Speakers
Linda Ruffenach
Linda Ruffenach is an entrepreneur committed to helping business owners achieve their maximum potential and protect their legacy. Her 20+ years of C-level experience with a startup enables her to relate to the challenges business owners face every day. As the former CEO of a $100 million international enterprise, she has been through almost every stage a company can experience from fast growth, rapid decline, to complete transformation.
In 2014, she founded two companies, Execuity Value Advisors and Whisky Chicks. Both companies embrace the idea that knowledge and experience breed confidence. Linda is a skilled facilitator and has developed a systematic approach for accelerating growth, increasing profits and optimizing the value of a business. More importantly, she knows how to turn strategy into results and deliver results.
Recently recognized as an Enterprising Women of the Year by Business First, Linda is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor and the best selling author of How to be a Bourbon Badass. She has appeared as an expert speaker for WBENC, IBBA, Women Presidents Organization, Goering Center for Family & Private Business ,WIFS Women in Insurance and Financial Services and the Exit Planning Institute. In addition to running multiple businesses, Linda is Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Louisville’s School of Business where she teaches Venture Finance and oversees the MBA Capstone program.
From startup to exit, she will help you grow, scale, and navigate major transitions in your business.
Deborah Stallings
Deborah’s path to becoming a force for positive change in workplaces across North America is both inspiring and relatable. Her early experiences caring for her disabled mom and the challenges she faced as a single mom instilled in her courage and a deep resilience and commitment to empowering others. These personal trials laid the foundation for her to establish and lead HR Anew, a seven-figure, nationally certified minority woman-owned enterprise dedicated to transforming workplaces into inclusive environments where every business, leader, and team member thrives. With over two decades of expertise in diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, justice (DEIBJ), human resources (HR), and equal employment opportunity (EEO), Deborah’s mission is clear: to embed these essential principles into organizations to drive success and create workspaces where leaders and teams flourish. Her work spans from developing impactful workshops and programs that foster genuine connections and teamwork to strategic HR and EEO collaborations.
A notable example of her DEIBJ impact is her ongoing collaboration with the U.S. Department of Commerce, leading to more inclusive leadership discussions, stronger working relationships, mission accomplishment, and team productivity. Similarly, her contributions to the Women Presidents Organization and Women Elevating Women have empowered women leaders to leverage diversity as a cornerstone for success. Among her accolades, Deborah has been honored with the prestigious George Mason University HR Leadership and the U.S. Small Business Administration Women in Business Champion of the Year awards, acknowledging her significant contributions to HR and diverse businesses. Her faith and academic background from Notre Dame of Maryland University, including a graduate degree in management and leadership, and her recognition as a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SCP), reinforce her expertise in DEIBJ, HR, and EEO. As a Forbes Magazine HR Council writer and an upcoming author, Deborah continues to influence the future of inclusive workplaces. Deborah’s journey from personal adversity to professional victory underscores her message: “What actions can you take today to ensure diversity is not just a goal but a lived reality in your personal life and organization?”