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GROWTH & IMPACT WEEK SPEAKER LINEUP

 The speakers at Growth and Impact Week are award-winning advisors, operators, and thought leaders who don’t just understand growth and impact, they execute it. Each speaker has been selected for their ability to translate methodology into real-world implementation, sharing how they’ve built in-demand practices through intentional, ROI-driven relationships with business owners. Expect candid perspectives, practical frameworks, and honest discussion around what works in today’s market,  from client selection and trust-building to accountability, culture, and value creation. This is not a stage of theorists; it’s a room of practitioners committed to helping you apply what you learn and accelerate results in your firm. 

 

Benjamin Smith

Benjamin brings 20 years of experience in financial services, split among some of the biggest players in the industry. He has blended finance and strategy at every level of business, including asset management, product development, software...

ABOUT BENJAMIN

Benjamin brings 20 years of experience in financial services, split among some of the biggest players in the industry. He has blended finance and strategy at every level of business, including asset management, product development, software development, data analytics, change management and others.

 

Early in his career, Benjamin developed a plan compliance monitoring system in response to regulatory changes the 2008 financial crisis. The project was a successful and strategic asset/client retention program. He went on to assist in the design of the financial engine for annuity illustration software for one of the top producers in the country. After joining another financial firm, he assisted in merging an acquisition company's technology with the rest of the enterprise. The project was a success and the tech became the central data repository for their Wealth department. The efficiency gains led to millions in annual savings.

 

He became a Wealth Manager in the latter half of his career. There, he guided families through personal financial planning. He witnessed first-hand the unique characteristics of entrepreneurs in behavioral finance. Their risk tolerance leads to significant asset concentrations. However, not much is being done to help these risk takers harvest their most illiquid asset - their business.

 

Having observed the business landscape from a variety of viewpoints, and with his newfound passion for small business, Benjamin partnered with Stephen Blevins to create GPC Group. With their diverse and complementary backgrounds in Finance and Business, they chose to work with small business owners. As Certified Valuation & Exit Planning specialists, they share their decades of experience and strategic insights with the backbone of the US Economy to help them realize and build value.