s Cleveland Business.

Julian Boyd

2nd-Generation Family Member, D'bo's Wings & More

Megan Green

Counsel and Engineering Manager, Weiler Products

Megan Weiler Green serves as Counsel and Engineering Manager at Weiler in Knoxville, IA.  Green is also Counsel for Weiler Forestry, Inc. in LaGrange, GA.  Green is a graduate of Iowa State University (B.S., Finance) and the University of Iowa College of Law (Juris Doctorate).  Green worked for 9 years as in-house counsel for State Farm Insurance Companies in Bloomington, IL, counseling clients in multiple states on legislative, regulatory, banking, litigation and public policy issues. 

In 2017, Green and her family moved back to her home state of Iowa.  Her family’s manufacturing business was growing rapidly and needed dedicated counsel.  Green’s work experience and passion for the family business made the move a natural fit.  Green joined as Counsel and Procurement Manager. She transitioned from Procurement to Engineering in 2019 and now manages the engineering, service, product safety and technical publications groups.  Green led Weiler through a major acquisition as they closed on the purchase of Caterpillar’s purpose-built forestry business in the fall of 2019.  Green is a member of the company’s senior leadership team and is President of the Weiler Foundation for charitable giving.  She is also active in several community leadership activities including Habitat for Humanity of Marion County, Marion County Development Commission, Knoxville Housing Steering Committee, multiple apprenticeship and career readiness committees, community bank board member and the Chicago Fed’s Iowa Economic Roundtable.

Kate Began

President, Polycase

Kate is president of her family’s business, Polycase. Polycase, founded in 1990 by Kate’s father, is an ecommerce business that designs and manufactures a proprietary line of enclosures for electronic components and electrical equipment. Kate graduated summa cum laude from Babson College in 2015 with a concentration in finance and computational mathematical finance. After graduation, she worked in investment banking for a year before returning home to join the family business.

Kate initially focused on marketing and process improvements. She spent several years revamping marketing efforts, redesigning the ecommerce website and automating internal processes. In January 2022, after a year and a half transition process from G1 to G2, Kate became President. As president, Kate develops strategic initiatives and goals to continue growing the business while preserving the aspects of Polycase that have made it successful for the past 32 years.

Celine Fitzgerald

Financial Analyst, Webb & O'Neill Capital Corp.

Aaron Chin

CEO, Organika

Sarah Fultz

3rd-Generation Family Member, Post Leasing & Sales Inc.

Growing up, Sarah always valued continued growth and education, both in and out of the classroom. She attended Samford University, where she graduated in three years cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish and a minor in Latin American Studies. Sarah’s first roles in her family’s fuel truck business consisted of work in online and print marketing, advertising, customer service and website development, among other things. Primarily self-taught, Sarah quickly realized that wearing multiple hats while tackling new challenges each day was where she thrived. Today, she is a key decision maker in three family businesses. Working as the Office Manager across the companies, Sarah oversees Accounting, Billing, Human Resources, Marketing, Administration and IT while working closely with upper management. Sarah looks forward to continued growth and expansion within the companies and to make her mark in her family’s legacy.

Greg Henderson

Greg is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Cilker Henderson Properties, a specialized medical real estate company in Silicon Valley. CH Properties owns and manages over 400,000 square feet of medical office space. Greg joined CH Properties in 2012.

Greg earned his Bachelor of Business Management from Biola University. He is a member of Rotary Club San Jose and serves on The Health Trust Board of Directors.

Born in Illinois and raised in Northern California, Greg loves Lake Tahoe trips with family, going for a run, and fostering dogs. Greg thinks he is a better golfer than reality suggests.

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National Managing Principal, Private Client Services
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David Shaw

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